Heavenly Harvest Dinner

Katherine Heigl holding a fall accent plate
I recently stopped in at Pier 1 and was totally taken with some adorable fall accent plates. So I couldn’t resist buying them for an intimate family dinner I was hosting. The accent plates, though fantastic, really needed to accompany dinner plates, so I had to buy some of those too. Then I realized I needed glassware to go with it all, and of course I needed napkins, placemats, and Oh silverware also…. OK I may have gotten a little carried away but I had so much fun mixing, matching and creating an original and beautiful table setting that I’m tempted to go back to the store and do something totally different for my Christmas dinner table!Continue Reading

Let the Fairies Dance

I really wanted to take Adelaide to the magical fairy forest that I had heard about for her birthday. It was only about 15 minutes from our home in Utah and I figured it would be the perfect little girl birthday treat for my gal. However April 3rd dawned gray and drizzly this year. You know the saying “April showers bring May flowers,” unfortunately they do not bring little girls to fairy gardens on their birthdays. So instead I decided to bring the fairy garden to her. Continue Reading

My 100 Foot Journey to Heaven

The Beautiful French Laundry Right Across The Street From Our Hotel! My own personal 100 Foot Journey

I love to cook… obviously… and I love to eat, and drink! I started really getting into cooking (and drinking I might add) when I was in my early twenties after a decade of being old enough to watch and learn from my mother. Nancy cannot only cook her ass off (and drink her ass off too), but she can put together and throw the most elegant and beautiful dinner parties. Taking a note out of her playbook I purchased every Martha Stewart and Carolyne Roehm book out there. I loved to thumb through their beautiful tomes and draw inspiration from all their glorious ideas. Imagining the day I would throw my own sophisticated and elegant parties.Continue Reading

And It Was All Yellow

My youngest daughter turned four on April 3rd and when I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she said she wanted to be there, and have a yellow cake. I assured her she would certainly be invited to her own birthday and I would happily make her a yellow cake!

I know Grey’s Anatomy fans love the idea of me being a baker like my character Izzie Stevens, but it’s never really been my forte. I’ve struggled to get the consistency of my batters right, my cakes baked to a nice golden brown, or my breads to rise, and all that struggle was at sea level in Los Angeles. Once I moved to Utah, the altitude proved too hard for me to conquer! I gave up completely after making a birthday cake for Josh that came out as dense and heavy as a rock! So though I assured my baby girl I’d make her a cake, I couldn’t help but think I better purchase a back up from the store just in case!Continue Reading