Column

Full disclosure: I am a recovering caterer. For seven long years I spent every waking moment planning elaborate menus, shopping, prepping, cooking, schlepping, pampering clients, and nursing my aching feet.

Admittedly this was a long time ago, but I still experience painful flashbacks—and those flashbacks often include a mother-of-the-bride. Any talk of weddings still activates an involuntary eye-twitch.
I must admit, however, that I have attended some rather cool weddings in the past year. And what makes a good wedding? Good food, of course. I may forget what the bridesmaids wore, but I never forget what I ate.

On a sunny afternoon a few weeks ago, my friend Ellen’s daughter exchanged vows on a panoramic bluff overlooking a lush vineyard. What do I remember most? The apple slaw was stellar; as was the towering pyramid of doughnuts offered in lieu of wedding cake.

Last summer my friend Joyce married on safari…in Sonoma. A small group of khaki-clad friends gathered amidst giraffes and zebras on a hot, dusty savanna to quaff chilled champagne and nibble an elegant array of appetizers. Later that afternoon we met up at the main camp for a hearty barbecue buffet, under the watchful eyes of exotic birds. The next morning we abandoned our tents and left the Sonoma Serengeti for another tent…this one pristine and white, erected on the cool green grass of a posh equestrian club only miles away. With the thundering sound of horses galloping nearby, we sipped mint juleps before making a significant dent in perfectly poached and dressed salmon.

A week later I celebrated my beautiful niece Rachel’s wedding at a fabulously funky, century-old factory near downtown Seattle, where the caterers served a brilliant feast based upon local, sustainable foods. My sister and I are still divided over which we liked better: the utterly delicious meal, or the wrought-iron cocktail tree that held hundreds of icy Manhattans. (Hey, we’re Irish.) But everyone agrees the pie buffet was genius.

With all this in mind, I’ve come to the conclusion that being on the receiving-end of catering makes weddings a lot more enjoyable. Nuptials are inevitably preceded by a marathon of warm-up festivities—showers and luncheons and cocktail parties and such—which gives well-wishers the opportunity to host a celebration of their own before The Big Day. These parties are sometimes held in restaurants, but nothing beats the familiar intimacy of home entertaining. This is no time to honor the happy couple with garlic bread and an all-you-can-eat spaghetti feed, however.

This is when you channel your Inner Martha and serve romantic—some might call it precious-food. Bring on the edible flowers and candied lavender buds and little hearts made of who-knows-what. Just make sure it all tastes good, and let there be plenty of it.

Shopping at the farmers’ market ensures the tastiest ingredients…and sometimes the less you do to those ingredients, the better the end result. This month California strawberries suddenly become juicier and sweeter and less expensive-making them a welcome surprise in a savory salad. The interplay of peppery arugula, sweet-tart berries, and sharp, creamy cheese is the whole point of this recipe, so don’t even bother making it with flavorless supermarket produce.

Multiply or divide the ingredients for however many servings you need.
Attractive? Check. Easy? Check. Economical? You bet. Delicious? Definitely.

STRAWBERRY ARUGULA SALAD WITH GOAT CHEESE AND TOASTED ALMONDS
1 cup (4 ounces) sliced California almonds
2 tablespoons raspberry or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
Salt
1 green onion, minced
6 tablespoons California olive oil
1 1/2 pounds arugula (about 18 cups) or a mixture of arugula, assorted lettuces, and/or baby spinach leaves
2 pint-size baskets California strawberries, hulled and quartered lengthwise
4 to 5 ounces soft California goat cheese, crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until lightly browned and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. To make the vinaigrette: In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, and a generous pinch of salt. Whisk in the onion; then gradually whisk in the oil until well blended. Taste, adding more salt if needed.
3. Just before serving, combine the arugula, strawberries, almonds, and vinaigrette in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix. Transfer the salad to a large platter or serving bowl, and dot the top with goat cheese. Serve at once.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’
Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.

When I first saw this movie in the theater, I thought, “I love this movie but it will never get the acclaim it deserves.” Wow, was I wrong! The Blind Side is an incredibly heartfelt drama based on the life of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), who grew up neglected and impoverished but went on to become an American football star.

Sandra Bullock is blonde, no I mean Leigh Anne Touhy is blonde. When you first see Bullock in this role as a blonde you think, that’s just not right but as the movie goes on she moves so flawlessly into the skin (and hair) of Leigh Anne you never see the transition. She is bold and sassy and I loved her. She manages to even make the gushiest bits of dialogue in writer-director John Lee Hancock’s script ring true.

