coloring outside the lines
wood-a, shoulda, coulda
I love nature as much as the next person (ok, to a point), and a walk through the famed monarch butterfly preserve near Santa Barbara is always a treat. From November through February, this eucalyptus grove is host to what seems like millions of monarchs on their annual migration. So there we were this weekend. Picture it — […]
lower the cone of silence
For those who remember Get Smart from the 1960s, you’re familiar with the Cone of Silence. For those who who think the Cone of Silence is a new flavor at Baskin Robbins, let me fill you in. In the sitcom, CONTROL secret agents were the good guys and KAOS the bad. The Cone of Silence was a […]
i’ll be where?
Life is full of irony. Like the one time you get to the airport early and your flight is cancelled. Or when you spend hours preparing a gourmet meal only to find your guests are in the midst of a juice cleanse. Or when you cut your hair and sell it to buy your husband […]
funny business
Watching the news these days is not easy; in fact, it vacillates between grim, grimmer, and, oh my God, should we be on the lookout for those Four Horsemen? While nothing can make it all better, there is one thing that, at least for me, helps (okay, two, if you count my friend G.’s amazing chocolate […]
talk of the town
Growing up in New York, it always seemed like there was very little difference between the Jewish and Italian cultures. Both are warm and family-oriented. Both show their love through food. And both are passionate about life. I say knish, you say cannoli — I say delish, you say I’ll take a dozen. These similarities made me […]
petal pusher
I’m not a rose person. Yes, I think they’re pretty, but if you really want to grab my attention (and my heart), bring me a bunch of tulips (bright pink), peonies (bright pink) or chocolate (milk chocolate). Seriously, I’m not the kind of woman who wants her husband to send three dozen roses to her office so […]
meatball heroes
Meatballs make me smile. Maybe it’s that song we learned as kids — “On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed.” Or perhaps it’s that southern Italian cooking that anyone who grew up in New York knows. (You could throw a dart in New York City and it […]
grading on a curve
I’ve always had a thing for men who teach. I don’t know what it is. Must be the intelligence, the power to make me think, the desire on my part to show that I understand. But before you go all “whoa” on me (hey, I’m talking about drawing hearts during class, not drawing leers during […]
stand-up guys
You know what’s funny? No, I mean it — do you know what’s funny? We’ve all got our own laugh barometers and mine is usually set at “smart” — not me (although I am) — the person creating the laughter. Let’s face it. Smart guys make the best comedy (smart women, too, obviously, although today […]
quit clowning around
I don’t like clowns. No, “don’t like” isn’t strong enough. I despise, loathe and hate clowns. Clowns scare me to death. There’s a word for people like me — other than neurotic, that is — coulrophobic. (Hey, look at that, we’ve got our own phobia.) It makes perfect sense to me (uh-oh, isn’t that what […]
rice on your head 