7 years (and 9 months)

7 years ago (yesterday)....chris and I decided to stop pussy footing around the issue and declare that yes...we were indeed....."dating" (we'd already been dating for about 9 months). eek! Two years ago (yesterday) he asked me to marry him.......and a year ago (yesterday) we were just a month and half away from getting married. We celebrated by pulling some carrots from our {organic} garden, opening up a bottle of Syrah I gave him as a gift for this same occasion last year and roasting a rack of lamb with cous cous and sauteed carrots (in butter and brown sugar of course). Finished the whole thing off with some carmelized peaches and vanilla bean ice cream. Nom!

The only picture I have of the occasion is this:

of our first harvest......

....because when I'm spending an awesome night drinking wine with the man I love...I forget to take pictures. :)

As a side note: I totally burned my fingers on spattered caramel. It hurts. War wounds.

Because homemade is always better.

Sunday is the only day both Chris and I don't have to work- usually (as I write this he is actually at work today....Sunday...on Memorial Day weekend....ugh...go figure) and I look forward to this day every week. Sundays used to be about pancakes around this house.....and we've become masters of a delicious blueberry pancake (I'm on blueberry duty.). But for the past few months Sundays have been all about waffles. The quest for the perfect rich buttermilk waffle. Crisp on the outside, fluffy and light on the inside...we're really almost there...the last few Sunday have been phenomenal on the waffle front. This week, I got it in my brain though that the perfect accompaniment to homemade waffles would be homemade butter....and the product of homemade butter is buttermilk which can then be used in the waffles! Genius!

So this morning.....I made butter. Oh....what's that? You'd like to know how??? OK! I'll tell you!

Step 1: Heavy cream goes into fancy food processor that you got as a wedding present and that your husband insists you didn't want but he convinced you and oh now look who loves it! (phffffttt...)

Step 2: Turn fancy food processor on and let the cream go from liquid to beautiful whipped cream and then into the phase where it starts to break apart and separate from the liquid....all while your husband stands over your shoulder going "ooooh look! it's changing!". He's cute, that one. :)

Step 3: The liquid that separates is buttermilk. Pour it out pressing the butter with a spatula to get even more liquid out. Save that delicious buttermilk for the waffles you'll make....you're going to make waffles aren't you???? (sidenote: like my manicure? It's called "booty camp" cuz it's pink camouflage. I'm so hardcore.)

Step 4 (sorry...no picture...I was busy doing step 4): rinse the butter with very cold water....drain off the liquid and wash again until the water is no longer cloudy.

Step 5: Mix a few pinches of salt (even if normally you use unsalted butter) into the butter and place in small bowl pressing out air bubbles with spatula. And BOOM! Fresh creamery buttah...is there anything bettah? (british accent necessary). Seriously....this butter is amazing.....I know it sounds stupid to describe it this way...but it was just so....so....buttery!

Step 6: Make waffles (slather with fresh butter), turkey bacon and french press coffee.....and watch Meet The Press (followed by discussions about the ridiculous idea of Sarah Palin running for President and medicare with husband). And that's our Sunday morning.

Indy says "they know I love the waffles and the bacons...but they never offer me any."

He's so abused.

The Little Things

Sometimes we just need to be reminded about how many amazing moments there are to be found in life.

I just discovered this blog......and you should spend some time there. Especially if you're having a rough day. I could keep posting, but these are a few that I love.

I would add:

* Hearing "I love you" first.

and

* When a little kid runs across the room in excitement to hug you.

Anguilla: Day Two.

So I get home from work this morning and walk back in after doing a little yardwork and I see this guy RUNNING up our yard, trampling our new grass and displacing our walkway rocks. I am displeased already. Then the doorbell rings. "W.T.F" runs through my brain. (and Indy's....although his thoughts manifest as just a cocking of his head). I open the door thinking that maybe this guy is panicked about a lost child or worse....lost dog (just kidding. settle down.). He's standing at the bottom of our steps and blurts out quickly "HI! I SELL WHOLESALE STEAK AND SEAFOOD! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I GOT!". Just as he's about to run away to what I assume is to get whatever he's got to show me I say "I'm not interested" and he pauses as though that's a surprise to him. "oh. You're not? Ok. Thanks" and he RUNS away. So I close the door....and assume he went next door to yell at someone else about his fish. Not 60 seconds later I see him RUN. FULL SPRINT. down the street back to his truck that is labeled with black stick on letters "wholesale steak". Then he PEELS OUT down the street at speeds not appropriate for a residential setting.

And that was Anguilla Day Two. Blogging is fun.

I'm back.

Consider this one single post as my way of saying....keep checking back. I think I'm going to start back into this blogging thing after almost a year hiatus. Wow. It's been quite a year.