Caribbean Eats!

I was flipping the channels the other day and I ran across a new 4 part series that is being aired on The Food Network -- Feasting on Waves -- and it caught my eye. Alton Brown, the amusingly nerdy but adventurous chef, is sailing across the Caribbean, in search of all the delicious local cuisine that the region has to offer. And the cool thing is, he is not just going to restaurants, but also to local dives, roadside stands, farms etc. to really learn about the local ingredients and flavors and get an idea of what food the locals enjoy on a daily basis. I wonder if they will delve into the intracacies of roasted/fried breadfruit, ackee, and guinep along the way?



Check for show information and schedule here.

Good Friends.....

So what was so great about my trip to the West was my being able to catch up with a lot of friends, some I hadn't seen in quite a while, some I finally met for the first time after hearing so much about them, and some I don't get to see nearly enough. It was great to see everybody!! In the end, it is your friendships and relationships that are what is most important.

Actin' silly!

At the wedding.....

Obama Girls!


Old classmates and their new addition!

Awww! So cute!!

Quite a wedding!

I just got back from a trip to that flashy city to the West to attend a wedding and visit some friends..... Seems like I have a lot of friends there, from all stages of my life now. There have been times when my mind has flirted with the idea of moving there, especially when I am feeling wistful and lonely but it is just not a good place for me to be careerwise etc so, I will just have to visit often! (And I seem to be averaging a visit a year these days....)

Anyway, the key reason for this trip was..... the wedding of one of my good friends from grad school. Suzy is this crazy smiley ball of energy who is so genuine and nice and fun to be around. I actually didn't meet her fiance until the weekend of the wedding but from what I had heard about him, they are the perfect pair.

How they met: Interestingly, Steve is the best friend of Suzy's ex-boyfriend's brother (I think I got that right....) Or the brother of her ex-boyfriend's best friend..... Well, one of those!

Where the wedding was located: It was held in this old art deco hotel that was renovated and is rented out for special events. It actually borders this infamous park in the middle of the city (it is even named in a popular song from the late 70's -- the park, that is.) These days it is infamous for not the most positive of things but it is really interesting to have these anachronistic interplay between the park and this hotel. Those staying at the host hotel took shuttles to and from the event which worked out really well since 1) there was not a lot of parking available and 2) we had been informed, jokingly by the bride, that there was an 8 drink minimum at the open bar!


The ceremony: So Suzy's mother is Japanese American and her father is Mexican American of Persian decent. Steve is Canadian. So how did all of this play out in the wedding ceremony? Well, the ceremony was held in a square courtyard in the middle of the building. When you first walked into the hotel, you were greeted by a large Asian -inspired flower arrangement of orchids, draped by paper origami cranes that Suzy's friends and family created for the couple. It is a Japanese tradition to create a 1000 of these cranes as a wedding gift by the folder, who is wishing a thousand years of happiness and prosperity upon the couple.


The ceremony was actually a Buddhist ceremony held under a gazebo by the family Buddhist minister in traditional dress. It included the a version of the Shinto San San-Kudo ceremony of three x three (9 is a lucky number in Shinto tradition) sips of sake from three flat cups, almost like dishes with small, medium and large size. Both the bride and groom sip from the cups and the ritual was also shared with both of their parents.


Attire: In a move that was probably less Canadian and more reflective of his personality, Steve and his groomsmen wore tuxedos and.... brand new black Converse low top tennis shoes! Suzy's bridesmaids wore brown or black strapless cocktail length dresses. Suzy herself, wore this beautiful strapless Oscar de la Rente dress will an a-line multi-layered tulle skirt, hand embroidered with beading and tulle flowers. It was really amazing as you can see....

The brand: Suzy is in marketing so, everything related to her wedding, from the Save the date card to the invitation to the program, menus, gazebo, and candles at the ceremony, to the spotlight shining down on the dance floor at the reception were all consistently branded with their fonts, monogram and logo.

The reception: After the ceremony, there was a cocktail reception with hors d'oeuvres in the room right off the courtyard where the wedding ceremony was held. Then the whole party moved to the the ballroom where the full reception was held. The ballroom was true art deco style and old black and white movies were being projected onto the wall above the stage at one end of the ballroom.
The tables were decorated with big centerpieces with large white ostrich plumes and the wedding party sat in the middle at a long table which was really nice because everyone else could see them.
The cutting of the cake happened at the top of the stage so everyone could easily see it as well.
The party!!!: After all the formalities and eating were complete, we all got down, drinking and dancing and having a great time.

As you can see, she doesn't get out much anymore! Two kids will do that to you!

A good time is being had by all!

Afterwards: The next morning, Suzy's parents had a brunch at their house, full of great comfort food to soak up any residual alcohol. It was a nice relaxing way to recuperate and get a chance to chat with folks before we all went our separate ways!

A little break.......

I'm off tomorrow to see some good friends and attend a wedding. Going to make a little vaca out of it! Should be fun! Talk to you when I get back!

Cloudy Coffee Town!

I got sent on my first business trip this past week to .... Cloudy Coffee town! (You can probably figure out where I am talking about....)


The flight there was not too bad, although it was delayed about an hour since they decided they needed to switch us to a different plane right after we started boarding. The more dramatic thing for me though was the temperature when we landed! It has been unseasonably warm here and apparently it has been unseasonably cold there so when I landed I was confronted with a temperature that was 50 degrees colder than where I left!!! A bit of a shock but I got out my jacket and rolled with it.

