The New Year 2014: #itsabeautifulthing To Start Anew #visualize #recharge #safehaven

Most of us see New Year's Eve as an opportunity to sort out what we want to bring into the new year. We put a lot of pressure on this day because we believe how we start off this new year will determine how we will carry on for the entire 12 months. That's a lot of pressure for one day in the year, but I feel that parts of this belief holds true. I believe that how we start something will set the precedence for how the project will play out, however I don't believe that one day will determine the entire 365 days. I see the new year as a chance to "re-visualize" your goals and to give your vision a 365 day timeline is a wonderful tactic. 

1. Take a moment to yourself

Sit and close your eyes. Picture a sinasoidal timeline with each valley as a month in the year. Each month is going to have its ups and downs, that's a given, so prepare and accept that. But, just like a sinasoidal graph, it continues on.

2. Pick a sub-theme, one that will encompass all of your New Year's Resolution

Pick a theme and stick to it. Commit to it. But remember, the above all theme is "love".

-self-care

-family

-health

-career

-travel

-friends

-creativity

3. Don't put so much pressure on this day, it's just day one. It's a marathon, not a sprint

Yes, how we start something will set the precedence, but let's look at New Year's Eve as the last day of preparation before we start anew. Think of it as the wounded soldier that must retreat into the "safe haven" to mend any broken armor before re-entering the battlefield. Treat yourself kindly as well as those you choose to be around. If 2014 has given you too many strikes to your armor, polish your pelts alone and re-charge. 

Thank you 2013. Time to revv up and recharge. The gift to do so, well #itsabeautifulthing!

[Blog] #Paris: Red Light #Bastille District, #PhoGa, #Noisettes and #Cigarettes

9/13 A morning of hungoverness. The night before was spent in the icky Bastille District, which is known as Paris' Red Light District. Why the hell were we there? Just another part of Paris to explore. Nothing special. The area reminded me of the bar strip in NYC next to NYU, a typical place for college students to get wasted. That morning, I walked to thé market in thé rain. Melancholy and dehydrated.  Bought some fruit home. Amazing how the selection was so minimal. I bought some plums, blueberries and grape fruits. I never want to forget that walk. The rain and the cobblestone streets down 16e District was right out the 1st scene from Beauty and the Beast, minus the rain. 

Went to eat pho at Pho 14! No fancy French name - perhaps Maison Pho? No, just Pho 14. Straight to the point. Pho ga was damn delicious, but nothing compared to my favorite Pho Ga restaurant in San Francisco, Turtle Tower. After, had a coffee and cigarette, just like the French film called, "Coffee and Cigarettes" and conversed with a French gentleman on the topic of relationships. He said all men cheat. Thanks French guy. The waiter gave me his lighter. Thanks for enabling my temporary bad habit! Then another coffee ... And some tea...then another cup of noisette, which is a hazelnut espresso. We stayed out until 4am and instead of walking around the most confusing roundabout in Paris off the Opera train station (my God I felt like I was in The Labrinth), we ended up on a bar strip that reminded me of college bar hopping years. I think I had another espresso at some corner cafe. So wired. The Parisian way. I really like the presentation of the espresso at cafés. It's so precise it almost looks like a bunch of surgical tools... Ewe not appetizing when I describe it that way. Came home to tidy up and prepare for the next day's train ride to The Palace of Versailles! I will write more about the palace in a later post. 

9/14 We came home later in the night to prepare for our 8am flight to Spain. I said my goodbyes to the little chateau in 16E on the 2nd floor in a building on Rue Saint Francois millet or something or other. Goodbye weird toy boat that my host collected, goodbye little standup shower that I almost slipped out of because it was elevated so high on this wooden platform. Goodbye toilet that had a rope that hung from the ceiling for a flusher. Goodbye my host's mini fridge that had nothing but Jambon, jars of pate and jam, and other cured meats: bachelor food. Goodbye the bittersweet memories of a fairy tale turned reality check in this ity bitty icky home stay in the richest borough in Paris. This was a reminder that money doesn't buy you inner warmth and comfort and nice things always come with a price. The price I paid, I rather not say. 

Still don't know how I survived without knowing a lick of French. I remember asking a random guy for directions because he was wearing an Oakland Raiders hat. The French idolize America and I don't blame them. San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area is pretty damn awesome. I think at that point I was getting homesick, but I immediately forgot about home once we boarded the TGV Atlantic #8533 train at 10:28am from Paris to Montparnass to Hendaye then finally onto our intended destination, San Sebastian, the unofficial foodie city of the world with the most Michelin rated restaurants in the world. Stay tuned for the next blog where Katrina will share her knowledge about Spanish tapas, or how the Basque call it, #pintxos! Kai - e -sho! 

