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Jardin D'eteOur garden is producing some incredible food right now. Each night we harvest lettuce for our salads and watch many of our other veggies grow. This year we anticipate lots of:
Tomatoes
Zuccini
Lettuce
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Leeks
Radish
If all goes well, we'll get a second plot for a raspberry patch. Jam season is nearly here and we've been watching the berry bushes for weeks. It should be a good year for jam. Smiles for SaleA few months ago I flew to Los Angeles to work with commerical and celebrity photographer, Mark Robert Halper and a crew of two very talented make up artists and 20 non-professional models. Our objective was to capture images of healthy and vibrant people with beautiful, natural smiles. We did just that. What I like about our work most is that the models we worked with were not necessarily the "prefect-looking" people that most people think of as models. Instead, most of our participants are aspiring actors and other creative people who were just happy to have their pictures taken. I think they look great and create a very relatable marketing message that having a healthy smile is a valuable asset that really does reflect the joy and happiness one feels. CRAVE ink!CRAVEshow! happens this Saturday and Sunday. It's Seattle's Premier Indulgence and Style Event, designed for smart, urban-minded women. Working to get the word out about this event and being part of the CRAVE team has been an invigorating, awe-inspriing and empowering experience for me and Market Well. To all of my girlfriends reading, I do hope you know that you're invited to CRAVEshow! And I really hope you show up.
Below is a quick link to our Seattle Times feature that came out today. Watch your Daily Candy tomorrow and KOMO TV's 'Northwest Afternoon' on Friday for even more coverage.
Buy tickets here: www.craveshow.com
If you're a friend of mine in the media, call me and I'll hook you up with VIP passes. Bloggers count as media!
Kelly's QuizINSTRUCTIONS: Select five people to tag; those people must then go forth and copy on their own blogs:
Okay, I don't even know 5 people with blogs anymore. What were you doing 10 years ago? What were you doing 1 year ago? Five snacks you enjoy:
Five songs that you know all the lyrics to:
Five things you would do if you were a multi-millionaire:
Five bad habits:
Five things you like doing:
Five things you would never wear again:
Five favorite toys: I'm not exactly an "early adopter".
Five favorite toys I had as a kid:
Price is Right Count DownIt all started six years ago, when my friend Boyd bet my friend Ross he couldn’t get tickets to The Price Is Right. After three month of waiting, Ross proved Boyd wrong and delivered six tickets to the show. In March 2001 our group of friends flew to Burbank from all corners of the country.
To get on the show we had to be in line by 3am. We were the last group though the door. No one from our group made it to the front.
Since CBS announced Bob Barker’s retirement this past fall, the heat has been on. We played CBS’ little five year waiting game. (PIR audience member names are kept for five years and if you return before your five years is up, you are disqualified and cannot win a Showcase.) Now it’s on and this time we have ten precious seats to the most watch game show in television history. I can hear it now, "Nicole Francois - COME ON DOWN!!!" AustraliaLight in Australia is different than anywhere else I've ever been. It's white, bright and not so flattering, but it is special in a very fresh way.
Laurent and I traveled from Seattle to Seoul, Seoul to Sydney and Sydney to Wagga Wagga in Eastern Australia this past fall for our 3 week vacation. We had a 24-hour layover in Seoul so we went sightseeing. I can't say that Seoul will be a destination to see again, but the Korean culture is definitely interesting.
Upon arriving in Australia, we spent time with Vincent’s (Laurent's brother) family in a small city named Wagga Wagga, population 40,000 and close to absolutely nothing. We then traveled to Merambula on the Saphire Coast with Vincent and family. Driving from Wagga Wagga to Merambula was desolate. I did not realize how sparse this country is before we left, but upon reflection it makes sense.
Australia's population is 20 million; it's close in size to the continental US. The government is encouraging couples to breed asking them to have one child for each partner and a third for you country. Plentiful tax credits or incentives are given to couples who deliver for the country. The Australian cultural attitude is rather different. I liken it to a British Cowboy - yeah, a weird combo - I know.
Our final stop was 5 days in Sydney. We enjoyed the city very much. I absolutely love the Botanical Gardens that border the Harbour and found the aquarium impressive; a definite must visit for anyone. Great food is expensive in Sydney, but cheap food is British - so I advise anyone with taste buds to spend for the good stuff.
Here's my take on Australian cities visited:
Wagga Wagga - Old west turned upside-down.
Merambula (Sapphire Coast) - Beautiful with incredible fish and wildlife. Clear blue water and wonderful breezes.
Sydney - Lovely city, similar to Vancouver BC but with San Diego's climate.
We flew to and from Australia on Korean Air in Business Class. It was wonderful. We had sleeper seats on a new Boeing 777, incredible service and great meals onboard. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied on an Alaska Air commuter plane again.
Jean-Pierre ExpliqueJean-Pierre, Laurent's father is visiting us from Dijon. He's staying in our living room for 4-weeks. Our house is 750 square feet in size with one bathroom. I work from home. Despite our close proximity and frequent language barriers we're getting along quite well.
Here's the Jean-Pierre stat card:
63 year-old
About 5' 6"
78 kilos - and a bit upset about it
Grumpy yet charming
Likes to pick fruits and make jam
Likes to make a new sauce daily
Believes in eating 3-square meals per day -says it is okay to snack on fruit and have a pastry daily at 4pm with coffee because his mom taught him that
Loves canned fish
Believes that goat cheese with bread and a bowl of coco is a healthy meal
Smokes small cigars
Forces Miel out of the house daily
Thinks kids today are fat and lazy (I think Laurent and I are included)
Scolds the farmers at the neighborhood farmers' market for pricing their good to high (he wags his finger from side to side and clicks his tongue)
Says Merci to all service people, but does not like to tip above 10%
Doesn't understand why people want to meet him - friendly Americans really throw this guy for a loop
I'm sure there will be many stories to tell. Jean-Pierre is a fire cracker and we laugh every day.
