In Love With the Lefties

So I’ve come to appreciate my left hand. I think I’ve always appreciated it and loved it, but even more so after Easter 2012. Because that’s when I took a nice looking left thumb and sliced off the tip using a mandolin – the kitchen gadget, not the instrument. It’ll be a long time before I ever attempt scalloped potatoes again, if ever.

But I digress. Injured thumb notwithstanding, I love being left-handed. There are so many righties in this world, and the left hand is just as good and gets none of the love. I mean, look at all of the connotations between “left“ and “right“: left behind, left out, leftover, two left feet (clumsy), left field (out there, confused) as compared to right (correct), right as rain (a-ok), right minded (not crazy), in the right (justified), and so many more. But why must it be that way?

Over the years, I’ve become accustomed to living in a right-handed world. It’s not easy but lefties persevere. We’ve had to do it since kindergarten – I mean, with three or more left-handed kids and only two pairs of left-handed scissors in art class, one must learn to adapt. And that’s just one example. I bet you righties out there have never stopped to think of all of the things a lefty has to deal with, our lot in life if you will. Some might think of these things as left-handed struggles, but nay I call them opportunities…or more appropriately from my perspective, annoyances. Such as…

Childhood Struggles: 3-Ring Binders, Spiral Notebooks, and High School/College Desks
Back to school should be the happiest time of the year. New school supplies, new wardrobe, first day of school jitters. It’s a time when the only thing you’re responsible for is yourself and going to class. Ah those were the days. Except if you were a lefty. Apparently the school supplies designers cursed the left-handed of the world when they came up with 3-ring binders and spiral bound notebooks. It isn’t enough that every word we wrote in pencil or ink ended up on the back of our hands. It isn’t enough that people gawk at how we hold our hands as we write. Did they ever think the blame could be placed on these evil instruments of documentation? And the desks. Seriously? The right-handers get arm rests? Puh-lease. Let them hold their arm up the entire class and build some muscle like the lefties. Oh and yes, I suppose I should mention that most classrooms did provide at least one left-hand configured desk. Thank you for accommodating the apparently handicapped. By putting ONE desk in the room. At the front. Where none of the cool kids sat. I suppose I’ll suffer through another academic year.

Social Struggles: Dinner Table Seating
The internal mind power that goes into a lefty choosing a seat at the dinner table might surprise you, but I can vouch for every lefty out there that we never choose our seat willy-nilly. We’re thinking of seat-choosing strategies the moment the host/hostess leads us from the waiting area. The one saving grace is if we know another lefty is with us, and then we can happily sit next to each other without another thought, but you can be sure we’ve both thought about it beforehand. Ah to be a righty and just sit wherever we please, but if we did the righty would surely look to the lefty with blame in their eyes the moment the elbows bump, as if it’s our fault and we’re the ones who are backwards.

Kitchen Struggles: Measuring Cups, Soup Ladles, and Can Openers
And what is it with the chefs and cooks of the world? How is it possible that almost every kitchen gadget is inherently designed for righties? Of course lefties can use them, but if we try with our left-hand we get the metric system on the measuring cup. Perhaps if the whole world used the metric system, it’d be okay, but I learned my measuring in cups and ounces. Recipes don’t use the metric system, why should I? And soup ladles. I suppose I can’t complain about this one too much since I never eat soup, but the little lip is not designed for a lefty’s use. The one time I picked up a ladle I was sadly disappointed. And can openers…forget about it. I never even attempted to use anything but my right hand.

I’m sure my fellow left-handers could easily share other examples of the struggles and pains we’ve had to endure. But I’m also sure that every one of them is proud to be a lefty. Wouldn’t change it for the world. Enjoys that little feeling that they are special…not like everyone else. I know I do. Our challenges have turned into advantages in some cases and given us the benefit of adaptability and ambidextrousness. Which means yes, I am passionate about being a lefty. And proud of it.

