I know it sounds dorky, but it is really hip.
John Maienza and Gregg Wilson are globe trotting architects, designers and decorators. They are creators of lifestyles and environments that capture the essence of "WOW". John and Gregg will be sharing and following Lifestyle and Design on their blog, connecting you with their fabulous finds and secret resources with an eye on everything Globally Gorgeous. Architecture and Design, Art and Collecting, Luxury Travel,Adventure and Fantasy, Food, Recipes, Fitness, Books, Media, and Philanthropy.
Monday, November 30
Designer Garage - Cyber Monday Gift Ideas for the Car Guy/Gal
We designed this garage for the person who likes to tinker with toys with motors. This garage also happens to be designed with special outlets for catering companies who will basically install a kitchen in the Garage for large catered parties, thus the restaurant sink. I found the flooring and Cabinets at an web order based company in Chicago called Car Guy Garage. This company has fantastic gift ideas for people into cars. The sink and sprayer are from a commercial restaurant kitchen supplier. This is a great resource and a very cool site.
Sunday, November 29
Wine To Water: CNN HEROS: Put A Bow On Your Donation
When watching the special CNN HEROS and Bar Tender Doc Hendley received an award for his work in creating Wine To Water where 100% of donations from wine tastings go directly for water projects in developing countries. It occurred to me what a great gift it would be to donate to this great organization in the name of a friend or loved one instead of that foil wrapped bottle of wine. Put a Bow on your receipt from the DONATE link on WinetoWater.org website.
Our mission is to provide clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education to those in need around the world.
As donations for water projects are received, Wine for Wells partners with carefully selected in-country agencies to implement water projects. Only agencies with an exceptional track record of successful project implementation are utilized. 100% of public donations are given directly to water projects.
As part of its fundraising efforts, Wine for Wells works with partners in the wine industry to garner support for water projects. If your wine-related business would like more information on becoming a Wine for Wells partner, please contact us.
It was great to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus introduce Doc Hendley at the CNN HEROS Awards as she is such a good supporter of Heal The Ocean here in Santa Barbara.
See previous Post...."Heal the Ocean Benefit in Montecito, CA."
It was great to see Julia Louis-Dreyfus introduce Doc Hendley at the CNN HEROS Awards as she is such a good supporter of Heal The Ocean here in Santa Barbara.
See previous Post...."Heal the Ocean Benefit in Montecito, CA."
Saturday, November 28
Use Apple iPhoto or Blurb.com to Make a Great Gift!
Making a photo journalistic book of an experience that you shared with your family and friends can make a wonderful surprise gift, especially, if you can create something beautiful that will become a "coffee table" book, at least for a while. A photographer friend of ours turned us on a the idea of personal publishing a couple of years ago. Mostly we have used Apple's iphoto, to create and order the books we make. Currently though, we are using a platform created by Blurb.com, BookSmart. I'm loving the flexibility of this platform as it allows me to customize any template or create my own. The book we are creating now is unique in that we have taken the photographs taken by our two good friends, their teenage and adult children as well as another couple, nine in all, and are creating a photographic journal of an Alaskan Adventure we all went on together. We are using a selection of EVERYONE'S photographs that were uploaded to the same website. This way everyone on the trip will feel like they participated in the creation of the book.
We're trying to decide between these to photos for the Cover of the Book. Both evoke the spirit of the unique adventure we experienced with our good friends. A quiet awesomeness.
Gregg and I have published a number of books via "on demand publishing" (for the general public) platforms. We have done this mostly for marketing purposes for our real estate projects. On demand publishing allows us to select photographs that best describe our projects and provides us with a well designed format to describe the projects and present them in a compelling and beautiful manner. If you haven't tried this type of presentation for your creative endeavors, give it go. It's a terrific outlet especially if you have an aptitude for creating visually beautiful compositions.
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Sunday, November 22
Ruby's Sweet Potato Recipe with Ginger Pineapple and Walnuts
This is my Grandma Ruby's fantastic recipe. I have been making this recipe ever since Ruby taught me "a long time ago", it is always requested at the holidays, and is always a hit with new friends holiday when brought to their parties. It also re-heats beautifully for leftovers.
Sweet Potatoes with Ginger, Pineapple and Walnuts:
This recipe serves about 10
10 Large Sweet Potatoes Baked at 375 for 1 1/2 hours then cooled, peeled and put in mixing Bowl.
Or, 3 - 14 oz cans of Sweet Potatoes or Yams, Open, toss into a mixing bowl.
Toss the rest of these ingredients into the mixer on top of the mashed up sweet potatoes:
1 raw egg
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup crushed pineapple
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp ginger spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup rum
Mix vigorously in a Kitchenaid Mixer on medium for 1 minute.
Butter a casserole dish and bake in a preheated oven to 350 for 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top of the casserole.
