Travel Tip Tuesday- In Flight Comfort

In-Flight Comfort!? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?

Is there really such a thing as being comfortable on an airplane anymore?

Well, short of pumping myself full of enough alcohol, Ambien and Valium, so that I arrive foggy brained at my destination in a drooling, drunken, drugged stupor…Uhh, where was I going with this?

Oh, yeah, right…. I’ll never be comfortable on a plane!

But I have a few helpful hints that can at least make it tolerable.

Wear a pashmina. It multi-tasks as a scarf, a blanket or a lumbar support. It’s clean and it’s free!
Support your curves. Lord knows airplane seats were not desgined by a chiropractor! Bring an inflatable neck collar, a lumbar pillow and an inflatable seat cushion on board and turn your seat into a treat for your spine. Or go for the First-Class Sleeper, designed by a pilot, that takes you from coach to 1st class.
Exercise. Get up, walk around. If you can’t, do some exercise in your seat, roll your ankles and your shoulders, run in place, raise and lower your heels on your tip-toes. Get that blood pumping!
Speaking of blood-flow. It’s important. You don’t want a blood clot at 15,000 feet! Put your compression socks on. Yeah, they’re ugly. I know. Get over it! Your legs will feel energized!
Hydrate. Airplane air is recycled and dries you out. Drink plenty of water on board. Lay off the coffee and the alcohol.
Your skin dries out too. Take lip balm, hand cream and mineral water spray on board with you and use them continuously throughout your flight. Your skin will thank you!
I am most comfortable on overnight flights. But whenever you are flying and it’s time to get some shut eye, don’t forget to don your eye mask. Make sure you get one that is lightweight, comfy and molded to your face so it doesn’t let any light creep in.
Don’t forget your I-Pod. Load it up with all your favorites before you leave. Music, language lessons, maybe even a book on tape. Anything that relaxes you.
Keep your mind occupied. Bring some crosswords, Sudoku, a magazine, a book, magnetic scrabble or watch the in-flight movie. Just do something. Chances are if you keep busy, you won’t think about how you can’t feel your ass or that your knees are jammed into your seat tray.
Invest in noise-cancelling headphones. Drowning out the engine noise, or the toddler wailing two aisles behind you is a must for sanity on a long flight! Sure, Bose are great, but try Sennheiser’s. They work just as well and fold for easy storage, but at less than half the price! They work great with your I-Pod too!
Plug those ears. Pressure and pain in your ears making you feel like your head’s gonna explode? No worries. Stick a set of Earplanes in your ears and you’ll relieve the pressure and leave your chewing gum home! Add your noise cancelling headphones on top of these…and you won’t feel or hear a thing!
Pick the aisle seat. I used to think the most comfy seat in the house was the window seat. You can look out and rest your head against the plane. That was until I was forced into a aisle seat..and by golly it was the best-thing-ever!! Now, I stick my whole arm and leg in the aisle and relax like nobody’s business.

Hopefully you can use some of the tips and products I have mentioned here to help make your flight as comfortable as possible. You can also see more rcommended travel products in the Carry-On Queen’s Travel Essentials section of my Amazon store.

Now, if I could only devise a sinister plan to take-out one of the first-class passengers and assume their identity on my next flight, then these tips would be a mute point.

Ahh, wishful thinking. Guess I’ve watched too many in-flight Bond movies.

—

Make sure you head on over to Cherrye’s blog for tips on how to score the best seats on a flight?

I wonder if she prefers an aisle seat?

Farro and Porcini Risotto

Every once in a while I get bored with my current repertoire of recipes and need to shake things up. That goes for ingredients as well. I am always looking for new foods, recipes and inspiration.

Both Michelle and Cherrye have written recently about porcini muchrooms. Have to admit I have never tried to cook with porcini.

My interest was piqued.

Then my Mom passed along the May issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. Low and behold, there is a recipe staring me in the face for Farro and Porcini Risotto.

Farro, huh? I have never tried that either.

I considered myself inspired and I hope you are too!

