I'm officially obsessed.....Dear Macaroons...I love you....more for your colors than your taste, but if I were a dessert....I'd be you.  And truly?  Let's be honest....my next bathroom re-do?  That's right.  Macaroons.  Can't you just SEE the little macaroons in different colors holding up your shower curtains?  I mean sure....you'll walk out of the shower a diabetic, but whatever.  So, truly, I'm smitten....so here are some gems from my last little jaunt in Paris.  Gorgeous tasty little things.

I want them all....

JEWELS!

Matching Rings!

All the pretty colors....is there edible glitter out there???

Once, I was at the opera in NY, and it was intermission, I was SLEEPY...and I needed a treat.  So I went to the over-priced little counter, and I saw a treat, and I picked it up, and thought how odd-a green whoopie pie!  And I gave it a good squeeze....and it totally cracked, as it was NOT a green whoopie pie, it was a pistachio macaroon.   Hmmm.....it was a $7 dollar macaroon, and it was tasty, but noted-no whoopie pies at the opera. 

The calendar said March...2012.
“Start spreadin’ the news…..I’m leaving today…I want to be a part of it…..


"




Oh Thank you Frank Sinatra for giving us a great start to our NY soundtrack! This picture is my March…and yes I took it in March, with a great group FROM St. Augustine, Florida-did you read my February Calendar blog? Lol Anyway, this was taken from “Top of the Rock”…which is the top of Rockefeller Center, and an AMAZING view of the city! Sure. I love the Empire State Building, and a whole lot, but when you are IN it….you can’t very well enjoy seeing it! (Plus…let’s not ignore the drama of lines that the Empire tends to have more of!)

It’s a beautiful peaceful spot at the top, and the views are truly breathtaking. Every time my group goes up, I go, and not because I have to, but because just BEING up there is quieting. It’s hard to describe, so you’ll just have to experience it for yourself!

Sally Lunn, Goodness, the size of your head.

They are as big as your head…literally, and as delicious as….well….I don’t even know what to compare them to!!

Here’s the story. I was in Bath, making some confirmations for an upcoming tour….and after stopping by my soon-to-be hotel, I walked out, turned left, and I saw a LINE! (Well, since I was in the UK, it was really a QUEUE!) Anyway, I got it in….didn’t know why or what for….but they had to know something I didn’t! Well, I was seated in less than 5 minutes, and I didn’t know what to have, but there was a quote on the wall mentioning something about “Cinnamon Butter”…..and I like cinnamon, and I like butter!

A little history about the place that created a queue. It’s called "Sally Lunn's", and the location is known for being “The oldest house in Bath”! Here’s a drop of history straight from Sally’s site! “Sally Lunn, a young French refugee, arrived in England over 300 years ago. She found work at what is now known as Sally Lunn's House and began to bake a rich, round and generous bread now known as the Sally Lunn Bun. This bun became a very popular delicacy in Georgian England as its special taste and lightness allowed it to be enjoyed with either sweet or savoury accompaniments.”

SCRUMDIDDLYUMPTIOUS! (Incidentally….a Roald Dahl word….and HE was English!) My first Sally Lunn Bun….and I had NO idea what to expect, was it like a cinnamon bun? Was it like a cake? Was it a hamburger bun? NEITHER! It was a Sally Lunn BUN! Now, I ordered the “Bath Crème Tea” Which was a half a Sally Lunn Bun with their homemade Cinnamon Butter and served with local clotted cream. It came…half….and smothered in cinnamon butter…and it was DELICIOUS! And it was FAST! Service, a smile, tea I had to strain, and a glass of water! Bliss. Plus…rest for my weary feet in a warm, inviting, “Coffee Room”!

Now, of course I went back a week later when I was in town with my group, and I branched out this time…and got a Sally Lunn Bun with Smoked Salmon! And it came as a sandwich, but imagine the most delightful bread!!! Toasted to perfection! And all served so prompt and with a smile! So, the bun, is a bun of delicious bun goodness, but whether it’s sweet or sandwiched, well, that’s up to you. Quite frankly, if you don’t enjoy the bun, or it doesn’t make you smile from the inside, well I’m forced to think, and be right, that you are just a crank pot to the core!

