Journal

We recently spent a week in the San Diego area with family, rolling in the sand, splashing in the waves and exploring as much of the Southern California food scene as we could squeeze in. I hadn't spent much time in that part of California, and it's lovely. It's a perfect place for a family […]

If you've asked me recently about what I'm reading and listening to, I've likely told you about the Second Life Podcast. I'm obsessed with hearing the stories of women who have reinvented themselves, finding new passion later in life and achieving great success by following their heart and gut. My enthusiasm for these stories probably […]

We've just started thinking about our next trip to Israel, probably next June. I think this will be my sixth trip, and I never get tired of it. Part of that is spending time with our family there, but it's also that I feel like every visit develops my relationship with the land and its […]

In my childhood years, I remember summers as long, hot and humid lazy days where boredom inspired creativity—building forts and creating clubhouses with friends, playing make-believe in the fields and jumping off hay bales, or laying in the grass to write a poem, draw a picture, read a book or just look up at the […]

This is the second post on what to pack in your suitcase to entertain your toddler while traveling. The first was for two year olds, and this one gives updated ideas for three year olds.

If you want to read a little more about my history with food, my food philosophy and why I don’t believe in fad diets, begin here. The topic of food is mercurial. There’s hedonism—the pure pleasure of food. And community—the warmth of gathering loved ones and strangers alike in communion. And feeling—because food evokes memories and […]

The sweet little boy in this photo just turned THREE. As milestones usually make me do, I started reminiscing, going back and reading through his first year posts to remind myself of the fleeting nature of each phase. As I did, I noticed that I had never posted all the photos from his first birthday […]

I didn't grow up eating ethnic food. Exotic meals included taco nights, with crispy taco shells filled with seasoned ground beef and shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese, or a Bisquick-crust pizza, again with seasoned ground beef, tomato sauce and shredded cheese. My Mom was--and is--a great home cook, but when I was growing up we […]

We arrived in Tel Aviv mid-morning, bleary-eyed and a little wobbly from lack of sleep, since Theo was the only one of the eight of us to sleep on the flight from Toronto. We were also hungry and some of us in need of a coffee. But I had forgotten that we were arriving on […]

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ll already be familiar with my yearly reflections and the setting of intentions for the year ahead. In one form or another, it’s a thoughtful, meditative process I’ve repeated each year for the better part of thirty-five years, since I received my first red leather-bound diary at […]