Gotta love this store

Are there other people out there that have converted to only going to Whole Foods for all their groceries? Now, I know what your thinking. Yeah, it would be nice to go there,but it is so expensive. Some even refer to whole foods as "Whole Pay Check." Unfairly I think, if you really compare the bigger chains out there you would really be surprised. Now that is not to say that you could really run up your food bill there, since they have some pretty wonderful items that you can't find just anywhere. The trick I think is to stick with their brands, which are wonderful by the way, and try not to by very many luxury items. In return you will have a very pleasant experience grocery shopping. I have been shopping at Whole Foods exclusively since I moved back from France. That has been four years now. When and if I ever get caught going to Safeway, it is sure eye opening. Harsh lighting and the awful uniforms the poor checkers must wear, are two of the many things I notice when I walk into the other supermarkets. The checkers look exhausted most of the time, probably from repeating the same greetings over and over. The other thing that is in your face different is, the packaging of the food items. Very eye catching and able to lure in the average shopper into buying packaged over processed food that they shouldn't be buying.
I was in Whole foods the other day and was commenting to my daughter how they didn't have a certain mustard that I wanted, and this lady chimed in by saying in a mean tone, that it probably isn't organic. Then she proceeded to say, that she feels like she always has to go to a "real" store when she leaves Whole Foods. Kind of makes me sad for the average Joe that doesn't know how to buy good food.
The other wonderful thing about Whole Foods is that you rarely have to read the labels on the packaged stuff, because they just don't sell garbage with bad ingredients in them. The quality of the produce is always farmers market tasty as well. Are you sold yet? If you don't have this wonderful store near you, do shop the farmers markets,and for god sakes don't by junk! Fuel yourself with fantastic food. You only have one body and you should feed it the best you can afford.
No, I don't work for Whole Foods by the way :) I just wanted to give this place some much deserved credit for consistently having great food and wonderful employees.

I miss Paris

Today is one of those I miss Paris days. We lived there for two years (2002-2004) and had the best experience. There are days when I think about my daily routine there and get a bit misty,or I just can't believe sometimes I was ever fortunate to have the chance to live there.
We read all the books to get us prepared to move and to also experience some culture shock,etc...and then we were packed up and shipped over there. We put everything in storage and only shipped a few essentials,mainly because we were promised a company house. Upon arriving we found this not to be true, and had to stay in an apartment in Paris for two months while we looked for housing near my husbands job. The above picture is of the apartment we were lucky enough to live in for those two months. I felt like I was living in a museum at times. This apartment is in the 16th arrondissement. For those of you who know the districts in Paris,this is the most exclusive neighborhood in Paris. To this day I do not know how we were so lucky. We eventually found a new home in the suburbs, in a village called Garches. This was the location of my husbands job and my oldest daughters high school,so we were fortunate that everything was within walking distance. My youngest daughter ended up going to an international school in Paris,in yet another very exclusive neighborhood. The school she attended was filled with students from all over the world with very interesting backgrounds. At one time Demi Moore had her daughters attend this school while filming a movie in France. There were children of diplomats and royalty there as well. My daughter made many wonderful friends and learned a lot.
This post could get way too long as I go down memory lane, but I thought through out my blog I may draw some reference from my life there,so a little back story was in order. Today I remember how the weather in France was at this time of year,seasonal, as oppose to California weather,where it seems like we are almost done with winter here.
I loved how France had all distinct seasons and I really miss that. As the sun shines here today,I see that it is raining in Paris,and I'm sure has it's typical gray sky. Most people,including Parisiens, would think I'm crazy for liking this weather,but I think that you really have to have those gray days to really embrace and appreciate the beautiful days that are to come.

Happy Friday

I thought I'd share this wonderful recipe with everyone. If it's raining or just plain bad weather,this bundt cake is your ticket to happiness!! I'm just starting to learn about adding links and such,so I will just say that this recipe can be found on:www.epicurious.com under "Mexican chocolate cake." I am always looking for a great chocolate cake recipe and this one has it all. It is moist,dark,and extremely tasty. The glaze is so good, that if you have leftovers,you can easily share it with the family as a side treat. The recipe calls for pecans in the glaze, I used unsalted almonds and it was so good that way. If you use almonds,make sure they are unsalted since the glaze calls for a bit of salt. This might sound a bit odd,but trust me it is wonderful. Sorry the actual picture of the cake is a bit fuzzy. I made this a couple of weeks ago and I have been passing it along to all my friends that like to bake. Also,use the highest quality of chocolate and you just can't go wrong. Happy baking and happy Friday.

