life is uncertain. eat dessert first

It must run in the family – my love for sweets, travel, writing and design.

Visiting my grandparents when I was younger, the first thing my sister and I would do after giving hugs and kisses to our grandparents, was make a beeline for the bathroom drawer, where my grandpa hid chocolates for us (not really sure why the bathroom, but it became a tradition that we so looked forward to and remember it 10 years later).

My love for sweets must be something that runs strong in my genes – something my husband calls my “addiction.” But it’s an addiction I’m perfectly OK with having. I believe it was Ernestine Ulmer who said, “life is uncertain … eat dessert first,” a phrase that, to me, epitomizes why dessert and all things sweet are so important in life.

But it’s not just a love for the decadent desserts that I love. I love trying out new recipes, when a new recipe becomes a family favorite and adding my own twist to a recipe. My mom always encouraged my sister and me to help in the kitchen, whether it was making homemade chocolate chip cookies, helping with Christmas dinner or making garlic bread.

My fondness of food and cooking followed me to Torino, Italy where I spent a semester studying abroad, traveling across Italy and Europe and devouring the tastes of the country. I took in and tried everything I could from pizzas from a corner pizzeria where they knew my name, making gnocchi at my instructor’s apartment or devouring chocolate profiteroles that I have yet to find a recipe as delicious.

With my time abroad, I was lucky enough to travel to places like Nice in southern France, take in the breathtaking cliff towns of Cinque Terre in northern Italy and watch the glass blowers at Murano, a small island a few miles from Venice, Italy.

While I haven’t been able to afford a trip back to Europe since, I’ve been enjoying what California has to offer through weekend trips – wine tasting in Napa Valley, skiing in Lake Tahoe and testing out new restaurants in the Sacramento area.

Another of my passions is interior design. Slowly but surely my husband Alex and I have been sprucing up our home, trying to find a balance between our expensive tastes but limited budget. A year a half after purchasing our first home, we still have a lengthy to-do list full of painting, planting in the front and back yards and picture hanging and know it will take patience.

I started this blog to combine all things I love and to share my cooking successes and blunders, travel outings and tackling design projects.

Salute!