RidinginCarsWithItalians.Blogspot.com

Today I made a statement.......against credit card high interest rates..... It really doesn't effect me because I only have one active card with a rate of 3.99%....I love my LL Bean credit card.....I get points that I can use to buy more Maine finery...I get free shipping coming and going and I have this cheap interest rate....Thank you Barclay's bank...... But in the mail yesterday I got a notice from Washington Mutual that they are now Chase Bank. I have a small checking account with W.M. just a "Girls Fun Account".... when I opened it they even chipped in $100.00. I'm not a fan of Chase......I have a Chase credit card but it has no balance.....hearing lately how they are gouging people with ridiculous interest rates.....taking people's accounts from 9% to over 30%.... I thought this is not where I want to have my money....not even a little bit. Plus I have been seeing local branches folding up like cheap beach chairs and that is never a good sign... So bri...

What would you rather have...... Somebody to sing to you or somebody who can build you a deck..... Mr. Bob Vila.........Thank You Very Much.

I have been cooking for over 45 years and I can't tell you all the non stick fry pans I have gone through........ no matter what you spend they always get crappy after a year or so......the finish starts to peel...handles have melted....they are a mess and I hate them.......but if you cook alot you know that you have to have atleast one non-stick pan......I make frittata's atleast once a week and I can't imagine trying to flip that thing using a regular pan..... A few years ago while shopping at the Viking store in downtown Atlanta we spied something called a "Scanpan"........always being on the lookout for a good quality pan we became interested when the salesperson told us that they come with a lifetime warranty.....Knowing how many non sticks I have gone through over the years......all the money wasted........ I decided to try one.......maybe two!! I bought two sizes of the fry pan....How could I go wrong they are guaranteed for life! This cookware has been mad...

Yesterday I met Joyce from www.flourpowerjoyce.blogspot.com where else would two nice Italian girls meet for lunch but at a pizza parlor.... Not just any pizza joint....a New York pizza place.... I met up with Joyce at her beautiful fancy schmancy Condo down in Atlanta and then jumped in the bug and drove over to Vinings.... The pizza was very very good for Atlanta standards.....a good pizza is hard to find down here. Joyce warned me that it was a little noisy as the building sits right next to the local train line... But she didn't tell me it was THIS close...... See that CSX sign through the 3rd. window.... That's no sign....that would be the freight train that went past about every ten minutes!! It didn't stop us from talking and laughing for over 3 hours.... We discovered that our two wacky husbands both have a thing for Nat Nast silk shirts.... What are those you ask? Those are those big blousey bowling shirts that Tony Soprano always wore.... Yea....that's righ...

I have mentioned in the past that I happen to have a husband that actually loves to go shopping....Any kind of shopping.....he just loves to shop. So when I mentioned that I had a $10.00 certificate to Sur la Table burning a hole in my purse he was game to make a day out of it.....He loves a good cooking shop....not that the man can cook....he can't....but he does love a good gadget or two.... So off we went on a very rainy day to the Perimeter Mall here in Atlanta......I have said bad things about Atlanta in the past but I must admit we have great shopping....Everything you could possibly want....there's a store for it..... Sur la Table is nice enough to send $10. coupons out every so often.....what's nice about them is you don't have to spend any amount of money to use the ten dollars.....It's just a free ten dollars...Nice, Yes? I went to buy a pastry bag and tip for Miss B's upcoming birthday party....the free coupon covered the cost of those items....The B...

Welcome back to our last "Weekend in Paris".....we hope you have enjoyed our little tour of the beautiful sites of Paris......and now finally the not so beautiful sites.....Yes, we have finally reached the end of the trip and I thought before we head back to Georgia we would show you our luxurious accommodations........ Here is the street where we lived for the summer..... The Rue de la Clef..... Hey, that would be the name of daughter's blog!! In the 5th. Arronsdisment it was in a lovely part of town with great shopping and the subway stop was right across the street....We were so excited the day we got there and with the daughter's expert map reading abilities.....did I tell you she can read a foreign map upside down and get you where you gotta go.....I find this to be an enormous talent... we found our little one lane quaint Paris rue....... I wish we could say the same about the building we were about to enter.... three flights up.....can you see how old these st...

Does everyone recognize this person's porch?? It's none other then the Diva of Table Design and the Queen of the Place Setting..... Susan from http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ Five of us had the pleasure of attending an intimate lunch hosted by the lovely Miss Susan... Yes......the Porch is as beautiful in person as it is on your computer screen.... No.....it's Better!! As one of the ladies commented...it was like stepping into your computer.... the table was set in pastel colors and ofcourse Susan's beautiful dishes... and her Bee glasses!! The table in the kitchen was set with appetizers when we first arrived.... I forgot to tell her how wonderful the little cucumber sandwiches were.... I heard the spread on the pumpernickel bread was cream cheese mixed with ranch dressing... they were delicious.....I lost count on how many I ate... Don't you love the vase filled with lemons... the porch is filled with white wicker.... this wood topped table was my...

In the big world of consumer customer service I always seem to run into the good and the bad....... And I always like to pass on the information to my friends in Blogland....... Do you want to hear the good or the bad first....Let's hear the bad first and that would be our friends over at Continental Airlines.......Not exactly people you would want to be friends with....As you know daughter and family just traveled to Italy for their yearly vacation and Continental was their airline of choice.....They won't be able to say that again! Daughter hates to fly and will only take the plunge if there is a good destination at the end of the flight.....Hence only traveling to Europe.....and they only fly First Class....it makes that 9 hour trip more bearable...The past two years our Miss B went along and she's becoming a seasoned traveler.......Daughter contacted Continental well in advance and requested a child's meal for the flights coming and going....For what they would be ...

Happy Mother's Day!......the best day of my life was the day I became a mother...the second best day was when I became of grandmother...... here are my beautiful girls and I wish the daughter a Happy Mother's Day and thank her for giving us Miss Sophie.... And this is what I got in my e-mail this morning all the way from Italy..... My friend Eli sent it......she's a wonderful artist and you if haven't read her blog you need to stop by and say hello.....She's a working mom of little Andrea and she still finds the time in between all her painting to write in both Italian and English..... www.raccoltodautunno.blogspot.com Happy Mother's Day Eli.....and thank you for the beautiful card.... And to all you other ladies out there.....Have a wonderful day on Sunday!!

Two more installments to go and we'll be flying home after a whirlwind summer..... Welcome to the second to last Weekends in Paris... A Scenic Road Trip!! We love France but one of our all time favorite vacation destinations is Germany So it was in the cards to convince the daughter to take a road trip for some stunning scenery and great shopping.... Oh....and let's not forget eating.... Our trip took us up the Rhine and talk about a photo op..... Alot of our driving was on the autobahn and we did manage to make that all important stop at the German Ikea where I scored a wooden Lazy Susan for my table and 3 rolls of yellow striped wallpaper.....because nothing says a German Souvenir like wallpaper....... Don't even ask about us going through customs on the way home.... Looking through this window into a whole different world......Where France has it's fancy statues and Frilly French stuff.....and Italy has it's ancient ruins and pasta....Germany has castles.... not ...