Every Damn Time!

Just a quick one off funny (language warning!) for those of us who have this problem every time we travel.

It's taken me years, but now I roll instead of fold, and I can definitely fit more in my luggage.  We recently spent four days in Barcelona and I did it all with one carry-on (so proud!).  I even bought back two tops that didn't get worn, AND three new tops, as well as souvenirs (and a bottle of booze from the airport duty free - well, of course!).

As always, The Oatmeal, has totally nailed the problem ...

Time To Say Goodbye ...

Sorry folks, I know I've been neglecting you and the blog over the past few months, but I think it's time for the blog to have a bit of a vacay.  It won't go away completely, but things have changed a bit and writers block has set in with a vengeance.  One day, when inspiration strikes, I'll get back over here and start writing again, but for now, as we're heading into a glorious summer, I'm going to leave you to go and have some adventures of your own.

Thanks so much to those of you who've taken time out of your own busy days to drop by and see what's been going on, it's been so great to have so many of you follow my adventures.  

So, for now, it's goodbye and good luck.

Take time to appreciate the little things, save up and go on that holiday,

keep in touch with your friends and family, drink that cocktail,

make that cake (and then eat it!), take care of yourself and each other. 

Be well.

Thought For The Week ...

80,000 Page Views!

Wow, I've just clocked up 80,000 page views - thank you so much!

Strangely, the amount of views went up madly when I stopped writing the blog for a few months, and that doesn't make sense at all, but I'm thrilled to have all of you new readers.

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to stop by and see what's going on - I really do appreciate it.

Thought For The Week ...

Restaurant Review : Baja Cantina, Carmel, CA, USA

The blurb from this great local cantina reads:-

Get away from the city and join us for fantastic food, an exceptional bar, and a festive lively atmosphere where everyone feels like part of the party!  Stop by and see our vintage automobile memorabilia or soak in the beautiful scenery of the valley on our heated patio (sorry, no pets allowed).  Baja Cantina is a fun, friendly place to dine, catch up with friends, watch sporting events, or hang out and enjoy an award winning Margarita.

- and it was true!

This place was jumping and jammed full of locals having a ball.  Great atmosphere with cheery, efficient staff keeping everyone's drinks topped up and serving fab food.

As you might have guessed from the name, the menu leans towards Mexican cuisine and there's loads to choose from.  Click HERE for the dinner menu, and HERE for the lunch menu.

We started with the fresh guacamole and veggies to share, then I went with the fabulous Oaxacan Prawn Scampi - sautéed jumbo prawns served in a sizzling skillet, served with green salad, rice, refried pinto beans and warm tortillas - YUM!  I had a large, lovely, icy cocktail too, but I honestly can't remember which one it was!

This is a great place to meet up with your mates, watch the sport, have some great food and drinks, and just kick back - we would definitely return.  Those who love vintage cars will like it even more, the walls and roof are covered with car parts, licence plates, old signs, petrol pumps etc.  Loads of parking too, because it's not in the middle of town.

Baja Cantina

Valley Hills Centre

7166 Carmel Valley Road

Carmel  CA  93923

Phone:- 831 625 2252

http://www.carmelcantina.com

Thought For The Week ...

Thought For The Week ...

Restaurant Review : Cafe Coyote, San Diego, CA, USA

We wandered into Cafe Coyote midway through our San Diego Trolley Tour for a late lunch.  It's in San Diego Old Town, on San Diego Avenue.  There were loads of tables and a decent amount of people for so late in the day, and we chose a table in a sunny window.

The one thing with San Diego is that there's never any shortage of good Mexican restaurants, and Cafe Coyote didn't disappoint.

We were absolutely gasping for a drink and each downed a large glass of water as soon as it was poured for us, before moving onto a beer for hubby and an icy cocktail for me whilst we perused the menu.

I ordered the Carne Asada Tacos - two soft corn tortillas filled with grilled and chopped marinated steak, served with guacamole (everything should be served with guacamole!) and salsa fresca - $10.95.  It was another generous serve (yay for America!) and I couldn't finish all of it, though it was very fresh and scrumptious.

Hubby ordered the Coyote Caesar Salad - crisp romaine lettuce tossed with parmesan cheese, crunch tortilla strips an a traditional Caesar dressing invented in Tijuana (get it, get it?) with added margarita chicken breast - $7.50 plus $4.95 for the chicken.  He said it was great.

The service was fast and friendly and the food was good, and we were out of there and back to the trolley pick up point in really good time (with maybe just a few stops at shops along the way).  This would be a great place to go for lunch or dinner with a group of friends and get stuck into their HUGE Tequila and Margarita selection.

Cafe Coyote

2461 San Diego Avenue

San Diego  CA  92110  USA

Phone:- 619 291 4695

http://www.cafecoyoteoldtown.com

Thought For The Week ...

Thought For The Week ...

Handy Kitchen Gadget - Love It!

I'm not normally one who's mad for a kitchen tool that has only one use.  They tend to take up space for a few years, get used maybe once or twice, and then pitched out when you're sick of seeing them clutter up the place.  This is different.

Hubby and I have hot breakfast cereal pretty much every day (except the weekends, which are given over to lovely fried things) and pretty much every day I squeak and curse as I try and get the hot cereal bowl with lava-esque contents out of the microwave oven without burning my fingertips off - bowls of porridge are the worst.

