Like last year, I decided to make a batch of Overnight Lilikoi Rolls to kick off our Christmas morning on a very sweet, Hawaiian note. In the middle of putting everything together, I realized I wanted to make some changes. Luckily, those changes turned out to be very good ones, so in the interest of…
This is my new favorite celebration cocktail! Let's be honest - nothing beats a glass of real champagne (yummers) but this is a lovely, fragrant alternative that also makes for a very refreshing summer sipper. Cheers to 2021! Rosemary Ginger French 75 (makes 2 drinks) 1/4 cup white sugar1/4 cup water1/2 inch knob of fresh…
Last year I wrote a series about my 12 joys of Christmas. It was fun, a little out of character for my blog in general, and ended up being a nice bit of fluff during a stressful time of year. This year, however, I'm feeling... blue. Melancholy. Grieving. I feel just as much joy as…
My 12th and final post about the joys of the holiday season. I hope you have enjoyed this little series, and thank you for tolerating my penchant for introspection (slash navel-gazing), which gets only more pronounced this time of year. I've been thinking about this post for months. The meaning of Christmas as my favorite…
It may seem odd to include a post on feeling blue or depression in a series focused on joy, but the two are inextricably linked for me; especially during the holidays. I started writing this series simply knowing that my typical "blue" season after Christmas will surely come. It comes every year, sort of the…
I really, really, really love traditions. My husband always teases me about wanting to make everything a tradition, and if we do something that we both enjoy, he says, "NOW IT'S A TRADITION!" Tradition is comforting to me. Traditions give me something to look forward to, something to prepare for (and we all know how…
I've made a real effort to start calling the time between Halloween and New Year's Eve the "holiday season," not the "Christmas season." For me it's the "Christmas season," but it is a different holiday for many others around the world. I've been thinking a lot about letting others be and honoring who others are this…
In my previous post, I talked about my rather new-ish philosophy of giving -- one that takes the people into account, the precious nature of memories, and that is sustainable for this big beautiful planet we call home. Emphasizing experiences over things, senses over possession. What I didn't mention is that my husband does not…
There are few things I enjoy more in relationships than giving someone something that I picked out just for them, that I know (or suspect or hope) they'll love, that makes their lives a little bit brighter. I take gift-giving very seriously -- probably too seriously? OR NOT SERIOUSLY ENOUGH. My philosophy of gift giving…
The winter holiday season in American can be a gluttonous, slobbering, insatiable beast, feeding off of images of desirable privilege and spewing forth messages of love and happiness as codified by wealth, gain, dollars spent, and the virtue of obtaining the newest gadget simply because it's new. Oddly enough, my favorite time of year is…
