In honor of my birthday, I want to share a piece of me with you.
It, like me, is far less complicated than it seems.

Recipes to follow:
Blood Orange Vanilla Chiffon Layer Cake
Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
Mango-Ginger Compote
Mango Cream Cheese Frosting

I turned 45 today, and it’s been a most rewarding experience—undoubtedly because I continue to throw down in an earnest effort to be my most authentic self and express gratitude for all that life has given me thus far. Of course, none of it would be possible without those in my life that actively reciprocate and love back. As my most authentic self, I experience more joy and am able to spread it to others. This cake gives a nod to my efforts toward personal authenticity. In sincere fashion, it embodies great flavor, and, like most things in life, it didn’t come easily.

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And a mango-meringue tartlet

Having close female friends is one of the more rewarding and sustaining events we women can experience throughout life. Loving and devoted allies, they can often provide the compassion for ourselves that we let dissipate in times of stress or high anxiety, which can be more frequent and more severe as we get older and struggle to move through life and its challenges in work, family and intimate personal relationships. A loyal, long time female friend can come and go in close physical proximity, but she is always there to remind us of who we are, in moments when we need most to be reminded.

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“It’s going to catch on like wildfire…”

Sometime in the 1940s the Moscow Mule was invented. The exact moment of conception depends on who you ask. I like to believe the story that involves John Gilbert Martin of the Heublein Group—of A1 Sauce and canned mixed cocktail fame, and who acquired the rights of Smirnoff Vodka (from the Smirnov family who fled Russia). The vodka was notoriously crappy, which translated into a great acquisition price. The part that followed, aka trying to get Americans to drink it, was no small task. Even though Smirnoff was created in Connecticut, Hollywood became the birthplace of the mule.

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