Is it just me or does anyone else think that the appearance of Christmas merchandise in stores has gotten out of hand? It used to appear after Halloween (acceptable), but now they’re pushing it out there the day after Labor Day (insane)! So, with that in mind, I know it’s a bit early for Christmas-gift suggestions, so I’m going to throw this out there as a potential Sweetest Day gift idea.

I was online searching for a birthday gift on Red Envelope and saw this product and just had to share it with you. It’s a leather beer holster that you can give to the man in your life. I mean, come on, men need to have their hands free to grill, mow the lawn, and entertain our party guests. Now we can help them out with this handy adjustable strap that clips on to any belt and will hold their favorite brew strapped right to their thighs for instant, easy access.

You have got to go to the Red Envelope site and watch the beer holster product video and see the demonstration of how it is used.

Now that I think about it, this is a perfect gift for women too. Next time I get ready to clean my house, I think it would be a lot more fun (and tolerable) with a beer strapped to my thigh. Too bad there are open-container laws, because the beer holster would really come in handy when I’m doing mundane tasks like shopping for groceries.

I think $29.99 is a small price to pay in order to keep a beer at your man’s side at all times. Like they mention in the video, it’s perfect for parties, tailgating, and backyard barbecues. I guarantee it will be a conversation starter, and the conversation will go like this, “You’re man looks like a dork with that beer holster on!” I’m just hoping Red Envelope also sells those awesome pink pants—now that’s another gift every man needs.

Summer is not over, summer is not over… That is the mantra I keep repeating! If you are a northeast Ohioan desperate to latch on to outdoor activities before we get locked up inside for the winter months, I’ve got a great way to get outdoors, listen to music, try a tasty mojito, and catch the sunset over Lake Erie.

The Third Thursday Music, Flowers & a Sunset event in historic downtown Vermilion, Ohio, has become extremely popular, and the last one of the year is coming up on September 16, from 6:30 p.m. until sunset. Where else can you roam the streets and hear a Goth punk band on one corner, walk a little farther down the street and hear an alternative rock band, and proceed to the downtown square to see G-Force an all-girl pop-rock band singing their hearts out? These gals can rock!

As you stroll around the beautiful sites of downtown Vermilion, the Vermilion River, and Lake Erie, you’ll enjoy a musical mash-up of over 12 different musical groups and solo artists from just about every musical genre and it’s absolutely FREE.

I love the fact that Vermilion has provided a venue for so many young artists to show off their talents.

If you are thirsty, you can turn the evening into a mini pub crawl by popping into Touché at Chez Francois for one of their Thursday-night lime-drink specials—can you say margaritas and mojitos?—or stop into Rudy’s Bar and Grill for a cold draft beer.

Not in the mood to imbibe? The downtown Vermilion restaurants are all open and ready to serve you anything from pizza to perch. Everyone who attends Third Thursday in Vermilion is required to eat at least one ice cream cone, and a great place to get a cone and your very own caricature is at Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium.

There is a really cool vibe behind Woodstock, a pizza shop located right downtown. Be sure to walk around back for a band playing Grateful Dead-type music, hula hoop artists, and last month there was a gathering of vintage VW vans.

While you are roaming the streets, you can also shop for chocolate, candles, and surfboards, check out the Great Lakes Maritime Museum (it’s open from 5 to 8 p.m. and is free on Third Thursday), and an art show at the Main Street building. If you have not picked up on this yet, get there early so you don’t miss out on anything. If you look around in the shops, there are schedules and a map to let you know where all the activities are planned.

The grand finale of the evening is the sunset, so be sure to walk down to the Main Street Beach to catch one of my favorite daily outdoor art shows—the sun setting over Lake Erie. It’s even more beautiful to watch while being serenaded by a band playing on the boardwalk at the beach!

Sunset in Vermilion, Ohio

“It’s hard to imagine a civilization without onions.” —Julia Child

Julia, I am with you on that one! Thanks for summing up civilization for us with the most versatile member of the root vegetable family. There’s nothing like a good onion to spice up a dish or a salad. Onions, you either love them or hate them! I’ll go on the record to say that I am an onion lover, not an onion hater.

