We always had chocolate cake growing up and it was always the same recipe – the one my grandma had made for my mom growing up. It was always so moist, not too sweet and topped with light and fluffy chocolate frosting. I decided to make this cake for Sean for Valentine’s Day this year because he LOVES chocolate. It’s an easy recipe that comes together quickly. Continue reading
Fun with Friends in Asheville
We love Asheville. And many of our friends love Asheville, too. So we figured why not go together with friends for a weekend? Me, Sean, Greg and Krista headed out the weekend before Valentine’s Day and had a great time visiting some favorite spots while also trying out a few new places. Continue reading
“Lightened Up” Raspberry-Ricotta Cake
My contract gig with POSSIBLE that turned into an extension for a month with Havas Worldwide has come to an end. I’m still looking for work, interviewing and even have some new clients for my career coaching side-gig. So I’m pretty busy but am home more during that day. What does that mean in my world? That I get to be creative in the kitchen. This fluffy, moist and lightened up Raspberry-Ricotta Cake was the perfect way for us to have something sweet while we’re generally trying to eat healthier. Continue reading
36 Hours in Philadelphia
Sean has been going up to Philly almost weekly for the last 4 months. His company has a big client up there and I’ve seen him go from ho-hum about the city to really enjoying his time there during this time period. Around Christmastime, he started mentioning that I should come up sometime and we could stay for a weekend together. When he had to be up there for a week AND weekend for work, we made plans for me to join him Friday-Sunday. Read on to see what we did but I’ll start by saying the city truly exceeded my expectations! Continue reading
My Spanish-themed Birthday Dinner Party
My hubby offered to throw me a birthday party this year and he kept the details a secret until my actual birthday. He gave me Spanish wine and the cookbook Curate – and in doing so revealed the theme for my party: Spanish tapas! And he was going to make all the food from recipes in the book. I was so excited not only because we love Asheville’s Curate but also because I could relive our trip to Spain from earlier this year. Continue reading
Easy Salad Dressing Recipe: Orange-Ginger Vinaigrette
I’ve been experimenting with homemade salad dressings for a few years now and this has turned out to be my favorite. I love making my own salad dressing – it’s cheap and it’s fun to experiment with ingredients I have on-hand in my kitchen. I first made this as a dressing for some arugula that I was serving Thai-style fish cakes on. It ended up complimenting the dish so well that I worked to recreate it a few more times to get the ratios just right. Now we have it often and on all kinds of salads. It would even be great as a marinade for chicken or fish. Continue reading
Fall Fun in Beautiful Asheville, North Carolina
The week after we got back from the Outer Banks, I decided to check the guesthouse we usually stay at in Asheville when we visit to see if they had any availability this fall. I knew it was a long shot, since it’s peak color season but I tried anyway. And there was a room! One room for the following weekend, and at an unbelievably low rate (turns out there’d been a glitch in their system that allowed me to book at almost 50% off!). I booked and we were all set to spend a mid-October weekend in the lovely mountain town. Continue reading
Don’t Buy a Fitbit – They Don’t Stand Behind Their Products
I got my Fitbit Charge HR in April 2015. I didn’t wear it every day – I’d say it was used 9 months of the past 18 months and I am not into any kind of extreme sports. It had never been submerged in water, stepped on or even dropped on the ground. When I went to use it most recently, I was taking the charger off and the black piece of plastic that goes around the back and the sides, and has the button on it broke off. It looked like the glue wore off or something and it would no longer hold the charger in place nor would it track steps anymore when I put it on. It was broken.
In talking with customer service, several (not good) things were revealed, which I will include verbatim here. Continue reading