Busy, Busy, Busy....

I don’t know about you, but lately I have been feeling stressed. The economy is spiraling out of control, gas prices keep rising, I have meeting after meeting to attend and barely a moment to sit and unwind. Despite the soft economy, people are still traveling and staying at our B&B. It just seems that many people are now discovering how much fun and adventure can be found in their own backyards. Rather than spending half of their vacation budget on gasoline or airline tickets and half of their vacation time stuck in traffic or in lines at the airport, they are traveling a few miles and enjoying different parts of their own neck of the woods.

We have been hosting several couples from the suburbs that needed a get a way and realized they were like those that live right outside of Disney World but never go inside. Baltimore City has so very much to offer and with the abundance of bed & breakfasts in our city, you can feel pampered and indulged, without as much of a wallet-ache. Another great thing about local travel is that you are literally buying local during your entire vacation. I know my partner Jeff and I are hoping to do a mini vacation close to home sometime this year. Maybe we can carve out a week between our meetings and many, many guests.

There I go again…getting caught back up in all that is before me. Its hard though....

We had the first Business Book Club and it was great! There were 9 other business owners in attendance and we had a fantastic time sharing ideas, learning, sipping some wine, eating some cheese and crackers and the English Summer Berry Pudding I made. We have a lot in the works just from our very first get-together. I am so excited.

Later in the week I attended the Maryland Bed & breakfast Association's monthly meeting in Easton, MD. It was again a great meeting with a number of ideas shared and ground work laid out for the exciting future of B&Bs in our state.

Today I had a meeting to attend dealing with the hybrid shuttle bus plans within the city. Tomorrow my friend Theresa of SoBotanical, www.sobotanical.com, and I are getting started on the plans for a neighborhood inspired podcast to be recorded on Monday.

As I said..busy, busy, busy. I need to relax more....

A great way to relax is to cook or bake and then enjoy the fruits of your labor of love. And nothing says comfort to me quite like a biscuit. But if you are feeling like being a little more adventurous than your standard buttermilk brand, have I got a biscuit for you. Our Sweet Potato Biscuits are very unique. They are a bit denser and more cake like than your traditional biscuit. They have a soft sweetness that is punctuated with bits of rosemary that add a bit of unexpected sharp freshness.

(Find the recipe here: www.scarboroughfairbandb.com/fromthekitchen.htm.)

If you do not have the opportunity to get away this summer or if you need a brief reprieve from your hectic schedule, I think you will find the recipe and biscuit will easily do the trick. The relaxed repetition found in the movements of stirring, chopping and other parts of cooking and baking have been shown to induce a meditative state that helps you de-stress while still getting something done. Wouldn’t it be great if the ritual of crafting wonderful foods is brought back and we all make the time to relax and unwind over a bowl of something just waiting to be turned and combined into something even better than the sum of its parts? Relax and enjoy these blissful little bites.

I hope to write a bit more consistently in the near future. Perhaps that will be another new way to de-stress. Hope you are continuing to live your bliss!

Summer is here...

and after several days of searing heat and high humidity, today cooled down a bit and was actually very comfortable. The Summer heat gave my assistant Claudette, and I a chance to experiment with some different teas and lemonades. We made are almost famous Strawberry Basil Lemonade for our guests one afternoon. Another day she made a combination of Fresh nectarines, ginger, rosemary and iced tea that was so refreshing that we ended up serving what seemed like gallons of it. Today we have cranberry peach iced tea.

I decided to use these flavorful summer time drinks as inspiration for the my article for the SoBo Voice Magazine. If any of you would like a copy of the article, which includes a recipe for the Strawberry Basil Lemonade, please let me know and I will email it to you.

I don't know if you noticed, but we have a brand new website! We launched it a few days ago and we already have people cooing about how nice it is. I myself love the colors, graphics and content. I hope you will as well. Go to www.scarboroughfairbandb.com right now and check it out. And then come back here and let me know what you think!

