Butler's Pantry and Jack London State Park

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"I ride over my beautiful ranch. Between my legs is a beautiful horse. The air is wine. The grapes on a score of rolling hills are red with autumn flame. Across Sonoma Mountain, wisps of sea fog are stealing. The afternoon sun smolders in the drowsy sky. I have everything to make me glad I am alive." Jack London ~ (1876–1916)

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All this talk about butler's pantries reminded me of one I saw in The House of Happy Walls out at Jack London State park (about 15 min. up the road from my house). So on Monday, under beautiful blue skies, my sister Stacey and I headed east from Santa Rosa to Glen Ellen and out to Jack London's Beauty Ranch. This was her first visit, but I have lost count as to how many times I have visited and hiked Jack's ranch in The Valley of the Moon.

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The ranch consists of 1,400 acres of gorgeous land with cyprus trees, vineyards, a forest of madrone, bay and redwood trees, a cottage (completely restored) where he and his wife Charmaine lived and died. There are also many other structures, one of which is the ruins of The Wolf House that sadly burned down before they could move in. Shortly afterward he passed away, and his wife (who lived 40 more years) built The House of Happy Walls to live in and be used upon her death for a museum. It is in this museum/house filled with all their treasures and photos to far away places that one can truly feel and appreciate what an extraordinary life Jack London had and shared with his wife.

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Jack London State Historical Park.

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All of the above photos are copywrited to Sabina DeShazo.

Friday's Photos - Butler's Pantry

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I love a beautiful, well stocked butler’s pantry!! There is a charm and nostalgia to these pantries, as well as a practical, utilitarian purpose.

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Happy Friday!!

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My Favorite Green Bag - Flip and Tumble

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My favorite all time "green" take-along bag is by flip and tumble. I have been gifted and bought many cloth/green bags over the years but none of them have I loved more than this shopping bag!! The two women who started this company contacted me about 2 years ago and asked me to try out their new invention. Since then they have been featured in numerous magazines - Sunset, Real Simple, and Martha Stewart. One of the reasons they are my favorite is simply the design. They are made of a material that in seconds becomes a small compact ball you can pop in your purse and therefore you are never without it. Another reason is that even though the compacted ball is about 3" in diameter, about the size of a peach - the 24-7 bag, is rated for 25lbs, and will handle the toughest of loads!! It comes in lots of cute colors and is priced at only $9.00 per bag.

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flip & tumble

Nat King Cole - L-O-V-E

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!

Heads Up - National Wear Red Day Is Tomorrow!

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Wear red on Feb. 5th and help support the fight against heart disease, the No. 1 health threat for women! Join the Go Red For Women® movement now!

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Avec Eric on PBS

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Recently, I've been enjoying a new show on PBS called "Avec Eric."

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"The way I see life, everything is spiritual," he says. "We live on Earth, we are omnivores, the nature of human beings is to eat meat and fruits and vegetables, and therefore we have to kill animals. I don't have a problem with that. But it's a sacred moment."

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Inexorable respect for food is the Ripert way—and following that enlightened path has landed him an incredible résumé for his 44 years. First four-starred by The New York Times at 29, Ripert is a published author of multiple books and a recognizable TV star, thanks to "fan favorite" guest-judging stints on Bravo's reality cooking series, Top Chef. There's also the small matter of the day job: a hands-on position at the helm of New York's Le Bernardin, one of the world's most hallowed cathedrals to food. This month he adds to the list Avec Eric, a PBS venture in which he stars; it's part ecotourist travelogue, part cooking show, and part behind-the-scenes documentary at the midtown Manhattan mother ship of his restaurant.

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(The above text is courtesy of an article in Newsweek)

20 Lasts Survey

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Tagged - 20 Lasts Survey

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Thing you drank? Breve Cappuccino (my fav).

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Thing you ate? An 3 minute egg and prosciutto (yum!!)

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Song you listened to? House of Cards, by Radiohead (I love the whole In Rainbows album).

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Thing you watched on television? A biography on Louisa May Alcott on PBS.

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Thing you read? Facebook updates.

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Thing you wrote? A check.
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Person(s) you saw? My 3 little ones off to school.

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Person you spoke to? Car repair guy on the phone - my car is having some electrical problems I'm hoping can be fixed quickly.

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Person you got a text from? A friend, who texted to say - "I've ordered the coffee."

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Thing you bought? New boots - black.

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Person who said they love you? My husband (who thinks it's funny to mumble it).

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Persons house (other than your own) you were in? My neighbors - returning mail that was mistakenly delivered to my house - again.

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Blog you visited? My sister's - Magic Mirror.

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Thing you searched for on the Internet? Overnight accommodations (where there is snow!!).

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Person who phoned you? My daughter's cello teacher - who now has a mobile music studio - yay!!

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Song you downloaded? Sweet Disposition, by The Temper Trap.

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Game you played? 20 questions - with my daughter Caitie. Her word was Disneyland. ;)

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Time you drank alcohol? On my 22nd anniversary, last Saturday!!

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Smoked a cigarette? On a road trip to Canada with my best friend Karen - in her gremlin (lol) - when I was 20ish (but I didn't inhale - honest).

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Person you gave a big hug to? My son Christopher :) !!

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If you would like to play along - consider yourself tagged!!!

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(Some above photos courtesy of Jupiter Images)