There will be courses for foodies, and courses for budding writers, and courses for cooks…

Just check out Gourmet Culture Club on the Casa Caesarea site and see what’s happening! And keep checking in – we’re adding more great stuff all the time!And there’s one more thing… If you want not only a fun course where you’ll learn to cook fabulous dishes, hang with great people and wine and dine on delicious goodies but also something more….

Come stay at Casa Caesarea! An overnight, sleepover for a bunch of girlfriends? A pre-wedding night for only your close girlfriends? A day with your fellow workers in a relaxing, luxurious atmosphere? How about an anniversary present for a really wonderful couple? A special birthday for a beloved friend? A treat for your hubby or wife? Book a night or two at Casa Caesarea and make the experience of the Gourmet Culture Club the best ever!

Casa Caesarea, a boutique Bed & Breakfast, is now a reality. It’s in my home and that makes me the host – the innkeeper so to speak. The first guests have come and gone and it was pure joy. I actually felt sad when they left. So if it keeps up like that – it was definitely worth all the hard work.

I joked about opening a B&B over the years – ever since my husband and I built a home on the golf course in Caesarea – close to Israel’s shore line and in one of the most beautiful places in the country. It was a dream to live here for many, many years. And although he (husband) said there was no way he was “shelepping” all the way to Caesarea to get home, he changed his mind when he saw what there is here. Views of the Mediterranean, wild bougainvillea everywhere, beautiful homes, beaches, archaeological ruins, fascinating port … how could anyone resist?

I laugh now when I think back to what people said to me. “Caesarea? But it’s so far!” I always retorted  “Far from what, exactly?” That move was in 2002 and life has only become better. In 2004 we decided to build our home, in 2005 we started construction and in 2006 we moved in. So its been six years and I guess I was ready for some new action.

When my husband said yes to the idea of opening a little bed and breakfast (tzimmer, as its called here) I was more than shocked. Who knew! And within what seemed like no time at all (perhaps it was two months) we did it all – entrance door, new furniture, custom made linens, the thickest plushest white towels, the soaps, the gels, the shampoos, the sewing kits, the slippers, the robes, the keys to the suites, the garden, the garden furniture, the new beds, mattresses, an antique piece to serve the buffet breakfast on and …

What was most special was the help I received from people. Like Lenora Genovese who stepped up to the plate and designed the logo, Zidra Grigonyte who not only advised on the interior design, but shopped with me and whipped up a new sofa cover, Moti of Binyamina Antiques who stripped, waxed, polished and fixed a magnificent Art Deco piece and an old gate leg table that I had lying around, and Dovy the gardener who made miracles happen around here, Shy the Guy who hooked up the house, suppliers who came through when they were crazy busy with Passover orders and most of all my wonderful friends who encouraged and supported me throughout the process. I could not have done it without all of you out there!

So here’s to Casa Caesarea, the new business, and a new direction in my life. Please come visit!

To my humble opinion, there is no fruit on the planet (including Planet Pomegranate) that is as versatile and fabulous as this gift of nature.

Don’t you agree?

Since my first days of getting to know the perfect pomegranate, I’ve developed an intense love affair with it. Don’t tell anyone  – but I’m in love with a fruit. Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds, but its true!

The gorgeous color, the elegant crown, the glittering arils encased so lovingly in their white protective pith, and the taste! Whether its the juice, the syrup or the crunchy, yummy arils themselves, there is so much to enjoy in this globe of goodness.

Want to join me on this adventure? If you have any amazing photographs, or delicious recipes that you’d like to share, do send them to me. Who knows – maybe you’ll get to be in the book!

And never forget – don’t take anything for pome-granate!

Marcom English puts together everything I love and have been doing since I could hold a pen. Writing, editing and working with graphics. 

I’d been doing some work for a company overseas – helping them with the English on their website. Then, the co-owner asked me to take a look at another site of hers, and spruce up the language there. No problem – I like coming up with slogans, clever expressions, saying the right thing in the least amount of words. That’s what marcom is all about -  marketing communications.

As I was reading and thinking about her website, going over in my mind how I could improve the language, a trickle of a thought popped up. I did this once full time. And I loved it. Why did I stop? My partner moved overseas, my interest turned to journalism and cookbook writing and it faded into the background.

As I worked on the website, I found that it answered a need of mine – to make something wonderful out of something okay. To make content sparkle, which should in turn make the reader perk up, which in turn should help my client sell services. Playing with words, creating slogans, finding tag lines – it’s all about being creative.

The best thing to come out of the project was the realization that I had missed the field of marcom. I love writing, and this way of writing for others was so satisfying. Why don’t I do more of it? Why don’t I open a company and promote it? Why don’t I create a website? Its logo designing time! (My husband, and a few close friends who know me too well, used to tease me about my inclination to start new businesses. They knew that deep down, I just wanted to design another business card. And they teased me about it plenty.)

But now we live in the age of the Internet. I’m no longer into business cards – websites are the way to go. Choosing a website, designing it, adding content, changing colors and fonts, inserting photos and videos, cruising the options – the possibilities are endless.

Marcom English focuses on improving the written word (the English written word, that is). And hopefully it promotes the written word in a way that is friendly, approachable and clear.

I’ll keep you posted as to how its going!

Every November the fruit shows up on the lawn – gracefully dropping from the tree. The cute little green fruit is cute to look and yummy to eat!

Stay tuned for some exciting news about fejoias and other Mediterranean fruit.

A friend said I went from Pom Queen to Menopause Madame. She’s right, only not really. My love for pomegranates blossomed then and has only grown stronger. There is nothing so glorious (in my humble opinion) as the fruit of the pomegranate tree. Its beautiful form and color is enough to divert your attention from other less heavenly pursuits. But its taste! Ah, the seeds! The juice! The syrup!

And quite frankly, I doubt that there’s another fruit on this planet that is as versatile. So many cooking options!

So while I go off now to seed some pomegranates, you go do the same. Play with those ruby red jewels and wish yourself a marvelous day – with blessings as plentiful as the seeds in a pomegranate!

For more information, just go for a visit to: Planet Pomegranate!

In ways small and large, he defined my world. In 1987 I bought my first Mac SE. I used in it my interior design business and loved it.

Soon thereafter, I bought my first stock purchase – Apple Computer.

When I moved from NYC to Israel, I shlepped my Mac with me. And in spite of living in a sea (Mediterreanean) of PC’s, I ferociously hung on to it. I finally gave up and caved in to PC when it was clear that support and products were just not available in Israel.

I came back to my roots three years ago with the purchase of an iMac. I have since added the iPod, the Macbook Air and the iPhone.

It seems Steve Jobs had his finger in nearly everything i have my fingers in.

The world is less of a place today.

iLost. We all lost.

I’m so excited to be here. I gave my speech yesterday (phew!) on “Get Your Ego Out Of My Photo!”. It went really well and since then I’ve been enjoying the festival by attending conferences, tweeting, eating good meals, drinking too much Cava and Sangria and mingling with wonderful people.

Viva la FoodPhoto Festival! (www.foodphotofestival.org)

For one glorious day last week, the sales of Menopause in Manhattan on the Barnes & Noble site went off the chart. I mean, REALLY OFF THE CHART! While sales had been climbing nicely, with a steady increase every day, it suddenly took off like  a bat out of hell. That day, that one glorious day, 996 copies of M in M were sold! Did you read that? 996 copies! Add the rest that were sold on amazon.com and it was over 1,000.

So where did that bring us? To #7. Number 7. That would be NUMBER 7 ON THE BESTSELLERS LIST!!!

Who’s happy?

Guess!

Keep those e-books selling B&N. I love you!