[BLOG] I will always #Louvre you, #MonaLisa and #Barnacles at #Aupassage

9/12/13. On Wednesday, we woke up and went to the Lourve. We spent about 4 hours there and got consumed in the beauty of it all. ART. How did our society preserve all this art over the centuries? What compelled them to preserve some and leave other pieces behind, luck? Was it the status of the artist back in the day? Is there a specific type of art that speaks to the majority of our society which was the deciding factor of which pieces to keep? Is it just good marketing? We joined the crowd waiting to take a photo with Mona Lisa. One painting of one woman causes an endless swarm of "paparazzi" on a daily basis. I thought I was going to see a dead human body or the ghost of Marilyn Monroe when I made it to the front of the red rope. Mona Lisa. Who was she? She smiled at me, I swear. 

One piece almost brought me to tears by Anne-Louis_Girodet_de_Roussy-Trioson called, "The Entombment of Atala. I interpret it as a story of unrequited love, a Romeo and Juliet story. I saw Atala as a woman who wanted to do good. Then she fell in love, which was against her righteous path, so she drank poison only to find out that her vow of chastity can be uplifted, but then she died and it was all miscommunication. I commend her for sticking to the path she chose for herself. Her commitment wasn't to her lover, it was to a promise she's lived up to until she died. That my friend, is what I call commitment. However, it was a bit fickle for the church to tell her that she can suddenly be free from her vow of chastity. If they told her that in the first place, then she wouldn't have taken the poison. Side note: Love is about an even exchange of energy. As long as the two of you balance eachother, keep on truckin'. 

After the Louve, we went to Champs Alyesees and bought Pierre Herme Macrons and Mcdonald's (disgusting). I love McDonald's, but the Paris menu is not my favorite. We took the train To Au Passage(details below) and had  a thrilling dinner. Oysters, barnacles, wine pairing, Blood sausage, veal tongue, salted egg broccoli leaves, cucumber and béer with burrata. My favorite dish was the barnacles. I felt like we were eating Queen Ursula's tentacles. To view a wonderful collage from the dining experience, please view Katrina's Instagram: kat_uh_roo's photo http://instagram.com/p/eTPs8WAWaW/

I would describe the taste of barnacles as a hybrid of a sea clam and a lobster tail. It's probably the scariest looking thing that anybody could ever eat and does not look appetizing. However, if paired with a great red wine and vinegar dipping sauce, it's the best thing since lobster tail. 

Au Passage

1bis Passage Saint-Sébastien 75011 Paris

+33 1 43 55 07 52

#Chocolates #sierranevadachocolate #itsabeautifulthing #Foodie #strokeawareness

CHOCOLATE! 

Here are a few health benefits to chocolate: 

1. Chocolate lowers risks of stroke

2. Chocolate curbs your appetite

3. Chocolate may prevent diabetes

4. Chocolate protects from UV Damage

5. Chocolate makes you smarter

I'm not making this stuff up. Read this article from Huffington Post and see for yourself! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/28/chocolate-health-benefits_n_1383372.html 

The chocolates in the photo are from a chocolate store called Sierra Nevada Chocolates in Reno, Nevada.

LOCATION:

1286 South Virginia Street

Reno, NV 89502

PHONE: 775.323.2462

FAX: 775.825.6060

EMAIL: cwchocolates@hotmail.com

-@PRTiffany 

 

 

The #Parisian #Love Cult - #Foodie, #McDonald's, #WiFi

We took the taxi to our temporary stay in the 16e district, the neighborhood that is dubbed 'the Manhattan of Paris.' I call it "the Nobhill of Paris" or "the Woodside Peninsula of Paris'. We met the doorman, Francois there for the first time and just like in the storybooks, a tall dark and handsome frenchman awaits us in front of our chateau in a tailored suite and suave hair. Immediately he grabs our two 50 lb luggages and insists on carrying it up the stairwell to our 2nd floor sublet. He did not struggle much because, well he also works at the gym as a personal trainer. We were admiringly in awe and aware that we have now fallen into the 'Paris Love Cult'. 

After meeting a few Parisians, I started to mold my idea of, "What is the Paris Love Cult?". Parisians live for the feeling of being in love. They are all about the long awkward stares across the room and the sweet talk. "Oh, I love the Eiffel Tower. I LOVE American food, I LOVE rap music. I LOVE LOVE LOVE...." There is probably only a handful of things in this world that Parisians do not LOVE. As much as I enjoyed meeting Parisians, I still have unconditional love for Americans. I like the way Americans are a bit more rugged and like what they like, but are extremely choosy about what they "love". And once they love something/someone, it is pretty set in stone. That is probably why Americans say that they "have love" for some things. It is different and we do not get the two mistaken. 

