Alaska Adventures: My Head In the Clouds at Denali

Denali, the High One

Am I writing a travel blog or a home and food blog?  With recent trips to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Alaska and Texas I’m really beginning to wonder.  

South Africa & Zimbabwe Safari

What do you get when you combine a good cause — The Junior League of Washington’s annual Tossed & Found sale — with a few cocktails, fellowship, a live auction and complete lack of budgetary discipline? Cheetahs, elephants, buffalo, lions and hippos, oh my!

Shopping In Charlottesville All Along Ivy Road

And George in Charlottesville, VA

Last week I finally took a break from work and spent a couple of fantastic days in Charlottesville, Virginia.  Charlottesville known for the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, rolling country lanes, horse farms and wonderful shops and boutiques.  O.K., perhaps it’s best known to me for it’s shops and boutiques.

Southern Entertaining Inspiration: At Home~Charleston

Image via Charleston Historic Homes

Christmas in Charleston, SC – when a friend suggested a last minute trip to the Holy City I just couldn’t resist.  Charleston is one of America’s most beautiful cities and for me, has always epitomized the best of Southern hospitality, grace and style.  And I’m just talking about the homes and the people.  I haven’t even gotten to the amazing food.

Scottish Christmas Walk Parade

Bagpipes, dogs, old houses and kilts, put them all together and you have the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade — the official kickoff of the Christmas season in Old Town Alexandria.  More than 100 clans and pipe and drum bands march in this annual tradition accompanied by their faithful hounds and terriers.

Bayon Temple, Ankor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia

 

Ankor Thom, originally uploaded by SpoonAndChair.

The Amazing Bayon Temple and it’s faces, located within Ankor Thom. Which is more amazing, this achievement by the Khmer people or that I took this photo?

IndoChina: Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia

Flowers in Hanoi, originally uploaded by SpoonAndChair.

On vacation, traveling around Indochina. Lots of great food, cooking classes, inspiration for home and hospitality will get some blog posts up after I return. Until then, a few photos of my trip. for more photos visit my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/spoonandchair/

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego – La Jolla

So the problem with tourist towns is that unless you eat in one of the restaurant there are no bathrooms.  What’s a morning Diet Coke-addicted girl to do?   If I was a tourist on the Mall in Washington, DC I’d simply head over to one of the Smithsonian museums to powder my nose.  Lightbulb! The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego‘s (MCASD) La Jolla branch.

Does it matter what brings you to art as long as once you get there you appreciate it?

Cups Cupcakes, La Jolla

Do you hold up the line at your local gourmet cupcake bakery vacillating between Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla Birthday Cake and Toffee Crunch? Cups in La Jolla, CA has a solution for indecisive cupcake crave-ers everywhere: the mini cups. Miniature sized cupcakes, buy five and the sixth is free.  Cups offers over 50 flavors but helps you whittle down the deliciousness by featuring just 12 flavors each day.

French Garden Shoppe, San Diego

It’s in San Diego’s Little Italy, located on India Street and is called French Garden Shoppe — don’t be confused by this international mingle, just say Ciao mon amie and enjoy a mini tour of Europe while shopping for beautiful garden and home decor, gourmet foods, fresh herbs, candles and other lovely gifts.  I discovered this little gem of a store on a recent trip to San Diego, it’s just a few blocks from the Little Italy Mercato.