Brunch in Los Altos

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Los Altos, Rick’s Cafe

Traveling has to be one of my  favorite hobbies, topped only by spending time with family and friends, and having great meals. The wonderful thing about traveling is that I can combine three of my faves into one.

The Viking and I spent three wonderful days with my wayward son, his amazing and gorgeous girlfriend, and some of his roommates,  co-workers, and friends. Last night our son and his girl took us out for dinner to a fantastic Jordanian restaurant located on historic Murphy Street in Sunnyvale (their new home as of next week). What a wonderful evening! Our son’s new ‘babe’ totally won us over. Smart as whip, pretty, diligent, ambitious, and she adores my wayward one. The latter’s all that’s important to me, but the rest—the equivalent of a kazillion dollar signing bonus! (sheesh, you have to forgive me—my son’s a recruiter, and I’m starting to think in his lingo).

Yesterday, we said farewell to our son and his girl, and I did not tear up in front of him-an accomplishment I’m entirely proud of even if it means I’m a total suck. We had brunch in Los Altos at Rick’s Cafe, and then headed down to Santa Cruz. Here are some photos:

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Have a marvelous Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne

Google & The Wayward One!

Yesterday, I got to hug my middle son, the ‘wayward one’, (the oldest is  the ‘big lug’ and the baby is the ‘young ‘un’) for the first time in five months. Now, I know I’m lucky. Many moms don’t see their kids for years, but we’ve always lived, even after they moved out, within regular Sunday dinner family barbeque’s distance, so the last two years have been a huge adjustment for me. At any rate, the wayward one works for Google, and we were treated to a tour of his new facility, and managed to meet his boss and  many of his teammates.

‘Googlers’, as they refer to themselves, have to be the luckiest and happiest employees on the planet. Everything’s provided for them. I’m convinced they’ve spoiled my son for working anywhere else. Not bad for the son nicknamed the ‘wayward one’ for  his rebellious inclinations. Hurrah for the rebels – they teach us to break the rules and make new ones!

Here are some pics:

 

Flavored waters at the gym - lavender was delish

Flavored waters at the gym – lavender was delish

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Look closely – it’s the mobile building & this is all made of dinky cars!

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My favorite place – Google employees can take free cooking classes from world class chefs – OMG I’m so jealous!

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The Sushi Bar in the one of 32 free restaurants on the Google campus. All are featured in foodie mags frequently. This one’s full service.

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Closeup of the sushi bar. Did I mention Googlers are encouraged to take food home? My son’s so spoiled.

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The Coffee & Tea Lab run in conjunction with Starbucks. It’s a real lab where they test responses to different concoctions. Amazing.

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One of the many parks & outside areas on the Google campus. Love the big chairs!

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Google’s Test Kitchen offers cooking classes to all employee free of charge, and all are taught by certified chefs! Sigh…drooling here.

 

 

 

Guest Author – Dakota Trace!

dakota - bloghop graphic

Today my guest is fellow romance author Dakota Trace who’s going to give us a sexy teaser from her new release Wolfen Bonds. The teaser’s part of Dakota’s Blog Hop for Wylfen Bonds release!

Dakota - DT_WolfenBonds_coverlgBlurb:

The Council of Elders has charged Matthias Galloway with bringing the once prosperous Taghte Pack back into the Council’s fold. In exchange for his services, Matthias names his terms: he wants to claim his longtime lover and friend, Andrew, as his mate.

Nephew of a powerful alpha, Andrew Gilchrist has long been a coveted commodity because of his services as a healer. Neither expects the Council to agree to Mathias’s terms, leaving him free, finally, to claim his chosen mate. Even more unexpected is the presence of a third-bond to appear during their mating ritual.

The grandchildren of the slain alpha of the Taghte pack, Colleen Donghall and her twin brother, were whisked away at birth. They’re still kept hidden from those who would harm them. Raised in seclusion, Colleen’s never experienced lust, let alone the bond between mates. On the night of lunar eclipse, she’s drawn into Matthias and Andrew’s passionate claiming, and her dormant libido is powerfully awoken. 

But it’s nothing compared to the lust and danger that will stalk her and her mates, when she arrives in Scotland.