Farro and Porcini Risotto

1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove
Coarse salt and feshly ground pepper
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups farro
3/4 cup dried porcini muchrooms
1/2 dry white wine
5 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

1. To make pesto, pulse walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add basil, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper, and process. With machine running, pour in oil, and puree.

2. To make risotto, bring farro, mushrooms, wine, and 2 cups stock to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-high. Continue to cook, stirring and adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next. It should take 20 to 25 minutes. Stir 1/3 cup pesto into risotto. Top with Parmesan and remaining pesto.

photo: marthastewart.com

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I was surprised at how much I liked the taste of the porcini. The farro was good, but next time I will use the arborio rice or the carnaroli rice. I prefer their creamier texture to the firmer farro.

Another way to adapt this for all of us on- the- go types is to use good quality store bought pesto, in place of making your own.

Buon Appetito!

Flickr Fun

My good blog buddies Michelle and Anne have had a little fun with Flickr this week. They have inspired me to join in!!

I must admit, I am a fan of Flickr and I even have some photo's on there, but with my crazy schedule, I can't keep up on it as much as I'd like.

This is a neat little mosaic meme created using Flickr photos.

Cool right?

Now it's your turn! If you want to play…here's what you do.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's Mosaic Maker

Here are the questions:

1. Your first name.
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

I'd love to know if you are gonna play along. Drop me a comment so I can come check out your mosaic!

And thanks to these fabulous Flickr photographers for helping to create my mosaic!

1. A very late…or Early Christmas Robin..:O), 2. Hilton Roy's filet mignon, 3. Stissing Mountain, 4. pink room, 5. Barack Obama made out of US flags, 6. coffee art, 7. Le Taha'a pier, 8. do you ♥ a matcha tiramisu? ^-^/, 9. 60s stewardess, 10. Love XOXO, 11. underwater rose, 12. Melange Keys

Travel Photo Friday

Welcome to our next edition of Travel Photo Friday!

This weeks entry comes from Joanne of Frutto Della Passione. She lives in Italy and her blog is about Italy and Italian food. Two of my most favorite things in the world.

Joanne submitted two photos for this event. They were both taken in Santa Cristina di Val Gardena in the Alto Adige region of Italy. Here are her photo's with her descriptions below.

"We go skiing in this part of the world every year. The ice fountain shown in the picture is just one of many that are located throughout the village. If you look really carefully you can see a spray of water mist at the top. That's how these fountains are created. The mist is sprayed non stop and freezes as it falls, creating the cascading effect. No two are alike and each one is constantly changing"

"This is a life size, hand carved presepio (nativity). This area is famous for it's woodcarvings and sculptures, and this is an excellent example of the craftsmanship. "

Wonderful photo's Joanne. I love the ice sculpture, but that nativity is breathtaking!! You have truly captured the lost art of hand carving in Italy. Your photos and descriptions remind me why I love Italy so much.

Thanks for participating, Joanne!!

Do you have a favorite travel photo to submit for Travel Photo Friday? Yeah, you know you do. Please email it, along with a description, to mymelange (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Join me next month on Friday, July 4th, for our next entry!

The Great Squirrel Rescue

Last night, I came home after work to find Chris walking out the front door. I asked him where he was going. He motioned for me to come with him. I never refuse.

We walked out into our driveway, next to the house and there we stood, looking for something, but I had no idea what.

He explained that when he took Madison out earlier, there was a friendly squirrel that was hanging around. "A little too friendly", he said.

Sure enough, we see the cute little guy approching. He was sticking really close to the edge of the house and then he ran right up to us.

He was adorable. He wasn't a newborn, but he was definitely a baby. His tail was as big as his body, he looked a little like this.

photo courtesy of 247wildlife.com

He was trying to stand on our feet and climb up our pant legs, which is not normal behavior for a squirrel.

We are not squirrel people. We have never seen a baby. Is he sick? Does he have rabies? Will he bite me!?

But, I was in love. I couldn't just leave him. It was obvious that something was wrong. You can't just show me a cute little defenseless animal and not let me help it. But again, I am not a squirrel person.

We quickly came inside and got to work.

