Is anybody home?

Omigoodness! Has it really been since OCTOBER since my last post?

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

I should fire myself. Except, I've been doing such a darn good job blogging on

www.InnTheKitchen.com

There you can find recipes, stories and videos from Inns around the country.

I've also fastidiously been working on developing

www.Travelblggr.com to compliment my Twitter posts and to host travel stories, videos and other travel industry news.

All good stuff! Come check it out.

--Rachelle
aka @Travelblggr

Zombies & Marshmallows

Lots of good stuff happening this week. First ... a cool little surprise ...

Inn The Kitchen made the FoodBuzz Top 9!

Neat-o!

A friend of mine from college called last week and we talked for hours catching up. He gave me a recipe for marshmallows that I thought was impossible to do, until I tried it. Check out the FoodBuzzed recipe here.

The next cool thing.

Yesterday we had some training on riding a little two wheeled gadget, that, quite frankly, looks like you should just fall flat on your face. The Segway. Standing on it for the first time was a little reminiscent of a toy I had growing up that looked like a model for Saturn ... the pogo ball. It had a ring around the ball that you'd stand on ... try and keep your balance ... and then grip the ball between your feet as you jumped up and down. Well, luckily once you just trust the technology and step onto a Segway it's a whole lot easier! And fun! Check out a couple of TwitPics from our ride.

Our two-wheelin' was in preperation for giving a tour to Orlando's 67 Days of Smiles couple, Kyle & Stacey. They're visiting our little town of Mount Dora later this weekend and they picked the best time to come ... it's the 25th Annual Craft Festival this weekend.

This year they'll be a little spookie Halloween twist ... a Zombie crawl. I'm not big fan of zombies, so when Brian asked me to record some video of them I got a little squeemish. It's been interesting doing my video "research" for this since I usually watch scary movies with my eyes covered by my hands for the thrilling parts. But I've found I can get at least get through it when the sound is turned off. I'll have to let you know how it goes!

--Rachelle

The Fun Factor

What kind of things would you actively do more of if it were "fun."

Seems like a wake up call to make mundane tasks more of a game. Because joy is really what life is about, isn't it?

I'm a fan of the "Fun Theory"



--Rachelle

Day 3 Itinerary: Napa Valley

My post yesterday focused on the City of San Francisco. The famous cable cars, deem sum and the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. But our final day we spent in wine country.

When it comes to wine, you could spend a year tasting your way through Napa Valley. So, when you only have a day ... where do you start?

Start with the heart of Napa, in the quaint town of St. Helena. And the best way to wake up your taste buds is with a gourmet breakfast at the Glass Mountain Inn. Here you can spend a leisurely morning chatting it up with other travelers on a vino-cation and find some inspiration in the Inn's wine cave.

After you belly's full and your tongue as worked up a thirst for the juice of the vine, there are
several notable winemakers close by. A couple of my personal favorites are Dutch Henry, Cakebread and Caymus. Visiting these winemakers was a little like meeting a rock star for me. My personal Graceland.

Before you head out to the vineyards, stop by the local grocer, Sunshine Foods Market, to find a great selection of gourmet cheeses, chocolates and other gourmet finger foods to bring along with you for your drive.

Hungry for more? Check out the video we made of our Napa expedition by clicking here.

On a side note, if you have an extra day, or you are like me and just like to see as much as possible in 24 hours, you have to pay a visit to Muir Woods. This enchanting forest deserves a weekend all on it's own. The peaceful setting and giant sequoias will take your breath away. As will the ride ... the road to get there has more curves than Lombard Street! But take your Dramamine and your camera and check it out.

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Daytime

Here is my segment on the show Daytime that I shot in Tampa right before heading out to San Francisco. It was a ton of fun and I hope do have the opportunity to do it again.

We made Sweet Potato Muffins from Inn The Kitchen. All in 4 minutes ... wish I cooked that fast at home!

A Weekend In San Francisco: Day 2 Itinerary

Yesterday, I detailed a great introduction to the city of San Francisco at Fisherman's Warf. Today, we get a little deeper into the city ... and of course the food!