Get to Bath, for lots of reasons, the town is quaint, the people kind, the history is rich, and then, indulge in a smile of a Sally Lunn Bun! And if you haven’t time, and the line’s too long? Head down to their kitchen and buy one (or two) to go! And then you can take your very own photos with a bun, that's the size of your head!!! (To avoid the "queue"? Give them a ring! Make a reservation! You'll be very satisfied you did....unless....well...you read the blog....you know.) So..."Sally Lunn's"!

They run...so we don't have to. GIVE

Running…in our family? Well, twice I’ve beaten Jesse Owens….once in New York, and once recently in London…I mean…he may have been at the wax museum, but whatever. (Thanks to slow internet here in Bath....NO PHOTOS....booooo!)

If you “pin”…you’ve seen the one that says “I never run with scissors. (Those last two words were unnecessary.)” That’s pretty accurate for me. My brother & sister-in-law however, have turned into runners, and runners with reasons! RWR! (Sounds like ROWR….I like it, as would Hollie Clevenger)

Well, onto my sibling and his awesome wife. They are running their SECOND ½ marathon this April. WHY? Yes, I’d like to know. Seriously though, running for a GREAT CAUSE! Their nephews go to New Hope Academy in Tennessee. The school that they attend is New Hope Academy, just outside of Nashville. New Hope Academy does it’s part to break the cycle of “generational poverty” by reserving 50% of it’s seats for low-income families. They believe that a fantastic, Christ-centered education will launch them into a bright future. This, as you are well aware of, is just TRUE. So give. We all have too much, and we can all go without something for a time, to help. Quite frankly, we’re called to take care of, and love on our fellow man. Curtis & Karen are doing it in many ways, but in one month, they are doing it by running.

So while I’ll be jaunting through London & Paris, (WORKING friends….WORKING) Curtis and Karen will be running the “Country Music ½ Marathon” in Nashville, with...(warning, I’m about to name drop)…TobyMac. That’s right. And if you don’t know the name…come to the cool side….and google. He's kind of a big deal, I mean, not as much as the Fitchett's....but close.

I’m asking you/telling you….help them on their mission to turn racial division, class segregation, and spiritual poverty into community, possibility, and vision. You’ve personally seen the cycle, you are all too aware that it’s out there. So instead of “tsk-ing” at the situation, drop some coins/BILLS into Curtis & Karen's Fund. Click any underlined word for the proper websites! Honestly….a great cause, and really great people. Sure, I’m related, but I’m not big on saying things I don’t mean…to a fault.

It’s easy….and really $20 would go a very long way….I could break it down by latte’s…but that’s been done before….so I’m gonna go with soda pop…because I love it best. On average…you probably eat out 10 days in a month….and a drink…just a soda pop drink….is average of 2.25….and that’s if you are in America, currently I’m in the UK…and I'm cheap, so I’m drinking TAP WATER! Anyway, for the sake of math? Let’s knock that to $2. 10 drinks at $2? That’s $20 friends….so here. Better for your health….better for the FUTURE of our children. Christ-centered education? BETTER FOR THE WORLD!! They said they’d raise 3K….that’s a 150 people on a “soda scheme”….and I’ve got well over 800 fb “friends”....and only about 8 readers….hmmmm….my math might be a little off...

CONSIDER THE ENDEAVOR! CLICK THIS

Or if you need the address to cut and paste....

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/curt-karen-fitchett/powered-by-hope-2012-team-tobymac

(Insert AWESOME mental photo of said "Curtis & Karen Fitchett
here"....silly free wifi!)

Thanks….thanks so much! And...please. Find humor in the fact that I wrote this blog with my picture of Jesse Owens and I, not knowing that "kwf" mentioned it in his donation. This apple...is still ON the tree!

The calendar said February...2012

Well, the photo is as it says! St. Augustine Florida! And again, warmer than here in February! I took this picture IN February...but February of 2011. I flew down to Florida to see the shuttle launch, and experience for which there are no words, perhaps some tears, but you can't be explained the emotions felt! I've already blogged about the awesome, amazing, word-less, experience that it was. That blog is "Shuttle Launch. Best. Thing. Ever.".

I stayed with some dear friends with Green Light Group Tours....(Fab company by the way. Normal people. Great tours. Great prices. BOOK IT!) They were more than kind to let me stay, lend me a car, let me play with their kids, AND? Let me ditch my lawn chair there! :-) (Sometimes I blog on that site too, so, take interest, and stalk their page too!)

