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#100 Completed! Complete a 1000+ piece jigsaw puzzle

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Unfortunately, this puzzle ended up being 999 pieces instead of 1000, but I'm still crossing this off my list! Luckily, someone at one of our vacation rental properties left this puzzle when they were visiting. I was half way through when I noticed, in the tiniest writing ever, that the top of the box said "one piece missing." Darn!! What to do? I rationalized that it was still technically a 1000 piece puzzle, it just lacked one piece and I would definitely know where the piece went. So there!

I hadn't done a puzzle since I was a child and never one with so many pieces to it. I was naive to think that it could be completed in one night. 4 nights, 7 hours and 18 minutes later...success! Though this was challenging, it was also extremely relaxing. You don't find too many opportunities where you can concentrate on just one thing and let everything else go. That was worth every minute!

#108 Completed! Own an award winning restaurant

My blog has move to www.mslistologist.com

The Michelin Guide is a highly respected guide that recognizes exceptional restaurants. The book boasts such restaurants as The French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in Manhattan. I knew that the 2010 Michelin Guide was supposed to be released on October 20th and I was holding my breath. Typically, they notify the included restaurants a couple of weeks beforehand and it was October 15th and we hadn't heard a word. Last year they sent us the good news by FedEx, so every time the truck would stop out front of our place, Sugo Trattoria , I crossed my fingers, but much to my dismay, they usually were dropping off supplies to Peet's Coffee next door. My hopes plummeted when we were dining at a local restaurant who was also included in last years issue. The owner said he had received his inclusion notice 2 weeks prior. Bam! Crushed. I was utterly surprised when I check the mail 5 days later and there was our Michelin award (I don't check the mail often, why bother when it's always bills). I guess with the state of the economy
they had to downgrade to Parcel Post instead of FedEx.

I am so proud that the hard work has paid off by being recognized by a guide that is so well respected.

#26 Eat at 500 memorable restaurants

My blog has moved to www.mslistologist.com
Restaurant #117 is Bungalow 44 in Mill Valley, CA.

We arrived without reservations on a Saturday night at about 8:30pm. The place was lively and full, we waited about 15 minutes for a table. Not bad for a Saturday night. Our table faced the crowded bar, where attractive couples and singles were more interested in conversations than their libations. This was definitely an upper class clientele, that had the cars and style to prove it.

Our waitress had to wiggle through the masses to get to our table, but she took it all in stride and had the most spectacular smile through the whole meal.

What I ate and how I liked it:

Steak Tartare Filet Mignon, Gruyere Cheese Sandwiches 12.50 A-

This appetizer was one we are thinking about stealing for our restaurant, with a couple of alterations. There were so many capers, they definitely overpowered the fresh Filet, which I could understand if you weren't using such a quality meat.

Chicken Paillard Lemon, Herbs, Arugula, Feta 16.95 B

I could have easily made this dish on my BBQ. It was simply marinated (oil, S&P and oregano) chicken thrown on the grill & put on a plate. A tad uninspired for the atmosphere of this restaurant.

Prosciutto & Gorgonzola Flatbread, Arugula, Caramalized Onions 11.50 A

This could have quite possibly been the thinnest crust I have ever had! I would be curious to know how they executed this dish. It was a nice appetizer portion flatbread.

When we left, 1 1/2 hours later, the same faces were seated at the bar. We decided that we would return, but probably just for drinks, if we could find a seat!

#56 Cook Every Dish From One Cookbook

The cookbook: A16 Food + Wine

Recipe #1 (not in any particular order): Croccante (an Italian almond cookie)

The day I received my cookbook in the mail, a customer called to order the Italian Cookie Platter from our catering menu. This was the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling (in this case it's a cookie dough ball). There are several different types of Croccante, most recipes you'll find online are for the ones that are similar to a brittle. The one in A16 includes flour so turns out more of a crispy cookie. I'm pretty sure its illegal for me to put the actual recipe in my blog, so I will refrain (I guess you'll have to buy the cookbook). Giada, from the Food Network, does have a great brittle style recipe called Hazelnut Crunch, they are tasty too.

