It’s spring again and that means another year of trying to score an heirloom sungold tomato plant from Craig and Susan LeHoullier. We got started too late last Saturday and by the time we arrived at 11am, they were sold out. Since I didn’t feel like driving out to their house in North Raleigh during the week, I was determined to arrive early enough this morning.

Now, I get up every morning around 7am to take the dog out and give her breakfast. Then she crawls back into bed with me and snoozes for a few hours while I work on my laptop. This morning, however, we left right after breakfast.

This is how she looked on the way to Raleigh…

I think pup was missing her morning nap.

We pulled in at 8am sharp and I am happy to report that I am now the proud owner of a tiny sungold tomato plant. It joins the Tiger Tom heirloom variety that we purchased last week.

They may be little now, but look what happened last year. :)

(Did I really say that I would only buy one tomato plant this year? Whoops!)

In other garden-related news, we will not have to buy any herbs this year, as illustrated by this photo that Eric took this morning.

This is what the deck box looked like just a year ago.

At first I wasn’t sure if I should post a business-related q&a on our personal blog, but then again, I spend most of my day working so you may as well know what the heck that actually means for me. Right?

Questions courtesy of the lovely marketing-mistress, Naomi, over at IttyBiz, one of my favorite small-business blogs. (Be careful, it can be a little raunchy over there. But in a good way.)

What’s your game? What do you do?

Website design. Graphic design. Blog design. I design stuff.

My favorite projects involve building websites from the ground up. I love organizing content and turning it into something functionally beautiful.

Why do you do it? Do you love it, or do you just have one of those creepy knacks?

I spent many years attempting to be creative in a university setting, taking on side projects and volunteering for more work when it was “interesting.” Finally, I realized that my freelance work was much more satisfying than my day job, so I quit. I’ve been running my own company for several months now and I love it. Love it.

I still can’t believe I am making the same, if not more, money working from home, doing something I adore. I am very, very lucky. Oh, and talented. Obviously.

Who are your customers? What kind of people would need or want what you offer?

My customers are individuals and organizations with a desire to have a space of their own online but are lacking a means or direction to do so. I am often approached with something like, “Hey, I was thinking about getting my (insert idea here) up online but I have no web experience and I’m not sure what I need, can you help?” Yes! Yes I can.

I also do quite a bit of design work with a marketing consultant for non-profits. (Check Elizabeth out, I just redesigned her website!) We’ve recently worked on various print materials including business cards, brochures, mailings and magazine ads as well as websites with data-base driven features like blogs and galleries. She’s constantly pushing me to learn more things by volunteering me for stuff I’ve never done before.

What’s your marketing USP? Why should I buy from you instead of the other losers?

I’m nice and friendly!

While that might not make me unique, per say, I would argue that it goes a long way in a working relationship. I like to talk, sure, but I also enjoy listening to what you have to say about yourself and your business. Getting a good idea about you helps greatly when it comes time for me to design something to represent you. It’s that simple. Let me know what you have in mind and I will get back to you with a summary of the plan, a timeline, and a price breakdown.

What’s next for you? What’s the big plan?

I’d like to take on some smaller independent clients (for fun!) and continue picking up larger non-profit organization clients (for profit!). Within two years, I’d like to be in a position to support my family. That sound you hear? It’s Eric cheering. :)

I previously wrote about how long we were going to have to wait before we found out if we actually got the French Open tickets we bought registered in advance for last November.

Well, the wait is over!

On Saturday, after Eric discovered a large charge on our credit card, we realized that the ticket purchase must have gone through. I logged into the Roland Garros site and happily found that the tickets we were issued were just what we wanted. Four tickets for the Suzanne Lenglen court, zone red (the best!), for both June 2 & 3!

This meant that we needed to scramble to buy plane tickets from Barcelona to Paris (we had to wait on this part as plane tickets are never refundable, at least the kind we buy) and find a hotel, mere weeks before our arrival. We made out fine, thankfully, so now I get to figure how much of Paris we can realistically see in the four days we’ll be there, minus the two dedicated to tennis, of course.

