Lifestyle

Falling Hard For Fall Right Now

Fall is my favorite time of year. I especially like the beginning. The sun starts to get low in the sky which makes it less hot while casting beautiful shadows and lighting.

I also get to start thinking about soups and stews – my favorite thing to cook. I’m looking forward to trying a shepherd’s pie this year.  I’ve never made one but this one looks really good.

I love the family-themed Halloween costumes trend. My daughter asked me what they should be and I said a rooster, chicken and baby chick.  I thought it was cool but we’ll see what they end up doing. I also thought it would be fun if Gus could be a baby Yoda but I don’t know any of the other characters to go with it. Here are some ideas if you get asked so that you can seem cooler than me.

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October 2, 2021 by
Design

The Rich Art History Of Downtown Los Gatos; Still Flourishing At Gallery 24

By Cheryl Ryan

Walking past  Gallery 24  Fine Art on University Ave in Los Gatos always lights me up. Some evenings I see entire families with their faces pressed against the window taking in the vibrant artwork of local artists hanging from the walls of this beautiful old building. Not to mention, my own excitement when walking through the gallery and discovering a new artist or piece of work for the first time.

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carol Waittes, who along with Bob Hunt, manages the business and accounting side of the gallery, leaving the artists to do what they do best. Through the arm of the Los Gatos Morning Rotary Club, generous rent pricing by the building owners and the artist members themselves Gallery 24 Fine Art is flourishing and continues to represent a long history of art in downtown Los Gatos.

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September 26, 2021 by
Travel

San Jose del Cabo’s Flora Farms –– Worth The Hype!

By Gwen Dawkins

With so much of our lives turned upside down by Covid, including travel, I was thrilled to get away recently to Los Cabos (A region of Baja, Mexico, which includes the nearby towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo). Despite being a native Californian, it was my first trip. I had been feeling left out over the years with everybody I know having a favorite hotel, restaurant or surf spot in the area. And of course, I wanted to see the famous El Arco –– the widely photographed rocky arch at Land’s End.

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September 22, 2021 by
Lifestyle

The Days That I Listen To Music Are Better

By Cheryl Ryan

Of course, we need to listen to the news but there is just so much of it. The days that I never turn on the news are good. The days that I listen to music are better. And the days that I bust out a dance or a song are the best.

So let’s talk music.  A few years ago I told my husband that I would not go to one more Rolling Stones concert and that he’d have to go with a friend from now on.  We’d already gone four times and I just couldn’t keep listening to the same rock songs over and over. I told him that I would go to concerts if he found some good new music.  He ran with this plan and wholeheartedly started searching. We asked our kids what they liked and starting looking for music stations on Pandora and Spotify.

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September 16, 2021 by
Create

Janice Gali –– A Daring & Intoxicating Blend Of Fearlessness and Curiosity

By Gwen Dawkins

Janice Gali, 62, is not just another ‘Rosé All Day’ trendy-T-shirt-clad woman running around town. Instead, this dynamic Gali Vineyards co-founder is ‘pouring’ all day, and she wants you to enjoy their excellent coastal wine varietals in their casual new tasting room in downtown Los Gatos, California.


You and your husband just opened a new tasting room for your wine label Gali Vineyards. How did this journey begin?

I enjoy investing in real estate, and Joseph is a pediatrician. In his spare time, he loves to garden and is excellent at growing all things. We combined our interests and, in 2003, bought acreage in Corralitos, California, which is in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Grapes piqued our interest, but the market wasn’t lucrative at the time. After considering different options, we planted blueberries and enjoyed that very much. A few years later, we bought our neighbor’s land to merge with our own, which now comprises 46 acres. By then, the grape market had rebounded, and we decided to pivot.

In 2012, we ordered our first rootstocks. A vintage takes four years to grow and produce. Our original intention was to make wine for other wineries and keep a small amount of wine for ourselves, family and friends. We grow Pinot Noir, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Chardonnay varietals. More recently, we have added Albariño grapes, which like our Tempranillo, is another Spanish cultivar. At about the same time, I also joined wine associations, took viticulture courses, started pouring our estate wines at local Bay Area events, and even got jobs at other tasting rooms to learn that side of the business. 

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September 10, 2021 by
Lifestyle

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

By Cheryl Ryan

From the garden this Labor Day: This year’s new, best discovery is Shishito chili peppers.  They are a mild green pepper (best harvested before they turn red) that continues to produce as you pick them! You cook them like poppers in a little bit of olive oil and salt for about 3 minutes on each side. They are delicious and create a colorful splash on any summer plate. 

Eyebrow update: You may remember that I did an eyebrow grooming post a while back and I’ve substantially updated that process.  Now I just fill in any shape gaps with this pencil and use this Boy Brow by Glossier. It just goes on like mascara. It literally takes less than 30 seconds and works great.

This hat clip purse holder is so smart! I really like wearing hats now to keep the sun off of me but I’m not a fan of carrying it around.  Enter the hat clip purse clip.  Honestly, brilliant.

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September 3, 2021 by
Wellness

Getting Zen(ish) During Difficult Times

By Shana Moore

I can’t be the only one who has greatly adjusted my view of what constitutes a workout.

A former version of me scoffed at any exercise that didn’t end with someone asking me if I was okay. Beet-red face, drenched in sweat, an exhausted yeah would fall out of my mouth with a chuckle. In my view, if it wasn’t balls-to-the-wall, it didn’t even count.

Then, at age 35, along came a back surgery and a year of mourning about my new physical limitations. I took up walking and begrudgingly made peace with what was. I walked the neighborhood daily with a good friend and ultimately found joy in chatting with neighbors along our path.

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August 29, 2021 by
Travel

Whitney, Whitney, Whitney –– I Came, I saw, I conquered Mt. Whitney — Actually ‘Conquered’ Is A Strong Word

By Gwen Dawkins

In the iconic 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch, “Her Sister’s Shadow,” middle sister Jan laments that everything comes so easily to her older sister Marcia. She asserts, “Marcia makes such a big deal about everything. Every time Marcia turns around, someone hands her a blue ribbon….I’m tired of being in Marcia’s shadow.”

While her parents try to counsel Jan on Marcia’s hard work and merits, Jan finally blurts, “Well, all I hear all day long at school is how great Marcia is at this or how wonderful Marcia did that. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”

That’s how I feel about my recent trek up Mt. Whitney. Only, I’m not whining! 

Every day and in most conversations since completing this endeavor, I somehow namedrop my Mt. Whitney feat. It really has been, “Whitney, Whitney, Whitney!”

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August 22, 2021 by