Let me start by saying that baking is not my forte, the measurements have to be too exact for my liking. I'd rather saute, sear, braise, or even grill. But, I do have the ability to read and follow directions (oh, my kindergarten teacher would be so proud). These cookies were super simple & ended up looking very similar to the one in the book. I only have one complaint: Why do recipes always say "bake for about 12 minutes or until golden brown." In my experience cookies are never ready in 12 minutes and golden brown is closer to 20 or 25.

My cookies didn't turn out perfectly rectangular like the photo, but they were close. These cookies were delicious! I am hoping that this is an indication of how the rest of the cookbook will taste.

Total Recipes: 92
Recipes Completed: 1 (91 to go!)

#130 Watch all the Oscar Winning Movies

Oscar Winning Movies: 82

Movies Watched: 9

The last movie I watched on this list was Slumdog Millionaire and I am claiming it to be the "best movie I have ever seen". But, than again, I am definitely lacking in the film education department. I am probably a year or two behind on the hit movies. Seeing Slumdog was just a fluke. Most of the time I can't bring myself to spend $10 on a movie ticket (plus the goodies while you are there) when I can rent it in a couple of months for 4 bucks and enjoy it in the privacy of my own home. At least at home I can multi-task while viewing; laundry gets folded, emails returned and bills paid.

I'm really not looking forward to anything prior to 1980, which was making me question why I added this goal to my list at all. What's a movie without the profanity and nudity anyway? But then I realized that this bucket list was not only about achieving goals, but about trying new things to see if they might be part of the passion I am looking for.

The Oscar Winning Movies
1927-28 Wings (Best Production), Sunrise (Unique and Artistic Picture)
1928-29 The Broadway Melody (Best Production)
1929-30 All Quiet on the Western Front
1930-31 Cimarron
1931-32 Grand Hotel
1932-33 Cavalcade
1934 It Happened One Night
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
1936 The Great Ziegfeld
1937 The Life of Emile Zola
1938 You Can't Take It With You
1939 Gone With The Wind
1940 Rebecca
1941 How Green Was My Valley
1942 Mrs. Miniver
1943 Casablanca
1944 Going My Way
1945 The Lost Weekend
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives
1947 Gentleman's Agreement
1948 Hamlet
1949 All the King's Men
1950 All About Eve
1951 An American In Paris
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth
1953 From Here to Eternity
1954 On The Waterfront
1955 Marty
1956 Around the World in 80 Days
1957 The Bridge On The River Kwai
1958 Gigi
1959 Ben-Hur
1960 The Apartment
1961 West Side Story
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
1963 Tom Jones
1964 My Fair Lady
1965 The Sound of Music
1966 A Man for All Seasons
1967 In the Heat of the Night
1968 Oliver!
1969 Midnight Cowboy
1970 Patton
1971 The French Connection
1972 The Godfather
1973 The Sting
1974 The Godfather Part II
1975 One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
1976 Rocky
1977 Annie Hall
1978 The Deer Hunter
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer
1980 Ordinary People
1981 Chariots of Fire
1982 Gandhi
1983 Terms of Endearment
1984 Amadeus
1985 Out of Africa
1986 Platoon
1987 The Last Emperor
1988 Rain Man
1989 Driving Miss Daisy
1990 Dances with Wolves
1991 The Silence of the Lambs
1992 Unforgiven
1993 Schindler's List
1994 Forrest Gump
1995 Braveheart
1996 The English Patient
1997 Titanic
1998 Shakespeare in Love
1999 American Beauty
2000 Gladiator
2001 A Beautiful Mind
2002 Chicago
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 Million Dollar Baby
2005 Crash
2006 The Departed
2007 No Country For Old Men
2008 Slumdog Millionaire

#19 Have my 15 minutes of fame

I am not giving up, but until I have my real "15 Minutes" of fame (all at one time), I am going to record my "mini minutes (or seconds)" of fame.