Of course, you can use a hand towel or oven gloves, and I've used both - but I always end up with the fabric actually getting cereal on it, and that's just grotty.

I saw this fabulous invention it in the Lakeland catalog and ordered it immediately - it's a Microwave Plate, and it's FANTASTIC!  It's probably one of the cheapest things in my kitchen (£3.99), but I've used it every single day since I took it out of the box.

Here's the official blurb:-

Bowls of soup, beans and baked potatoes can be too hot to handle once they've been cooked, and bulky oven gloves just won't fit in the microwave ... after experiencing this problem in our staff room, we instantly saw the benefit of the microwave plate.

Just sit your bowl or ready-meal on it, and you can lift it out safely without doing the

"hot food juggle".

It works.  It's good.  It's cheap.  It's easy to clean.  It doesn't take up much room (ours lives top of the microwave).  Buy one - I'm pretty sure you won't regret it.

Oh, and if you're like me, and love kitchen stuff, get your hands on the Lakeland catalog - it's fantastically stuffed full of brilliant things you'll want.  I have zero affiliation with Lakeland and they don't even know I exist, I just think this is a great product and wanted you to know about it.

Thought For The Week ...

Restaurant Review : Katy's Place, Carmel, CA, USA

Firstly, Carmel by the Sea is a gorgeous place.  Gorgeous shops (managed to find both Anthropologie and J Crew having 40% off last marked price sales - squeeeeee!), gorgeous people walking gorgeous dogs, gorgeous weather, gorgeous beach and gorgeous restaurants.  If you're visiting California, do yourself a favour and nip down to Carmel by the Sea for a few hours and enjoy it.

We drove in for a late breakfast and went to Katy's after reading the fab reviews on TripAdvisor - we weren't disappointed.  Katy's is a spot for locals - you can't book, it's cash only, and the line is out the door.  There were no tables available when we arrived, but we were offered seats at the bar which turned out to be the best seats in the house.  You could look right into their insanely busy kitchen and you felt like you were in the middle of everything - I would choose the bar over a normal table any day.

The busy view from our bar stools.
Those guys never stopped and the kitchen was small.

While we were deciding on meals, the friendly waitress poured good filter coffee into our big heavy mugs.  I love Eggs Benedict, and they had more kinds of Eggs Benedict than I've ever seen - they're famous for them.  The menu was huge though, and the eggs, bacon, biscuits and sausage gravy screamed my name, so that's what I went with.  It was a very generous size and scrumptious!  Hubby went for a yummy Eggs Benedict option.

The wait staff are friendly and efficient, the restaurant is packed, and the food is good.  I would definitely go back if I was passing through the area again.  The only odd thing is that it's not owned by Katy, it's owned by Edward.  :-)

Katy's Place

Mission Street, between 5th and 6th Streets

Carmel  CA  93921

Phone:- 831 624 0199

www.katysplacecarmel.com

Thought For The Week ...

Restaurant Review : Lokal, Carmel Valley, CA, USA

I'm a bad blogger, and forgot to take any photos,
but this is what a breakfast burrito looks like,
just in case you didn't know.  :-)

We were staying up the road a bit on our October trip to California and on our first jet-lagged morning decided to go for a drive to get some brunch.  We headed into Carmel Valley, thinking we were heading to Carmel by the Sea (must do more research!), only discovering that we'd headed in completely the wrong direction when we arrived at a small local town, not the big bustling beachside town of Carmel by the Sea.

Anyway, I was starving (not unusual), so we drove about a bit until we saw this place tucked in the back of a little grocery store parking lot.  It's small and there were a few people sitting outside enjoying the sun, with lots of cooler seating inside if you chose.

Just as we walked in, a group sitting outside under one of the umbrellas paid and left, so we snagged their spot.  Friendly staff came out to clear the table for us, and from the way they were chatting to the other diners, we figured out that this is a local spot for locals - and they're always the best spots!

The menu was small, healthy, well priced, and good - all locally sourced if possible.  I'd never had one before, so decided on the Breakfast Burrito with added avocado and bacon (they make everything better), plus a cappuccino and a fresh squeezed orange juice.  Hubby ordered a sandwich, coffee and juice.

The juice and coffee arrived first, shortly followed by the burrito which was about the size of a newborn child.  Hubby looked at it, then at me, and said "There's no way you're going to finish that", and I couldn't argue.  Whenever I get presented with huge quantities of food, I get a bit panicky and hardly eat any of it, but not this time!

The burrito was so scrumptious that I just kept chowing down on it.  I got a bit weary towards the end, but it was too good to leave, so I finished the lot.  Hubby said his sandwich was great too, so I heartily recommend this place.

There's loads of fab wineries with cellar doors in this little town, so you can certainly spend a few hours kicking around Carmel Valley without too many problems at all.

Click HERE for the Breakfast and Lunch menu.
Click HERE for the Dinner menu.
Click HERE for the Wine list.

Lokal

13762 Centre Street

Carmel Valley  CA 93924

USA

Phone:- 831 659 5886

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you and yours a seriously fantastic 2015.

May it be filled to the brim with laughter, good health, adventures and joy.

The blog will kick back into gear again next week, but I've had so many new readers in the past month or so whilst things have been quiet, and I'd just like to say WELCOME - it's lovely to see you here.