When I started The Yuca Diaries, I imagined it as a place to share recipes.
Cooking has always been one of the ways I show love. Some of my favorite memories have been made around a table—trying recipes from different cultures, celebrating family traditions, gathering friends, and lingering over conversations long after the meal was over. Food has always been at the center of those moments, and sharing those recipes felt like a natural place to begin.
As the years passed, something else began to take shape.
I found myself just as inspired by everything surrounding the meal as I was by the meal itself.
I loved arranging flowers before guests arrived. Setting a table for no special reason. Photographing the quiet moments that often go unnoticed. Slowly transforming our 1954 home into a place that feels warm, welcoming, and lived in. I realized that creativity wasn’t confined to the kitchen—it had quietly woven itself into every corner of my life.
Then, a few years ago, I took another creative leap and started my floral design business, Forever Blooms.
Working with flowers became so much more than arranging stems. It taught me to notice color, texture, seasonality, and the beauty found in everyday moments. It reminded me that beauty doesn’t have to wait for holidays or celebrations. Sometimes it’s a bouquet on the kitchen counter. A centerpiece for a weeknight dinner. A simple arrangement that makes an ordinary Tuesday feel a little more special.
As Forever Blooms grew, I began to realize something.
The recipes, the flowers, the photography, the home projects, the gatherings around our table—they’ve never been separate parts of my life.
They’ve always belonged to the same story.
For a while, those stories lived in different places. Recipes were shared here. Flowers found a home through Forever Blooms. Home projects stayed tucked away in my camera roll. Thoughts and ideas filled journals that rarely left my desk.
But the more I reflected on it, the more I realized I didn’t want my creative life divided into separate boxes anymore.
I wanted one place where it could all live together.
That’s what The Yuca Diaries is becoming.
Food will always be at the heart of this space because I believe sharing a meal is one of the most meaningful ways we connect with one another. You’ll still find recipes inspired by kitchens and cultures from around the world. But now you’ll also find the life that exists between those recipes.
You’ll find flowers and floral design.
You’ll find home projects as we continue transforming our 1954 ranch house one room at a time—and designing spaces not just in my home, but in yours too.
You’ll find thoughtful gatherings, seasonal traditions, photography, creativity, and reflections on the ordinary moments that become our favorite memories.
In many ways, this isn’t a new direction.
It’s a more honest one.
The name The Yuca Diaries has always pointed here.
A diary isn’t about one subject. It’s a collection of the moments that shape a life. The things we create. The places we go. The people we love. The beauty we notice when we choose to slow down.
That’s what I hope this space becomes.
A place where recipes are shared alongside the tables they’re served on.
Where flowers are more than decorations—they’re a way of celebrating everyday life.
Where a home is never “finished,” but is always becoming.
Where creativity is welcomed in all its forms.
Where hospitality isn’t about perfection, but about making people feel at home.
Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or you’ve just discovered The Yuca Diaries, I’m so grateful you’re here.
My hope is that when you visit this space, you’ll leave inspired—not simply to cook something new, but to notice the beauty that already exists around you. To gather the people you love. To try something creative. To make your home a little more welcoming. To celebrate the ordinary.
Because sometimes the most meaningful parts of life aren’t found in the recipes themselves.
They’re found in the life between the recipes.
Welcome to The Yuca Diaries.
I’m so glad you’re here.