BUY LINK:

Publisher: http://www.loose-id.com/wolfen-bonds.html

Now here’s the tantalizing teaser :Dakota - Horace - Jianne

Trailing after the determined muse in front of her, Colleen wanted to pull her hair out. How had this become such a fiasco? Sure, she probably shouldn’t have taken the torque off, but damn it, was everyone in the pack going to have handled it by the time she got it back?

“Oh quit your pouting.” Livvy tossed over her shoulder. “We’ll get it back and Nevin will be none the wiser.”

“So you think.” Colleen muttered softly. She knew her mentor. At times, she swore he had eyes in the back of his head. A muffled grunt escaped her as she suddenly plowed into the woman in front of her.

“So I know.” Livvy grinned, obviously having a grand old time. “It’s all part and parcel of being slave’s muse. I know how things turn out before they happen.”

“Unless of course, Dakota changes her mind.” Colleen turned to look down at Aine as she scanned the empty great hall. “Are you sure you saw Horace in here, sweetheart?”

Aine nodded. “Ollie told me that the beta came in here just a little bit ago.”

“Okay then it stands to reason he’d still be around, doesn’t it?” She tugged on the little girl’s braid, and then looked up at the readers. “For those of you who are new, I’m Colleen and the heroine of Dakota Trace’s newest book, Wolfen Bonds. A few days ago, I misplaced the seer torque that my mentor gave to me – so Livvy, Dakota’s muse, is helping me find it.”

Livvy wandered over by the hearth. “And don’t forget about the grand prize. Slave will be pissed if we don’t mention the pretty cool prize we’re giving away.”

Colleen crossed her arms over her chest. “I see what you’re concerned about…and it’s not finding my torque.”

Livvy arched a brow at her. “Damn straight. The last time I screwed up, slave cut off my chocolate supply for a month. It’s bad enough she keeps shoving salads at me…but to take the chocolate…” she shook her head. “Not gonna chance that again. A muse has got to have her fix.” Then she disappeared through a door at the far end of the hall.

“Really?” Colleen called after the retreating muse. “You’re leaving me to tell them about the grand prize?” When there was a no answer, Collen sighed. “I guess that’s a yes. So here’s the scoop. Dakota is giving way a nifty little prize basket. It’ll have a copy of my book in it, a lovely replica of my torque, along with a few other goodies. To enter all you have to do is enter the name on the graphic below along with site you found it on in the google form at the end of this post. Dakota will then be drawing a random winner on the 25th at her Wrap Up Party on Facebook.”

Aine tugged on Colleen’s sleeve. “Don’t forget about the stop prize.” She smiled, the gap in her teeth showing. “Readers can win a set of Dakota’s Doms of Chicago’s books. All they have to do is put their name and email thingie in the comments, right Ms. Colleen?”

“You’re correct. It’s easy.” She sighed. “Easier than finding my torque has been.” She gave Aine’s hand a squeeze.

“Woo-hoo…look what I found?” Livvy reappeared, tugging on a large man’s arm.   “Readers, this hunk of a man is Horace, the Taghte Pack Beta. And he was just telling me that he had Colleen’s torque but after a bit of a disagreement, he ended up giving it to Sara to clean off for him. ”

Colleen sighed. “Okay, so why did you give it to the housekeeper?”

“Ummm, it was covered in blood?” The tall blond flushed. “I had a minor disagreement with a pack member and when I went into the kitchen to clean it off, well Sara ran me off.” The flush spread. “I marked up her floors again.”

“And you left my Seer’s Torque with the housekeeper?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She has a mean streak in her. She asks for something and we give it or pay the consequences. She has a mean right hook.”

“Fine.” Colleen turned to the readers. “So it looks we like we’re no closer than we started. So join me tomorrow at The Love of Bookends blog and maybe we’ll be one-step closer.

BUY LINK:  http://www.loose-id.com/wolfen-bonds.html

AUTHOR BIO:
Dakota is a simple Midwest girl, who found her passion in storytelling at a young age. She wrote her first novel her freshman year on an old electric IBM typewriter. Now writing in several different genres from erotic romance and BDSM to m/m and paranormal, she is a published author with multiple books under her belt. When she isn’t writing, she’s a devoted band mom and a loving wife.

