What the heck is Wassail or Wassailing you might ask. It’s a version of hot mulled cider. The word “wassail” comes from an Anglo-Saxon phrase which means “good health”. Wassailing was traditionally done on New Year’s Eve and Twelfth Night, but some people drank Wassail on all the twelve days of Christmas! I guess they wanted to be really healthy. Here in my household we start right after Thanksgiving. It’s THAT good.…
I’m not big on sharing recipes because I usually make pretty humble fixings or follow a recipe from one of my many Ina Garten cookbooks. But every Christmas there is one thing I am required to make by my friends and family… Buttercrunch. My mom made it at Christmas time. It’s a pecan covered toffee that is pretty darn addictive. I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember and giving it as gifts or party favors. It’s…
I’ll admit it. I have an addiction…to pillows. I’ve learned through Instagram and Pinterest that I am not alone in my pillow hoarding. You know who you are. I fall in love with pillows, like most girls fall in love with shoes or jewelry. Here’s the rub, I buy them without even knowing where in our home they are going to go! I have pillow covers stacked in closets and drawers- and don’t get me started on the down inserts!…
I’m going to be honest here. Before moving to Santa Barbara six years ago, I had never hiked a day in my life. Oh, I had taken long walks in my neighborhood or along the beach, but never an actual HIKE. In my mind, hiking was something healthy, young, outdoorsy people did… the kind of people who like to go camping or backpacking. It was not for a 40-something year old whose idea of camping requires a bed and a bathroom…and…
It’s rare enough to find a shop where you fall in love with just about everything in it, but it’s icing on the cake when the owners turn out to be just as fun and wonderful as the space they have created. One of those shops, which has added immeasurably to our Santa Barbara home, is Mate Gallery. The mates are Ron Brand and Matt Albiani, who bring a nostalgic East Coast vibe to their West Coast store. Being from New…
One of the pleasures of living in Santa Barbara is being able to take an outdoor shower all year round. When we were in the design phase of our backyard landscaping project, my husband’s priority was a hot tub. We both agreed we wanted a fire pit, but what I wanted most was an outdoor shower. I fondly remember my first outdoor shower at the Jersey Shore when I was just a kid. There was something so invigorating after a long sandy day…
No, I don’t mean ME! Our house had a role on a television show! It was for a Canadian series called Real Houses of…. on the W Network. The premise is each week viewers get to see inside real homes across different areas of the United States and Canada. Ours was Real Houses Of Santa Barbara, which of course makes sense. By “real”, they mean no cookie cutter houses. It also meant that they don’t do any staging, hair, or makeup….you’re on your…