We looked up a number for Animal Control in our city. We dialed. We got voicemail. It was after 5pm. Damn.

We looked up another number for Animal Control for the town. We dialed. No answer. Damn.

At that moment, I also remembered that this past weekend, there was a dead squirrel that got hit by a car right in front of our house. That was my ah-ha moment.

I told Chris that it was likely the mama got hit and the baby is all alone and scared now. Awww.

Now I was really on a mission.

There is a vet right down the road from us. I looked up the number. We called and someone answered. Chris was given another number. He dialed. Voicemail. We left another message. Argh.

I went for the big guns. I called my, well Madison's, vet. Someone answered. I explained my silly story and the women said " Yeah, hold on, we have the number of a women who resuces squirrels, I'll get you the number" Elation! Yes!

I dialed that number and Kim answered. My heart was beating so fast.

I explained my story and she was quite sympathetic and appreciative that we called. I told her about my suspicions about the mama. She agreed. She asked me about his tail, which I thought was strange, but later learned it helps tell their age. The younger the squirrel, the flatter the tail. As they get a bit older, it fills out fluffier and fluffier.

She knew squirrels!

I told her I wasn't sure if he needed rescue, he wasn't a small baby. She assured me that hy would need rescue. With mama gone, he would be hungry, not being able to fend for himself, and that he needed protection from predators. She said we did the right thing. Whew.

It turns out she was close by. Only about a 5 minute drive. Only one problem. She was at work and she couldn't leave. We need to bring the squirrel to her! Uh, what? How in the? I wouldn't know how to, um. Oh, my, what have I done???

She explained that we needed to try to get him in a box and drive him over. She would meet us outside her job to do the hand off. We were to call on our cell phone when we were close.

And then, she adds another little twist. She assures me there is not just one baby. Most litters are from three to six babies and she wants us to see if we can find others. Hey, I am not sure I can catch one…no less six squirrels.

Off we go, box in hand and a few walnuts to entice the little fella.

We head out into the driveway. He's no where to be found. My heart sinks. We walk up and down, looking under the porch, calling him, walking along the rock wall. Nothing.

Just as I am walking back to go in the house, I see a gray tail shake in a tree across the street. I walk over and find two baby squirrels curled up in the crook of the tree, about two feet above my head, cuddling with each other. As I get closer, they look scared, they were shaking a little. Double Awww.

I called Kim back. Told her we found two and had no idea how we would get them out of the tree. She must have sensed our trepidation on the phone earlier, because she informed us that she called a friend of hers that helps with the rescue efforts. He was on his way over. He'd be there in 10 minutes. Great.

I stood guard at the tree to make sure they didn't run away. I placed some walnuts in the crooks of the highest branches I could reach. They made cute little noises, like they were hungry. They fought over the walnuts and quickly devoured them. I am sure they were hungry.

I have to tell you, at this point I wanted nothing more to run in the house and grab my camera and snap shots of these little cuties. They looked so helpless tucked in the tree and huddled together. But, for the greater good, I didn't. I feared if I left they might run or I might scare them with the camera. So I have no pictures. But I assure you…they were adorable.

Chris had run in the house to get another box and his gloves, in case we had to grab them. I see him come out of front door and down the front steps and right in front of him another baby runs out from under the shrubs and out onto the sidewalk. Now we have three!

I yell to Chris and he tries to catch that one, to no avail. They are quick little suckers and I am sure he was frightened.

Chris runs inside to get yet another box.

I pick up the box he just brought out and I throw some walnuts in it. The third one scurries across the road toward me and toward his siblings in the tree. As he is sitting on the curb, I put the box with the walnuts open and facing the curb. He takes a flying leap and lands right in the box. I was so shocked I jumped, screamed and quickly folded the flaps down so he couldn't escape!

Yeah!! One down, two to go.

Chris came out and I told him I caught one. We are convinced that one was our original friend we saw in the driveway. He was not scared of us, where as the others were and had not left the tree.

About two minutes later, the Squirrel Rescue Man pulled up in his car. Relief.

He looked at the babies and told us we made the right call. He was very happy that we did. He said they definitely couldn't survive on their own.

