Monsoon Chocolate, in the Armory Park neighborhood near downtown Tucson, is THE coolest place I've happened upon this year. Recently, I had the opportunity to do some work for a lovely historic boutique inn, Armory Park Inn - another 5 Heart Rating, just blocks away from Monsoon Chocolate. Shortly after I had arrived in Tucson, while doing my usual thing of familiarizing myself with nearby businesses and what-to-dos, I found Monsoon Chocolate. Never in a zillion years would I have imagined Read more [...]

Yes you heard that right - Porcupine Dryer Balls (is that supposed to be capitalized?) deserve a 5 Heart Rating. One of the unexpected pleasures of doing this blog is realizing there are so many seemingly insignificant joys in life that can truly make my day. These dryer balls do that. I purchased these cute little guys from a popular boutique-ish general store in downtown Franklin, Tennessee called White's Mercantile. There's one in Nashville as well. Matter of fact, I'm going to add White's Read more [...]

I don't even recall what exactly prompted me to buy these crackers but I do know I was planning a charcuterie board for an upcoming event and thought they might go well. And offer a gluten-free option, in case anyone cared. These crackers turned out to be one of the best crackers I have ever had. You can buy them at Trader Joe's. https://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/gluten-free-norwegian-crispbread Read more [...]

  For as long as I can remember I have liked Barbara Bush. Not because of anything anyone has said about her but because of what she herself had to say on the few occasions I heard her speak. I like to form my opinions on people based solely on what THEY SAY and not on what others say about them. Though this biography is certainly filled with perspective other than that of Bush herself, it seems pretty aligned with what I've heard come out of her actual mouth. I also learned Read more [...]

As I type this I am listening to Johann Hari on Joe Rogan's podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, episode 1250. It too is worth a listen, but it's Hari's Ted Talk that gets right to the point and earned this 5 Heart Rating. Also, in contrast with the podcast, the Ted Talk is short, just 15 minutes long. The Rogan podcast is a couple hours. But definitely worth listening to every second! Appropriately titled "Everything You Think You Know About Addiction is Wrong", Hari talks about the real problem Read more [...]