So if I hesitate sitting down at a restaurant, it’s because I’m scoping the best place to sit without being harassed. If I squint at a measuring cup, it’s because I’m doing the metric system-to-ounces math in my head, unsuccessfully. If you see me using something with my right hand, it’s because the world has forced it upon me my friends. But I carry on. As many others have carried on before me and will continue to long after I’m gone.

Am I Passion-less?

Have I become passionless? This is a question I’ve recently asked myself. I started this blog to detail all of my little passions, and there are many of them. But it’s been well over a year (and almost a half) of silence on the passion front. What does this mean? Am I tired of having passions? Am I stagnant? Have I lost my passion for all the little things that excite me or make me happy? I still have a list of passions yet to be written about, so it can’t be for lack of material. 

I suppose in some ways I needed a small break. Okay a big break. I became involved in other things that required my writing skills, be they good or bad. I was taking up a lot of my time with different extra-curricular activities. These have occupied my nights and weekends to a certain degree. And I’ve enjoyed every minute of that. It’s been a great way to use my skills in a different way, and I happen to like staying busy. 

So what’s different now? Well a very good friend of mine has recently started her own blog. She’s a wonderful writer I’ve worked with for the better part of nine years. She’s so fantastically creative, and she’s a great encourager. You can find her blog here. Well, as part of her blog, she has a day devoted to "Table Topics," and she invites others to guest blog and answer these conversation starters. It was beyond intriguing, and I – with some hesitation – dove, okay waded, right in. I have to say it’s been fun to write about these sometimes bizarre, sometimes challenging questions. I suppose my initial hesitation had more to do with "will I have time?" Work is busy, I’m busy, how can I sit around and add one more thing to my list? But it’s been a sort of release, and it did make me miss my own little passion-filled blog. 

Well, here I am. For better or worse. Writing about my passions again – or recent lack thereof these days. I guess I needed a little more encouragement, and I found it. I realize it’s been a sad, sad world without the exploration into one of my many little passions, so forgive me readers. I aim to do better and regale you with tales once again.

Cadbury Mini Eggs

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  And no, I’m not talking about Christmas.  I’m talking about Easter, and the arrival of one of the best Easter candies of all time – Cadbury Mini Eggs.  Now, don’t get these confused with Cadbury Cream Eggs.  It’s a whole different ballgame people.  My love of Cadbury probably started with the Cream Eggs when I was little, but over time the palette has matured, and it’s Mini Eggs all the way.

It’s gotten so obsessive that I’ve developed some type of weird psychosis I think.  For the longest time they were only available once a year (twice now if you count the Christmas version, but I don’t), so I would stockpile as many bags as people would give me and hoard them, so I could have them any time of year.  There was a problem with this scheme however.  I never ate them.  I had some subconscious fear that if I ate them, I would run out.  So better not to eat and save, then eat and have none.  Therein lies the problem. 

 

So I have happily stashed about three to five huge bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs that go uneaten the majority of the year.  Good thing candy stays good so long.  People have stopped gifting them to me, and I never buy them for myself either.  One of these days I really will run out, but I vow to happily open a bag to enjoy during this Easter season.  It’s a must!

And for all my fans out there – a Saucy Challenge Update.  I am happy to report that I didn’t just make up this Saucy Challenge and never commit.  I actually made two out of the ten sauces so far.  Go me!

First up I tried the Balsamic Cream Sauce over chicken and pasta.  I cut and caramelized onions for the first (or maybe second) time in my life, so I consider that an accomplishment.  I used balsamic vinegar, heavy cream (yum) and a chicken bullion cube…I mean, I didn’t even know that kind of thing still existed, and I have no idea what it did.  Verdict - delicious.

Onions are'a caramelizing.

Caramalized!

Adding the heavy cream and balsamic vinegar.

Chicken & Pasta with Balsamic Cream Sauce (sorry for all the yellow)

Second I tried the Cheddar Cheese Sauce.  Tasted delicious, but it never quite thickened up the way I think it was supposed to.  No matter, I ate it anyway with some Alexia’s Seasoned Waffle Fries.  When I reheat the rest, I’ll try mixing in some flour to get it a bit thicker.  Verdict - delicious but needs some fine-tuning.

