formalities

Ritzy Bee Events

There are some extraordinarily inventive event planners out there – a whole new generation of people with fresh ideas and great execution, and from time to time I want to share the beautiful work that so many of them are doing.  Ritzy Bee Events is an event design, planning and production firm specializing in custom wedding experiences in the Washington DC area – and also happens to be one of my absolute favorite blogs.  With fifteen years of event experience […]

Blackberry and apple upside down cake with whipped cream
food

Blackberry and Apple Upside Down Cake

Today is Beatrix Potter’s birthday, and in her honor I’m passing along her recipe for blackberry-apple upside down cake.  It’s just the sort of homey pudding (to use the English word for it) that you could imagine the beloved author and illustrator serving with tea at her Hill Top farm. As a child I always loved the stories of Peter Rabbit, Mrs. Tiggywinkle, Squirrel Nutkin, and the dangerous Mr. Tod, as did my own children.   Later I came to admire […]

food

Approaching the Glass

My first few weeks as White House Social Secretary were pretty overwhelming.  It wasn’t simply that there were so many people to meet and things to learn; there were events almost every day, and the next day, and the next week, and the next month.   It was like jumping onto a racing treadmill, catching the pace, and then speeding up as fast as the machine would go.  And, of course, there is the WH way of doing things: after decades […]