Seconds 5 & 10

Our restaurant participated in the "Taste of Petaluma", an event where people buy tickets and take them to select restaurants for samplers from their menu. Sugo Trattoria, our restaurant, made Eggplant Two Ways; Eggplant Caponata on crostini and Eggplant, Walnut, Goat Cheese ravioli. Yum! The photo was taken by a local photographer and featured on our hometown website petaluma360.c0m. Woohoo!! That should be good for at least 5 seconds.

The next 5 seconds was a video shot by Mix It Up magazine. Sugo Trattoria is going to be featured in their next magazine, unfortunately they don't have the funds to print it yet! Though, they did come by and shoot this low budget video on YouTube.

Wow...10 seconds closer to fame! HAHA

The Countdown

Minutes of Fame: 15

Time Completed: 10 seconds (14 minutes, 50 seconds to go)

#13 Completed! Play the Stock Market

The Market took a big dump today, which made it a great day for buying. Luckily, I had some $$ in my stock account that was asking to be spent. I purchased LF (Leap Frog) for $3.90 & SIRI (Sirius) for $0.60. Leap Frog makes those cool educational children's toys. I am hoping that with Christmas just around the corner that we will see a little spike in it's price. Frankly, I just bought SIRI to try to get some sort of return on the huge loss I have taken. Hope it works or else more money down the drain. I guess that's the risk you have to take in the Stock Market. If it was easy, everyone would be millionaires!

profit/loss, year-to-date: +230%

#56 Cook Every Dish From One Cookbook

Have you ever done this? I always am good for 3 or 4 recipes and then move on to the next book. You see, I sort of have an addiction to cookbooks, owning more than 100. To my defense, I do own a restaurant, so it is technically a write-off! I have to say that this goal was on my bucket list way before the move Julie & Julia was released! For those of you who haven't seen it, Julie challenged herself to cook every recipe from Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days. I am not giving myself any sort of time limit, except within a lifetime (geez...I still have 100s of other things to achieve too).

I have selected the cookbook A16 Food +Wine by Nate Appleman. A16 is a fantastic restaurant in San Francisco (I have written about it in this blog under #26 Eat at 500 Memorable Restaurants). The book features 92 modern Italian recipes, that all sound pretty delicious.

Sample Items:

• Roasted Apsaragus with Walnut Crema and Pecorino Tartufo


• Minestra Maritata


• Chestnut Polenta with Ragu alla Napoletana, Eggs and Ricotta Salata


• Lamb & Ricotta Crespelle with Tomato and Pecorino


• Chard Gratinata with Bread Crumbs and Grana


• Pistachio and Almond Cake with Orange Salad

Sounds Yummy, can't wait to get started!

Recipe Count: 92

Recipes Completed: 0

Julie & Julia (the movie)

What does that have to do with a bucket list? Nothing and everything.
Do you know how you read something, hear something or see something and it triggers an emotion that you needed to feel at that time? That's what the movie Julie & Julia did for me. The pure joy people feel when they achieve a goal always gets me teary eyed and made me greatly aware of why achievement is so important to me. The excitement that Julie felt when she had her first blog comment was an emotion I could relate to. Isn't that what people are striving for as you get older? To feel pure happiness over the smallest things in life, like when you were a child?

I have asked myself dozens of times, "why is it so important to you to have a life list, who really cares?" I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter who cares, as long as I do and the way this list enhances my life is worth every second that someone doesn't care or thinks that I am bonkers, vain or senseless. It makes me happy. Whether you read it or not...it makes me happy. There are not many feelings better than the true bliss that accomplishment brings!

#26 Eat at 500 memorable restaurants

Restaurant #116 is Redd in Yountville, CA

Redd is ridiculously cool and trendy. From the ambiance to the aprons to the food, it's all spot on to be the hot spot of Yountville. We passed it twice because we were unsure what restaurant it was or if it was an eatery at all. It has a tiny hidden sign that says its name, that could be easily missed and that might be my only complaint, except that Redd is so good it is worth the hunt.

