Wine is an overwhelming topic. Even a simple post like, say, The Best Books for Learning About Wine, may start out straightforward but very quickly can turn mind-bogglingly complex. Here is how it happened this week: One Christmas a friend's awesome husband emailed and asked me what I would...
I love bags. Is this a girl thing? I mean, obviously, it is a girl thing because my husband and my son don't love bags, but does every girl love bags? They should. Because bags are pretty. And functional. And they really can make or break an...
If you are under 45, Republican, or make $100,000 a year, the American philosopher Ram Dass probably doesn't mean much to you. In my life, though, his principle philosophy was invoked on a regular basis. Be Here Now. One of my earliest...
When Nick and I started dating we were both in our early 30s. We were both going through divorces. We were both trying to figure out our way in the world, again. We were also equal participants in what would become a whirlwind romance...
It's hot. That's not news. You are sweating right now on the subway, waiting for a bus or in a taxi. Or you are freezing in your office because you are dressed for the weather but your office air conditioner is barely...
Striking fear into my teenage heart was as simple as this: "Hey, Jessica, grab a container to put this leftover rice dressing in" NOOOOO! Anything but that! That meant walking around to the side of the counter facing away from the kitchen, opening the cabinet...
There are soooo many occasions during the year to be a gift giver. Christmas, Hannakuh, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Administrative Assistants' Day, Bosses' Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries...
My mom was born in Somerville, Tennessee and moved to New Orleans at 10 when her father and mother opened a truck stop and diner just east of New Orleans. It was called Powers Junction and it was a booming business located at a crucial...
If you are (a) over 25 (b) gainfully employed (c) seeking a significant other (d) seeking the approval of your significant other's parents or (e) invited to anyone's house for dinner, you need a good wine source. And yes, I am telling you that the 17-year-old stocking...
I worked for a restaurant company based out of NYC for six years. It was a fantastic time to be at the company and a fantastic time to be in NYC. One of the many benefits we had was that we could occasionally buy food,...
As the child of hippie parents who divorced when I was two, I don't have a complete collection of bucolic holiday memories stored in my memory bank. I have one here and one there -- for instance the Christmas that I was desperate for a...
Before attending The International Culinary Center I never considered buying a kitchen scale. In the unlikely event that I would stumble across a recipe calling for weight instead of volume measurements I would simply find a different recipe or I would use the weight measurement...