• Where in the World?!

    Have I been absent from the writing world because I’ve had nothing to say and have been leading a boring hermit life? Well I don’t think so…. Life has actually been quite busy and chaotic. The down days I have had have been mainly restorative; getting over jet lag, planning the next adventure, catching up on sleep. The chaos I might add, is completely by choice.

  • Dinner Party Catch Up – Two New Party Menus – Modern Australian and Seafood

    Has it really been six months since we last spoke?  But seriously, where does the time go?! One day, one day I’ll figure this whole writing thing out and do it on a consistent basis.  It’s like every time I step away for a bit and then come back to it, I have to get back into the groove again, but then when I get there I stop writing again.  So, here’s to trying to make it work, again.

    Let’s talk dinner parties today and then maybe next week I can get back to writing recipes and actually post something for you to try? Writing recipes are quite the challenge for me considering I mostly cook out of my head. I play with ratios and ingredients to sort out the result I’m looking for.  My problem, producing the same thing over and over again so that I can share with you how I get to my end result. Practice, practice, practice. Right?

  • The French Dinner Party

    Hi there!  I thought I’d sneak in one more post before we say adieu to 2017. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to welcome 2018; fresh starts, new beginnings, and new challenges. I have some really great things on my plate at the moment and I plan on hitting the ground running.  More on some of those in the coming months, but for now, lets talk about the final dinner party of 2017.

    Last we spoke, I shared with you how I develop, organise, and execute my dinner parties so I won’t recap any of that.  Instead, I’ll just dive right in.

    I was REALLY excited about this menu.  A fair bit of time was spent developing it and testing a few of the items.  I wanted to make sure that it was well balanced and that each dish was well composed.  I also spent quite a bit of time thinking about how each dish was going to be plated and what it would all look like.  I really wanted to up my plating game.  Spoiler alert: at the end of the night, I was so pleased with how it all went.  What a great night!Cooking

  • Trials and Tribulations of Dating in the Modern Age

    We all compile funny and embarrassing stories over the course of our lives.  Like that time you slipped and fell in front of the cutest boy at school and he laughed at you.  Now that’s just an example I pulled off the top of my head.  It absolutely never ever happened to me.  No way.  No how.

    Now, I’m definitely not a subject matter expert in funny and embarrassing stories….  Scratch that, I’m pretty sure I wrote the handbook on how to be awkward and end up embarrassing yourself.  Today’s story isn’t really embarrassing, well at least not for me anyway.  Today I thought I’d reach into the vault and pull out an old first date story from way back when I lived in Seattle.  I remember the ladies at the office used to love when I’d come in with these horrifying first date stories.  Like the time my date asked our server for her number right in front of me….  Yeah, he was a winner.  Or the time my date “forgot” his wallet.  Anyway, this one is a gem.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope it makes you laugh.  If you do like it I might be persuaded to throw in some more recent stories.  I have a couple doozies.Seattle Skyline

  • It’s funny……

    …..well maybe not funny, haha but funny how when we live in the moment we don’t really think about how much changes over time but then we have a look back and all of sudden it is almost hard to recognize that person and what was happening at that time.

    The last couple of years have been a whirlwind for me and while some days seem to creep by, for the most part time is just flying by.  I mean, can it just slow down a bit?! So let’s see, what has really gone on……

    1. I moved from Perth to Melbourne.  I know many of you who know me personally already know that but I’m not sure I ever really said that I had moved.  What a wonderful decision.  Melbourne is one of my most favorite places on earth.  A really great city and I absolutely love my current neighborhood.  I suppose I could also mention that I, more or less, live in Airbnbs.  Well currently it is really just a furnished apartment and not technically an Airbnb but I’ve been fortunate enough to live without leases or long term commitments and pesky bonds and quarterly rental inspections.  Life is grand!  My current place is small but it has absolutely everything I need plus some outdoor space.  Best of all, it is close to everything!Melbourne

    Melbourne

  • Dad & the Cream Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato

    I’ve been thinking about my dad a lot lately.  Maybe because it was just father’s day or maybe because his would be 71st birthday is coming up soon, but I also think it’s because I’ve been talking to a lot of people about their experiences with their fathers or step-fathers and I’ve heard the full range of the best to the worst.  It makes me really thankful that my dad fell on the scale of the best.Dad and the Cream Cheese, Lettuce and Tomato ~ Living the Savory Life

  • Sunday Gravy

    I think it might be time to share my Sunday Gravy with you.  I mean, we’re friends right?  You’ve been hanging in there with me through all the times when I have dropped off the radar and you’ve cheered me on when I’ve made my comebacks.  I think you deserve Sunday Gravy.

    Now if you’re not down with the whole Italian-American thing you might be asking, “What the heck is Sunday Gravy?” Don’t worry, I’m here to help with that.  Sunday Gravy is a slow cooked tomato sauce that uses meat as it’s base.  It’s not a bolognese and it’s not a ragu.  It is still, for me, primarily a tomato sauce and is served over pasta (fresh if at all possible).  Sunday Gravy should make the whole house smell like if you walked into the kitchen you would expect to find a whole clan of Italian Grandmothers stirring the pot.  It is rich and satisfying and one mouthful makes you feel like you’re wrapped up in Grandma’s hand crocheted quilt.  Really.  Sunday Gravy is that good.

  • Fish Stew

    Hello friends.  Long time no chat.  It had to happen eventually though, right?  A new post?  Here it is!

    So 2015…. not my best year for blogging.  I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to find a single soul to disagree.  But that’s the lovely thing about life right?  We get to start again.  Let’s put 2015 blogging in past and move forward shall we?  It might take a bit to get back into the swing of things but I will.  Like riding a bike and all, right?  I think so, but please stick with me until my writing gets a bit less clumsy.  And wait until you get a look at these photos!! Shocking!!!!Fish Stew

  • It’s All Fun and Games Until You Have a Blowout

    It's All Fun and Games Until You Have a BlowoutWhen this post was first conceptualized, it was going to be my jump back into the blogosphere with a recap of our great vacation to the northern reaches of Western Australia.  A great vacation that started with a blow out; while I was driving of course.  And in the middle of nowhere but fortunately enough across the road from a roadhouse and fortunately enough I was with my better half who is an absolute gem and handled the situation beautifully.  Of course the entire post was going to was going to be filled with humor and witty prose as I guided you through our week long adventure.  At least that’s how it sounded in my head.  The best laid plans my friends.  The best laid plans….