I posted this cake over on Nectar & Light a few years ago and it remains a favorite. I made it last weekend for Adie's birthday celebration on Sunday evening - just the five of us. Steak and pommes...

The greatest cliché of motherhood: You blink, and another year has passed. Adie turns nine today and it's been a wonderful weekend. We've been so blessed to meet the greatest people here in...

I've been in a MAJOR cooking rut. I know very well that the insanity of the last few months has a great deal to do with this, but I've been struggling to find inspiration as well. Much like the...

Last Spring was a whirlwind of work. I was wrapping up my new book for Chronicle (more on this next week) and was able to fit in shooting this wonderful cookbook by Portland-based Ivy Manning,...

A quick recipe for you this evening. We've been eating these quick sandwiches quite a bit lately thanks to my Mama. She grew up in Binghamton, NY and on the often snow-clad streets of this Upstate...

A very Happy New Year. We've been on the road again. Traveling with my children always reminds me of how much I want to give them an extraordinary childhood; and each year, as they grow older and...

As always, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed this time of year. My gratitude and awe for the wonders in our life springs forth like a rush of emotion and I'm reminded how blessed we are. I'm...

I hope you're not pumpkin’d out. Because I have something for you this week that is rather sinfully delicious. Ashley threw another party for the new book she is writing (and I'm lucky enough to...

Can you believe it? A recipe! I made this dish after being inspired by one of my favorite tacos at White Duck Taco Shop here in Asheville. It's been a favorite and even though the sauce has a...

It's no secret how I feel about our new town. I really, REALLY love it. Den and I suffer with an acute case of wanderlust - but recent discussions have us more and more determined that this little...

We had to get back to the beach. Since our trip to Myrtle Beach, we've been dreaming about getting back to the coast - just a nicer coast. So we made last minute arrangements to spend our 11-year...

I've had an insatiable craving lately for homemade jam and bread. The bread thing I have down. The jam thing... not so much. I've never made jam before. But upon recommendation we found ourselves...

I've never really been an outdoor kind of person. I used to get bored lying on a beach and was convinced I would get ticks if I went hiking - or eaten by a bear. After our first camping trip...

A quick peek at some Polaroid outakes for a book I'm working on with one of my favorite people and co-conspirators, Ashley English. She is writing a pretty phenomenal book about handmade and...

If you are unfamiliar with the work of photographer Tim Robison, I will take acute pleasure in the introduction. Tim's photographs are beautiful, ethereal and conjure memories of strolls through...

I hope you've been having a wonderful summer. We've been on the road a bit - as soon as Den got home at the beginning of the summer, I spent a week in NYC for work, then we took the girls to Myrtle...

I hope you had a great weekend - ours was full of food! We hosted a little cocktail party for some good friends to celebrate our "almost a year!" in Asheville. Everyone brought hors d'oeuvres and...

So... remember that post about the morning drink - the one that was supposed to keep me from eating my cream cheese with a little bagel? I really can control myself until it comes to cream cheese...

The markets and roadsides are spilling with strawberries right now and one of our (and likely yours as well!) favorite things to do every Spring is indulge in a classic Strawberry Shortcake. And I...

I've really been trying to mix up my breakfast as of late. I got into the habit of eating a bagel with more cream cheese than bagel represented on my morning plate and thought it was time to...

Two of my favorite people in New York are Carrie and Andrew Purcell. Not only are they both fiercely talented (Carrie is a food stylist who's work you've seen all over the place including Bon...

Hello - I hope you're still with me. I disappear sometimes. It's simply the reality of freelancing, homeschooling three young daughters (who will be going back to school in the Fall because Mama...

Remember how I said I'd never tried a Brussel sprout before? Well, I have another one for you. I've never tried rhubarb. I like to blame it on growing up in the Heartland - don't recall seeing it...

One of the best things about our move down South was the waiting arms of Ashley English. Ashley and I had known each other for some time online, but upon our arrival to Asheville last summer, she...

Spring in Asheville is wildly gorgeous. The cool mountain air coupled with copious amounts of sunshine reminds me so much of southern California - I love it. We moved here during the summer last...

I never know when it hits, but when it does - it's like a brick. Growing up my brother and I would spend two months every summer with my father who, at the time, lived in San Diego. After retiring...

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring... or to some, Ostara. The weather here has been incredibly obliging to Mother Nature's schedule and the girls have been running about the yard in shorts and...

Today a special, and rather indulgent, treat. I wanted to make something sweet that you could enjoy over the weekend and I immediately thought of Potato Chip Cookies (coupled with a Guinness glaze)...

Sharing some snapshots from Morocco - still burning a lovely little hole in my heart. Be sure to check out the gorgeous Polaroids on my friend Heidi's blog today too - they make my heart skip....

Hello Friends. I returned from Morocco earlier this week and am still working out my emotions about the experience. I tried to articulate it here, but I may not have conveyed the intensity of what...