Stuck Between Now and Then

When a dear friend is going through "it", it's hard to find the right words to express that you know how they feel.  I'll leave it to Alicia, Adam, and The Rolling Stones.  Love you, friend, til no end.

Maroon 5 and Alicia Keys - Daylight and Girl on Fire live at the 2013 Grammy Awards

I know everyone interprets songs differently, but I think it's an interesting mix.  On one hand you don't want to leave in fear of having to start over, but on the other you're a strong woman, handling your business, taking care of the kids, doing it all, lonely.  When life brings you to a crossroad, it's possible to feel both ways, making it hard to decide which way to go.

Alicia Keys featuring Adam Levine - Wild Horses (originally by The Rolling Stones) Unplugged

This song is so beautiful.  I read that Mick Jagger's love interest at the time said the chorus to him after snapping out of a drug induced coma!  But I also read that the song was written to express unconditional love for their families and how much they hated being away from home while on tour.  I'll go with the second interpretation!  When you're millions of miles from where you want to be, it's hard to imagine it getting better... If only there was an Adam and Alicia collab that talks about it, well, getting better...

(When there's no Alicia and Adam collab about it getting better, we turn to Proverbs)

This too shall pass.

And also
Woosah.
(Not a proverb)
Just sayin'.

K Bye!

Pop goes my heart (pop goes my heart)!

Ok, so I know I'm supposed to post a cut weekly.  I suck at blogging regularly as you can see, but I think this will more than make up for it.  This song from the movie Music and Lyrics "popped" up on my Facebook page the other day posted by my sister.  Totally made my day, even more so when my brother replied that he was singing it out loud at work, and a customer sang along with him.  Hilarious!

 

This has been your Cut of the Week (can I even call it that?  More like Cut of the Month) brought to you by (ficky, ficky) Loft Remix.

K Bye!

Girl Scout Cookie Season! YUM!

Between my five year old and I, the three boxes that I purchased did not last a week.  They're a-mah-zing.  Always have been.  Always will be.  Must.. buy.. more..  Props to the Girl Scouts of America, including my younger sis and former troop member, Abi, and everything they stand for. 

 

Happy Girl Scout Cookie Season!

K Bye!

Bucket List Item: Hotel Fox - Copenhagen

Volkswagen chose 21 artists, including Simone Legno (creator of Tokidoki), to design this Denmark hotel.  I stumbled across this place online almost six years ago.  I think I was looking something up for my car, and ads for the unique hotel started popping up.  If even for one night, I want to stay in one of the rooms.  Someday.

All photos courtesy of  

Hotels.com

The Perfect Day in Napa

If you're ever in the area be sure to visit:

V. Sattui Winery 

For $10 each we sampled 6 local wines.  I've always been more of a beer person and never quite knew what wine I liked, but after tasting the Gamay Rouge I am in love.  It paired perfectly with the bbq tri tip, salmon, ribs, fire grilled pizza and the assortment of cheeses we enjoyed in the beautiful picnic area (bring a blanket).  It was the perfect place for our family photo shoot captured by JZ Lim Photography.

  

Bouchon's Bakery 

After seeing so many micro reviews of this place on Facebook and hearing tons about it from my sister and niece, I finally got to try the macaroons that it's famous for.  It's no wonder there is always a line going out the door.  The best way I can describe it is that when you bite into one, your mouth will experience 3 stages of yumminess:  1) airy, wafery flakiness 2) slow motion chewiness, and 3) not too sweet buttery creaminess.  

The only negative (but funny as sh*t) thing I have to mention was the racist lady in line who stated that, "...all of China must be here!"  Yea... No worries though.  My family has too much of a sense of humor to let that bring us down.  In fact my sister, Roxanne, killed her with kindness by letting the rude lady and her family go ahead of us (the son later told us they're visiting from Texas).  Our other sister Joi's boyfriend, who we were also celebrating Black History Month for on top of Dad's birthday, thank you very much, was cracking folks up in line by offering them "watahhhh" while they waited patiently.  All worth it for a mocha macaroon.  LOL.

Tarla Grill 

Along with exercise (and drinking red wine everyday) our dad has been taking good care of his health.  When I asked him what kind of cuisine he'd like for his 60th birthday he mentioned Mediterranean.  Ryan found Tarla Grill in downtown Napa, and I am so glad he did.  With our fairly large group of 16 people, the manager, Yusuf Topal, went above and beyond to accommodate us.  When I called to make the reservation, he immediately offered their private room at no charge.   He suggested that we order from five of their fixed menus and even allowed our six small and not so small kids in our party order from a separate menu.

The room was a wanna be designer's dream with its modern, clean lines, artwork, industrial looking ceiling, and not to mention their Bose system that was blasting what we all agreed was probably the Beyonce station on Pandora.  And yes, we all sang along to her and the likes of Lauren Hill, Neyo, Adele, Alicia Keys, and Trey Songz while dining on delicious hummus, house salad with amazing feta cheese and lemon dressing, zucchini cakes with Tzatziki sauce, white truffle and mushroom meatballs, pan roasted cod with squash kambocha, baklava and gelato. YUM.  

After saying thank you and good night to the manager and our awesome servers, Dad stated that it was the best birthday he's ever had.  My heart is happy.

Looking back 30 years

Dad wanted to recapture this precious moment taken in the Philippines back in 1983, "...except without Kay's hand on my croch!"  What's funny is that while Dad now has less hair, my sisters no longer use a bowl to cut theirs, and mine looks less like a boy we ALL still have the same expressions on our faces.

Me:  I'm hungry!

Dad:  (Nostrils flaring) Someday, these girls will finish college! 

Joi:  (Always ready for a photo op) Cheeeeeeeeeeese!  

Roxanne:  I didn't blow up the kitchen do it!!

JZ Lim Photography

Celebrating Dad's 60th Birthday: JZ Lim Photography

A very special thanks to Jose Z. Lim Jr.

www.jzlim.com

Zuppa Toscana

When my bff, Rio, visits from Southern California we LOVE to eat!  While I usually get the salad at Olive Garden, she made me fall in love with their Zuppa Toscana soup.  Decided to make it for my boys before leaving for another business trip and was pleasantly surprised at how easy and DE-LICIOUS it was.  It is now my ultimate comfort food when missing loved ones far away.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream (I used whipping cream.  Same thing?)
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté sausage and crushed red pepper in pot.  Drain fat.
2. In the same pot, sauté bacon, garlic and onions on medium heat until onions are soft... About 10 minutes
3. Add water & chicken bouillon to the pot, and let it boil.
4. Add potatoes and cook until soft...  About 20 minutes
5. Add heavy cream and allow to heat up.
6. Add sausage and kale and continue to cook until the whole thing is heated.  YUM.