How brilliant! Don’t we all have this yearning inside us, one of those unfulfilled “dreams” that go something like this… I always wanted to design couture shoes. I’m dreaming of owning a cute little neighborhood cafe.  I think I could be a casting agent…

The VocationVacations concept was created by Brian Kurth, during one of his long daily commutes on Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway. Numb from his lack of passion for what he did for a living and staring at brake lights, he wondered what it would be like to be a wine maker, a tour guide or a dog trainer. Brian wanted to explore his dream jobs through a company offering working adults short-term “internships” while on vacation. But with research, Brian realized such a company did not exist. A business idea was born.After first test-driving a dream job in the wine industry, he created his ultimate dream job by launching VocationVacations® in January, 2004.

My dad did that, the wine making thing, in Hungary. And after spending a gazillion dollars on his dream project, he ended up selling his post-communist-now-magnificently-renovated winery and chateau a few years later. He soon found out that the wine making business was cut throat, not the romantic imagery that he had succumbed to when he first bought acres of vineyards. A vocation vacation, had it existed at the time, might have helped him better assess the massive undertaking that awaited him. Nonetheless, as fthe  family members that got the privilege to visit the winery without having to operate it, we only have dreamy memories of our sejours in that enchanting environment. BTW, this was the place, the Szent Gaal Winery. An oasis. But, I digress…

In Vacation Vocation’s own words: “VocationVacations is the only company of its kind. We offer our clients (“vocationers”) one- to- three day, hands-on, dream job immersion experiences under the tutelage of expert mentors. Our mentors are passionate about what they do and are committed to sharing their knowledge and experience with individuals who dream of walking in their shoes”.  See the current offering of Dream Job Holidays right here.

Hummm, I’m might just try my hand at being a restaurant critic. I’m good at critiquing!

The New 7 Wonders of the World have been announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 – 07.07.07.

The New7Wonders Foundation has the express aim of documenting, maintaining, restoring and reconstructing world heritage under the motto: “OUR HERITAGE IS OUR FUTURE.” The Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, with a mission to protect humankind’s heritage across the globe.

The new wonders  are selected as the people’s choices (100 million of us are voting), and they are drawn from the earliest time that humankind walked upon the earth up through the year 2000.

See the details on these magnificent man made constructions right here: The Great Wall of China, Petra, Jordan, Christ Redeemer, Brazil, Machu Piccu, Peru, Chichen Itza, Mexico, The Colosseum, Italy and the Taj Mahal, India.  The runner up finalists can be found on this page.

Well, I’ve seen two of these seven. Lots of work to do to see the rest!!

I love the concept of using personas to convey the personalities of brands or products and how these should resonate with their intended target markets.  We all saw how Apple did such a great job of these with the Mac and PC personas. Brilliant and I always look forward to seeing the new ads as they are released. I love all the tacky puns.

Here’s a European version of another persona representation.  As you are watching this,  try guessing who the actor  represents.

Pure genius! And, where did they find this actor?

Via  if.psfk.com

Although this is called the Cheese Knife, I bought this knife for my 10 year old daughter who loves to help out in the kitchen but is very afraid to work with sharp blade knives. I remember being morbidly fearful of knives at her age as well.  This “Cheese” knife is perfect. It allows her to merrily cut through veggies, tofu , fruit, bread and… cheese with ease. This will allow to perfect her knife wielding techniques so that she’ll be a pro when the time comes to use the real thing.

The Cheese Knife website actually sells the benefits of this knife as a great tool to use on anything that typically sticks and leaves a residue on a regular knife. So besides cheese, they mention eggs and pasta and that sort of thing. It’s dishwasher safe, heat and stain resistant and FDA approved. Woohoo.

Seriously, this was a great buy for my novice cook. And, I might use it on cheese too.

Worth the detour. We actually stumbled upon this little gem “by accident” on our way to Sonoma. We were searching for something “charming”and Risibisi Restaurant delivered that and then some.

Cool bistro decor. We were immediately welcomed by one of the restaurant owners of this casually chic restaurant. As always,I like the know “the story” behind everything (a weird obsession and kinda the premise behind The Succulent Wife’s Gift Company) so I peppered the gentleman with questions. He was proud to say that he and his partner were the real deal real Italians. No Fettuccine Alfredo here. Although we did get some balsamic vinegar in our dipping oil. They traditionally don’t do that in Italy…

Although we were in wine country, I could not resist the invitation to try the Champagne Mojito. Wow, that was wonderful and the perfect aperitif to get me to focus on the meal to come. I started with the Heirloom Tomato Trio. Nice presentation and a great sampling of their tomato favorites. Hubby had the organic baby beet salad with caramelized pecans.

