I biked to the beach this morning, getting there early enough to be the only one in sight. The day was still brand new, existing in that tenuous and delicate state of creating itself anew, before it has declared what it will be: sunny and hot or warm and breezy or cloudy and persistently gray. This beach—my beach—is rocky and wide, stretching for miles in both directions before twisting and turning to hide itself behind the far-off sandy cliffs of Orient Point.
Read moreESPRESSO CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE
These past weeks of quarantine have triggered a real stripping down of life. A good analogy is my physical belongings: we left our apartment in New York City just as the virus started to really take hold. I didn’t know—or even stop to think—about when we’d be back. The question of “will we be back?” didn’t enter my mind at all, and it would have seemed laughable if it had. But here we are—two months later—with an ever-increasing likelihood that we won’t return.
Read moreEARL GREY TEA CAKE
My mother drinks tea every morning. She steeps a bag of English breakfast or PG Tips in a tall, narrow Mason jar of boiling water. One shelf of the walk-in pantry is lined with smaller Mason jars, each full of cloudy amber-colored honey collected from the bees on our farm. Into her tea goes a large spoonful of that honey, then a generous glug of half-and-half, which swirls elegantly into the dark liquid, unspooling in curls and ribbons and turning the tea the antique-y white of heirloom bone china.
Read moreFARMHOUSE BUTTERMILK CAKE
A really great name makes something good even better, don’t you think?
Consider finding the perfect shade of delicate petal pink nail polish, only to discover it’s called “No Pre-Nup” (which coincidentally happens to pair quite nicely with a color the soft pink of a ballet shoe called “High Maintenance”). And isn’t it more fun to crack open a cold can of craft beer knowing it’s called “Audrey Hopburn” (Great Lakes Brewery’s IPA) or “Beehave” (Greenport Harbor Brewing Co.’s honey summer ale). Watching the Kentucky Derby is infinitely more exciting if you’re cheering on a horse named “Riding Miss Daisy” or “Atswhatimtalkinbout”.
Read moreBERRY GLAZED BUNDT CAKE
The other evening I started writing a list of things I miss lately—but upon returning to it, I’ve decided on a different approach. Rather than talk about them wistfully, as if they’re too far gone, I’m going to talk about how much I like them. I’m going to catalog them as beautiful, shimmering, bright moments to look forward to, because they are all small things that I’ll happily encounter soon enough.
Read more