• Wild Lights

    wild lights

    I hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We are having a fun and relaxing time in Michigan, and we went to see the awesome Christmas lights (all 5 million of them!) at the Detroit Zoo the other night. It hasn’t been as cold as it normally is around here, but winter nights in Detroit […]

  • Holiday tea at the Royal Park

    jen and candy tea

    My mom and I typically go to tea during our girls’ shopping weekend, but we couldn’t get a reservation when we were in Phoenix this year, so we decided to go in Michigan instead. We actually really lucked out when someone canceled their reservation at the Royal Park — an absolutely gorgeous hotel in Rochester […]

  • Packing cookies for shipping

    layer 2

    I have quite a bit of experience with packing cookies (and other items) for international shipping, and I did a post about it several years ago. But I thought since it is the holiday season (even though I’m a little late!), I would update that post a bit. First, if you want to send baked […]

  • Oatmeal-coconut-chocolate chip cookies

    cookie dough balls

    Remember how I said the Christmas ornament cookies weren’t the best thing to make if you’ve never baked anything before? These cookies are a much better option for beginners… or for anyone who wants some delicious cookies without a ton of fuss. The recipe has developed over time: It all started a few years ago, […]

  • Las luminarias

    If you live near Phoenix or are traveling there in the next week, you have to go see the luminaries at the Desert Botanical Garden. We lived in Arizona for 13 years, but had never gone to see the luminaries, so when my mom and I went to Scottsdale for our girls’ shopping trip, my […]

  • Christmas ornament cookies

    christmas ornament sugar cookies

    I had very grand plans for Christmas cookies this year. But, as usual, work and life got in the way. I’m hoping to make a few more batches in the next week, but in the meantime, I wanted to share the cookies I have managed to make so far. The first are these sugar cookies […]

  • Chambray hearts

    chambray heart

    Do you chambray? In the past two years or so, it seems like every blogger and fashion girl in the world has proclaimed her love for chambray shirts (think denim, but softer), pairing them with dark or distressed jeans for a “fashion” Canadian tuxedo, tucking them into sequined skirts or pants for a sparkly daytime look, or […]

  • Airplane travel tips and tales of woe

    tiny plane

    The day after my 16th birthday, I got on a plane by myself, headed from Baltimore to Phoenix. At the time, there weren’t any direct flights from BWI to PHX, so we were flying through Philadelphia or Columbus or somewhere. There were at least 20 passengers and three flight attendants on the flight who were […]