Say it: cake. You picture layers of sugared buttercream. Forkfuls of tender, delicate vanilla-scented crumb. Or deep, dark, intensely rich chocolate ribboned with fudge frosting and a shower of chocolate sprinkles. Wax candles sparkling. The words happy birthday lettered in script. Celebration. Sneaking bites of dense, cold cake in the morning when the icing has crystallized, the sugar gritty between your teeth.
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I've been thinking about the gentle ways people in love treat each other: the way they light up quietly when the other walks in the room, or how they remember the other's coffee order.Where does it all go? If it isn't captured in a letter, or a song, or a hastily scribbled note left on the kitchen counter in the morning, it dissipates. You might never know how someone glances sideways at you during dinner or notices how you twist your fingers when you're nervous.
Read moreGRAHAM CRACKER LAYER CAKE
Where do you go for comfort? Is it a coffee shop, corner table, foamy latte in a chipped mug? I picture you taking a long run: following the same well-traversed turns and trails, your thoughts slowly slipping away as the miles pass, yielding to sweat and exertion and the tinny music on your headphones.
Read moreSPICY GINGER MOLASSES COOKIES
This summer has been a good one. One for the books, even. Full of travel: I feel as though I haven’t spent a week at home in my own bed in months. I’ve driven a Jeep up into the chilly, rainy mountains of Whistler, taken sunny runs around Vancouver’s Stanley Park, gone swimming in the ocean off the coast of Maine, cried a little at my friends’ wedding in Chicago, eaten sticky buns in Vermont, and tried my first soju cocktail in the fading sunset in Napa.
Read moreFRESH BLUEBERRY PIE
I know this post is a little, shall we say, tardy. Blueberries are starting to fade from the farmers' market, shunted aside by firm, rosy peaches and piles of smooth, sugary-scented nectarines. I know I should stay in the moment, temporally grounded and appreciative of the present, but I can't help but miss them already. Blueberries are one of my favorite summer fruits: perfectly sized for snacking, not overly sweet, and too often overshadowed by sweeter, more seductive options like raspberries and strawberries.
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