One of the things I love about traveling in the summer is that many cities have a wide array of events going on, including free outdoor concerts and music festivals.  I try not to let the summer pass by without spending at least one evening under the stars at a musical performance. 

Here are just a few of the concerts coming up in the next few weeks - check your local city guide for even more listings:

• New York - Central Park’s SummerStage  info 
• San Francisco
• Stern Grove concerts: through Aug. 19  info  
• San Jose concert series  info
• Chicago
• Grant Park concert series   info 
• The Art Institute - free admission on Thursdays and Friday evenings with live concerts in the garden.
• Newport, RI
• Newport Folk Festival: Aug. 3-5  info 
• Newport JVC Jazz Festival: Aug. 10-12   info 
• Orange County concert series:  info
• Seattle
• Chateau Ste. Michelle concert series:  info 
• Bumbershoot: Sept. 1-3   info
• Lollapalooza Chicago: Aug. 3-5   info 
• Austin City Limits Music Festival: Sept. 14-16  info
• Monterey 50th Annual Jazz Festival:  Sept. 21-23  info

Are you curious about which cocktails are popular with celebs this season?  InStyle magazine did some research and created a photo gallery of some of the celebrity favorites, along with drink recipes. 

Try one of these fun cocktails at your next summer get together and dazzle your friends with your mixology skills!

• Angry Dragon - Jessica Biel
• Pomegranate Martini - Madonna
• Red Pearl - Rebecca Romijn
• Peach Passion - Gisele Bündchen
• Demeter - Teri Hatcher
• Raspberry Cheesecake - George Clooney
• Pomegranate Blossom - Charlize Theron
• Pink Elephant - Eva Mendes
• Passionate Saketini - Kate Hudson

[via InStyle Magazine]

I’ve written a lot of posts about some of the more glamorous places to visit in the U.S., but sometimes getting away from it all can be just what you need for a relaxing and creative girls trip.  I’ve looked into one of the latest trends in getaways and found there are quite a few places that specialize in craft getaways for women.  Usually set in scenic surroundings, these retreats have craft rooms with several work tables, die-cut tools and complimentary supplies. 

Kerry Griffin and her friend opened the Craft Retreat House in Wisconsin Dells last year to offer women a place to go to relax, rejuvenate and create.  “We have craft rooms stocked with supplies & tools so that our guests can work on their craft while enjoying a wonderful getaway.  Our guests love it!” 

Here are a few craft retreats to check out:

Whitepath Lodge (90 min. north of Atlanta)
http://www.whitepathlodge.com/group-retreats.html

Craft Retreat House (Wisconsin Dells)
http://www.bloomingescapes.com/

Craft Retreats Northwest (on Whidbey Island, north of Seattle)
http://www.craftretreatsnw.com/home.htm

Scrapbook Manor (Wisconsin)
http://www.thescrapbookmanor.com/

Scrapaway! (Big Bear, CA)
http://www.scrapaway.net/

Tree House Getaways (Michigan)
http://www.treehousegetaways.com/

Miss Lillies (75 miles southeast of Dallas)
http://www.misslillies.com/

Scrapbook Queen (Ohio)
http://www.queenofthecropgetaways.com/newindex.html 

Relax and Scrap Weekends (California)
http://www.relaxandscrapweekends.com/retreats.html

Croptopia Getaways (New England, NY/PA/NJ)
http://www.croptopiagetaways.com/

Give Me Time Retreats (Bay Area, CA)
http://www.gmtretreats.com/

You can count the number of hours I’ve spent in cooking school on one hand.  Unless, of course you want to count my 7th grade Home Ec class.  One of my favorite culinary classes was a “pastry & tart” class I took at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont.  Vermont’s climate lends itself to baking - and for you bread purists - is the home of King Arthur Flour. 

In the Culinary Institute’s pastry class I learned how to make a few tarts, including a crème Brulee tart with a classic pâte brisée crust.  The most useful advice from the pastry chef was:  “when you’re in a pinch, just use Pillsbury’s refrigerated all-ready pie crusts – we’ve found no one notices the difference!”  I’ve used this short-cut ever since.

