Getting Your Home Winter Ready
Today is the first official day of Winter. Here in the Willamette Valley that means a significant amount of rain, shorter days, colder temperatures, and possibly some snow and ice. When Spring arrives, many homeowner’s immediately think to do “spring cleaning” but winter is another time of year that performing some routine maintenance can help […]
Community Makes A House A Home
There is a lot that goes into making a house a home. If asked, most people would rattle off things like family photos, a comfortable place to rest and relax, the familiar smell of a favorite meal being cooked in the kitchen. While all three of these are important, I wholeheartedly believe that one of […]
Quarantine Cooking
Wow! What a week it has been. I hope this post finds you all healthy, home, and finding grace in what has been a truly humbling experience for all of us. It’s been a while since I’ve posted here but with the additional free time I now have and my desire to help, I thought […]
Casual Living Room – Photoshop
In the past year I’ve been working on bringing some of my design skills into the 21st century. When I started college back before Y2K my design program only had one AutoCad class. That’s right, ONE. No Revit, no Sketch Up, and no other technology to speak of. Oh, how times have changed. Call me […]
Strawberries with Sour Cream and Brown Sugar
It’s been awhile…a long while. I’ve missed this space. Work, and life, and volunteering, and work, and life, and well, you get the picture. All of it stole my attention, broke me out of my routine, and kept me from sharing with all of you. As Macklemore says though, “You know I’m back, like I […]
Tadich Grill Cioppino
Maybe it’s my love affair with San Francisco or my Italian heritage but whatever the reason, I LOVE cioppino. When dining out and seeing it on the menu, I will always order it, no questions asked. For this reason I have tried hundreds of varieties. Some are thin like soup, others thick and stew like, […]
Visiting The La Brea Tar Pits & Museum
Not well known to those living outside of Southern California, The La Brea Tar Pits and Museum provide a fascinating glimpse into a past Los Angeles that is hard to imagine today. Located in the heart of the city, they are the largest urban excavation of ice age fossils in the world. Growing up, I […]
Quick and Easy Hummus
My husband’s 40th birthday just passed and to celebrate I threw a surprise party for him at a local brewery. Hummus is one of my go-to party appetizers so I made a double batch to go with the crudite platter. I had multiple requests for the recipe so I thought I’d share it here. Hummus isn’t […]
Snow Play Near California’s Central Valley
If you haven’t made a trip to the snow this year, it’s definitely not too late. Snow continues to fall in the Sierras leaving the mountains blanketed in a fresh coat of fluffy, white winter fun! Enjoy the snow but don’t have the inclination or budget for downhill skiing? A snow play day is just […]
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
You know how it goes, you buy a couple of bananas and everyone in the house fights over them because they have decided that bananas are their new favorite fruit. The next time you go to the store, you purchase quadruple the number of bananas and low and behold, nobody will eat them. Why?!?!? Why […]
Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival
Spring is just around the corner and with spring comes the blooming of my favorite flower, the tulip! The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon is home to 40 acres of brilliantly colored tulips every spring. Starting in late March and continuing through the end April their annual Tulip Fest brings together fields of […]
Copycat Yumm Bowls
Here in Oregon we have this great, quick eats restaurant called Cafe Yumm. Their claim to fame is a dish called a Yumm Bowl which features their signature sauce, aptly named Yumm Sauce. If you’ve been around this blog much you can probably tell that I’m a sucker for comfort food. Comfort food gets a […]
Upcycled Valentine’s Day Mailbox
My daughter is in LOVE with Valentine’s day. For over a month now her daily highlight has been that Valentine’s day is coming. Although I’m of the school of thought that every day is a day to show the special people in your life how much they mean to you I also love a reason […]
White Beans & Ham
I was at a client’s house the other day consulting on a sunroom remodel when we both glanced outside to find that it was snowing…AGAIN! It’s been an uncommonly cold winter by Pacific Northwest standards and I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we are ready for spring! Growing up in […]
Letter Writing for Project To Love Ourselves
I don’t know about you but I think that being a girl can be pretty tough sometimes so when I heard about Project To Love Ourselves from a friend I knew I wanted to help. The project, started by Whitney Saxon connects struggling girls and women with 15 other adult women who pledge to write […]
Chicken Tortilla Soup
We’ve been experiencing an unusually cold winter here in Oregon this year. Starting in December with back to back ice storms and then a January snow storm followed by another ice storm makes this native Californian long for a tropical vacation. Although I can’t jet off to Mexico any time soon I figured that I […]
Snow Cream
One of my favorite childhood memories is of my grandma making us snow cream when we would visit in the winter time. A simple concoction of snow, milk, sugar, and vanilla, nothing brings back the joy of simple, carefree snow days like a big bowl full. We don’t get big snowstorms in Eugene very […]
Award-Winning Butterscotch, White Chocolate, Pretzel Cookies
Drop cookies are one of my favorite treats to bake. They come together quickly, don’t make the kitchen a huge mess, and there’s always plenty to share. Plus, they’re portion sized (if you can eat just one, which usually I can’t). Chocolate Chip are the go-to drop cookies for most people but these might just […]
Rogue River White Water Rafting
Way back in June the hubby and I took a white water rafting trip to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. Of course we did the typical romantic dinner in the evening but this was such a fun way to get the day started. The trip felt very much like a marriage, calm and serene for long […]
Fresh Strawberry Muffins
Miracle of miracles I happened upon some fresh strawberries at the farmer’s market over the weekend. One of the farmer’s has been experimenting with “everbearing” and “day neutral” strawberries, varieties that can continue producing fruit through the first frost. As a native Californian I am no stranger to strawberries in the fall but this is […]
Raspberry Marshmallow Cream Pie
