About Me
Good to meet you
Hello! My name is Monica Schwartz, and I am the driving force behind Life Out Of Bounds.
I was born and raised in Italy, but I moved to Hawai'i in 2002. I lived first on the Big Island, then on O'ahu for a total of eleven years, until I came down with island fever and moved to California so I could have more territory to explore in my Mini. Though I am currently based in Northern California, I share my time between that and my native country of Italy.
Like most creative people, I wear many hats: artist, designer, photographer, writer and forest therapy guide. In my previous life I was a chef/baker, an experience that now translates to recipe developing, as I still love the art.
I am also a world explorer - with much more exploring on my bucket list - and aspiring time traveler and teleporter.
If I were turning eleven next week, my choice of school would be Hogwarts!
Eventually, I might even get a new photo taken of me. Photographers don't like to be photographed; at least, this one doesn't.
Keep scrolling and you can find out more about me and some of the things I love.
There is no Present like the Time…
ABOUT LIFE OUT OF BOUNDS
What is Life Out Of Bounds?
It all started with a blog called Food Journey. That was my outlet for sharing recipes and restaurant reviews as a natural consequence of my past as a chef/restaurateur, and then a present as a food photographer (among other subjects).
After a while that was no longer enough, as I wished to share about more than food. That is when Life Out Of Bounds was born (or LOOB for short), back in 2012, while still living in my Honolulu apartment. I still miss that apartment - sigh!
Besides being an expansion of my photography portfolio, LOOB would become a way for me to share about my (many) other interests besides food; things like travel, art, design, nature and all those wonderful things that contribute to and enhance our lives here on this planet.
For a while I published both Food Journey and Life Out Of Bounds. Soon though, two blogs became too much to manage. For as much as I loved FJ (and it was difficult to say goodbye) it made more sense to integrate that into LOOB, which, by its own name, allowed for all the expansiveness I craved.
These days, LOOB is like a home, a personal container through which I share my personal experiences with all of the above and beyond. It evolves and changes with me.
Occasionally, I bring in a contributor for a while: people of integrity, with good hearts, and who I love and trust, and feel have something to share that has value and is in line with my vision.
Beyond that: it is a one woman show! From the written content, to the photography, graphics, web design, widgets, etc.… I do it all. I cannot imagine it ever being any other way.
Though I have a few affiliate links here and there, I keep it free of advertising because I cannot stand those ugly, annoying pop ups that you see everywhere these days. Besides being unappealing, they also make it difficult to read or view content, especially when browsing from a phone.
What's in a name?
I am actually pretty good at coming up with names and titles. I was lying on the floor with notepad and pencil, doodling and playing with words while looking for a name that would be expansive, all encompassing. For some reason the letter O kept popping into my head, and I kept scribbling and trying until I came up with Out Of Bounds. I loved it!
It represented me not just in one, but two levels: I was living outside of my native country (Italy), so I was out of bounds in that way, and I have never loved boundaries and being boxed in. So it was perfect.
Alas, the domain name Out Of Bounds was already taken, so it became Life Out Of Bounds instead.
About the Content
As you will be able to see while exploring LOOB, I share about all the things I enjoy and am passionate about: travel, design, photography, nature, healthy living etc. And because of my background as a chef and restaurateur in Italy, I also share a lot about food.
My posts include lots of my own recipes from the restaurant years and beyond. These I update periodically as I myself grow and fine tune my taste and abilities.
I also like to share about good places to eat: coffee shops and tea rooms, bakeries, bistros, cafes and restaurants. However, in recent years - and especially since covid - this has become more frustrating, because a good place you find one day, give it a year and sometimes they are no longer there. I try to keep my posts updated and relevant, and it is sad when I have to delete one because things have changed.
Therefore, these days I no longer do single-eatery posts. However, should I choose to write a piece about a particular town or area, and have experiences of good food spots in the area, I will include these within that post and do my best to keep them updated.
The same applies to those unique shops and galleries. Some are there for years and years, then suddenly vanish. It all changes so fast.
The Logo
That was also designed by me, in Photoshop. I love fonts, lettering and calligraphy, and I enjoy playing with those.
The logo has looked pretty much like this since the beginning. Over the years, my creative drive has had me fiddling with the fonts a little, but to this day I have had no reason to change the design, or the colors.
About the website design
For those of you who are enjoying the website design, here are a few logistics:
it is based on Wordpress, with an incredible base theme by Pro.Photo (who are also providing the hosting). Pro.Photo is still a small business, and their customer support has been amazing from the beginning. If you decide to sign up through this link , you will receive the first month of hosting + theme free.
This Pro.Photo theme is super customizable in itself, enabling you to create your own designs from scratch if you wish. It can be a bit of a learning curve, but the possibilities are endless. You will find there are lots of clear tutorial videos and, most of all, no coding is necessary. Besides, the Pro.Photo team are always ready to help.
If you prefer, however, you can upload ready-made Pro.Photo-specific designs created by other designers. These can be purchased separately and installed on top. They can save you a lot of time and work, and be a blessing if you are not versed in design.
In my case, after much inner debate, I decided to use the included base design and then customize it all myself from scratch. I must admit: I really love doing this.
