This week a client asked me to order a cake for a 'Couple Baby Shower'. Being in the dark about what  'Couples Baby Showers' are I did a little research and found out that basically it is a Baby Shower where guys are part of the picture. JD Lassica on Baby Center suggest to make it a family event, forgo pink and adjust the choice of party favors, another idea is to have it outdoors (weather permitting), also to not have it on a big sports event day. Audrey Cowan at Preggie Peggie favors adjusting the games so they appeal to both sexes, also make sure that more than a couple of men show up and at gift opening time have both future parents open the gifts.
I am still not sure how different the cake should be.

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I had the pleasure and privilege to attend a Loire Valley Wine tasting organized by the Loire Valley Wine Bureau in New York City. It took place at the Altman Building in Chelsea. With the weather sunny and in the 70's, Chenin Blancs, Roses and Sauvignon Blanc made perfect sense. I was especially impressed by offerings by J.Mourat who actually are in Vendee, Christophe Baudry & Jean-Marie Dutour, Domaines et Saveurs, Danielle de L'Ansee and Les Celliers de Ceres. The rich Reds of Domaine Wilfrid Rousse also got my attention. All in all, most wines offered character and variety. They illustrate the points made by the film Mondo Vino on the importance of Terroir. Most amazing many of these wines are not even distributed in the US. They also offer excellent value.
It was the first leg of a 3 city roadshow.The other two dates are Los Angeles on May 1st and San Francisco on May 3rd. Visit the Loire Valley Wine Bureau website for registration and information.
If you write about wine, sell it, purchase it, distribute it, I recommend you attend one of their California dates.

I will go over my tasting notes in more detail over the next couple of weeks

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Not sure what services are available in your area and want to see what ratings (if any) they got from previous customers, check Judy's Book . You can also share your own customer experiences, good and bad on the site. The company is based in Seattle.
Businesses also have a chance to find out about feedback posted on their offerings.

Let us know what you think about the service.

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Track with co.mments

Many of my customers and prospects at New Jersey Concierges are women. I discovered a couple of months ago an interesting site named Imagining Ourselves. It offers perspectives of unknown and famous women from all over the world on a variety of topics. Their theme for April is Money as viewed from a hollistic perspective. I was especially interested in the subtheme called 'Chart your own path' looking at how money concerns stand in the way. That subtheme reminded me of a book I noticed yesterday on In Bubble Wrap. The book in question by Robert K. Cooper is titled 'Get out of your own way' and states that the biggest barriers to our success are inside us.

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Spring being here, we thought it was time to give 'Serge the Concierge' a fresh coat of paint. We asked the people at Logo Design Creation to create a Logo for us.
After some back and forth and invaluable help from Lili, we finally had a final draft.
We uploaded the Logo yesterday which led us to change the color theme as well. This might evolve over the coming 2 weeks until we find the right mix.
Within a week or so, you will also be able to purchase your own 'Serge the Concierge' T-Shirt, Sweat Shirt or Baseball Cap. We will keep you posted on that.
Feel free to share your comments on these changes with us.

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It is Monday, rain has been pouring over New Jersey in the past couple of days and to top it all I just got my official AARP Membership Registration Form.
Do not ask me why? Do I feel too old to Rock'n Roll? No.

In Luanda (Angola), one of these african cities touched by the oil boom, 2 sisters Dona Eugenia and Dona Antonia offer simple and clean accomodations to visitors in their family run guest house Soleme.
For $80.00 per night you get a room in a residence that seems favored by writers of all stripes. John Reed writes about them today as Hospitality warmer than the weather in the Financial Times. Sunil Deepak calls 'Soleme' the House of Women and tells us more about Luanda.

Planning a day trip tomorrow to the New York Aquarium, I was pleased to find out that they now offer the option of buying tickets online. It sure beats waiting in a possibly long line as some kids are on Easter vacation. The Plan a Visit section of their site is very helpful and well designed. I hope the visit is as good as their online presence.

Philippa Davenport writes eloquently in last week-end's Financial Times about Petersham Nurseries a green oasis located in Richmond, a few miles outside the center of London along the Thames river. They sell assorted antiques and garden artefacts and books. In the middle of all this is a Cafe that serves a limited menu based on fresh and seasonal products. One thing that I especially liked is that they list their 40 or so food sources alongside the menu.
They also hold special events and classes.
It all sounds like the perfect place to escape the city noise and buzyness if you are in London.

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In these sleep deprived times, our sleeping habits can tell us a thing or two about where improvements are needed, how our day was, how the next will be and the way all this impacts our partners in sleep."The Secret Language of Sleep:A Couple's Guide to the Thirty-Nine Positions" a book written by Evany Thomas and illustrated by Amelia Bauer lets humor peek in to tell us about our bedtime behavior.
Use their Sleep Test to see where you fit.