A Long Weekend...

 Photo via here

If you are looking for a great place to spend a long weekend this month or in February, look no further than the Farmhouse Inn located in the beautiful Russian River Valley. Last year my husband and I spent a wonderful three days at the Inn and got a chance to explore this beautiful part of Sonoma County in Northern California. We drove on country roads, visited wineries, shopped in the lovely town of Healdsburg, ate delicious meals, and spent many happy hours relaxing at the rustic Farmhouse Inn. This place is a treasure and much of its charm comes from its understated luxury and laid back vibe. Staying at the Farmhouse Inn while you explore this enchanting part of the world has everything you need for the perfect weekend getaway.

Come with me on a mini-tour and see what this area and hotel has to offer. My photos are from last year's trip as well an earlier one I took with my daughters. 

Our room at the Farmhouse Inn

With special touches

And more special touches

The dining room

Where freshly baked pastries and fruit are served before breakfast each morning  

On our first day we explored the small town of Healdsburg, stopping at shops and cafes along the way

We spent time browsing at Antique Harvest where we found many treasures

 Such as old books

And beautiful china

The Downtown Bakery is a convenient place to stop for a mid-morning latte and sticky bun

And it's the best sticky bun you'll ever have!

  Shed is an amazing food, housewares, and garden emporium. There is also a cafe that serves delicious food.

Everything is beautiful 

The assortment of kitchen wares is like eye candy

All the items are beautifully curated and displayed

Lunch was at Willi's Seafood Bar where they specialize in fried clams

But the best part of being in Sonoma is driving the country roads

The winter landscape has a rugged beauty with rustic dwellings aged by time

And majestic oak trees

The blue sky and puffy clouds made a beautiful backdrop for the bare trees and vines

We went to fabulous wineries with gorgeous views -- this vista is from the Thomas George Estates Winery

On our way back to the hotel, we drove past fields of beautiful wild flowers

And lush vineyards

The first time I visited the Russian River Valley I knew there would be lots of good food, wines, antiques, and adventures. Little did I know that I would be discovering one of the most beautiful areas in California. Distinguished by country roads, wineries, breathtaking natural scenery, and the charming town of Healdsburg, the Russian River Valley is a little slice of heaven. If you find yourself in northern California, check into the Farmhouse Inn and get to know this special region. You won't be disappointed! 

What Book is on Your Nightstand?

The new year has arrived and one of my goals for 2015 is to make more time for reading and writing. One of the best sources for book suggestions, as well as literary inspiration, is the The New York Times Book Review. Do you read it every Sunday? Well, if you do then you probably read the column By the Book. Each week a writer is interviewed and asked questions about literature and the literary life.

I love reading the answers to questions such as: What book is on your nightstand? What book made you want to write? If you could meet any writer, dead or alive, who would it be? What is your favorite literary genre? How do you organize your personal library? What books do you find yourself returning to again and again?  

I can't tell you how many times I've torn out this section of the Book Review to save for future use. It is filled with great book recommendations as well as illuminating insights into the writer's life. For example, I read Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield after Sylvia Nasar recommended it as one of her favorite comic novels. And she was right! I read Goerge Eliot's Middlemarch after Anna Quindlen called it her favorite book of all time. And I agreed with her that it is truly a great book. I loved J.K. Rowling's answer to the question: If you could be any character from literature, who would it be? She answered "Elizabeth Bennett, naturally." I felt as if I knew her a little bit better and we were kindred spirits. No matter what the topic, I am always inspired by the passion that these writers have for books.

 I was swept away by John Irving's answer to the question "What book changed your life?"

"Great Expectations. I was fifteen. It made me want to be able to write a novel like that. It was very visual -- I saw everything, exactly -- and the characters were more vivid than any I had heretofore met on the page. I had only met characters like that onstage, and not just in any play -- mainly in Shakespeare. Fully rendered characters, but also mysterious. I loved the secrets in Dickens -- the contrasting foreshadowing, but not of everything.You both saw what was coming and you didn't. Hardy had that effect on me, too, but when I was older. And Melville, but also when I was older."

