I’ve never been fired before (and for resume purposes, I hope it doesn’t happen again) but the truth is it couldn’t have come at a better time.  So much so that the fact that they didn’t have an actual reason for letting me go (when I requested a direct reason in writing I was denied), and the fact that they’re also fighting my unemployment are really non-issues. 

Because I am happy. 

I have always looked at things with the assumption that things will work out…and they always do.  I also still have another job (which, despite the fact that it’s only part-time, I actually really enjoy) so money isn’t a big issue right now-although if I want to continue with the next major goal in my life, I will need to find another second job.

And what is that goal?

(Source)

Travel.  Of the extended kind. 

For whatever reason, travel has always been something I’ve loved, but up until about six months ago I never realized that extended travel was something within my means.  But now that I know this is something I can do, I’m doing it! I’ve been planning.  And reading travel blogs.  And staring at maps imagining all the adventures awaiting me.  And saving money, of course.  Although the saving part has come to a halt within the past few weeks. 

But the best part of all is that I can share this!  Everyone close to me already knows, but it’s  a relief to not have to hedge around my plans for the end of this year. 

I currently have no lease, and will be heading back to Florida at the middle to end of July.  My sister and I will take a road trip up the east coast, visiting family and friends along the way.  Probable stops: North Carolina, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Upstate NY, and finally NYC.  From there, she will fly home to begin her first semester of college and I will fly to Dublin. 

From Dublin I know for sure I’ll be visiting London, Paris, Belgium, and Amsterdam. I also want to make it to Italy and Spain, but I have no concrete plans or time limits in each city, I’m just going to plan it as I go.  And, with the exception of meeting up with a few friends for a Bachelorette party in Amsterdam (with a possible side trip to Prague), I will be traveling completely by myself!!  I’ve traveled alone within the U.S. before and have loved it. Now it’s time to step it up a notch.

If I had more time, I would save up enough money to leave the country for a year.  But for now a few months will have to do.  And while I already have a feeling it will not be enough, now couldn’t be a more perfect time for me to do this.  I have no children, no boyfriend/husband, I don’t own property…ultimately there is nothing keeping me here.  And while I will be back to Phoenix-I’m in a wedding in November for a great friend and hopefully I will have a job to return to as well-I can only guess where 2013 will take me.

It is scary in the best way possible and I couldn’t be more excited. I love new adventures, new places, new people.  

Hope you’ll join me on this journey!

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” –Cesare Pavese

Both times I’ve been here the wait has been about 30 minutes-but when you sit outside on their comfy couches and sip coffee while catching up with a good friend, the time seems to fly by.

Even when you’re sitting inside or upstairs, the room is filled with natural light so much so that the transition between indoors and out appears seamless. 

 (Source)

(For a link to their full Brunch Menu click here)

My first time here I shared the Eggs Benedict with a friend and it was delicious.  And it came with crispy potatoes that I loved!

This time we shared a baguette with fresh butter and jam to start

And this time around I went with the omelette-mushrooms, goat cheese, fluffy eggs served with a side of buttery toasted bread. It was quite good as well! My friend opted for the Turkey Scramble which I tried and enjoyed as well, although she found it a bit salty. 

We both agreed the bread was amazing.

I do have a couple of misgivings about St. Francis as well-I’m not a huge fan of their coffee (although a friend of mine really enjoys it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt), and I found their service to be a bit unreliable.  The first time I was there we had no problems, but the second time there seemed to be some confusion with the fact that we opted to sit in the waiting area and eat (it was warmer there in the sun than it was inside) and after waiting for over 30 minutes to order, I finally had to go search out a server to take our order.  Once we did that, it was smooth sailing so I’d chalk it up to a misunderstanding.  Other than that, I love this place!

And I will be back-I’ve got my eye on the Iron Skillet Pancake.

