Home for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in our family has evolved over the years to become a holiday hosted by my dad and stepmom who married four years ago over Thanksgiving weekend, a few short years after each lost their own spouses to cancer. Together, they have built a home to host our newly blended family including six children (plus…

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Best Birthday Brownies

It’s hard to believe my oldest baby turns 8 today! We celebrated over the weekend with a sleepunder party. Think all the best parts of a sleepover (pajamas, movie, games, popcorn, ice cream sundaes, flash light tag) but then got to send the girls home to bed for a good night’s sleep. I found these…

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Fall Soups to Cook Right Now

As soon as the temperature starts dropping and the leaves start changing colors all I want to do is make SOUP! Below are two great fall soup recipes to try right now, both which can be prepped in under 20 minutes. The first, is Martha Stewart’s Apple-Butternut Squash Soup. I keep coming back to this…

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Rosh Hashanah Traditions Old and New

This year marks the fourteenth year that my husband and I have hosted Rosh Hashanah together. Our tradition started in Boston, where I was in grad school at the time. It was too hard to fly back to be with our families in the middle of the week with our busy schedules so we gathered…

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What’s on my Rosh Hashanah Menu

I don’t usually post my menus before an event but I am so excited about this year’s Rosh Hashanah dishes that I wanted to share before the holiday in the hopes it inspires others to try something new. I’ll be tripling most of the recipes but like all good Jewish mothers woke up this morning…

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The Road to a Wedding Cake!

A wedding cake was never on my bucket list of culinary accomplishments. However, I was so touched and honored when my greatest mentor, whom I’ve worked closely with throughout my entire professional career, asked if I’d make her wedding cake. I of course jumped at the opportunity and welcomed the challenge. Baking for big occasions…

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An Ode to our National Parks

From an early age my family would spend two weeks each August traveling out west visiting a number of U.S. National Parks. I have the fondest memories of hiking, camping, and exploring all the beauty these national treasures have to offer. A wedding in California this summer called us out West and we decided to…

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Summer Entertaining

Summer is by far my favorite time to play hostess. I love creating menus that are inspired by what’s looking best at the market (so much to choose from!) but also what can be pulled together easily with little hassle and fuss. I’d always prefer to be lounging in our yard drinking a glass of…

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A Pancake and PJ Party featuring a Rainbow Explosion Cake

What more does a five year old want for her birthday than a party filled with rainbows and unicorns?!? A Unicorn Rainbow EXPLOSION Cake! For my daughter’s 5th birthday this weekend, I hosted an early morning pajama and pancake party – inviting a few of her friends to come over in their pajamas to decorate…

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Three Cookie Recipes Connecting Families and Generations

We just celebrated three major events this past weekend in Chicago with my family. The birth of my nephew Bernie, my dad’s 70th Birthday, and the baby naming of my niece Maeve. For me, these gatherings are always a way to bring together past and present and as with most Jewish celebrations involve spreads of…

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