If you want to incorporate some culinary education into your next girls getaway, here are a few resources to check out:

InfoHub: In-depth directory of culinary packages organized by state for the US and by country for the rest of the world.
website

Shaw Guides: Not quite as organized as InfoHub, but another good source for culinary packages.  website

Active Gourmet Holidays: Very nice resource for culinary holidays in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal.  website

Here are a couple of “gourmet retreats” within the United States:

Napa - Gourmet Retreats at CasaLana: This B&B near Copia offers a series of 3-7 day cooking classes. Guest chefs from nearby Culinary Institute of America teach some classes.  Book early – most spring classes are already sold-out.  website

Santa Fe: Stay within walking distance of the Santa Fe Plaza at the Inn on the Alameda; classes held at the Santa Fe Cooking School.  website

Only want to devote 1-2 hours of your getaway to cooking? Try a Whole Foods class.
If you’re traveling to a city with a Whole Foods Market, chances are they offer classes.  Check out their current calendar of classes and book a class with your girlfriends. website

Every year I convince my family to go with me to see the gingerbread houses at the local Four Seasons Hotel.   I love visiting gingerbread villages to see the incredible detail and inventive use of edible materials for construction.  Since we rarely get snow around here - and I like it that way - the gingerbread houses take me as close to a wintry village as I want to get. 
I’ve seen hand-made stained-glass windows from sugar, ironwork made of chocolate, a river made of melted Jolly Ranchers and molded fondant people.

Some of the more impressive gingerbread villages are joint efforts between architects and pastry chefs which are auctioned off for charities.  The results are usually amazing. 

Here are some of the bigger gingerbread displays around the country that you may want to check out before January: (more…)

The holidays are a great excuse to make some wickedly delicious drinks.  Readers of my blog know that if it has chocolate in it, I’m interested.  My husband and I were talking about our upcoming trip to South Padre Island, and I mentioned that I wanted to serve some fun drinks.  He pointed me to a great site called DrinkSwap.  DrinkSwap has a huge selection of both hot and cold holiday drink recipes to choose from: 

http://www.drinkswap.com/index.asp?seasonal=drinks

It has martinis, ciders, eggnogs, spiked hot chocolates, you name it.  They even make you work for the recipes by dodging the snowflakes.  Cheers!

During the holidays I normally send out cards to stay in touch with friends and family.  Some years I’ve made glittery, hand-made cards.  Other years I’ve spent almost as much time shopping to find pre-made cards that I liked. 

Just recently I ran across another way to send holiday greetings.  While enjoying a Starbucks gingerbread latte, I noticed a web address on the bottom of the cup –   http://www.itsredagain.com/.

This Starbucks greeting card site is one of the best I’ve seen and even comes with an off-beat host to guide you through the process of creating a holiday greeting. 

Here’s a holiday greeting that I created - view it here. 

If you find yourself in a pinch for time or would rather not wait in line at the post office, stay in touch with your girlfriends by sending one of these greetings instead.

I don’t live in a place with four seasons, so sometimes it takes a nudge from Starbucks to remind me of new seasons.  Those red cups can mean only one thing - the holidays are quickly approaching.  My favorite pasttime during the holidays is watching movies, so I thought I’d share my top ten list of classic holiday movies with you.  Add some hot cocoa and a fire and you’re all set!  

Holiday Movies

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne
This 1947 version is set in New York City during the holiday season, with many scenes at Macy’s during the 40’s. Add in nine year old Natalie Wood (who later starred in West Side Story) and a very believable Santa Claus and you’ve got a great film.

2. White Christmas (1954) – Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney
Christmas at a quaint Vermont inn with singing and dancing – what could be better?

3. While You Were Sleeping (1995) - Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, Peter Gallagher
I never get tired of seeing this story of a lonely city girl discover her real love and finally get her passport stamped.  

(more…)