St. Francis  

111 East Camelback Road  Phoenix, AZ 85012-1609
(602) 200-8111

It wasn’t until after we’d solidified our plans that we realized that it also happened to be First Friday in downtown Phoenix.  This made our walk from the Lightrail stop to the bar quite interesting-and slightly terrifying.  Now, to be fair, I think it was only terrifying to me-one of my few experiences going out in downtown Phoenix involved witnessing an assault and my friend and I both calling 911 at 2am from a dark city street.  More on that story another day…but nevertheless, I was thankful we had a couple of guys in our group just in case. 

The Lost Leaf was packed when we arrived-which is not hard to do since it’s basically the size of a small house.  Actually, it is a small house.  Turned into a bar.

(Source)

(View from inside the bar looking out to the house next door)

Inside there are a few tables, a small stage where they have live entertainment on Fridays, and 1.5 bars-A “half bar” in the front of the house with a limited selection, and then the main bar in the back of the house.

I’m not sure if it was super crowded because it was First Friday or simply because it was Friday in general….but we did notice that the crowd thinned out a bit as it approached 11pm or so, and we were able to get window seats by the bar and sit and chat. I found the Lost Leaf crowd to be slightly eclectic, a bit hippie, and very laid back.  I had no problems striking up a conversation while waiting in line for the bathroom (although I should mention that there is only one unisex bathroom for all to use-you’ve been forewarned!) and everyone we talked to was pretty friendly.  No snobbery here. 

Then again, alcohol makes us all friends, doesn’t it?

Their beer menu was out of control-we’re talking pages and pages here-and they also have wine.  I had heard earlier in the day that they had blueberry beer, and that’s what I was set on when we walked in.

Enter: Wild Blue.  It was quite good-although a bit sweet-and totally tasted like blueberries! I quite enjoyed it.  And also happened to notice that the label said 8% alcohol. Yikes!

Their menu ranges in price from $4 beers and up.  Personally I didn’t find this to be expensive.  You could easily go and have a few beers for under $20 including tip.  However, if you’re looking for a cheap place to grab a Bud Light this is not the place for you. 

My second drink of the evening is the Framboise you see to the left in the picture-I took one sip and was in heaven.  It tasted like sweet raspberry champagne.  The bottle was huge though and I could barely finish it after a while because the sweetness caught up to me.  The wine to the right belonged to my friend, who later dropped her glass all over the floor shattering the glass and losing the wine. We were sad.

My final drink of the evening was this White Chocolate Ale that truly did taste like White Chocolate.  Again I couldn’t finish all of it, but gave it my best effort and then shared the rest.

After all, what’s a little warm beer between friends?

They do not serve food at Lost Leaf but there are plenty of options nearby if you’re feeling snacky after all those drinks.  Or, if you’re so inclined, there happens to be a real Taqueria on the Lightrail as well.

If you’re in the Phoenix area and are looking for a truly “local” place, I would definitely suggest the Lost Leaf.  Try the blueberry beer! And if you’re ordering wine, hold onto your glass.

The Lost Leaf

914 North 5th Street  Phoenix, AZ 85004
(602) 258-0014

But this warrants a few minutes out of my schedule.

Last week I saw an article posted on Facebook about a missing woman from Orlando.

The next day my mom called me to ask me if I had seen the news story.  I said yes I had, and then she shocked me with one sentence: “That’s Yvonne’s daughter.”

Yvonne has been my mom’s hairdresser for almost ten years, and I think it’s safe to say that somewhere along that road they became friends.  Not in a “talk every day” kind of way, but in an “I see you every six weeks and we share our lives and our stories” kind of way.  And I imagine they talk about their children, as parents do, sometimes with pride and sometimes with worry-sharing our lives along with their own.  And on top of that, Lauren (Michelle’s younger sister) also does my younger sister’s hair.  Now, aside from that our families are not close and I will not pretend that we are.  I have never even met Michelle Parker.  But something about this case has touched me.

I keep thinking “What if it were me?”

Or, even worse, “What if that were my sister?”

