Benjamin Franklin - brilliant!

Ben

was brilliant!

I bet

he

was a

hoot

at

dinner parties...

take a quick

minute

to

read

a few of

Ben's ramblings

in

Poor Richard's Almanac

We spent

last weekend

in

Napa -

a

really

nice

getaway!

famished

and

needing wine

as

Wine is living proof that God loves us

and wants us to be happy

love that

Ben!

we

stumbled on

Redd Restaurant

in

in Yountville

fabulous!

I highly

recommend it

to foodies

and beyond!

To start.

Joseph George SAUVIGNON BLANC Yountville Napa Valley 2008

AND

Lewis CHARDONNAY Napa Valley 2008

"When Wine enters, out goes

the Truth."

Perfect

calamari

Crispy calamari, cayenne salt, tamarind sauce, vietnamese dressing

then

Warm goat cheese, hazelnuts, beets, greens, sherry vinaigrette

AND

Caramelized diver scallops, cauliflower purée, almonds, balsamic reduction

Wine (and good food)

made our day

easier,

less hurried.

with fewer tensions

and

we

were

infinitely

more tolerant!

Redd Restaurant

Yountville

Local Resort and Spas

If

you read

my blog

or if you scoot back a few blogs ago

you can

read about

Tigerlily Salon

and

the

most

amazing

experience

I

had

with

Micaela

and my first

facial.

(my face is still as smooth as a baby's behind)

To be

pampered

is

the

B E S T

In all fairness

I

must

recommend

another

very

special

"pampering"

spa retreat

that we

indulged

in

for our

three besties

a quite

inexpensive

indulgence,

really..

John and I

thought

that

we should treat

our

favorite little dogs

to

A Spa Weekend

(so we could

take

a weekend

off and

head to Napa

and

not worry about

them)

Thousand Hills

Pet Resort

is

Doggie Heaven

It

is

located

in

Edna Valley

yes,

the

Wine Appellation

EDNA VALLEY

We checked in

Huck, Nottie and Phinn

Friday morning

(with their beds, food and chewies)

You can

see

the so cute

little cottages

..

("Boarding" means "hotel guests")

Huckleberry was ready!

Phinn

close behind.

Nottie

had

"SPA" already

on her mind

and was on her way

Spa

options

are

so great

at

Thousand Hills Pet Resort

One

can choose

a

play day

or

spa day

a weekend stay

a week stay

or

just

a few hours

to

play

and

catch some

needed

Vitamin D

Off

on

Spa leases

and collars

we

bid

adieu

to our little friends

and off they went

to thie

little

Spa cottage

On the way out

I snapped

a few

pictures

of the charming

surroundings

of this

wonderful Canine Retreat

(birdies were obviously welcome, too)

The fresh air

and countryside

was

breathtaking!

Two days later

we

arrived

back to

Thousand Hills Pet Resort

and found

Nottie

coiffed

(and happy)

Huckleberry

so

confident,

clean

and groomed

And

Phinn

perfectly content

clean

and happy to

be going home

We

were

thrilled

to have

this

option

for

our dogs.

They came

home

beautifully groomed

happy

and

tired.

The staff

were

all

so accomodating

and

they obviously

LOVE

dogs.

The perfect

SPA

and

"doggie- sitting"

retreat

for

your

canine

BFFs

Friday in Morro Bay.

Remember this little ditty?

...

Today is Monday
Monday -- string beans
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Tuesday
Tuesday -- spaghetti
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Wednesday
Wednesday -- soup
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Thursday
Thursday -- roast beef
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

Today is Friday
Friday -- fresh fish

Friday

in the Central Coast.

You

must

zip over

to Morro Bay...

often

foggy

sometimes breezy,

salty

but

ALWAYS

boasting

Fresh Fish..

