What I'm loving: The warmth of just-tumbled clothes from the dryer. Today is unexpectedly chilly, with a gray drizzle that stops and starts, set against a similarly slate gray sky. I pull on my softest long-sleeved t-shirt, an old heather gray one that's worn around the cuffs and neck, emblazoned with the name of my college.
Read MoreDARK CHOCOLATE PISTACHIO BUNS
Warm bread is one of the nicest small comforts. I like everything about baking bread, from the yeasty smell as you mix it all together to the soft suppleness of the dough after its first rise. I like the way the surface is taut and elastic, and how it yields to your fingertips as you press it into a rectangle, pulling and pushing and prodding.
Read MoreMASTER FRITTATA RECIPE
I'm sitting on the couch drinking a margarita. A margarita-ish, I should clarify: a slapdash approximation of the classic cocktail; a quick and dirty template you can stir together without worrying too much about ratios or jiggers or ounces. Thanks to a good friend with a keen sense for home bartending, I have the technique down pat. Squeeze one small lime and one medium orange into a glass over ice. (Strain it if you're fancy, but, I'm not.) Add a 2 second pour of triple sec and a 4 second pour of tequila. Bad day? 5 seconds of tequila. Really good, celebratory day? 6 seconds! Add a splash of seltzer. Stir. Drink. Repeat.
Read MoreCHEDDAR MUSTARD BISCUITS
Do you like surprises? I'm not sure where I stand. Maybe the grand sort would do, the kind that sounds like "meet me at the airport, pack a passport, a bathing suit, something soft for bedtime, something slinky for cocktail hour, and a book". Or maybe the quiet, understated type? Flowers on your doorstep. A kiss dropped gently on your bare shoulder when you're standing talking to friends at the bar. A book from Amazon in your mailbox that you forgot you ordered.
Read MoreSOFT + CHEWY FUNFETTI COOKIES
The air above the stove is hot and thick with the scent of cumin and fish sauce. The wooden floor feels cool against my bare feet, which are sticky and rubbed red from wandering the city streets in sneakers and no socks (I know! Not wise. It was the consequence of rushing out the door. I also wore a tank top all day printed with the words tacos + tequila so clearly today wasn't tops, sartorially speaking). Wednesday is an unpredictable day. On this one, too many cherries were consumed (I can't learn my lesson here). I drank a decent amount of coconut seltzer and ginger kombucha. My skin stings with sunburn.
Read More