And so I write this to make you aware: Michelle Parker Is Missing. And before you brush this off, I ask you-what if you were missing? What if it were your daughter? Your sister? Your friend? Your mother?   

Her family members are out of their minds with worry.  You can check out the Official Facebook Page for Michelle Parker (it’s run by the family-all others are not!) or WFTV for updates.

A Few Facts:

-Michelle Parker filmed an episode of the People’s Court months ago (the dispute was between her and her ex over a ring) and it aired on November 17.  I will add that it was not Michelle’s idea to do the show.  Within hours of the show airing, Michelle had disappeared.

-Her black Hummer was found abandoned November 18.

-As of today (November 28) her ex boyfriend Dale Smith was named the primary suspect by police in a press conference.  He has refused a polygraph and is allegedly the last person to see her alive when she dropped off the twins that the couple shares on November 17.

-Michelle Parker is 33 years old and has three children-1 eleven year old boy, and twins (1 boy, 1 girl)

**UPDATED TO ADD: The current reward is back to $5,000.  The $50,000 was put up by a private donor with an expiration date of Sunday evening in an attempt to convince anyone with information to come forward sooner rather than later. Time is of the essence right now!

If you’re on Twitter you can use the hashtag #MichelleParker to get the word out!

And regardless of who the primary suspect in this case is, what matters is that Michelle is still missing.  Please focus on that and let the authorities focus on the suspects.

If you know anything about her disappearance-no matter how small or trivial you may think it is-please contact the authorities.  You can do so anonymously!

1. Hike Machu Picchu

 (Source)

2. Visit Poland-specifically Auschwitz (and possibly other concentration camps).  I have a strange interest in the Holocaust.

(Source)

3. Amsterdam-Anne Frank’s house. (Again with the Holocaust)

 (Source)

4. Paris. In general.

(Source)

5. Have High-Tea in London

 (Source)

6. Visit Italy.  Especially Cinque Terre and also, Italian pizza. And pasta.

7. Volunteer. I’m not sure where as of yet, but I absolutely want to.  I just have to find something that speaks to my heart.

(Source)

8. Yoga retreat. I know this is very “Eat Pray Love” but as someone who practices yoga pretty frequently, I just think this would be an amazing experience to both deepen my practice and to calm my mind.

I (of course) have so many more, but this is a start. Some other countries in general that I consider a must-see are:

-Thailand

-Japan

-Switzerland

-Sweden

-Spain

-Latin America

-Czech Republic

Quite honestly, the only place I really have no desire to go is the Middle East.  I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a woman, or because of the rocky political situation with certain countries, or the violence that occurs (I’m not saying this is true of the entire Middle East, but it is true of a lot of it), but I just feel no pull to go there whatsoever.  Perhaps that will change one day.

And when I put out the call to Twitter to find out what other people had on their bucket list, my good friend Erin responded with:

See? That’s why I love asking other people because I never would have thought of that!

The world is so huge, I wonder if it’s even possible to explore all of it in a lifetime.

So how about you-What’s on your Travel Bucket List?

The air is fresh and clean, the view is utterly breathtaking, and even the food tastes better up here.

I live in a beautiful city full of people, and we are all different.  None of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes, but we all have one thing in common.

We all live on a Mountain.

There is also a city at the bottom of our Mountain and it is full of people as well.  But the air there is filled with smoke and smog, the view is non-existent, and the food is greasy.

Occasionally, someone from our city moves down there.  But usually, it is the opposite.  The people at the bottom strive to be where we are, where the air is healthy and the sun smiles on us. But it’s not an easy Mountain to climb.  There are obstacles, and pitfalls, and tests you must pass to get to the top.  The secret is that once you’ve made it to the top, it’s easier to get back up.   And money cannot buy your way-in our city we have both rich and poor.  We have educated and un-educated.  We have fat and thin people.  None of these things affect your ability to climb our Mountain. 

