Margaret’s Blog - Upfront and Personal

Follow Margaret with her up close and personal stories of her life, events and the adventures she has with her friends and family.

Margaret's Blog - Upfront and Personal

Follow Margaret with her up close and personal stories of her life, events and the adventures she has with her friends and family.

Executive Pastry Chef Riccardo Menicucci: A Taste of Luxury, History and Hospitality at Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel

Thanks to Executive Pastry Chef Riccardo Meniccuci and his team, Beverly Wilshire is a sweet destination, especially during Oscars Week. This year’s amenities included a film projector made of Valrhona Manjari, a luxury chocolate, in addition to a thoughtfully designed and braided croissant representing the team of talented people required to create a film. And…
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The Maestro of Music Shares His Grace Notes on Life: Wayne Messmer

Wayne Messmer greeted my friend and me with a song when we met during a business lunch.  He approached the table at Wildfire in Schaumburg and sang, “When the moon meets the sky like a big apple pie that’s…” He pretended to hold a microphone and encouraged me to sing in response and so I…

The Heart of Rachael Ray: Recipes and Rescues

What a delight to meet Rachael Ray at Barnes & Noble Oak Brook.  She was in Chicagoland to promote her latest book Look and Cook! Before she signed books, Rachael hugged dogs. Rescue dogs from Chicago Canine Rescue.  Rachael loves dogs, and she got lots of smooches from the pooches. The dog featured in this…

Cooking with the Bible

Since mid-September, the women’s Bible study group at Lutheran Church of the Atonement has been reading the Bible from cover to cover in 90 days! The discipline of this Zondervan study is to read 12 pages a day. I confess that I am still a week behind in my reading, but I am determined to…

Grab Your Cape!

Waiting for Superman has made us all realize that change needs to happen within our educational system.  However, this paradigm shift in education will take time.  So what can be done immediately while a longer term plan is put into place?  The answer: Grab your cape and become a superhero! Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama…

Mise en Place

(Ranger Mike Designs) I love the phrase “mise en place” – a culinary term, yet also a life lesson: “Everything in place.” Technically it means that before you prepare a dish, you have all the ingredients, bowls, and appliances you will need in one space. As I conquer adult AD/HD, that culinary phrase takes on…

A Cluttered Life

Last week I was officially diagnosed with something that I had suspected for awhile:  Adult AD/HD – not the hyperactivity type, but the “inattentive” type.  As I discussed my childhood with the doctor, I realized that my whole life I have had to work extra hard to stay focused and organized. In debating whether or…