Luna Red with Dottie and Moots

as

YOU

know

from

my

many posts

I

am

a

self- diagnosed

delicious food

addict..

that said,

I

emphasize

DELICIOUS FOOD

It

has

been

quite a while

since

Annie and I

(aka Dottie and Moots)

hit

downtown SLO

for

a delicious

(emphasize DELICIOUS)

dinner

together.

We

decided

on

Luna Red

known

for

it's

tapas

but

the

entrees

are

sensational,

as well

Starting off,

hmmm

what to eat? what to eat?

what to drink?

a

Lunarita

and

a glass of

Verdad Albarino

nice!

Cheers!

a toast

to

Dottie and Moots'

night out

(see those potatoes? they are bistro spuds: crisp fingerling potatoes, marinated olives, sambal rouille)

yes, delicious!

Next,

spice roasted beets: fennel, red onion, grilled ricotta salata, herb vinaigrette

the grilled ricotta salata atop the beets was mmmmmhmmmm 

and then,

red cabbage-apple potstickers spiced beet coulis, coconut cream, cilantro 

the red cabbage danced in our mouths

Talk about a dance,

the autumn roast squash, chili spiked pepitas, arugula, raisins, wild rice, toasted walnut vinaigrette

was

a

party

so many autumn flavors and spices  

and

of course,

Pumpkin Beignets

with cinnamon cream, for dipping

Satiated,

not stuffed

after

delicious tapas

(emphasize DELICIOUS)

and

wine

we smiled

and

look forward

to

another

Dottie and Mootie

dinner

adventure

SLO Vintners and Rockin' Harvest

Years ago,

before

Petit Soleil

was

even

an

apple in our eyes

I

had

the

privilege

of

working

with

the

San Luis Obispo Vintners' and Growers Association

aka

SLOVAG

I

worked

with

the

best people:

the grape growers

the wine makers

and

other folks

just

passionate

about wine

The head honcho

back then

was

Archie,

the quintessential wine aficionado

and

in our little office

were

Gail (second in command)

Diane (who got the jobs done)

Laura (who got the jobs done)

and

me (who helped get the jobs done)

Basically,

we

worked,

sometimes

laughing

'til tears

(often until we pee-ed)

it got us through the stress

of getting

events and marketing

maps and brochures

done

for the

grape growers

wine makers

and

folks passionate about wine

...

fast forward

SLOVAG

is no longer

run

by

Archie

or

Gail

Diane, Laura or me

but

we four girls still do laugh 'til tears (2010)

and we get together whenever we can (2011)

sometimes we call Archie,

to just laugh

and harass him a bit

..

Ten years

after putting on

a

SLOVAG

Harvest Celebration

John and I

had the

opportunity

to

go to

Harvest Celebration

as

guests

(not as grunt workers)

The theme

for

2011

was

Rockin' Harvest

Petit Soleil

donated

a stay

for

the

live auction item

"Living la Vida SLO"

John and I

arrived

about

11

grabbed

a

plate and glass

and

got to be

early birds

for the

wines

and

foods

being

highlighted

Clay and Frederika

are passionate

about

their winery,

Claiborne and Churchill

their

Dry Gewurtztraminer

and Dry Riesling

are

outstanding!

We met up

with

Gwen,

the passionate owner (with winemaker hubby)

of Kynsi Winery

Kynsi's

Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noirs

are

delicious

Oh,

and look!

Clotilde

of Olea Farms Olive oils

was there

with their new olive oil blend, Fusion!

the

tents and surrounds

were

cheerfully

decorated

with

memorabilia

and

lyrics

from

Rock 'n Roll faves

Baileyana, Cadre, Tangent Trenza and Zocker Winery was there... (one winery - many offshoots)

Love their wines!

and

rocker

winemaker

extraordinaire

Mike Sinor was there

with rocking wife Cheri

whipping it good

Passionate about wine,

Mike makes wine

for

Sinor-LaValle (his own label) YUM!

Ancient Peaks wines

and

Center of Effort wines

(with Nathan)

Mike was just

featured in

Wine spectator!!

congrats, Mike!

Paul Kwong's pumpkin curry rocked my world!

Paul is the owner

and chef

for Mee Hung Low in SLO,

the charming and delicious

noodle house

next to the Palm Theatre

the day

was

picture-perfect

the

main auction tent

was

happily

decorated

and ready for some serious auctioning

Petit's

next-door neighbor

Splash Cafe

had

killer empanadas

and mini pizzas

mmmmhmmmm

Cal Poly

shared

a

couple

of really

amazing wines

good job, Cal Poly!

