Mercado Centrale in Florence

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 23, 2019 /

While in Firenze, Italy a visit to the Mercato Centrale is essential for food lovers.

Fannie Flagg for Father’s Day

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 15, 2019 /

Reading a new book just about every week, Daddy liked a variety of authors and topics. Traditional favorites like Faulkner and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings were balanced by biographies and stories about the wild west. His emergency hurricane cash-stash was hidden between the pages of Jimmy Buffett’s, “A Pirate looks at Fifty” and I once found…

Acqua Alta in Venice!

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / June 13, 2019 /

Crazy internet here — photos are popping in and out. I’ll try to fix it all up later. Thanks for the patience. When you write a book these days, it’s up to the author to publicize and work to get the book into stores. Unless of course, your name is Jan Karon, Mary Kay Andrews…

Real cheesecake is regional

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / May 23, 2019 /

My voice activated music system sometimes acts as if it doesn’t understand me unless I tone down my drawl, which gives me wrinkles around my mouth, because you have to pinch your mouth up in order to squelch a Southern accent. Try saying, “Hey Siri, play Guy Penrod” without a small twang in your tongue.…

Treasure boxes hold what’s important to us

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / April 26, 2019 /

Before I post the column for this week, let me take a moment to thank everyone who noticed my column hasn’t appeared in the print edition of the Mobile, Birmingham and Huntsville papers for the last few weeks. There’s a new computer system at AL.com, and with that comes a different way of loading up…

Enjoy them now and graduation will be easier

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / April 11, 2019 /

Older women would see my children and say, “Enjoy them while they’re young. They grow up in a hurry.” I’d smile and think, “That’s sweet,” but what I didn’t understand was they were actually revealing the secret for not losing my mind years later when my children walked out the door into the world. The…

The attack of the thoughtless leprechaun

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / March 15, 2019 /

Feiciano was a college student from Florida A&M University who was one of the full-time aides in my public school Pre-K classroom. At the time, I thought he was a very grown up adult, but now that I’m the mom of young men that same age, I see what a fun-loving big kid he was.…

Quilts are time traveling hugs from granny

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / March 9, 2019 /

The companies that sell the new weighted blankets claim they give a sense of “security, safety, and calmness.” No kidding — just like the antique quilts.

Time to ditch the pajama pants

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / January 12, 2019 /

Americans were saddened while viewing the funeral of President George H. W. Bush, but I have to admit, I felt joy when I realized no one showed up in yoga pants and a T-shirt.  Dignity, proper behavior and class were on display and America once again looked like a country of real grown-ups.  Finally, political differences…

Time travel to the best night ever

By Leslie Anne Tarabella / December 22, 2018 /

If anyone invents a way to time travel without messing up my hair, I think I’d like to go back to the night of great contrasts, where darkness was shattered by blinding light, stillness was cracked by shouts and boredom was shaken by excitement.  I’m captivated by the familiar story of shepherds keeping watch over…