All the graphic elements you see around the site, I have also created myself in Photoshop.
My chosen e-mail newsletter service provider is Flodesk. I signed up with them in 2023 and love them. If you are interested, you can sign up through this link with a 50% discount on the first year.
Latest Posts
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🍑 NEW CURATED RECIPE 🍑
Italian Pesche | Filled Cookies in 3 Versions: Classic, Lemon & Tiramisu
Pesche (pronounced paeskae) are an Italian classic that is made in two different ways depending on the baker and the area.
The main difference is in the base “structure” that will hold the filling: this base is either composed by two “pasta frolla” (Italian tender short crust) cookies, or two brioche buns.
But no matter the technique, they are always, always moaning good!
My favorites, and the ones I share in this recipe, start off as cookies, but by the time they are done, they are transformed into tender pastries, or pasticcini, that will disappear fast. Yes, everyone looooves them!
They are called Pesche, or Peaches, because they look like, and often are the size of, peaches.
They are not difficult to make, but they are multi-step, so rather labor intensive, especially if you choose to make them in assorted flavors like I often do.
As always, the downloadable PDF includes:
🍑 exact recipes (in grams) that are fine tuned and perfected
🍑 my own recipe-specific tips
🍑 overall baking tips
🍑 images for essential steps as needed
🍑 summary of prep steps
🍑 live Amazon links to special ingredients and equipment
🍑 Available in English & Italiano
Price is: $5.50
You can find the link to the shop in my profile @lifeoutofbounds under My Curated Recipes
Or you can comment PESCHE and I’ll be happy to DM you the link.
Happy Baking!
🍑
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#peschedolci #italianpeschecookies #filledcookies #baking #curatedrecipes
pesche dolci, ricette, biscotti, tiramisu, lemon curd, crema al limone, crema al cioccolato, alchermes,
limoncello, coffee, caffe, sandwich cookies
Have you ever seen the movie “Jumper” with Hayden Christensen (2008)?
I must have watched it about 8-9 times because of the instant teleportation abilities he had just by focusing on a postcard or image of a place.
Honestly, I can’t wait until that becomes the normal way to travel, as I could use some time at one of my favorite Hawai’i beaches without the major hassle that airline travel has become.
Can you guess which one this is? Or maybe you know…
Tip: it’s on the Big Island.
Can you imagine? Just focusing on this image and projecting yourself there for a few hours, no luggage, no airport, no TSA… and then pop right back home for a shower. Bliss!
While we wait, I hope you will enjoy the view in this month’s Calendar Wallpaper.
Download it as usual for free at the links in my profile @lifeoutofbounds or in the highlights.
Happy July!
xoxo
M
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#calendarwallpaper #hawaii #bigisland #beach #travel
New Curated Recipe!
🌸 MELTING MOMENTS Cookies
Just a few ingredients and not a lot of steps to make, these cookies are deceivingly simple, yet also melt-in-your-mouth buttery bites filled with everyone’s favorite hazelnut-chocolate cream.
This recipe contains no eggs.
🌸 This 9-page downloadable PDF recipe:
- exact recipe that has been fine tuned and perfected
- recipe-specific tips
- overall baking tips
- step-by-step images as needed
- live Amazon links to special ingredients & utensils (just in case)
🌸 Available in English and Italiano
Price is $3.50
You can find the link to purchase in my profile @lifeoutofbounds under My Curated Recipes
Happy Baking!
🩷
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#sandwichcookies #cookierecipes #bakingrecipes #chocolate #curatedrecipes
🍋 THE ULTIMATE LEMON CAKES | 1 RECIPE FOR 4 VERSIONS 🍋
+ a bonus recipe!
These are the most satisfying set of lemon cakes for lemon lovers.
They are all tender and light, yet moist and rich in flavor.
I have collected them into a beautifully designed downloadable PDF
🍋 Recipes included are:
- Classic Lemon Loaf with Lemon Glaze
- Upside-Down Lemon Loaf Cake
- Upside-Down 8-inch Round Lemon Cake (in photo)
- 9-inch Round Lemon Curd Swirl Cake
- Bonus Recipe: my Lemon Curd
🍋 You will also get:
- exact recipes that are fine tuned and perfected
- separate recipes for each version
- recipe-specific tips for each variation
- overall baking tips
- step-by-step images as needed
- live Amazon links to special ingredients & utensils (just in case)
- summary table of ingredients
🍋 Available in ENGLISH & ITALIANO
Price is $6.50
You can find the link to purchase in my profile @lifeoutofbounds under My Curated Recipes 🩷
HAPPY BAKING!
xoxo
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#lemoncakes #baking #cakes #bakingrecipes #torteallimone
It’s that time of the month already!
Yep, time for the new June Calendar Wallpaper!
This time it’s featuring freshly picked strawberries 🍓 from my friend Adima’s garden back in Italy.
The images just called to me, so I hope you will enjoy it, too.
As always, the calendar wallpaper is available (for laptop/desktop, iPad/tablet, iPhone/smartphone) as a free download through the links in my profile @lifeoutofbounds
Blessings, and Happy June everyone! 🍓❤️🍓
xoxo
M
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#calendarwallpaper #freebie #strawberries #foodphotography #stilllife
