Making traditional Italian food is one way I celebrate the holidays and my Italian heritage. I’ve made traditional Italian Christmas cookies before, now I wanted to try Italian Easter cookies. I was searching for Easter cookie ideas on Pinterest and found this recipe for Italian Easter cookies. That’s strange. My grandparents are from Italy and…
I have a thing for lemons. As if it wasn’t already obvious from the numerous recipes I’ve made featuring lemons (lemon-lime margarita pops, lemon Bundt cakes, and lemon blueberry muffins). Plus, my local farmer’s market always has the most gorgeous lemons–the farmer (see image above) even cut one open for me to see just how…
I’ve had lace espadrilles on my mind lately. Why? Because the month of March rouses college spring break memories of sunbathing on the beach for hours and one too many shots at night. While daydreaming about beach vacations, I started browsing for cute sandal options, and lace espadrilles kept popping up. Espadrilles are timeless. They…
I’m not one of those women who loved being pregnant. My body was taken over by someone else, literally. I didn’t like the extra attention from strangers asking me when I was due, or telling me how pregnancy suited me. I counted down the days until I reached forty weeks. Maybe both of my babies…
Most Saturday mornings, you will find my husband and me roaming the abundant produce-packed aisles at the Irvine Farmer’s Market. I mentioned this market last summer, when I featured a peach cobbler recipe. This farmer’s market is anything but average. The sheer size, number of vendors, and plethora of produce is unlike any farmer’s market…
My daughter turns three weeks old this week. With the new addition to my family, I have very little time to concentrate on my normal beauty routine. After a quick shower and slathering on some body lotion and SPF for my face, I might find a minute to dry my hair before I need to…
My husband and I were reminiscing about desserts that reminded us of our childhood. He was shocked that I’d never had his mom’s favorite, a Lemon Jell-O Cake. I had never even heard of cooking Jell-O into a cake. There is no denying the tastiness of this childhood favorite, but now that we are older,…
I thought I had this baby thing figured out. I just had a baby 16 months ago, so the hours of research I did for Rocco should hold water, right? Then, this week, beautiful baby Giada makes her early appearance, and I’m back to scouring the interwebs. This time, I’m in search of information about…
This Valentine’s Day, first love your face and everything else will fall into place. For our first Valentine’s Day giveaway, we are so excited to partner with Dermalogica to offer one lucky reader personalized skincare products based on individualized results of Speed Mapping — up to a $450 total value*! How I met Dermalogica Back in October, I…
When you are invited to a party and you need to come up with something to bring on short notice, I always suggest checking your pantry to see what you have on hand. My husband has started a rather robust herb garden on our balcony. Since the rosemary is thriving, I took to google to…
I’ve never done anything with my eyebrows. I didn’t even pluck them until one of my college friends suggested it (and thank goodness she did! I was oblivious to how caterpillar-like my eyebrows were!). With the resurgence and fashion world’s love for a fuller brow, I’ve decided I need to jazz up my makeup routine and…
I bought a gorgeous loaf of sourdough for another recipe, but before I had the chance to use it, my entire family contracted this nasty, week-long cold/flu bug. Rather than letting a stale loaf of bread go to waste, the only sensible option was to find a recipe that called for crusty bread. My initial…
When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes because the pregnancy time-frame is so short. For both of my pregnancies, I managed to spend very little money on maternity clothes, by buying some staple pieces and working with…
Floral Print Pumps Spring is probably the last thing on most people’s minds right now, as most of the U.S. is experiencing a very harsh winter. Winter wardrobes usually feature a lot of dark colors and heavy textures, which can start to feel too bundled up and drab. If you are feeling dragged down by…
I’m 33 weeks pregnant and I’m really starting to feel it physically. Chasing around a newly walking 14 month old has preoccupied me to the point where I haven’t had much time to think about welcoming a second child in the next month or two. Somehow though, my husband and I are not that worried….