Popsicle Stand

It's summer here in North Orange County. The sun is out, the temperature is up and everyone is wearing shorts and dresses. All this adds up to me wanting a popsicle. Then add to that everyone seems to be making booze laden, fruity tasting frozen treats on Pinterest that look absolutely delicious. Booze on a stick? Count me in. So I started doing some research on popsicle makers, because really who wants to do it the old fashioned way and wait hours when you can make them in 7 minutes. That's right, 7 minutes. Check out the Zoku:

Of course they have tons of accessories that you have to get as well.

I ordered it yesterday and it's on it's way. Now that it's coming I needed to start locking down recipes so I can get it working as soon as it arrives. I wanted to look for both boozy and non-boozy recipes, because I don't think a vodka filled frozen goodness is appropriate at noon on a work day or for kids. My search landed so many results that I really had to narrow it down otherwise this post would be going on forever! It appears that popsicles are the latest food craze to be hitting the net so the recipes are fun and gourmet. I feel sad for you if you don't have a Zoku and have to wait hours to try these out.

5 o'clock pops

White and Black Russian Pop - It's got calories, but would be fun to try at least once.
Mojito Pop - This just sounds super refreshing.
Bourbon Peaches and Cream Pop - I want one now!
Wine Pop - My favorite drink now with more freeze.
Cucumber Honeydew Margarita Pop - How delicious does this sound on a hot summer day?
Blueberry Moonshine Pop - Oh my!

Anytime pops

Mint Melon Pop - I love mint and with the melon this should be awesome.
Coconut Chai Pop - Perfect afternoon pick up.
Nutella Fudgesicles - For that chocolate craving.
Honeydew Lime Pop - With fresh melon and lime.
Strawberry Basil Pop - I love basil and fruit and this sounds so good.
Lemonade Pop - These recipes are not necessarily for popsicles, but I think they would be delicious!

Have a great weekend and I hope you get to make at least one of these lovelies!

You Make a Better Door Than Window

This past weekend I attended both a grade school play and a swimming diploma for the BF's kids. It was good fun to attend and both kids did awesome, so on that front everything went fine. Then there is the other side of things. The parents. The thing is we are all attending these things because we have kids that are performing or participating in said events, if it wasn't for the children we would not be here (and if you would, you have some serious issues). So why in the world would you come and stand right in front of me so that I can't see or take pictures? To add insult to injury, at the play I moved to another location and it happened again by different person. WTF parents? I get it, you want a picture of little Johnny (or Jan because this was in the Netherlands) pretending to be a goat, but take the picture and move out of the way of other people trying to get their goat picture. Got it? Good.

Speaking of goat's I had a dream about goat cheese sandwich's last night, so this morning I went to my Pinterest to decide what delicious sandwich I was going to make for lunch. It's this one. So yummy looking. Someday I will have a goat, but hopefully a miniaturized version, think Chihuahua sized.

His name is Jasper

Lag Time

Photo courtesy of Disney

Jet lag is no fun and I have a raging case of it right now since I just returned from the Netherlands to California yesterday. Ugh. I have been up since 2:30 am and can't get back to sleep! To help try and get back to sleep I went to the guest bedroom and tried to watch TV. Of course 3 am TV is pretty awful and I ended up watching the Wizards of Waverly Place and the Suite Life on Deck on the Disney Chanel. This got me thinking about how I should have been a Disney star. Then I thought about Lindsey Lohan. Since I don't really want to have a drug habit or do jail time, maybe it worked out just fine in the end that it didn't happen for me.

After about an hour of Disney I had to move on to the Internet and check out some new blogs courtesy of the Curvy Girl Guide. I started reading Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Life blog (about two months worth of posts) and it almost had me convinced I should become vegan. Then I realized that I don't want to be vegan and started catching up on Smitten Kitchen and Sprinkle Bakes instead. Check out this, this and this. All decidedly not vegan. I might just have to make these this week in fact. Then between all that I wrote this post and have now officially gotten a little tired again (and hungry, but tired is winning out) and am headed back to bed for a few more hours of sleep.

Babble Babble Goodnight!!

Wanderer

As someone who travels a lot I get asked all the time about my favorite travel items. I finally decided to commit them to a list and share them with everyone via Skinny Scoop (which happens to be one of my new favorite things). All of these are must haves on any flight over 5 hours for me and most go for any trip regardless of where I am going. They are for comfort, style and health, but if I could only choose one that would go with me it's hands down the cashmere travel wrap. It is the most versatile item I have in my arsenal because it is a layer than can be removed, it can double as a blanket and it's stylish. Not to mention that it's cashmere people. Lovely, soft, warm & luxurious cashmere (however they also have a cotton one as well for the budget conscious, but if you can splurge DO IT!). This is an interactive list so if you have any suggestions please add to it. I would love to know what you have as your go to travel item.

Have a great weekend everyone!

View this list »

Can't Travel on a Plane Without

Yes I Have a Blog, Facebook and twitter

And I am not afraid to use them. If you are friends with me on Facebook you probably saw this picture:

Delta made me do it. Limoncello & bubbles.