Meet Lucie bird

Why do pictures of parakeets look nerdy?? I guess because they are the clowns of the bird world and it shows through in photographs. Anyway, this is our little pet bird Lucie. She has a few tricks up her wing,like copying the tone of the telephone dial when you are making a call,and she says "baby bird." I keep trying to teach her how to say other words,but I hear female birds don't talk as much. She is a cutie though and brings joy and song to the house.
I did have another parakeet that was a male by the name of "Frankie." Now Frankie was a very special little guy and had quite the vocabulary. He said over 50 words and many sentences. He loved to roam the house and play with my daughters when they were younger. He mimicked many sounds and came up with many on his own that had us in stitches laughing. When we moved to France,in 2002, he came with us. He learned how to say Bonjour,but that was the extent of his French. Many people wondered why we brought him all the way to France and back,but if you spent time around this little guy you would understand why. Bringing him to France was a piece of cake,but not bringing him back to the States! It cost me about $400.00. I know you are thinking we are nuts,but truly if you knew this little bird,you would understand. People were always asking about him because they could not believe this little bird had such a big personality. I could go on and on about him, because he really was something. I just thought I would give parakeets their day in the sun and dedicate this post to Lucie and Frankie :)

San Francisco days,San Francisco nights

Did everyone have a fun president's weekend? We spent it mostly in the city. Saturday we met my oldest daughter and her husband,who live in the city, at the MOMA S.F. and checked out some newer photography exhibits. I really love the cozy atmosphere of that museum. We are members to all the museums in S.F. and try to make at least two or more trips per month to see what is new. I'm looking forward to several up and coming shows at the MOMA and at the De Young.
After the museum we went to North Beach and had some pizza, and the most amazing thing happened while we were there. We found a parking spot one block from the restaurant. For those of you who have tried to park in the North Beach area of San Francisco,you will understand my joy.
Sunday we geared up for going back into the city late at night to see the U23D concert movie at the IMAX theater. The only show time was 11:15p.m! It was a lot of fun. If you like U2, then you will have a blast. We didn't get home until 2:30 am., because of the Bay bridge having some detour issues. All in all a very fun weekend.
Hope everyone had some kind of fun with the family or just relaxing.

Newest project

This is the newest embroidery project that I'm working on. hopefully I will be done with it in time for summer. This pattern comes from last spring edition of Marie Claire Idees,my favorite magazine of all time. I got so spoiled when living in France and having quicker access to this magazine, along with other wonderful ones that they have. Now I have to wait a bit longer for them at the local Borders. Has anyone out there seen the other French magazine called just "Idees"? This one actually has cool pull out patterns to the correct scale and also several other versions in knitting and sewing patterns. I'm taking one of my older ones to the magazine buyers at Borders to see if they can stock it.
My friend is having a baby girl in a few weeks and I will be working on baby related items soon. I love making children's clothing and baby layettes, so I'm really looking forward in making some adorable things for her soon. Too many projects in the works, but at least there is always something to do.

Happy Valentines Day

I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful Valentine's day! I have always loved the holiday for it's original origins. Even though there were times I did not have a Valentine, I still loved the day and all the wonderful sentiments behind it. When my girls were small, my husband and I would get them a small token gift for the day and a card. There were many times when we could not go out as a couple, so we would make a nice dinner for the whole family and set the table decoratively. Tonight will be one of those nights. There will be just the three of us,my soon to be 18 year old daughter and my husband. I'm not sure what is on the menu, but I'm sure I will figure it out. I know that there will be a little sweet treat at the end though!
Happy Valentines Day

Some of my work

Thought I'd post some pictures of my most recent work. Kind of legitimize my blog a bit :) Top picture was done with DMC variegated perle, and the second one was a combination of applique and regular embroidery floss. Currently I'm working on a table runner that I will show in progress, as soon as I get the pictures down loaded.
I have been doing embroidery now for about ten years, and truly love the art form. I tend to stay away from cross stitch, as it is a bit to counted and not as free form. When living in France a few years ago, I almost gave cross stitch a chance. Their patterns are so beautiful and not cutesy like they tend to be here in the U.S. Most of the patterns I do work with are French,but I will in the very near future start my own patterns.
Stay tuned for more photos of my work.

Starting a new blog is kinda hard

This blog will be mostly about my adventures in cooking, sewing ,embroidery and life in general from the point of view of a soon to be empty nester! Seems like there are a lot of blogs out there in craft land that are so wonderful,but tend to lean toward the younger stay at home moms. I thought I'd try my hand at this whole blog thing and see where it takes me.