Extra sharp cheddar grated and mixed with cornstarch.

The ingredients.

Adding the hot sauce and evaporated milk.

Whisking and melting the cheese

Looking cheesy!

I'll have some fries with that cheese sauce.

It's in the Sauce

Sauces make the world go ‘round, at least my world.  I pretty much use sauce to dress up everything I eat – french fries, chicken, sandwiches, pizza crusts, pasta, chips.  I think food is just better when you can dip it or mop it up in some delicious, creamy concoction.

I do have my favorites – alfredo for pasta, cheese for chips and crackers, ranch for pizza and sandwiches, but I got to thinking that there’s more to life than those three glorious sauces.  So I scoured the all-knowing Pinterest, and I found ten sauces that I simply must try.  And not just “try“ in the sense of taste and see if I like it, but “try“ as in make them, from scratch.  All in the hopes of expanding the palette and learning something new in the kitchen.

I’ve decided to call this little foray the Saucy Challenge, and I shall be undertaking it over the next few months.  As a quick little disclaimer before I unveil this saucy heaven, most of you know (and some may not) that I am not a fan of red sauces.  Don’t expect any on the list, cause it ain’t happening.

Lynda’s Saucy Challenge

Apple Cider Sauce

Balsamic Cream Sauce

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Cheese Sauce

Chipotle-Pomegrante BBQ Sauce

Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Hot Fudge Sauce

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

Original Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

Salted Caramel Sauce

So there you have it.  I tried to do a nice mix of sweet and savory, cheese-based and BBQ, dessert and appetizer.  I kind of like my list, and I can’t wait to try them all.  I’ll post updates as I cross the sauces off the list.  Until then, may you make your world a little bit better with sauce.  Happy saucing everyone!

First Blog of 2012

2012.  A New Year.  It brings new expectations and new hopes for changing for the better.  Last year I made my resolutions, and for the most part I’ve stuck with them to this day.  I haven’t regretted one single minute.  My life feels fuller, it feels more blessed, and I truly recognize how lucky I am.  Leave it to the year you turn 30 to make you re-examine yourself and your life.

This year I want to continue to participate, continue to challenge myself and continue to try and be someone other people want to be around, but those technically weren't my resolutions.

In all honestly I only made one resolution this year, and I broke it on the second day, so it doesn’t say much about the resolution or my commitment level.  Coke is just too good, and I love my mid-day treat with lunch.  I need to go back to convincing myself that water tastes just as yummy.  I have a hard time with that.

And I apologize for the lack of blogging, as I’m sure everyone has been anticipating some excellent little passions.   Stay tuned for some very passionate posts (for me at least) on sauces, being left-handed, Cadbury Mini Eggs and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  Who wouldn’t be passionate about those things?  I guess if you love your food dry, are right-handed, hate the Easter holiday and think orange powdered cheese gives you cancer, then you might not, but let’s not dwell on your imperfections (I kid, I kid).

To sum up, this year will be great – I can feel it in my 30-something year old bones, and I go forth with the knowledge that it will be lucky, because I had my black-eyed peas on the 1st.  Yay for 2012!

Cinnamon

I love cinnamon, and pretty much in all its varieties.  Many people think of cinnamon as a holiday thing, but it pretty much stays en vogue all year ‘round in my house.  So in honor of my love of cinnamon and the time of year, I’ve highted some of my very favorite things.

Scents

Home Sweet Home by Yankee Candle
Pretty much the best cinnamon candle out there.

Cinnamon Brooms
Ahh that holiday classic you smell as soon as you enter your neighborhood Publix come October.  I love these things.  Of course I never buy one though.   I have a four-legged feline that would probably try and eat it.  Scratch that, would eat it.

Flavors

Crest Pro-Health Clean Cinnamon
Fewer and fewer establishments are carrying this flavor of Crest toothpaste, but I still manage to find it every once in awhile, and boy, do I stock up.  I don’t want minty fresh breath people, I want cinnamon-y fresh breath if you please!