Technorati Verification Code : 7MYTCFVZ5TZ7
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Saturday, November 21
Lisa See: Shanghai Girls,an Historical Novel about Life in China - Put it on a Kindle
Conjuring images of luxury, beauty, design and style then tempered by suffering, ugliness, triumph, then ultimately, reality. In a timeless, fascinating read that illuminates so much hidden history in a such a short time. Fundamentally this is a story about Sisters and Family. This New York Times best seller is a perfect gift for the holidays, Hardcover, Mp3 download or for Kindle. Here's a link to the Amazon Kindle Edition.
One of those books you cant put down, Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, is a very insightful and at times educational read about the phenomenon in
Shanghai in the 1930’s. Set
against the backdrop of ‘Paris of the East’ as the Japanese invaded and took control
of the region in the 1930’s. The
life of the Shanghainese was likened to those of Paris at the time. Glamour, style, design and cuisine were
key elements to the life in the City at the time. Lisa See in Shanghai Girls paints the canvas of the beautiful
daughters of a successful merchant, whose greatest worry is where to be on a
weekend night and what to wear.
These girls were a phenomenon at the time, and LeRoy Shields Orchestra
created an international hit in 1930 called ‘Sing Song Girls’ based upon these
beauties and the international sensation it created in Shanghai at the
time.But as the City falls, and as the Second World War progresses, the girls are married off to American Chinese and are eventually shipped to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, where many immigrants landed at the time. Their families are killed off and they are alone. Alone with no money in a time when women, particularly Chinese women were only property. Ultimately ending up in Chinatown in Los Angeles at the time of the growth of the film industry in the 1940’s, the ancient Chinese protocol and culture clash with the reality of the times and the two great beauties of Shanghai, whose world is blown up and they must make their way as working class girls.
How appropriate that given Chinas growth and stature as a
nation, that this tale told of the superficiality and shallowness of a pair of
sisters who dwell upon appearance and material gain are stripped of everything
and are left with only their will and determination. Set in a post war California backdrop, cast with a poorly
educated American populace, these two Shanghai girls forge their way in an
intolerant society and illustrate the challenges of women in general, and
particularly immigrant women with no education…..how appropriate parallels can
be drawn to our current times, of a multinational country foraging for a place
in the world society.
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Friday, November 20
Fitness Training on Cruise Vacation - Lululemon Athletica Ambassador Sloane Pellegrin's Five Day Plan
Sloane Pellegrin our personal fitness trainer in Santa Barbara kicks our butts 3 - 5 times a week depending on how busy we are. We asked and she agreed to guest author a post on workouts she wants us to do while on a cruise ship in Mexico for a week. Sloane is a Lululemon Athletica ambassador.
SLOANE'S FIVE DAY VACATION WORKOUT PLAN:
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SLOANE'S FIVE DAY VACATION WORKOUT PLAN:
I am going to give you five workouts to accomplish in your
seven days of vacation and you can choose the order and days in which you will
accomplish them. Each workout will last between approximately 45 minutes. Don’t
forget your goggles!
Workout #1: Cardio/Strength
-
10 minute warm-up on the elliptical, elevate your heart rate
and focus on warming up your body.
-
Choose 3 of our daily activation exercises and perform 14 of
each
-
10 minutes on the elliptical (30 second sprint/30 second easy
x10)
-
Superset: 15 push-ups/14 lat pull-downs (they should have a
machine to perform this on)
-
Superset: 15 chest fly (machine or dumbbell)/ 14 back high or
low back row
-
Superset: 1 minute plank on elbows/ 30 body weight squats
-
Stretch
Workout #2: Cardio If the ship offers classes look and
see if they offer spinning. If so use a class to replace this workout.
-
10 minute warm-up on machine of choice
-
Choose 3 of our daily activation exercises and perform 14 of
each
-
Superset: 15 crunches/ 15 bridges (these could be performed on
the floor or on a stability ball)
-
On a bike (preferably a spin type bike):
o 1
minute hard standing climb/ 1 minute seated easy spin x5
o 5
minute spin
o 5
minute hard standing climb
o 10
minute cool-down
- Stretch
Workout #3: Easy day/Swim If the ship does not provide
you with a lap pool you may have to wake-up a bit early and hit the pool before
the crowds do.
-
Swim for 30 minutes
-
If the ship has an exercise pool they will provide you with
kick boards, hand paddles and pull buoys. Please utilize all available
equipment.
Workout #4: Strength
-
10 minute warm-up on the elliptical, elevate your heart rate
and focus on warming up your body.
