Quote of the Day

A loving life of sweet small works...

Swinburne

Spring Cleaning Three Ways + Field Trip

Great article in Wall Street Journal...Ditching 800 Pounds of Clutter.

The author, Sue Shellenbarger shares the results and insights

after experimenting with three approaches to 

decluttering our homes, our lives.

1. Multi Tasking-This method, called "a five-minute room rescue," is recommended by experts including author Marla Cilley, founder of Flylady.net, a Web site on cleaning. It entails seizing upon spare moments and attacking one messy room at a time in five- to 10-minute spurts. Starting in Zone One of my house, the family room, kitchen and office, I did two or three room rescues each weekday after work and several more on weekends, setting a timer to keep me on track.

Personal note alert - THIS WORKS!

2. The Scorched Earth Approach-Variously labeled the "Trash-Bag Tango" by organizing expert and author Peter Walsh, or the "27-Fling Boogie" by Ms. Cilley, the method I used in Zone Two (my bath, laundry and living rooms) has you seize upon a slightly longer block of time, of about 15 minutes, and set a de-cluttering target—such as removing 27 unneeded items. Then, grab two trash bags, for donations and discards, and stride through your house bagging stuff until you reach your objective.

3. The Project Management Method- Inspired by the title of one of Mr. Aslett's books, "Lose 200 Lbs. This Weekend," this approach requires some work in advance, assembling a list of dejunking supplies such as boxes and bags, thinking about which items you don't need and researching places to receive donations and discards.
Field Trip Alert...

 Never Fear though, if it all gets too much, take a cruise around town 

on any Saturday and visit a few yard sales-

A ) You'll feel a lot better about your own space

B) It can be very entertaining

Don't believe me? check out a new fave site...

YARD SALE BLOODBATH !

xo

Take the Challenge... What's For Lunch?

Korean Tacos and Burritos at John's Snack & Deli

 

Korean American deli owner John tried Kogi and decided he too would introduce Korea to Mexico...in your mouth. His soft shell tacos/burritos feature sauteed kimchi, bulgogi beef, lettuce, salsa, cilantro, onions, and a secret sauce his mom makes -- but don't get too clever with that fact, or it's no tacos for you.

After serving Kimchi burritos and tacos for over a year, John has created 

an ultra spicy Suicide Kimchi Burrito.

If anyone can eat the super hot burrito IN STORE they will take your photo and your suicide burrito will be FREE!

40 Battery St, btwn Pine and Bush; Financial District; 415.434.4634

Quote of the Day

Sweet bunch of daisies, brought from the dell,

Kiss me once darling, daisies won't tell.

Anita Owen

Hangover Help

JUST IN CASE.
XO

A Spicy Ale for St Pat

In case you're looking to spice things up 

tonight, how about a spicy beer cocktail that will give you the strength to execute the high-flying moves and pile drives of the greatest luchadores (Mexican wrestlers), or at least the strength to watch them on TV.

This recipe and more on CHOW. 

Cheers

Lunch on Tap

Fish and Chips at the Edinburgh Castle in San Francisco

Wrapped in Newspaper & Delivered from the Chippy round the corner



If you are hankering for some British-style fish and chips, The Edinburgh Castle at 950 Geary serves them up in newspaper every day from 5pm to 11pm. That they are wrapped on delivery gives the supper that authentic whiff of steaminess essential to the fish and chip experience. The chips are thick and taste of real potato - as they should - no crispiness expected or provided. The somewhat bland fish pieces have less character than you would find in the same meal on the other side of the Atlantic, but once doused in vinegar and dredged in salt, you can almost imagine it's the real thing.

In Britain, newspaper was actually banned as a wrapping for fish and chips in the 1980s so this is a real treat. There is a good entry on Wikepedia that explains everything you need to know about this well-loved British dish.

And just in case you're staying in Chow has come up with 10 great reasons for cooking with 

Guinness!

1. Beef Braised in Guinness

2.Irish Cheddar and Stout Fondue

3.Warm German Potato Salad

4.Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

5.Guinness Milk- Chocolate Ice Cream

go to Chow for 5 more !

xo

On Being Green

Hmm... yes here in San Francisco and probably many urban areas

car drivers and bicycles are at odds with each other-

such as on the last Friday of the month when 

Critical Mass takes place during the evening commute. UGH.

But they really are pragmatic when it comes to making quick deliveries

and green commutes. They provider riders with beautiful vistas

when in the country and the bottom line well, good exercise.

I recently came across a fun blog which is devoted to bikes and cities,

for a fun ride and great photos check out bikes and the city.

With that in mind check out Rickshaw Bags...

Made-to-order in a Dogpatch warehouse, Rickshaws are the brainchild of two former Timbuk2 execs, who mastered comfort and quality peddling to the masses before going small-scale to reconnect with their customers and play lots of Office Nerf Basketball. Their real-deal messengers range from the nylon, pouch-sized "Small Zero" (w/ iPod/notebook pockets) to the behemoth "Technical" with compression/extension straps for big, awkward loads; practical laptop bags come in three thicknesses and boast features like quick-adjust straps and optional magnet bindings to avoid derailing meetings with roaring Velcro -- though you're still free to disrupt them by insisting that everyone "check out these crazy magnets!!". You can order said bags online in tons of colors, pick one up at Rickshaw's "storefront", or better yet (and for the same price) hit the warehouse to select your bag's top flap fabric and watch them sew it up -- they've got everything from raw denim to Burberry, huge among the equestrian messenger set. 

Cheers!

Quote of the Day

Luck, mere luck, may make even madness wisdom.

