Full disclosure, the correct name is Mary Ann’s fruitcake. I’m attempting to change the bad reputation that the poor Christmas fruitcake has garnered over the years…you know what I’m talking about. That brick-like chunk with the scary colored jelly-like pieces of “fruit” in them. I promise you this is nothing like that! Every year, for as long as I can remember, my mom makes this and even after I moved away, she still sends me one every year. It just…
While we won’t be spending Christmas in Big Sur this year, I still wanted it to have some holiday spirit and cheer without setting up a Christmas tree. I made some simple decor changes and it was just enough to make me want to hum Christmas carols and swig eggnog! I tend to keep things simple and natural. Here in Big Sur, I have potted paperwhites, driftwood trees, and pinecones that I bleached last year. Candles, tiny lights, the stove…
Months ago, I had planned a trip to Big Sur when my parents would be visiting me in Santa Barbara. Our daughter and a friend were coming too. Nature had other ideas. With one of the wettest winters on record (over 80″ of rain) and five years of drought, the damage was severe. Mudslides, rockslides, and the loss of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge cut a major part of the beautiful Highway 1 and Big Sur off from the rest of the…
30 years ago, when I was fresh out of college and my sister had just graduated high school, we embarked on a month long, 11 country tour of Europe, with a group of about 40 other young explorers. It seems cliche to say that it was the trip of a lifetime- but it truly was! From London, Paris, Italy, Greece and points in between, there was so much to see, learn, and absorb. As magical as the trip was, it…