Mains

"Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food.  Cooking at home shows such affection.  In a bad economy, it's more important to make yourself feel good."     ~ Ina Garten…

More often than not, on the weekends .. …

Olive's private view is that life depends on what she thinks of as "big bursts" and "little bursts."…

When small things are everything…

"Life is mostly pain and struggle; the rest is love and deep-dish pizza"   ~ Benedict Smith…

I make a lot of frittatas…

"You're a good man, Charlie Brown." …

Midweek Inspiration No. 14: The Sweetest Advice…

Happy Thursday!…

"When Catherine told me about this (tragedy nearby), I could only say, shocked, 'Dear God, that family needs grace'…

“And as I surveyed the clutter of his study I was pleased to see that he was a man after my own heart.  All of his money appeared to have been spent on either…

Happy Friday!…

“I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights.”    - Maya Angelou…

"What good shall I do this day?"     ~ Benjamin Franklin…

"It's often the small steps, not the giant leaps that bring about the most lasting change"   ~ Queen Elizabeth…

What should you do if your soup is too hot?   Add a chilly pepper…

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so that some have entertained angels without knowing it"  ~ Hebrews 13:2 | King James Version…

"I just called to say I love you .. "   ~ Stevie Wonder…

Healthy comfort food…

Midweek Inspiration No. 13:  Apples!  Whatever should we be doing with all of our apples?…

To protect what is wild is to protect what is gentle.  Perhaps the wildness we fear is the pause between our own heartbeats, the silent space that says we live only by grace. …

“Only from the heart, can you touch the sky”     ~ Rumi…

"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge."    ~ Bertrand Russell…

"When you know who you are; when your mission is clear and you burn with the inner fire of unbreakable will; no cold can touch your heart; no deluge can dampen your purpose.  You…

Happy Saturday! What are you up to this weekend?…

"We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize"   ~ Thich Nhat Hanh…

“That’s not ours to know. Next question?”   ~ overheard at the coffee shop …

"Why do you have to turn everything into a story?  So I told her why ..…

What are your best conversation starters?…

"I took myself out for ramen at lunch today.  It was like getting a big hug from a bowl of soup"   ~ Overheard at the office…

"The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook"     ~ Julia Child…

"When I was ten years old, I wished for world peace, no capital punishment, and an endless supply of taco pizza or maybe pepperoni nachos, it was really a toss-up"…

From heart-shaped pancakes to strawberries on oatcakes, to peonies in the arms of a new friend, a few things that have been happening in our world lately…

Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend?…

"If you had a giant billboard (metaphorically speaking), what would you put on it?"…

Saturday Trivia! What organ in your body is a rebel against authority?  The only one that can get things done without being bossed around by the brain?…

"It's easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet"     ~ Margaret Mead…

"Because everyone is defenseless at breakfast, there should be no contentiousness or crossness"   ~ Marion Cunningham…

Friends, I know it’s March, and mid-March at that; technically almost Spring .. …

"Why is lettuce the most loving vegetable?"…

Well, it happened…

Happy Sunday! What are you up to this weekend?…

I'll never forget the first time I attended an NA meeting ..…

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner.  I believe in kissing, kissing a lot.  I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong.  I believe…

We spent the better part of the holidays with jazz playing in the kitchen…

"Of all sound of all bells .. most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year"     ~Charles Lamb…

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself"     ~ Walt Whitman…

Mid Week Inspiration No. 7:  What do you eat when you're home alone?…

From paper snowflakes in the windows to catching cranberries in the driveway to mastering the art of gumdrop making, a few things that have been happening in our world, lately…

Do you have a signature dish?…

“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”     ~ Nora Ephron…

"I'm so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers"     ~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables…

From the summer of 2007 until the early spring of 2010 .. …

Happy Saturday! What are you up to this weekend? …

Mid Week Inspiration No. 3: Easy Weeknight Cooking…

"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love"     ~ Hubert H. Humphrey…

Stop what you’re doing. Dinner tonight is the very best kind there is…

Happy Tuesday!…

In the summertime, there aren't many things I like more than…

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not"   ~ The Lorax…

What have we been up to, you ask?…

"You should try to relax about having people over. I have friends who are nervous hostesses, and it just contaminates the entire mood of the evening. They are always rushing from the room to…

“And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling ..…

"There’s no subtext with the wedge (none of that “I’m healthy!”)  Its only goal is to please"  ~ Bon Appetit…

Nearly everything you need to know about my childhood can be summed up…

"What if, today, we were grateful for everything?" ~ Charlie Brown…

Happy Saturday! What are you up to this weekend? We're ..…

Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? We're ..…

It's inevitable. You're at a weekend birthday party ..…

"And as the years go by, our friendship will never die. You're gonna see it's our destiny. You've got a friend in me"…

Spring is nature's way of saying 'Let's Party!' ~ Robin Williams…

Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough” ~ Oprah Winfrey…

"Luck? I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work and realizing…

"Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?" — You've Got Mail | Nora Ephron…

Ryan: "Wanna start a coffee shop" Liz: "Only if I get to bake things there" Ryan: "Of course" Liz: "Sure" ~ Arcadia.com…

Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend? We're ..…

"How 'ya 'doing Grandma?"…

“Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don't take…

"Whether you think you can, or you can't .. you're right" ~ Henry Ford…

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does” ~ William James…

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating" ~ Luciano Pavarotti…

Happy Saturday! What are you up to this weekend? We're ..…

From parsnip hash browns for breakfast, to candied pecans for breakfast dessert, to hot yoga on cold winter's nights; a few things that have been happening on my Live Healthy Iowa Challenge journey lately…

“Some people care too much. I think it’s called love” ~ A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh…

Happy Saturday! What are you up to this weekend?…

“What I love about cooking is that after a hard day, there is something comforting about the fact that if you melt butter and add flour and then hot stock, it will get thick!…

Have you been listening to any good podcasts lately?…

From coconut oil popcorn to old puzzles with missing pieces, to evenings with friends drinking mulled wine from solo cups.  A few things that have been happening in our world, lately…

"And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, This is important! And this is important! And this is important!…

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him. The people who give you their food give you their heart” ~ Cesar…

Happy Sunday! What are you up to this weekend? We're ..…

"If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good" ~ Dr. Seuss…

"It's not about what it is. It's about what it can become" ~ Dr. Seuss, The Lorax…

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn" ~ Elizabeth Lawrence…

"It's hard to be angry or upset, and be grateful at the same time. If I'm ever of emotional or upset about something I think 'What am I grateful for?' I just…

"When an old person dies it's like a library burning" ~ Overheard at The Nantucket Project…

"I'm so glad we live in a world where there Octobers" ~ Anne of Green Gables…

I'm not going to tell you ..…

"I have a core belief. Life is always happening for us, not to us, and it's our job to find out where the benefit is. If we do, life is magnificent" …

"There is an innocence in admiration: it occurs in one who has not yet realized that they might one day be admired" ~ Friedrich Nietzche…