About

My name is Lisa and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I have resided all of my life (with the exception of college).

My mother is a First Generation Chinese American whose parents were from Southern China. Mom was born and raised in California and taught me practically all I know about cooking, baking and overall crafting.

My father is a Third Generation Scottish American with a little English and Irish in there somewhere also. Dad grew up in New Hampshire and came to California after college. He taught me just about all I know about electronics, computers and "techie" stuff. Not to mention skiing...

Having given a bit of a background -- you can see how I'd be a little bit all over the place. During the day I work for one of the largest tech corporations in the Silicon Valley. I have a degree in computers and used to write code for a living (*gasp*)! At night I cook, bake, sew, knit and photograph it all. When I have the time, I throw dinner parties for my beloved family and friends and I travel as much as I can fit in.

I started blogging in February of 2008. It was a perfect outlet for me since I love to write, I love to create things, and I love photography. It's become a type of journal for me and since it seems others enjoy it also - it's been a great ride!

Since my blog is not so much about my techie/nerdy side (even tho that is a huge part of who I am) I'll give you a bit of history how I got into baking and cooking and crafting... My mom is one of 12 children - most all were born in the US. Though they obviously grew up in a Chinese home, the [5] sisters spent much of their time learning to cook and bake "American" food. Although there is not much baking or many desserts in the Chinese culture (you traditionally won't find ovens in Chinese kitchens) - you'd certainly not know it if you visited one of our family gatherings. At Thanksgiving, the dessert table is nearly more full than the food table. So I clearly grew up surrounded by cooking and baking and the demonstration of love through serving food to others.

It has blossomed in me! I started baking with my mom before I can remember. I'd flip through her cookbooks (this one in particular) like I flipped through my picture books. I'd check [children's] cookbooks out of the library at my elementary school. When The Frugal Gourmet would come on after Sesame Street I'd get SO excited! Looking back, it seems the contents of this blog are not surprising - predictable even. It's likely it was even before my teenage years, but the first thing I remember baking on my own was around 12 or 13: lemon meringue pies. Not just 1 - but tons. All the time. Hmm, and let's not forget that Easy Bake Oven! It was my favorite toy!

I'd love to work in food some how, some way. I'd love to write a cookbook to honor my family and all our fantastic recipes. I'd love to own a bakery and watch customers squeal and smile as they bite into something delicious. I'd love to cater parties and make people happy with yummy food. But those are just dreams for now. A bit risky and difficult to attain with a Bay Area mortgage looming over me.

So by day I'll continue to sit in my cubicle taking conference calls and working on project schedules. And by night I'll do what I love, then sit down and share it with you... Thanks for visiting! Please leave me comments if you like a particular entry! They keep me going - knowing that people are reading!

To contact me directly please email me at: lisaisbossy {at} yahoo {dot} com