Fashion and Style

Haven't checked out part 1 and part 2 yet? Make sure you do! April 27, 2016 Happy Anniversary!! We went to town to look for an olive oil tasting, but absolutely nothing opened up till 10. We did go see the amazing Castlello di Amorosa and take pictures. We drove around and ended being the first group at Sterling . What a place! It is more of an experience than a tasting, and what a production. The tour starts with a Gondola ride up to the building on top overlooking all of the vineyards. It�s sort of a Disney effect. We got the extra tastings free with our hotel card and visited the art gallery with my favorite Chagall �Fox with Grapes�. It also included several original Ansell Adams, a Picasso and a Renoir among others. I can�t find our tasting list � but won�t give up! After Sterling, we went to Tra Vigne for a pizza lunch. Our next stop was Rombauer - not really what we expected. The grounds were pretty, but unlike all of our other experiences, the employees weren�t very

Haven't read part 1 yet? Make sure to catch up!  April 24, 2016 We left early for 10 am brunch reservations at Cliff House and got to explore � VERY WINDY. Brunch was at a beautiful table by the window with views of the rocks jutting out of the ocean. The champagne poured freely! The buffet was a mix of breakfast foods and lots of salads. The popovers were a specialty and the dessert bar was impressive. For Richard and I, an entire bowl of roasted garlic beside the scalloped potatoes was pretty amazing. Another specialty was Eggs Benedict. The harpist was not a specialty and played 2 songs twice in a 30 minute set (As Time Goes By and Somewhere in Time � clearly time was an issue for her). Cliff House After brunch, we tried to walk on the beach, but it was really chilly and so windy that our faces got burned from sand and wind. We did find a little sea glass and a sand dollar! We then drove to Golden Gate Park where we saw the bison field and drove around forever trying to park

Sallie Swor is a 9th generation Nashvillian and a dear friend who shares my passion for great food and great wine. When she sent me her travel journal from her recent visit to wine country, I absolutely could NOT resist asking her if I could publish it on my blog- and she said yes! So this post and the next two will feature snippets from her travel journal- I'd love to hear what you think! Sallie Stamps Swor Cooking has not only been my obsession and creative outlet, but also my greatest pleasure for as long as I can remember. Way before the food craze, when most of my friends were poring over Cosmopolitan Magazine, I spent my time engrossed in the latest issue of Gourmet. In my first college apartment, I discovered the thrill of entertaining friends with dinner parties, brunches, picnics � well, just any excuse to cook. I also discovered that no one minded! I have been fortunate to have a career working with students and young adults as a high school counselor and college consulta

Don't put me in your box, don't assume that because I'm a 24 year old Kenyan woman of Indian origin, I must fit a certain stereotype. I'm ambitious, and I want a lot more out of my life than you think I'm aspiring to. No, I don't need to 'think about settling down' because 'women should start planning their family around the age of 28'. Marriage, a family, all that- they're not unimportant, but they're not all that a woman can have. Don't measure my success by where you/your daughter/your neighbour's daughter were/are at 24. That's their story. And I'm writing my own.  When you look at me, then find out what I studied/where I studied/where I've worked and say something like "Wow, I had no idea you were smart!", don't expect me to take that as a compliment. If you're willing to judge someone at face value, then I'm more than entitled to judge you for the person you just showed yourself to be. When

Mother's Day (the American one-and graduation for Sewanee C'16!!) is coming up this Sunday. While we definitely should celebrate the loved ones in our lives more than just once a year, I do like occasions like these because they just give us another excuse to pamper those we love. Here are some gift ideas for the special mums in your life! Any ideas you have? I'd love to hear about them! 1) A day off: Mothers are known for being perpetually busy- I know my own is fully capable of conjuring up a busy day (there's so much to be done!) when she really should be relaxing! Here's a day when you can tell your mother (or a mother in your life, really) to just take things easy. It's a Sunday, so she should (hopefully) be off work. Bring her breakfast in bed, schedule a massage/spa session for her, take her for a hike- basically, plan anything that wouldn't require much effort on her end! She's certainly deserved it. 2) A video celebrating her: Here's a fu