My grandfather is the son of Italian immigrants. His parents hailed from Naples and Abruzzo, a rugged and poor but beautiful region full of hard-working people. They came to Ohio in the early 1900’s because there was an abundance of jobs on the docks of Lake Erie and in the steel mills. He remembers helping his mother make
DIY Floral Crowns for #SavorSummer
Floral crowns are surprisingly easy to make, but they are so fancy and such a novelty! I made them with my goddaughter and her sister (remember these girls from last year’s tea party?), and they couldn’t get enough pictures in them. They picked out their clothes and made sure their hair looked nice, and we looted my
Weekly Love Letter for August 8th, 2014
[ezcol_1half] “I’m spending a few weeks in Ohio visiting family, and the past few weeks have just been full of quintessential summer things. Ice cream, baseball, corn on the cob, thunderstorms, evenings outside on the deck, and playing with my nieces who are on summer break. It’s such a refreshing change of pace, but it’s
Corn, Bacon & Chorizo Egg Rolls with Avocado Crema
Bacon! Smoked Cheddar! Creamy avocado! Crispy fried wontons! Do I have your attention yet? I can keep going. . . This egg roll combines some of my favorite things into a compact, crunchy package. Fresh sweet corn, smoky bacon, melty cheddar, spicy chorizo, sweet red peppers and crunchy fried wonton, all dipped in cool,
DIY Burlap Market Bag
*** Disclaimer: The burlap sacks for this project were provided by the nice folks over at burlapfabric.com. I was sent the products in exchange for my honest review, but I was not compensated further for this post. *** Although burlap has recently become a trendy fabric for special occasions and home decor, I still tend to
Weekly Love Letter for August 1st, 2014
[ezcol_1half] “I don’t even know where to begin with this week’s love letter! The 12 days have been just crazy and fun and interesting and educational. I think the highlight was honestly the calligraphy class that Carla and I took. My photo for this week is the table before the class started. A gorgeous letterpress guide
Vanilla Bean Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
One of the great things about living in Ohio (at least the part of Ohio where my parents live) is the prevalence of farm stands and gardens. They aren’t trendy or hipster; that’s just the way it’s always been. You grow your own basil and cucumbers. You stop at a farmstand on the way home from
DIY Fabric-Wrapped Pens with Tassels
There are days when you just need something to make you smile at the office. Everyone has those rough patches where you don’t really want to be sitting at your desk, and I think summers are especially tough. It’s hard not to think about all the fun things you could be doing: hanging out at