It's officially two weeks until my favorite holiday...Thanksgiving. And I couldn't be more excited. I love the emphasis on giving thanks. The simplicity of getting together with family or friends (or both) and enjoying a comforting meal together. I love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and hearing about everyone's various [...]
After two-plus weeks of exploring France, Monaco, and Italy, I still wasn't ready to go home. But if our trip had to end (sigh!), Florence was a pretty sweet and satisfying last stop. Of all the places we visited, Florence was, by far, the most crowded. It's as if every [...]
Aside from the books I brought on the trip (yes, I know Kindles are lighter, but I've tried and failed to enjoy reading that way), I made it my mission to travel light this summer. Which included what souvenirs I chose to bring home. Funnily enough, the limoncello and selection [...]
Until this summer, the closest I'd been to visiting Aix en Provence was dining at one of our favorite spots in Dallas. Lavendou Bistro Provencal. It's what I always imagined a cozy little bistro in Aix would be: a simple menu that's seasonal, accented with fresh herbs, and finished with [...]
Little known fact: When Instagram compiles my "Top 9" photos at the end of the year, there's always a salad—sometimes two—in the mix. Yes, the salad has occasionally ranked above pics from various date nights, vacation snaps, and novels I'm loving at the moment. Apparently, there's a clandestine society of [...]
We all remember my adventure in paella-making a few weeks ago. A trained chef walked us through every step from sautéing of the Sofrito to inviting the Bomba rice to the party at the precise moment. Feeling like it would be no problem to replicate at home, I decided to [...]
When I've got the travel bug and a trip isn't on the calendar for a bit, taking a cooking class is the next best thing. I finally used the gift card I received for my birthday and decided that Spain is where I wanted to visit for the afternoon. We [...]
Compared with, say, a tangle of glistening pasta draped just so in a pretty bowl, overnight oats aren't going to win any Instagram beauty contests. But if you're looking for a quick and delicious way to begin your morning, overnight oats will definitely do the trick. I start with this [...]
Anyone who's been following my cooking adventures won't exactly be surprised that I chose Italian for our Valentine's dinner at home. What made the lemon spaghetti with shrimp and fried capers a bit unique, however, was the choice of pasta. Have you ever seen noodles this, shall-we-say, supersized? Yeah, me [...]
I think it might've been my sister who said that "every season is soup season," and I couldn't agree more. But there is something extra comforting about homemade soup on a rainy, gray January afternoon. So when considering what to make for the NFL playoff games last Saturday, chicken tortellini [...]
