Summer vacation means I am now dedicated to the project of creating the three flower girl dresses for the wedding. The skirt pieces are still up in the air (though I have an idea for the skirt that will work), but I decided to go ahead and cut out the bodice pieces yesterday. Laying the fabric out. I love piling the fabric on the floor and just looking at the sheer amounts of it which will become a dress (or […]

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Day three of our trip to Hawaii dawned nice and bright (in fact, I don’t think it rained the whole time we were there, and even if it did it was a passing thing, like much of the island). Kara and I were flying solo, as Lindsay had classes to attend. Already dressed in out bathing suits for out beach excursion later in the day, we decided to walk through Waikiki and try to find the zoo, which was easy […]

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This is the famous Roberts family cheesecake recipe. With it I posted the story I wrote about it for “Secrets from the Kitchen,” the recipe/story project I do with my students. No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook authors.” -Laurie Colwin When I was a little girl, I used to stand in the […]

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Our adventures in Hawaii began bright and early on the morning of April 4, when we headed out on the “Circle Island Tour.” As mentioned in a previous, “quote-of-the-day” post, our tour guide’s name was Kona, like the coffee. He picked us up at the hotel and we began our very full day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Dole Pineapple Pavilion, where we enjoyed “pineapple whip,” a frozen dessert. Kara and I thought it tasted kind of like […]

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This post originally appeared on The Burrow, the family blog that I kept up for a while. I’ve been meaning to rewrite these tales, as I want to improve my skills as a travel writer (and I won’t be going on any new vacations any time soon) so here we go. It was April 2, 2004. My cousin Kara and were boardeding a plane in Newark, New Jersey, ready for part one of our two-leg journey to Honolulu, Hawaii. We […]

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This past Saturday began the pre-wedding celebrations with the bridal shower. Family and friends gathered from near and far to celebrate Lindsay and “shower” her with gifts. The shower was held at the Flatbush Farm, which ended up being a great choice. Not only did we get some nice space in the back of the bar area, but they also set aside a spot for us in the backyard. The weather was beautiful, save for it being a little muggy, […]

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Early steps: tracing and cutting the patterns. Next step: choosing the skirt to attach. Must consult with the bride on this one before final decision is made!

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This will be just one in what I am sure will be a series of posts about the Making of My Sister’s Wedding (mostly I’m calling it that so I don’t have to explain every time I post about it that the wedding I’m prepping is not my own)! My main job, aside from planning the shower (which is in less than two weeks now!!) and the bachelorette party is to make the dresses for the three flowers girls. The […]

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I’ve become addicted to making quilts lately. I discovered Fat Quarter Shop where you can buy sets for quilting and have been smitten by the quilt making bug ever since. I’m currently taking a break from my quilting project because my sewing machine is acting up and being completely uncooperative (yes, I talk about my sewing machine like it’s an indignant child sometimes). In any case, I’ve been using the leftover pieces from the pillowcase dresses that I’ve been making […]

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