At the time I was being nice and didn't mention the airlines name giving them the benefit of the doubt. While we are working with the KLM desk here in the Netherlands and they are doing everything they can to help us solve our issue, the bigger question I want to get solved is how are they (Delta/Air France/KLM) going to avoid this in the future. I am hoping that by continuing to push this issue that we can make sure that the gap of information between the three airlines is solved quickly, which is why on the night I posted this picture (Tuesday) I also submitted a comment/complaint letter on the Delta site. Well today in the continuing ongoing saga of Airline vs. Ms. Shannon I had an email exchange going back and forth with the people that monitor the comments/complaints form submission at Delta/Air France/KLM and I have officially lost my mind and have decided to post it all over the Internet.

Below are the email messages* back and forth between myself and the people on the web form end...at least that's what I thought. Blue highlight is from me, all other content from the airline starting with the original form submitted on the Delta.com site and ending with the mail I sent back to them today. (If you want to skip ahead to the bottom read the last two mails.)

Original Message Follows: ------------------------

  

Delta Air Lines Current Reservation Form

Title: Mr

First Name: (name removed)

Last Name: (name removed)

Reply-To Email Address: removed

Airline Program: KL

Frequent Flyer Number: 8xxxxxxxx 

Country: NL

Flight Date: 6/xx/2012

Flight Number: DL02xx

Origin City: AMS

Destination City: xxx

Confirmation Number:

Ticket Number:

Message: This is the most perplexing issue I have ever come across. For

ticket, number xxxxxx, I made a change to the ticket back in May for the Sunday, July xx trip. I then had to call and make another change. At this point I was told that my ticket does not allow for changes. I thought this was completely odd since I already made a change to the ticket, but I looked all over the my receipts and online for anywhere that it states that I can't make changes and couldn't find any. I then called the customer service desk and asked to have them help me find where this is located. One

hour and 30 minutes later, no one can show me where I can find the rules and restrictions where it says I can't make changes. I have been passed off to 5 people currently working on my 6th and still no one can tell me anything. To top it off one of your supervisors (name removed) from Cincinnati was extremely rude and interrupting me constantly and could only pass me off to yet another person.

According to her you can only talk to one supervisor or call back to get a different one. This seems highly ineffective especially when said supervisor is unable to give me any information. I have only had great service in the past so this particular call really makes it upsetting that I can't get anyone to tell me where I can find online or on my ticket where it says no changes permitted. It absolutely does not say that anywhere. I would really like an answer on how Delta/KLM/Air France plan to make sure this doesn't happen in the future, because as of now this Platinum member is at their wits end.

Submitted: Tue Jun 19 2012 22:29:04 GMT+0200 (CEST)

On 6/20/12 4:12 PM, "Delta Websupport" <Websupport@jv1.delta.com> wrote:

Dear (name removed),

We thank you for your e-mail.

  

After we checked your reservation we saw that you had already contacted

one of our colleagues by telephone. We hope that all your questions have been answered. Should you have more questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone.

We hope this information has been helpful to you. If you require more

detailed information, please contact Delta Air Lines Reservations at +31 (0)20 721 9128 (Mon.-Fri.

8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Sat.-Sun.

9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.).

Kind regards,

(Name removed)

Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

  

Original Message Follows:

------------------------

We are working directly with the KLM desk here in the Netherlands, but my concern is that one the supervisor I talked to was completely out of line rude and two that I had almost everyone I talked to tell me that I was wrong, lying and absolutely couldn't have booked the ticket on Delta.com. There has got to be some contingency in place for this partner program. It makes zero sense as to why no one was able to answer my questions. It's extremely frustrating as (name removed) is a loyal flying blue member and that no one could see exactly what was going on with our ticket. Is this something that will be resolved in the future?

Shannon Anderson

Blog: http://www.redwineandhighheels.com/

Twitter: @shannonin30s

On 6/21/12 8:28 AM, "Delta Websupport" <Websupport@jv1.delta.com> wrote:

Dear Mr. (name removed),

We acknowledge receipt of your comments.

If you wish to share your concerns with us, you can do so at

www.delta.com. Simply, click on the tab

"Comment/Complaint?", this will take you to a form that you can complete

and send.

Once you are on the page 'Have a Comment or Complaint?", in the section

"Tell Us About Your Experience" please choose the option "Customer Care" and then "complaint"and complete the form.

We thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

Name removed

Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last Reply, Today 12:09PM

That's where this thread is from. Are you suggesting I resubmit what I wrote before on the same page again? This is absolutely ridiculous!

Shannon Anderson

Blog: http://www.redwineandhighheels.com/

Twitter: @shannonin30s

*I removed personal information and airline employees names to protect the innocent and those that think reading is hard.

So yeah, I am pissed.