He donned his gloves, climbed up the step ladder we had propped against the tree for him and he grabbed one and put him right in a box he brought. Easy Peazy.

The second one, wasn't going to go without a fight.

He ran around the tree a few times. I grabbed my box and tried to get him on the ground 3 or 4 times before he bolted into the neighbors flower garden, conveniently located behind a fence.

Mr. Squirrel Rescue Man was able to crawl part way into the garden and grab his tail from behind. He couldn't move and he was screaming a little while Chris grabbed him from the front. He tried to bite Chris on his gloves. Poor guy, so scared. I know. I know.

Mr. Squirrel Rescue Man told us how many he had home right now at various stages of rescue. He weans them with a cage that slowly allows them to get used to the outside and eventually, when they are ready and can survive, they will be set free again.

He thanked us profusely for doing the right thing. I felt good about our decision and I know Chris did as well. We saved three baby squirrels.

But all we did was make a few phone calls. Kim and Mr. Squirrel Man do the real work.

I am amazed that people actually do this. Out of the goodness of their hearts. Because they care. We love animals and we care, but this is a different level of caring.

I am grateful and humbled by what they do. And I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

So what about you? Have you ever rescued anything? Do you think we are crazy? What would you have done?

Yes We Did!!

photo from BarackObama.com

June 3, 2008. A date that will go down in history.

As you all know, I am a proud Barack Obama supporter, so you can imagine how elated and excited I am tonight.

It has been a long, drawn out time in coming, but Mr. Obama has reached the magic number of delegates tonight, which puts him over the top and crowns him the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States of America. We are all witnessing history in the making, as Barack is now the first ever African American nominee!! I for one am glad to have been around for this stupendous milestone and very proud of our great country for making this happen.

Change is happening.

Whooohooo!!!

I can assure you I will be buying up bumper stickers and pins like a crazy women!!

The important thing now is to look ahead and to figure out how to unite the party, so that we can win in November! We must win in November!!

One of the ways to do that is through the Vice Presidential nominee.

Who do you think Obama will pick for his running mate? What are the pro's and con's if he picks Hillary?

Congratulations Mr. President!!! I really like the sound of that.

Yes we can, yes we did, yes we will!

Travel Tip Tuesday – Packing Tips

Cherrye and I are tackling packing for this weeks Travel Tip Tuesday. Whew, say that five times fast!

You all know by now that I am a big fan of packing light. Only one bag to be precise. And it’s a wheeled carry-on, I don’t check bags! I know, I can see most of you cringing now.

You only have to heave several heavy bags up and down footbridges in Venice once to realize there is an easier way!

And with some airlines starting to charge for checked bags, packing light could not only save you a bad back, but now money as well! Hopefully these tips will be as helpful to you as they have been for me.