Day 2 Itinerary: The City & Golden Gate

By now, you should know how much I love breakfast. If you’re an early riser, grab a hot cup of coffee and walk down to the Golden Gate National State Park. I actually made this my morning run and was in awe of how beautiful it was. Hugging the edge of the coast, you can walk, jog or bike along dirt and concrete paths through Fort Mason, the Marina, and Crissy Field and the whole time have a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Round trip, this path is about 7 miles so plan accordingly.

After working up a good appetite, head on over to Fog City Diner for brunch. You can choose among several gourmet twists to classic favorites including cinnamon vanilla challah French toast, cheddar biscuits and fennel garlic sausage gravy with eggs, huevos rancheros, eggs benedict with a sun dried tomato hollandaise … and many more mouth watering choices. The coffee is fresh, the service superb, and they have outdoor seating where you can enjoy the awesome California weather. Fog City Diner is also steps away from Coit Tower … if your legs aren’t too tired from spending the morning at Golden Gate.

After breakfast, head down to the Cable Car Turnaround on the corner of Taylor and Bay Street (near Columbus Ave) and pick up a daily passport. It is only $11 per person and allows you to hop on and off the cable car all day. (Ghiradelli Square also has a Turn Around, but the one on Columbus Ave will not have long lines or a wait.) The Cable Cars not only have a stop for all the major sites including Financial District, through Chinatown, over Nob Hill and stops at Van Ness Avenue, but riding one in San Francisco is a must on your to-do list.

Another "must-do" everyone told me about was tasting some of San Fran's best Deem Sum. I had many recommendations, but the one that popped up the most among locals was Yank Sing at the bottom of the Rincon Center at 101 Spear St. After dining there, my recommendation would be to do a little research ahead of time to decide what you want to try. There are no menus and staff swing by with cart fulls of items that will have your belly growling yum yum. It is very easy for me to over indulge and become a victim of my eyes being bigger than my stomach.

Later that afternoon, pack your bags, pickup a couple more loafs at Boudins and head out to the charming town of St. Helena in Napa Valley. Not only will you ride over the Golden Bridge, but the late afternoon warm "golden hour" hues of the sun setting in the valley will make a gorgeous drive. Roll down the windows, open the sunroof or let the top down and enjoy the ride. Check in at Glass Mountain Inn and rest up for the ultimate in wine tasting.

Tomorrow: Day 3 Itinerary ... tasting the juice of the vine.

A Weekend In San Francisco: Day 1 Itinerary

Yesterday I talked about our spontaneous food and wine filled weekend trip to San Francisco. Read more about that by clicking here. Want to know how to see San Francisco in just one weekend? I've got the itinerary that will guide you through the best of the city. Read along ...

Day 1 Itinerary: Fisherman's Wharf

Check in to your hotel and walk down to Fisherman’s Wharf. We stayed at the Radisson on Beach Street. It’s an old hotel, very reminiscent of 1950’s pop culture with sharp angles and concrete columns. But despite the building’s age, it is newly renovated and clean. There is a great fire pit outside in the courtyard with cozy chairs to snuggle on, sip some wine and enjoy the cooler weather. My only complaint would be that the entrance was not very well thought out. You have to do sort of a u-turn on the sidewalk (yes, the sidewalk) in order to get into the parking garage and there is only an elevator/staircase at the end of each extraordinarily long hallway. Be prepared to schlep your luggage. But the location more than makes up for the small inconveniences. Just downstairs you are waking distance to all the popular tourist “must-sees” including Alcatraz, Ghiradelli Square, and a Cable Car stop where you can hop on board the famous moving Historical Landmark.

One of my favorite stops was to Pier 39 where there is a great view of Alcatraz and more barking sea lions then SeaWorld. Also a short walk away is the Ferry Building which has a wonderful farmer’s market on Saturdays so you can stock up on cheese, fruit and other finger foods to snack on or to pack in your Napa picnic basket.

At Fisherman’s wharf, seafood is king. While it’s touristy area and chalk full of franchises, for dinner take a walk and check out the local fisherman concession stands and try some boiled crab legs, seafood chowder and San Fran’s famous sourdough at Boudins.

Tomorrow: Day 2 Itinerary, more great finds in the city including the best Dim Sum, and two parks you can't miss.

