To Finn, with love

December 16, 2017.Reading time 7 minutes.

Finn, greater swiss mountain dog, finnegan, swissy, gsmd, puppy

I’ve tried my best to fill this blog space with happy moments, decent recipes and bad jokes over the years, often leaving out some of the more serious sides of life for in-person updates in an effort to keep this space upbeat and positive. But last week we lost a part of our family and […]

hello autumn

September 23, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

pumpkin apple muffins, pumpkin, baking, fall recipes, pumpkin muffins, fall, autumn, breakfast, dessert

Happy first weekend of fall! In case you missed it, yesterday we celebrated the autumn solstice with record heat in St. Louis. Because nothing says autumn like leaves just giving up and falling because they are too dry to hold on any longer. But there’s hope for your weekend, still. Here are a few ways […]

Hello Spring.

March 17, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

gender neutral tassle garland, gender reveal, tissue banner, tassle garland

So how do you survive your first winter back in the Midwest after living in Florida? Don’t blog about it and it’s like it didn’t even happen. Not sure whether there is a joke or an excuse in there, but I needed a transition so take it for what it is. Truth is our first […]

All the fall things

October 17, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

5 ways to fall in love with fall, fall, midwest, st louis, greater swiss mountain dog, swissy, katy trail, st charles, running, pumpkins, halloween recipes, mummy oreos,

I’ve been meaning to write this post for several weeks now but the truth is I’ve been too busy taking 1,000 photos of trees with changing leaves to get around to it. That’s what fall will do to you after a few years away. It’s science. And judging from the physiological reaction I had the first […]

Seasonal Changes

July 31, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

St. Louis, Greater swiss mountain dog, st. louis cardinals, greater swiss, swissy, finnegan

Pop quiz. Where’s home to the one of the most successful franchises in baseball and soon two Zalewskis and a Finnegan Murphy? Hint for Cubs fans: they have 11 World Championships so Chicago is out. Site of the 1904 World’s Fair. The first American city to host the Olympics. Hometown to Jackie Joyner Kersey, Maya Angelou and perhaps most […]

Cookies and Catch Up

November 13, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

pumpkin cookies, halloween sugar cookies, royal icing, ghost cookies, baking, dessert, holidays,

Great news, guys. The Murphalewski Bed and Breakfast just wrapped four straight weeks of out-of-town guests. That means 7 midwesterners are entering the winter season a little bronzer than usual and many local restaurant staffers here in Sarasota are actually starting to think I have friends. It’s a win-win! Now you may be asking if I’m […]

Of these things, I’m fairly certain

October 13, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

pumpkin french toast, recipes, pumpkin recipes, baking, brunch, breakfast, french toast,

There comes a point in a thirty-something’s life in which the random things she’s heard, learned, experienced, seen, tasted and smelled over the first third of her life finally start to stick with her. After all, you rarely hear a twenty-something referred to as ‘set in his or her ways.’ No, this art takes years to perfect. If you don’t believe […]

Wedding Snapshots: the details

August 4, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

When it comes to wedding and party photos, I’m a sucker for detail shots. And if you’re a sucker for detail shots then we should be best friends. Which is pretty much what our photographer and I became as soon as I looked at her work and saw that she appreciated the little details just […]

Super Spring Break

April 14, 2015.Reading time 1 minute.

If you couldn’t tell from my overgramming last week, my nephews (and my sister) came to visit us to celebrate their spring break. Unfortunately I spent most of the week at work, but I’m grateful for the afternoons and evenings I spent brushing up on my toilet humor, identifying fire ant hills and avoiding getting […]

Caption This

March 2, 2015.Reading time 2 minutes.

florida sunset, sarasota, winter in florida, sunset,

It’s this little game I like to play when I’m running short on time but feel badly that I haven’t talked to you in a while. I call it caption this. It’s simple really. In fact I don’t even force you to participate. I’ll do all the work for you. You’ll see. […]