via YubaNet

Tahoe Food and Wine Turns 25

Win a three day/two night stay at Northstar-at-Tahoe, host venue for the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival, and two tickets to the Festival’s Grand Tasting event.

NORTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nevada July 16, 2010 – The Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival is celebrating a milestone – 25 years, September 10-12, and its silver anniversary. Back bigger and better than ever, culinary aficionados and hungry travelers return to the cobbled streets at the Village at Northstar in Truckee for friendly chef battles, free cooking demonstrations, along with wine seminars.

Visitors can join in with noted celebrity chefs, presenters and vintners, including a special Celebrity Chef Luncheon with Chef Traci Des Jardins of Manzanita at the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe; a live cooking demonstration with Chef Joseph Keller of Bouchon at Yountville, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills, outdoor grilling with Chef Lars Kronmark, a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the Napa Valley; cooking demonstrations with Jason Gronlund, former executive chef with Tabasco, and Lake Tahoe’s very own multi-talented Chef Michael Plapp of Baxter’s Bistro & Lounge; kids’ cooking class with Chef Lara Ritchie of Nothing To It Culinary Center in Reno; food and wine pairing seminar with Roger King of Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association; Silver Oak Cellars vertical wine tasting and Olivier Napa Valley food and wine pairing with Silver Oak Senior Wine Educator Kim Caffrey; and the Charbay Artisan Winery & Distillery Annual Launch Party with Marko & Jenni Karakasevic.

The 25th festival will also host a number of other events and programs, such as a Grape Stomp, 25th Anniversary Welcome Reception at the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe; sushi rolling class with Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar; a Gourmet Marketplace Vendor Fair; Plein Air Painters, Art & Sculpture Show; a Wine Walk, Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off (Iron Chef style) and a Chocolate Class, as well as live entertainment and winemaker dinners throughout the week.

The weekend culminates with the Grand Tasting and Culinary Competition, when dozens of regional chefs serve their finest creations paired with premium California and international wines. An auction of unique wines and libations follows.

Guests can come early to take advantage of the region’s most delicious week and its exceptional values by attending the inaugural Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week (September 5-12, Labor Day week), when more than 30 of the area’s best bistros, eateries and resorts are offering 3-course prix-fixe menus for $20, $30 and $40 per person.

Many of this year’s Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival events, including the cooking classes, are free. Ticketed events range from $20 to $90 and go on sale Monday, July 19. For more information, call 888-229-2193 or go to www.TahoeFoodandWine.com. Special room rates will also be available during the festival, click to the North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureaus’ website, www.GoTahoeNorth.com, and then Cool Deals.

The Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival is a fundraiser for the Community Fund of North Lake Tahoe through the 501c(3) Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation. The 25th annual festival is produced by the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association in partnership with Sunset, Northstar-at-Tahoe, the Northstar Foundation, Standards of Excellence, Charbay Winery and Distillery, Tahoe Quarterly and Tahoe TV.

North Lake Tahoe is a 45-minute drive from the Reno Tahoe International Airport, two hours from Sacramento International Airport and just over three hours from San Francisco International Airport. For lodging reservations, recreation and event details, call North Lake Tahoe at 1-877-949-3296 or visit www.GoTahoeNorth.com. Visitor information centers are located at 380 North Lake Boulevard in Tahoe City and 969 Tahoe Boulevard in Incline Village. The North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureaus, Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau and the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, work together to promote North Lake Tahoe as a premier, year-round destination.

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The #1 Organizing Mistake

I am an office supply junkie!

Organizing Tips

I love to go to the office supply stores and get all the matching organizers like pencil cups, paper trays, folders, covered memo boards…you get the picture.

It all looks so nice and neat in the store, and I can just imagine my stuff in them.  I know that once I buy all this stuff, I will finally be organized and I can get on with my day.

Sound familiar? This is one of the most common mistakes we make – we confuse buying “stuff” to get organized with actually organizing our things.  We waste tons of money on things that really won’t help us get organized.  Ask yourself this question, “Do you struggle with how to make that new organizing ‘thingy’ work with your stuff?”  If the answer is yes, you purchased the wrong item. You can’t buy yourself organized.

Truth of the matter is, most of us don’t need to spend much money, if any at all, on organizational tools.  The first thing you need to do when organizing your space is determine what you need BEFORE you go to the store.  That way you will have a plan of what you will do with your new purchases and won’t be swayed by great displays or helpful sales people.