Leigh Anne Touhy is a fervently-Christian housewife in Memphis, Tennessee, who enjoys a privileged life with her husband Sean (Tim McGraw) and children Lily (Lily Collins) and SJ (Jae Head). Driving home one night, Leigh Anne spots one of her daughters classmates, Michael Oher, wandering along the road and offers the homeless, black teenager a roof for the night. She takes pity on Michael and offers him a room and encourages the lad to improve his grades and chase the possibility of an American football scholarship.

A mama bear fighting to protect her cub has nothing on Leigh Anne Touhy. She’s a gun-toting, fearless woman who bucks convention to shelter, educate and love the homeless black teenager. This could have easily slid into melodrama, but instead is a charming, relatively unsentimental drama that focuses, in a straightforward manner, on how good deeds change lives at all levels.

Inspired by a true story, The Blind Side tugs every heartstring and ticks off every cliché including a moment over salads at the country club when one of Leigh Anne’s friends gushes, “You’re changing that boy’s life,” and she responds, with a choked up voice, “No, he’s changing mine.”

Michael has a bit of a hard time with his many blessings with the Tuohy family and his abusive past haunts him. He returns to the housing project where he grew up to try to track down his mother, running into trouble. Leigh Anne goes after him, not to drag him away from his mother but to help him in his search for a better life. She shows an amazing insight that carries Michael through this transition.

Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy does a surprisingly good job. You kind of keep expecting him to break out in a country ballad but he never does. Kathy Bates, stellar as always, makes the most of her role as the tutor who helps Michael to improve his grades to get into college.

All in all, there is a reason Sandra Bullock won Best Actress at the Oscars and the Golden Globes and The Blind Side was nominated for Best Picture. It’s not easy to take an unbelievable true story and make it completely believable.

Don’t miss this one. As always, I welcome your comments and invite you to my read my archived movie reviews at www.CarolynHastings.com.

Set in the early 1960’s when the Civil Rights Movement was tearing apart the South, The Help by Kathryn Stockett shows the struggle through the eyes of two black maids. Loving Abilene, who raises 17 white children over the years then watches them grow up to join another class and break her heart, or Mouthy Minnie who has been fired numerous times for talking back to her white employers.

These two women only have their voices heard because of Skeeter. She is a Junior Leaguer in Jackson, Mississippi, member of a wealthy family who, unlike all her friends, wants to use her degree to become a writer instead of settling down with marriage and kids. She comes up with the idea of writing a book undercover about the black maids’ lives in Jackson. In an era where a man is blinded for using a “whites only” bathroom, the maids overcome their mistrust of Skeeter and they risk everything to have their stories told.

Skeeter’s best friend is Hilly who is the Queen Bee of Jackson. She is a proponent of what she calls the “bathroom initiative” which is a mission to install black bathrooms in all white homes for the maids, to avoid their “disgusting diseases.” The book shows the journey of Skeeter’s awareness of how the maids feel about this and how attitudes are beginning to change in Jackson.

The Help blends the maids’ internal feelings and thoughts beautifully against what they say and how they act around their white employers. These opposing forces in the maids’ lives and the double life Skeeter has to lead to obtain the maids’ stories are woven throughout, along with the increasingly violent backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement which is spreading throughout
the South.

The beauty of the book is that it deals with the difficult topic of racial prejudice without being preachy and one-sided. While there are villains in the story, both black and white, both races also have redeeming qualities which come through in their relationships with one another. The Help explores how the maids and their white employers have lives that are intertwined yet
separate and has characters that are many-faceted and compelling.

The Help is a wonderful, uplifting story.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES IN MAKE-UP WILL SAVE YOU A LOT OF HEADACHES AND PHOTOGRAPHY DISASTERS.

Plan as we might, unforeseen wedding day crises pop up, from pesky blemishes to humid hair frizz. Luckily you have a lot of great beauty professionals out there that will assist you in making your day effortless and help you look your best. I have seen so many ruined pictures of brides on their wedding day; from wearing the wrong color foundation to wearing purple eye shadow. I cannot understand why brides would want to wear purple make-up on their special day. Purple does not photograph well, and it can make you look tired. It reflects too much red into the eye area, and your eyes end up looking red and swollen. It also distracts from the beauty of the bride.

