Hello, friends! I'm back with another new recipe from a cookbook! This is my challenge to myself to pull those cookbooks off the shelf and refer to them when I'm needing a recipe rather than just automatically googling what I'm looking for. Not that there's anything wrong with using the internet or Pinterest! But I tire of looking at screens and I have a nice collection of cookbooks which I've either picked up at different vacation spots or received as gifts from family or friends. One of those gifts has been Joanna Gaines's Magnolia Table! My younger girly gave me this lovely cookbook last year and it is wonderfully homey and sort of farmish! One week during our summer break I told my ... Read more
Valentine’s Day Pasta Dinner
Yesterday's post was all about my favorite love language: FOOD! As a follow up, I'm sharing some recipes from a Valentine's lunch we enjoyed last year with my mother-in-law and my daughter's boyfriend (now her fiancé! Talk about love!). This is a menu I've made for different occasions but found it to be perfect for Valentine's Day. I've not made these recipes in a year, and last night when I pulled the cookbook off the shelf to work on this post, I noticed something really special. The title of the cookbook is The Gathering of Friends, which I had remembered. But what I'd never noticed, was the very small subtitle which reads "Let's make food your love language"! This thrilled me since ... Read more
At My Sister’s House
My younger daughter is playing soccer this spring which is keeping us on the go! When we saw that she had two games in my sister's home city, the two of us were excited to plan an overnight trip to visit with Allison. The day before leaving, we got word that the games were cancelled due to rain, but my sis said, "Come on anyway!" And we did! It was a very quick and fun 24-hour trip. Allison and her family live in a beautiful older home in a historic district. The photo above is of the stone courtyard in back of her house. I took this photo looking out her back door. Such a lovely and peaceful spot under this gorgeous saucer magnolia! If I'm not mistaken, I believe she transplanted this ... Read more
“Heavy Pasta” Birthday Dinner!
Hello, and welcome back! Yesterday I told how we planned, decorated, and pulled off the surprise party for Piano Girl. Today, I'm sharing the menu and recipes. A week before my daughter's birthday, I asked her what meal she would like for her birthday dinner. Now this didn't tip her off to our surprise because I always cook the birthday person a meal of their choosing. She just didn't know it would be for a group! Her reply? With a sigh and a far off gaze (literally), she said two simple words. Heavy. Pasta. So, we went Italian! I set out some water and Artichoke Spinach Dip for the guests to snack on while the garlic bread was in the oven and Piano Girl was recovering from the shock she ... Read more