Bulgaria, a Southeastern European country bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east, is our next stop as we “tour” the world. Bulgaria is one of 7 countries whose borders lie completely within the region known as the Balkan Peninsula. The Bulgars, a central Asian Turkic tribe and the local Slavic inhabitants merged to form the first Bulgarian state in the 7th century. Bulgaria has been a historical crossroads situated between Europe and Asia. Many civilizations have flowed through the region which was marked by fierce fighting as well as rich cultural history due to the many people who came and went. In the 7th century Bulgaria emerged as a state to only have to struggle against the Byzantine Empire and then by the 14th century succumb to the rule of the Ottoman... Read the Rest →
The notion of spring cleaning is pretty simple, it’s more like packing up all the winter things into boxes and preparing for spring! There are some people who are so organized they can practically reorganize their home and their wardrobe for a change in season on a whim. I, of course, count myself as one of those people. Okay, don’t get me wrong, I am not so OCD that every guest who enters my home has to be totally disinfected. I can say I am organized when it comes to my home and things. But… and I mean I do have my limitations, next time, we need to hire someone to do some major physical work around the house. It’s not worth bending over for hours on hours in a given week (or day) to get things spic and span for the summer months to come, and have blood rushing... Read the Rest →
The notion of spring cleaning is pretty simple, it’s more like packing up all the winter things into boxes and preparing for spring! There are some people who are so organized they can practically reorganize their home and their wardrobe for a change in season on a whim. I, of course, count myself as one of those people. Okay, don’t get me wrong, I am not so OCD that every guest who enters my home has to be totally disinfected. I can say I am organized when it comes to my home and things. But… and I mean I do have my limitations, next time, we need to hire someone to do some major physical work around the house. It’s not worth bending over for hours on hours in a given week (or day) to get things spic and span for the summer months to come, and have blood rushing... Read the Rest →
We continue our dedication to the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. We have chosen to focus on the survivors of the tragedy, particularly women, as very few men survived. The survival demographics of the passengers (this does not include the staff and crew), in brief, looks something like this: Female/ Total: 416 Survived: 304 Died: 112 Children/Total: 112 Survived: 56 Died: 56 Male/Total: 768 Survived: 130 Died: 638 Male passengers (no matter what class passenger) had the lowest survival rate. Male staff and crew members even fared a bit better, with 195 surviving of the 896 who served aboard the Titanic. Female staff members had the highest survival rate with 20 out of 22 surviving. When all numbers are tallied there were 2214 people aboard the Titanic and only 705 survived, women whether passenger or staff member had the highest survival rate. One of the lucky ones,... Read the Rest →
We continue our dedication to the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. We have chosen to focus on the survivors of the tragedy, particularly women, as very few men survived. The survival demographics of the passengers (this does not include the staff and crew), in brief, looks something like this: Female/ Total: 416 Survived: 304 Died: 112 Children/Total: 112 Survived: 56 Died: 56 Male/Total: 768 Survived: 130 Died: 638 Male passengers (no matter what class passenger) had the lowest survival rate. Male staff and crew members even fared a bit better, with 195 surviving of the 896 who served aboard the Titanic. Female staff members had the highest survival rate with 20 out of 22 surviving. When all numbers are tallied there were 2214 people aboard the Titanic and only 705 survived, women whether passenger or staff member had the highest survival rate. One of the lucky ones,... Read the Rest →
I hosted a gathering and a friend brought these delectable little appetizers that flew off platter. I had to know what they were and how to make them. She told me what they were called and gave me the recipe, which she knew off the top of her head. With only 6 ingredients it is easy to remember and once you’ve made them you will see that they are equally as easy to make. For years we massacred the name of this tasty, savory treat. We came as close to a phonetic spelling as possible. We called them “suh-garrah bo-reh-gah”. I did a little research and discovered that this is a widely enjoyed meal in countries such as Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Albania just to name a few. The actual spelling is Börek (Turkey) as well as Burek(Bosnia and Serbia) and Boereg (Armenia). No matter how it is... Read the Rest →
