I’m a busy mom, wife, writer, cook and collector—and I have a nine-to-five job as a public relations manager in the wine industry.

I started cooking professionally in my early 20s and worked up to my dream of writing a cookbook, “Smoothies,” in 1996. I have since authored a dozen books about food, wine and entertaining, including “Small Plates, Perfect Wines,” the “Wine Lover’s Guide to the Wine Country,” “The Food Lover’s Companion to the Napa Valley,” the “Cakebread Cellars Cookbook” and “Cocktail Food.”

I have also written for a few other food publications and have developed hundreds of recipes for wineries in Napa and Sonoma to pair with wine.

My weekdays are spent in an office promoting some of the world’s most wonderful wines.

On Saturday mornings I can usually be found driving around town scouting estate sales for vintage kitchen items. I use these finds in photos and save them for a shop I fantasize about owning in the future.

The rest of the weekend is typically spent testing new recipes, working on improving my photography skills, developing cookbooks from the long list of ideas I have and of course eating, drinking and making merry with our friends and family.