Naptime Lifestyle: Everyday Favorites for Everyday Life

Foodie gifts for Valentine’s Day 2015.

This year has been another great one for books. I am very proud that my second book was released at the end of April and has been well-received. I had a great time traveling around meeting everyone at book signings and chatting about food and recipes with so many of you! This year I also had the pleasure of speaking with a lot of fellow authors and meeting many of them in person. Here are some of my favorite books of the year. I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2016!

This fall I received a copy of the new decorating book Habitat: A Field Guide to Decorating, and instantly fell in love. There is something about the book that just pulled me right in and I read it from cover to cover. I love Lauren’s aesthetic and must have tabbed over 50 pages to reference for ideas as we chip away at our house and plan for our addition. I paid special attention to the kitchen section since that is my main focus at the moment. Luckily for me, Lauren had time to chat and she answered a few questions I had about her kitchen design techniques!

The summary of my 2015 holiday gift guides!

Ten fun holiday gift ideas for grandparents in 2015.

Fun holiday gifts for children for 2015!

Fun gift ideas for your best friend during holiday season 2015.

Fun ideas for holiday gifts for mom in 2015!

Fun ideas for holiday gifts to give dad in 2015!

My friend Jessie moved into a historical New England home two years ago. When she and her husband bought the house the kitchen was basically non-functioning so they were forced to renovate before they moved in with their two young children and dog. Given the time crunch and unique space they were working with I think they did an amazing job. Since they plan to renovate further in the future they used Ikea to design and install their kitchen. It was a cost effective way to build a space they can use for the next few years while they save up for more extensive work.

Fall and winter are my favorite seasons for baking. I love it when my kitchen is filled with the aroma of warm spices and sweet nibbles. In fact, it won’t be too long before I start making and freezing cookie dough for our Christmas cookie platters this year. It is one of my favorite ways to get a jump start on the season and it always puts me in the holiday mood. (More tips about that in my book!) Here is some of my favorite fall baking gear:

My friend Lauren and her husband recently gave their old house a modern makeover. I particularly love their kitchen because it both perfectly reflects their minimal modern style and is completely functional. Sometimes I find that the prettiest kitchens are not the easiest for cooking in, but this is not the case here! They have three young children and an active dog so making a space that could handles spills, dings, and noise was of paramount importance. I think they did a wonderful job. Come take a look: