ABOUT
Hi there! I’m stepping into a new chapter of life after years of raising kids, packing lunches, and juggling multiple jobs. With the house feeling a little quieter these days, there’s finally more time to revisit some old interests, explore a few new ones, and follow whatever happens to catch my attention.
I grew up in Alaska but swapped snow for the rivers and rolling hills of Virginia more than 20 years ago. It’s rural enough to enjoy some peace and quiet, but not so rural that I can’t make a six-minute Walmart run and Trader Joe’s is only 10 miles. I like peace and quiet, but I also like being able to buy decent cheese without making a day of it.
For 15 years, I worked in specialty and gourmet food, which fed an already-growing fascination with what makes a dish truly excellent. I love figuring out why a recipe works, trying unfamiliar ingredients and techniques, and learning how to turn something ordinary into something worth making again. Not every experiment is a success, of course, but figuring out what went wrong is part of the fun.
Wine became another rabbit hole. Curiosity led to studying, tasting, pairing, working with wine professionally, and eventually earning an Introductory Sommelier Certificate. The more you learn about wine, the more you realize how much there is left to learn—which may explain why the subject never seems to get old.
Books, on the other hand, have been around from the beginning. As a kid, reading often continued under the covers with a flashlight long after bedtime. These days there’s no need for the flashlight but staying up far too late because of a book remains a problem.
Art has a different story. A long time ago, creating art was a big part of my life, and somewhere among work, children, and everything else that needed attention, it slipped away. That’s something I miss. Furniture refinishing, wall art, crafts, and assorted projects have kept a creative hand in things, but there’s a part of me that would like to pick up the brushes again and see what happens.
Travel is another ongoing temptation, although full-time employment and a bank account with its own opinions keep some of those plans firmly in the daydreaming stage. Healthy living is also a work in progress. There will be attempts at better choices, more movement, and probably a few salads. There will also be cake. Both can exist.
Like I said, still working full-time so don't expect all these adventures all at once!
So Bookish Bites & Vines is less about having a particular lifestyle and more about having the time—and curiosity—to explore things that are interesting. Cooking and learning to do it better. Wine without the foolishness. Books worth talking about (to me, anyway). Creating things again. Going places when possible. And probably a few subjects that don't fit neatly into any category. Maybe just rediscovering some of the parts of me that got pushed aside while I was busy doing everything else.
So, if you enjoy food, wine, books, and the occasional deep thought about life’s next chapter, stick around—one sip, one bite, and one page at a time.