Last night we had grilled onions and green peppers on Italian sausage sandwiches (mine was the veggie version from Morningstar Farms). Like the Italians say, delizioso.

The onions were pretty special too. I bought them from a local farmer at a farm market, so they were fresh and still had dirt on them, and the green stems were still sticking out. There is something so satisfying about buying fresh, unprocessed food, and it’s not just the superb taste. These onions were a special variety that was supposed to be even sweeter than Vidalia onions and they were. I’m going to have to go back to the market this weekend and ask the farmer the name of this onion variety (sorry, I’m bad at forgetting names; from people to root vegetables, the names just never stick), because it was yummy.

What do you think civilization would be without ______fill in the blank______? Come on, let’s get creative with the comments today!

While you’re pondering the question, here are a few great works from Julia:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1

My Life in France

Stop by every weekday for the daily quote from Women Who Rock. Your daily serving of fun, attitude, and brilliance courtesy of an amazing woman!  Check out the Women Rock category at the Cool Stuff Shoppe for great books, DVDs and merchandise from these great women. Thank you for clicking on the ads when you visit to help fund this site!

“[My guru] says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it…” —Elizabeth Gilbert

I wanted to include a quote today by the fabulous Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love. This book is an international best seller, and on August 13 the movie version, starring Julia Roberts, will be released, and I can’t wait to see it.

If you are not familiar with Eat, Pray, Love, it is Elizabeth’s real-life journal of setting off on a year of discovery to heal after a messy divorce. On her journey she travels to Italy to eat and enjoy the pleasures of life (with an emphasis on eating gelato); next, to India to meditate, practice yoga, and do some spiritual searching; and, finally, to Indonesia to find balance. If you can’t find balance in Bali, I’m not sure where you can. I could have found balance just from eating gelato three times daily.

I have to admit that I have not finished reading Eat, Pray, Love, but after reading the first portion of the book about her eating adventures in Italy, she had me at hello. The whole first section of the book describes in great detail her daily gastronomic delights and travels throughout Italy. Warning: Do not read this section of the book on an empty stomach. It made me want to hop on an Alitalia flight to Naples to check out the pizza she describes as being the best in the world. I really liked her restaurant-ordering tactic of asking the waiter to bring out the best dishes. What restaurant owner doesn’t want to be flattered in that way? And you know what they serve you is going to be superb (as long as you don’t have any food allergies). Plus, you don’t have the struggle of trying to decipher a menu in Italian!

Enough about the food. Barring the divorce part, this is a writing assignment I could wholly embrace—a one-year assignment traveling to faraway places I’ve always wanted to visit, eating amazing food, all-you-can-eat gelato, meditation and yoga, all while trying to figure out how to balance my life. Yeah, I could do that!

So, the Maria version of Eat, Pray, Love is Eat, Work, Yoga. Like Elizabeth, I, too, am taking a spiritual journey and making my personal effort all about finding happiness. Happiness in what I eat—by eating healthy, organic, locally grown foods (except for an occasional sushi or gelato binge). Happiness in my work—finding enjoyable work that allows me to indulge my passions for writing and yoga. Happiness in my practice of yoga, which has brought so many amazing things to my life, including a sense of balance and calm (without the long flight to Bali). I’m writing my Eat, Work, Yoga memoir each day at MariaMedia, and I’m really excited to say that in just a few days, I’ll be launching a new Web site to fulfill my passion for yoga: The Daily Downward Dog. Yes, The Daily Downward Dog will be spinning off into a full-blown multimedia experience of its own, so I’ll keep you posted as it launches.

Yeah, my spiritual journey is taking place in beautiful northeast Ohio and consists of eating, working, and practicing yoga, but I am truly blessed and happy, and I’m working diligently each day to maintain the bliss.

P.S. For my male readers (I know there are a few of you out there), check it out…the male version of Eat, Pray, Love came out last year, entitled Drink, Play, F@#k, by Bob Sullivan. The story covers a jilted husband’s journey from his home in New York City to a drinking binge in Ireland, the decadent party life in Las Vegas, and then off to the hedonistic pleasures of Thailand. I love a good parody.

