Sunset Eat Fresh, Day 1: Five days is nothing

I’m blogging for work over at Westphoria this week, as part of Sunset magazine’s January Eat Fresh Challenge. Gave up chocolate for the week and it’s actually turning out to be not so bad. What I find myself craving is something with oodles of mouth-filling flavor … something spicy or just mouthwateringly savory. It makes […]

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World

There are times when I’ll be truckin’ along amiably and then suddenly be like, I need to be around books. Now. Any of these stores would suffice. :) I crave the feeling of safety, of connection, of being surrounded by words and ideas and worlds unknown.

In bed with books

How is it that January 1 so often finds me with a cold these past few years? Oh, well, at least I’m in good company. Happy New Year! Pictured, some comforting sick-day reads, clockwise from top left: Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley French Milk by Lucy Knisley The Most of Nora […]

“My Hero” by Billy Collins

It’s startling how Billy Collins pierces through the verbosity of prose to the core of an emotion. Since I discovered “The Lanyard,” poems like “Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant” and his new work “Cheerios” and “To My Favorite 17-Year-Old High School Girl” from Aimless Love have found their way into my scrapbook. “My Hero,” […]

“Normal Day” by Mary Jean Irion

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure that you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before we depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not be always so. One day I […]

Amsterdam: Anne Frank’s Merwedeplein

Anne Frank once roamed these Amsterdam streets. She played and posed, sunned on the roof and leaned out her window. Before she became an icon, this is where she was just a girl. A photo montage of Anne (right) and her friends Eva Goldberg (left) and Sanne Ledermann (middle) in 1936, superimposed over what the streets look like […]

Amsterdam: Biking to Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

This afternoon I regaled a coworker with stories behind my slew of Amsterdam photos, which made me realize I’ve neglected to post one of the best parts of my trip on the blog! So here it is: a bike ride from Amsterdam to Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, a village south of the city. The weather […]