Anne wrote in for help with an upcoming weekend get-away on the Central Coast. My hometown and a super beautiful part of California: I have been combing your blog for trip ideas, as we will be staying in Morro Bay over Memorial Day weekend and I always love your San Luis Obispo posts. Any chance…

Margaret’s wedding in August will be here before we know it! As bridesmaids, Jackie and I have been scurrying to host these parties in between our crazy schedules. She just recently returned from a stint in Africa for work and I’m about to head off on our big Spain/Morocco stay. You’d never sense the rush from…

My friend Sarah has a wonderfully odd, historic sense of humor. For example, one of her favorite weekend activities is a “consumption day” where you sit out in the cold on a deck chair wrapped in blankets, reading and drinking bloody marys. She’s the best, obviously, and great things happen when her whimsy is combined…

Rob and I are off to Europe for six weeks in May and June! We’re starting in Barcelona, where Rob has a conference to attend, then dashing over to Morocco for a couple weeks and ending with a stop in Geneva, Switzerland for another conference and a week in the Alps before returning home. As…

The only thing that might be nicer than having your own boat is having a friend with a boat – much less sanding!  Last weekend, Rob was in Australia for work and Sarah called to invite me out for a last minute cruise on San Francisco bay with her brother and their friend Todd. He’s…

Researching this post made me so nostalgic for our month in Greece last year that I had to run out to get a lamb gyro for lunch! Shannon from Madison, Wisconsin is headed off for a two week vacation in Greece and Turkey this summer. Crystal blue water, whitewashed beach villas, meze platters galore…and a…

Renée is wrote in asking for help with packing for a trip to London for a six weeks with her husband and kids: I adore your What to Wear posts, and I’m hoping you might be able to help me pick a “uniform” for an upcoming extended trip to London. I’ll be spending six weeks…

Easter weekend is a lovely time for a bridal shower, especially if you’re honoring someone as great as Margaret! Spring is the air, everyone has pretty dresses, out-of-town family are visiting. For this shower, I planned an easy menu with plenty of options for the gluten-free guests. Menu Tea, lavender lemonade and champagne Spring crudités…

Last year, Rob and I were jetlagged in Istanbul for his birthday – his 40th! – and didn’t do much to celebrate. So this year, it was time for a huge bike ride and beach party with a bunch of friends. I coordinated with super helpful volunteers from China Camp State Park in Marin to…

My friend Margaret and I were talking about how hard it is to find the perfect black dress, skirt or pair of pants. It always seems like the harder you look, the more impossible it is to find. You’re better off just wait patiently for the universe to decide to grant you the ideal closet…