His answer made sense and its infectious enthusiasm about great writing made me want to sit down immediately and try to write a novel! 

In a stroke of genius, the editor of this column decided to collect 65 of the best interviews and publish them together in a book that is aptly named By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review. I got it for Christmas and have spent the last week happily browsing its pages. It was fun to ask myself some of these questions. Here are three which were easy to answer:

1. What book is on your nightstand?

There are three right now: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, Summer in February by Jonathan Smith, and The Ambassadors by Henry James

2. What is your favorite book of all time?

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

3. Are you a rereader? What books do you find yourself returning to?

Yes, I am a rereader. The three books I find myself returning to again and again are Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, Howards End by E.M. Forster, and The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford. These books never fail to take me to that cozy place I sometimes crave and always make me feel good.

 I would love to know your answers to these questions.

If you are a passionate reader and an aspiring writer, get this book. You will love it!

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you the happiest of holidays!

May the new year bring you good health, happiness, and lots of great books!

See you back here in 2015

xo/ Sunday

Deck The Halls

Living room

This holiday season has been a hectic one and I wasn't sure I'd be doing any decorating. My new granddaughter was born on November 25 and my younger daughter just relocated from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I am jumping for joy about both these events. But there has been little time to work on the house. As of last Thursday I hadn't done a thing to get ready for Christmas.

Family room

But on Friday I turned the corner, caught the holiday spirit, and everything started to come together. Part of this was reading some holiday essays I have saved over the years. We put up the garlands and got the tree. It will be a quiet holiday this year -- no parties at the house, there just hasn't been time to plan anything -- but that's exactly what I'm in the mood for. As the years go by, I realize the big parties and celebrations are receding and the smaller, magical moments are becoming more important. Have you noticed this also? I'm looking forward to sitting down and writing holiday cards, making cookies, decorating the tree, and having my family around the dinner table. I can't wait to take a photo of my granddaughter in front of the Christmas tree. In the meantime, here are some special holiday moments that have been making me very happy.

Discovering a new recipe for brownies -- you will love these!

Taking out the decorations for the tree. I have had these green and white storage boxes for ages and the sight of them always fills me with anticipation.

Finishing the tree! I love having it in the library.

Finding the perfect book to give my granddaughter for Christmas, though I won't be able to read it to her for a while. But getting her started on the Madeline books with this special 75th anniversary edition is very exciting!

Finding a present for myself

The Writer's Garden is about the way gardens have held a special place in many authors' lives. It is filled with beautiful photos and fascinating text about the gardens belonging to writers such as Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, Winston Churchill, Roald Dahl, Agatha Christie and many others. This would make a great gift for your gardening and literary friends.

Taking a few peaceful hours in the day to write my holiday cards 

Going to the Christmas tea that my book club has every year

And being touched by how much trouble my friend Judie took to make it look so beautiful!

Many writers have written about the redemptive power of making a home for the holidays. I read an article years ago on this topic. The writer discovered that working on his house and creating a holiday for his family was a way to create a sanctuary in the midst of the chaos and confusion of the world. I was inspired by the idea of making a beautiful and safe place to shelter our loved ones. This year with a new grandchild in our family, I especially feel this. It will be fun as the years go by to see the excitement in her eyes as she experiences the holiday. Each year, when I think about that article from years ago, I appreciate the value of getting the house ready for the holidays. Often it's the little things that make the holiday so magical!

Fudge Brownies Sprinkled with Coffee Salt

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/4 cups of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
Stumptown Coffee Flake Salt for sprinkling (You can order it here)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch by 8-inch baking pan with parchment and grease well. Melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool. Add vanilla, sugar, eggs and salt to chocolate mixture and mix until combined. Add flour and stir until completely combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 40 minutes. Do not overbake! When done, a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out just barely clean. Sprinkle the top with coffee salt. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

This recipe comes from Anne Zimmerman, a friend who is a writer and an excellent cook!