-
Choose 3 of our daily activation exercises and perform 14 of
each
-
Superset: 14 squat and rows (cable machine)/ 8 step-ups on
each side (with your body weight)
-
Superset: 14 squats (with weights of your choice)/ 14 dumbbell
overhead presses
-
Superset: 14 push-ups to a abdominal ball curl (feet on a
stability ball and hands on the floor)/ 10 single arm dumbbell row (front hand
supporting upper body on a stable surface, flat back, feet shoulder with apart)
-
Superset: 12 hanging leg raises/ 12 dumbbell front shoulder
raises
-
Stretch
Workout #5: Strength/ Cardio
-
10 minute warm-up
on the elliptical, elevate your heart rate and focus on warming up your body.
-
Choose 3 of our daily activation exercises and perform 14 of
each
-
On hands and knees, opposite arm/leg lift, elbow to knee 20
times per side x2
-
On Elliptical: 5 minutes with a challenging resistance
maintaining a higher heart rate, not able to say a whole sentence without a
break to catch your breath.
-
50 total drop-back lunges
-
30 push=ups
-
On elliptical: 30
second sprint/ 30 second easy x5
-
Side plank with 15 dips per side x2
-
With dumbbells 20 overhead presses
-
On elliptical 5 minutes challenging
-
Using a bench 30 tricep dips (shoulders back and chest tall)
-
30 bridges on the floor
-
On elliptical: 5 minutes easy cool-down
-
Stretch
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Wednesday, November 18
Holiday Gift Idea: The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of the Southwest
Two wonderful books by Joan Tapper with Photographs by Nik Wheeler. If you love travel, design and great photography these books are a visual travel adventure and make great coffee table books!
The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns of the Southwest at Amazon
"From pueblos to Victorian storefronts to ski resorts: a vision of the southwest that evokes both America's frontier heritage and the expansive vistas of its future" Nik Wheeler's photo essays include Route 66, Native American Culture, The Southwest and the Movies. From Thames & Hudson.
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Gucci iphone app - Fashion Luxury Brands & Social Media Networking
Gucci embraces social networking put out this this very hip, very cool and very au current application for the apple iphone. This app allows you to share and mix your own music. Here's a link to a interesting New York Time's article about Luxury Brands adopting Social Media Networking and how this is broadening the definition of Luxury itself.
Go to GUCCI to download App
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Tuesday, November 17
Luxury Architecture- Sustainable & Green in Montecito, CA
We are currently under construction in Montecito on this home that we collaboratively designed with the MKD Michelle Kaufmann Designs This home originally was intended to the be a modular house, sustainable and as green as they get. We have converted the project to be a custom built, site built, sustainable house and a LEED for HOMES project where we are setting our goal at Platinum LEED Certification. We will be posting about this house, this project and the LEED certification process as we progress through the project. We just wanted to introduce you to the project now, after all it's Green Week on NBC. In the Luxury Real Estate market in Santa Barbara and Montecito this will be a first.
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Monday, November 16
Homeward from Hawaii not exactly Luxury Travel
Image Credit Plan 59 Check out this site for great quality and inexpensive prints to decorate fun spaces with.
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Saturday, November 14
Hawaii Five-0 Time to Go to Luxury Row!
If you haven't been to Honolulu or haven't been here since Jack Lord was posing for his close up atop a glamorous modernist Honolulu High Rise Then you haven't' seen Luxury Row on Waikiki's Kalakaua Ave. Shopping in this district has definitely been ramped up to World Class. Along with Luxury Row, Waikiki Beach Walk™ and the renovation of the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center has brought new life to what had become a rather dreary section of Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki. You will find these "gorgeous" boutiques luxury brands there.
B O T T E G A V E N E T A
Tiffany & Co., Coach, YvesSaintLaurent, Chanel, Gucci, Tod's, Bottega Veneta, and Hugo Boss are at 2100 Kalakaua Ave. Nearby are also, Louis Vuitton & Max Mara and Apple.
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Friday, November 13
Adventure & Environment - Have Fun and Teach the Keiki
Eia mākou Mālama Maunalua! (We are Mālama Maunalua)
People of the ‘āina and ocean, those who dwell and care for beloved Maunalua
In the Kona district of O’ahu of Ali’i Kākuhihewa
Maunalua, where the ‘iwa flies above the clouds
‘Elepaio (native flycatcher) chatter and flutter among the koa
The twin feathers of the ‘auku’u (Black-crowned night heron) are tossed by the beach wind
And the schools of ‘ama’ama (mullet) swim below
From Kawaihoa (Portlock Point) where Kāne brought forth life-giving water
To the crashing waves of Kūpikipiki’ō (Black Point)
Kuamo’o-o-Kāne’apua (Koko Head) and Kohelepelepe (Koko Crater) are majestic
Maunalua extends to the cliffs of Pu’u-o-Kona (of Kuli’ou’ou) and Pu’u Lanipō (of Wai’ālae Nui)
To the reefs built by coral polyps, our kin, and the sandy flats where the sea grasses dance
Cherished is the fishpond, Ke’ahupua-o-Maunalua, its companion is Ka’elepulu (in Kailua)
Laukupu, a mo’o, is the guardian of Maunalua
The sea of Koko is for ‘Ouha, the akua manō (shark god) who stands guard
In honor of the akua (gods), our ‘aumakua (family gods), and kūpuna kahiko (ancestors)
We take on this kuleana to learn, share, laulima (work together), and persevere
Our spirits fly high like the ‘iwa above, our intentions, true and deep as Kanaloa’s seas
We will protect, honor, and mālama Maunalua to the last breath
Eia mākou ‘o Mālama Maunalua! (We are Mālama Maunalua)
Lance “Mahi” La Pierre, Maunalua, Kona, O’ahu, May 9, 2008
A remarkable effort led by just a few our friends and neighbors and a small core group of donors led to a partnership with The Nature Conservancy and to an award of Fed Stimulus Money (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) specifically for this Alien Algae Removal Project as reported KHON2 News. This grass roots local group put a grant proposal together for what really is a "shovel ready" project. We can personally attest to the fact that there is no wasteful or ambiguous allocation of funds going on here. See News video.