At any rate....St. Augustine is a wonderful little tourist town, at any season. Of course it's better to see it with friends, and it's a glorious sort of sunshine, but please....don't leave without having a sticky bun from the Bunnery Cafe on St. George Street...WOW! Y-U-M! From a historical stand point, it IS our oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African-American origin here in the US! It was founded in 1565...forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown! Fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock! So it's fun, warm, yummy, AND educational!

The calendar said January....2012....

January….it’s cold here, so a healthy reminder of WARM is always good. I took this picture in Oia, on the island of Thera….one of the five islands that make up Santorini. Picturesque is the word that books will use to describe this place….I think that’s hardly the tip of the iceberg beauty! It’s simply stunning, and for a couple reasons. 1. Of course that it’s STUNNING! 2. Every picture you’ve ever seen of Greece, woo’ing you with it’s history and magnificent beauty has a picture from this little town of Oia, unless it’s the acropolis. Magazine articles about Greece cause us to believe that there are two things to see…the acropolis….and these blue houses. Now, while that’s not true of course, as Greece is awesome in every corner, it IS true that these are two MUST SEE’s! Now, sure, I travel for a living….and I’ve been to Oia more than “a lot”, yet way under “never enough”! I want to move here for a month, hang with the locals, and learn to be annoyed with the hoards of tourists that run all over until about 5pm! (Who cares if that’s how I do it!). BUT, until that moment…I’m forced to steal beauty in small doses. This picture…taken during too short of time on a shore excursion, and I am surrounded by OODLES of people. You don’t see or feel that in this picture, and when I flip open January? I don’t feel that either. I’m caught in the moment of beauty looking over the Aegean. There is no need for a fancy camera, a special secret location from where to shoot, and certainly no need for photo shop, with the exception of the words stating where it is! It’s stunning. Period. I know, I’ve said that already, but there aren’t words for this place. As always, I encourage you to go, put it on your wish list, or order and print it up to a huge canvas like I did! So now, its not just January…it’s bliss all year long.

Everything came up Roses!

It was the 123rd Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California, (Fine...120th for the picture to the left, with my FAVORITE elephant!) And if you are reading this and took a sharp breath in and said "I WANNA SEE THAT SOMEDAY!!!"...then go ahead and book your tickets for 2013, cuz it's beyond plenty awesome!!! I'll give you the number for Al Brooks-the company of choice to work for and go with for the Rose Parade/Game...and I'll even wait for you to book it and come back. 1-800-341-2766. Tell them I sent you, you won't get a discount, but if you promise to bring a dozen honey crisp apples to Jay Brooks....perhaps you'll get a seat cushion upon arrival!?



Okay. Are ya booked?

Good. Read on.

I'm SMITTEN with the flowers, and it of course helps that it's in SUNNY CALIFORNIA where the average temperature on parade day is? DRUM ROLL PLEASE?! 68 degrees. Insane. And fabulous! Granted layers are clutch, and some years are cooler than others, but this year...it was about 82 degrees by 1pm after our fabulous Mexican lunch on Olvera Street!

So hit the 5 "W"s? Who? What? When? Why? Where? Oh...and HOW!

Who?

I didn't think this through very well. Who what? Who puts it on? The Tournament of Roses! Who has a float in the parade? Whomever can pay for one! Who marches in the parade? Whatever bands qualify, and whatever bands that can raise the money to get to Cali! Who benefits? CALI! They say that the Parade and game generate like $400 million dollars for southern California. Who gets to watch? YOU! On TV! Or hopefully, some year, NEXT, in person! People camp out for good free seats. I vote for paying, sleeping in your own bed the night before, and being dropped off pretty near to your sweet seats!

What?

The parade...full of flowers. 40+ floats...made entirely, and I mean ENTIRELY, of some sort of a living plant. The more actual ROSES, the better, but seeds, petals, bark, leaves, fibers, stems, vegetables, nuts, and almost any other part of a plant are also used! Only 7 types of glue are allowed to be used! Every single visible part of the float, must be covered. Next time, take notice of the hitches! Generally those are covered in onion seeds. Amazing.

When?