Enjoy!

The Art of Making a Home

Every now and then a book comes out that captures the feeling of home and hearth that many of us crave around the holiday season. A book that is perfect to give to our literary, homebody, and design-addicted friends, as well as ourselves. A book that is a place to escape from the holiday madness. This year the book that hits all the right notes for a cozily domestic and inspiring read is Novel Interiors by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti. Its theme is "living in enchanted rooms inspired by literature." That description alone has me running out to buy copies for all of my friends.

If there's anyone who knows a thing or two about making a warm and welcoming home, it is Lisa Borgnes Giramonti. She has been writing about it and inspiring us to do just that on her beautiful blog A Bloomsbury Life for years. Her new design book "Novel Interiors" has just been released and for those of us who love her blog, it is an occasion to rejoice. I know Lisa and from the first day we met at a book reading by Dominque Browning in Santa Monica -- we just gravitated towards each other -- she has been an inspiring and supportive friend. We bonded over our passion for Bloomsbury and English literature and have gotten together many times to exchange books and ideas. She is a treasure!

Photos from "Novel Interiors" that illustrate Lisa's design philosophy inspired by classic literature 

These rooms convey a cheerful domesticity

If I could think of one concept to describe Lisa's blog, and hence her book, it would be how to live a meaningful life. One way she has personally done this is by creating warm and happy homes wherever she has lived, homes that are inspired by great literature. "Novel Interiors" is all about that idea. Like many of us who love to read, Lisa has discovered many truths from classic novels. And one of those is that a cheerfully and warmly designed home can add to a happy life. In her new book, she gives us hundreds of design ideas to accomplish this. As she writes, "Don't underestimate how important these details can be to your life. Happiness has a wonderful way of reverberating outward -- when you are surrounded by things that bring you a deep sense of well-being, everyone around you feels better also."

Her ideas for a more stately and traditional look

As she has written on her blog, the books she has loved in her life have shaped the person she is today. They have influenced her personal style, especially the way she decorates her home. In "Novel Interiors," Lisa shares with us "the beautiful moments" from her favorite books and how they can be recreated in our homes. The photographs by Ivan Terestchenko of houses and their interiors are gorgeous and the quotes from Lisa's favorite books are inspiring and plentiful. According to her, many of us nesters want our rooms to feel cozy and warm, or chic and glamorous, or earthy and natural. It all depends on who we are. We want our homes to reflect ourselves. This book will show us how. And for the bibliophiles amongst us, aren't we always looking for a good book to read? Lisa's book will help us accomplish that as well.

The book is divided into chapters: "Shall I Put the Kettle On?," "Remembrance of Things Past," Living au Naturel," "Oh, the Glamour of it All," "Anything Goes," and "Sometimes a Fantasy." Each chapter guides us through the settings of more than sixty literary classics and shows us how they can inspire our decorating style. Here's the introduction to "Shall I Put the Kettle On?" --

"In the classic novels of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and others, home sweet home is a well-worn sanctuary where the furniture is a bit threadbare, the kitchen has yet to be tidied up from breakfast, and a cheerful domesticity reigns over all. Woven into the architecture of these richly detailed worlds are countless lessons on how to live simply and meaningfully. When in doubt, keep it comfortable, they tell us. Embrace the charms of disorder. Go ahead and let the stitches show. And don't ever underestimate the power of a good armchair."

Elements of a glamorous design

After reading this book, you will be inspired by how easy and satisfying it is to create a warm environment for yourself and your family by paying attention to the little things -- such as having fresh flowers in a favorite vase and placing them in a spot that catches the afternoon light or putting out an earthy tea kettle in the kitchen next to mugs and tea accoutrements signaling afternoon tea. There is also the idea of a drinks tray for mixing that evening cocktail. It's the details that make all the difference.