Gelato Photo: Tan Hsin-Ee

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Drink, Play, F@#k: One Man’s Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas, and Thailand

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”

–Harriet Van Horne, newspaper columnist, radio and TV critic

I love this quote. It sums up exactly how I feel about cooking and love. Don’t do it half-assed. Jump in with both feet and get into it!

I want to know why there are so many cookbooks out there, but not nearly enough instructional manuals on how to love.

Stop by everyday (M-F) for the Daily Quote, your daily serving of fun, attitude and brilliance, courtesy of an amazing woman.

I’m obsessed with white French dressing, the tangy, saucy little sister of the reddish-orange version we all grew up with. If you haven’t had white French dressing, you have got to try it on a salad! It is really popular at restaurants in northeast Ohio, but for some reason I can’t find it anywhere at the store.

Is this something that is just big in Ohio, or does the rest of the world know about white French dressing?

If you know of any place that sells white French dressing, please let me know. In the meantime, I’ll get my fix with this recipe.

I can’t tell you how many women have told me over the years that they are in a horrible book club or would like to be in a book club but are afraid because they’ve heard the horror stories of being involved in one. I won’t lie; there are a lot of associated risks involved: obnoxious members, being forced to read cheesy novels, dull, vapid conversations, or worse yet, the lack of any discussion about the book.

At one time I myself was exposed to a book club that I had a love-hate relationship with. I loved that we read classics, and it exposed me to wonderful books I would never have read on my own and also to new restaurants that I always wanted to try. I hated that we never talked about the books.

So what’s a girl to do? Form your own book club! Seriously, if you want to be in a good book club, you have to take the bull by the horns and form the type of club you want to be a part of. I took this step many years ago with another woman who was fed up with her book club as well and am pleased to say that I am part of a group of six amazing women who share a love of reading, great food, and friendship. If you are interested in doing the same, here are a few tips for forming your very own book club that doesn’t suck.

Network. Find a friend or fellow book lover who you know has good taste in people and books, and approach her about starting a book club. Each of you will be charged with recruiting two other like-minded women to round out the club. It’s okay if someone you want to invite likes to read science fiction or biographies or a genre you typically do not prefer. That is the beauty of a book club—each member gets a chance to pick books, and you get the opportunity to expand your literary horizons.

Schedule. Once the group has been set up, you should pick the initial book and plan the initial meeting. At the meeting be sure to have everyone introduce themselves and leave enough time at the beginning and end of the meeting for socializing. It is important for everyone to get to know each other and, hopefully, become good friends down the road.

Avoid scheduling nightmares. Pick a set time for your meetings. For example, the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. That way everyone can plan ahead to keep that date open. There will be times when members can’t make a meeting, but trust me, this guideline will save you a lot of time and agony in trying to get six busy women together on a regular basis. The amount of time you allow to read the books is entirely up to the schedules of the group. A book club is supposed to be fun, not another task or stressful item on your list. My group meets every other month, which allows each of us enough time to fit reading the book into our schedule.

Location, location, location, and food! Where you have your book club and what you eat are critical components to a good meeting. My club mixes it up, and sometimes we meet at a local restaurant, which is really fun if you select a restaurant based on the food theme or a new restaurant everyone wants to try. For example, our last book was The Help, and we all met at a soul food restaurant for delicious Southern cooking. Sometimes we meet at a member’s home. It just always seems more relaxing, and I don’t feel the pressure of the restaurant owner trying to turn the table when we are lingering over a great conversation. Everyone in my group chips in to bring a food or drink item so the host doesn’t have to provide everything.

Structure. A book club meeting should start out with a good dose of socializing before the start of a robust discussion of the book, followed by a discussion and selection of the next book, and finally topped off with more socializing and perhaps dessert or a drink or two! If you don’t have any structure to your meetings, they will just turn into gab fests. Don’t be afraid to speak up if the conversation is getting off track, or you’ll never get to discuss your book.

The good stuff – book selection! Each member gets her turn to select a book. My club set the order based on our birthdates, so we have a method to remember who is next if we ever forget.