It was a gorgeous day so we opted to sit outside. We actually went to Michael Chiarello's restaurant Bottega first, but when they informed us they had no outdoor servers available for the lounge area we chose Redd instead. Not sure why such a big name restaurant wouldn't have a server outside on a 90 degree Sunday. No worries, we still had a great meal elsewhere (still love you Bottega).

The patio is sleek and comfortable, boasting plastic green chairs and a soothing water feature. Our server was casual yet efficient. We actually commented that his laid back style didn't fit the environment, but we still liked him lots. We will definitely go back for dinner to sit in the ultra-trendy interior.

What I ate & how I liked it:

Duck Confit, mushroom risotto, thyme jus A+

The duck was perfectly cooked and the risotto was amongst the creamiest I have ever had.

Prosciutto, scrambled egg and creme fraiche breakfast pizza A

The crust was thin and crisp, just like the prosciutto. I could have done without the eggs, but I am not an egg person.

#48 Completed! Get a Bikini Wax

Ok...I have to be honest...I skipped the whole bikini wax thing and went straight for the permanent laser hair removal. I thought, "how great would it be to never have to shave my bikini line again?" I know...pretty great!!! My laser hair removal was done at Radiance Medspa in Arizona. I have done a total of 5 sessions and have spent about $750.

My first session, I was nervous not knowing what to expect. They give you the option of what style removal you want down there; simple bikini line, landing strip or full Brazilian. Leave your modesty at home! It's hard to keep it when you are naked and some technician it zapping you on your privates. They explain that it will feel like a hot rubberband snapping your skin and looking back, that made it seem like a picnic. It hurts!! It feels more like being electrocuted with flaming fire! After the first session I got smart and stopped by the bar next door to have a quick liquid pain reliever.

The results: Worth every painful zap I got!! I still could use one or two more sessions for the process to be complete, but I am happy. I'm Italian and have very dark hair that even with a close shave, you could see. This procedure cured that. You will still have to shave some strays, but I couldn't recommend laser hair removal more. Fantastic!

5 new things added to my Bucket List

1. Dog Sled
I plan on doing this in the winter, they have a place about 3 1/2 hours from my house.

2. Make a candle
I have tried to make soap, but never a candle!

3. Apply to be on a reality show
I have always wanted to do this, but never had a video camera. The hard part is to figure out which one to apply to!

4. Have a meaningful conversation with a stranger
Maybe after a couple of drinks?

5. Watch all the Oscar winning movies
After standing in the video store staring at all of the new releases and picking mostly duds, I decided to do this goal!

#124 Completed! Finish a crossword puzzle

More than 50 million people in the United States play crosswords regularly, count me in as one of them! I have tried them all; online, newspapers, magazines, daily crossword books...oh my! My skill has increased over time, but I had done thousands before I finally completed one (with no dictionary, assistance or cheating). Ok...so, maybe the one I completed wasn't at the NY Times, which is regarded as one of the hardest, but all the spaces were filled in and that counts!

If you are interested, you can create your own crossword puzzle pretty easily online. I used to make my own when I was a staff trainer, it was a fantastic way to teach something in a fun way.

#13 Play the Stock Market

The stock market is on fire today!! At the start of the day I was holding DNN, CPE, SIRI, ADVNA, AEZS & XRM. I sold XRM for $1.30 ($0.35 more than what I paid for it). I have a limit trade in for ADVNA for $0.60 (only $0.12 more than I bought it for), but that's not looking like it will sell today. DNN & CPE are on the rise, but I need them to each go up another $0.25 for me to make a little $$$. SIRI is still my lost cause stock, I keep hoping that a miracle will happen. I guess Howard Stern doesn't have as much of a following as I thought. Lesson learned...don't buy stocks where one person has to carry the entire company. At some point I will have to put my tail between my legs, accept the loss & sell...it's bringing down my portfolio!

#26 Eat at 500 memorable restaurants

Restaurant #115 is Dream Farm in San Anselmo, Ca.