Berry season is still in full swing here in Oregon. We have a wonderful u-pick raspberry farm not far from us so we decided to stock up. After eating more than our bellies could hold and freezing several gallons for later use I decided to make this pie. The recipe comes from my grandmother whom […]
June Design Obsessions
Having grown up near Lodi, California, a hidden gem of the California wine industry and then moved to the Willamette Valley, a place synonymous with fantastic Pinot varietals, it’s safe to say that I have spent a fair amount of time in winery tasting rooms. As any good designer would, I take a thorough inventory […]
Strawberry Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette
Strawberry season is in full swing here. The kids and I visited our favorite U-pick strawberry farm the other day and loaded up. After eating strawberries to our hearts content I decided that I needed to do something with what remained. I froze a bunch for later use, baked some muffins, enjoyed one of my […]
Baked Bread Heel French Toast
I don’t like to waste food. I have never gone hungry and we have always been fortunate enough to be able to afford all that we need but wasting food feels like an extravagance to me when so many children in the U.S. and abroad go hungry on a regular basis. I have developed many […]
MECCA – Upcycle Heaven for Makers, Crafters, and Artists
Growing up, both my maternal and paternal grandparents were what some might call pack rats. They weren’t the hoarder types made infamous by reality television but all of them had grown up during the Great Depression and lived through a World War so they held on to items that others might just toss in the […]
Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice
We made the switch to brown rice several years ago and haven’t looked back. We still use other types of rice but nine times out of ten we’re eating the long-grain brown variety. I’ll admit that when we first made the switch I made countless batches of poorly cooked rice that everyone turned their noses […]
May Design Obsessions
Summer is my favorite season in Oregon. Where I am from in California summertime can get intensely hot (110 degrees, anyone?) so the more mild Oregon summers have been a welcome change. With the school year winding down and the ratio of sunny to rainy days quickly changing, May always makes me want to get […]
Must-See San Francisco Landmarks
Hop on over to Road Trips for Families to check out the second article I wrote for them during our spring break trip to San Francisco. This article is about some of the most iconic destinations in the city. Of course, with San Francisco there is always more to see but this is great list to get […]
White Chicken Chili
When we first moved to Oregon from California, this time of year would make me a little depressed. By May, in California the rain has ceased except for on very rare occasions. I have since learned to appreciate this time of year here. You see, I LOVE comfort food and what better excuse to make […]
April Design Obsessions
As an interior designer I am constantly combing through showrooms, websites, stores, and catalogs in search of my clients latest desires. While searching for them I will often comes across other items I just adore. Below are my favorite finds during the last month. This sofa from Bryght, with its ample cushions and calming color makes […]
Family Fun in San Francisco
For spring break this year we decided to venture down to San Francisco. My wildly funny friend Julie runs the blog, Road Trips for Families and asked me to do a couple of guest posts about our trip. You can see my post on using CityPass to make visiting some of San Francisco’s most popular attractions easier […]
Everyone’s Favorite Brownies
In theory, you can’t really go wrong with brownies. That being said, I’ve had some pretty marginal brownies in my day. Dry, cakey, boring. These brownies are not those brownies. These brownies are AMAZING! I’m talking, uh oh, I just ate half the pan AMAZING! They are fudgey, dense, chocolatey deliciousness. If I was stranded […]
Classic Italian Pasta E Fagioli
Let me preface this by saying that this is not an original recipe. It is however one of my family’s favorites and one that I get compliments on all the time. My mom’s family is Italian so I know what real Italian food should taste like and this is the real deal. The recipe […]
Quick and Easy Chicken Broth
Store-bought chicken broth has come a long way over the years but I still like to make my own when I have the time. This recipe only takes about an hour and a half from beginning to end which makes time less of a factor when deciding to go store-bought or homemade. This broth also […]
Money for Nothing – Money Themed Birthday Party
In keeping with my son’s usual, for his 7th birthday he requested a birthday party theme that I couldn’t just run to the store and buy pre-printed super hero plates and napkins for. In keeping with my usual, I tried to give him the party he wanted without breaking the bank. Literally, this time. […]
Easy, Flexible Quiche
The versatility of quiche is undeniable. How many other foods can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Eaten slightly warm, room temperature or right out of the fridge? I love quiche! This easy recipe can be whipped up rather quickly on a weeknight and the leftovers (if you have any) are delicious for […]
Oregon Love: Graffiti With A Message
One of the things I love about where I live is that I am surrounded by art and artists. You can be going about your day and come across something like this. Graffiti with a cause if you will. Such a wonderful reminder in such an unlikely place. ♥
Backyard Beach Party
What’s a mom to do when her child wants a beach party and you live almost two hours from the beach? Throw a backyard beach party. Complete with pool, life size sandcastle and a soundtrack that will make you feel like you’ve got sand between your toes. For my son’s 5th birthday he wanted nothing more […]
Crispy Crunchy Cookies
After having a few glorious days of sunshine the rain has returned to the Pacific Northwest. What do I like to do more than anything when it rains? Bake! Not particularly friendly to the waistline but oh so good for the soul. This cookie recipe has been in my family for years. My great-grandma passed […]
Snowshoeing near Bend, Oregon
This time of year I always like to make a trip to the snow. We had planned on getting the kids on skis this year but after my husband partially tore his ACL and meniscus playing basketball it was advised that he didn’t ski on it until further notice. The kids always love a day […]
Finally
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For quite some time people have been telling me to start my own blog and for almost as long I have contemplated it. I have taken photographs of parties, adventures and projects for years but just couldn’t take that first step. I agonized over what I would name […]