SUNDAY BRUNCH ~ SIN OF CORTEZ ~

One place I always make a point to hit up when I'm home in California is Sin Of Cortez, located in Chico California.  Trust me, I love an all American breakfast... but, sometimes I just want something a little out of the box, and that is why I love to come here.  This place is normally really busy and it takes a while to get a seat but, good things are worth waiting for, and everyone here is very nice.

.

Sin Of Cortez offers a variety of healthy breakfast choices featuring local and fresh produce from the Chico area.  Many dishes have a Latin twist but not all of them.  I think of it more as a bohemian gypsy style breakfast.  Most dishes can come with a side of brown rice or a whole wheat tortilla. I LOVE scrambled eggs and rice!  I honestly feel like its one of the best parings, and you rarely see them accompanying each other!  When Curtis and I honeymooned in Costa Rica, the national breakfast dish there was called Gallo Pinto, which was scrambled eggs, fried white rice mixed with black beans and covered in a coconut sauce... ooohhh I miss it!

Anyway, at Sin Of Cortez I love to order there blueberry cornmeal pancakes.  They are so light and have a little crispness to them.  Maple syrup is on every table in old Jorito soda bottles.  I'm also a huge fan of there scrambles.  You can get anything from spinach to pesto to tofu to jalapeno, and every scramble is served with a side of lightly sprinkled rosemary potatoes.  Each dish is carefully crafted and arranged so beautifully, its hard to actually eat!......... Actually no, no it's not hard to eat at all.

Sin Of Cortez makes everything "In Kitchen" which I actually had to research, because shouldn't everything be made "in kitchen?"  By that they mean, everything is made fresh daily.  The beans don't come out of a can, they are soaked and cooked fresh.  Everything from the salsa to the whipped cream is made fresh daily.  They actually quote themselves, "If we had more room, we'd raise our own beef."

There coffee is some of the best you can find, and they hold a very high standard to what they use to make it.

There motto is; "Make the best coffee possible, damn the cost!"

They're coffee is made from Single Origin beans, meaning they come from the same plant, or group of plants.  They will never be blended or dark roasted to save cost.  Single Origin beans are the only way to ensure consistent flavor and texture, no after taste and balanced acidity.

Of course the love of my life is there Mexican Hot Chocolate!

It is perfectly sweet and spicy at the same time. With fresh REAL whipped cream (Not from any can or tub!) and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and chocolate syrup.

Oh my heart starts palpitating just thinking about it.

So if you live any where near or are passing through Chico California, absolutely stop and grab yourself a cup o' Cortez Joe and some seriously good eats!

.

If you would like to visit Sin Of Cortez on the web just click HERE

"Beep Beep!" from The Little Road!

HOME FOR THE WEEKEND: THUNDERHILL SPORTING CLAYS

The best part about this particular weekend, is that I'm home in California spending time with my family and friends.   There isn't much more that encompasses home than this!  One little tradition I have when I come home to visit is to take a trip out to Thunderhill Pheasant Club, and shoot a round of sporting clays with my dad and his buddy's. 

I always enjoy the how pretty it is out on the ranch, golden rolling hills as far as you can see.   Wild life roaming around all over, and big huge dragonflies zipping about. I get to spend some good quality time with my Dad, and I get to join in on a little poking fun with my Dad's crazy friends.

Over the years I've adopted a new nick name out here.

Liiiizzzarrd

What does it mean?  Can't tell ya, or I'd have to kill ya.  :O)

My Dad taught me how to shoot a gun when I was about 12, which is actually a skill that I'm really thankful to have.  When I was younger we would shoot target practice, but today we have a lot more fun shooting sporting clays.  You normally have 10 to 12 stations that you shoot at, each one sporting 2 clay discs that are set up to fly out in any formation imaginable... some of them even roll on the ground.  The idea is to simulate a hunting experience, but of coarse with shot guns and clay discs.  There are rules, and you keep score, and by the end of the game, you've shot about 100 shells.  I normally leave with a stiff shoulder and sometimes a bruise, but it's all part of the fun.

Even Curtis joins in when he gets the chance!

If you're ever out this way, Thunderhill is a great place to check out.

Tell them Liiiizzzaarrdd sent ya.

"Beep Beep!" from The Little Road!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Happy Friday!

What is everyone doing for the weekend?

Hopefully getting a little R&R.

Image from my Pinterest Board

"Beep Beep" from The Little Road!

FASHION FRIDAY: PROOF WOODEN SUNGLASSES

Since I'm hanging out here in the little town of Paradise California,

there really isn't much news going on.  So, it makes watching the news moderately entertaining because they have to come up with some kind of content.  It winds up being all kinds of random activity.