Dream Farm claims to be a taste of rural America. The prices are reasonable, nothing over $20.00. Their location is great, right on the main drag in San Anselmo. It used to be the old Fork restaurant, it's the same owners, not sure why that restaurant didn't work out. But, rumors are that Fork was too pricey and inconsistent. The decor is wine country meets restoration hardware, very cozy. We had reservations on a Sunday night and were sat right away at the prime window seat. Service was adequate, we got served our appetizer before we got our wine, but after that everything was up to par.

What I ate & how I like it:

Shrimp Spring Roll A+

Fresh & light, great for a summer app. It came with a soy based dipping sauce that complemented it nicely. Not sure how this fit into their rural American food concept, but it was tasty.

Salad Nicoise of Seared Ahi Tuna, Potatoes , Green Beans, Olive, Egg A

My potatoes were under cooked, but besides that this was a great salad with perfectly rare ahi.

Creekstone New York Steak with French Fries and Blue Cheese Butter A+

This was the biggest piece of steak I have ever seen served! Even our server commented on the size. Oops, chef must have not weighed that one.

Butterscotch Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta A+

I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but this was the best panna cotta I ever had (even better than the one I serve at my restaurant!). They sprinkled it with Amaretto cookie crumbs...YUM!!!

#26 Eat at 500 memorable restaurants

Restaurant #114 is A16 in San Francisco, CA.

A16 is a modern Italian restaurant that focuses on fresh, local foods, so they change their menus regularly. They are known for their pizzas, but have many other dishes their too. The prices are fairly reasonable, considering you are in SF (nothing over $25).

They are located in the Marina, which is a great place to spend an evening. We went to Bin 38 first for a drink & walked over to A16 with no problems. Surprisingly, parking is not much of a problem due to the parking garage nearby. Just remember to bring a pocketful of quarters, you'll need them!! Take it from me, I got a $100 parking ticket (made for an expensive night out).

What I ate and how I liked it:

Roasted Monterey sardines with fried breadcrumbs, currants, pickled chiles and herbs A

These aren't your mamas typical canned sardines...they are plump, little fishies. I little too much fishy for me, but I could appreciate the presentation of the dish.

Funghi – roasted mushrooms, smoked mozzarella, grana padano, garlic, oregano, wild arugula A-

They are known for their pizza and it was good, but not the best I ever had. I like Rosso in Santa Rosa, CA much better.

Ricotta gnocchi in brodo with cherry tomatoes, garlic and basil B+

These gnocchi were just fine, but lacked a bit of creativity.

#125 Join a Book Club

I finally finished the book Three Cups of Tea and had my first book club (aka: girl talk & cocktail) meeting. We met at the book club organizers home, Tracy. She made a fun fondue with garlicky Caesar salad. The wine flowed freely, everyone seemed to have brought a bottle of their finest. We selected our next reads; Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society (our next book) by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows and The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski.

With the wine glasses full & bits of bread smothered in cheese, I was excited to start the intriguing dialogue about the book at hand. All was good...then...we learned that half of the group didn't finish the book...bubble popped. I would be lying if I didn't say I was a tad peeved that I spent the time to read every page (ok, maybe I skimmed the last 50 or so) when we only discussed it for 5 minutes and people weren't able to participate. The book was inspirational and informative, but not the easiest read ever! At least we had fondue and wine!

#123 Create a Piece of Art & Sell it

After a local artist removed her paintings (they didn't sell), I was in need of some unique artwork for my restaurants bare walls on an extreme budget. I had hundreds of corks from all the wine we sell and set out to find an idea for some cool, modern & cheap cork projects. I came across several creative cork sites: Cork Dork, Garbriel Wiese Gallery, & Terramia. They all had great ideas, but I settled on a large cork board. I used synthetic as well as natural corks and wood glue. I didn't have much luck with a glue gun, the corks kept popping off.

I have completed two, each took about 40 hours and 300 corks. The total cost was $30 (of course exluding my very valuable labor). They are hanging in my restaurant right now and tons of people comment on them. I think it's time to sell for the sake of crossing off another experience on my bucket list!! Pricing this weird art has been difficult; too low and you don't seem like a legit artist...too high and people think your a rip off. I think I have settled on a price of $349 each, now I just have to get up the nerve to put up the price tags!

