A few years ago, the Mr and I went on a church married couples retreat with some of our friends to Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri.  Every evening, a staff member would bring a fresh gingersnap cookie (called Pepparkakor) to our cabin.  It’s an old Swedish custom to place the cookie in the palm…

Why exactly do we eat black eyed peas on New Year’s Day? It is thought to represent prosperity coming in the new year since they swell when cooked. I’ll take that! I haven’t actively observed this tradition in the past, but this year I decided to make Laura Bush’s recipe for New Year’s Day Black-Eyed…

‘Tis the season for oft-failed New Year’s Resolutions.  We’ve all made them.  Some have succeeded in keeping them.  Many have failed.  In fact, Business Insider reported in 2017 that an unsurprising 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February!  Many times these resolutions are too vague or too intense for us…

Several years ago, I had a job I so excelled at that I would finish my work well and always have plenty of downtime. I found myself bringing a magazine occasionally or bringing my iPad to listen to sermons or podcasts during the day. Oftentimes though I would surf the internet for new ideas and…

I was recently asked (along with a few others) to make some goodies for the church’s youth group New Year’s Eve party. Typically, I would make some form of cookie or brownies. I once made these Nutella brownies that had requests and paid offers for months after. Always something with chocolate. I loved chocolate as…

This time of year, good, solid comfort food is the only thing that will do for the moment. We ride this guilt-free train until the new year when we all collectively awaken from our dreams of pilgrims and sugar plums and auld lang syne and let the scale tell us where we stand. But now…

Pecan Pie. A staple of any Southern holiday table and if you’re not using Karo, you’re doing it wrong. All manner of recipes and incarnations have passed across my table; but though I am partial to toasted pecans, this pie never quite “rang my bell.” I think it was the particularly syrupy, loose nature of…

In honor of my birthday this year, I decided to celebrate by doing a giveaway to socially launch my little space here! Today is the day I’ve been eagerly anticipating for almost a month! You didn’t know it, but you were too. For a long time, I have been wanting a small slow-cooker just for…

Continuing on with my birthmonth festivities, my mom and her husband took us to dinner last night at a tiny, but mighty place in north/central Arlington off Pioneer Parkway that was featured on Guy Fieri’s show ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives‘. What can be said about Taste of Europe other than, it completed exceeded my expectations!…

It’s (almost) time for mistletoe and holly… Who knew that combining two simple pantry staples would bring so much joy? Ganache is a simple, versatile addition to many goodies. By playing with the ingredient ratios, one can produce a multitude of variations based on one’s project. For hot chocolate, 1:1. For cake fillings, a 1:2…