The Black Garden is coming along nicely. Like most things in life, when you’re planning something, it’s not always clear how things will work out. Does gardening encourage patience? Flexibility? Curiosity? Every year, the Black Garden gets more interesting. A new black tomato is planted, …
Summer came so strong that I’m just getting around to sharing our James Beard Awards weekend. To say that it was the cat’s pajamas is an understatement! We had an absolute ball. This was our first time attending the awards but having Chicago proudly hosting …
Has anyone told you lately that there’s so much good stuff out there? If not, I’m saying it.
Summer has its unique way of revealing how much is out there: zucchini for giants, pounds of tomatoes, mint taking over any and every garden if you’re not careful, and enough fruit for pies, ice cream, the freezer, and the tiniest of hands.
Let’s toast to abundance! Happy summer, everyone.
“There, all is order and beauty,Luxury, peace, and pleasure.” Baudelaire We entered the weekend leisurely. My parents were visiting to celebrate… major milestones, family, and life. Committed to resting and relaxing for a change, we were resolved to do only what we wanted to do: …
I have always been drawn to still life paintings replete with an abundance of fruit, delicately-blown glasses, curious objects, loaves of bread, and dark or glowing light. Without realizing it, these images have molded my style.
I created a home where stands and bowls of fruit await little hands grabbing a snack or the casual passersby picking up a pair of luscious cherries or a crisp apple.
Will it surprise anyone that museums have always been my favorite places? When I would leave the museum in my childhood, I returned to a home filled with art, much of it made by my dad.
A recent visit to the Art Institute had me in one of my usual spots, the Cézanne gallery. I could look at these for weeks.
This month marks the third year of the Black Garden. Swiping through catalogs and exchanging seeds with friends, the possibilities are endless. Perpetually, predictably, unsurprisingly, I’m overwhelmed… until I’m not. I then remember that there’s not enough room for everything and there’s so much pleasure …
Over the weekend here in Chicago, my dad and I turned our gazes towards my mom as we watched her in action. She was negotiating something in her polite but determined way. With admiration in his voice, my dad said, ”Your mom is fearless.” “If …
I wear green every day. Each St. Patrick’s Day, I don a little extra, okay, a lot extra. When I read as a kid that there was a place called the Emerald Isle, I was captivated and just knew that I had to visit this magical land. Maybe it sounded like something from The Wizard of Oz. Maybe it was the words, emerald and isle. Add luck, leprechauns, rainbows, pots of gold, and magic, my mind raced!
As I got older and learned more of Irish culture and history, my desire to visit only grew. So we went 13 years ago. Here are a few highlights.
We soaked up the literature, the stone circles, the peat bogs, lovely wool everywhere, tender lamb, music, the Celts, and more. Smoke salmon, Irish Breakfast tea, theater, the Book of Kells in the beautiful Trinity Library, and wooly tams, too.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
When kissing, do you pucker up? Lips pinched and squeezed like a tulip, there’s a promise. Like gentle kisses, lemons present joy, pleasure, and a jolt to our systems. There’s no flavor that I love as much as lemon. Whether it is in my favorite, …