Expect lots of photos of us covered in red dust from Paris. :)

I found out last week that due to circumstances beyond her control, a friend of mine could not attend a chocolate class she had signed up for weeks ago. There was no opportunity for a refund so she asked if I would go instead (and report back with recipes and notes, of course).

I had never attended a Southern Season cooking class before, so I didn’t know what to expect. It turns out that this was not a hands-on class, but more of a classroom style setting; in fact, I felt like I was witnessing the taping of a cooking show. Thankfully, the chef, Nick Malgieri, was entertaining and insightful when it came to preparing a few chocolate treats, involving the audience whenever possible.

It also helped that we were plied with generous pours of both tawny port and cream sherry during the two-hour class. Wheee!

Recipes included:

• Cocoa Nib Brownies (absolutely sinful)
• Devilsfood Bombe (light and creamy, delicious)
• Chocolate Walnut Tart Scented with Orange (too orangey, but lovely texture and crust)
• Lemon Scented Chocolate Macaroons (sticky and good)
• Loretta’s Chocolate Cake (crusty top, warm interior with semi-sweet flavor)

I learned a few new tricks and penned copious notes and additional details to the recipes for my friend (and for me!)

The classes are pricey, although not outrageously so; I think they would make an excellent gift. :)

I have been playing around on Facebook for a few months now but Eric has resisted until recently. You’d be surprised as to how much effort it takes to be recognized as ‘in a relationship’ with someone. Eric had to approve me twice and I was given the option of canceling the relationship.

Once Eric approved me he was given the following notification. Thankfully, he had no other relationship requests. :)

Come say hi! Leandra | Eric

Riesling was being unusually quiet on her own downstairs this morning and anyone with pets knows that means she’s typically up to something both fun (for her) and naughty.

Bunny!

I nearly laughed out loud, there was so. much. stuffing. Of course, she pulled it all out through a *tiny* hole and frankly I’m not sure how I’m going to get it all back in. Needless to say, bunny is in the stitchery hospital until further notice.

I had her pose by her handiwork and this is how it came out… she looks pretty pleased with herself, no?

We spent yesterday indoors avoiding the cold and rainy weather, but come dinnertime Eric suggested a few options to get us away from our computers. We settled on Parizade, located in Erwin Square in Durham.

Our first impression was positive, large paintings covered the walls and the open kitchen was bustling. We ordered a bottle of Spanish cava (sparkling wine) and the gnocchi appetizer to begin our meal. The delicate gnocchi were clearly fresh and the mix of roasted chicken broth and pancetta were just salty and hearty enough. Plus, it was the perfect portion to split for a starter.

I surprised Eric by getting a pasta dish as my main course, but the combination of salmon and artichokes in a tarragon cream sauce sounded too good to pass up. Eric ordered the bolognaise with beef tenderloin and pancetta. Both dishes were delicious and chock full of the advertised ingredients. I can’t tell you how annoyed I get when I have to hunt for the tasty elements supposedly included in my entree. My cream sauce just coated the pasta, so I got all the flavor without the cloying, thick texture of some creamy sauces.

We ended the evening with a monster slice of the 3-Chocolate Torte, and even though we aren’t typically big fans of orange flavored chocolate, the flavor was subtle and overall rich and tasty.

The service was also stellar, our champagne glasses were never empty and Michael was even kind enough to keep us updated on the Davidson/Kansas score. :)

Overall, atmosphere and food were great, I would definitely make it back here in the near future.

I made a whole batch of this so I would be set for an easy and tasty lunch for the next few days. It’s adapted slightly from a Cooking Light recipe from January 2001.

White Bean Soup with Bacon

2 tsps olive oil
1/2 cup bacon, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
1 tsp chicken-flavored “Better Than Bullion”
2 (19 oz) cans white beans, undrained
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsps fresh parsley, minced
2 Tbsp sherry
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly grated

Combine water and Better Than Bullion and blend well.

Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat and add the bacon. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.

Add the water, beans, bay leaves and broth mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer, partially covered for 20-25 minutes. Add the parsley, sherry and black pepper and cook another minute. Remove from heat and discard bay leaves. Blend soup briefly with an immersion mixer to the desired consistency.

Makes 4 servings.

Our last post about San Diego (until we go back that is). :)

JRDN—Eric ate here last June, so we made a point to have dinner here on this trip. The food was very tasty, but I think our waitress was having an off night. One of my sides was wrong (quickly fixed) and Eric’s flat iron steak took forever to come out. Thankfully, the steak was still delicious. Our waitress wound up giving us an extra bottle of wine because of the mistakes, so we came out happy, albeit slightly sauced. The atmosphere of this place is very chic and modern. A wave design constantly changes color on the main dining room wall; this is one of those places where it is impossible to be overdressed on a Friday night.

The Eggery—As this place was located a block from our hotel, we ate here twice for breakfast. I had the best eggs benedict ever here on our second visit. Even though the place was completely packed, somehow my poached eggs came out perfectly cooked. Plus, they were sitting on toasted english muffins, a generous portion of avocado, dolloped with hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with crispy bacon. Yum. I didn’t hear Eric complain about his croissant breakfast sandwich, so it must have been good as well. :)

World Famous—This busy place right on the beach was actually attached to our hotel and although it took forever to get a table (we were watching this sunset unfold while we waited, so it could have been worse), the service was friendly and the food was good. I had a very surreal experience when our waitress introduced herself as “Leandra.” I suppose the novelty of meeting someone who shares your name wears off quickly for people with common names (Eric is very used to this), but I rarely meet other women with my name, so that was a nice surprise. My bacon-wrapped scallops and lobster bisque were both very tasty. Eric’s chicken ceasar salad was equally tasty.

Coronado Brewing Company—After our stint in Balboa Park we headed over to a brewery in Coronado. One of the nicest things about San Diego is that everything is close, so it only took us ten minutes to get from Balboa park to the brewery. Obviously the thing we were looking forward to most was the beer and I was disappointed when I discovered that they were all out of their dark beers. In winter! Grrr! Thankfully, the Mermaid’s Red Ale hit the spot and Eric really enjoyed the Islandweizen. We split an order of Spicy Potato Flautas and a Hawaiian calzone, both tasty. We left completely full and with a new pint glass for our collection.

Mission Cafe—This place is known for it’s comfy atmosphere and hearty breakfasts and our meal did not disappoint. Eric managed to almost finish his Mission French Toast even while nibbling the rosemary potatoes off my plate. I enjoyed the chicken apple sausage and fresh rosemary bread and a never ending mug of very strong coffee. All the breakfast places along the beach are busy, so you definitely need to get here early unless you want to wait for a while, even during the week!

As you may have noticed, we wrote about breakfast and dinner above, but not lunch. With a big breakfast we often aren’t hungry until dinner, and since breakfasts are typically cheaper then lunch, we’ll often eat two meals with a small afternoon snack when traveling.

Our options were limited on Sunday due to the rainy weather, so we had a leisurely breakfast and used our 24 hours of internet-time to research some indoor options.

Eric suggested we look into Balboa Park which is a huge park of museums near downtown. After looking around at admission pricing and offerings, we decided on the Museum of Photographic Arts.

But first we took a damp stroll around the first (large) lathe building built in the US that houses several orchids, bromeliads, and other flowering plants. The grounds of Balboa Park are sprinkled with sculpture and fountains, including a huge ampitheatre for the weekly organ concert each Sunday.

Once the rain cleared up we walked over to the Spanish Village arts center to check out some local artists.

This is more or less what every building looked like, absolutely stunning detailed architecture…

It’s easy to see why locals and tourists alike flock to this place!