Cinnamon Disks by Brach’s
Oh yes, from the Brach’s candy dispenser in your neighborhood Publix.  My grandparents always had a little candy jar on their bureau when I was growing up, and it was filled with cinnamon disks and butterscotch candies.  Needless to say, I always went for the cinnamon disks.

Trident Cinnamon Gum

This little gem went missing from shelves a few years back, and it was impossible to find, so you had to settle for the Trident Cinnamon Whitening gum instead.  To me, it’s just not the same.  I’m thinking there was a huge outcry of disappointment and despair over its disappearance, so they brought it back.  I’m not a huge gum person in general, but you can believe I have several packs stored just in case.

Stuffing

Such an appropriate time of year for this blog post.  I’m passionate about stuffing.  As in the food.  That you eat with your Thanksgiving turkey.  I love it.  A lot.

I hope my numerous periods throughout that first paragraph really helped you understand the gravity of the situation.  If the only thing served at Thanksgiving was the stuffing, that would be A-OK with me.  

Even though my love for stuffing is very dear, I probably only eat it at big family dinners on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I’m not a huge fan of the box stuff – even though Stovetop makes it so accessible anytime of year.  It’s just not the same.  I love the good stuff, the stuff your grandma makes from a long held family recipe (or one she made up on the fly).  My grandma’s recipe (that she got from my grandfather’s grandmother) uses cuban bread, and I think it makes all the difference.  So in honor of my grandma’s amazing stuffing, below is her recipe.  Try it out.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Grandma Ruth’s Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 pan cornbread (crumbled)

10 inches Cuban bread (broken into small pieces)

20 saltine crackers (crumbed – can use Ritz crackers)

1 cup cornflakes (crushed) – optional

4 cups of chicken broth

1/2 stick butter (melted)

1 1/2 cup onions (chopped)

1 cup celery (chopped)

2 tbsp parsley (chopped) – optional

2 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Sauté onions and celery in melted butter. Combine rest of the above and mix with chicken broth. Stuff bird or put into greased baking dishes and bake at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes.

Simon & Garfunkel

Sometimes you just need a little Simon & Garfunkel in your life, right?  Right!  I mean, who doesn’t love the sweet sounds of the 60s to either brighten or soften your mood?

Although I’m a child of the 80’s and 90’s, the car rides with my mom growing up were always accompanied by great music from all eras.  Mainly the 60’s and 70’s, since that’s when she grew up.  She tried to instill a love of everything and not just what was popular.  I would say to this day I like pretty much everything.  I may listen to certain genres more than others, but if an oldie comes on the radio, I’m down to jam.

One of my faves from the past is Simon & Garfunkel.  I mean, what’s not to love?  They had awesome music, great classics to this day, and a unique sound all their own.  One of my fave songs is Cecilia because that’s my mom’s name – but she’s not a huge fan of the tune.  It may have something to do with the fact that the Cecilia in the song is kind of a slut.  I mean, she breaks a lot of hearts. 

My all-time favorite song though is A Hazy Shade of Winter.  I don’t know what it is about that song, but I just love it.  It’s so catchy, has a great beat, and when I need a dance break in the middle of the day at work – I do a little Simon & Garfunkel blasting.   I usually make sure a coworker or two is around to join in.  I like to call it my Simon & Garfunkel break, and I know DY and KK Reno have joined me a time or two.

So while this blog wasn’t very ground-breaking or all that insightful, I just wanted to share my passion of a well-known duo  like Simon & Garfunkel.  Maybe if I blast it now, I’ll get inspired to do some much-needed filing.  Or maybe not.  Oh well.

Cheese & Queso, Queso & Cheese

I know some of you are thinking, really, it’s taken her this long to write a blog about her most favorite food on the planet?  I know, I know.  I’ve really fallen down on the job, and for that I apologize.  So I’m here to rectify the situation.  Although, I should just go ahead and rename the blog right now, because this isn’t a “little“ passion.  It’s a huge one.  I love cheese.  A lot.  A really, really, really lot.