#26 Eat at 500 memorable restaurants

Restaurant #113 is Stellina in Point Reyes, CA.

Stellina is a welcome addition to the tiny town of Point Reyes. The style of food is "Point Reyes Italian with an unwavering commitment to local organic products." Not quite sure what Point Reyes Italian would refer to, but the food is tasty!

Unfortunately, the service was just ok. The server was not personable, nor did our water ever get filled. But, you still can't beat a hot day, a gorgeous Point Reyes hike, followed by a nice meal.

What I had & how I liked it:

Beet & Arugula Salad A+

Thinly sliced baby red beets with peppery arugula & ricotta salata. This salad was delicious and fresh.

Beans & Greens C

Brown beans with a rosemary broth & sauteed swiss chard. Not a big fan of this dish, though the beans were cooked perfectly. But, the greens did not taste like they were freshly sauteed.

Grilled Cheese with Pastrami A

The grilled bread on this sandwich was great. The only thing that freaked me out a bit was that the pastrami was brown!?! I believe it was house-cured or something so I let it slide.

#94 Hike Every Trail at Point Reyes

Palomarin Trail
1.2 miles round trip

It was going to be a screaming hot day, so I decided that it would be great to to knock out a beach hike at Point Reyes. The Palomarin trail head is really popular because it leads to the 4 mile Alamere falls hike. But, we opted for a short hike, so we could get to the beach as quick as possible. Getting to the beach was the easy part, all downhill (which of course means that the way back sucked!). The beach is always beautiful, but this one had no sand, just large rocks. No biggie, as long as I heard the waves crashing I was a happy girl. On the way back we ran into a bobcat. Unfortunately, it ran before I had a photo opportunity...Darn!!!

#87 Write a Book

I have officially started to write a book. Not sure what the title will be but it will be a reference book with 1000 things to do before you die. I already have 916 great items and am working on the format. I am hoping to have a first draft by the end of the year! Any input would be great.

#125 Join a Book Club

I just joined my first book club! Our first read is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin. It is the true story of how one man promotes peace. Hmmm...I hope it's good! Our first club meeting is August 25th. OOH...that's soon...gotta go start reading!

#125 Join a Book Club (NEW)

I'm not sure exactly what you do in a book club. I mean, I understand that you read a book and discuss it. But, what do you really talk about? The characters, setting, plot...all of it? Sounds a lot like English class to me, which I was not fond of. We'll just have to see how it goes.

#26 Eat at 500 Great Restaurants

Restaurant #112 is Botegga in Yountville, Ca

Botegga is Michael Chiarello's, from the Food Network & NapaStyle, restaurant in Napa Valley. I tried to make reservations a few days ahead of time, but they didn't have anything available until 9:30pm, even though it was a Sunday night. The hostess did say that they accept walk-ins, but there might be a bit of a wait. We took our chances because the patio is absolutely beautiful & we knew we could have drinks there first! We were told that the wait would be from 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. No problem for us, it was our anniversary and we brought a bottle of fantastic wine for the wait. We were able to drink our own wine ($20 corkage) & order an appetizer. The first 2 hours flew by, then....it got cold and everyone knows that I'm not good with the cold! After about 2 1/2 hours I went to ask the hostess how much longer. She said there was 1 reservation ahead of us. We saw about three more tables be seated and then us. Unfortunately, we were seated on the patio with no heat lamp next to our table...Ugh! I thought that the hostess might mention how long we waited to the server & she may have at least acknowledged our wait. Nope! The service was indifferent, not good, not bad (though the patio server was great). Plus, she overcharged us for our wine and when we pointed it out she said she didn't.

What I ate & how I liked it:

Organic Prosciutto “house cured”, pasta fritta, zuppa di melone $13 B+
This was a little odd, we had to ask our server how to eat it. We were suppose to cut the deep-fried focaccia in half, roll the prosciutto around it and then pour the melon soup on top. In general I don't like to have to work so hard to eat a meal that I am paying for and having someone else cook.

