I’ve always liked Valentine’s Day–what’s not to like about a holiday that revolves around love, flowers and chocolate? But I discovered something yesterday that has shot Valentine’s Day waaaaay up the I LOVE IT meter for me. As I was wandering through a World Market store, I discovered these: Yes, those are Valentine’s Day Peeps. [...]

Yesterday was quite the banner day at Casa D’Alessandro that encompassed the good, the bad and the ugly.  It started off with the ugly in the morning when the DH went into the attic above the garage to make sure it was clear because the electricians were coming to put in some additional outlets and lights and would need to access [...]

Ever since I was a kid, we always ate pickled herring on New Year’s Eve–a family tradition I brought forward as an adult to my own family. My mom told me it was “for luck.” We spent this New Year’s with my parents for the first time in many years. As we ate our traditional piece [...]

You know that saying, “you learn something new every day?” Well, I’ve learned a couple of things lately and thought I’d share my newfound knowledge with the Whiners. My first new item of knowledge concerns aluminum foil. And plastic wrap. And wax paper. Basically anything on a roll that comes in one of those long, rectangular boxes where you tear off the [...]

We have a rule at Casa D’Alessandro–you get to pick what meal you want for your birthday dinner, be it an at-home feast, or an evening out at a favorite restaurant. Yesterday was my DH’s birthday. When I asked him what he’d like to do to celebrate, he said he wanted a homemade pasta dinner. Sounded [...]

Given that all the news is about hurricane Sandy, in lieu of a regular blog post, let’s do a storm check-in. Is everyone safe? Did anyone have to evacuate? Any family members who needed to? My in-laws live on Long Island and their power went out around 8pm last night, but the complex where they [...]

Since it’s such a beautiful day here in Atlanta, I thought I’d “bring on the sunshine” and list the top five things currently making me happy. #5–  I just discovered that my favorite night-time tea–Sleepytime Herbal Tea by Celestial Seasonings–is now available in a K-cup for my Keurig! #4– Halloween Peeps! I’m so glad Peeps [...]

In honor of Whiners Dee and Julia being in jolly old England, I thought I’d share my recent adventures at a local tea house! Four times a year the ladies in my neighborhood get together for our quarterly Ladies Lunch. It’s always a good time, but last week’s luncheon was especially fun. It was held [...]

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Let’s start off with the Good because there’s a lot of it: I’m halfway through my current WIP (yay!). My two BFF’s are coming to visit on Thursday. My book club is coming on Sunday along with their husbands and we’re all going to cook an Italian meal together. I’ve [...]

There’s always something fun going on in my neighborhood! Our latest adventure was a new-to-me activity–a cardboard boat regatta. A group of men got together and made this AMAZING boat out of nothing but cardboard (per the rules you can also use duct tape and putty to secure the seams and paint–but that’s it).   [...]