My mom is Irish and LOVES her potatoes. You wouldn’t believe it by looking at her – she’s a thin little momma! – but potatoes are her weakness. Hash browns, French fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, cheesy potatoes, potato chips. You name it, she loves it.

By day, I am a graphic designer. This means that I fine-tune headlines, and combine colors, imagery and fonts to help people understand information better. I love it! It takes both sides of my brain to be creative and practical at the same time.

My family has a tradition of spending Christmas Eve Day playing games together – card games, board games, rowdy act-it-out type games – all while snacking on our favorite appetizers.

Fall is such a beautiful time isn’t it? Spring usually gets pegged as the season when "love is in the air," but as a couple who got engaged in late autumn, Ryan and I can really appreciate how romantic the turning leaves and cozy atmosphere can be.

As I’ve shared in previous posts, my family has grown at a rapid rate with two weddings in the last year. So, when the nine of us went away for a long Fall weekend at a lake home, it was decided that each couple would be responsible for a morning brunch to pitch-in.

Growing up, my mom took my three siblings and me to the apple orchard each fall. It was a special thing to look forward to after the school day, and made for its own September adventure. I can still picture all of us – lined up in our red plaid school uniforms, studying the vintage apple-picking machinery displayed in the building. The smell of apple pies hung in the air.

My birthday is in the winter – right around the time you feel REALLY sick of snow. So, this year, I dropped a variety of not-so-subtle hints that all I wanted for a celebration was to get the heck out of here!

My family is in non-stop party mode this year! Earlier this spring I shared about the deliciously decadent Triple Chocolate Truffle Bars that I prepared for my sister, Laura, the-bride-to-be.