House-made egg pappardelle with veal, pork & porcini mushroom Bolognese, Sweet 100 tomatoes, rosemary & parmigiano $18 B+
This pasta was well done, but nothing overly special. The noodles were thin and perfectly al dente. The bolognese had either nutmeg or cinnamon in it which I didn't care for so much.

Wood-Grilled Spiced Quail with Pork & Olive Sausage, Calabrese braised romano beans & yukon gold potatoes, red wine-quail reduction $26 A-
The presentation of this freaked me out a bit, looked like a rat spread out on a plate (see photo), but it was tasty, yet bold with spices.

Chocolate & Caramel Tortino. espresso gelato, milk chocolate peanut butter bar $10 B+
I gave this a B+ because chocolate can't really be bad in my book, but I left wishing I would have ordered the creme brulee.

All said and done, I would go back to Bottega to sit on the patio for appetizers.

#26 Eat at 500 Great Restaurants

Restaurant #111 is Barndiva in Healdsburg, CA.

Barndiva is an awesome space with food to match! The interior design resembles a modern bard, with pitch forks and wire pig sculptures on the wall. Believe me, it's way better than I am making it sound. Their outdoor patio is fantastic & I can't wait to go back on a warm summer night to fully take advantage of it. Every Wed. night they have a BBQ night, that includes a prix fixe "all-you-can-eat" menu & no corkage. I hear it's packed, but I'll let you know. Their food is sourced from farmers, ranchers and small batch purveyors who live and work in the area.

We went in the early evening so we could sit at the bar, have wine & nosh. Here's what I had and how I liked it:

2006 Deux Amis Zinfandel ($9) A+
Perfectly rich & jammy, just like I like my zins

Beef Sliders with a Dried Cherry Ketchup A

This came with 3 fairly big sliders, definitely a meal for me. They were cooked perfectly medium-rare

Beer Battered Onion Rings with Basil Puree A

These were the huge onion rings, not those shoestring kind. They were crisp and went fabulously with the basil puree

I only tried a couple of items on their menu, but can't wait to go back for more!

#120 Complete! Be an Extra in a Movie

I considered it super lucky when a coworker of my friend told us that the movie "My Name is Khan" was shooting in Sonoma County and needed extras. All we had to do was send a photo to the casting agent and we were in. The scene they were going to be filming was an outdoor memorial scene, so we were told to wear dull, muted clothing that would be appropriate for spring.

Here's the rundown of our experience:

6:00PM - Call time. Meet at the Healdsburg High School gym & check in. Sit & wait.

8:30pm - We are shuttled in buses to the set (about 100 people). Stand & wait.

10:00pm - They start picking out extras from the crowd and randomly placing them in scenes. My friends and I were given candles (I got a flag too!) and put in the middle of a huge group of people. I was excited that at least I was going to be an extra, but a little disappointed that I would never be seen on the big screen in the mist of this crowd. But then, a Christmas miracle happened, the two main stars of the film (Shahrukh Khan & Kajol) were put right in front of me! I was actually afraid I might burn Kajol's (the leading lady) hair with my candle. They shot a short scene where they were praying as we all watched the memorial. This 30 minutes was the highlight of the whole experience & my only hope of being seen in the movie.

12:30am - By this time everyone was close to frozen, I swear my toes were going to fall off. But, "lunch" was served & I was hoping warm food would warm my tootsies. They had two stations setup for food, one was American & the other Indian. I headed for the American station first; bland broccoli, over peppered mashed potatoes & overcooked chicken...mmmm! Have no clue what the Indian food was, but it was much tastier. I tried to stand in line to get some hot tea, but lost interest after 15 minutes.

1:30am - Cold, tired & crabby, this is way past my bedtime! Sitting & waiting

2:00 am - Another scene in a crowd with candles, but no movie stars next to us!

2:30 am - "It's a Wrap", YEA!!!

2:45am - Shuttled back the the gym for check out.

3:15am - Leave for home

4:00am - Sleepy time

February 2010 - My movie debut...get your autographs now!

Boy, this experience would have been a whole lot better if it ended about 4 hours earlier!