Thankful: Day 4

I am thankful for all of my friends.

But today, I am especially thankful for couple friends.

Who knew when getting married that finding a couple to hang out with would be so challenging?

The girls both have to like each other; the boys both have to like each other.

Then, the opposite sexes at least have to get along.

So far, we've been pretty lucky in this department.

We have a few sets of couple friends.

Today, though, I'm thankful for a specific set.

They've invited us to their house for the weekend.

With the promise of pumpkin pecan rolls.

And coffee.

And a drive-in movie. 

I'd be more than happy to visit them even if they didn't promise any of these things.

I've known Patti for over 10 years.

We went to Romania together.

We're soul-friends. BFFs.

I rode with her from Dallas to Denver a couple of times while she and Brent dated.

I only drove about 2 hours, total.

I'm not the best roadtripper.

I automatically fall asleep when I get in a car.

It's a Pavlovian response since I get carsick and can't do anything, but sleep, in a car.

I lurve her.

Brent and Husby get along so well.

They talk about things like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

They're both quite intelligent and discuss deep subjects.

At which point, Patti and I talk about the latest coffee creamer flavors.

Brent and Patti are on our hometeam.

(This term is from Bittersweet. It's meant for those people that can see you at your very worst without feeling guilt or any judgement being passed: no-makeup, in pajamas, uncleaned house, in a crisis.)

Oh, the fun we have with them!

We love them, so.

Patti & Brent

 Me & Husby

Thankful: Day 3

I am thankful for a God who loves me, who is my King.

Even when I fail to treat him as such.

I am thankful for a God who hears my prayers.

I am thankful when my prayers are answered to my liking.

I am thankful when they are not, even though my heart might hurt.

I am thankful for a God who is always present.

In the good and in the great.

And in the bad.

Especially when we feel like we don't deserve something in life.

Who deserves it, really? Non-Christians who have no hope?

And do we want what we really deserve?

Even when his children are hurting, he is there.

His heart breaks with ours.

I am thankful that he is my Comforter.

I am thankful that he is my joy.

He is Redeemer.

He is sovereign.

He is loving.

He is just.

He is wise.

And, since the Bible is truth and we're created in the image of God,

then I think he is a fun God who enjoys laughter.

For all of these, I am thankful.

{This morning I read Ann Voskamp's blog.

"When You Desperately Want God to Hear Your Prayers" is so very powerful.}

Thankful: Day 2

I am thankful for my family.

My parents are fantastic.

They are giving.

They are fun.

They are friends (now that I'm all grown up).

They are thoughtful.

They embarass me, sometimes.

My dad no longer wears socks with his sandals.

My mom never did wear socks with sandals. Thank goodness.

They are forgiving.

They're both amazing cooks.

They work extremely hard.

They love each other.

They love their children well.

Dad & Mom

My middle brother is getting married.

I couldn't have picked a better wife-to-be.

I'm super excited to get my very own sister-in-law.

(For the record, Husby's brother is married, but it's different that it's MY brother.

She's MY sister-in-law. Does that make sense?)

I am thankful for them both.

Paul often annoys me to no end.

Then he laughs.

Sometimes he tries to chase me with things dead or alive.

He loves getting a reaction out of me.

For years, my mom has told me to "just ignore him."

I've never done it.

He looks just like me.

I like to say he looks like a girl.

I'm not sure why he chases me with things dead or alive.

Brooke is hilarious. And funny.

She puts up with my brother.

And she loves him a lot.

Even when he comes after her with things dead or alive.

Brooke & Paul {They're using the same fabulous wedding photographer that we did.}

My Little Baby Brother (that's his preferred name) is Chad.

He's super cute.

And outdoorsy.

Just like his sister. Except I'm not outdoorsy.

Unless it means sitting outside in rocking chairs at Cracker Barrel.

He doesn't annoy me as much as Paul.

Except when he tries to act like a grown-up.