We got ready and headed to the Apple store because my damn iPhone was not able to catch WiFi. Big fail for when you are traveling overseas. I have no idea what the issue was with Apple and iPhones in Europe, but my Wifi button was grayed out. That pretty much sucked because WiFi is the most efficient way to stay connected with people. MCDonald's became our "safe haven" to catch WiFi in Europe, not to mention their extensive MCDonald's International Menu. The golden arches may as well have been flipped upside down to make the letter "W" for WiFi. 

We ate at Frenchie Restaurant later that night - not as good as CommonWealth in San Francisco, btw. Please find details and our menu selection below:

Restaurant Frenchie

5, rue du Nil 75002 Paris

Tél. : +33 (0)1.40.39.96.19

Métro 3, 4 : Sentier, Réaumur Sébastopol

http://www.frenchie-restaurant.com/infos

Pour débuter

 Foie gras de canard au torchon, poire, chapelure orientale  (+16 €)

Entrées

Râble de lapin farci, champignons sauvages, coing, châtaigne

(Supplément +15 € truffe blanche)

ou

Rouget, ventrêche, pomme de terre fumée

Plats

Saint-Jacques, épeautre, topinambour; boudin noir

ou

Biche, trompettes de la mort, airelle

Fromage ou Desserts

Sélection de fromages des îles Britanniques affinés de chez Neal’s Yard Dairy

Accord vin : 6cl/fromage (+15€)

ou

 Glace au pain des amis, clémentine, chocolat, noisette

ou

Perles du Japon, lait de coco, mangue sherbet, ananas

I will have a more extensive review of the Frenchie Restaurant in a week or so. Stay Tuned. 

Paris PT. 2 - Lover's Bridge and www.joycedeguzman.com #abeautifulthing

We landed on September 12, 2013 at 11a.m. and got our first passport stamp. Surreal. We got our stuff from baggage claim and spent a good 45 minutes riding up and down the same elevator because we were unsure about how to get to the Metro. We finally figured it out and hopped on the train toward Notre Dame!!!! In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The train reminded me of the Metro in NYC. After the Notre Dame, we went to see the Lover's Bridge in Paris. The Lockets of Love is a beautiful symbolic tradition of love. You write your name and the name of your loved ones on a lock and link it to the railings of the bridge of the River Siene. Then, you throw the key into the river, symbolizing everlasting love with your significant. My Bestie and I enjoyed looking at the lockets, but we decided to hold off on getting a lock until we revisit that spot with our significant. It was a very trying time in the "City of Love" without a significant, but I truly felt that it was a great time for Kat and I to get away from the San Francisco scene and reflect, reminisce and cherish our time on this earth. Our trip to Paris symbolized the love we have for ourselves, our self-love! 

This past year has been especially challenging for us as we are mourning the loss of our best friend and Kat's dear cousin, Joyce deGuzman. Joyce's death spun our community into self-actualization. When she left earth, we all were forced to reevaluate our lifestyles. We questioned our path, intentions, ambitions and goals, and our missions in life.

Joyce de Guzman was born on September 7, 1986 to Josephine and Rodolfo de Guzman. She was the youngest of four children after Dorothy, Yvonne and Sharon. Joyce was a very family-oriented person. Despite the age differences amongst her sisters, they were very much inseparable. They had lots of fun hanging out with each other at home, creating new games and  more. The entire family had great communication and a strong bond with each other. 


Joyce, a hard working woman, raised her two children, Aliyah, 7, and Ryder, 4. When Aliyah was born on October 23, 2004, Joyce dedicated her life to motherhood. On September 8, 2007, Joyce and Paul were blessed with their second child, Ryder. Ryder graduated preschool in July 2012. Her dedication to her children was inspiring to us all. Read more about her story by clicking on her name. The link with take you to her  fundraising page. 

As heart breaking and traumatizing it was to lose Joyce, her legacy lives on through her children and loved ones. It's truly #abeautifulthing. 

Paris Part 1 - 2013

9/11- Our flight to Paris. We had a great flight. It was assigned seating but we managed to work the system to our favor and found two seats side by side. If I have to sit through a 11 hour flight, I prefer to sit next to my bestie, @kat_uh_roo. I liked the vibe of the elderly French man sitting next to me. He was 5'10 with balding Einstein hair. He was traveling with two French women and another Frenchman. They reminded me of the BMCrew(BurningMan Crew). The women put their used cups and napkins on his tray table when they were finished with it. Totally something Kat and I would do to Kevin. When we landed and exited the plane, the other man trailed behind the others, much like Ryan does when we go out. Being away from home allots me time to allow my subconscious to flow outward. I find myself turning into my alter egos: Stephyrae, and Tiffybobo to name a few.