Happy Holidays . . .

And this year's favorite holiday decoration goes to Bay Street in Emeryville, CA for creating their central Christmas tree out of shopping carts!

The Song Of The Day - Happy Holidays (Beef Wellington Remix) by Bing Crosby

Kindness . . .

Recently I stumbled upon a website called Girls Gone Moto.

Girls Gone Moto is a web series about two life coaches, a camera girl, and a dog traveling across the United States in an old RV in the pursuit of happiness.  Their mission was to commit random acts of kindness, volunteer at local organizations, and inspire others to pursue their own happiness.

The journey is well documented in a funny, endearing, heart warming, emotional, and joyous way.  You will laugh and cry in a period of twenty two minutes watching these webisodes.

One of the life coaches, Sally Hope, worked for me when she was in college 13 years ago and I could not be more proud of her as I watched these videos.

Girls Gone Moto just finished their 8th webisode which brought to a close Season One.  I highly encourage you to go watch all eight.

In honor of what Sally, Natalie, Kathryn and Coach were doing on the road I thought I would share with you what my favorite random act of kindness is.

If you have ever crossed the Bay Bridge and reached the toll booth only to be told that your toll has already been paid for by another driver; then you may have been the recipient of my random act of kindness.

I love paying for an extra car or two or three especially if it has been a really long wait at the toll plaza.  It can be very aggravating to spend 45 minutes or more waiting to cross the bridge from Oakland to San Francisco.  Drivers aggressively cut each other off to try and get one car length ahead on the commute into the City.

The reason I like paying for additional cars to cross the bridge is because it is a completely random act and it is completely anonymous.  There is so much traffic on the bridge that there is really no way for the car that was behind you at the toll plaza to catch up and acknowledge what you have done.

Yesterday when I paid for the three cars behind me I watched in my rear view mirror as the driver in the second vehicle was told he didn't have to pay.  The smile on his face was priceless.

In the spirit of the Holiday Season Loyal Readers, I would love to hear what random acts of kindness you have given to another person or you yourself have received.  Even the littlest thing can make a difference in someones life.

The Song Of The Day - Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness by the Heads featuring Shaun Ryder (Not available on iTunes)

Live Your Life (Dec. 11) . . .

"If you give up being right;

are you willing to be wrong?"

Unknown

The Song Of The Day - Live Your Life - T.I. ft Rihanna

Finally . . .

"Lomito" Saltado

Limon Rotisserie has finally opened its newest location in the Bayview District!

Limon is a family style restaurant that specializes in Peruvian inspired dishes.

The restaurant is most famous for their Pollo a la Brasa - a savory free range chicken slowly roasted over an open flame.  (A dish I have yet to try.)

Over the last week I have sampled several plates from the Limon kitchen.  I started with Lomito Saltado - a traditional Peruvian dish of stir-fried top sirloin strips, onions, tomatoes and soy sauce served over french fries.

This dish was quite tasty.  I enjoyed the onions and fries smothered in soy sauce.

Next I tried the Carne and Pollo Empanadas.

The Carne comes with hand cut top sirloin, sweated in onions, and finished with hard boiled eggs and raisins.  The Pollo has shredded roasted chicken in a red sauce, hard boiled eggs, olives and caipers.  I definitely recommend getting the Pollo over the Carne.  The Empanadas also come with a tasty dipping sauce.

Next, I had the Carne a la Parrilla - grilled hanger steak over tacu-tacu, salsa criolla & red wine-beef sauce.  The steak was perfectly seasoned and melted in my mouth.  The tacu-tacu, though visually unappealing, was a pleasant surprise of bean and grain deliciousness.  I highly recommend you give it a try.

Last but not least, the Sangria.  Chilled and served with diced fruit; it was the perfect accompaniment to my meal.

Limon - welcome to the neighborhood!

The Song Of The Day - Finally (Vandalism Remix) by Ce Ce Peniston (not available on iTunes)

Live Your Life (Dec 4) . . .

"If you have a problem, wrap it up with a bow - 

then it's a gift with a lesson inside!"

unknown

The Song Of The Day - Live Your Life - T.I. ft Rihanna

We Found Love . . .

I am loving this cover of Rihanna's current hit single We Found Love by Boyce Avenue.

If you like their sound be sure to check out the rest of their covers available on iTunes.

The Song Of The Day - We Found Love by Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris (Boyce Avenue Cover)

On My Pillow . . .

Loyal Readers may recall on my recent trip to New York I went to Mood fabric store which was made famous on the TV show Project Runway. 

I purchased some fabric while at Mood that I thought I would use to make some pillows.

While visiting my parents for Thanksgiving my Mom and I attempted to make the pillows with a little help from someone who was eager to lend a paw to the cause.

The finished product turned out great!

The Song Of The Day - Pray For Spanish Eyes by Madonna