A Weekend in San Francisco

When you’re trying to see the world … and I do mean THE WORLD … in one lifetime, sometimes you gotta squeeze the most you can out of one weekend. The 24,901 miles around the globe is a lot of ground to cover with your own two feet. So I’m a big fan of weekend trips to big cities such as NYC, Paris, and Rome.

Life is short, so when a friend invites you to a party, even if it’s on the other side of the continent, you should go. This friend happens to be one of the top food bloggers, Jaden Hair with Steamy Kitchen. So even if San Fran wasn’t enticing enough alone, tasty morsels of chocolate and silky wines are more than enough reason to hop on a plane. We packed our suitcases for a spontaneous weekend trip to San Fran full of serendipitous moments and excellent food. And now from experience I can tell you that food bloggers definitely know how to throw a party. I’ll tell you all about the serendipity, the food and how to squeeze a big city into three days … so follow along

First, the cool coincidences ....

Serendipitous Moment #1: Meeting the Murphy Gooooooode guy, Hardy. And he really truly is a “goode” guy. Brian submitted a video for their Lifestyle Correspondent contest awhile back and it was awesome to meet the winner. Not only is he a brainiac about juice of the vine, he’s got some rockin dance moves as well. He satisfied our pinot envy with a lovely glass of red. Cheers Hardy!

Serendipitous Moment #2: We love wine, as if that wasn’t obvious. On several occasions we’ve had the opportunity to meet Gary from Dutch Henry Winery at wine dinners here in Florida. We knew from conversation they were from California, but didn’t know exactly where. Napa covers a lot of ground. So, we decided to look them up. Only an hour drive outside of San Fran. Wow! So of course we had to plan a road trip to Napa.

Serendipitous Moment #3: The same week we had the crazy idea to pack our bags and head to San Fran, I had received an email from the Glass Mountain Inn in Napa from a Twitter friend @Juliesnapa. We thought, “Well, we’re already going to Napa for some Dutch Henry Wine, let’s see if this B&B is close by.” And would you believe … it was only …5 minutes … literally 5 minutes … from Dutch Henry. Wow. I couldn’t have planned that if I tried! Julie is a trained chef and instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone to boot, so I was uber excited to get to spend some time with her. She gave me an awesome recipe for croissant bread pudding that will be posted on InnTheKitchen.com later this month.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering how in the heck we even saw San Francisco with all this wine and food talk. I’ll share with you our itinerary and key places to see recommended to us by travel and food socialmedialites.

Next: San Francisco in a Weekend -- Day 1 Itinerary

Vine-cation

Rachelle and Brian escape to San Francisco for the weekend and take a road trip up to St. Helena in Napa Valley. Discover this charming town, find out how Glass Mountain Inn got it's name, and take a peak at the wine cave that gave Brian pinot envy.



Julie gave me an awesome recipe for croissant french toast. Check back with Inn The Kitchen to see the recipe and try it at home!

Interesting San Fran Facts

Just traveled back from an awesome trip to San Fran and am recovering from sensory overload. My brain is still swimming in the memory of the views, the food, awesome Fall weather. As I get back into the swing of things as an Innkeeper this week, I'll start daydreaming about this city while I'm cleaning and doing laundry.

In the meantime, here are a few intersting tid bits I plan to hide in my factoid arsenal for the next round of Trivial Pursuit in downtown Mount Dora at the Goblin Market. I tweeted them yesterday for #TravelTuesday. In case you missed it ... enjoy!

#1: The crookedest street is not Lombard Street, it is Vermont Avenue between 22nd and 23rd.

#2 San Francisco cable cars are the only moving National Historic Landmark.

#3 Alcatraz means pelican in Spanish.

#4 Mission Dolores is the oldest building in San Francisco, built in 1791.

#5: The Chinese Fortune Cookie was invented by Makato Hagiwara whose family operated the Japanese Tea Garden.

#6: San Francisco is built on 43 hills.

#7: Irish coffee was invented in San Francisco. YUM!

#8: Denim jeans were invented in San Francisco for the Gold Rush miners.

#9: Coppola wrote large portions of The Godfather Trilogy in Caffe Trieste, the 1st San Fran coffee shop

And the Final and most HILARIOUS fact about San Fransisco ...

#10 ... it was originally called Yerba Buena Cove. Good Herb. Seriously! That phrase as a totally different meaning this day and age. LOL!

