Archive for May, 2013

Stretching: Past My Comfort Zone

Monday, May 20th, 2013

me and Janet in St-Tropez

A few years ago my friend Janet said to me “I’m saying yes, yes to everything.”

I thought, wow, Kimberly just said the same thing to me a few months before. She said, “Fredde, I’m saying yes to everything, every single new opportunity, it’s yes.” I didn’t want to be left behind — I prefer no – so I tried to get out of my comfort zone and sometimes, but not all the time, I was going to say “Yes!” (more…)

Biscuits are Trending

Saturday, May 18th, 2013

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Everyone is always moving on to the next big thing.  What is up with you people?   That cupcake fad sure took off.   I knew why, and I was on it so fast.   I’m still on it in case anyone asks.  Like someone will.  In the same way that I always came home from a trip to London, Paris or even New York sporting a new fashion trend, I was carting back boxes of Magnolia cupcakes from the bakery’s West Village location as gifts for friends.  Turning them all on to my addiction.

I’m not fickle.  In fact I’m the opposite, loyal through and through.  All y’all have moved on to pies or those fancy small French macaroons.   I’m sticking by the cupcake.  Oh, yes I am.

So, how come it took you so long to get into the biscuit craze?  Can I toot my own horn here and tell you how long I’ve been a fan of the biscuit?  Jumping in to answer before you say no.  A long-ass time.  My whole life, in fact.  My southern grandmother, we called her Granny, made them for me.  Pretty sure she dunked them in some bacon fat before they went into the oven.  Those buttery, flakey biscuits came out perfect.  Served piping hot, butter melting everywhere, dripping onto the plate for my first unforgettable bite.  There is nothing quite like it.  Until now.  There are restaurants in Los Angeles serving piping hot, perfect biscuits.  My friend Andrea called yesterday to update me: “Yet another place serving biscuits, a great review today AND it’s on Abbott Kinney.”  “Let’s go right now,” I said after jumping up and down.  And we did. (more…)

Birth, Death & Mother’s Day

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

dad and his mom

Mother’s Day was always a meaningful day in my life, but not because of my own mother.  Because of my father’s mother.  She was born on a day in May that fell on or near Mother’s Day.   Each year her family celebrated her birthday on Mother’s Day, no matter what the date of her actual birthday.   Her large clan would all come to her little house, deep in the Valley, to honor her.  Most of them lived nearby, but not us.

We would hop in the back of my dad’s convertible car and head over Coldwater Canyon.  He drove with only one hand on the wheel.   My dad was handicapped and needed his other hand for the controls that were attached to the steering wheel, both the gas and brake in one.  It was very unsteady.  Add to that the sharp curves going over the mountain, his cigar smoke filling my lungs, and his spit flying back into our faces that we tried dodging — well, it was quite the E ticket ride.  (For those born after they were discontinued in 1982, E tickets were for Disneyland’s most thrilling attractions.) (more…)

For Oliver on his Birthday

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

favorite picture of oliver in moma

 

First of all, you were born on Mother’s Day and I cannot think of a better gift.  Ten days late with full chubby cheeks, you could lift your head up, which would blow the nurses away.  You never stopped blowing me away.

By four months old, your dad and I were walking you in and out of New York museums.  You also inexplicably turned orange which alarmed your parents so much that I made an unwell baby visit to the pediatrician.  He looked at you and asked right away if we were feeding you a lot of carrots.  Oops my bad.  Yes, WAY too many jars of strained carrots, your favorite.   By age one, I knew you already appreciated art.  You could also finish sentences in your baby books.  Well, to be fair, one-word sentences.  This was very impressive to the other mother’s in Washington Square Park where we played every day.

Turning you orange, one bite of carrots at a time!!

Turning you orange, one bite of carrots at a time!!

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