The first time I made challah bread I didn’t know I needed to let the dough rest before forming it into long strands. I rolled, stretched and pulled, but the dough kept snapping back. No matter what I did, it wouldn’t cooperate, and I was getting frustrated. I turned to the internet to research and … Continue reading The Parable of the Well-Rested Dough
Here it is! The long-promised post! If you’ve been following along, you know I listened to this podcast episode recently and it really moved me. If you haven’t listened yet take a pause and go do that now (especially the first and third acts). What did you think? Did anything about these stories move you? … Continue reading The Room of Requirement
It’s hot. So, so hot. I’m standing with blisters forming in my Chacos as sweat pours down my back and soaks through the thin, green, cotton blouse I’m wearing. I step into the shade and enter into a completely different sensory experience. It is cool, breezy, people smile and offer me handfuls of snacks. I … Continue reading A Broad Hospitality
This post is a bonus insert into my series on hospitality. It is also the first of this year’s book reviews. Check back next week for a post about the hospitality I experienced as I travelled around the world. I like to read and I always find myself texting and chatting up people about what I … Continue reading The Library Book
Saturday morning, I was watching Windy City Rehab. Let me back up. Friday afternoon, I was watching Property Brothers. Let me back up. Monday evening, I was watching Home Town. Let me back up. Obviously I like home renovation shows—always have, probably always will. So, Saturday morning I was watching Windy City Rehab and being extra … Continue reading Windy City Hospitality
I’ve always loved having people over to my house. Some of my favorite early memories are from when my mom hosted holiday parties. I LOVED when the house was full of special food and lots of people. I remember following her around as she set out dishes of meatballs and tiny cheesecakes, hoping folks would … Continue reading hospitable spaces
Do you ever take deep breaths and feel overwhelmingly thankful? I’ve been doing that since Saturday morning. The holiday season was packed with so many good things, travel for Thanksgiving, events and services to celebrate family and Christmas, a trip to West Virginia to ring in the new year, and finally a week teaching a … Continue reading Home
I love to eat. In Charlottesville there are a lot of restaurants. A lot. A ton of local places owned by folks from around here, the country, and the world. You could eat at a unique restaurant every day of the year and still not try them all. Nick and I have found some favorites … Continue reading an eye-opening Friday night
The year between my junior and senior year in college I spent a month in Russia. Each week we travelled out into the countryside to different orphanages and summer camps and taught bible stories, songs and games. On the weekends though, we lived in a flat in St. Petersburg with guys about my age and … Continue reading Cupcake for One
On Sunday morning I stood at the stove with my teal dutch oven heating in front of me. I watched canola oil begin to shimmer and then I waited a little longer, just to make sure it was hot enough. I ripped a few paper towels from their roll and patted a roast (that had … Continue reading the maillard reaction
lamplight stories 