For example, if you have a ton of paper on your desk that needs to get organized, what do you really need?  Maybe just a box with hanging folders will do.  Or maybe you have tons of receipts; maybe you just need an accordion file to organize those receipts for tax time.  Whatever your organizational challenge is, take the time to analyze what you need first, then decide if you need to buy something to help you get organized.

If you already have too much organizational stuff, and it’s just getting in the way, consider getting rid of it.  You can either sell it at a garage sale, or invite some of your friends over for an office supply swap.  That’s a great way to recycle your unused items and get together with friends!

So, before you buy another organizational tool, follow these action steps:

1. Determine what particular challenge area you’re going to work on.
2. Evaluate your challenge to find out what supplies you’ll need to get organized.
3. Look at everything you have to see if you can use it to organize your stuff before you buy anything new.
4. If you have to buy something to get organized, make a list before you go shopping. To reduce impulse organizing buys, go online and shop for the one item you need and only purchase that item.

Joshua Zerkel is a Certified Professional Organizer and is the President of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers. He is also the founder of Custom Living Solutions, a productivity and organizing consulting firm based in San Francisco. Josh specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small businesses find easy ways to get control of their information, technology, and clutter so they can reduce stress and make more money. He also specializes in working with men. Although he doesn’t consider himself freakishly organized, Josh does admit to spending his free time alphabetizing his comic books and fixing the tags on his MP3 collection.

Josh has been featured in various media, including CBS News, ABC News, the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner, Organize Magazine, Online Organizing, and many others, is a regular columnist on the Franklin Covey website, and co-hosts the “Thrive Solutions” radio show on Thrive in Balance. Josh is also a popular organizing instructor in the San Francisco business community, speaking to small and large companies about the different techniques they can use to optimize efficiency and productivity in their work environment so they can serve more clients and make more money.

For more of Josh’s practical (and sometimes pithy!) organizing tips, sign up for the Custom Living Solutions newsletter at http://www.customlivingsolutions.com/organizing-newsletter.htm or call 415-830-6345.

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Travel the Pacific Northwest along major portions of the Lewis and Clark trail, Amtrak’s Empire Builder provides the perfect way to experience the rugged splendor of the American West.  The mighty Empire Builder takes you on an exciting adventure through majestic wilderness, following the footsteps of early pioneers.

If this sounds like a great way to explore the Western United States from the comfort of a luxury train, then Amtrak has a contest for you.

Amtrak’s all inclusive adventure sweepstakes is giving away five grand prize packages which include round trip tickets for a roomette for two, a three night stay in a four-star hotel, and $1500 cash. When you enter, you must choose from among Amtrak’s five Western long distance routes.

To enter, go to Amtrak’s all inclusive adventure sweepstakes website. Entries must be received by August 15, 2010. The contest allows one entry per person per day. Read the official rules for all conditions and restrictions that apply.

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Coastal Cottage Bathroom Collection

Whitewashed, weathered and crackled wood, trimmed with fisherman’s rope, is the base for the wastebasket and tissue box. Each is embellished with a sailboat and colonial star. The other resin accessories represent a collection of items one would bring back from a memorable trip to the seaside.

The lotion pump is a tiny New England lighthouse, the toothbrush holder is a sailboat, the soap dish a sea shell and the tumbler is terra cotta with a scallop shell motif. The coordinating shower curtain and towels feature a painted boarder of the same items on a cottage windowsill with posts of bright red geraniums adding a punch of color. The cotton accent rug is embroidered with a sailboat on two corners.

The seaside bath collection will bring back fond memories of your summer on the Cape.  This collection makes a great gift for sailing aficionados  or anyone who enjoys summers in the dunes collection sea shells and watching the sailboats in the harbor.

Rustic Bath Decor & Hardware

We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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Spectacular patterns on stained and knotted real wood surfaces characterize the sophistication of this classic bath collection and accessories, Classic Burl. Due to the variations in the wood, each piece has a unique appearance that is beautifully accentuated by a cognac stain.

Classic Burl Bath Accessories

The tumbler and soap dish draw added attention to the clean lines and traditional splendor of the burled wood with amber frosted glass accents. The coordinating shower curtain and towels introduce earth tone colors of copper, sage and ochre in a beautiful damask pattern. A solid color bath rug is also available.