It is not uncommon for people to visit the city at the bottom of the Mountain, but we never stay there.  If anything, we invite people to come up with us.  We attempt to lift them up.  But the other secret of the Mountain is you have to climb it by yourself.  We can give you tips, and advice, but ultimately it comes down to you. 

In a flat world, you would not be able to differentiate between the people in these two cities unless you could read their minds.  Unless you could know how they think, and what they do when they think no one is watching.  The people in my city do not look down upon those in the city below us.  We merely look over them; see past them.  And yes, there is a difference.  We all know that if they truly wanted to, they could live in our city. 

Occasionally, people from the two cities attempt to become friends or develop romantic relationships.  Unfortunately, this almost never works because eventually one person has to move.  And sadly, it’s not uncommon to lose a friend or a lover to the city below.  Because like I said before, it’s not an easy Mountain to climb.   

As for me, I will never be perfect, but I will always live on a Mountain.  Where the air is clean, the view is utterly breathtaking, and the food tastes better.

Visualize your life in 10 years.  What would you dare to do if you knew you could not fail? Describe what you see, hear, and feel in your ideal life.  Who is there? How do you spend your time? Where do you spend your time?

I am 39.  My husband and I are currently on our way to the hospital because I am in labor with our 4th and final child. Our other 3 children (2 boys, ages 3 & 4, and an 18-month old baby girl) are staying with my little sister and her husband who live right up the road. He grips my hand as we drive and I smile at him, wondering how I ended up with a man who, after eight years together, 3 children and constant sleep deprivation, still looks at me with as much love and possibility as he did the first day we met.  I know a lot of women want the fairytale with the romantic dinners, picnics, and carriage rides but what I want-have always wanted-was a teammate.  A partner.  Someone to tag team jokes at dinner parties, volleyball games, and later on, diaper duty of two children under the age of 2 while attempting to potty-train a third.  And here he was, sitting next to me, expertly maneuvering our SUV down the winding road towards town.  As I watch the mountains disappear in the rearview mirror and I see the hospital in the distance, I put the window down and let the cool evening air caress my cheeks and calm the last spasms of a contraction.  To distract myself, I played the “Lucky” game-something I came up with as a kid when I was upset or things weren’t going my way, to remind myself things were never as bad as they seemed. 

• We are lucky to live here in this small town with the Pacific ocean nearby and the mountains beckoning in the background. 
• We are lucky that both of our families live close by. 
• I am lucky that my dreams of having a big family have come true. 
• I am lucky that my job as a freelance writer (and published author of 2 travel novels) allows me to spend plenty of quality time with our children. 
• We are lucky that both of our jobs allow us the freedom and monetary means to travel and show our children other cultures and experiences. 

As another contraction comes on, I breathe slowly and this time think of the future.  How I can’t wait to take family vacations to Cape Cod and teach my kids to slurp clams with butter like I did as a child.  And when they’re older we’ll take them to Italy for the most delicious hot and melty pizza of their lives.  And to South America where their mother learned to salsa in the balmy summer nights of Rio long before they were born. 

And then I think to the past, and how after always living the responsible life-high school, Bachelor’s degree, job I hated-I’d finally listened to my heart and moved, solo, across the country.  And from there, given in to the “wanderlust” that had pulled at me since I was a little girl dreaming on a hill underneath the stars of upstate NY.  Europe, South America, Thailand, China, Australia, Africa…I’d seen them all and more and nothing could replace those moments and those memories.  And now it was time for a different adventure.  So just as I did when I boarded that first international flight, I take a deep breath.  Our family of six is almost complete.  As we pull up to the hospital and park, he runs around and opens my door to help me out.  In the middle of the parking lot we share a smile and a kiss, but we don’t need to speak.  Just like teammates on a football team, we already know how to run the play.  And if the next ten years are anything like the last, I know I’m in good hands. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a recipe, but today I’ve got a good one!

