For the past year we have also had pizza almost every Friday night at our most amazing local pizza place “Old Mission Brewery” – it was “born” about a year ago on the hillside (about a mile of deep rutted dirt road to get there) and moved to a building a couple of miles from us last November. AND they closed 2 weeks ago in preparation for their move to a better location in downtown Ensenada (yes, better for them … not necessarily better for us). So, when they reopen next month we will have our Friday nights in town after our shopping.

The latest and most amusing is the DIET. If you don’t know about HCG, then check it out. You either take a sub-lingual or injection daily (we do the needle). Menu is based on 500 calories per day and is fascinating. I have taken on the role of “head chef” to add a bit of life to our meals … herbs and spices don’t have calories (and as long as they are not oil based are ok) and transform the bland into the “interesting” at the very least. Yes, there have been a couple of “we don’t need to do that again” things, but overall it is working out. I’m creating some interesting fat free things for us that fit in the limited choices presented by the diet. Can you say “some white fish, chicken breast, and lean beef”???

We can have salad, cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, onions. Dressings include apple cider vinegar and lime juice. Stevia is the redeemer that mellows the harshness of the vinegar.

The net effect is one of getting skinnier. I’m down over 20 in less than 3 weeks (and we had an “off the reservation” weekend with guests and eating).

Huh?

Yep.  Although not many people are aware, Baja, Mexico is home to some pretty spectacular wineries.  I know… you are all staring at your computer screens in shock at how low our standards have sunk.  But… not true Grasshopper!

When we first came down here, we heard about some of the wine that was being produced out of the Guadalupe Valley.  “Sure, sure,” we said. “Wine is made in all 50 states in the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii, obviously), and much of it is not great.”

So… at our first dinner here, I looked over the table at Don and said, “I’m going to try some.”  The waiter brought me a wine made from Italian Nebbiolo grapes, and my eyes popped out of my head.  This wine was HUGE. I mean BIG.  A little rough, but that’s not a bad thing.  And, I have to say it “yummy.”

Over the past month or so we’ve been soaking up what sun there had been down here, eating burritos, walking the beach and sipping on some great Mexican wine.

Who’da thunk it?

Newport Beach Boat Parade, December 2009

Hi, everyone! 

We’ve been sorting and cataloguing to seeing what places and experiences were “naughty” or “nice,” for our “Top Ten” for 2009! 

We don’t think anything will beat last year’s #1 – getting married in Siena, Italy.  That is likely to rule the board for the rest of our lives.  Heck, maybe we’ll do it again, this time in… I don’t know… the top of Kilimanjaro?  Maybe the Dali Lama would be up to blessing us?  

Here are our possibilities for 2009: 

• Sailing on a private 100 ft. yacht around the Big Island, Hawaii with 100 top performers on our team. (June)
• Just living in our fabulous villa on the Cote d’Azur, France (Sept – October)
• Monaco.  That should be it, but we had dinner with millionaires at one of the best restaurants in the world.  WOW! (September)
• Exploring San Francisco from our condo on Nob Hill (March – May)
• Kayaking in the bio-luminescent bay, at night, in Puerto Rico (October)
• An amazing dinner with our best friends on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific in Acapulco (March)
• Making our own perfume in Grasse, France (September)
• Whisking Don to Portugal to eat suckling pig for his birthday (January)
• Summer on the beach in Southern California (June – August)
• Celebrating with our Team Europe colleagues in Malaga and later in the year, Barcelona (February and September)
• Spending day-after-day wandering around the amazing hill-top towns in the south of France (October and November)
• Going to Toledo (NOT Ohio), Spain, TWICE and staying at the beautiful Parador overlooking the city (February and November)
• Celebrating the porcini season with a mushroom FEAST in Italy (September)
• Driving along the Mediterranean from Italy to the South of Spain (October)
• The futile search for paella in Valencia, Spain, where I left my purse in a CHINESE (?!?) restaurant, 30 miles from where we were staying.  Sounds horrible, huh?  It’s all about how you look at it. (October)
• Flying First Class everywhere.  This is not to boast.  We simply love it.

WOW…we are so grateful for everything in our lives… our family, friends, our business and YOU!

Have a fabulous holiday!

