Fall is arriving at Trader Joe's and I don't think I can overstate the happiness that aisles festooned in leaf garland, with orange and yellow products peeping out, bring me. Every week new goodies are arriving. Some are old friends and quite a few are newcomers to the party that is autumn at TJ's. I will definitely be piling lots of these into my red cart this season and sharing what I try but for today I am sharing two simple fall snacks with a common ingredient. One is an annual favorite. The other one I just discovered and –... Read more →

This weekend we had an impromptu family get together and much to my delight it turnout out to be very fallish. Chris had won a pumpkin spice bundt cake at a silent auction the night before (oh my it was good!), I had some pumpkin caramel kringle in the freezer (from Trader Joe's), and we sliced honeycrisp apples and sprinkled them with cinnamon. We made French press coffee and had cascara vanilla syrup to go with it. I do love a seasonally themed spread. The house is looking festive too. On Saturday night Chris was at an event and so... Read more →

I have fond memories of family camping trips growing up: roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire, using a pocketknife, and looking at the Milky Way with my dad. Now that I have a family of my own I've been eager to continue the tradition of camping but it's intimidating to make the transition from "being taken camping" to "adult in charge of a camping trip!" Luckily the stars aligned and Team Wharton went on our first camping trip a couple weeks ago – to great success! What really gave us the push we needed was tagging along with... Read more →

Friday is my Trader Joe's day and I love starting the weekend with a full pantry and fridge. I used to go on Friday afternoons on my way to pick up the boys from daycare but now I try to go as early as possible after school drop-off. Nowadays I have a sidekick shopper to boot. Luckily Cedric is a helpful and fairly courteous shopper. Although he did accidentally ram my heels with his little cart today, ouch! The seasonal fall items are starting to arrive at Trader Joe's which is verrrry exciting. Especially since we have little weather indication... Read more →

Making more time for my writing was one of the reasons why I quit my full time job last spring. I took the summer to decompress and to tackle my very long to do list – check! Now that the boys have started their school year my own writing year to be underway. I'm considering my writing year to last through the school year until late May and then imagine I'll take a break or at least cut back during the summer while the boys are on break. I put a lot of thought into my writing goals for the... Read more →

I am writing at my new desk with morning light filling the room. My view is out a north-facing window and the light is lovely. From my desk now I can see blue sky streaked with clouds and the bright pink of my neighbor's bougainville popping over the wall. Just outside and below the window, there's a patch of gravel along our friendly orange wall and I'm thinking of filling it with vines that will climb the wall, cactus, and succulents. My desk was a custom order* from a maker I found on Etsy and I waited eagerly for several... Read more →