Frolicking and Food Trucks…

With May kicking off this past Saturday, I was delighted to wake up that morning to find a blue, sunny sky greeting me. I had plans to take some photos with my friend/neighbor/photographer, Dan, so having lots of natural light- and no rain!- would make for some great pictures and no hassle. Granted, it was […]

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Garden Goods: Pesto Zoodles

Last week, I wrote about starting my gardening endeavors in the comfort of my apartment. I had wanted to do it not only to pass the time and challenge myself to see if I could actually keep plants alive for more than a couple of days while utilizing the huge windows and abundance of natural […]

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Local Loves: Hope & Olive

When I first moved to the Pioneer Valley nearly two years ago, my first weekend around my new town was spent getting acclimated to my space and familiarizing myself with the local shops, cafΓ©s and restaurants. I did a lot of walking over the course of those two days- but ultimately ended up at a […]

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Spring Sweets: Banana Cream Pie Parfaits

I know bananas are often considered a tropical fruit and therefore tropical = Summer flavors- but nothing says “Springtime!” to me more than a slice of freshly baked banana cream pie. Of course, baking one from scratch isn’t always something I have the time or the patience to do- so this past weekend, when the […]

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Have You Ever Seen The Lights?

It took a couple of days to get used to being back on the East Coast with the time zone difference and the colder, rainier weather- but I’m feeling a little less groggy and a lot more productive now that I’m getting back into the swing of my usual every day routine- but oh how […]

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Insta-Dinners: Instant Pot Spaghetti with Goat Cheese, Mint and Peas

Spring is in the air- which means I’m ready for it to be on my plate, as well- and there are certain flavors and ingredients I love to incorporate into my dinners and desserts this time of year that I don’t usually use all that often during the colder Winter months. Lemon and mint are […]

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New Cars, Quesadillas and Virtual Reality…

Pre-pandemic, it was not at all uncommon for me to spend nearly every other weekend with my longtime friends Sean and Paulo. Be it going hiking, dining out, catching a scary movie at a crowded theater or just sitting around playing video games in our apartments- it was kind of a routine and definitely a […]

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Spring Sweets: Lemon-Hibiscus Layer Cake

Hello, March! While the first official day of Spring is still a few weeks away- I’m ready to get started a little early with some long-overdue Spring cleaning, a bit of seasonal decorating to freshen up my apartment- and lots of baking. As much as I love a good Winter-and-snowstorm-appropriate hot meal to get me […]

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