Best Buys
“Mulling is when you infuse your cider with other flavors and aromas,” said Kathy. “You can use spices, herbs, fruits, or even sugars.” She pulled a pile of saucepans from under her stovetop. “Shall we …
“I think the wintertime is a great time to use your highlighters, glitters, and sparkles because it’s cold and gray outside, and you want to liven up your skin a little bit,” offered Alexis Hoerres …
Aunt Azelda’s tiny mutt Taffy has died. I’m on duty for the burial arrangements. “We have taken care of pets ranging from goldfish to horses,” says Mick Palermo of San Diego Pet Memorial Park in …
“You’ll have to do without the bourbon-cherry-apple pie,” I told Patrick. “This year, I’m bringing a ready-made pumpkin pie.” A few days later, after making the store rounds, Patrick and I sat down with friend …
The days are still warm, but the nights are getting cold enough for cider. Patrick and I hail from the Northeast, and this time of year starts us hankering. I didn’t make it up to …
“‘Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’, into the future,” I serenaded hubby Patrick with the Steve Miller song as I hustled through chores last Saturday. “Oil keeps on burnin’, burnin’, burnin’, out of my Chevy,” …
My sister-in-law sold me on her gluten-free lifestyle over lunch last week. “The stomach aches are gone, digestion’s smooth, my perpetual skin rashes are gone. I feel great,” she glowed. “Oh, and I’m losing weight, …
My friend Erica wants to make her daughter Elsie’s tenth birthday a special one, and Elsie is on an arty kick. “But do I dare let a whole party’s worth of kids just cut loose …
My sister-in-law and I are scheduled for a birthday lunch, and she wants to go out. It’s kind of a rare event these days, because she discovered a year ago that she’s gluten intolerant. “Going …
Dinners at the Kelly household have been deficient in veggies of late, and working in some more greens has become imperative. There’s been buzz over the Vitamix Turboblend juicer ($378.95 on Amazon), but I can’t …
October! Oktoberfest! Time for a party! Karl Strauss was my first local beer, way back when I first moved to town, so I put in a call to the brewery’s PR manager, Melody Daversa (858-273-2739, …
School-supply lists had come in, and I sat in the store dizzied by the multitude of mechanical pencils. Rather than sink dough into something that would be thrown away within a week, I called around …
“When are you going to learn?” asked Patrick as I lamented another failed crop in the front-yard garden bed. “There’s a witch buried under there. Nothing will ever grow. It’s just bad mojo.” “Nonsense,” I …
“I could get into this.” My hubby Patrick sat grinning at the wheel of a 31-foot camper we had borrowed for the family vacation. The Kelly family was touring Southern California, visiting relatives and using …
“Do you hookah?” read the sign on a building as I passed by in the trolley. Not yet, I thought. But as a onetime smoker who enjoyed the ritual of it, I was curious. So …
“As your Irish nanna would say, ‘A good-looking person looks good in anything,’” said hubby Patrick, as I tried on an evening gown for an upcoming wedding. “Assuming her bra fits properly,” I countered. “I’ve …