Be Green 2: Fed Stimulus Money Going to Algae Removal Project - KHON2.com. The stimulus money is specifically for a removal of invasive alien algae project that is under the direction of Mālama Maunalua. MM still is a under funded organization that operates on a shoe string. Here is a link to their site where donations can be made to this fantastically effective non-profit group. Mālama Maunalua, in association with The Nature Conservancy and NOAA MM is really making a difference in the restoration and preservation of this Beautiful Bay.
Alien algae have been recognized as one of the top threats to our oceans’ health and recovery, in Hawai‘i and elsewhere. This threat is exacerbated by sedimentation from land-based sources which helps invasive algae get established and grow on reef flats. Compounding the problem, fishing pressure has dramatically reduced populations of plant-eating species like parrotfishes (uhu) and sea urchins. Once established, invasive algae drastically alter the seabed by smothering and killing corals and seagrass meadows, and overwhelming and destroying habitat for other reef life.
View of Maunalua By from our Lanai at our Black Point Property.
Aerial Photo showing a "Patch" of removed alien algae and it is not coming back!
Algea is removed like this, pick it up and stick it in the bag after inspecting contents for sea life.
Bags are transferred to Canoes or Kayaks then brought ashore and weight and carted off for bio reuse, such as mulching.
Teaching the Keiki (children) is a very important aspect of the community outreach. Getting them to the beach to watch and participate leads to an understanding that they will inherit this responsibility. Understanding the relationship between the Makua and Makai (the mountains and the sea) is something that Keiki need to learn early. Here Congressman Neil Abercrombie Representative of Hawaii's 1st District, instructs Keiki for a photo op.
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Wednesday, November 11
The Perfect Lychee Martini Depends on Your Mood
Two of our favorite restaurants in Honolulu that serve great Lychee Martinis are Indigo for eurasian / Dim Sum and Mongolian food and Alan Wong's Restaurant (click link for menu) for Hawaii regional cuisine.
Lychees on Line is the perfect place to decide what type of lychee you want to prepare for a martini recipe, fresh, frozen or canned. For two very different recipes check out these two at foodnetwork.com, or at epicurious.com. If your in the mood for something a little more labor intensive but delicious, the epicurious recipe is the same served at Kittichai at 60 Thompson in Manhattan. We love Kittichai, the hotel and their martini, however we honestly prefer our abbreviated version which we have perfected over and over again when we are in Honolulu.
Our Martini:
Martini Shaker
Ice
8 0z Belvedere Vodka
1/4 tsp White Vermouth
1/4 tsp lychee syrup (from the can) or 1/4 tsp powdered sugar
Shake...pour and garnish with 2 lychee fruit skewered on a great toothpick. Note: Lychee may be found in the asian food section of the grocery.
This is a great drink, not sweet, but very flavorful and the essence of the tropics....Aloha!
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Lychees on Line is the perfect place to decide what type of lychee you want to prepare for a martini recipe, fresh, frozen or canned. For two very different recipes check out these two at foodnetwork.com, or at epicurious.com. If your in the mood for something a little more labor intensive but delicious, the epicurious recipe is the same served at Kittichai at 60 Thompson in Manhattan. We love Kittichai, the hotel and their martini, however we honestly prefer our abbreviated version which we have perfected over and over again when we are in Honolulu.
Our Martini:
Martini Shaker
Ice
8 0z Belvedere Vodka
1/4 tsp White Vermouth
1/4 tsp lychee syrup (from the can) or 1/4 tsp powdered sugar
Shake...pour and garnish with 2 lychee fruit skewered on a great toothpick. Note: Lychee may be found in the asian food section of the grocery.
This is a great drink, not sweet, but very flavorful and the essence of the tropics....Aloha!
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