Second only to Christmas, Valentines Day is a baking holiday. Who hasn't tried to woo a loved one by trying their hand at making a death by chocolate, truffle, strawberry, raspberry, molten, mocha, heart-shaped, liqueur, cake-tart? (that in my case never really lives up to expectations). So this year, I am trying out a different kind of baking: garden baking. More

Celebrated throughout Scandinavia and Italy, St. Lucia Day is marked by girls in white dresses wearing candle-filled crowns and bearing trays of baked-goods. How have I missed out on it all these years? More

Summer in San Francisco is nothing like the summers I grew up with in Chicago. There are few warm days and even fewer hot days, and who knows where one would find batting cages, roller rinks, space to grill, or outdoor pools. There are, however, excellent ice cream shops, and plenty of ways to bring a bit of classic summery-ness to your home. More

The June 2011 issue of Elle Decor includes a charming- if slightly surreal- article about butlers. Though I will probably never use the advice on how to become a butler (too clumsy) or what to look for when hiring a butler (too broke: butlers make $75,000-$300,000!), there were some good down-and-dirty cleaning tips... More

You might think that a girl with six pair of scissors, each with a particular use, would be set for life. As Ariel sang, "Wouldn'tcha think my collection's complete?". No, sadly, it's not, not with scallop and shredding and absurdly tiny scissors out there in the world... More

When it comes to flowers, I like to think I don't play favorites- there are so many to love, in so many different ways! But every time a poppy pops off its fuzzy pod to and unfurls its delicate petals, I gasp, as if in the presence of a brand-new butterfly, the world's most brilliant ballerina, and the prettiest dress ever, all in one... More

We have to be getting to the end of the rainy season, right, San Francisco? I love simplified cloud shapes (so classic! so poofy!) but don't think I could have them around the house in, say, December, knowing there were a few months of clouds and rain ahead of me. But now that sunny sundress weather is right around the corner (right? knock on wood!), bring on the clouds! More

Just a week ago I was saying I couldn't really justify buying adorable-but-unecessary gingham twist ties, and now I find myself saving photos of ridiculously large and heavy objects that I feel I really, really need… More

I cherish & coddle my cast-iron skillets, and covet a concrete and cast-iron stove that doesn't even exist yet, but my love of cast-iron goes well beyond the realm of heat transfer... More

My darling grandma has always saved (& reused) every little scrap of aluminum foil and wax paper she could, and I always thought it was the craziest thing. I vowed to never have a messy drawer full of sad little remnants. But now that I'm grown, I can't bear to toss totally reusable foil, or plastic bags, or... More