Dakota’s Website: http://www.dakotatrace.net/
Dakota’s Blog: http://alittlebitofnaughty.blogspot.com/
Dakota’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dakotatrace
Dakota’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/dakota75

Have fun on the Blog Hop Dakota & thanks for being my guest!

Cheers,

Jianne

5 Coffee Cups from Reviewer Delane!

I awoke to this wonderful email notice of a review for Prymal Lust from Coffee Time Romance.

Prymal_Lust-Jianne_Carlo-200x320PRYMAL LUST
Prymal, Book 1
JIANNE CARLO
ISBN#: 9781629160702
August 2014
Taliesin Publishing
www.taliespinpublishing.com
E-book
$3.99
216 Pages
Erotic Paranormal Romance
Rating: 5 Cups

Tania is a part of a long line of a Wylfen aristocratic family who always follows the letter of the law, or so she thought. She has begun hearing the call which if acted on leads to exile, but it is getting harder to ignore. When she runs into the one she is unable to resist she gives in unaware there is more to the man.

Axe is there for a reason he is unable to divulge, even to his mate. He is unable to control himself and scares the one for him away, which he believes is for the best, since anything else can get them both killed.

Tania and Axe think to deny each other but there is another plan for Tania; one Axe will never allow because it is his job to protect and see to her happiness. The problem is, the threat may be coming from within her own family and revealing that would hurt his mate beyond anything he is willing to allow.

Prymal Lust is a fast paced story full of hot alpha men and sexy women. This auspicious beginning to a promising series is worthy of more than one read. Jianne Carlo provides just enough information on each character to keep them coming back for more. I look forward to the stories of several characters and will definitely be returning to the Prymal Series and the writing of Jianne Carlo. I highly recommend the sizzling hot story of Tania and Axe and promise the reader will be unable to put the book down or leave the characters behind.

Delane
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

– See more at: http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/prymallustbook1byjiannecarlo.html#.VDvbn_ldWSp

Great way to begin Marvelous Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne

Guardians of the Galaxy, The Drop, & The Equalizer

guardiansof the galaxyThe dh and I love going to the movies. Sure, we watch a ton on Netflix, but the whole experience is enhanced in an actual theater, and there’s nothing that beats an honest audience reaction. Recently we saw Guardians of the Galaxy, The Drop, and The Equalizer. Three distinct genres that left us with different reactions. I rate movies into three categories: B—I’d buy the DVD (a rare occasion), W—I’d rent it and/or Watch it again on Cable/TV, R—Research for a book (buy), and N—neh, wish we hadn’t spent the money.

Guardians of The Galaxy had us both grinning when we exited the cinema. Charming, fun, endearing, action-packed and-to an extent-suspenseful. The acting was superb, the animation and CG excellent, and the soundtrack awesome. I can utterly see why it’s being touted as the ‘new’ Star Wars, and why the lead actor, Chris Pratt, is being hailed as the ‘next’ Harrison Ford. This one’s a B for me.

thedropThe Drop had us riveted. You simply had to pay attention to every single, detail, and that’s a hint. Complex, fascinating, and psychologically intricate, we discussed the film at length over dinner afterwards. The male lead, Tom Hardy, played his eerie character brilliantly, and the  late (so sad, his untimely death) James Gandolfini—an incredible performance. That’s not to denigrate Noomi Rapace who did an  excellent job with the female lead. This one’s a W—I’d definitely see The Drop at least a couple more times.

the equalizerI’m a Denzel Washington fan, and see most of his movies. The Equalizer kept us interested and the end clearly setup the sequel. Would I go see the sequel? No, but I’d watch the sequel on cable or Netflix. Would I watch The Equalizer again? Only if I couldn’t find anything else that vaguely interested me. But, I don’t regret spending the money on the film. I guess I need a new rating category, eh? Hmmm—how about I for Indifferent. The Equalizer is a solid I.

Did anyone see these movies? What’s your rating?

Merry Monday!

Cheers,

Jianne