How We Celebrated Chrismukkah & the Importance of Traditions

As a kid, I was always searching for traditions. I orchestrated (read: made my family suffer through) an annual Christmas play with my best friend, complete with violin and piano solos. There were spreads or ring bologna, cheddar cheese, and soda. As an adult, I’m still searching for traditions, but now I err on the side of prosciutto, smoked gouda, and wine. It’s all too easy to let traditions slip away, to avoid the effort, or to overstress (hi!), but these intentional celebrations enrich our lives.

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A Roller Skating Birthday Party for Me & My Inner Child

It's about to get a little louder and a little brighter than it typically is in this corner of the web. I am a nuanced human being after all, and as much as I love vintage wood grains, I love a nearly neon, pink, stone-washed jumpsuit and roller skates. But before we fully get this party started, I want to share why this party, this loud, silly, colorfully over-stimulating party was so needed.

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A Brunch Board in Celebration of Worth Manifesto

I don’t know what big projects are on my horizon, or what the fine-tuning of my career will look like yet, but I know this: I want to make people feel special and celebrated. I want to empower people to feel their value and their contribution, whether it be passing them a microphone on stage or really enjoying the cup of coffee they made me. I want to be part of restoring humanity, which is why I hosted this brunch in honor of my friend, Sandra Villarroel and her organization Worth Manifesto.

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The Gluten-Free Grains Cookbook Launch Party

As hard as I laughed at my launch party, I also teared up because The Gluten-Free Grains Cookbook was so long in the making (but so very short in the physical making). This book really does feel like a decade in the works, and sharing that experience with a room full of enthusiastic people meant the world to me. Thank you to everyone who made the event come to life, attended, and celebrated!

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Pheasant Confit for a Wintry Gathering

I find so often with the slow, intentional labors of love, the pieces start to fall into place and exceed even my obsessive planning. This gathering centered around a bird. Beyond the decision to confit a bird (a first for me), I felt a different sort of reverence for this bird. I didn't just pick up a plasticized cut of meat from the neon-lit cooler. Our friend waited in the cold (this is one part of hunting I do not understand), hunted this bird, plucked its painterly feathers and [mostly] cleaned it (Josh, you could have been a bit more thorough, but we'll allow it). We foraged winter branches, berries and greens from our dog's happy place, which became a centerpiece backdrop for the pheasant feathers. We set the table, dimmed the lights, and the dining room felt pleasantly small and cozy as it brimmed with friends new and old and laughter.

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