Douglas Jerold

Field Trip-Petaluma Solid Gold

Artisan Cheese Festival

"California's Artisan Cheese Festival is a nonprofit organization with the mission to:
• Educate people who want to learn more about artisan cheese
• Support the artisan cheesemaking community and its sustainability; and
• Celebrate and enjoy the creations of the artisan cheesemakers.

We also like to have fun. So each year we gather a lively and friendly group of experts and presenters that will make the weekend fly by as we learn about and enjoy the wonderful world of artisan cheese."

Really, so many oppurtunites to connect
with artisan cheesemakers along with vitners, brewmasters
and general foodies. Check out they're schedule:
@Artisan Cheese Festival.

On a similar but different note,
indulge your senses... Martha's Macaroni and Cheese

 xo

Quote of the Day

The murmur that springs

from the growing of grass...

Edgar Alle Poe

High Art

 

Yvonne Rainier

High/Low Art: LA Billboards

 Kelsey Keith for Flavorwire

"In New York, street art is tagged on the sides of buildings and pasted on empty storefronts. In Los Angeles, a city of automatic transmissions and three-hour traffic, public art may best be presented, well, on a billboard. The MAK Center for Art & Architecture is doing just that: it has selected 21 contemporary artists to make their marks on decommissioned billboards all over West Hollywood, from Sunset Boulevard to the Santa Monica Freeway. How Many Billboards? — up through the end of March — is intended as a reflective tool in the middle of quotidian life; as the director for the project notes, “Channels are opened for experimentation, innovation, and cultural exchange.” Replacing media noise with smart art in an urban space". Genius.

 David Lamelas

 For the rest of the article and more photos jump to Flavorwire.

Quote of the Day

There is nothing wrong with
making mistakes.
Just don't respond with encores.

Unknown

Brunch Two Ways

Nothing says 'weekend' like a nice plate of pancakes right?

This recipe for edna mae's sour cream pancakes

from smitten kitchen is, by all accounts

pancake perfection.

The list of ingrediants is short and the directions are simple.

Results like this, are always worth the effort

but if you're not up for cooking in, 

how about eating out? Suggestion alert:

Dotties True Blue Cafe

Follow the line of people waiting around the corner to the bold blue awning. Should you find the luck gods on your side, walk right in, and you'll be welcomed with the trashiest of diner decor (it is in the TL, after all!). You'll get water in gigantic, unmatched tumblers on top of tacky tablecloths, and the waiters (and waitresses) are as greasy as the food. Should this all sound like a negative thing, think again. The rotating specials menus holds the key to some of the best breakfast options in the City (pulled pork scramble, blueberry cornmeal pancakes, or a lamb sausage scram...I could go on for days). If you haven't been yet, take your taste palates straight down to Dottie's before the day is through.

Cheers!

 Dotties photos from yelp

Sizing Up Nick Cave's Soundsuits

DIY alert: Don't try this at home!

Nick Cave is beyond a creative genius.

"Over the last decade Mr. Cave has become known for making colorful, 

extravagant sculptures with this kind of 

double life: they can stand alone in galleries as visually compelling art objects, 

or they can be worn by dancers as vehicles for sound and movement."

He calls them Soundsuits.

I call them... WOW.

 I invite you to read more at the  New York Times.  Enjoy, xo

Quote of the Day

Good Morning March 12th!

The morn is up again, the dewy morn,

with breath all incense and with cheek all bloom.

Byron

What's For Lunch?

It's A Dogs World...

From Japan to Vancouver to right here 

in San Francisco hot dog eateries are offering

gastronomic delights. Here are 3 of the newest...

 

Located in the old North Beach Lobster Shack space,

Dogfather is that no-frills, father-and-son-owned eatery

you'll go to after a night of cocktailing along Columbus—

or more likely en route from one watering hole to the next.

Check out more The Dogfather at Urban Daddy.

How about Hot Dog Alley?

 

Lower Haight denizens Mojo and C. Water (no joke) slang cheap, heaping man-dogs named for famous SF 'hoods (no Clarendon Heights, dog?!). Fo' real options range from the SOMA Dog (a mild hot link slathered in homemade chili), to the Fillmore Dog (a spicy hot link w/ jalapenos), to the Tenderloin Dog, a normal frank wrapped in bacon that'll "melt in your mouth", even as it poops on your stoop. Upping the spicness is a slew of fixings/condiments like hickory BBQ sauce, sweet n' spicy Southwest mustard, and onions/peppers/sauerkraut Mo & C-Dub grill on a big Foreman (again, no joke)...plus their signature cheddar-sprinkled, bacon-wrapped, cream cheese-stuffed jalapeno, aka the Mission Popper, not to be confused with Slippery Ed (the Mission Pauper).For more details check out Thrillist

And then there's Show Dogs, from the genius' behind 

Foreign Cinema. Up scale, high quality (organic) ingredients, 

creative combinations

and everything made in house- even the mustard and corndogs. 

Many insightful opinions to help you choose on yelp.

Cheers

 

 

Quote of the Day

The only things we ever keep

are what we give away.

Louis Ginsberg

A Few Roads to Morrocco

My Marrakesh
As the season of Spring Breaks approaches,
I've been thinking of travels far and near.
So many people these days have fallen in love with life in
Morocco.  A co worker of mine has been making annual trips
with his partner for several years and upon his return, I would always swoon
when hearing about the daily feasts for all of  the senses.
Of course, we can't always drop what we're doing and hop on a plane-
but we can visit some great sites and indulge from afar.

The House in Marrakesh

AFAR

GOOP
xo

Quote of the Day

Rivers are roads that move and carry us

wither we wish to go.

Pascal