The Diary of Toma Clark Haines
“This is my life. I built this life. You - and only You - have that power.”
Follow the Journey
This is my Republic. My diary. I journal my life. The day-to-day. Lessons learned. I love. I laugh, mostly at myself because laughter is the best medicine. I travel in my imagination, and in reality. I cook. I share recipes for food as well as practical magic. I believe in God, and I believe God hung the Moon and Stars. I believe you have the power to create your own reality — to make your dreams come true. My diary is Eat, Pray, Love (Yourself) meets Elle Decor + a dash of Goop and a pinch of Entrepreneur.
Featured Posts
The Dome of Florence
In my creative Strategy Sessions with clients I often say it takes a village. Brunelleschi led an army of masons and stonecutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, lead beaters, barrel makers, water carriers, and other craftsmen.
Turning to the Light
The sunflower turns to the sun. Their face follows the sun as it moves across the sky. I find myself praying.
To Terra Firma
This morning I realized I had started to think like a Venetian. Instead of taking the Vaporetto Line 1 slowly slinking up the Grand Canal to Ferrovia
Saint Valentines in Rome
Had anyone else sent me a skull on Valentines I might have been offended.
Romeo Romeo
I took Romeo to get his jab. Everyone is doing it these days. An injection. But No. He didn’t get the Covid vax. He got his birth control shot. Depo Provera for cats.
American Food
My friend @pier_andrea_m always requests American food when he comes to dinner. As an American who has lived abroad 20+ years I don’t often cook American.
I Should Take Down the Christmas Tree
Home.
Creative People Need Time to Think
Time to watch the clouds.
A Year of Yes
Saturday I woke to a call from a friend. “How was Florence?” she asked. “What is this #yearofyes all about?” I’m a bon vivant. An epicurean. A hedonist at times.
Join Me in Florence
I was sitting at dinner casa mia with friends when one said “I have to drive to Florence tomorrow
Don’t Jump
“Don’t jump.” Oh dear god. We have to call the pompiers! To get Fortuny off the ledge! It’s 3am. My friend Lori is traveling
Follow the Fun
And so that’s what I decided. To follow the fun. Heaven help me if that’s not what I’d been doing all along but I gave myself permission
Christmas Eve in Paris
I arrived wet & stepped into the bathroom to blowdry
Missing Mom on Christmas
Christmas night. I’m melancholic. This evening is bitter sweet. Champagne & Chablis. Danielle & JP understand my mood. I’m quiet. They don’t expect much of me. All that’s expected is to Receive. It’s my word for next year. Receive
Because It’s Fun
Because it’s fun. That’s my answer to your question. Why did you bring the cats to Paris? I can give lots of other answers. I didn’t have a petsitter to stay the whole time I was away. The cats don’t like to stay alone. But the truth is- it’s fun. They like an adventure as much as I do.
Eating My Way Through France
I am on a #TourdeFrance this holiday season. The road trip through the Alps. Paris. Normandy. Now Biarritz. Next stop Toulon in Provence and back to Mont Blanc for a final farewell in a chalet
Venice Meets Paris
A spritz macaron. I moved to Paris when I was 25 and it shaped me. What is it Hemingway said?
Sunny Days in Snow
I need to get away. Julia said. I need to see snow. I said. It doesn’t feel like Christmas. Snow will make it feel like Christmas. And so we went. Cortina d’Ampezzo
Immaculate Feasts & Conceptions
It’s beginning to look a lot like…The Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Holiday Dinners
My favorite time of the year in Venice is when @danielgermanidesigns comes to town… Nights find us singing along with Brano di Mina on the loud speakers
Barolo. Barolo. Barolo.
I roll the words around my mouth. Barbera. Barbaresco. Nebbiolo. I taste each vowel sucking slowly on the Bs. We go on a truffle hunt in the Langhe
