I was reminiscing recently about how much I missed going to a bar and having a draft pumpkin beer poured with that delicious cinnamon sugar rim. It’s a taste of fall that I enjoy for a few short weeks every year. I took an informal poll of my instagram followers, calling for everyone to share with me their favorite fall pumpkin beers. A few people felt strongly that pumpkin beer does not even qualify as real beer and several others sent passionate votes for the classic Shipyard Pumpkin or specialty pumpkin varieties from breweries across the US. I decided to tally up the votes and do a taste test of the top recommendations with some friends outside on a warm fall day for the purpose of blog post research! I’m sharing our very scientific findings in this best of fall pumpkin beers and ciders review:  read more

Around this time of year, I start collecting inspiration for all of my fall projects. I realized after the last few months of staying closer to home just how much I missed heading into a store to gather ideas for the seasonal themes and hues I use in my photos and content. So when my friends at Christmas Tree Shops andThat! invited me to see all that’s new for fall I was excited to take some time to browse and hunt for fresh ideas that would inspire my seasonal palette.
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It’s fair to say that Easter celebrations are going to look quite a bit different this year as we’re hunkered down at home. While I’m sad we won’t be with our larger family for a traditional gathering, I’m putting on my thinking cap and figuring out how we can still make it a special day for just the three of us. I’ve got a few little surprises from the Easter Bunny tucked away for Jane’s basket and am hoping the weather is in our favor for a mini egg hunt in the back yard.  One tradition that was always my favorite as a kid was having a big Easter brunch. It was such a fond memory from my childhood that I dedicated a whole chapter to it in my cookbook, New England Invite. I thought I’d share a few of my favorite ideas from the Easter brunch chapter that would be easy to recreate at home on a smaller scale for this year’s celebrations. read more

I’m not exactly sure what Easter celebrations are going to look like in a few weeks, but I started to work on some table ideas before we hunkered down and felt like these cheery images were worth sharing even if the holiday ends up looking quite different this year. We could all use some happy tables full of velvet ribbons and champagne coupes filled with jelly beans, right?  read more

Given everything that’s going on in the world right now, our St. Patrick’s Day plans don’t exactly look like we planned and that’s totally okay. I had gotten together a bunch of inspiration and ideas for a little party we were having for our local St. Patrick’s Day parade (it’s a BIG deal in our little town!). Parades and parties have been cancelled, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a mini-celebration at home with our families. If anything, making some green cupcakes and special holiday treats are a good way to pass time and take our mind off things, right? Scroll down for some fun ideas, and give them a pin to save for next year’s bigger and better festivities! read more

Cheese plates are kinda my thing. After a few years of working on my #DomestikateGrazingBoards series, I’ve acquired quite the collection of cheese plate accessories. From marble slabs to cutting boards to tiny dishes for honey and jam, I’ve got it all. Cheese knives are among my prop-hoarding-collection, and I have a few go-to knives that I use on almost every single board.  On a recent afternoon of cheese plate assembly, I rifled through my kitchen drawer and stopped to think about all of the different kinds of cheese knives I had, and what exactly each one of them was for. Truthfully, I knew which knives I paired with certain cheeses, but I didn’t know what each one was actually designed for — so I set out to research it and share my new wealth of cheese knife knowledge with you, in this Cheese Knives 101 overview! read more

We are in the home stretch for holiday preparations (I need to start wrapping gifts!) and I thought it would be the perfect time to share some easy ideas for a simple Christmas dinner! On Christmas Eve my family usually spends the afternoon at a family friends house for an annual party. When we arrive back home there is a short window to prep dinner, so I’m always thinking of creative ways to make items ahead of time and use some shortcuts to speed up the time in the kitchen. My friends at The Honey Baked Ham Company shared some of their delicious products with me, and I used them to design a tasty Christmas menu. read more

It’s barely the middle of December and we’ve already had two snowstorms, and I’ve been brainstorming fun ideas for Jane and I do together while we’re stuck inside. She is currently obsessed with snowman — we’ve built a real one with this fun snowman set, she’s constantly wear her snowman sweatshirt, and since she just learned how to draw circles we’ve been drawing a lot of them too.  So I thought we’d make a sweet snowman treat together for the holidays using fluffy white marshmallows! read more

One of my best memories as a kid at the holidays was heading to our family-friend’s house for their annual Christmas Eve party, and seeing at the back of the dining room a lavish display of cookies and sweets. They were set out on a buffet table on beautiful platters and tiered serving stands, and I would pluck one off the display every time I walked by it. By the end of the party I was so full of linzer tarts and rainbow cookies, it’s a miracle I didn’t get mistaken for Santa himself. I love the idea of these lush cookie displays, full of everyone’s favorite treats, but I just don’t have the stamina for that level of baking-commitment! My solution is a bit of a fake-it-til-you-make it take on the holiday cookie display, using some of my favorite Chinet^®brand products! read more