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Oregon Bounty

As much as I love a hot and steamy cup of joe ... it's time I end my relationship with coffee and move on to some smooth and seductive pinot noir.

I created a little video submission for Oregon Bounty's "Cuisine-ternship."

In it you'll learn a little about me, a little about my town, and hopefully drool over the finest glass (or two!) of wine I've had in awhile.

Enjoy! Forward along to your friends!

Fall Favorites

It's FALLLLLLL! The inner child in me just looked up at the sky, closed her eyes and fell back into pile of leaves as tall as she is ... creating a huge mess in the yard while smiling ear to ear. :o)

But I live in Florida. There are no leaves changing color and it's still hot and sticky outside. So the only way for me to tune in to my favorite season is to decorate the house, turn up the AC and start baking.

I've been giving my oven a workout ... and ... now I need to give myself a workout to burn off some of these calories I've been earning in the kitchen!

These are just a couple of the Fall Recipes I'll be posting on Inn The Kitchen this season ... and they happen to be my favorites.

Starting with the Autumn Sangria. This concoction for spirited sinfulness was given to me by my dear friend Maranda a couple of years ago when I had a group of girls over for a party. She brought over a big punch bowl of Autumn Sangria and immediately was everyone's favorite person in the room. The dangerous thing about this sangria is that it tastes so sweet and cinnamony (is that a word?) that you forget that it has lots of wine in it. An hour or two later you're all giggly and smiling wondering, "why the heck is everything so funny?!" It's just the merlot talkin.
Autumn Sangria

My next favorite recipe of this season is Christpher's Inn Own Bowl Pumpkin Bread. Although, I can never seem to get it all done in one bowl. But you could if you tried! It has nearly equal parts sugar to the flour ... so as you can imagine you'd probably be wanting to make a date with your dentist after a couple of slices of the moist and decedent pumpkin bread.

One Bowl Pumpkin Bread

And the final fall recipe shout-out for today is the Sweet Potato Muffins. This recipe was sent to me from the Beaufort Inn and is a healthy escape from the norm. They're sweet and every bit as fall flavored as the pumpkin bread with big chunks of orange sweet potato, cranberries and walnuts. But sweetened with honey and filling with fiber from flax seed, they'll be a little nicer to your waistline. It usually takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to whip these up, not including cook time. But I just did it in under 4 minutes on the show Daytime this week. Aaaaah, the magic of TV. Wish I could sprinkle some of that on my normal schedule!

Sweet Potato Muffins

Balancing Act

I don't know how Mom's do it. Divide their attention and love equally among their children. Seems like a tough balancing act. I have two blogs ... and I can't even split my attention between the two ... let alone add real children to the mix!

Inn The Kitchen has been receiving all the love while little ole Innside Story has been left cold in the corner. Small twinge of guilt. Mea Culpa.

I promise to be more diligent in spreading the love, and spending some time writing about things outside of the kitchen. PROMISE!

Great Monday Morning Laughs

I usually hate getting chain letters and spam email, but when one of my friends sent me the following I was so glad I opened it instead of immediately dragging it to the trash.

It had me laughing so hard I nearly spewed coffee all over my keyboard. This is going to be a great week if I had that kind of belly buster moment first thing Monday morning. Not to mention ... the week started with a holiday so it's going to only be a short little while till the next weekend.

Have you ever said the right thing ... the wrong way ... and ended up with a hysterical Freudian slip? Well, here are 5 that will make you feel better about anything you could have ever possibly said!

Think before you speak ...

Testimony #1: I walked into a hair salon with my husband and 3 kids in tow and asked loudly, "How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?" I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word.

Testimony #2: I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls

Testimony #3: My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, a boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, 'No, I'm just looking at your nuts. My sister started to laugh hysterically. The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away.

Testimony #4: While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving 'right now' she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, 'If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma that I saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!' The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

Testimony #5: Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch, in between errands It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, she was clean. Then I realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said 'No'. I kept thinking 'Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me.' Then I said, 'Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?' 'No,' he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, 'Danny did you have an accident ? This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled 'SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!' While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

Bonus: This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any! We had a female news anchor that, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: 'So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?' Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

Now, didn't that crack you up? Pass it on to someone you know who needs a laugh and remember we all say things we don't really mean, so think before you speak!!!!!