So cheese.  Delicious, delicious cheese.  I pretty much love all varieties.  There’s nothing better on a Friday night than settling into my big, comfy couch with a movie, a plate of cheese and a big (big) ‘ol glass of cold Chardonnay.  Ah yes.  Definitely the ideal Friday night of this single gal.  A Friday night of champions. 

Lately, my go-to cheeses have been the Dubliner Irish Cheddar and the Publix Deli Asiago wedge.  I slice myself off a few pieces (okay a lot of pieces), and then I drizzle with the greatest invention known to the modern-day man – Savannah Bee Company’s Cheese Honey.  Yes, you heard right.  Cheese honey.  It is sooo good. 

I really do think anything and everything is better with cheese.  Bleu on salad or plain, yum. Parmesan on pasta, delicioso.  Swiss, american and provolone on a sandwich, the more the merrier.  Gorgonzola and brie for special occasions, divine. 

So sums up my love of cheese in its pure form, but what about artificial cheddar flavoring you ask?  Please, I don’t discriminate.  Cheese-flavored whatever ranks high in my book as well.  Cheese puffs, cheddar pretzels, florescent orange nacho cheese, and if you recall, Cape Code White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn.  My love isn’t limited to the original form. 

But if I had to think long and hard about what form of cheese I like the best – it would have to be queso.  I pretty much could live off of chips and queso.  Three square meals a day – breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It wouldn’t matter to me.  Sometimes decisions on where to eat will revolve around whether or not the place has queso on the menu – it’s gotten that bad.  I keep a stash of it at home in the refrigerator.  Right now I’m into Gordo’s Cheese Dip Mild.  It does the job, so on those nights when I’m just not motivated to cook myself anything substantial, you can bet it will be a chips and queso kind of night.

And so we come full circle.  The moral of this compelling story...Every situation in life is better with a little cheese.

Cape Cod White Cheddar Popcorn

There are two kinds of people in this world, people who love popcorn, and people who don’t.  If you were to ask me in conversation, “Do you love popcorn?“  I’d probably say not really.  I don’t crave it – I don’t make it – I don’t even get it when I go to the movies, except on rare occasions.  And kettle corn?  No thanks.  Microwaveable?  I’ll pass.  It’s just not all that important to me. 

BUT, you put a bag of Cape Cod White Cheddar popcorn in front of me, and I devour it like there’s no tomorrow.  I can easily eat an entire bag in one sitting, but I usually try and minimize it to just half a bag.  I eat it for lunch, I eat it for dinner, hell, I’ll even eat it for breakfast.

Now I’ve tried other brands of white cheddar popcorn, and they just don’t stack up in my opinion.  They may be decent, and I guess if I had to eat them, I would, but nothing compares to Cape Cod.  It’s so delicious, and I’d definitely say I’m a bit obsessive about it.  Seriously, everyone should give it a try.

So in my quest to eat every bag ever produced, I’m always on the hunt for it.  The scarcity of the product probably drives my ever-increasing desire.  I wish more Publix‘ carried it, but only a few do.  And I know I can special order it through Customer Service, but a special shout out to my mom for keeping my supply of this delicious delicacy in stock in my pantry.  She goes above and beyond in bringing me a bag or two every time she sees me.  Without her, I’d probably be going through withdrawals.  So thanks mom for keeping my obsession alive…and stop trying to keep a bag for yourself now and then.  Your Publix carries it every day of the week.

The moral of this little diddy is this – if we’re just talking popcorn, eh, I can take it or leave it.  But if we’re talking Cape Cod White Cheddar popcorn, well then, that’s a much different story.  Why didn’t you say so?  Of course I’d like a handful or two or three, or the whole bag.  I mean, we wouldn’t want it to go to waste, would we?  In fact…there’s a bag in my pantry calling my name right now.  Cape Cod deliciousness here I come!

Happy to be here...

A lot of my friends have become self-reflective over the past week, and its understandable why.  So I wanted to take this opportunity to remind myself of what I'm most grateful for - beautiful locations I'm still able to visit, amazing friends and family, and my mom, dressed like the ultimate tourist.  Love to you all!