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We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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Catch and Release by Woolrich

Did you know from Wikipedia

Fly fishing is a distinct and ancient angling method which uses flies that are cast with a special fishing rod and line.

Fly fishing can be done in fresh or salt water. Freshwater fishing is often divided into coldwater (trout, salmon, steelhead), coolwater (pike, perch, walleye), warmwater (bass, chub, catfish) fishing. The techniques for freshwater fly fishing also differ in lakes, streams and rivers.

In fly fishing, fish are caught by using artificial flies that are cast with a fly rod and a fly line. The fly line (today, almost always coated with plastic) is heavy enough in order to send the fly to the target. This is one of the main differences between spinner and bait rods, which use heavy weight on the line to cast lures, bait, etc. Artificial flies can vary dramatically in all morphological characteristics (size, weight, colour, etc.).

Artificial flies are created by tying hair, fur, feathers, or other materials, both natural and synthetic, onto a hook with thread. The first flies were tied with natural materials, but synthetic materials are now very popular and prevalent. The flies are tied in sizes, colours and patterns to match local terrestrial and aquatic insects, baitfish, or other prey attractive to the target fish species.

Rustic Bath Decor & Hardware

We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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Experience the wonder of the great outdoors without leaving your home. The Campfire bath collection enlivens your adventurous spirit and fulfills the need to be one with nature.

Campfire Bath Collection

The hand painted resin accessories are all designed to be different components of the camping experience including a canteen toothbrush holder, red lantern lotion pump and pinecone soap dish. The tumbler is rustic bead board wrapped with elk horn and the tissue box is an antique creel basket with a leather like strap. The coordinating shower curtain, towels and rug feature the traditional Woolrich stripe.

Rustic Bath Decor & Hardware

We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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The Buffalo Check collection of bath accessories highlights the authentic Woolrich signature red and black plaid. This plaid was named after the designer whom raised buffalo in the early 1800′s. Woolrich is legendary for function, comfort and durability and the Buffalo Check is symbolic of their roots.

Buffalo Check Bathroom

The resin accessories are finished with a plaid decal and stitched brown faux leather on the top and bottom. Each item embodies Woolrich and bears their traditional logo. The coordinating shower curtain and towels feature the signature red and black plaid. A black shag rug completes the ensemble.

Rustic Bath Decor & Hardware

We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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What little dude or dudette wouldn’t like a totally gnarly Surf Board inspired bathroom?  Just imagine catchin’ waves off the coast of Maui.  This surfin’ bath collection features surf boards, some cool parrots and the occasional gecko in a Tiki theme.

Board Meeting Bath Collection

Did you know – Via Wikipedia Surfing

Surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture. Two major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are longboarding and shortboarding, reflecting differences in surfboard design including surfboard length, and riding style.

A swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area of open water, called the wind’s fetch. The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind and the length of its fetch and duration.   Ideal conditions include a light to moderate “offshore” wind, because it blows into the front of the wave, making it a “barrel” or “tube” wave.

Maverick’s or Mavericks is a world-famous surfing location in Northern California. It is located north of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-By-The-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet and top out at over 50 feet.

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Blue Waters Bath Collection

As the sun began to set, mom would rub moisturizer on our sun burned shoulders and there would be a clam bake down on the beach.   We could never get enough of the water and fun in the sun.  The Blue Waters Bath Collection reminds us of our childhood days on the sand.  This collection brings warm sand tones and the watery blues of a summer on the beach into your home.  Blue Waters captures the essence and serenity of a day by the sea.

The Blue Waters Bath Collection reminds us of our childhood days on the sand.  This collection brings warm sand tones and the watery blues of a summer on the beach into your home.  Blue Waters captures the essence and serenity of a day by the sea.

Rustic Bath Decor & Hardware

We’ve searched the globe for the world’s best brands and selected the top rustic bath accessories for our Cabin Bath Decor category.  Bear at Home provides perfect rustic accents for your cabin or rustic lodge. Shop for rustic towel bars and wildlife bathroom accessories at Bear at Home, the ultimate source for rustic bath decor and lodge furnishings.  There is something unique and different here no matter your taste – casual, cool, or woofy!

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