For over two months now I have been on the Paleo diet: no grains or gluten have passed my lips. I have not even been tempted to cheat (well, tempted, yes, but I have not succumbed). No pizza, no french bread, no batter fried calamari, no hamburger buns. But I knew when we planned a
Read on »Posts By: Ellen
A Spring Day in Manhattan
I have spent quite a bit of time in New York City over the years. Slowly, despite my lack of a navigation gene, I have developed a general sense of the geography, from the Upper Eastside where my husband’s sister and her family live, to the East Village where my son attended college. I am
Read on »The Wedding
Always undone by my displays of emotion, my daughter begged me in vain: “Promise you won’t cry, Mom.” But that was a promise I knew I could not make. I always cry at weddings. I held it together through Pachelbel’s Canon while the groomsmen and bridesmaids made their entrance, and I laughed and smiled at
Read on »Friday Night Cocktails
So sometimes, having a cocktail just seems like the right thing to do: Friday night with the mother-in-law and (drinking age) son was definitely the right time! A blast from the past with Old Fashions and White Russians on the menu, and presto! We are having a impromptu intergenerational party. Sometimes a festive moment is
Read on »Sometimes You Just Need Your Mom
Children develop independence during their high school years, pushing their parents away, learning to stand on their own, which is exactly as it should be. By the time they are in college, they have learned to separate their darks and lights and juggle a busy schedule, and they are making decisions and mistakes of
Read on »D’Amelio’s Off The Boat Italian & Seafood Restaurant
I found myself at the airport at 6 am this morning on my way to visit my poor flu-stricken daughter in DC. My stomach wasn’t up for more than a banana at that hour but usually I try to time my visits to Logan Airport around dinner time. Our favorite Italian restaurant is 5 minutes
Read on »Kundalini and Creativity
I am the least athletic person in the world and yet I am prone to athletic injuries. I tore my meniscus just getting out of bed. I sprained my ankle walking home from a particularly lovely dinner out. So, as you might imagine, I am not very successful at sticking to my frequently renewed vows
Read on »An Ode to Knitting
I am so excited. I just finished knitting this beautiful chocolate brown camel and merino cardigan (notice the perfect buttons from Windsor Button) and although it is March, it is still cold enough for me to wear it. Everyone is wondering why it is still snowing here in the Northeast, but I take full responsibility:
Read on »Food Friday Espresso Fudge Brownies
As corny as it sounds, I believe in the power of love, and as unhealthy as it sounds, I believe that food is love. My identity is perilously tied up with food: I went to cooking school in Paris almost 30 years ago and have been enjoying making pastries and other goodies in my own kitchen
Read on »A Blustery Day on Cambridge Common
After a backbreaking Sunday of quilting – don’t laugh, quilting can be backbreaking! – I decided to take a walk down to Cambridge Common in the late afternoon sun. It was 37 degrees and windy, which of course made it feel colder, but the sky was blue and the sun was bright and my
Read on »A Heart Full of Homeopathy
I have spent several weekends over the past couple of years holed up in a classroom with 25 other people dissecting the mysteries of homeopathic medicine. I have used and studied homeopathy for almost 20 years and am continually inspired and encouraged by the depth of its healing potential. Our teachers, Drs. Amy Rothenberg
Read on »Food Friday Baked Halibut with Fresh Tomato Topping
This is the first of my Food Friday posts. Every Friday I will feature my favorite recipe, restaurant, café, or food treat of the week. Starting on a healthy note (Warning: not all Food Fridays will be healthy!), this recipe is a hit in my family, even with the non-fish lovers. One of our delicious
Read on »Windsor Button
Boston is full of all kinds of history. Walking the streets of downtown, you know that the feet of revolutionaries walked there before you, and gathered in pubs nearby. I love the mix of old architecture with new, and the fact that many of the businesses are not chain stores, but small businesses that have
Read on »Trident Meet Up
When the kids are back in town, as they both were last week, we try to hit some favorite family haunts together, and Trident Booksellers and Café is always at the top of the list. One of our first discoveries upon moving here, this restaurant within a bookstore would fit right into Portland, so it feels
Read on »Sleepyhead
For the first time in my 52 years I don’t have something that drives me out of bed in the morning. School, work, children to feed, carpools to drive, meetings to get to: there was always some external reason that I had to get going. I am most definitely not a morning person but
Read on »Home Love
In the spirit of making writing a priority, I have been busy signing up for writing classes and The Muse and The Marketplace conference, put on here in Boston by a great writing center called Grub St. http://www.grubstreet.org/ Looks like a great event with workshops on both the creative and business sides of publishing. I
Read on »Entering the cyber world
This is the year 2013 and it is time! I have been writing for years and have even been published several times, but always in relative obscurity compared to the legions of people who have such a strong public presence on the Web. Well, my last baby has left for college and my Stay at
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