France - Oh la la

Since my last post was about travel planning, I figured it was only natural to talk about one of my favorite places to travel to – France!  For whatever reason, France has always fascinated me.  In school I began taking Spanish as every good Floridian should, but I quickly realized I wanted to do something different – so I signed up for French.  Three years in high school, a minor in it in college, and I’m still nowhere near fluent., but I can get around. (J’ai etudié il y a sept ans, mais je ne le practique pas tous les jours.)

I was lucky enough to go to France twice in high school with my French class.  It was my first time overseas, and it was of course magical.  All these sites and amazing monuments just had in me in awe, and that was all it took.  I was hooked on traveling around the world and especially hooked on France.  Overall, I’ve visited the country five times over the last 14 years, and I’ve traveled there in all sorts of ways – class trips, studying abroad and with family and friends. 

I‘ve visited Paris, the French Riviera and the beaches of Normandy, but I’ve hardly scratched the surface of everything there is to see in that beautiful country.  On my next trip to France (because there will be a next trip), I want to do a wine tour – visit the Champagne region, the Burgundy region and all the other regions where they do wine the best.  That would be a dream trip.  Now to make that happen!

But back to the City of Light – my favorite European city I’ve visited to date.  It just happens to be the home of my all-time favorite monument – the Eiffel Tower.  Seeing the Eiffel Tower in person is probably what started my love of France.  Anyone who’s been to my house can immediately see how passionate I am about it – since everything in my apartment decoration-wise probably has an Eiffel Tower on it.  It’s just beautiful.

When you get past the gypsies, the pickpockets and the graffiti, Paris is a beautiful city.  Strolling along in the Latin Quarter or near the Notre Dame Cathedral, you can see the romantic Paris that everyone pictures in their mind.  The trick is to find someplace off the beaten path where there aren’t a lot of tourists.  My old buddy Rick Steves helps out in this area quite a bit – bring his book with you!

By now, I consider myself a regular ol‘ tour guide for this city, so if anyone is planning a trip, please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or need advice.  I think I’ve pretty much done everything there – well almost everything.  And my number one tip or piece of advice for anyone traveling there – learn a little bit of French and don’t be afraid to use it.

My second piece of advice - go to Notre Dame and make sure you stand on the “heart of Paris“ – it’s a small medallion right in front of the church that is the exact center of the city.  They say if you stand on it, then one day you’ll return.  Every trip I’ve done it, and I’ve always gone back.

On that note – adieu, a bientôt!

Travel Planning

I love the idea of going on trips.  I love the countless hours spent researching places to go, things to do, and imagining the experience of being there.  I love travel planning.  I’m sure a lot of people hate that kind of thing and cannot be bothered to do it, but seriously is there anything better to a self-professed travel lover?

I get the itch to travel probably every few months.  Sometimes it’s a big trip, others it’s a small trip, but overall it doesn’t matter to me.  I’ll go anywhere.  I think just the idea of going someplace new excites the hell out of me, and I can’t wait to delve into all the little details. 

Right now I’m planning my 30th birthday trip.  All my best girlfriends decided for our 30th’s we would go on a fun trip.  My bestie Jen did a cruise to the Caribbean and Central America (super fun), my friend MaeLee did a trip to Vegas (also fun, but bad timing for me after a 3-day overnight shoot), so now it’s my turn.  I was playing around with two ideas – a fun-in-the-sun trip to St. Thomas, USVI, or a wine country trip in Napa or Sonoma.  I mean we all know that I love my wine, but I have family history in St. Thomas, so that draws me as well.  The decision ended up being an easy one – my mom refuses to go to wine country, so St. Thomas it is.

St. Thomas, USVI

The worst thing about travel planning in my opinion is booking a flight.  I hate never knowing if I’m getting the absolute best price.  If I think a price is too high, I never know if I should wait for it to go back down (will it?) or go ahead and book it before it goes up in price even more.  Ugh the decisions.  It’s what I’m struggling with now the most for my St. Thomas trip.  I feel the price is ridiculously high, but the predictor on BingTravel is telling me to wait because it’ll go back down.  I’m putting my faith and trust in you BingTravel – don’t let me down!  I’m sure every travel planner goes through this same nightmare.  Why can’t they standardize airline fares and make it easy for everyone?  It’s such a racket.

