San Francisco is a town for foodies. And every neighborhood hides at least one gem worthy of you stepping away from your chosen neighborhood. In the financial district, Palio d' Asti is that gem you should search out for a taste of Italy and for a venue that encourages you to visit with friends and family.   When it comes to Italian restaurants, as an Italian-American I'm a harsh critic. My lens is filtered through my mom's cooking. I have a certain flavor profile that I expect and that my taste buds crave. So walking into Palio d' Asti to meet Emily, the Jetsetting Fashionista , my expectations were high. Leaving the restaurant later after a filling late lunch, my expectations exceeded, I knew I would return.  

I'm extremely happy to announce that this Fall I'm participating in Cricut's Design Space Star Contest. In every reader's survey, you have asked for more DIY, so get ready! At least one DIY a month will be coming your way from now through November.     Throughout the competition, I could really use your support and encouragement. Some may remember that my first encounter with a Cricut was with a Cricut Expression Personal Electronic Cutting Machine when I was in the thick of wedding projects. Back then I tried hacking my Cricut Expression to cut intricate designs on extremely thin handmade papers; something that machine was not designed to handle. This time I ran the Cricut Explore Electronic Cutting Machine with Cricut Design Space Free Online Software (* affiliate link ) and cut paper, fabric, and leather and successfully created a beach tote that converts into picnic blanket .  

I don't know about you, but I don't want summer to end (if only we could have rain!). For us summer means campouts and hauling lots of gear. After four campouts where we juggled picnic blankets, beach totes, camp chairs, and more as we trekked back and forth from our tent to the water or to a shaded grassy area, I decided we needed a lightweight tote into which we could tuck our beach clothes that could be spread out for us to sit on it.   Cricut's August Design Space Star competition's August Challenge (Fashion or Gear) gave me the perfect excuse to stop putting off this project and just do it, especially when my team, Team 12, chose Endless Summer as our theme. Coconut trees immediately popped into my head and stayed there thanks to Gates' latest favorite book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Chicka Chicka Book, A) ( *affiliate link ) .     Making Your Tote Difficulty This project is pretty easy, both in terms of the fabric collage you cut using the Cricut Exp...

As a participant in the Walmart to Go First program, I’ve received a personal invite and payment for my time and efforts in creating this post. Everywhere you look communities and stores are gearing up for back to school. Whether your little one is ready to head off to school or not, they may be excited about everyone else going back to school and want to go to school too. Portable activity kits allow you to take supplies and a snack with you wherever go to.   Gates loves to learn something new and her quest for knowledge seems unquenchable at times. I want to encourage her inquisitiveness, but sometimes it's hard to come up with an educational activity on the spur of the moment. To satisfy her curiosity and relieve the pressure on me, I created activity kits that I can pull out when needed. Our current modules are Colors, Counting, and The Alphabet.     Making Your Activity Kit I'm a big believer in reusing materials that would otherwise be headed for the garba...

Healthy body image and self-confidence in children begin with those traits demonstrated by their parents. Historically, I've had a hard time with both. When Gates was born, I realized I needed to be a better role model. I began saying yes to opportunities that pushed me outside my comfort zone and exploring why loving myself, flaws and all, was so difficult for me.     Do you embrace your imperfections?   I find I learn a lot about myself when I step out from behind a camera and in front of one instead. Having worked as a photographer, I'm versed in Photoshop enough to know how images are retouched. (I even have a plug in that applies a common definition of beauty, modifying facial structure to give perfect proportions.) Even though I know most images are artificial, I still want my untouched images to look similar and I have to resist the temptation to simply let the plug in do its thing. Because I struggle with this, I'm drawn to stories and songs of empowerment. ...

Cooking in the summer is nearly effortless. You have so many fruits and vegetables to choose from and so many colors. Dishes that are both pleasing to the palate and to the eye come together with almost no thought. One vegetable that should be actively sought out (and prepared for the long winter season) is the sweet pepper.   What's your favorite way to serve sweet peppers?   This summer a love affair began between sweet peppers and me. It started with a Ruffled Pimento Sweet Pepper that I found in the produce aisle of Bi-Rite Market. Now don't get me wrong I've always adored chile peppers and bell peppers. I'm quite liberal in my use of bell peppers, especially the red, orange, and yellow ones. But not because of their taste; my prior love affair was all about the variety of color. If a dish was lacking visual appeal, and the flavor profile wouldn't be terribly affected, in went a pepper or two.  

It is rare when a movie or a photograph can excite all of the senses. It's even harder when you're trying to bring food to life. A sumptuousness that exists in real life often fails to translate to film. Those movies that manage to do so along with an engaging plot offer themselves up for the perfect date night. The Hundred-Foot Journey , opening tomorrow in theaters, is just such a movie. (I had the opportunity to attend a screening while at BlogHer14 last month and am excited to be heading back to the theater with my husband in tow for date night.)     What are your favorite foodie films?   Movies where food is the star of the show are the perfect compromise between action shoot 'em ups and romantic comedies, the classic battle of the sexes. The Hundred-Foot Journey not only presents food that you can almost reach out and pull from the screen onto your own plate, it delivers a loveable underdog you'll root for throughout, and refrains from having the the main char...