A Brown Eyed Girl's Birthday

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to 

give ourselves the gift of living well."

Voltaire

Today, October 2nd is a very special day;

it's my older sister's birthday.

She shares in my love of kimchi, 

she is funny (boy, can she make me laugh!)

she is sassy, smart, 

EXTREMELY talented,

and honestly, the best sister/friend

I could ever ask for. 

Happy birthday, Susan! 

 I hope today is filled with

laughter, gifts, wine, dessert

and celebration. 

“A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's

birthday but never remembers her age.”

Robert Frost

I love you. 

Iron

I love almost everything pertaining to cooking...

that includes looking at pots and pans, and cooking

 utensils. Recently, I have fallen for a very un-glamourous

 cooking essential...a cast iron skillet. It won't break if I drop

 it, there is no non-stick coating that will eventually peel off

and it can be used as a weapon if needed. 

Last night I decided to experiment and see if I could cook

our whole dinner just using a cast iron skillet. 

Homemade Potato Chips 

 Peanut oil, for frying

3 potatoes, thinly sliced

Sea Salt

In a large cast iron skillet, fill oil no more than halfway and heat the oil to 350 degrees F.

Add the potato slices in batches. Fry until light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Drain on paper towels, 

season with salt, and serve

Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions 

Reserve 2 tablespoons of oil from the chips and 

place mushrooms and onions into the 

skillet. Sautee until golden brown. 

Hamburgers 

1 lb of ground beef 

Salt and Pepper 

1 glove minced garlic

A Walk in the Park with Emma

This morning my niece, Emma, 

and I went for a walk in the 

park...and for a mini

photo shoot.

"Im thinking...why do I not have any teeth?" 

"Aunt Libby, do you think I look good 

with no teeth?"

"Oh! Are you taking a picture of me?!"

"Hey, let me try"

I love you baby girl. 

(photos by: Emma and Libby) 

Monday's Letter

Dear Monday, 

Here it is 9:00 p.m.
I've had a lot of different
thoughts on my mind today.
Here are a few of them:

I'm thankful that even though my memory

can be so short term, I have letters, emails, 

and my diaries to remember all the 

good, and sweet things that have 

happened in my life. 

I'm thankful that when I'm afraid of 

making a wrong choice, that I have 

people, who love me, to talk me through it...

then I don't feel so crazy. 

And I'm thankful for chocolate.

Sincerely, 

Libby 

My apologies...

I apologize that is has been 18 days,

 15 hrs, and 56 minutes since I last 

wrote on here. 

Here is an outline of what my last

two weeks have looked like:

1. School work

 (if only putting on my square framed glasses

actually made me smarter;)

2. My beautiful sister came to visit

3. My wonderful boyfriend came to visit

4. My brother had his 33rd birthday

(what the heck do you get your older 

brother except a Zombie survival guide?)
5. Work

 (in the retail business Christmas is pounding on the door; yikes!)

6. Family movie night 

(Please, watch The Help...I cried and laughed)

7. Family Dinner Night 

(my sister-in-law made the appetizer, I made the
 main course, and yes, my brother made dessert).

I hope this list is an adequate enough excuse for 

my absence. 

Happy Saturday to you!

(photos by: jason lee,
weheartit)

Monday's Letter

Dear Monday,

Thank you that it just started raining,
it makes it feel cozy inside.

Thank you for this past week of the Olympic Games;
my vocabulary has consisted of "Oh wow! That's
amazing! Oh no! How do they do that?!"

Thank you, that when I told my sister I had ice cream
(by myself) to console myself for being a failure
at finding the right clothes, she understood.

Thank you for my job, and for the ladies I got to
work with last night.

And thank you for my record player, 
and Mr. Miles Davis.

Sincerely,
Libby
(photo courtesy of: we heart it)

Mr. Mac & Cheese

I really like Macaroni and Cheese, 

even $2.00 Kraft Dinner from the box 

BUT

even better than that...

homemade macaroni and cheese. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 3 cups milk
• 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• Salt & black pepper

Topping

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

• Directions
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
• While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. Gently whisk in the egg. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.
• 
• Enjoy! 
• (Recipe courtesy of:Alton Brown
• Photos by: Me:)

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Once Upon A Time...

There was a tall, blonde, man

 and a very petite, brown eyed, woman.

He doesn't remember the first time they met (she does)

BUT he definitely remembers the 2nd time they met.

Thank you Adrian and Susan, 

for showing me 

that marriage is about:

*friendship

*bumps and bruises

*road trips (some go smoothly

and others go...well...

we'll leave it at that :)

*spaghetti on Sunday's 

AND

*that it's not perfect...but it's good.

Happy Anniversary!

I'm so glad you found each other; I love you. 

"You wear white and I'll wear out the words

'I love you'.

~Train

(photos courtesy of:natajane
and Susan Ethridge)

Monday's Letter

Dear Monday, 

You let me sleep in this morning

 (I know, normally Saturday

let's people sleep in, but you're

 just good to me that way)...

You let me talk to my boyfriend

on the phone...

You gave me a great cup of coffee

that I could just sip, not have to

gulp down...

You've let me browse through

new recipes, be on pinterest,

read my favorite blogs...

it's not even noon and

it's already been a

sweet, and refreshing day.

Thank you. 

Sincerely, 

Libby 

P.S. Thank you for the hamburgers 

from Five Guys that my brother 

is walking through the door with:) 

*Thank you Open Spaces for this idea!
(prints courtesy of: sloeginfizz,

NatSmithIllustration,
thepairabirds) 

Lunch With Miss Margaret

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with Miss Margaret. 

Miss Margaret is my 61 year old friend.

She makes me laugh...a lot.

Example: 

Finding a place to eat yesterday

 she said, "Libby, I'll eat anywhere 

(besides the Olive Garden)

 as long as I know what my 

food was before it was killed."

She told me over lunch that

she use to love to watch boxing...

that one day she would like to go to Cuba...

and that she almost took her brand 

new Infiniti back to the dealership

because she couldn't figure out how

to start it with the new push button.

She said,"I asked for one with just a 

regular key, but they said, Ma'am  they 

don't come like that now." 

Thank you, Miss Margaret for being my friend. 

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive. - Anais Nin

(photos courtesy of: google)

Kitchen Daydreams

My schedule has been a little

 more busy recently but in 

my mind, you can find

 me daydreaming about 

farmer's markets, 

gardening, and

 trying these 

new recipes. 

Brown Butter Scallops in Jalapeno Walnut Sauce

Stone Fruit Sangria

Nectarine and Blue Cheese Salad

Plum and Mascarpone Pie

(photos courtesy of: tasty kitchen

& Bon Appétit)

Dear Scott and Rachael...

I remember you (Rachael) saying 

"Im not one of those brides who 

doesn't eat" as we were sitting eating

lunch (having already gone to the 

coffee shop earlier...we would later 

stop one more time for coffee:) 

I remember watching you get 

ready and you were so calm

I remember your father's face when

he saw you in your wedding gown

I remember your (Scott) face when you saw

Rachael walking towards you

I remember feeling how much you

loved your families and how you 

expressed that to them during the 

reception

I remember watching the groomsmen

decorating your getaway truck:) 

And I remember after you left, 

thinking "that was an amazing,

and beautiful wedding" 

Happy 2nd Anniversary my friends~

(photos courtesy of:kristenmarie)