Now, to me, gnocchi is often associated with being on the heavier side and eaten as comfort food in the cold months.  However, I’ve lightened it up for a fresh summer meal that I think you’ll love! Soft, doughy bites of gnocchi plus yummy veggies and a creamy balsamic-dijon dressing.  The best part is you can use whatever veggies you’ve got on hand!

Ingredients (serves 2-3 as a main course or 4 as a side)

1 package of gnocchi (or you can make your own-I used Mama Pea’s recipe for Tofu Ricotta Gnocchi from her book!)

1 small zucchini, cut in half and sliced

1/4 red onion, diced

1/2 bell pepper (any color!)

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I used crimini)

1 cup frozen sweet corn (or use fresh!)

1 to 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 avocado, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

1 TBSP + up to 1/4 cup EVOO

2 TBSP dijon mustard

3-4 TBSP balsamic vinegar

Directions

Put on a pot of water to boil for the gnocchi.

Lightly spray a sauté pan with cooking spray, and toss in all zucchini, pepper, and mushrooms. 

Sauté over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until slightly softened, then remove to a bowl. 

Add in 1 TBSP EVOO and diced onion into the skillet you just took the veggies out of and cook until translucent. 

Once onions are softened and the oil is infused, remove pan from heat and add in dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar. 

Whisk until it comes together and then slowly drizzle in (up to) 1/4 cup olive oil, whisking the whole time so the dressing doesn’t break. 

By now the water for the gnocchi should be boiling.  Add in the gnocchi and cook according to recipe or package directions.

Return pan with veggies to heat and add in corn and cherry tomatoes. 

Stir to incorporate and heat until corn and tomatoes are heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once gnocchi is done (it should be floating) remove with a slotted spoon and add into vegetables.

Toss all ingredients together, and serve!

Top serving bowls with diced avocado.

Variations/Add-ins: 

-If you’re using regular gnocchi and want to add some protein (I used gnocchi made w/ tofu so my protein was covered) you could add in some white or black beans, grilled chicken, or grilled salmon!

-Fresh herbs would be amazing in this-try parsley, basil or cilantro! I didn’t have any on-hand or I would have added some in too.

-Change up the veggies! Anything you have on hand would be great. Spinach, olives, carrots…and the list goes on! The only thing I recommend keeping is the tomatoes-I think they add an extra burst of flavor that’s so yummy.

-I’m not eating dairy right now, but feta or goat cheese would be delicioso in this.

-Instead of sautéing, grill the veggies and then cut them up! That would add an excellent flavor as well!

I’ve got two servings of this left over for lunches, and I’m stoked!

And, as always, if you try this let me know!

<3

They look so professional and they might be the closest I’ll ever get to publishing a book of my own.

The thing is, I’ve already given them as gifts so many times that when the opportunity to receive a free one from Kodak courtesy of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program arose, I didn’t immediately know what to do with it!

But after some careful thought, I realized this is the perfect way to document my first year living in Arizona for my grandparents back on the east coast.

Now, I’m a busy woman with two jobs so I loved that I could simply choose the pictures, upload them, and the program placed them in chronological order for me!

All I had to do was go through and put captions to explain the pictures.

It turned out fabulous and I can’t wait to hear what my grandparents think when it arrives in the mail!

Among other things, I put in their my road trip to Vegas

All the hiking I’ve been doing

And my family’s recent trip to California

Do you love Photobooks as much as I do?

Well, whether you do or not, KODAK Gallery is also providing an exclusive offer to all of YOU! Click here to get 40% off a medium hardcover or a large Photo Book.  The offer is only
good until 8/31/11 so move fast!

What kind of book would you make?

• Fish tacos on Pacific Beach
• 29+ kisses
•  The weather
•  Amazing friends
•  [Petty]Cabs are heah!
•  Tinfoil animals
•  Mimosas
• Pitsy, our stinky pettycab driver.
•  Eating a nectarine. In a bar on the beach. At 4pm. What?

Thank you to everyone who made this weekend AWESOME.  I am so lucky! <3