What Gets You In

New From Chicken Charlie's FRYBQ!
Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwich and Chocolate Pasta

Yup! Welcome to the press conference food tasting. 

Its been a long time since I've had something post worthy but here we go...

Del Mar Fair- we know it, we love it. Even though its been several years since the name change to the San Diego County Fair, its still Del Mar to us.

As a long time fair goer (Hello Fried Everything!) I was beyond excited  to find out that MSE Landscape Professionals was going to participate as an exhibitor! I can smell the Fried Butter now!

Let take a behind the scenes look.

#1. Don't go in the main gate. Take the super secret Solana Gate to get right to the action. The trusty MSE Prius gets me right in when I say I'm with the "Garden Expo"

#2. While the fair doesn't start until June 1. Installs begin May 7. We were a  little bit behind since we didn't start until today. May 16. What goes into the planning? Glad you asked. Go look at the space. Think of a design. Get all of your favorite vendors on board. Haul in 5 trees, giant boulders, sand, DG,plants, pavers, mulch and tons of plants. Start building a Pergola in the office yard. Pull people from all of the crews. Get started.

Make the Plan

Jesse Really Does Work

The Day 2 Crew

Hugo..aka Hugo Boss

Day 2 

#3. Coordinate supervision. Hope someone has CASH$$ to purchase the badges. (Unexpectedly, that would be me)

All Access Pass

#4. Use the badges to get into the press conference food tasting event! #WINNER!

Free Booze! Cheers!

Free Food! Yes!

G.O.A.T. 

# Delicious

See Above

On A Scale of 1 To 10

Del Mar Fair 10!

Bonus Behind the Scenes Staging Area

Expect the Unexpected

Keeping Chris in Christmas

I was very honored today to volunteer with the Warrior Foundation Freedom Station in their annual Deck The Halls at Naval Hospital Balboa.

Me and Bossman

The tradition dates  back at least 10 years. Building 26 at Naval Hospital San Diego, the home of our most severely wounded warriors,  is cleared out and the veterans sent home. (compliments of WFFS) A corp of approximately 200 volunteers swoop in and decorate the entire 4 floors for Christmas.

This year Cara and I participated. We had no idea what to expect. This was not a Christmas tree in the lobby and some random tinsel. Done! See ya later!

Oh No! There were more decorations than your good sized department store! 

Fun Fact: Average stay in this building is 2 years! Yup! 2 birthdays, Thanksgivings and Christmas' spent in a HOSPITAL. So, not so fun of a fact.

Upon our arrival, I was introduced to an older gentelman by the name of Jim Bedinger. We had a lovely conversation about teaching special education. Turns out his mom was a pioneer in the field at the Woods School in Langhorne PA. A place that I actually did some study at back in the day.

Who is this guy, Jim Bedinger? Turns out he is a genuine POW WAR HERO!

Jim spent over 1,000 days in Camp Plantation in Vietnam. Or exactly  “three years, four months, 19 days and (some) 12 hours” as one of the last American prisoners held in Laos near the end of the Vietnam War. 

And I was eating breakfast burritos and drinking coffee with him. Whaaaat??????


Read more here: 
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-ex-pow-helps-service-members-break-the-chains-of-2010feb07-story.html

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Local-POWs-Jim-Bedinger-Vietnam-Perspective-on-CIA-Torture-Report-285689771.html

One of the best parts was reading the cards and letters sent to our service members from children. Seems like a good part of them can't spell Christmas. Examples include: Crismas,
Chrismas, Chrismes, Crismis, etc.

 Or lots of other words. Cara and I got to joking that Chris/Cris  is a long lost disciple of Jesus. 

The jokes were pretty good too. 

If You are Military, You Should Know to Cover Your Mouth

If You Are Reading This, YOU ARE ALIVE!

On A Scale Of 1-to-10

Our Military...10

Volunteering...10

Chris...10

The Revenge Of Justin Case

Hold On To Your Safety Glasses!!!! Its Project Time!

No lie, I literally bought this old window from an architectural salvage place 15 years ago! for $5. 

Over the years it has sat lonely and unused on the side of my house, getting junkier and junkier. I had no idea what to do with it for 15 YEARS!

Scott was always trying to throw it out or send it to the dump. But no! I was saving it... Justin Case. Obviously he didn't have my vision. I didn't even have my vision. 

And then it hit me! I had a brilliant idea. (without Pinterest)

Step 1: Break out all the glass. Sand that bad boy down. Yup, that's me with the power sander. You can' beat proper surface preparation. 

Step 2: Spray paint black.

Notice the plastic to protect the surrounding area. 

Step 3: Add lights. Who doesn't like twinkle lights. Bonus points for solar power!

Step 4: Paint a bunch of cans gold, and add plants. 

There you have it... A DIY Decoration for my fence. 

Welcome home Justin Case!

On A Scale of 1 to 10...

 A BIG AWESOME 10!

Better With Booze

Everything is better with booze...well, except driving. Driving is definitely not better with booze. Airplane flying, scuba diving, horseback riding, mountain climbing and karaoke (well maybe) probably aren't better with booze either.

OK, let's get back to food and drinks. They are better with booze.

It was a dreary day here in sunny San Diego. I said dreary, not cold people! It was feeling like a great day to try out some new grown up treats!

 First up is Krupnik. This is a Polish honey liqueur that hails from Poland, Lithuania and other Eastern European countries. I had my first taste of this golden goodness, when I arrived in NJ from California super sick. My mom, Bobbi, gave me a small glass and miraculously  I was cured! I found out she bought in in a Polish store in Connecticut and I have been in search of it ever since.

