Month: January 2015

Molly Wizenberg’s “Winning Hearts and Minds Cake”

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This week, I decided to bake a cake. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I am not a big dessert lover, but this is a special occasion because next week, The Husband and I are getting married! It probably looks funny that I just said that, but he has been my husband all along. We have been a couple for nearly a decade, although we’ve known each other for even longer. We met way back in the early 1990’s when both of us were fresh out of college. We bonded over our shared love of books. He wanted to be a writer; I had dreams of working in museums and restoring art. Fast forward 20 years and we’ve been through thick and thin; richer and poorer. Through my weird and terrifying illnesses, he’s been by my side. Through his very stressful job that took him all over the country every week for years, I’ve held down the fort. We’ve been through the fire so often our molecules have fused and we are made stronger for it. He knows me better …

Weird Shoes

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Before I left on my last trip to Oregon, I stopped into REI for some last minute purchases. We both needed raincoats because living in the desert for 25 years means we don’t own such things. I tried on about a dozen or so raincoats before settling on a bright turquoise number with a detachable hood and a cool little pocket in the lapel specifically made for my mobile phone and earbuds. As I gathered my things to check out, a glimpse of red in the shoe section caught my eye: the holy grail of weird shoes. Blood-red leather Keen Mary Janes, with rainbow-striped cross-straps and toe caps the color of pink limestone. If the fact that they were weird didn’t thrill me enough, the fact they were on clearance pretty much meant those shoes were going home with me that day. I justified the purchase saying I needed a new pair of traveling shoes. Shoes I could easily slip in and out of in the airport security line “like a boss” and signaling to other passengers that I was a Very …

Ottolenghi’s Stuffed Grape Leaves and The Importance of Suckitude

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  I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately. I recently saw this video of NPR host and producer Ira Glass, wherein he is speaking about storytelling and sharing about how long it takes to become good at something. It really got me thinking about how I approach my writing and my photography. First let me back up. I would be remiss if I didn’t first explain that I feel like I’ve had a little bit of a breakdown over here at Salty Sweet Life.  I mean, it’s kind of been the elephant in the room, so to speak, or at least that is how I perceive things. It all started in May when I went to a photography workshop with Todd and Diane of White on Rice Couple. The workshop was really amazing. Almost three full days of intensive photography work learning from a couple who really are the best in the business. I took some of the best photos of my life during that workshop and I learned a lot. I came home, ready …