I am getting very excited about our Business Owners Book Club that will meet for the first time in only 12 days. We will be discussing the book, Guerrilla Marketing, 4th Edition. As part of the discussion we are going to be swapping marketing ideas and plans for our own businesses and ways to better market all of Federal Hill.

It looks like the Vintage Warehouse Clothing Store will be opening for business any day now. I peaked in their windows the other day id the selection of clothing for both men and women looks fund and fashionable.

Federal Hill Main Street held their Jazz and Blues Festival last Sunday and it went very well. Turn out was a bit down due to the oppressive heat, but everyone seemed to be having a great time and the music was terrific. Jane Seebold, Federal Hill Main Street's new Executive Director, is doing an excellent job. This was her first major festival to help organize and you would have sworn she had been doing this job all of her life!

The businesses of Federal Hill and myself are gearing up for the 4th of July weekend. Not only will there be our annual neighborhood parade with fie and drum corps and children on their decorated bicycles and wagons, but fireworks from the Inner Harbor and Fort McHenry. Saturday, July 5th from 10 AM to 5 PM is also our Neighborhood Sidewalk Sale. This year should be even better than last year with many more businesses participation and tons of deals...as Jane put it..."Summer time and the shopping is easy!" I hope you will come by and show our boutiques, pubs, restaurants, and other businesses some love on that day, and the through out the rest of the year too.

Write more soon! Hope you are having a great week!

Have not written for a while....

...Because we have been so busy. Part of having a B&B is that it is so easy to lose track of time and what day of the week it is. There is no such thing as a weekend. For most people, this is when you have your days off. For us, this is our busiest time. And if you are lucky enough to be a very successful B&B and have a higher than normal occupancy rate, you are busy on the weekdays as well. So these past 2 weeks I have been off by more than a few days. But now I think I am finally back on track.

Today is Sunday, or is it Monday...No, it IS Sunday. Many of our fantastic Boston Red Sox fans have left us, with just a few staying on for one more game. It was so great to have the whole B&B full and the dining room filled with lively conversation and hearty laughter as the sounds of ambient jazz and smells of blueberry johnny cakes wafted through the air...(sigh...)

I put out some wonderful wine from Basignani and extra cookies yesterday afternoon, especially since the downpour drove all of our guests back to us. The cookies were quickly gobbled up as was the wonderfully sweet Riesling. Why have milk with you cookies when you can have great wine?

We are nearly ready to launch our new website. I am sooooo very excited. Not just for the normal reasons, that it will be easier to navigate, make reservations, have broader and more content, that is all a given. No, what is making me so excited is that I believe this new website is finally a personal representation of who we are as innkeepers and business owners. The colors are more modern and fun, there are more photos, the layout is a bit more hip...it is just like the web developers reached into my brain and pulled out what we truly offer in both the physical and emotional side of things and made this amorphous bundle of thoughts and ideas into a fantastic thing you can actually not just see, but use and enjoy.

That is, after all what we are all about, an enriching and enjoyable experience that not only works due to the physical elements we offer, (great location within walking distance to nearly everything, comfortable beds, towels and other awesome amenities), but also the emotional elements of fun, relaxing serenity in a beautiful and smart neighborhood in the middle of the city.

I have been working on plans for our 2nd Annual Yulefest with my co-chair Liz Perkins. This is a holiday celebration held Thanksgiving Weekend and hosted by the many merchants in our community for all to enjoy. We have quite a few surprises in the works this year, and cannot share them yet. But I can tell you that the theme has been chosen. This year it is "It's a Wonderful Life in Federal Hill..." I will keep you posted on how our many fun ideas are progressing. I promise you that this is an event you will not want to miss!

Speaking of events, do not forget about the 2nd Annual Federal Hill Sidewalk Sale on Saturday, July 5th from 10 AM to 5 PM. Summertime Fun & Bargains… We will have dozens of great deals, discounts and giveaways from some of the finest shops in the neighborhood…right out on the sidewalk. There will even be refreshing summery treats from area restaurants. Mark your calendar and don’t miss out on the fun.

Have a great week everyone!