Avila Beach

seen

through

the tent

a

really

fun

couple of

hours

with

stellar wines

and

delicious

fare

from

local restaurants

go

here

to the

SLOVA

website

and

mark your calendars

for

the next wine

event

and

Whip it - Whip it Good!

Domestic Divas, Queens of Cuisine etc.

First

of

all

I

apologize.

I

am

so

sorry

that

I

don't

have pictures

of

ALL

of

the

amazing

employees

we

have

had

at

Petit Soleil

I

haven't

been

taking

pictures

THAT

long

We hire these

awesome

young ladies

(and men)

..

most often

Cal Poly Students

and

they

perfect their baking skills,

and their appetizer skills

and they learn about

wine

and

they

serve people

with

huge smiles

and often,

because

they become

domestic divas

and Queens of Cuisine

they

get engaged,

married

and begin their lives

post

Petit

happily everafter

....

to name

a few:

Lindsey (married),

Dylan (married),

Cole (married),

Ellyn (married,

Ellen (married),

Maggie (engaged),

Kelly (married),

Tani (married),

Carey (married)

and

many

many

others...

Last weekend

was

Libby's

wedding.

Libby

worked at Petit

for over a year

and

Jason

proposed to her in Paris.....in the Eifle Tower

(hello? - how spectacular is that?)

...

Libby and Jason

chose the

glorious

Edna Valley Vineyards

as the

destination

to

celebrate

their wedding

we celebrated

with

Libby and Jason!

with Ashley

and Caitlin

Riley

Annie

and

MacKenzie

and

Molly (over there to the right)

I

do believe

that

Edna Valley Vineyard

has the most

beautiful

views

of

the

Edna Valley

Libby and Jason

10.1.11

gorgeous,

at

sunset

Honestly,

Petit Soleil

has been

blessed

to have the

best

employees!!!

we

watch

them

grow

and mature

move on

and thrive

crocodile tears

Libby and Jason

heartfelt

Congratulations!

Picking Daisies......

"Daisies

are such

happy

flowers,

don't

you

think?"

from 
You've Got Mail

Daisies

ARE

such

happy flowers...

and

Picking Daisies

is

such

a

happy

name

for

a

store!

What do you think you would find

at

a store

called

Picking Daisies?

Flowers? Gardening supplies? Children's clothing?

Beautiful cloth napkins?

No..

YEAH!!!

Not

only

beautiful

cloth napkins,

but

easy care

no iron

cloth napkins

in a

myriad

of colors

patterns

and

themes

when

you

walk in

Picking Daisies

there is always

a

little

table

set

with

a theme

like

"back to school"

set

with

lovely

napkins

there

are

cheery

aprons

and

h u n d r e d s

of

gorgeous napkins

The thing

is

"no matchy"

which is so fun

set yourself free

you can choose

a color

and if

your eyes move

up and down

all the napkins

rhyme

with

coordinating

colors

the napkins

all

mixed together

make

for

such

a fun

tablescape

For instance,

you see

a

napkin

with

an

owl

below that

is

a napkin

in similar

colors

with

autumn leaves

and

then

gorgeous circles

(in similar colors)

and then

sunflowers

Love it!!!!

and what is especially fun,

you can buy

fabric

by the yard

and

sew

fun

things..

pillows, placemats,

table runners

and

even

cut

triangles

for banners

I LOVE THIS FABRIC!

it is going to be

on

the tables

at Petit Soleil

(mixed with other coordinating" fabrics, of course)

If you have been

to Petit

in the past

couple of

years

you will have

seen

Picking Daisies

napkins

dressing

each of our

dining tables

and

I alway use

Picking Daisies

napkins

at

home

because

they

are so

cheery

and

I can throw them in the

washer and dryer

they clean beautifully

and no ironing

(and no extra paper littering our environment)

Picking Daisies

always

has

gorgeous art

(they

often highlight

artists

in

Art After Dark)

So

free your spirit

of

stressful

matchy- matchy

and

visit

Kay and Dede

\

and

have

some

fun

Picking Daisies

570 Higuera St.

in

The Creamery

P.s.

Kay and Dede

MAKE ALL THE NAPKINS THEMSELVES

PPSS

We are

considering

ridding

ourselves

of paper napkins

at Petit

and using

Picking Daisies napkins

....just need to figure out the logistics,

but, Hello?,

how cute is that idea?