musings about food, travel, creativity and life

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Madison—and the World!

”Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”                                         —James Beard    I love traveling—here, there, everywhere.   Right now, we are in Madison, Wisconsin, where […]

Al Dente

  There we were at one of our favorite San Francisco Italian restaurants.  I was looking for some soft pasta since I had just given up a tooth to the Tooth Fairy.  I found what I wanted—Cacio e Pepe, a traditional Roman pasta specialty. When […]

A Little Sun, A Little Inspiration

The sun is out today—woo-hoo!  We need that!   These last few months in California with one atmospheric river after another have been challenging.   To stay strong and resilient, everyone had to look for hope and inspiration wherever they could.  For me, some of […]

Close to Home

We have been doing mini-trips lately…easy little jaunts that give us new tastes of local-ish life.  I have been amazed at how “little” and “close” can give so much. Take our trip to Santa Cruz the other day…just under 60 miles from our Carmel Valley […]

Happy Year of the Rabbit❣️

  ❤️ As some of you know, I have a rabbit fetish.  In honor of the Year of the Rabbit which officially began on January 22, I have gathered all my ceramic, wood and cloth rabbits together on a bookshelf top; they are happy little […]

Comfort, Please!

It isn’t easy writing “up” things when I, or those I love, are experiencing sadnesses or hard challenges.  You’ve heard me talk about this dilemma before. Right now our little community and much of California is experiencing rain and flooding. People are evacuated and waiting […]

‘Tis the Season

How are you doing out there in holiday land?  I don’t know about you, but I’m looking for comfort and joy this holiday season.  Oh, yes.  And here’s what I’ve come up with so far… ❤️My morning lattes with my chocolate almond waiting on the […]

Yummy Treats for the Holidays

      On just one day last week, I found three fun treats for the holidays…wine, chocolate and a new cookbook. First, the wine. 🍷       “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”  Yes, this year’s vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived!  It was just released in […]

Food Fun

Discovering fun new food is always an upper for me.  So in Madison, I’ve been “up” a lot!  One food find, a bread purchase at the Farmer’s Market, led us to the bakery source, interestingly enough called Origin Bakery; while there, we saw the bakers […]

Autumn in Wisconsin🎃

            Wow!  Autumn colors and festivities are in full bloom here in Wisconsin, John’s home state.  And in Madison there’s the added vibrancy that a university town brings to the picture.  What a gift of vitality to soak in, with three […]

Happy Fall, All 🧡

    Yes, Happy Fall to you all.  May it be filled with health, beauty and joy.  After my summer reflection time about what next for my “Bring Joy to the Table” blog, here’s my new approach.  Rather than having a regular posting schedule, I’m […]

Ciao for Now

  Here I am with my morning coffee and biscotti, musing about summer, good food, and life. Ah, yes.   I’m also musing about what next in terms of “Bring Joy to the Table.”  Since August marks four years of my blog and 80 years—omg—that […]

What a World

I’m sitting here on my porch watching two mourning doves take turns drinking from our bird bath and listening to chickadees and house finches as they vie for spots on the feeder.  Their flitting and flying make me smile.   Flowers, too—peonies, sunflowers, Gerber daisies—are […]

It’s Flower Time

  Happy May! 🌸  It’s Spring and flowers are a-bloomin’ 💐 And what a joy they are —hits of light, color,  beauty and happiness.  I seem to be buying more and more each day. And I want to display them the best I can.  To […]

Spring Forward

Welcome, Spring!  May you bring warmth, health, and smiles to all.  Here’s what have been making me smile of late… 🌷…our home garden… where our 10 foot planter, which housed last year’s “corn field,” is now our daffodil patch. The red tulips right in front […]