Then I remember that he's 25.

So he can have adult opinions.

He finally found a profession that he loves.

I'm super happy for him.

And super proud of him.

He has red hair.

I just got red highlights put in my hair.

I like them.

And I love him.

Little Baby Brother :)

Thankful: Day 1

I'm thankful for my husband.

He loves the Lord.

He loves me.

He puts up with me.

He is patient with me.

He is encouraging.

He makes me laugh.

He knows all the best {sometimes quirky} television shows, including:

Pushing Daisies, Veronica Mars, Alias, Wonderfalls.

He makes really good lasagna.

He likes dessert as much as me.

He lets me have free reign over decorating our house.

He works really hard.

He is dedicated, fiercely loyal and wise.

He still chooses me.

730 days

730 days ago, I made a covenant to do life with this man.

These days have been wonderful.



I wanted to type a 10 point list about the things I've learned in marriage.

But I've only been married 2 years. 

I know that I'll learn so much more in the coming years.

And it's likely that I don't even know 10 things about marriage.

(Though I'm certain I had a 10 point list about marriage before getting married!)

So for now, I'll share two things I know about our marriage.

Laughing together is necessary.

Not just a chuckle, but a good, long, hard laugh.

Like laughing till tears come is a great thing for us.

Smelling his cologne.

Sometimes life just gets in the way.

We kiss quickly in the mornings before I jet out the door, and then return home just as crazed.

When we sit still with each other, I like to be close enough to smell his cologne.

Then, I know that we can connect.

These are my things. Laughter and cologne.

Maybe next year, I'll come up with something more profound.

Or maybe something else just as simple that makes our marriage work.

Either way, I know that I'll love my husband more and more.

Pasta with Avocado, Basil and Parmesan

By nature, I'm a planner and a list maker. So it's no surprise that my meals are planned each week with corresponding grocery lists and recipes printed. I know what we're having on the days that I cook, which are: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday. I shop on the weekend for all of our groceries and rarely have to back to the store during the week.

One day last week, I was all set to grill pork tenderloin and roast acorn squash and Brussels sprouts. I reached for the squash and found that it was rotten to the touch. Gross. If you don't cook winter squash often, you should know that it can last for weeks before cooking it, so the fact that I'd bought it two days prior--and it was already bad--was a bummer. After a quick trip to the store and chat with the produce manager, I returned home set to switch meals since time was at a premium. We'd have quiche (prepared by my mother-in-law) and sauteed mushrooms. It'd be a quick dinner. Only the quiche had gone bad.

At this point, I should have called it a night and ordered something for Husby to pick up on his way home. For some reason, I didn't. I looked through the fridge, hoping that something would present itself. I had an avocado. I had pasta. I remembered pinning a pasta recipe with avocado cream sauce. I knew that I could make dinner. The only deterrent for following the recipe was that it uses a food processor. Now, I received a beautiful food processor as a wedding gift, and I'm so thankful to have it when needed. BUT...it's such a pain to use. I don't like cleaning it. So I used the recipe as inspiration for a wonderful Pasta with Avocado, Basil and Parmesan. I sauteed the mushrooms, and we ate them and some olives as a side.

Pasta with Avocado, Basil and Parmesan

Inspired by Creamy Avocado Pasta from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

2 cups dried pasta (I used fusilli)

1 avocado

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add pasta, reduce heat to medium high. Cook 10 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, mash one avocado in a medium bowl. Add lemon juice, salt, basil. Stir together.

When pasta has finished cooking, drain, but do not rinse. (The starch left on the pasta will make the ingredients "stick" to the pasta.)

Add pasta to bowl with avocado. Before mixing, drizzle olive oil on top of pasta. Stir pasta into avocado mixture. Add Parmesan cheese and stir until all is incorporated.

