The Real March Madness

My husband says that waking up on the first day of the NCAA tournament is like Christmas morning for him. But I’m familiar with the real March madness, and basketball has nothing to do with it. The real March madness is the feeling you get when you watch the thermometer on your car dashboard drop [...]

Of Creativity and Cupcakes

This fall, Edible Madison editor Jamie Lamonde contacted me to ask if I was interested in writing a feature on Bloom Bake Shop and its owner, Annemarie Spitznagle, for the winter issue. Bloom is a small-batch dessert bakery in Middleton, Wis. that uses local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. Of course I wasted no time in saying, [...]

Summer Wardrobe Syndrome

I have a recurring problem that pops up every year around this time. My husband has come to anticipate it. The sequence goes a little something like this: First, I stand inside my closet with my hands on my hips and declare that “I have no summer clothes.” Then I remember that they’ve been packed away [...]

Looks of Ski Seasons Past

Generally, I’m a summertime and sunshine kind of girl. But I have to admit there are a few things about winter that I like. Skiing is at the top of the list. I smile, or maybe grimace, when I think about some of my ski outfits from years past. As a pre-teen in the late [...]

A very vintage holiday

The holidays are a nostalgic time, so vintage touches fit right in with the spirit of the season. Some of my favorite tree trimmings are beaded bell ornaments made by my grandmother, and mod foil balls I picked out from a dime store when I was a kid. Nearly everyone in my dad’s family has [...]

Blogs to Books

Yep, I’m that person. The person who buys books for everyone on her holiday list. What to get Dad who returns nearly everything I buy him? Books. What to get my nephew whose Japanamation jargon resembles a foreign language? Books. And what to get my niece who, like me when I was a kid, aspires [...]

Hot Toddy Time

I hate to see summer end, but there are a few things I like about fall: football, tall boots, pumpkin bread, and hot drinks. My husband, son, and I recently visited an apple orchard near Lake Kegonsa just outside of Madison. Since our son is only 3 months old, we eschewed apple picking for simply [...]

Last Scenes of Summer

As September settles in with sweater weather and the smell of wood smoke from chimneys, I thought I’d offer here on my blog one last glimpse of summer. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy with a number of endeavors, including tending to a smiling but always hungry two-month-old and tackling another revision of [...]

GLOSSING OVER IT

fiction. fashion. food. frivolity.