Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  One of my favorite people recently moved from Southern California to Sea Cliff, where the weather oscillates from sundrenched to fog-bank daily.  To warm up his apartment and add an element of homey comfort, I decided to make a batch of Goat Cheese Popovers. As the batter baked in the oven, the...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. Marcel Proust enchanted me the moment I heard his rumination that “love is reciprocal torture.” The spectacularly melancholic French author is the subject of one of my summer reads How Proust Can Change Your Life.The unusual self-help book breaks Proust’s musings into nine different ways to help...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. One of my dearest childhood friends got married this weekend on a gorgeous summer afternoon in Sonoma. The portion of the wedding that inspired me the most were the self-written vows that the couple exchanged. The honesty, love, and passion for one another was clear to everyone by the words and...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  Isolated thunderstorms throughout the week in Lake Tahoe gave me an excuse to spend time in the kitchen last night prepping a batch of Morning Muffinsto combat the gloom. When I woke up today, I divided the batter into mini-muffin tins and after a few minutes in the oven, the entire cabin filled...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. Two of my favorite people in the world recently moved to San Francisco from the East Coast - my childhood friend Jon and his nine-year-old son, Levi. I was excited to show-off my culinary moxie when the handsome duo stopped by for dinner over the weekend. While it seems that cooking for kids...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  In anticipation of house-guests this weekend, I stocked my fridge full of delicious ingredients for meals to cook together (and maybe a few bottles of wine…).  I’ve been craving Eggs en Cocotte, and decided it would be the perfect post-Fourth of July breakfast. Much easier to make than its fancy...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  With summer in full-swing and the holiday weekend just around the corner, I’ve been perusing old T&T posts for culinary inspiration.  When I landed on my recipe for Summer Corn Salad, I knew it was the perfect thing to serve my friends on Friday. Grilled corn, cherry tomatoes, avocado, lemon,...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I.  I’m a sucker for lemonade.  I’m also a sucker for turning the ordinary into the opulent, which makes this rose infused lemonadeperfect for my go-to warm-weather libation. Equal parts beautiful and delicious, I’ll be serving the yellow/pink concoction poolside for the rest of the summer (with a...

Infusing grandeur into otherwise drab Monday mornings with five things/ideas/events for the week: I. Hectic work and travel schedules left me dinner party-less for the last seven months. Going from throwing a dinner every ten days a year ago to zilch left my life a bit lackluster. To remedy this, I pulled together a handful of good friends and a healthy(ish) Mediterranean-inspired menu for my...