A drinks tray adds a note of hospitality and graciousness to a room

You will also be delighted by how many great book suggestions Lisa makes. I always seem to be on the hunt for a good book. Lisa's anthology is excellent and emphasizes the classics, including some titles you may not have heard of. I will be searching for Lark Rises to Candleford by Flora Thompson, Loving by Henry Green, and Vainglory by Ronald Firbank. So get ready to be ordering some new books as well as rearranging a cozy corner or two around your house. You will be inspired to find the perfect spot to read one of these books, brew that perfect pot of tea, make an evening cocktail, and create some beautiful moments of your own! Go here to order a copy.

Photo by Megan Taylor

Lisa signing my book at her book launch in Beverly Hills

Gingerbread Weather

"It's fruitcake weather, Buddy" says the central character in Truman Capote's beautiful and poignant story A Christmas Memory. Well, I don't make fruitcake so I will paraphrase slightly and say, with the same amount of glee, "It's gingerbread weather!" Of course, a snowy winter wonderland would be lovely. But here in Los Angeles a cool and rainy day can be described as gingerbread weather. Today everyone is excited because this is our winter. We are celebrating the rainy weather not just because it feels cozy, but also because California has been in an historic drought for three years. Rain is what we desperately need. And, since it is the first day of December, there is even more to celebrate as we head into the holiday season.

Inspired by the cozy weather, I took out my holiday cookbooks and decided to challenge myself to a month of holiday cooking. There are 24 days to go and I will try to make all my favorites. The first recipe will be gingerbread, a dish that for me has the Proustian power of a Madeleine cookie. Just smelling it takes me back to childhood Christmases. Gingerbread is a nostalgic, homey dessert that I absolutely love and baking up a batch just feels right on a cold winter day. 

The ingredients are luscious and redolent of the holiday season: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, brown sugar, molasses and butter. When I noticed that the recipe also called for a cup of freshly brewed coffee and that is exactly what I had left in my coffee pot this morning, the decision was made. I would make gingerbread on the first day of December.

My recipe is from Sara Foster's wonderful cookbook The Foster's Market Cookbook. She is the creator of Foster's Markets in Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Prior to opening her stores she worked alongside Martha Stewart in the kitchen of Martha's catering business. Her cookbooks feature recipes for the most popular dishes from her specialty stores. This gingerbread is served all day long in her restaurant -- for breakfast, tea, and even dessert topped with whipped cream. It's sweet and also spicy. The recipes calls for black pepper and dry mustard.

Besides the ginger, the key ingredient to gingerbread is molasses which gives the mixture its gorgeous color 

The flour and spice mixture gets added to the wet ingredients  

Two loaf pans filled with batter ready to go into the oven

They bake for 40-45 minutes and fill the house with the most wonderful smell

Is there any happier sight than a plate of gingerbread and a cup of hot cocoa?

My kitchen -- December, 2012

For me, the holidays are about hearth and home and the kitchen is at the center of it all. This is where I will be spending most of December. A loaf of gingerbread or a tin of cookies wrapped up and tied with a pretty ribbon and a sprig of holly makes a heartfelt gift. What could be sweeter than a gift from the kitchen?

  What are your favorite holiday foods to cook at this time of the year?
Is there a book or story you read every holiday season? 

********

Sweet and Spicy Gingerbread

3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

12 tablespoons (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 and 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 and 1/2 cups molasses

1 cup brewed strong coffee, cooled

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease and flour two 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pans and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mustard and pepper in a large bowl and stir to mix. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the molasses to the butter mixture in a slow, steady stream while continuing to beat. Add the coffee, and continue to beat until all the ingredients are well blended. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir just until all the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and place on the center rack of the oven. Bake 40 to 45 minutes , until the bread rises and springs back lightly when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of each loaf comes out clean. Let rest for 10 - 15 minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm or place on a baking rack to cool. 

Enjoy!