Much love,
Don and Karla

Chef Micah starts with Wagyu beef (American Kobe for those who don’t know) – it is “brought to temperature” by the proper application of hot cast iron – the result is a wondrous and magnificent crust. Additional components include a pretzel bread bun, aioli, tomato and onion relish and cheddar cheese -

Also on the plate … mac ‘n cheese – makes it a double hit.

We’ve also decided to return for a few months in the Spring, and thanks to Cote d’Azur Villa Rentals, most especially Meg Burley, we’re in the process looking through all their villas in France to find that “perfect” private villa in the south of France.

Everything was taken care of for us… linens, pool, housekeeping, etc.  Don and I love to be pampered, and we’re looking forward to coming back in March.

We’re off to Spain for a week or so, so stay tuned!

Gosh… I’ve said it a million times in my life.

I was reminded recently by a very wise woman, that no matter what’s happening in  our lives, we are living, right now, the “good old days.”

These days are pretty good in fact.

Don and I are so grateful to have found the business that we have.  The flexibility allows us to be able to work our business from anywhere.  Anywhere with a phone and an internet connection, that is.  That’s pretty much anywhere in the world. 

We’re grateful that this business is lucrative enough that we don’t have to stay in two-star hotels, or downsize, or look especially hard for budget airfare (although we are smart enough to find great flights!).

This weekend, we went to a dinner party thrown by a friend that is also in our business. Champaign, caviar, great wine, food, conversation, new friends… all in a beautiful home overlooking the Mediterranean!

Saturday we drove to Badalucco, Italy to have lunch at a place that is a temple to all that is Mushrooms.  Two hours later, stuffed to the brim with everything Porcini, we drove home and crashed.

Here’s Don… before… and after!  (I’m laughing hysterically, but not sure if he will be after he sees this post!)

These certainly are the GOOD OLD DAYS.

Don and Karla, Cap d'Antibes

Living and working on the European Continent has provided us with a wonderful opportunity to spend our days exploring much of what the South of France has to offer. 

Thursday morning, we drove to the highly-popular port town of Antibes, hugging the coastline halfway between Nice and Cannes.  This town has long been one of the most inspirational settings for artists and is home to the largest pleasure port on the Riviera.  Our eyes popped out of our heads at the sight of so many mega-yachts.

We spent a few hours meandering the busy Thursday morning market in the old town.  You can find everything at these markets – food, and more food, household goods, clothes, jewelry and all the usual Provencal artisan items.  There was so much to buy that we left without buying anything!  We did “invest” in a yummy Socca (Provencal Savory Chickpea Pancake) – here’s Don enjoying himself!

Happy Don at Le Bacon

On to lunch in Cap d’Antibes!  Our good friend, Lynne Edwards, had recommended a restaurant called, “Le Bacon.”  You long-time readers will know that Don would never pass up an opportunity to eat at a restaurant with named “BACON,” so we made our way there and… WOW…  there we were, just two average Americans eating among the rich and famous!  The restaurant is perched on a small peninsula and overlooks all of Antibes, Nice, the Maritime-Alpes, etc.  Don had fois gras and boulliabasse and I had little loup de mer foam raviolis and grilled bass.  Another pinch-me moment!

Friday we met with our estate agent in Valbonne to begin the process of finding a suitable villa for next year.  We’ve decided to come back from March to June.  This month has flown by and we feel like we haven’t really been able to really discover this part of the world.

Friday night we hosted a small dinner party for 6 entrepreneurs that we do business with.  Great conversation, great food, great wine… need we say more?

Then, on to MONACO!  We dined famously at the Hermatage Hotel.  What a night!

Sunday, Don and I decided to take a short road trip.  San Remo, Italy was our destination.  A short hour by car and we were there.  The town was mostly closed since it was a Sunday, but we found a little pizzeria and then drove home.  A really, nice day and drive.

Two more countries to add to our list this trip.  All in one 24-hour period!

Great food, great conversation, and a GREAT CHEF.  Here we are with the master himself!

We retired to our villa a soaked up the Mediterranean sun poolside.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

OK, so we’re off to visit Grasse, and guess what we find?  A perfumerie that will teach us how to make our own perfume!  How cool is that?  We learned all about the three levels of perfume.  The base notes, the mid-notes and the high notes.  We smelled, sampled, chose, debated for a couple of hours, finally coming up with individual perfumes that we completely tailored to each of us.