I hosted a gathering and a friend brought these delectable little appetizers that flew off platter. I had to know what they were and how to make them. She told me what they were called and gave me the recipe, which she knew off the top of her head. With only 6 ingredients it is easy to remember and once you’ve made them you will see that they are equally as easy to make. For years we massacred the name of this tasty, savory treat. We came as close to a phonetic spelling as possible. We called them “suh-garrah bo-reh-gah”. I did a little research and discovered that this is a widely enjoyed meal in countries such as Turkey, Greece, Armenia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Albania just to name a few. The actual spelling is Börek (Turkey) as well as Burek(Bosnia and Serbia) and Boereg (Armenia). No matter how it is... Read the Rest →
There was a time when I could give my children a wholesome snack in the afternoon. Gone are the days when they will be satisfied with apples dipped in peanut butter, homemade granola bars or honey cornbread and milk. My two sweet boys have grown into teenage eating machines. They don’t eat snacks anymore. They eat entire meals in between their meals. I can’t really blame them. They don’t have an ounce of fat on their frame. They are tall and athletic so I guess if I could eat like they do, I probably would. I miss the snacks of childhood. Sometimes I grab an apple and the peanut butter and have myself a snack. Once in a while I make honey cornbread because it tastes so good with a nice cold glass of milk. Of course, cornbread isn’t just a snack. It is a delicious to many meals. And... Read the Rest →
There was a time when I could give my children a wholesome snack in the afternoon. Gone are the days when they will be satisfied with apples dipped in peanut butter, homemade granola bars or honey cornbread and milk. My two sweet boys have grown into teenage eating machines. They don’t eat snacks anymore. They eat entire meals in between their meals. I can’t really blame them. They don’t have an ounce of fat on their frame. They are tall and athletic so I guess if I could eat like they do, I probably would. I miss the snacks of childhood. Sometimes I grab an apple and the peanut butter and have myself a snack. Once in a while I make honey cornbread because it tastes so good with a nice cold glass of milk. Of course, cornbread isn’t just a snack. It is a delicious to many meals. And... Read the Rest →
This is the time of year where football fans are either disheartened and disgusted or elated. Unfortunately, I fall into the disheartened and disgusted category, which I should be used to by now. You see, I come from a long line of New York Jets fans. Having admitted that let me add humiliated to disheartened and disgusted. The last time the NY Jets won a super bowl was the year I was born. Humiliated, disheartened, disgusted and not getting any younger, I often wonder if they might win a super bowl during my lifetime. The other set of football fans are those that are elated. They fall into two categories: (a) confident and elated (Green Bay Packer fans) or (b) finger nail biting elated (New York Giants fans). I have a friend who is a Packer’s fan and while he doesn’t brag for that would be bad luck, the air... Read the Rest →
This is the time of year where football fans are either disheartened and disgusted or elated. Unfortunately, I fall into the disheartened and disgusted category, which I should be used to by now. You see, I come from a long line of New York Jets fans. Having admitted that let me add humiliated to disheartened and disgusted. The last time the NY Jets won a super bowl was the year I was born. Humiliated, disheartened, disgusted and not getting any younger, I often wonder if they might win a super bowl during my lifetime. The other set of football fans are those that are elated. They fall into two categories: (a) confident and elated (Green Bay Packer fans) or (b) finger nail biting elated (New York Giants fans). I have a friend who is a Packer’s fan and while he doesn’t brag for that would be bad luck, the air... Read the Rest →
Last week, while in Manhattan, we had the opportunity to visit the JWT office on Lexington Avenue. It was an amazing opportunity to have a peek at the world’s most well known marketing agency. JWT has more than 200 offices worldwide. The Lexington Avenue office in Manhattan was five floors of open, creative workspace designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects. The workspace is unique, fun and bright. It is designed as a sign of homage to story-telling. This would be such a foreign concept to the 1864 founders of Carlton and Smith, the original name of the advertising brokerage firm that specialized in selling space in religious journals. In 1878 Carlton and Smith was sold and renamed James Walter Thompson. James Walter Thompson built a strong marketing agency by not only placing advertisements in woman’s magazines and expanding operations to Boston, Chicago and London, but by creating the actual advertisements and... Read the Rest →