Make a list. This will help you to pack only things you need and nothing you don’t!
Plan your outfits. Pack solid colors that go well together. Black, navy, gray, white, pink. And limited prints. Make sure you can get several different outfits out of what you are packing. If you can only wear it once and it doesn’t go with anything else…leave it behind!
Pack at least 2 pairs of comfortable shoes. Keep switching on and off. It is good for your feet.
Wear your heaviest and bulkiest clothes and shoes on the plane, this way there is more room and less weight in your luggage. This includes a jacket or raincoat, unless you are traveling in August!
If your worried about being bored with your outfits, bring jewelry and scarfs to change it up a bit. They don’t take up as much room as a few more outfits.
Always take a roomy tote bag that folds flat and put it in your luggage. This way you have an extra bag for souvenirs, or in an emergency if your rolling wheelie carry-on is over the weight limit, you can take some weight out and put it in your tote.
Weigh and measure your luggage before you leave the house for the airport! Check with your airline to see what the weight and size restrictions are for your luggage. You don’t want to incur extra fees for overweight or oversized luggage, if you don’t have to.
Buy double duty pieces. I have a great black and white reversible print skirt. It’s two looks for the price and space of one!
Don’t pack your guidebooks! They weigh a ton. Instead, organize all your info in one handwritten notebook, or in an excel spreadsheet and just print out of all your necessary info. If you must have a page or two of maps, than just Xerox what you need and leave the heavy books home!
When packing, I use the rolling method, rather than folding. I feel that I can maximize more space that way. Fill up all the nooks and crannies in your bag. I stuff single pairs of undies in the corners of my case or put socks, hosiery and jewelry inside my shoes. Try to fill up every available empty space.
Try to find fabrics that won’t wrinkle as much. Linen and cotton are not so good, but polyester, chiffon,nylon and items blended with Lycra do really well. And they tend to be lighter-weight fabrics as well. Look for wrinkle resistant also.
Plan on doing laundry. If I am going on a 2 week trip, there is no way I pack a different pair of socks, undies, shirt and pants for every day! That is insanity! So, make sure you have a system. Either half way through your trip, make time to go to a laundromat or bring some Woolite, a sink stopper and a surgical tube clothesline and do some hand-washing every night. They make kits that include all three. And don’t forget your Tide To Go pen for spot removal!
Since I am a carry-on queen, I know the TSA restrictions and guidelines for bringing liquids on board. I am able to fit all my toiletries in the required 1 quart zip-lock bag. It helps that I use Bare Minerals makeup (yes ladies,mascara and lip-gloss are both liquids), so I really only save myself the liquid foundation. Check the TSA website for more information on the 3-1-1 rule.
I always save my travel size and promotional freebies I get in the mail, at Sephora or when I order from somewhere and they send me a bonus. These are perfectly sized for travel. I even get perfume samples or tiny roll-on fragrances to pack. It beats taking a heavy glass perfume bottle that could break easily!
Pack a mini compact travel umbrella with a removable LED light. The light is perfect for getting your room key into the lock in the dark when you come back to your hotel late at night, or for finding the key in the bottom of your purse for that matter!
I keep a separate set of basics like comb, brush, toothbrush, shampoo, razors etc. in my Tumi wheelie, so that I don’t have to worry about packing them every time. The first thing I do when I come home from a trip is refill and replace any toiletries I used from the last trip, so that I am ready to leave again at a moments notice and I know that part of my packing is already done!

So are you ready to make the swtich to carry-on travel but don’t know where to begin? Click here to see how I can help you convert!

—

Head on over to Cherrye’s to see what she’s packing today?

La Crémerie

Tucked into a tiny space in the Odeon area on the left bank of Paris, is a great little wine bar that I visited on my last trip, called La Crémerie. You may be wondering why a wine bar would be called The Dairy? Well, the building in which the wine bar is housed, actually used to be a dairy.

When you first walk in, you’ll see a few tiny tables, walls lined with wines (with a focus on organic varietals), and a bar lined with a few stools.

A fire-engine red vintage meat slicer takes center stage at the bar as well as ham, salami and sausage from France, Spain and Italy, dangling from the original hand-painted ceiling. Even though we did not order any meat, we still got to see big red in action.

We arrived right before the afternoon lunch crowd, and the owner informed us that most of his tables were reserved, so we had a seat at the bar. Paris rules and regulations require you to have a little bite to eat with your wine. Doesn’t seem like much a stretch for me.

We ordered wine by the glass. I sampled an organic red. I was forewarned of the impending earthiness and sediment, but I loved it.

The menu is handwritten in French on a small blackboard, but the owner helped us with translations. It took us forever to decide, but we finally agreed upon a plate of marinated vegetables, which included roasted red peppers, eggplant and mushrooms, dressed with olive oil and garnished with parsley.

And you can’t possibly be drinking wine and not sample some French cheese. Though I don’t remember the name, it resembled a Brie.

The tiny cave filled up with locals while we were dining. It became a loud, bustling, convivial, well…wine bar. Since Le Crémerie is also open to the public selling the wines that line the walls, people drifted in and out making wine purchases, perhaps to go with their own lunch in the nearby Luxembourg Gardens.

Whether you are in the area and need a bottle of wine or you are hungry and want a nosh, this wine bar should definitely be on your Paris short list.

La Crémerie
9 rue des Quatres Vents
75006, Paris
Metro: Odeon

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