dripping with passion

  "almost three years ago, a devastating fire gutted the interior of the beloved historic tabernacle in provo, utah. its loss was deemed a great tragedy by both the community and church members. many wondered  - why did the lord let this happen? surely he could have prevented the fire or stopped its destruction. ten months later, during the october 2011 general conference, there was an audible gasp when president monson announced that the nearly destroyed tabernacle was to become a holy temple, a house of the lord. suddenly we could see what the lord had always known. he didn't cause the fire, but he allowed the fire to strip away the interior. he saw the tabernacle as a magnificent temple, a permanent home for making sacred, eternal covenants. the lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity. we have seen our lives figuratively burned to the ground and have wondered why a loving heavenly father has allowed things to happen. but he doesn't l

last night  i met my old coworker katherine at dishdash , a restaurant in sunnyvale that features my favourite meal in the entire world on its menu. honestly, this is the last meal i want to eat before i die. it is so freaking delicious. when i know i am going to have it soon, i can’t get it off my mind. and when i’m eating it, maybe i get a little misty and say how much i love it about fifty times. mmmmm boy. it’s called beriani dejaj and it is safron rice with chicken, potatoes, chickpeas, almonds and golden raisins in the most delectable spiced yogurt sauce. {definitely stole this picture from yelp} as i drove home in the dark, my belly so happy, i thought about how blessed i was to work with katherine at innosight institute, what an amazing and wonderful experience that job was. and i thought about how i am in the right place now, and about how somehow all of this craziness that has been my life, which has felt so lost and floundering so often, is guided by a divine hand. …

lately i have been feeling especially baby hungry. every time i see a baby i just want to scoop it up and snuggle. i miss my nieces and nephews, particularly baby zara --> on monday i got a bit of a baby fix by visiting my cousins ben and ashley and cuddling up their baby clara. i profoundly crave something about that straight-from-heaven goodness. i love babies. i want one .  

it just may have been our most lovely dinner party yet. to say farewell to summer, brittany and i hosted a fancy little picnic for friends at elizabeth gamble gardens. we set up our table, chairs and spread of yummy eats under the gazebo amidst the flowers. it was an adventure dissembling and reassembling the table, transporting all the food and china safely, and dodging the wedding festivities happening on the other side of the park. passersby were amused and delighted to see our set up, including one employee of the public garden. it poured all day long until about 4pm, when the clouds parted to sweet blue skies, just in the nick of time. it was so splendid to eat outside surrounded in beauty, enjoying good company and scrumptious treats. it was a winsome, charming, just oh so lovely evening.   on the menu: -green salad with pears, avocado, pecans and cranberry gorgonzola vinegarette – herbed brie, apricot pistachio chevre, and sharp cheddar with rosemary crackers

i am so, so grateful for amazing women in my life that are true, good and fun friends. last weekend some of us east palo alto girls celebrated brittany’s birthday in the city. the plan was to get some deliciousness from pizzeria delfina and bring it up to twin peaks for a beautiful, sparkly view picnic. well, we got to twin peaks and had an authentic san francisco experience – it was ridiculously foggy, plus the wind was surging and teeny tiny raindrops were flying. so, naturally, we crammed all seven of us into one car and ate our pizza overlooking the fog, the wind audibly swirling and twirling outside our windows.       for the first time in a long time, i laughed until tears ran down my face. and then went to bob’s for fresh, pillowy donuts and cartons of milk.   i slept over at my dear friend stephanie’s house that night. we stayed up until 2am talking and drinking herbal tea with her roommate (another friend from my san francisco days). those wee hours with good girlfriends

yesterday i had a work meeting in berkeley. i had heard about a cool and huge grocery store called berkeley bowl and decided to go check it and grab some food for the week after the meeting. holy cow. it was outrageous - piles and piles of fresh produce as far as the eye can see! long aisles stocked with bulk bins of every grain, granola, nut, dried fruit, specialty item imaginable! foods i had never heard of; combinations i had never thought of! - truly a grocery wonderland. i browsed and shopped in awe. i wish it was closer to my house or work so i could experiment with all kinds of berkeley bowl finds.       as my last few posts have probably made pretty clear, i've had food on the mind lately. i love pretty much everything about food - experiencing new tastes, trying different recipes, appreciating how aesthetically beautiful food can be, feeling grateful that god gave us taste buds and the mechanics of food as fuel. i am also absolutely an emotional eater. and last week i f