Anyway, the other night I was watching the news and they had this article about a guy living in Chico CA, hand making sunglasses out of different kinds of wood.  I thought they were so flippin awesome, unique, original!

So I jumped online to see if I could find out more about them.

Turns out, I couldn't find anything on this guy, but, there are tons of other company's out there doing the same exact thing. So yeah... guess they weren't quite as original as I thought, but non the less, still cool!

Check these puppies out!

Ooohh I so love them!  They range between $70 to $150 a pair.

They have about 5 different styles to choose from and multiple kinds of wood, but I'm loving the "Boise" glasses, though I just can't decide what kind of wood I like best.  The 3 below are my faves.

So, what do y'all think?  Would you sport a pair of wooden sunglasses?

You can check them out on the web HERE.

"Beep Beep" from The Little Road

FARM FRESH THURSDAY: GOOD OL' PARADISE BLACKBERRY'S

Since I'm currently taking a little vacation down in my home town of sunny Paradise California, I figure that I really need to talk about what kind of fresh goodies I love to get while I'm here!

.

I've always had this tender love for blackberries.  All the berry vender's in Washington seem to sell flat after flat of raspberry's and blueberry's and strawberry's!  Me, all I really love in this world is a big, juicy, bubbly, dye your hands purple blackberry.  You will never see this girl put grape jelly on a PB&J!  It's blackberry all the way!

.

So it just so happens that I got my grubby little hands on a batch of fresh, home made blackberry syrup the other day, and I thought I would tell you a little bit about the woman I got it from.

My dad introduced me to a friend of his named Pat Anthony the other day.  Pat is a cheerful and delightful woman who is confined to a wheel chair.  She managed to keep such an infectious smile during our visit, and she had been feeling under the weather the entire day!  Before we left, Pat handed me a jar of blackberry syrup, which I almost opened immediately and started guzzling... but I refrained.

.

After leaving her house, Dad told me her story.

During the 1940's Polio was a huge pandemic.  Many children died from the deseese or were seriously handicap for the rest of their lives. In fact, my Dad was lucky enough to be a survivor of Polio with minimal long term issues to deal with, though Polio did steal several good years of his life. 

For Pat, though she was also lucky to be a survivor of Polio, she was restricted to a wheel chair for the rest of her life.  

Thinking about it today, there are still so many opportunities for people who are handicap like Pat.  Its moderately easy to get around and in and out of buildings, but back then, if you were in a wheel chair, living an active normal life was pretty much impossible, and society didn't really think much of it.   Pat, was never one to settle.  She fought for her right to finish High School in a public school system, requiring her school to accommodate her needs.   She then went on to get a college degree to practice law, and eventually became a judge.  She had a passion for animals and raised horses as well as dogs and other animals.

To me, she's quite the commendable gal!

And, even on a day when shes feeling under the weather, she still manages to whip up a jar of blackberry syrup for us.  So special!

.

My dad and I have been making milkshakes and poring it over ice cream all week long.

There is something about the blackberry's here in Paradise.  It must be the sun and heat that make them so good.  I remember when I was a kid scavenging ours and neighbors yards for blackberry bushes.  We'd just pick and eat them all day long.  We would come home with purple fingers and all kinds of cuts and scratches from the bushes thorns.  The best berries are always up high in the middle of the bush.

Of course, just like Pat, that never stopped us from getting to them........

"Beep Beep!" from The Little Road!

UM... HELLO..... I LOVE YOU.

Um....

Hello....

Come here often?

Um.....

I love you.............

"Beep Beep!"  From The Little Road!

REVAMP TUESDAY: VINTAGE SILVER TRAY GOES CHALKBOARD

Lot's of people are having fun with chalk boards these days.  With the abundance of chalk board paint options, you can seriously go crazy with it.  Actually, I'm pretty sure my husband has lost his marbles over chalk board paint...  Every time I say "I'm thinking about painting that." He chimes in with "Chalkboard?!   

If Picasso had his blue period, my husband is definitely in his chalk board period.  :O)

.

So here is a fun idea for yall.

Turn a vintage tray into a chalkboard!

Its super easy to find an abundance of vintage silver serving ware at your local thrift stores.  Any time we see something a little unique, we try to snag it up.  There are lots of fun DIY things to do with vintage silver.

Some people love to collect it, and some people like to repurpose it!

And that would be us, so for all of you out there who are avid silver collectors.... I apologize for this...  really I do. 

.

First, find a silver tray that you like!  I forgot to take a before photo of my tray so I had to hack this one off the Internet.