Most of the time I was in meetings while I was there. We did get out for a couple vendor sponsored dinners (gotta love that!) and had some great food but I didn't get out of the suburbs until my last afternoon.

My last afternoon I had a rental car and a few free hours before I would meet a grad school friend for dinner so I got the opportunity to go to the famous Pike Street Market! As I was strolling the market I couldn't help thinking how much fun it would be to do grocery shopping there..... The flower markets are so beautiful and the fresh fish, produce, pasta, nuts etc. are like a culinary dream.
These are about the biggest lobster tails and crab legs I have ever seen!

And of course, what is Cloudy Coffee Town without......salmon!

And of course, some one had to get their picture taken catching a fish....

Then I walked over to the original Starbucks, just to take a peak -- I actually don't drink coffee (shhh! Don't tell them!) and on the way I stopped that this bakery called The Confectional.
Now, I pride myself on my cheesecake. I even seriously considered opening a wholesale bakery specializing in cheesecake. So, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try some of the interesting flavor combinations that this little bakery offers.


I decided that I needed to taste 4 flavors so I tried Mexican Chocolate (chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and cayenne pepper -- Spicy!! Quite an unusual sensation), Quadruple Chocolate (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and....??? I don't remember!), Coconut Cherry Chocolate (surprisingly the yummiest of the 4) and Caramel (eh, too sweet in my opinion.) It was decadent to have all these different cheesecake tasters, especially for a cheesecake-lovin gal like myself.

Then, I went to meet up with my friend in International City ( or Square or something) at this Vietnamese restaurant called Tamarind Tree for dinner. It was yummy! We ordered this lemongrass beef platter that you make your own spring rolls from. They also had, oddly, some of the best mojitos there.

It was a nice end to end the trip!

Calling for advice/suggestions from my fellow bloggers

I am looking for help with two very different geographically-specific problems that friends of mine are having. I thought I would put them out to they blogging community to see if any of your can help and/or have suggestions....

First, I have a friend who's 8 year old son decided a few months ago that we wanted to have locks. So he has been growing out his hair for a few months and now they are ready to get his locks (palm-rolled) started. Does anyone out there have suggests for a good place in the Atlanta area (preferably in Cobb County) where his parents can take him to get his locks started and maintained? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Unfortunately, since I have always maintained my hair myself I am not a good resource. Hopefully, one of you will be!

Second, a friend of mine called me because a friend of hers is in a dilemma. She is scheduled to arrive in Paris tomorrow to start an exchange program for a quarter. Unfortunately, she and her roommate were scammed and have no place to stay! It seems that they had found a place through Craigslist, like a lot of their other classmates, and sent in a $2000 deposit in October but when her roommate arrived earlier this week, she discovered that the building where the apartment is supposed to be does not exist! So, they are out of a deposit and are scrambling for some place to stay through the end of March. Does anyone know of anyplace in Paris that does short term rentals or have any suggestions for where they might look? They both have places to stay for the next few days but need to find something more permanent.

Thanks in advance, my Blogger fam!

Brazilian hospitality!

I did want to mention that a number of the women we met on our trip to Brazil were really very nice to us. Maybe it was because we were friend with there friends but there were a number of acts of generosity during out trip that I was really impressed by.

First, the first day we were there we met Inez, who had come to our friend's apartment to meet all of us. She was friendly and vivacious and full of energy with a short blond haircut and a friendly personality that made you like her. I mentioned something about liking her earrings and she then told us about how she made them herself out of fish scales that she dried and then dyed different colors. Very cool, huh? Well then, she took them out of her ears and gave them to me! I ended up wearing them on my birthday because they coincedentally matched perfectly with my outfit! (See the previous post) Unfortunately, we did not get to spend more time with her after the 2nd day since her mother was sick in the hospital and she had to travel to another town to check on her.

Additionally, the birthday party we had was really supposed to celebrate the birthdays of all them folks on the trip who's birthdays were in October and November but it was actually held on my actual birthday. So, another friend of a friend, Angela and her daughter Joelle, went out and bought me a bouquet of roses and presented them to me at the party. It was very nice and touching!

Lastly, we met another woman who my friends knew at this "infamous" restaurant on Copacabana beach who claimed her profession as an "actress" although others said that she was primarily a prostitute. She would also mention to me later that she had a "wife" at home but that is a whole other story... She had also just told us a story about how she had been coming from the bank the dat before and had been mugged and they had stolen about $500 from her. At any rate, we were all there and just met her and they told her that it was my birthday. She then proceeded to reach in her purse and handed me a little gift! A pair of huge gold-colored hoop earrings. It was a very nice gesture, especially given that she had just been robbed of a significant amount of money just the day before!

That's one sweet Smokin Rasta Cat!

So I recall a few months ago reading a post by Afrobella on her blog about her love for flats. It was quite an empassioned and complete recommendation of a number of fashionable flat shoes. I myself am very comfortable in heels unless I am wearing flip flops on the beach or around the house.
But I did remember one particular pair of flats that she mentioned that I thought were really cute! So, I looked around for them online and couldn't find a pair anywhere in my size. It fact, it seemed as though they were discontinued/ So, I put it out of my mind.

Fast forward to my trip to LA in September. P and I were doing a little browsing at the Loehman's in Burbank and we were looking at the shoe section and there they were...... Sugar Shoes Smokin Rasta Cats, in exactly my size! So, of course, I had to buy them! And here they are....

I haven't actually worn them out but I think that they are so cute! I also found a pair of lavender Pumas in a style that I love (and have 3 other pairs in) in my size as well. It was like shoe nirvana!