Gifts for the Most Difficult Man in the World

I love parties, I love birthdays and I love cake and ice cream, but I think for the month of June I am done. Except that I am not. This weekend we have one last celebration as the BF (and his twin sister) turns 43 and the party must go on. I am sure I will feel up to it by this weekend, but it's been hard coming around this month. Lucky for me the hardest part of the BF's birthday, finding a present for the world's hardest man to shop for, was taken care of by chance on a flight to Seattle. Usually I am searching the gift sites and blog lists for suggestions, but they all boil down to ties, golf paraphernalia and grilling accessories which is just not what I am looking for. I happened to sit next to this super friendly gentleman that mentioned that his girlfriend had given him the best gift ever for a traveler, Bose noise canceling headphones. As you know we both travel a lot so this was a "I can't believe I didn't come up with this on my own" moment. Then this got me thinking about how hard men in general are to shop for, so I created a list on Skinny Scoop that I can use as a go to the next time I am looking for a gift for those difficult men in my life. Rest assured there is not a tie or a golf reference to be found on this list, while it may work for some guys, that would not work for the ones in my life. So the next time you are pulling out your hair looking for a gift perhaps this list (and it will continue to grow) might help you out!

View this list »

Gift list for the hardest man to shop for in the universe

French Riviera - It's a Wrap

My boyfriend is not a photographer. I hand him the camera to get a few shots of me so that I can prove that I was in Monaco and the French Riviera and the photos usually come out with my eyes closed, my mouth open or some other equally awkward pose. After about three minutes of trying to get the shot I give up and go with what we got. To save myself embarrassment I won't show you the worst of them, but this is a typical photo.

Say cheese and wine.

Here is one, slightly out of focus, but good enough. The reason for this photo is because I want to be friends with the guy who owns the sleek boat in the back so we can cruise the Riviera like the good people in the next photo.

Boat in the background. 

This should be me.

After Monaco both Nice and Cannes felt more like the real world considering Maserati's and Lamborghini's were only every other car and not every single vehicle you saw. Cocktails were a little more reasonably priced as well, which for me was way more important. How else can you lounge by the pool and stare at the sugar daddy/sugar baby circus than with some sort of fruity fizzy drink?

Fruity drink (17 Euro in Monte Carlo vs. 10 Euro in Nice)

Not his daughter

This trip was definitely more about relaxation and less about running around and seeing the sites, which was so nice for a change. We sat by the pool, jet skied with jelly fish everywhere (pretty, but kinda freaky) and generally enjoyed the warm weather, people watching and wonderful rosé. I didn't have any kind of jet lag this time around and think that I should always start my trips to Europe in Monaco or the South of France just to avoid such issues, but the boyfriend won't sign off on that...yet.

Sunset over Cannes

La Note Bleue

Today is our last full day here in Monaco. Tomorrow we head out across the way to Nice for a few days for a real mini break. No work is the goal, but we shall see where that ends up! Today day started with crepes for breakfast and a walk along the water. This afternoon we will be sipping cocktails and staring out at the harbor trying to figure out how to be friends with the guy that owns the boat. Then tonight we are headed to La Note Bleue for dinner and music and I am so excited to check it out. In between there will be a little work, but trying so hard to not make it too much and just enjoy the day.

Because your floors need fashion too!

Hello!! Can I bother you for a ride?

I love ornate churches

Walk-a-bout

While on my walk today in Monte Carlo I witnessed chic in every sense of the word from the ladies walking along the street, lunching at café's and of course smoking their French cigarettes and drinking rosé. Not everyone I saw possessed this, but there were so many that did that I almost felt a little out of place. Almost, I did have my new shoes on so at least my shoes were chic. After my walk I grabbed a coffee at a harbor side café and watched the yachts come and go in the harbor. There was one so big I thought it was a mini cruise ship. Silly me, I should know better. This place makes Newport Beach look like the slums. Now if only I had the 6.5 million for that one bedroom apartment I saw for sale on my walk I could stay here. Hmmm...I think I best stick to my 8 euro coffee and call that my splurge.

Bring your comfy shoes, everything is up!

View up the hill from the hotel

Garden in the middle of the city

Not a mini cruise ship

Found: My New Home

Think of a sunny warm paradise and then add amazing food, French waiters and a side of Russian hookers and you will have Monaco. This place is truly amazing and I have barely had a chance to explore it yet. The picture above is the view I had while having lunch. Just off to the right out of the frame was a huge yacht just hanging out in the harbor. How do I meet those people and more importantly do they have wine on board? Oh I am just being silly, of course they have a wine cellar below deck. I think I will never leave here.

Mouth Breather

So how did I catch a cold right before I head to Monaco? Not fair does not even begin to cover it. I don't what's worse being sick on a mini holiday or being sick on a 10 hour flight. For this trip I have officially done and currently doing both. I also totally missed my year anniversary of starting this blog. What do these two things have in common? Nothing, other than for some reason I decided to check when I started this blog while waiting for the 10 hour flight that I prayed I would pass out on. Apparently I started the blog on April 25, 2011. So I have been posting for well over a year and no one has kicked me off the net yet. Yay me and stuff.

Currently I am making myself feel better by chugging Emergen-C and champagne in the KLM lounge at Schipol and trying to not look the guy across the way in the eye. He keeps looking at me funny and it's starting to give me a complex. The best way to fight a cold is with alcohol, dude. Duh. Maybe next time I will just put the Emergen-C in the champagne and save anyone having to clean an extra glass. You know because I am green like that.