Get yourself a container of chalkboard paint.  Don't try to be clever and buy the chalkboard spray paint, it will make a HUGE mess and won't look good!  You can ether tape the edges if you like or paint free hand with a small foam wedge brush.  I find that its just easier to do everything freehand, if you have a hard time keeping your had steady, keep some Clorox wipes close by, you can pull up any little mistakes by wrapping it around your finger nail.

Paint the entire inner area of the tray, and let dry.  Repeat this process at least 3 times.  If you only put one coat of paint on, the paint will chip off the silver when you rub any chalk off.  Also, the more coats you use the less you will see the decorative stamping on the inner part of the try... though, its still really pretty to be able to see it, it just wont let the chalk write as smooth.

That's all there is to it!  You can hang or place your tray anywhere and write away!

I would like to have a cheese party and use my try to label different cheeses.

Wouldn't cheese look so pretty against the black too?

.

You can clean your tray with just a damp cloth. Easy Peasey!

"Beep Beep!" From The Little Road!

NEW MUSIC MONDAY: THE SUZAN

This band actually took some time to find!

My Dad keeps yelling at me to rush out to the TV room to listen to this song on a current Verizon commercial.

He says;  "Who is this and what the heck are they saying?"

It took some time to track them down and find that they are called "The Suzan"

An all girl punk/pop/surfer band from Japan.

Though I'm still not sure exactly everything they are saying, you can get the gist of it.

"Come to me now, come, come.  Come to me now, come."

This is a pretty catchy little tune really and I love the Afro/Brazilian/Caribbean feel!

It makes me want to lay on a white sandy beach and listen to steel drums all day long.

"Beep Beep!" From the Little Road

A LITTLE MAKE OVER FOR ME AND THE LITTLE ROAD!

Well friends, much has been going on around here!

The beginning of the month was my last day as Liam's nanny.

It was definitely a bitter sweet day with lots of hugs and kisses and cuddles and fun.  I've had so much fun taking care of him these last few years, but I am so proud of him for becoming such a big boy and starting all day pre-school!  Which he is LOVING!

  He grew up way to fast!

So on to new adventures!  The future is full of lots of farming, good music and of coarse....

MORE LITTLE ROAD!!

Curt and I have started game planning some new goals for the little road, and I'm feeling very positive about them.  Were expecting big and fun things for the next 6 months to a year!

One of our biggest goals is to acquire "The Shop"

We've got our families and friends searching high and low for us for an old junker 1950's travel trailer, and we have our eyes on a few!  Were hoping that by next Summer we will be able to make appearances not only at our local markets and craft fairs... but all around the Seattle area!

.

Also,

Its really time to get professional on the web!  We're slowly going to be making improvements and updates to the blog as well as put together thelittleroadsaidgo.com, which will have much more Little Road goodness! 

.

We also plan to start filling up our ETSY SHOP!

Lots more vintage and original items coming your way shortly!

So friends!  Lets here some input!

What more would you like to see?  Where should we go?  What more would you like to see in the shop?

The Little Road Blog is going to start having a theme for each day of the week, but I would love to hear what you think!

So far we have come up with this......

*New Music Mondays 

(Kick start the week with some new tunes in your pocket!)

*Tuesday Revamps

(Catch DIY projects and Before and Afters)

*Sweet Life Wednesdays

(A little sneak peek into our daily lives and activities)

*Farm Fresh Thursdays

(Get fun facts and photos of your local Washington farms and markets!)

*Fashion Fridays

(A day of fun girly stuff.......and a few fun boy stuff too)

*Saturday Home For The Weekend

(Tutorials on all our ongoing remodeling projects)

*Sunday Brunch

(Yep, its coming back.  Reviews on local and not so local breakfast eats!)

So what do you think?  Do yall have any other fun ideas we could maybe add to the pot?!

Leave a comment and lets hear them!

"Beep, Beep!" From The Little Road!

SAYING GOODBYE TO A GREAT MAN AND AN AMAZING FRIEND

I have mentioned a few times before that my husband and I have been working for a local, all around good and natural miniature cattle farm called Happy Mountain Farm for the last 2 years.

.

How we came to be part of this family was nothing less than fate.  Curtis and I had been engaged for about 6 months and we were very busy planning all the details of our wedding.  One night we decided to watch a movie called "Food Inc."   I highly recommend it to those of you who haven't had the chance to see it.  Food Inc. is a documentary literally exposing the mass meat industry for all its corrupt ways.  Literally friends, with tiny hidden cameras, you can see exactly how companies you see every day at the grocery store really treat their animals.  It was horrifying!  After watching this movie, Curt and I decided it was important to find a local farm to purchase our meat from.  Just a week later was the yearly grand opening of the Puyallup farmers market, and we figured this would be the place to find some good resources.  

