Friends. It’s been awhile. But baby Frances is here so there hasn’t been much free time to sit down and write. She’s here, she’s here! After what felt like a verrrry long pregnancy, Frances arrived one day before her due date at a little before 9 am on a cold…

Friends, it has been a long time. But I’m back to report that on a sunny mid-September day just over a month ago, Sam and I made it official. We got married on a farm on Whidbey Island, just off the coast of Seattle with friends…

Ever since Sam and I got engaged in December, I told myself that I could get away with not worrying about too many of the smaller details until … June. It was always an arbitrary month but seemed fitting as it was three months away from our…

It turns out shopping for wedding dresses is nothing like they make it appear in the movies. Or at least it hasn’t been for me. Angels don’t sing. Stars don’t explode. Relatives don’t cry. There isn’t a sudden heart-stopping moment that this is, in fact, “the one.”…

There are many reasons to make cake for breakfast. Especially if that cake is made from 100% whole-grains and uses ripe bananas, fragrant coconut and toasty walnuts with just a touch of natural sugar. The main reason, today, is that it’s time for a…

Early last week brought longer days than usual, a bit of a commute downtown, parking garages, to-go coffees and take-out lunches. It brought a complete lack of yoga, a few more glasses of wine in the evenings, and immense difficulty sleeping. All of this…

This picture was taken in a moment of minor delirium–setting out what would be only 1/4 of Tuesday’s necessary shipping and getting a moment of sunny fresh air. I believe this was day 4 of granola baking, little sleep, and major shipping logistics the likes of which…

Let’s not beat around the bush. There won’t be a recipe today. That just hasn’t happened in a bit, and we’ll have a heart to heart about that soon. I promise. There are a few things we’ll chat about, actually. But for now, I…

Do you ever have those spells where you just feel really alive? Where you’re ravishing good music and everything tastes better and you’re curious and engaged and people who cut you off in traffic just don’t seem to matter all that much? When you battle wanderlust…

It’s been a busy two weeks. I moved! Not far–right across the bridge into a sweet little 1920’s building in Oakland that’s close to bookstores, coffee shops, cafes, and running trails. I’m vowing not to move ever again for a very long time (please,…

I do believe this may be the first ever A Sweet Spoonful Gift Guide. And I’m excited to share with you a few things that are making me happy right here right now, and that may make a few of your loved ones smile…

I’ve been a big tease lately. I mention secrets and new endeavors without as much as a hint. Truthfully, I wasn’t doing this to build suspense or for any other weird reason. I just have this theory that it’s bad luck to say you’re starting something…

I got home from Seattle today with a mailbox full of fall catalogs. Yikes. Then I was talking to a friend and she mentioned how wild it is that tomorrow’s September. I can name something equally wild: the fact that I haven’t updated this blog in…

What are you up to this weekend? I hope it involves a little lounging. Perhaps some ice cream. Below is a photo I took two weeks ago while up at Tahoe with my Dad. We went to Log Cabin Ice Cream — where I…

Every now and then I like to share with you a few things that are inspiring me. I hope you had an amazing weekend. I worked a lot, wrote a lot, drank a lot of coffee, and packed a lot (more on this soon). Chocovivo Chocolate.

Whether you celebrate Easter or not, we’ve got a day on our hands that signifies fresh starts, Spring, a little color, a little more chocolate. So I don’t have a recipe for you today (although I have a great one coming up in just a few days), but…

Well, I missed the boat on all of the “Best of” or “Looking Back on 2009” posts. A Sweet Spoonful’s not yet a year old so maybe I get a pass this year…regardless, as I sit here this very second, drinking mint tarragon tea with freezing cold…

Yesterday, I wrote a post for Bay Area Bites about my recent experience learning how to make Denise’s Pieces, our family’s very favorite Christmas treat. If you’re interested in reading all about our afternoon, head on over and check it out. Otherwise, I wanted to share the recipe…

Gosh. How is it that this will be the last post of December? The last post of the year? And what better way to celebrate than to raise a glass to the amazing gals at The Kitchn for hosting me as a guest writer today. I’ve been a big…

Over the past few days, I’ve seen seven apartments. And we’re still looking. Some were unbelievably small, one only had heat “available” in one room (hmmm), and one of the landlords seemed legitimately insane. I actually dragged my mom around the city with me yesterday looking at places; she…

Well, food blogging has brought about many firsts. I look at food differently, often thinking about how to plate it and how to capture the light just perfectly in a photo. I read recipes differently, always pausing to think about adapting them to my own…

While I generally like to keep the writing I do on my blog and the writing I do elsewhere separate, I have been wanting to feature more travel-related food writing on A Sweet Spoonful so I’m carrying this one over. I wrote this piece for Bay Area Bites…

Well, food blogging has brought about many firsts. I look at food differently, often thinking about how to plate it and how to capture the light just perfectly in a photo. I read recipes differently, always pausing to think about adapting them to my own interests and taste.

Thanksgiving is here, my friends. I know this isn’t new news–if you’re anything like me, you’ve been making and revising lists, running errands, and having a drink as soon as it’s socially acceptable to do so. For the past few days, I’ve been house/dog/teenage sitting at…

Last weekend my dad and I flew up to Seattle to visit my sister Rachael. I love Seattle for many reasons-one of which is the food. There were a few spots I’d been wanting to try, so we made the most of our time and hit up Serious…

I was pleasantly surprised last week when I came home to find a review copy of Vegan Yum Yum: Decadent (But Doable) Animal-Free Recipes For Entertaining and Everyday on my doorstep. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Lauren Ulm’s (or “Lolo’s”)…

Many of you know that I’m training for the Nike Women’s Marathon this Sunday. And most of you know that currently, what I do for “work” is write about food. Now thankfully, those two things have been a really nice pair. It’s been working out just fine.

While recently strolling down Fillmore St., I noticed a new yogurt shop. Now, like most places on earth, San Francisco’s had a major influx (read: glut) of new-wave frozen yogurt over the past two years. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve spent many a dollar on the…

I thought that painting would be a good task today to keep my mind occupied–it turns out painting’s quite the opposite. It is methodical in a lovely way, but it’s also a large chunk of uninterrupted, alone time. Not really what I was looking for.

As a relatively new blog, I struggle sometimes with its identity: only recipes? Restaurants, too? Will I bore people with cookbook reviews? And I really struggle with how to incorporate personal writing. I gravitate towards personal writing naturally, but sometimes as a food blog, it seems out of…