a lifestyle blog
A couple weeks ago I got my first batch of deep red, ridiculously sweet strawberries. That’s how I know it’s officially strawberry season. I should mention that said strawberries were delivered from Good Eggs, which I really don’t talk about enough. I am madly obsessed with Good Eggs and anyone who knows me can attest. On top of the ability…
Lately I’ve been really loving making different versions of these little power balls each week. I started with a mint cacao version that are so very tasty, and recently adapted to these banana bread inspired ones. I’m the kind of person that goes from content to hangry in a short period of time, but I rarely buy snacks since I…
Ah scones. A good scone is probably in my list of top 10 things I would eat exclusively for the rest of my life. I adore all breakfast baked goods, but scones are by far my favorite since they’re not overly sweet. I don’t think they get nearly enough love since one dry, crumbly, flavorless scone can really turn people…
Did you know I’m obsessed with a good salad? Not the sad iceburg lettuce with unripe tomatoes kind of salad, but something with seasonal produce and multiple layers with different textures and flavors. Since we’re in the peak citrus season, this salad highlights nice tart tangerines with the addition of crispy prosciutto, salty manchego, creamy avocado, and crunchy marcona almonds….
It’s no secret that I love a good butter sage combo (evidence here and here), and the other day it popped into my head that I should use it in a sweet recipe. Why not? Extra butter is always a good idea (you can quote me on that). I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to make right up until…
Once I started making this recipe, I couldn’t stop. Partially because I’m a sucker for all carbs, but also because this focaccia is just so simple to make at a moment’s notice and leaves so much room for creativity. The greater-than-usual measurement of yeast means a quicker rise time, so this is the perfect option to have fresh bread on…
It’s citrus season! I’ve been playing around with olive oil cakes recently, and adding in a little lemon just seemed like the right thing to do given the time of year. I love the tartness that lemon brings to desserts since I’m honestly not all that into overly sweet things (hence my love of lemon squares). This one has a…
One of my favorite days during last year’s trip to Florence was visiting Montefioralle Winery. Even in my original blog post recapping the trip, I mentioned the delicious little biscotti that was homemade and served to us with our dessert wine. After receiving a loose recipe for the biscotti directly from Manila at Montefioralle, I took to the kitchen to make…
A couple months ago, I made these maple oat scones from one of my favorite food bloggers, Displaced Housewife. In all seriousness, they were one of my favorite things I’ve ever eaten. So naturally I started brainstorming what other baked goods I could insert that maple oat flavor into and chocolate chip cookies seemed like a perfect fit. Maple can…
When I decided I was ready to start posting on Refine again, I knew I couldn’t keep up my minimum three posts per week schedule. Initially, I wanted to hold myself accountable for generating regular blog content, but at times it can be really challenging on top of my full time job. Going forward, I basically plan to post whenever I…
