1. mornings. i don't know if it is the coffee or the light or the combination of the two, but mornings are holy.
2. my dad's homemade donuts. their arrival is the best part. i get a call from my dad asking if i am home. when i say yes, he says he is coming over. thirty minutes later he shows up with bags of donuts.
3. exploding flowers. there is a moment in the lifespan of flower right as it begins to completely let go. that moment is its prime.
4. avocados. pretty much the only proof i need that something out there is madly in love with us.
5. freshly squeezed orange juice. i like it in any form, but especially from fruit from my grandmother's trees.
6. book club.
7. anything that basks.
8. cooking to my rolling stones playlist. i have listened to these songs hundreds of times, and i swear they only improve. egg whites make better meringue if you play them this song. whatsamattawitchooboy!
9. picnics in balboa park.
10. fat puppies. FAT PUPPIES. fat puppies!!!!
11. girl crushes. the only thing that trumps my love for mick jagger is my love for stevie nicks & kate moss.
12. my great-grandmother's plates. they make food taste better.
13. cilantro + lime juice + chiles. so good. always.
14. oysters on the half shell. like wine & honey, oysters have terroir. you consume a story.
15. olive groves
16. collecting cookbooks. they are good companions.
17. forgiveness. to me, there is nothing more deliciously tender in our lives than to hold each other, and ourselves, in its graceful embrace.
18. returning home from chino's vegetable stand in rancho santa fe and admiring the handiwork of gifted farmers in union with a great and benevolent universe. it's true--we eat first with our eyes.
19. making dinner with this kid.
20. spaghetti with cherry tomatoes & gremolata. counting down the days until i can make it again.
21. rue monge in paris. quel fromage!
22. my partner in crime, anita lee, and her raw, vegan chocolate chip cookies. homemade chocolate chips, people!
23. the aftermath. the unmade bed. the table after a meal was shared.
24. taking myself out to the botanic gardens.
25. thing 1 & 2's artwork. i am smitten over every turkey, snowflake, and bunny hopping through a flower field. smitten.
26. my reasons for asking daily to be a kinder, gentler, more tolerant and loving person. my reasons for tirelessly mustering the best from myself. they deserve all of it and more.
27. salad. specifically, salad monique, the king of all salads.
28. groove food. writing this blog makes me so happy and i do it for no other reason than the love of it.
29. this lady--diane christiansen uke. the most wonderful person i have ever met and also happens to be my mother.
30. did you know that i love candles?
31. california. last name Ever, first name Greatest.
32. dessert. here is the course that gave us tres leches cake, ice cream cones, coconut pie and chocolate pot de creme. no matter how sated i am, there is always room--no, need--for that last smidge of sweetness.