• What to bake (and cook) for Christmas

    I am totally not ready for Christmas. Toby and I were both traveling for work, and I have baked a TON of cookies for various events and other people, but the only thing we have in our house right now is some peppermint bark I made yesterday. I obviously need to get on the ball, […]

  • Shopping for fitness fanatics – and a giveaway!

    gifts for runners and Spartans

    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but if you’re anything like me, you haven’t crossed everyone off your shopping list yet. Today, I wanted to share some suggestions for the fitness fan in your life, whether she loves running, obstacle racing, yoga, swimming, or barre. And, because I love you, I’m giving away […]

  • The Marine Corps Ball

    marine corps ball

    Celebrating the U.S Marine Corps birthday is a hallowed tradition for Marines all over the world, and Bahrain is no different: We attended a fabulous ball a few days before Nov. 10, and I baked some cookies in dress blue uniforms for the actual 241st birthday (I will share a step-by-step of those later!). Shopping […]

  • Thanksgiving prep!

    pumpkin pie

    Are you ready for Thanksgiving? It’s still 80 degrees here, so it doesn’t quite feel like late November, but I’ve been testing pumpkin pie recipes (my favorite is this one by Ina Garten) and working on a menu for a Friendsgiving brunch we’re hosting on Saturday. I’m hoping to get a new recipe posted before Thursday, […]

  • Candy corn layer cake

    candy corn cake for Halloween

    I love most candies that are basically just sugar + food coloring, so it’s no surprise that I adore candy corn (mellowcreme pumpkins are the best)! But there’s only so much candy corn one human can eat, and they don’t have it here in Bahrain anyway. They do, however, have butter, sugar, and flour, which […]

  • Disney Halloween cookies

    jack skellington cookies

    Halloween at Disneyland is an extra magical time. They have a special Halloween party (which, sadly, we never made it to), Halloween-themed treats, various Disney villians to meet and take photos with, and cool Halloween decorations throughout the park. I had never seen Nightmare Before Christmas before going to Disneyland at Halloween, but after experiencing […]

  • Chocolate-cinnamon skeleton cookies

    Chocolate-cinnamon skeleton cookies for Halloween!

    When we were living in San Diego County, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a sugar skull class and a Dia de los Muertos celebration. Both fueled my obsession with the beautiful designs on the traditional sugar skulls, but when I was thinking of making skeleton cookies that could work for Halloween […]

  • Gluten-free Halloween sugar cookies

    gluten free spider web cookies

    It’s hard for me to believe that it’s late October — especially since it has been 95 degrees here all week — but somehow it is almost Halloween. I recently went on a baking binge and made several different kinds of Halloween cookies that I am going to share with you, but I wanted to […]

  • My two weeks as a unicorn

    Perhaps because I never went through a Kool-Aid/highlighter hair phase in middle or high school, I’ve been wanting to dye my hair pink or blue or purple for a few years now. Unfortunately, it seems like there is rarely a good time for an adult with my particular job to look like Frenchie after her beauty […]

  • Getting gifty

    personalized gifts

    As an unrepentant shopaholic, I love shopping for everything. Even a trip to the grocery store is fun. Still, I think the best is shopping for gifts for others. I’ll admit that buying things for other people can be a little stressful if you don’t know them that well (and I have been the recipient […]