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Packin up the kitchen ...

The dust has settled ...

the photos are hung ...

and there is something much more fresh and tasty than cold leftover pizza for breakfast during this move!

My Inn The Kitchen blog has moved to WordPress. While the neighborhood here at Blogger has been warm and friendly, we just needed room to grow.

Check out it's new home at www.InnTheKitchen.com

--Rachelle

Grocery Wars

After a hot cup of coffee and some homemade scones, my friend Jaden shared this with Brian and I this morning. Thank goodness it was after the coffee ... or else I might have stained her rug spewing in laughter.

This is looks like an oldie, but it's new to me so I'll have to share. It combines some clever writing ... with fresh produce and some guys that looked like they had way too much fun in the making of this video.

Behold, Grocery Wars ...

Top 10 Most Unusual Hotels

Last week for Travel Tuesday I had a boat load of fun researching the most wild and crazy types of accommodations there are for travelers ... from capsules to caves and even one underwater hotel. I posted the trivia below ... and realized there is one REALLY COOL one I forgot ... Treehouses! I can't think of a better way to bring out your inner kid than sleeping in a treehouse! Check it out along with the other unusual and weird places to rest your head at night.


#1) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Ever consider sleeping underground in a cave ? Try this ...

Dessert Cave Hotel


#2) Top10 Unusual Hotels: If you're not claustrophobic, how about a Capsule Hotel.

Capsule Hotel


#3) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: If you're ok with being chilly, try an Ice Hotel!

Hotel de Glace


#4) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Hotels famous for landscaping? Ever try a Garden Hotel?

Garden Hotels


#5) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Have you ever slept underwater? A hotel where you need scuba gear to enter:

Jules Underwater Hotel


#6) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Library Hotel? Yes indeed. Each floor is themed after a category of the Dewey Decimal System.

Library Hotel


#7) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Here's 1 built on an artificial island & structured in the shape of a boat's sail.

Burj Al-Arab


#8) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: Take a look at this retired 1936 Ocean Liner that became a hotel.

The Queen Mary


#9) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: How about staying in a posh room ... that used to be a jail cell?

The Liberty Hotel


#10) Top 10 Unusual Hotels: While its not quite a hotel, its definitely the best Green/Eco lodging in Central FL: My Inn!

Tremain Street Cottages


BONUS: For all the Tarzan types ... Treehouse Hotels!

Cedar Creek Treehouse and Treehouse Out 'n About I think I'll take the Serendipi-tree.

Be sure to take a look on Twitter today to see what other unusual trivia I find!

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Blueberry Stains and Yearbook Memories

I've been cross-eyed from all the technical jargon of picking up a website and moving it from one server to another, so I needed to take a break. The fun parts of the web stuff have felt a little like high school yearbook class ... photos... layout ... putting things together. But the last two days have been more like highschool trig and algebra. Code. Numbers. Bleh! I'm all hunched over like Quasimodo and my fingers scrunched from being glued to the computer.

So what does a girl do? She bakes. Most people would consider that more work. And maybe it is ... but there is delicious goodness produced at the end. And at least I'm standing at my countertop instead of sitting at my desk so I can give my numb butt a rest.

I have blueberry juice stained fingernails ... flour and sugar all over the floor ... and the jitters from all the coffee I drank this afternoon to wake me out of my computer coma while baking up a storm. Coming right out the oven ... some made-from-scratch blueberry scones with bowl-lickin-good citrus glaze. Photos, recipe and kitchen mess soon to be seen on www.InnTheKitchen.com.

Now, with my sweet tooth satisfied ... back to the code and numbers ...

Code. Bleh!

I've been working on moving my InnTheKitchen.com blog over to Wordpress.

Code. CNAMES. FTP. Authorizations.

Bleh!

Looking forward to getting running so I can get caught up on my photos and recipes.

Glad I'm drooling over Food Network while someone's making a nutella, marshmallow and banana sandwich. I think that's gonna be what's for dinner tonight.

Why not?

Just don't tell my Mom that I had dessert for dinner. Shhh!

Highwaymen Weekend

Some feel-good-karma for the week ...


Rachelle & Brian,

We had a WONDERFUL time this weekend! We'll definitely be calling to book with you again.

--The Cheathams