Makes 2 servings.

savannah: the food

I like to think of us as novice foodies. We like good food, wine, enjoy eating out, and love to cook. We're learning the foodie ropes. That being said, our vacations tend to have an element of food to them. I decided to keep track of our meals. We like to reminisce. About food. Our time in Savannah was no exception. I grilled the valet parking attendant at our hotel as he gave a recommendation. I wanted to know where he would go eat; not where his boss tells him to tell customers to go.

He didn't steer us wrong, even though I almost did when I asked him to give us directions. He couldn't find the location on the map, and then I discovered it was the map of Charleston. Smooth move. We walked to a pizza place called Vinnie Van Go Go's, where they make the pizza dough everyday. Although they have a multitude of toppings, we had a simple pepperoni pizza that was wonderful.

Our Ghost Tour was scheduled for that evening, but my choice of footwear wasn't appropriate for walking the streets of Savannah. We made our way back to the hotel, but along the way found Lulu's Chocolate Bar. We were both uber-satisfied with our choices. Husby ordered the White Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cheesecake; I went with a Peanut Butter Cup Martini.

The next morning, I was desperate to find a non-Starbucks coffee shop. {My name is Kristina, and I'm a coffee snob.} I don't like Starbucks. I'll drink it, if necessary, but I prefer good coffee. I used a nifty app on my phone, and we breakfasted at Gallery Espresso. It was quaint and artsy. I discovered that iced coffee is big in the South. Not iced cappucinos or mochas, just plain coffee with a little cream. It was nice, since the heat wave of 2011 hit when we arrived in Savannah. We (or maybe I) loved this little shop so much that we returned for iced coffee and muffins the next day.

After our bike tour of the city, our tour guide recommended Soho South Cafe for lunch. Although the wait put us dangerously close to the reservation we made for dinner, we stayed. Husby had a rice salad, which was refreshing. I chose a panini with ham, brie and granny smith apples. It was so good, that I've recreated it at home.

Then there was dinner. We were torn at whether or not to eat at The Lady & Sons--Paula Deen's restaurant. We heard from many locals that it isn't good. BUT how could we be in SAVANNAH and NOT eat at PAULA DEEN'S? We decided to do it. Normally, there is a wait to make a reservation, but while on our bike tour, NO ONE was in line. Husby hopped off his bike and made our dinner reservation.

Oh, dear. I really wanted to like it. I mean, it's Paula Deen. Although I'd been warned to stay away from the buffet, I wanted to know what the hype was about, so I went with the buffet. Husby ordered the chicken pot pie.

Husby's chicken pot pie was beautiful, but all of the puff pastry was a little much.

He also said that mine is better. I married such a good man!

My buffet plate (clockwise from the chicken): fried chicken, mac & cheese, collard greens,

one boiled Brussels sprout, okras & tomatoes, black-eyed peas, lima beans.

The verdict? Meh. They had very few pieces of dark meat, and the white meat was dry,

my mom makes better everything, and why in the world do you serve boiled Brussels sprouts?

No wonder people don't like them. Dessert was about the same: not worth eating.

I'm glad we ate there, but any return trips to Savannah will exclude The Lady & Sons. Although disappointed, we still had a whole day of meals to eat. After breakfast at Gallery Espresso, we toured a house, visited the old cemetery and then had lunch at Caraway Cafe. I can't remember what we ordered, but I do remember that Husby had a sandwich with basil mayonnaise. I loved it so much that I ordered a side to go with my sandwich.

After lunch, we just couldn't pass up Leopold's Ice Cream next door. Oh mercy. It was good! I had a scoop of coffee chocolate chip; Husby had the coconut. Both were amazing. The best in the South. But not the best in Texas. That's reserved for Blue Bell.

That evening, we had dinner at The River House on the Savannah River. I really wanted to try Shrimp & Grits, so that's what I ordered. It was quite good. Husby was super satisfied with his steak.

I would love to return to Savannah for a long weekend. I think it's the perfect sized town for a three day getaway: not overwhelming, but plenty to offer, especially in terms of food.