ShanaRay.com

The What People Think I Do / What I Really Do meme just started and while there are many that are very fitting to my lifestyle (this one about bloggers, oh… and this one about public relations people… or this one about marketers), I thought this one about being a vegetarian fit because of all the misconceptions. Many of my family members still think that tofu is mushy and refuse to try it…. What I say to them: “Your loss.”

Image found on What People Think I Do / What I Really Do | Know Your Meme.

Heather Irwin, food writer and fellow snarky redhead, from BiteClub Eats asks her readers to describe the perfect Sonoma County  layover.

“Outline a script for a Layover in Sonoma County. Trot out the really weird, funky stuff he’d see here. Suggest a dive bar spot for playing quarters with Doug Keane and Doug Richey (right?) while discussing the finer points of the foie gras ban. Where to get his hands dirty (I’m thinking Lou Preston would school him good). What other local food characters and shenanigans shall we put on display? Methinks a trip to Mark Maliki’s Casino might be in order? A little of Mateo’s hot sauce? A dive into the Hello Cello Limoncello vats? A trip to all of Guy’s favorite local DDD spots?”

Check out some of the comments for great off-the-beaten path activities to-do in Sonoma County and Enter to win Tickets for Anthony Bourdain’s upcoming show at the Wells Fargo Center on BiteClub Eats Santa Rosa.

I saw Anthony live a year and a half ago and was crying from laughing so hard… In addition, I left inspired.

Yeah, odd. A vegetarian leaving inspired after seeing Anthony Bourdain…. Hmmmm.

I will be planting my beer-drinking butt at the Russian River Brewing Company for the release of Pliny the Younger ALL day on Saturday, February 11th or else I might enter to win tickets.

Either way… Be on the lookout for my blog post about the “perfect day in Sonoma County” coming soon. Like I said. Bourdain has inspired me…

This Saturday Rodney Strong Vineyards’ 23rd Annual Wine & Chocolate Fantasy event. Tickets are still on sale, and definitely one that chocolate lovers (and wine lovers) will not want to miss!

This year I am bringing my sister, Kasey Alton, a mother of three, a chocolatier, and brand new to Twitter: @RainingChocolat (yup, without the e). Growing up we didn’t realize they made other desserts other than chocolate…. And each trip to the ice cream store resulted in chocolate ice cream covering our faces.

I cannot wait for Saturday!

For all those who made New Years Resolutions to eat healthier, here is your new excuse why you simply cannot be bothered with a diet – National “Snack Food Month.”

Turns out that in February people didn’t used to eat as much ‘snacks’ as they did every other month so the SFA and the National Potato Promotion Board (NPPB) initiated National Snack Food Month in 1989 to increase consumption.

From the Snack Food Association: An International Trade Association website:

National Snack Food Month was started to “build awareness of snacks during a month when snack food consumption was traditionally low.”

Not sure about you, but I am definitely NOT celebrating this silly “National Month” and in fact, I will be avoiding potato chips and “snacks” all together this month….

Driving around the backroads of Sonoma County, it is clear how gorgeous the countryside of this county is. Anyone who knows me, either online or in real life, knows how addicted I am to taking pictures…. It doesn’t hurt that I have an endless amount of beauty to capture here in wine country.

Well, my new addiction to posting my photos is the social networking site specifically for iPhone users: Instagram.

I use this site as a way to show off what I am up to, but it is also great for brands to instantly turn their iPhone pictures into works of art to show off to their customers. For more information, please check out: 5 Key Takeaways From Brands Rocking Instagram. Sonoma County brands can use it to show off behind-the-scenes action of their businesses.