.

Good resource indeed, because we wound up meeting the Gradwohl family, who would not only become our employers, but also our extended family.   Both Curt and I recognised Michelle Gradwohl from our own local farmers market in Des Moines, she had been selling meat there for years.  After telling her that we recognized her from Des Moines, she then told us that Happy Mountain wouldn't be able to be at the Des Moines farmers market that year due to not having anyone to work it.   Curt and I wished her luck and went on our way.    As were walking through the market, I had to slap Curtis on the arm.   "Hey, we should work the Des Moines market for them!  We could use some extra money for our wedding and were passionate about supporting local farms."  Curtis completely agreed with me, so we marched our happy butts right back over there and said.  "We would like to work for you and help you keep the Des Moines Market!"  Just our luck, the owner of the farm Richard was there and he hired us on the spot!

.

After working for a summer selling beef at our local farmers market, we had fallen in love with our farm and the farmers market community.  Richard and his family quickly adopted us as part of their family and we enjoyed every moment we spent working for the farm.  This year, we not only returned to the Des Moines Farmers Market but we also picked up 4 other local farmers markets.  Being on the farm has become an every day event, whether its been to pick up product, drop off product or to just swing by and say hi to our extended family and all the animals.

.

Richard has taught us so much about the farming industry and we've really found this tender part in our hearts for him.  Honestly, hes one of the farming industries best kept secrets.  He's been creating his own breeds of cattle for over 30 years.  Out of the 26 different breeds of miniature cattle in the world he has developed 18 of those breeds on our farm.  Not only do we use some of the cattle to produce healthy meat for our local community, we also sell these mini cows as pets!  Each one of our cows has a name and is treated just about as good as it gets.  In return, we can offer some of the most healthy and delicious meat for the mind, body and spirit!

.

Today, we lost this incredible man who has developed this amazing farm and who has touched all our hearts.  After five days at the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical, Richard Gradwohl passed away peacefully with his son by side, due to a massive stroke and brain hemorrhage he had early Sunday morning.

.

  His family has been so strong in facing this horrible situation, but honestly I just can't help but feel so broken hearted.  Richard was someone, I looked forward to see on a daily basis.  He was a significant part of mine and Curtis' life, and it hurts to have to let go of this relationship that we have come to love and depend on.   The hardest thing about loosing someone you love is the absence of those little routines and quirks that just make life worth while and special.  I am always going to miss Richards little round belly, and the way it jiggled when he laughed.  I will miss his iconic greeting of "Heeeelllooooo" when ever he would see us and his "Keep Smilin" whenever we would leave.

I will miss sitting out front of the farm store with him, sipping soda and telling stories (breaks he would call them).  Ill miss his face when he would laugh really hard.  Ill miss him shuffling around the farm.  Ill miss him talking sweetly to the cows.  Ill miss him calling me "Georgia" just to wrile me up.  Ill miss his constant support and help.  Most of all, I'm just really going to miss him.

.

So farewell to my employer.... teacher.... and friend. 

I feel so fortunate to have been part of your life and legacy, and I'm so happy that I was able to spend some of your last normal hours with you Saturday night and to have given you a big hug before you left.  You were very much a big part of my heart and I am really going to miss you.

I hope we meet again one day.

To read more about Richard and some of the amazing things hes done, visit;

Here

and

Here

If you would like to learn more about Happy Mountain Farm, visit;

Happy Mountain Farm

DEAR PHOTOGRAPH

Hi friends! 

 Have any of you seen this website?   The nostalgia tickles my old soul and reminds me that in this ever changing world,  there are still a few things that will remain the same.  Not only are those things tangible, but they also live inside our memories.  This site makes me want to dig through boxes and boxes of old photos and take a road trip back to all those places I remember.

I even tear up at some of the captions.

 Dear Photograph, 

 I told you there would be better days

 Joel Witte

Dear Photograph,

 If I could turn the corner in 1942 and walk right into my mother, I’d ask her “May I walk beside you one more time?”

Love, your daughter

Dear Photograph,

Grandma loved this beach.

Dan Perry

Dear Photograph,

He was a wonderful man and she grew up to be a wonderful woman.

Anonymous

Dear Photograph,

Dad never took a picture of me, ever. Then I noticed his reflection in the glass.
Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

Anonymous

 

Dear Photograph,

Disney will always be magical, no matter what age.

Leslie Kalbfleisch

Dear Photograph,

There’s a reason we had to paint these stairs blue. They just weren’t as colorful without these two.



Dear Photograph,
Oh, how the views change.
Suzanne Danziger

"BEEP BEEP" From THE LITTLE ROAD!