I

read

on

Facebook

that

Giovanni's Fish Market

had

Sea Bass

I mean

FRESH

Sea Bass

right off

the boat

Not much better

than

fresh Sea Bass

first

though,

we

snacked

on

delicious

fish tacos

We

bought

a

pound

of

Sea Bass

For dinner:

We

sauteed

sliced leeks

sliced carrots

sliced celery

in lemon olive oil

until soft

added

the

fresh Sea Bass

seasoned

the whole happy group

with

Old Bay Seasoning_

a splash of

dry white wine

popped the

top on the pan

...

12 minutes

Oh, Baby!

delicious...

All you hungry children, come and eat it up!

next time more pictures....

Marching in

IMG_0505, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

John just made me this delightful celebration of March!
Calla Lilies and wheat grass in a vintage kugelhof mold....so cute!
Thanks, Hunny!

My Hero

• "My father died many years ago, and yet when something special happens to me, I talk to him secretly not really knowing whether he hears, but it makes me feel better to half believe it." -- Natasha Josefowitz

My

dad

was

my hero.

He

would have been

91 years old

today

February 26.

He was child number 10

born

to August and Clara Berner

He was a goofy looking kid,

sickly

and

somewhat small

but

he

was

really

smart.

From

Stanford Medical School

he joined

the Navy

in 1942

(this was the post card he sent home

after

being sworn in)

He

was the "doc"

on a Naval Troop ship during WWII

After

being injured

when his

ship was

blown up

he

was

sent

to

Treasure Island

(across from San Francisco).

He met and married

my mom,

Betty.

He

was the

first

Plastic Surgeon

on the

SF peninsula.

He had

brilliant hands -

they were

large, warm,

talented

and safe

He was my hero

Pop

encouraged

and

helped me

through

the bad times

and

celebrated with me

through

the good

He thought

that

children

were

God's blessings

and to

be a parent

was the greatest

gift imaginable

He celebrated

his

grandchildren

(as they were my gifts)

and he

celebrated

my

happiness

in

marrying

my best friend,

John.

Pop

was a

renowned

surgeon

He

was kind-

a humanitarian

with a

heart of gold.

He

was

my hero.

Happy Birthday,

Pop!

In preparation for the Red Carpet

I

love

the latest

In Style

Magazine

It has

beauty

tricks

direct from

the

Red Carpet!

I

am

seriously

so excited for the Oscars

THIS SUNDAY!

and the Red Carpet!

Who is wearing what?

Who is with who?

the best hair,

the biggest bling

can't wait!

We don't

even

go to parties

because I like to inhale all the pagentry in silence

This year

in preparation for the

Academy Awards

I decided

to do something

drastic

something I have

never

ever

done before

(and it is so recommended in In Style)

I

got

a

facial

and it

was

pure heaven

I can

hardly say enough

about

Tiger Lily Salon

in SLO

It

is

towards the south end

of SLO

overlooking

the creek

the ambiance

is

edgy

bright

and exciting

I am

thinking

that I want

my

old

fifty- four year old skin

to glow

and

to sag less

and maybe

nix

a few

of

those

bad boy wrinkles

Is there a facial that can do that?

Evidently

there

is!

I was

escorted

into

this

soothing

green

room

warm

and fragrant

Micaela

came in a few minutes later

She studied

my skin

and

came up with

a

game plan

She talked to

me about the products

and

then

aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

the

facial

began

cleansing

exfoliating

soothing

warming

stinging

cooling

soothing

massaging my hands

and feet

...

heaven

aaahhhhhhhhh

a really lovely experience

Micaela

explained

the

products

to me

and

how

this one was good for the sags

and that one was good for wrinkles

and this one was so good

for smooth

glowing

skin

and

NOW

I do glow

my sags are less saggy

and

those bad boy wrinkles

aren't

so noticeable

anymore

Thanks,

Mic!

I am ready for the Red Carpet!

Strawberry for Valentine's Day

as

EmC

and

Kristyn

were preparing

s t r a w b e r r i e s

for

Valentine's Day

they came across

this

strange little guy

I

think

EmC

ate

it!