The role of the book selector is not one to be taken lightly, as it carries much responsibility. The person selecting the next book should come to the meeting prepared with either one book or a couple of books she would like to recommend and should present the books and provide a synopsis of the story line. This person has the right to either say, “This is what I’m recommending,” or she can put the selection up to a vote. The book selector gets to pick the venue for the meeting and should come prepared with discussion topics and questions to facilitate the book discussion. I always find the selection of the next book one of the best parts of the meeting. It is great to hear about new books, and I often end up reading some of the books that did not get selected. I guess the most important tips I can provide for the book selector is to put the effort in to select a great book. To the rest of the group: Be open to reading new genres even if you don’t like the selection.

Membership (no boys allowed). I’m a big proponent of keeping the club to six members (eight tops). If you get more than that, it is difficult to get every person involved in the conversation, or the conversations break off into groups. On the unfortunate chance that you lose a member, the two founding members should take turns in recruiting a new member or ask another member to recruit. This can be perilous, especially if the group has been meeting for a while and has a good chemistry. The rule of thumb is to discuss new membership as a group, and make the decision together before inviting in a new member.  And it is okay to have boys… if the rest of the group is down with it.

One last tip: During certain times of the year, like Christmas and summer, it is best to pick a lighter read to fit with the group’s busy schedules. And it is okay if you don’t get to finish a book. I have gone to many a meeting when I never found the time to read the book but still went to listen to the discussion and enjoy the company of the women in my group.

I love the fact that I have made new friends through my book club and have also been exposed to so many amazing books. Before I joined a book club, I never felt I had the time to read, but being involved with this group has given me the motivation to find the time to do something I love.

Here are a few great books that my club has read over the years that could be great starts to your very own book club. If you are in a book club and have a great book pick to share or a practice that has helped your club not suck or a question, please leave a comment.

The Stone Diaries: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

The Time Traveler’s Wife

Life of Pi

Why do I crave sushi? It seems like every time I have good sushi, I just want it more and more. My curiosity about these delectable little morsels of raw seafood got the best of me this past weekend, so I went online to see if there was something to these cravings—you know, kind of like how they say they put something addictive in Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to make you crave it.

I thought for sure I’d find some conspiracy theory about why sushi is so addictive but I didn’t. Instead, I found cool Web sites about sushi and learned some really important sushi facts that I just have to share.

Sushi Eating How To by Eugene Ciurana This dude knows his sushi! Check out this Web site if you want to know more about how to eat sushi, what types of sushi to order, along with descriptions and pictures of each type, and (this is really important stuff to know) how to know if the sushi at a restaurant will suck. I’m not kidding; this site is a veritable encyclopedia of sushi.

Because of Eugene, I was shocked to find out that I don’t think I’ve ever had real wasabi. Check out this picture of what real wasabi looks like versus the version of horseradish with food coloring that they serve at most restaurants outside of Japan. I’m going to start asking for the real stuff (and if anyone knows of a sushi restaurant in Ohio that serves the real stuff, please let me know)!

Another critical piece of information I picked up is to eat sushi with beer or sake but never wine! So, next time out I’m all about trying some sake with the sushi.

I guess the only thing I don’t like about sushi is how much it can cost, so I found another really great blog about making sushi at home. The pictures of some of this sushi look so amazing; it even motivated me to try out my culinary skills and try making sushi at home. I’m going to try the recipe for the Too Crazy Roll (tuna and pesto are the main ingredients) or maybe the Pink Panther Roll (salmon, avocado, and tamago wrapped in rice paper)!

If you really can’t get enough sushi and want to adorn your home or car with sushi art, I’ve found just the Web site for you at www.sushiordeath.com.

While conducting my online research, I remembered reading a while ago that it’s more enjoyable to eat lots of small portions of different foods, rather than one large portion of something, and I think that’s the key to why sushi is so addicting. You get to savor lots of delicious small bites full of different flavors, textures, and spices that all come together in one big tasty explosion. Plus, I think it fills an essential need to try new things, and put yourself out there enough to let the itamae (sushi chef) create something amazing just for you. Eating sushi is more than just having a meal, it’s a dining experience. And how fun is it that as an adult, you can order something called a Crazy Roll and love it?!

