Leslie Anne Tarabella Southern With a Gulf Coast Accent

Out for a summertime drive in the Apè.

Even if you hate the heat, you have to admit, summer is the best time of the year. Or, maybe it’s just me. I love it. 

And the best part about this summer is I’m FINALLY FINISHED with my latest book. Well, almost. The cover art is still being tweaked, but overall, I feel like I’ve just given birth. I’m mentally drained from looking over each and every word for what seems like a million times. I’m terrible about going back and changing, “just one more little thing.” I have the most patient editor in the world. Thank goodness for that! 

When the cover art is finalized, I’ll be sure to post a picture. For now, I’m ready to relax and celebrate. 

I want you to be sure and see Malia’s recipe at the end of this post because it’s the perfect summer appetizer.  Be sure to scroll down to see it. 

 Between scrutinizing book pages, I’ve also been busy with a few fun things.

I made the flag cake with directions and help from my friend Lise at Mom Loves Baking. Her cake was much prettier than mine but it was super fun to make. Kind of like a Rubik’s cube meets Betty Crocker. 

My friend Ashley had a fabulous féte for the Fourth and someone brought this delicious banana pudding. The patriotic poodle pups posed for a glamour shot. 

We celebrated my friend Jule’s 105th birthday with a big summertime party. Since you asked, (I know you thought it), she eats no sugar or red meat. Her mind is sharp and she has even helped edit parts of my book.

Here’s my sitting place in the morning after I pick 6-8 pounds of figs each day. No lie. It’s crazy fig season around here. This POST will show you what our yard looked like just after hurricane Sally. We planted this row of crepe myrtles to replace the 13 large trees we lost. They’re finally filling in and look beautiful. I feel like I’m in paradise every morning – BUT . . . I found a snake in my pool!!! I’m very proud to tell you I got it out all by myself. No thanks to my husband. You know you’ll hear more about that later. EEK! 

Now – for Malia’s recipe.Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Bacon.  She says some super nice things about me in her post, and I think she’s just as wonderful. She’s a good friend to share anything with, but since Malia’s a culinary wizard, the figs were a natural thing to share that sent her creativity into overdrive. Read about it HERE. 

Don’t these look delicious? I’ll be making this tonight. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for book news! 

I’m hoping my comment section is working again, so let me know what you’ve been up to this summer.