Meeting Giada

Being in the kitchen is therapeutic for me.
I love shutting everything else down and turning up the music,
putting on my apron and the kids' aprons and creating something
together. Whether it be dinner or dessert, it's the same joy.

Taking ingredients and putting them together to create something
that's tasty and that brings joy to people makes me happy.
It seems to have passed on to my girls. They both adore being
next to me on their stools at the kitchen counter.

At the height of my love of cooking, I was Tivo-ing AT LEAST
6 different Food Network shows.
My top 3 favorite chefs: Ina Garten, Giada De Laurentiis and Paula Deen.

I especially loved Giada's Weekend Getaway show,
where she would visit somewhere and find the best of the local
cuisine and activities which is what we love doing when we travel.

I finally got to meet Giada in person at her book signing
for her new cookbook that was recently published... 

A sample from Giada's cookbook...

I forgot what it's called but I do remember it has Nutella in it.

Giada having a conversation with Ella...

My girls with their books... Kate was so proud she signed her name and she wrote it to Kate.

We ran into Giada's aunt Raffi... she's on the show often.

Giada had over 500 books to sign that day. We were towards the waaaay end of the

line and even then, she was still so sweet and gracious when our turn came to meet her.

She even took the time to address each of my girls by name and smile at them...

I love that about her...

It was a pretty cool day and yet another

item crossed off the bucket list!