When you go to a make-up professional for your Pre-Bridal consultation, make sure that she is using natural tones. If she is not, clearly she does not know what she is doing, and you should stop the consultation and start looking for another professional to do your make-up. Remember, you will be taking a lot of pictures on this most special day so wearing the correct make-up colors is vital and important.

BEAUTY AND THE BRIDE
The ultimate make-up application for a bride should be polished and formal without taking away from the bride’s own natural beauty. The right make-up creates refinement and pushes a look forward with softness while keeping it simple and natural. Using soft colors and warm tones are the key to complementing the bride’s own style and unique look. Those colors also photograph beautifully. Make-up professionals have a keen eye to detail and color balance and they will help you and your wedding party look their best in pictures.

When a bride comes in for a consultation for her make-up, I believe beauty professionals should always ask what the bride ultimately desires and what she has in mind for her wedding day. Usually women know what they want, but they just don’t know how to achieve it. So it should be a collaboration of what she wants with the make-up professional as a helpful resource. This is a formal event so being finished, glowing and a little above natural should be the option, but a bridle should also look like herself. “Soft and flawless” are my bridal make-up strategy.

At The Rouge we love doing weddings and have been applying make-up for weddings for over 20 years. Our brow and beauty experts stay current with the latest trends and styles and will give the bride and her bridal party the best and most updated looks that are formal and polished. We do prebridal consultations Tuesday through Saturday by appointment only. Please come in and enjoy our beauty-meets-reality cosmetics by Fleur Visage and view our latest bridal photographs.

My objective in writing a real estate Q&A column is that it be relevant to the typical homeowner here in the Diablo Valley. To that end, my goal is to provide informed insight on where the real estate market is going and why. My commitment is to share the best, timely, inside real estate market information available. I promise to stay away from clichés, acronyms and confusing industry jargon that intimidate many from asking questions in the first place.

We all know that living in the beautiful Diablo Valley is something special, but truth be told, the current housing market has resulted in high anxiety for many. My hope is to do what I can to give you a little more peace of mind along the way. Email me at tom@tomhart.com with any question you would like addressed.

Let’s start with a fundamental question that I often hear from my clients.
Q. Tom, I am confused. Why do I see some homes in my neighborhood selling in a week or less for a relatively high price and some homes linger on the market for 100-200+ days without selling even at a relatively low price?

A. The two biggest factors for what you describe are condition & location. What’s happening in many neighborhoods in today’s market is that the most improved homes on the best lots in a given neighborhood are selling for a relatively high price, while the least improved homes on the worst lots in the same neighborhood are selling (eventually) for much less—sometimes as much as 10% to 30% less! Keep in mind that for every home that was remodeled in recent years here in our valley, there are probably ten others that have not been touched; bathrooms, kitchens, flooring, roofing, heating & air conditioning systems, pools, spas and even landscaping DO wear out (as evidenced by the bathroom our teenaged daughter & son have shared the last 18 years!) and even relatively new homes must be maintained. Couple the ‘condition’ issue with a home located on an inferior lot (noisy, no view, marginal privacy – every neighborhood has good, fair & bad lots) and you have the ‘double whammy’ effect that results in significantly decreased value. Finally, remember today’s buyers are savvy; they can see problematic issues immediately upon visiting a home and sometimes even beforehand with the help of technology tools like Google Earth views, Zillow evaluations or Redfin property searches.

Tom Hart is a practicing Real Estate Broker and a partner at Empire Realty Associates in Danville. He is a Certified Master Negotiator by the University of San Francisco and a Certified Master Strategist by HSM Harvard Program on Negotiation. He is past president of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors (2005) and past president of the Realtors’ Marketing Association of the San Ramon Valley. Tom is in high demand as a speaker & trainer inside & outside the real estate industry.

“Bull Markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism and die on euphoria.”- Sir John Templeton

Sound familiar? If you think about the turbulent market cycles we have been through the last decade or so I think you will agree that the above quote by legendary investor Sir John Templeton rings very true today. Where are we now in our current market cycle?

Despite the incredible bull market rally in the markets over the past year or so, it seems that we are still stuck somewhere between pessimism and skepticism. Many investors are still wary of this rally
and are concerned about the economy back sliding into a double dip recession. Indeed, there continues to be large amounts of pessimism and skepticism out there today.