So, did I get you craving some sushi for dinner tonight? Let me know if you crave it just as much as I do, or if you know the secret conspiracy theory, please share.

It’s very late! Great Oscar show, greaty party, great friends & family – whew I’m exhausted! I need to get to bed – but just wanted to share the details of the menu and a few pics.  You can see all of the pics on Facebook and I’ll be uploading the rest after I get some sleep!

CONGRATS Kathryn Bigelow for your Best Director win!  So excited about that!

Party Menu

Avatar – Blue corn chips, blue nacho cheese dip, blue licorice, blue vodka (SKYY Vodka!), blueberries…I like eating BLUE.

Up in The Air – airline peanuts, airline cocktails and lots of hotel and airline frequent flier cards.

District 9 – Prawns & Cat food

An Education – Birthday cake and a slice of Paris

Precious – Collard greens

A Serious Man – Matzo Ball Soup

Up – cartoon donuts, chocolate, prunes and helium

The Hurt Locker - a middle eastern food feast and bourbon!

The Blind Side – no Taco Bell, but some tasty deviled eggs were served

Inglorious Basterds - Apple strudel and creme fresh

More details to follow……..

Since I last wrote about my Oscar food theme dilemma this year, I’ve been busy catching the nominated flicks at the Cineplex and on DVD, and as of today, here’s my official viewing scorecard:

Seen – 7:  Avatar, Up in the Air, Inglourious Basterds, A Serious Man, The Blind Side, The Hurt Locker, District 9

Thank you, Netflix – 1: Up (I’ll be catching this on video this week.)

Food reports from friends – 1:  An Education (Thanks Arnie, and great suggestion for food from this one!)

Movies I saw that I thought were nominated – 1:  A Single Man (Oh well, it was worth it to see Colin Firth naked and floating in a pool and Julianne Moore’s amazing 60’s frock and freckles.)

I’m Screwed – 1: Precious (It’s not at any local theatres or on video yet.)

I’m feeling pretty confident that I will have seen enough of the movies by Thursday, and that’s when I’ll get busy finalizing the plans for my Oscar party menu.  I can’t stop thinking that I’m screwed though, because of the movies I’ve seen, the only primary food group consumed is liquor and cigarettes! I mean come on, in The Hurt Locker there is not one morsel of food consumed, unless you count the side of beef an Iraqi man is hauling into his market right before he decides to detonate a bomb with his cell phone.

So good news for my guests – champagne, bourbon, vodka and airline peanuts will all be served! And I have seen some tasty-looking desserts pop up in a few movies, so I’m covered in the sweets arena.

Solid food will be my challenge. I guess some possible food themes would be French food since Inglourious Basterds takes place in France, or Middle Eastern food since The Hurt Locker takes places in Iraq or I know, Taco Bell to represent The Blind Side?

If I don’t come up with something by Friday, it is very likely that I will be acting like the woman in this video and serving up some yummy Banquet Frozen Buffet Food (and hopefully I can figure out what she’s on, cause it looks good!).  Banquet should re-hire the ad agency that did that campaign and get some new spots out in time for the Oscars!

I do know one thing, as of today, my pick for best picture is The Hurt Locker. It is an intense nail-biter that draws you in and feels very real (My nephew Sammy, just back from Iraq told me, “If you have never been in an armed service or know nothing about the military, then it’s a stellar movie.”)  Smart, incredible cinematography, sound, and film editing, and props for Kathryn Bigelow for expert film direction (hope you win for Director!). The only thing bad I can say about the movie is that Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce are not nearly enough in the movie.

District 9 is my second choice, but definitely a long shot to win.  Raw beef and cat food play prominently in District 9 – are you sensing a possible food theme here?

Let’s hope I feel some major creativity this week and don’t serve cat food, and by all means if you have any food suggestions or want to leave your pick for best picture, please leave a comment!

P.S. Check out all the amazing women that were nominated for Oscars this year and then go to www.womensmediacenter.com to help get more nominated next year!

P.S.S. Check back next week to see pics of all the fun food I serve up on Sunday night!