We Be Jammin'Laurent and I took a road-trip to the Petrified Forest and then on to the Yakima-area. On our way home, I think we stopped at every fruit stand we saw. We grabbed tons of fresh fruit from the local farms. On the morning of July 4th I walked in from a meeting to find Laurent making jam. We spent half the day cooking and canning our fresh fruit so its flavor will last us through fall. Vacances MexiqueVisiting the ruins of Chichen Itza was the highlight of our mini, Mexi vacation. Laurent had a conference in Cancun and I was lucky enough to tag along. We stayed at an awful, corporate resort which lacked charm, culture and cuisine but hey; it was free! So one pina colata and 4 hours in the sun later I came home with lots of extra freckles and a few fond memories. Not bad for a couple days out of town. Mode HorribleI know it's shallow and frivilous, but I just have to express how disappointed I am in fashion this season. Ankle wrapping pants and skin tight leggings flatter few and for those of us whose thighs will always touch this is not a theme from the 80's that needed to return. I'm also not impressed with another season filled with empire waist cuts and oversized shirts and mini bollaros making girls like me look like we're pregnant. So for the next six months, I plan to live in the black mini, jeweled sandals and hipster tops that cling just a little bit. Thank god I can buy large gold accessories. At least I can have a little fun shopping this year. Printemps En RouteThe dreaded wall of rain is slowing and there's a hint of transition in the air. I noticed it yesterday. Laurent and I went for a nice, long walk. As we strolled through the BB-Q area in our favorite little Leschi park, we noticed daffodils sprouting up from the ground. The air is less nippy and the sun was shining more just a bit. Spring, please come early. Wine Not?Today I had lunch with my friend and brilliant networking partner Jan. We whined and wined. Why not complain and drink a glass over some good food? I'm loving this whole self-employment thing. Now I just need some more money.
Check out Jan at www.briteideasnow.com
Web SiteMy website is taking shape. Here's a link to the home page layout. It's still in rough draft from, but the design is working. Any comments? I'd love some feedback. http://www.healthcarewebimage.com/Market_Well/mainmenu.html
Market WellMy vision is spinning into reality and I couldn't be more excited. Market Well, my company will officially open for business on January 1, 2006. Tomorrow I am working on my logo and then my web site. It's all going to look great, I'm an imaging expert so it better look great. Next month I will get my headshots, I guess now I just need to give myself an offical title, other than owner. By the way, my services are available now if you need any help with marketing your business, products or services.
Le ReasonJe n'aime pas des etats unis . . .
Vacations should be manditory. The French understand this and make it happen, valuing balance, relaxation and perspective above typically Anglo-efficency. In France I learned to value the beauty of simple, daily rituals. I also have come to understand that complaining is fun and not everyone has to like you.
I wish American culture could shift more towards Latin-based culture where materials are valued, time is taken to enjoy and greed does not dominate our state of mind. Tanya Update - Please HelpLast Thursday, Tanya got some great news when her mother called from the New Orleans Convention Centre. It wasn't an ideal place for her family to be staying, but Tanya and all of us were relieved none-the-less to hear that her family survived the worst and made it to shelter.
Of course the road for recovery will be a long one and with 21 members of the Gettridge family homeless they need all of the help they can get. Tanya has started a fund for her family. If you are interested in offering financial support, please send a check to Tanya at the following address:
Tanya Gettridge
1870 Pacific Avenue #203
San Francisco, CA 94109
The account is the Gettridge/Joseph account at Bank of America. Every cent collected will go directly to support Tanya's family, including her parents and grandmother, all with serious health conditions as well as her nieces and nephews, all under age 10.
Tanya's FamilyToday I spoke with my friend Tanya. She's from New Orleans. Tanya talked with her parents last Sunday, they told her they were going to wait out the hurricane. She has not heard from them since. Tanya's father has cancer and does not walk well. Her mother is a diabetic and depends on medication. Her grandmother lives with her parents and has mulitple health problems.
Tanya's aunt has checked in and made it safely to the Astrodome. Her brother and his wife and three children are in Houston and have enough money to stay in a hotel for seven days. Their home has been washed away.
Please keep Tanya and her family in your thoughts and prayers. They will need support and lots of love. My heart hurts for the Gettridge family. Les MuresYesterday Sarah, Laurent and I hit the Burke-Gillman Trail for some hardcore berry picking. It was so much fun. We walked along the trail in Fremont during mid day. The sun was bright, it was hot. We all got some color, some scratches and many, many black berries. When all was said and done we came out with about 10 pounds of black berries between the three of us.
On the walk home, we stopped at the Nickerson Street Pub and had a beer (yes, I Nicole Francois drank a beer). It was delightful. I had a Corona with lime and we all shared a really garlically hummus plate. Then we walked Sarah home.
I'm sitting at work now thinking about the sun from yesterday and all of the yummy things I can make with black berries. I highly recommend black berry picking as a free Seattle Summertime activity! Fete CanadianneMy roommate from college will be married this weekend. I am so happy for her.
To send her off in style we had an awesome bachelorette party in Vancouver B.C. It was the ultimate girls' weekend. We stayed at the Farimont, ate wondeful food, drank girly drinks, enjoyed spa treatments, shopped and of course danced our hearts out in the best gay bar ever!
I think this is yet another case of the pictures telling a better story than I ever could. Enjoy! le Secteur dur de ChapeauIt's construction time at Cramerica. The sound that a drill makes as it strikes metal is rather disturbing. I liken it to nails on a chalkboard only louder. The dry wall dude is here. He smells like a walking bar and is wearing a Wrestle Mania shirt. At least he's expressing himself. |
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