Certainly, we can agree that there is not a lot of optimism resonating within the general investing public and we are nowhere near euphoria. Understanding this cycle of emotions is key to being a successful investor. Sir John Templeton understood this. He saw his share of bull and bear market cycles during his 95 years. Having passed away in July of 2008 he did not witness the financial crisis
and stock market collapse that began shortly after his death.

Nonetheless, I am sure he would have recognized the pessimism that marked the bottom of the market and would also realize today that the current bull market has the potential to continue.

No doubt, there will be some down periods during this upward cycle. It would not surprise me at all to see a correction soon. All bull markets have them. The market never moves up in a straight line. In
fact, since 1926, the market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index, has produced positive returns approximately 70% of the time and negative returns about 30% of the time. This means that you should
expect, and not be surprised by, a down year every three to four years. Emotions drive markets. Regrettably, fear and greed cause many investors to buy high and sell low.

Think about Templeton’s words of wisdom. Avoid repeated poor decision making by learning to recognize and understand how your own emotions can lead to detrimental behavior. We all have emotions. That makes us human. How we handle these emotions often makes a tremendous difference in our financial wellbeing.

Damien helps individuals invest and manage risk. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and an Investment Adviser Representative of, and offers securities through, Financial Network
Investment Corporation, Member SIPC. These are the views of Damien Couture, CFP® and should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic stability and differences in accounting standards. Not all recommendations are suitable for all investors. Each investor must consider their own goals, time horizon and risk tolerance. You can contact Damien at 925-280-1800 x101 or damien@walnutcreekwealth.com.

Have you ever wondered who might have sweated on the treadmill right before you jumped on for your workout? Or…did they wipe off the equipment? Or…whether or not your self-devised training program was really ideal?

If any of that has crossed your mind, or if you are interested in a personalized approach for improving your fitness in time for that beach vacation this summer, you might want to consider the program that Gary Bush and his personal trainers have put together at Flex Personal Training and Pilates, at Bush’s 5,000 square foot studio near Crow Canyon and Camino Tassajara in Danville.

Fitness has been a part of Bush’s entire life. He was a good enough athlete to play football, basketball and baseball in high school and football in college for Cal State Hayward.
Unfortunately, he injured his knee during his freshman football season which prevented him from playing baseball, “which was always my best sport.”

Injury rehabilitation and orthopedic techniques in the early 1970s were not what they are today. Bush wound up having to rehab his knee himself, and also rehab his shoulder and neck on his own following subsequent injuries. This led to a deeper interest in fitness and training, which he combined with a career as a real estate broker that began in 1976.

Originally a self-made trainer, Bush eventually earned AAFA certification and taught fitness classes at Club Sport, 24 Hour Fitness, and Bally’s. During that time he devised a group fitness camp for Bally’s that in 2003 became a nationwide offering. While working for those other companies, Bush learned what he did and did not want to do in his own shop.

“I grew to understand that individualized is different in reference to fat burning and muscle gain,” Bush said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can be effective for everyone.”

As a result Bush emphasizes personal training and Tandem Training Fit Camps at Flex, which he opened in February of 2009. Classes start at $25 per session. “We’re looking to improve our clients’ fitness, their happiness, and their effectiveness in everything they do,” Bush said. “Fitness levels have a direct correlation to physical stamina and mental well being. Even though we opened at just about the worst possible time to start a new business, we’ve survived and even thrived. We’ve done well because we care and they respond with their loyalty and their referrals.” Bush says that he and his team of 14 certified trainers and instructors follow up whenever a client misses a class or cancels an appointment. “We want to make sure that they are staying with the program, and if they’re not we want
to find out why.” Bush and his team help their clients devise healthy lifestyles for the 265 hours each week that they are away from the gym.

Today Flex completes about 300 sessions per week for clients with room for about three times that many. Bush offers a full range of cardio equipment, free weights, medicine balls, kettle bells, TRX machines and dumbbells for trainers to incorporate into each fitness session. It also offers 15 Pilates classes that can serve up to 90 people, along with Taekwondo, Belly Dancing and Latin Dance instruction. Future plans include Yoga classes and massage.

“While there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all approach, it is possible to offer one-stop shopping for people interested in improving their fitness and enhancing their lives. That is our goal at Flex,” Bush said.

For more information on Flex Personal Training & Pilates you can visit www.flexptp.com or call 925-964-9800.