January 1! UNLESS January 1 is on a Sunday, then it's January 2. "Never on a Sunday" is a rule steeped in tradition, and thankfully still adhered to today!

Where?
Pasadena, California. 5.5 miles of Rose Parade goodness. Where is best to sit? Me? I've never not sat directly on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado, but I've been spoiled and living a dream. You? Somewhere in a bleacher! And if you can be somewhere where the sun is behind you? That'd be swell, plus your pictures will turn out better! Honestly though....book a tour with Al Brooks-less hassle, better seats, worth every penny, and plus I hear they have great guides...

Why?

WHY NOT! Well, the real answer is this...which I will steal from the official site of the Rose Parade...

"This uniquely American event began as a promotional effort by Pasadena's distinguished Valley Hunt Club. In the winter of 1890, the club members brainstormed ways to promote the "Mediterranean of the West." They invited their former East Coast neighbors to a mid-winter holiday, where they could watch games such as chariot races, jousting, foot races, polo and tug-of-war under the warm California sun. The abundance of fresh flowers, even in the midst of winter, prompted the club to add another showcase for Pasadena's charm: a parade would precede the competition, where entrants would decorate their carriages with hundreds of blooms. The Tournament of Roses was born.

"In New York, people are buried in snow," announced Professor Charles F. Holder at a Club meeting. "Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let's hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise."

(I INTERRUPT THIS QUOTE TO SAY TRUE TRUE TRUE! I SHOVELED OUT OF 36INCHES OF SNOW HERE ON THE EAST COAST IN 2010 SIMPLY TO MAKE IT TO THE 2011 ROSE PARADE!)

"During the next few years, the festival expanded to include marching bands and motorized floats. The games on the town lot (which was re-named Tournament Park in 1900) included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant (the elephant won). Reviewing stands were built along the Parade route, and Eastern newspapers began to take notice of the event. In 1895, the Tournament of Roses Association was formed to take charge of the festival, which had grown too large for the Valley Hunt Club to handle."

It's pretty much? JUST AWESOME!

HOW?

Well, it's a science for sure. They estimate that over 18 million flowers are used each year! Growers must time their growing cycle exactly so that the flowers are ready to be picked and shipped just a few days before the parade! Volunteers from all over help out! YOU! Yes, YOU could be a volunteer! "Petal Pushers" as they say! There are many different requirements as to height, as there is a bridge to pass under, and the float must be able to fit under the bridge in less than 25 seconds so as to NOT slow the parade! Planning starts in January, once the THEME is announced, then ideas must be submitted so there are no overlaps, and then by March the sponsor shopping begins! In May those builders must have a scale model to present to the sponsors! June sees them working on the main framework, and by September, the main construction is complete, and any small items are fabricated and installed on the float. Deliveries of non-perishable items such as seeds and beans start in October. Flowers start arriving in late-December and are stored in separate tents until they are needed. Approximately 30,000 workers, many of them young people from schools and church groups, report to the various builder's construction sites to begin the round-the-clock job of decorating the floats. Most flowers are prepared by popping the heads off the stems before being glued in place. Delicate flowers are placed in narrow plastic vials filled with water before being pushed in place. Each float requires an average of 10,000 lbs of flowers and takes 7,000 person-hours or more to decorate! (The photo here is of the 2012 float promoting organ donation, and featured those that had lost a loved one, and the one saved by their loss. )

The first time I ever saw it, I was given SWEET tickets, and I went to all the floats before the parade, they are located in various parts of the county. There are many out by where the Rose Bowl actually takes place in the Rosemont Pavilion. There are some in other buildings around the city. The La Canada-Flintridge float gets built underneath an overpass-and every year is hysterical and VERY cute! Then the morning of? I walked the row of floats, yes, at like 5am. (PS? They get disqualified if they aren't in line by 3am) THEN? You watch the parade, and after? You go to the Post-Floats! Where they are all lined up and ready for onlookers like us! And just when you are all flowered out? You fall into bed, since you've not slept all week, and wake up to the option of having "In and Out Burger" for dinner, as you are in California after all!

Go to the Parade. Go to the game if you want, but really, get float stalking, and get to the parade. You'll thank me. And I'll just go ahead and say it now. You. Are. Welcome!

And yes...yes HGTV DID make it snow on their float! Seriously. MAGICAL!