It came up at work - I'd never made a pie. I guess my family always has a pie at the holidays but usually wasn't homemade. So at Thanksgiving, my mom and I decided we'd make a pie. Using her French cookbook, we made the dough and the filling from scratch. Something else I can … Continue reading Pie baking at the holidays
When I can't go hiking or I'm feeling far from nature I've found it's easy to reconnect through a book that takes you on a hike. Here are five books to will make you want to hit the trail. 1. A Walk in the Woods A Bill Bryson classic, this is one book most people … Continue reading 5 books to get you on the trail
Have you ever been somewhere so beautiful you just couldn't stand it? In making a loop around the island, I spent three days in Doolin and three days in Donegal Town. Both are along the West Coast of Ireland, known as the Wild Atlantic Way. Doolin is exactly what you picture when you picture Ireland. … Continue reading Visiting Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way
I initially heard comments, before leaving for two weeks in Ireland, and while there, about going to Belfast. As one tour guide in Belfast said, twenty years earlier they were one of the three B's you didn't visit: Baghdad, Beirut, and Belfast. I did not do much prep before going there. Why I included Belfast … Continue reading Four Days in Belfast, Northern Ireland
It may seem odd since I grew up in Chicago, and have been back for a few years now, but I have never been to Milwaukee. I've been elsewhere in Wisconsin, just never Milwaukee. A day trip with Wanderful Chicago seemed like a great way to experience the city. We started the day on the … Continue reading Milwaukee in a day
I've spent a lot of time in Charleston. It's one of my favorite cities. Here are a few of my top things to do, along with a few other tips. 1. Nathaniel Russell House An ongoing restoration project of the Charleston Historical Foundation, the House is a work in progress to restore it to its … Continue reading Charleston: What to do
I keep seeing ads for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv travel. I want to go. So I went back through my photos. It's been a few years or a little more than, but it will stick with me forever. It's a not to miss destination. It was as expected in many ways, completely unexpected in other … Continue reading 10 days in Israel
Remember when everyone last winter was knitting pussy hats? The same women who started that had another idea - what if we do something to welcome refugees here - and let them know some of welcome and want them here. Here's the key: all the blankets submitted should total the length of the proposed border … Continue reading Knitting squares for the Welcome Blanket
After wrapping up my first Whole30 I went all in on vacation with one of my favorite meals at a favorite restaurant. Not the spot in Charleston to go, but definitely worth it (and easier to get into than the most talked about), High Cotten has always done traditional Southern dishes particularly well. And they're … Continue reading An annual trip to High Cotten
As part of my memoir kick, I picked up The Sound of Gravel. The story of a girl and her siblings growing up in a fundamentalist Mormon compound in Mexico, Ruth Warnier spent her childhood moving between Mexico, California, and Texas. The house her family lived in on the Le Baron Compound in Mexico was … Continue reading The Sound of Gravel
