"Do you know of a great dog sitter?"  
Why yes we do!  Below is a video of Otto, who was a recent "guest" at our preferred pet sitters who reside in beautiful Sonoma County.  Otto left his house in the big city (SF) and headed to the countryside for a few weeks of R&R, individual love, attention and fun day trips to Pt. Reyes and other beautiful spots.  The video below was sent to Otto's family as a postcard from HIS Summer vacation while they relaxed and enjoyed their own.  The question is, 'Who had more fun?'  
For inquiries about pet sitting, please contact us!

So true!

GET YOUR GROOVE ON !
while supporting San Francisco’s oldest early educational childcare center!  Thursday, May 17th from 6pm to 12am at Bimbo's 365 Club, 1025 Columbus Ave.  
Musical stylings by The Pop Rocks! 
For information or to purchase tickets contact 
Carmen Cheevers 415-565-0504 ext. 203  
On line auction begins May 10th.  HFDH has a very special place in my heart as my son attended the preschool. As a single, working parent, I always felt safe, knowing that my son was nurtured and  "at home"  while at pre-school.  Personally speaking, I appreciated the diversity, and the mission of the school.  My son was incredibly well prepared academically, socially and experienced the true sense of who were are as a community.  Please support the kids and HFDH!

 

 








I was so happy to hear this interview today with the Founders of DEMA.  As someone who had been employed directly within, and now peripherally in the Private Staffing/Estate Management world, it is always a bit difficult to explain "exactly" what a job description is. This interview sheds some light as to the roles of modern day domestics. 
Clink on link below for interview, The Business of Butlers.
http://wdet.org/shows/craig-fahle-show/episode/business-butlers/#.T4X2KlMSre0.twitter
Here are the details: 
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Craig is joined by Mathew Haack and Michael Wright, who created the The Domestic Estate Managers Association five years ago, to fill the growing need to educate household employees on how to manage estates. Most people in the industry have zero education or formal training in the field of managing estates and usually fall into these kinds of jobs. The Domestic Estate Managers Association (DEMA) will begin a certification program program to allow members to develop skill in the world of private service professionals like nannies, butlers, estate managers, personal assistants, home managers and more.

Qupé wines focus on quality specializing in Rhone-style wines from the Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria, the Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard in the Edna Valley, where they farm biodynamically, and the Ibarra-Young Vineyard in Los Olivos where they farm organically.
I was first introduced to Qupé Wine about 15 years ago when,  I believe the Roussanne and/or Marsanne graced the wine list of Eos Wine Bar in Cole Valley (R.I.P.)  From that moment on, I always knew if I ordered or purchased a Qupé  wine, I was in for something good.  This carried on for years, as I have always felt they make a really good Syrah at a great price point ($17)  Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I tasted the 2009 Sawyer Lindquist Granache at 
SF Wine School class tasting and I was stoked- it was a WOW~ I really enjoyed this wine!   NOTES: The 100% biodynamic grenache grapes are destemmed and fermented with the grapes native, wild yeast and is aged sur lees for 17 months in neutral barrels. This is elegant yet racy with wild cherry, spice and herbs-de-Provence flavors and shows great intensity and balance. Exactly! ;-) The retail for this wine is $35.  Cheers!

Today I was featured in a post on SF career coach and writer, Suzannah Scully's blog, The Live Well Space.  Subject: Finding your Aha! Moment.  I feel very flattered to be included on Suzannah's list.  Check out her site, it is filled with a wealth of great information and inspiration!
It was a fun weekend spent with my son, and dear friends.
We had our "Paddy's Day" celebration feast over a hot pot at The Old Mandarin Islamic Restaurant  in the Outer Sunset on Vicente at 42nd.  After reading Tablehopper's  "The Regular" I had been dying to try this spot.  By chance we were close by for a soccer match, so I figured it was destined to be! It did not disappoint!.  The food was great and the owners/staff were incredibly welcoming!  Saturday night was spent with friends for a lovely dinner celebrating a birthday and an engagement.  I tweeted about this wine last week that I tried at William Cross Wine Merchant's Organic/Bio-Dynamic Tasting.  I MUST sing it's praises once again, it was my favorite and everyone at our celebration LOVED it.  Tenuta delle Terre Nere  Etna Rosso 2010
Great price point at $16.99 a bottle.   

Lately, there have been a number of articles about "Pink Slime" and other scary and disturbing stories regarding what is being added to the food served to school children. 
We are fortunate that living in the Bay Area gives us the opportunity to track what we are eating, in many cases from Farm to Table. We have have access to numerous Farmer's Markets as well as CSA produce options.  
We recently subscribed to Eatwell Farms CSA produce boxes.  Each delivery includes descriptions of the items in the box, storage instructions, and *BONUS* recipes.  Needless to say, we are hooked and highly recommend the service.  Now on to the Vegan idea. There are many delicious Vegan and Vegetarian meals to be had at numerous Bay Area restaurants including but incorporating Vegan cooking into daily life may seem limiting.  Last Tuesday I tuned into KQED's forum and listened to an interview with Vegan Chef and cookbook author, Chloe Coscarelli.  She was inspiring!  Listening to Chloe gave me the nudge to give Vegan home cooking a try. I purchased her cookbook and I am looking forward to test driving some recipes soon!  
Do you have any favorite Vegan recipes?  If so, please share!