300 Days of Sunshine

Thanksgiving  has become my favorite holiday.  It's the perfect combination of things that bring joy - delicious food, wine and cocktails, quality time with friends, enjoying the final weeks of fall, and reflecting on reasons to be thankful - without the stress, expectations, and consumerism often associated with Christmas these days.  I  have so much for which to express gratitude - my beautiful family, dear friends near and far, career successes, my ongoing pursuit of life balance, and living in this beautiful city, and  this year we woke up to a lovely blanket of snow in Santa Fe! Snowy Thanksgiving morning in downtown Santa Fe My front yard this morning While I sit at my dining room table, bundled up in a big sweater with coffee and a book, while the hubby is skiing and the toddler is snoring, these are the things I am most thankful for in this moment: Health My friend's kiddo just spent a few scary days in the hospital.  Another dear friend is awaiting s

Salted caramel apple cake... obviously... This cake disaster pretty much sums up my week last week.  I was overcommitted personally and professionally, trying to get everything done in an unrealistic timeframe, racing against deadlines (many of which are self-imposed), burning the proverbial candle at both ends, and insistent on doing it all, while simultaneously burned out on Halloween, planning Ady's birthday party, and this awful time change (not to mention transitioning into the final trimester of pregnancy while chasing around a toddler).  Whew.  In the midst of an already busy week I decided to bake a fancy cake (because, autumn).   What I was hoping to make.... (photo from the Brown Eyed Baker blog site) It all seemed to be going perfectly smoothly until the moist layers fell apart in the flipping phase and the icing never seemed to solidify.  I was so deliriously tired by that point in the evening that I couldn't stop laughing.  Lesson one: sometimes you j