Thankfulness

All morning spent braving lines at Whole Foods. Check. Running around town for last minute supplies. Check. Pre-thanksgiving day preparation. No-check. Before the frenzy of prepping and cooking begins, I wanted to take a moment to just ponder and be in the moment of the holiday by myself.

Gratitude is something that I wish I could practice on a daily basis. Taking those precious moments to savor life as it is and to accept it and be thankful. In the busy days, I even have the nerve to (gasp!) complain. Getting to see the world through other people's eyes give me reasons to be thankful and I am very lucky that people are willing to share their lives with me in the ways that they do. 

Here's a list of things that warm my heart right now.

cooking

there is truly something therapeutic about carefully crafting each bite to share with family and friends

family

one never knows how much you'll miss them until they live thousands of miles away

cinnamon candles

reminders of my parents' home during the holidays

my little puppy

who loves to snuggle during cold winter nights

book clubs

with girls who challenge and inspire me

dark chocolate

to treat the late-night sweet tooth moments

friendships

new and old

The Husband

as the joys of a happy marriage keep you healthy

fall colors

red, yellow, orange, and browns all over town

Paris

first (big) trip with The Husband since our honeymoon(!)

What are you thankful for?

Sunshine Lavender Farm

Over the summer, a few friends and I drove out to Hillsborough, NC to visit the Sunshine Lavender Farm for their Harvest Day, which is one of the two days each year that the farm is open to the public. If there is one scent that I absolutely love, it would be lavender. It has such a way of allowing me to relax and unwind, especially after a long day. I can't imagine what it would be like to live on a farm with rows upon rows of lavender. 

Assorted Lavender Products. 

Gorgeous lavender wreaths made before our eyes. 

Incidentally, I planted a provence lavender last year and didn't realize that it was a perennial. So, I ripped my lavender plant out of the ground before the winter hit. Then the following spring, I spoke with Anne from Sunshine Lavender Farm and she informed me that lavender plants come back every year. Oops. 

This is my first harvest from this year's newly planted Provence Lavender purchased directly from Anne at Sunshine Lavender Farm. So beautiful and so fragrant. You can also cook with Provence Lavender, which I have yet to try, but will certainly share about the attempt. 

If you have time, you should attend the farm's next Harvest Day, which is typically in June. You can find information about them on their website. Lavender is a versatile plant that is equally beautiful, fragrant, and good for your health. Wouldn't hurt to have one around the house. :) 

Have a relaxing Monday! 

Current Food Musings

Change of seasons. Change of wardrobe. Change of recipes. With the approach of Fall, I am thinking about things that I'd like to make to match the changing weather and temperature. Comfort foods are on the top of the list as is experimenting with more Asian recipes.

Top 3 cookbooks right now include this Lone Star Legacy book that we stole from The Mother-in-Law. It has good ole' southern food recipes as well as a whole section on Mexican food. Current craving is for making pickled okra.

You've seen this one before here. I drool every time I see the Orange Beef recipe. 

This was the first gift The Husband ever gave me before we started dating. There began our shared love of eating and all things food. I love the chewy shrimp or squid balls that you find on the streets of Japan and Taiwan. 

What types of foods are you craving right now?

To Organic or Not to Organic?

When browsing the grocery store, I often think to myself, "Should I pay for an organic version of this or not?" But often, I don't remember all the articles that I've read about what is worth or not worth buying organic regarding produce. Then I found this recently on the Lifehacker blog and just had to print a copy in color and post it on my fridge. 

It's just too cute! 

Image from My Paper Crane

Maybe now that I have a mental image of the fruits and veggies, I'll actually remember which of the dirty dozen are actually very dirty!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the tail end of summer! Hello Fall.

Puppy Love

Since I've had the luxury (or curse) of working from home more often, I get to spend my days with these two. Meet Kerbey (right) and Mantoh (left). Kerbey was found on the mean streets of Dallas by a graduate school classmate. Mantoh is my parents' food-crazed Pekingese that snores like a freight train.

Oh yes, that's some tongue right there. Now and then he'll wake up and realize that his tongue has been hanging out and bone dry. 

When these two are together, they are up to no good. 

Weekend in Nashville

Our girls trip to Nashville was filled with food, food, and you guessed it more food. It was fabulous until we got delayed 5 hours in the Nashville airport on the way back. Naturally, I was too tired to post anything until today. 

Here are some of my favorite (non-food) shots from the trip.

1. Parthenon Replica

2. Beautiful tree next to Parthenon

3. Our sweet ride

4. Necklaces that I totally thought about buying, but decided against... (now regretting it). I love the cleaver! 

5. Do you know who this is at the Grand Ole Opry? 

6. Buy 1, get 2 free boot shop on Broadway

7. Hello Vince Young! 

8. Beautiful magnolias everywhere

Nashville food post coming soon! 

Weekend in Asheville

Some of my favorite things from our trip to Asheville this weekend. You'll notice there are no pictures about food since that deserves its own post! 

Hope you find some beautiful things to look at this Tuesday.

Save the Date

My friend sent me a gorgeous letterpress calendar for Christmas, which sadly had been sitting tucked away on my bookshelf for months. Each month is beautifully designed with gorgeous colors and heavy-weight paper that just exudes luxury. Instead of propping up each month, I decided to post the entire calendar in my craft nook to make the space a little more colorful and cozy.

I'm hoping this will inspire me to craft some more since my craft nook is more inviting now. 

Have a great week everyone! 

Happy Durham Weekend

Durham is one of those cities where a lot of people are driving around with "I love Durham" bumper stickers affixed on their cars. I have to be honest I wasn't a huge fan of Durham when I first moved here because it was such a change from the big cities that I had previously lived in. But, I must say that in the past few months I've really come to appreciate the little things that make Durham quirky and fun.

Here are a few shots of my favorite things in Durham this weekend:

1. Beautiful cookie or cupcake stand from Anthropologie (I could live in the store). 2. Spiked pink lemonade on a beautiful Durham Saturday. 3. THE Durham Bull (city mascot) dressed up for the winter. 4. Inspirational notes left on the sink in a restaurant bathroom (thanks Mr. Rogers).

Number 5 deserves a little more story telling. While walking around in downtown Durham, I happened to see a hint of neon pink hidden in the middle of some daffodils in an urban green space. Upon closer inspection, the pink happened to be a little knit hat for a little homemade garden gnome. He was holding a little sign that said, "I'm so glad you found me! I'm here simply to make you smile. I can go home with you, or you can leave me here to find another."

We actually left it there, so Durhamites can go searching for it too! Number 5 reflects the spirit of Durham that I've really grown to love. :)

Hope you have a great Monday!

Flowers like... Whoa

Saw this in the grocery store the other day and was just captivated by the color. No matter the fact that these flowers were watered with blue water to create this illusion. 

Slacking on posting, but I'll be better soon!

Food for thought.

No new cooking adventures this week...

Instead, KK and I have been digging through cookbooks for new recipes for this week!



Question: Why is it so normal to eat one of these....?



But then feels so odd to eat one of these....?



Off to more cooking this week!!!