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?

Lunch in Cayucos

Cayucos

is

the

quintessential

California

beach

town

small...

charming,

but funky

...

one main street through town

a pier

surfers

a biker bar

and

Schooner's Wharf

Schooner's

is

on the

one main street through town

on the ocean side

so you

get

spectacular views

of the pier

and

the surfers

So,

after

a

crazy

busy

Cal Poly

move-in weekend

John

and

I

decided

to

go

get

Bloody Mary's

and

drum roll

...............................

FISH TACOS!

I

can

easily

count

Schooner's

among my

top

favorite

fish tacos

especially

when

the happy waiter asks

"salmon, ahi, snapper, albacore or shrimp tacos?"

"grilled or fried?"

come on!

what

awesome

choices?

After

B. Marys

and

fish tacos

we

cruised

the pier

Isn't

Cayucos

so cute?

It

is just

a

really

perfect

place

to spend a

couple

of

relaxing

hours

salt air

cool breezes

sea gulls

Fun beach town!

good

fish

tacos!

California Beach Town!

Oh,

Yeah!

The Wild Donkey Cafe

Years

ago,

way before

Petit Soleil

John and I

thought

to

move to

Oregon,

buy some land

with a

barn

and

turn it into

a

Bed and Breakfast

The loft

of the barn

would

be

our

home

( floor of the barn would house a large kitchen and dining tables)

and

surrounding the barn

would

be

little

barn-like cottages

...

we would

have

goats

and

chickens

and

a donkey

(and dogs and a cat)

...the goats for cheese,

the chickens for eggs

and

the donkey

because they are so darn cute

(can't live without dogs and a cat to keep all the critters at bay)

we woke up from

that

dream

(and

along

came

Petit Soleil)..

anyway,

Donkeys

are

not only so cute,

but

they

are strong,

hard working

long living

and have

quite a history

with

that

said,

I met

my

homie

Barbara

(as in SF Marathon Barbara)

for

lunch

at

THE WILD DONKEY CAFE

the delightful

restaurant

is NEW

...

c o L o r F u L

friendly

and

it has

beautiful

donkey

art

everywhere

fabulous

brick walls

and an

inviting

back patio

the

restaurant's

flavors

are

Greek

and

Mexican

...

yeah, interesting, I know!

and

the

menu

is

fun,

fresh

and

adventurous,

with

a great

beer and wine list

(and a little history of the donkey)

You know by now,

I am always on

the hunt

for the best

fish taco...

but

at

THE WILD DONKEY

no fish tacos

(sad but true)

but

the

waitress

offered us

Salmon Fajitas

with

rice, black beans

and corn tortillas!

ok, fish tacos!!

I went

with

a

Mythos

(Greek beer)

and

SO

enjoyed the "tacos"

the

house salsa

was

spicy hot

and

delish

Really yummy!

They have

summer-fresh

Greek Salad

and

gyros

souvlaki

fajitas with lamb or beef

"fish tacos"

dolmades

and

all sorts of

Mexican-Greek specialties!

After lunch in the Patio

and

back

inside,

we met the owner

and the artist

behind

all the

donkey

art

and

she

is

the collector

of

great old LPS

(which make such great decor)

I

can't wait

to

go back!

visit the website, too

The Wild Donkey

Broad Street

between

Higuera and Marsh!

Hold tight to a last bit o'summer

S.U.M.M.E.R

it came

and

it went

....

for some of you

across the

country

it was

rainy,

for some it

was

HOT.

Some peeps

felt the earth shake

and some peeps

are still

singing

"GoodNight Irene".

In

SLO

this summer

the

weather

has been mild

..the

tomatoes

are just

starting to turn

red

I

grabbed

a few

of those

tomatoes

a lemon

a couple very fresh peaches

a handful

of

basil leaves

a

ball

of wonderful

soft

mozzarella

a glug of really good olive oil

sea salt

and fresh ground black pepper

the

best

and

most delicious

salute

to

SUMMER

If you're going to San Francisco.....

San Francisco.

love it!

need it!

crossing off

another

"to do"

from

my

bucket list

run or walk across the Golden Gate Bridge

evidently

a few of

my

besties

had

the

same

"to do"

so

we

all

signed up

for the

San Francisco Half Marathon

and

the weekend

of

July 30

WE

WERE

THERE!

John and I

got to

our

hotel

and

marveled

at

the view

Bay Bridge & Treasure Island

and

the

regal

Ferry Building

in all its glory

Saturday

Farmer's Market

(see the umbrellas to the left)

glorious produce

from all

around the Bay Area

herbs

fragrant basil, carrots and leeks

onions, garlic, tomatoes

and chiles

ripe for

salsa

Summer sunflowers

and summer squashes

Eatwell Farm

Food for the Body and Soul

and

hundreds

of

piquillo peppers

LOVE THEM!

We hooked up

with our

first

Homies

and

said

"YES, Fish Tacos, please!!!"

Taylor's Refreshers

had

fresh

Mahi-Mahi tacos

OH, so so so good!!!!!!

perfect

for

pre-run dinner!!!

4:45am

wake up call

and we're ready

the

theme for

the

run

was

WORTH

THE

HURT

yup,

worth it!

Post run

celebration

at

Market Bar

with

my

besties

and

that

night

more

FABULOUS

fish

tacos

at

Tres

Perfect..

really

PERFECT

fish tacos!

TRES

one

of

my

all time

favorite

(authentic)

Mexican Restaurants

ever

complete

with

giggles

and laughs
with more besties!!!!

I

have

been

so

lucky

to be

crossing

so many

"to do's"

off

my bucket list

...

but

there are

always

M O R E

to

come

Paris Half Marathon

2015