It was Porcini mushroom month with a tasting menu dedicated to the little fungi. I selected a simple mushroom risotto from that menu. The flavor was anything but simple. Totally savory and dare I say, succulent? I forget what my husband had (guess that the mojito had taken effect by then…) and he’s not around for me to ask, but I remember him raving.

Service was friendly and efficient without being hurried. Atmosphere was pleasant, unfussy and relaxed. Food was fantastic and pricing very acceptable. If this restaurant was in my neighborhood, I’d definitely become a regular.

Do make it a destination in you are in the Santa Rosa or Sonoma area.

Discovering the work of Xavier Nuez was another of the many delights to be found at the Fillmore Jazz Festival.  Xavier was showing his Alleys & Fire Escapes Collection, the colors and imagery of which immediately drew the attention of our – kinda cool – teenage son. We spoke to Xavier and evidently, that conversation led us to appreciate his art even more. He told us about his scouting for deserted or abandoned inner city locations, about his 90 minutes long exposures and about his lighting techniques. No Photoshop here. Quite remarkable and the fact that he was also a Montreal resident not so long ago makes us like him even more.

This is the image that caught my son’s eye first. An abandoned stadium in Miami. Read about the background story to this image here on Xavier’s Website.

In his own words:
Alleys & Fire Escapes is an exploration of urban decay and of the elusive stories and beauty lurking within its dark corners. These are corners rich in history, which I sift through in an attempt to revive the past, and to tell its tale in powerful yet subtle ways.

Long after dark, I walk through desolate urban settings, often in inner-city ghettos, seeking out the drama and intensity of these places. With the city humming in the background, I give myself the task of finding inspiration, beauty and power where there shouldn’t be any. It is a thrilling adventure in a risky setting – I try to bring friends.

Technical notes

To capture the striking colors in my photographs, I rely mainly on the available light, and on the long exposures required (sometimes over one hour). City lights create unusual colors on film, but what the film sees is usually not what I see when I’m at the scene – I’m often looking at dark grey buildings. I also bring along my own lights with colored gels.

I shoot with a Hasselblad camera, loaded with fine-grain film. When I started the series, I had hoped to shoot the alleys with a much larger, 4×5 camera. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to run with a 4×5 kit, so I had to settle with the 120mm format.

He will be attending the ArtExpo which is moving from NYC to Las Vegas in September. It’s on my calendar.

I spent just one short night at this lovely boutique hotel last week. I had to drop off my daughter at LAX early the next morning, so Manhattan Beach looked like an excellent choice as a place to spend a day and evening together before her two week séjour away from home (I will totally set aside the fact that her departure — she’s 10. And a half — was waaaaay harder for me than it was for her).

Anyhoo, a little bit of research unveiled the Belamar Hotel – only one L  – Hotel. I always, always read reviews on Trip Advisor before I commit to staying at any independent hotel property. Reviews were excellent and I will add my favorable comments to the mix. Although the hotel is 1.5 miles away from downtown Manhattan Beach and from the beach itself, we thoroughly enjoyed walking there, through the residential neighborhood and admiring this and that house. There are parking meters along the beach if driving is your thing.

The room was EXACTLY as pictured here. Pristine and clean and lovely and a relaxing shade of turquoise blue. The  artwork displayed throughout the hotel was amusing, not serious or self-important which was a nice way to make the hotel more “approachable” to some of us who may not feel like our cool factor is totally up to par.

Since we had a huge ice cream sunday at the fabulous Manhattan Beach Creamery, we weren’t hungry for dinner till late, so decided to stay in, order a movie and get room service. Not only was the food really, really good, but the prices – relative to room service pricing – were actually reasonable.

We did not go for a swim but did go down to take a look at the pool. It almost qualifies as an interior pool as it is surrounded by 3 solid walls and has a roof that seems to slide open, but a cozy fireplace and candles and great lounge chairs make it very inviting. Oh, and the water was warm.

Highly recommended by moi. I’m going back. Oh, forgot to mention the free WiFi. Duh!