 Little did I know, Krupnik was originally a homemade concoction designed to be taken with a sweet treat in those long, dark, cold winter months.

 Did someone say "HOMEMADE"???

I can do that! Let's go!

After careful research, I happened on this blog post  from
The Hairpin.com. There were several other recipes for Krupnik but this seemed the most authentic.

For one, what can go wrong with 151 proof Everclear Grain Alcohol? And there are multiple steps using multiple pots. And it should sit for several months in a cool, dark place...

Boil the honey

Gotta get rid of the honey "scum"

Add in all the spices

https://thehairpin.com/how-to-make-krupnik-an-old-timey-polish-honey-spice-cordial-50f2f36ed02d#.pi1lrva5y

I'll let you know how it turns out around Easter.

Next up - Vodka Lollipops

My husband saw these online (probably on Facebook) and thought I should give them a try. So I did

Obviously I didn't have lollipop molds so these are freehand.  I added lime zest for flavor. (I think that is what turned them brown. Maybe next time I will add the zest at the end.)

They are very tasty!

 *disclaimer: Alcohol boils off at 150 degrees. To get to the lollipop stage, these had to boil at 300 degrees. I added a bit more vodka at the end so they are really not as boozy as they would seem. 

Finally, I saw a recipe for Bourbon Cookie Butter Truffles in this week's newspaper. Since today turned into drunk cooking day, I made those too! 

Don't confuse cookie butter with cookie dough. Check it out.  Direct from the Trader Joe's website:

Trader Joe’s Speculoos Cookie Butter is, in its most simplistic terms, spreadable Speculoos cookies. Speculoos cookies are classic Belgian cookies with great crunch, and a slightly caramelized, almost-but-not-quite-gingerbread flavor. (Try our Bistro Biscuits for a close approximation.) After the cookies are baked to a fabulous finish, they’re crushed into a fine powder and mixed with magical ingredients (read: vegetable oils) and turned into a smooth, spreadable substance we call Cookie Butter. It resembles peanut butter in color and consistency. Make no mistake, though; this is a treat through and through. Spread it on toast, bagels, pancakes or waffles. Use it as a dip for hunks of dark chocolate or pretzels or (gasp!) veggies like carrots or celery. You could keep it really simple and just use it as a dip for a spoon. 

Add bourbon, chocolate, a bit of sea salt  and you have yourself a boozy truffle!

Not an inexpensive day but well worth it for me and the worthy few who get to sample my boozy wares. 

On A Scale of 1 to 10...

Tipsy Cooking - 10+

Will You Accept This Rose?

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of the Bachelor series. The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and even completely tasteless Bachelor in Paradise. Yup, every single one.

 And let's just say I have heard more than once," You have a master's degree! How can you like that $hit????

I know they film the show in LA but I never really thought about exactly where. I assumed the famous Bachelor Mansion was somewhere in Hollywood. So as I was watching this season's show, something about where they were looked familiar to me.

I quickly Googled "where is the Bachelor Mansion?" And what do you know? The exact address shows up!

2351 Kanan Rd. Agoura Hills CA 91301 (asking price 7.4 million)

Ok seriously, I don't want to buy it but I would like to see it.

And GUESS WHAT???? Its only about 8 miles from one of the shopping centers MSE maintains in LA!!! And I am going there next week!!!! Can it get any better than this???

Did I really think I was going to just drive right up through some fancy gates and park my MSE Prius where the  limos let out the hopeful contestants like any random stalker? Well... you never know what will happen until you try. My back up story was someone called about some landscaping.

After driving on a super winding road through the beautiful Santa Monica mountains...

That's it. Plain wooden gate. You can see the tower in the background. I had to continue along on the road because there was no where to turn around. On the way down I got a view more like the one below however there was nowhere to park and take a picture.
I borrowed this one from a blog aptly titled IAmNotAStalker.com

http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2009/03/02/the-amazing-bachelor-house/

On A Scale Of 1 to 10...
The Bachelor Mansion side trip - 2 

Actually taking a side trip - 10

Knowing What You Can't UnKnow

Kind of like that cringe worthy picture or experience you can't unsee...

Like when you walk in walk in on your grandma taking a bath... OK enough of that.

I am going to be cryptic because I don't want to put it out into internet land but I found out something that is weighing heavily on me.

Innocently and with good intention I found out something about a
co-worker that goes against ALL of my personal beliefs. I politely addressed it with the person but...


On A Scale Of 1 to 10...
You Can't Unknow What You Know - 0

BE

I've seen several posts on social media about how bad 2016 was... from losing a family member to celebrity deaths to your candidate not winning the election to job loss,  Zika, cancer, gun violence, discrimination and a multitude of other things.
Watch this little video to reassure yourself that good things did happen in 2016!

https://www.facebook.com/WUSA9/videos/1843900085882740/

We hear Practice Mindfulness, Practice Gratitude, Practice Breathing, Live in the Moment, Live in the Present. Sit With Yourself.

JUST BE!

What Does It All Mean?????

Those can be some pretty abstract concepts. Let's break it down.

My top 6 tips for Being:

Be The  Stop Sign - when you are not sure what to do.

Toddler Rules - Look Both Ways

Be the Sound of Music  - When you don't even know where to start.

Start At The Very Beginning, A Very Fine Place To Start

Be The Beatles - When no action is the preferred action.

Let It Be

Be Frozen - When its not really about you at all

                                  

Let It Go

Be Arron Burr, Sir - When you need to get more information

Be Pharrell - Be Happy! (It really is your choice)

These tips for BEING never fail me.

On A Scale of 1 To 10...

BE - 10!