Title: Casa Batllo Story: My first day in Barcelona, while exTitleploring the city on foot, my friend and I happened upon Casa Batllo, a house built by Gaudi. When I saw the facade, my first thought was, “garbage art.” It looked like Gaudi just picked up random things and put them together in the form…
Category: Handmade
Title: Glorious Doors
Story: An entryway should set the tone of what is inside. As I walked up to this church, the most striking thing besides knowing it part of antiquity were the doors. The doors had protruding figures cast into them. This door has a woman bowing down on the bottom right and what appears to be…
2015 Year in Review
As I reflect on how my life has changed in the past year, I’ve come to realize that 2015 was a year of adventure, cooking, traveling, eating delicious meals and trying new things. After 2014, a year where I focused on cleaning up my finances by paying off all my credit card debt, I realized…
Italy: Ostuni
Ostuni is a hilltop city that was believed to have been established by the Messappi people. In the 8th century BC, the Messappi started to build the first fortified towns in the region. These city was eventually attacked and defeated by Hannibal during the Punic Wars. Around 216 BC, the region was conquered by the…
Italy: Lecce and Otranto
Lecce is a southern Italian city that was founded over 2000 years ago by the Messapii people. The city’s main export is a very soft and malleable stone, which is traditionally used to carve sculptures. The city is also known for its olive oil, wine and ceramic production. The city landscape displays a plethora of…
Bari: A Castle, the Old Town, Pasta, a Basilica and a Promenade
Bari is the capital city of the Apulia region. It is on the coastline of the Adriatic Sea. It is known as a port and university city and the city of Saint Nicholas. Bari is also known for it seafood, its handmade pasta, and its notable wines, which includes a delicious primitivo. This very well…
Pizza Perfect!
Is there any food out there more delicious than pizza and diverse than pizza? The answer is unequivocally, “NO!” Recently I took a class on how to make “Perfect Pizza at Home.” In this class, I learned how to make pizza dough from scratch and I learned 3 different pizza concoctions that were absolutely amaze-balls….
Baking and Breaking Bread
Let’s talk about dough; not money, but bread dough. Have you ever had the opportunity to each a fresh piece of baked bread while it’s still warm? If you haven’t, then let me tell you, it is one of most deliciously fulfilling things you will ever eat. Your first contact with bread is by smell:…
The Wrap’s The Thing
This year, my holiday season began with a Hanukah/Christmas gift wrapping project. I was hired by a lovely couple to wrap gifts for their beautiful daughter and their extended family. For this project, the supplies (paper, ribbon, and tape) were provided by the couple. Tips for wrapping gifts: Measure twice and cut once. If you’re…
Lets Wrap!!!
One of my favorite things in the entire world is wrapping gifts. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. When I was a kid, my favorite time of year was waking up on Christmas and seeing all those wonderful, beautifully wrapped gifts under our fake Christmas tree. Growing up with 4 kids (my sister, my 2 cousins,…
Savory Sweet Neat 