Once the flight is booked, I’m much more at ease.  Hotels, activities, itineraries – all of that is so much easier to figure out and get accomplished.  You can always find a hotel in whatever price range you need, and once you know what you want to do when there, itineraries are a cinch (omg yes I said cinch).

Magen's Bay

In St. Thomas there’s no shortage of things to do.  Explore the island, go to world-famous Magen’s Bay, hang out in what I hope is a luxury villa overlooking the sea with our own private pool (a girl can dream right?), and taking a side trip over to St. John for the day.  Endless ideas to flesh out and plan.  As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not a spontaneous fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl, but I’m also not particularly anal about schedules.  I will plan the things I want to do and they happen when they happen – as long as I’ve thought it out ahead of time about how to go about doing it, we’re set.

So wish me luck as I plan my latest and greatest trip.  After two other amazing 30th birthday trips, I’m hoping mine will be just as good. 

And after St. Thomas, where will I plan a trip to next?  Let’s consult my list of top places to visit (in no particular order):

-       Norway/Sweden

-       Japan (well let’s wait a few years on this one)

-       Argentina/Chile

-       Alaska

-       Austrailia/New Zealand

Norway Fjords

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

Patagonia - Argentina/Chile

Alaska

Sydney, Australia

New Zealand

Let the travel planning dreaming begin!  And happy travel planning to everyone else out there!

British Television

Mr. Darcy

So I love the Brits…and not just because of their dreamy accents.  And I like it all – not just period pieces with the likes of Mr. Darcy (although very dreamy). The main way I get my British television is from PBS‘ Masterpiece Theater.  Masterpiece Classic in the Winter and Spring, and Masterpiece Mystery in the Summer and Fall.

I grew up on PBS.  My parents never invested in cable or satellite television, so there was a limit to the number of channels we got, and invariably the TV was almost always turned to PBS.  “This Old House,“ “New Yankee Workshop,“ “Victory Garden,“ “Cooking with Julia,“ etc, etc, etc., and of course Masterpiece are all shows that I grew up watching.  I never really appreciated any of it until the last four or five years or so, and now that I do, I can’t get enough of it.

Masterpiece Classic is always some type of period piece, like remakes of Jane Austen or Charles Dickens classics.  They weave in some more contemporary time periods as well, like this year’s Downton Abbey, which was set during the early 20th century.  The stories are all so amazing, and the cast of actors and actresses are recognizable from all sorts of British shows.  It’s like a 6 Degrees of Separation of British Television – do you recognize so and so from such and such?

Inspector Lewis

Masterpice Mystery is my all-time favorite.  I can remember the theme “song“ from when I was very little, and it always fascinated me with the girl wailing on top of the roof of an old manor house.  The titles for mystery range from Ms. Marple and Poirot to Inspector Lewis, Wallander and the new Sherlock.  Inspector Lewis is an offshoot of the Inspector Morse series (which my mom and I are rewatching right now).  Inspector Lewis‘ Detective Sargeant Hathaway is very dreamy too.  Tall, blonde, genius, a little nerdy – kind of like Steve Jerve the weatherman (who I also have a slight crush on).   The Inspector series are typically murder mysteries set in Oxford, England, and with that kind of education, they all are pretty smart.

Sherlock

Wallander

Now all that’s on PBS of course, and there’s obviously the BBC America channel.  I’ve got quite a few titles in my Netflix queue – MI 5 and the BBC version of Being Human just to name a few. I’m just starting to get into all the shows there, so I’ll keep you posted on what I end up loving.

There’s just something about British television that makes it feel so smart.  The stories are gripping, and it’s easy to become slightly obssesed (like myself).  I’m always looking forward to the next episode or the next story to debut, so I can get swept away in all the classics and mysteries that the Brits are so good at executing.