Great pictures are not taken with a cell phone camera in a room with a chandelier and sparkling candles.  That’s a fact.  But great memories are made when family and best friends come together.  My baby brother turned 27 on Saturday.  How does time go by that fast?!?! So to celebrate Miss V, CoLo and I all headed to the playground of the stars to celebrate with him for the weekend.  Little did he know Chicago would be surprising him by driving down the day after we got there, too, and boy was he surprised!

So with the gang assembled, it was time to celebrate.  After a birthday breakfast, we drove to the big city to play goofy golf (and be hustled by CoLo), break the basketball game in the arcade and grab lunch at PeiWei before a quick stop to pick up the new Neil Casel photobook from his time in The Cardinals with Ryan Adams.  The drive home was filled with dissecting the chances of Ryan Adam’s returning to music, bad 80s music and naptime.  We arrived back at the parentals just in time to help mom finish up birthday dinner, meatloaf and mashed potatoes (and I took my first bite of meat loaf in 23 years! Let’s just say I had a bad experience.)

After dinner Z opened his gifts which included more pearl-snap button shirts, a GPS for those El Paso adventures, a gift card to expand his vinyl album collection and a knife that every guy would want and only a few should be entrusted to carry. Then before the hour got too late, Miss V packed up and headed east for Cruces, and those who remained capped off the evening with “The Hurt Locker” and Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago” on vinyl in the manroom.

While this weekend was nothing like last year’s Zacapalooza with the huge bbq and trek to Texas for Ryan Adams and The Cardinals, for me there was something quaint and heart-warming about spending time with the people who mean the most to you.  I’m pretty sure the birthday boy feels the same way.  Happy birthday, brother.  May you have many more and may those you love be there to share each one!

I’ve had this blue beauty since I got her for Christmas and am finally having time to put her to good use. First, there was berry crumble last week and then homemade beef stew today.  She’s just perfect for slowcooking a winter’s meal, and this has definitely been a winter.  For quite some time now I’ve wanted and enamel-covered dutch oven and am so glad Lodge (one of my favorite kitchen brands) makes such a gorgeous, kitchen heavy hitter that won’t set you back $300 like others.  So if you need something special for your mom, the chef in your life or even yourself, this is a must have!

• 3 cups oats
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tb
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp of cinnamon
• zest of two oranges
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 40 oz of frozen berries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.  In a large bowl, toss together oats, 1/2 cup flour, pecans (I used pecans that were already covered in cinnamon and sugar from a local orchard), brown sugar, 1/2 of the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and zest of 1 of the oranges.  Add butter and gently press with fingers to incorporate into mixture; set aside.
2. Place berries (I used 16 oz of raspberries, 16 oz of blackberries and 8 oz of blueberries) in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, zest of second orange, and 2 TB of flour and gently toss.  Scatter oat mixture over berries.  Transfer to oven and bake until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden about 35-45 minutes.

(Taken from Country Living magazine and tweaked a bit to my taste.)

* Mild Curry Paste
* 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1 inch cubes
* Bag of frozen green beans
* Bag of frozen crinkle-cut carrots
* 1 can of coconut milk
* 2 Tb vegetable oil
* 2 Tb fish sauce
* 2 cups of jasmine rice

Begin by rinsing rice in cool water until water is runs clear through rice.  Cook rice  according to package or following these instructions.  Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes and add chicken to 1 Tb of hot oil in wok or large skill.  Cook chicken completely.  At the same time reheat vegetables in an additional pot until veggies are cooked through.  Combine veggies into chicken and add fish sauce, coconut milk, and curry to taste.  (I usually add 1/3 to 1/2 of jar.)  Cook for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and coated chicken and veggies.  Serve over rice and enjoy!

Pillowcase fabric

Completed bed with new pillowcases

On the other hand and just in time to cheer me up, Lauren is back from her overseas trip and should be arriving on my doorstep soon.  I can’t wait to hear stories of her trip and just give her a huge hug.  I’ve missed her immensely the past two weeks and will be relieved to know she is home and safe.  Plus, two weeks of life is a lot of catching up to do.  Then, to add more fun to the proverbial pot, my old and dear friend Emily is bunking at my casa tomorrow night as she drives through Flagstaff.  I’m sure we’ll spend our time together catching each other up and gossiping about the old gang while feating on Oreos and ice cream.  I haven’t seen her in almost two years, and it’s been months since we truly had a good chat.

Life is funny like that.  As sad as I am to say goodbye to three of the people I care most about, God has provided me with hellos and hugs of others that I’ve been missing.  I know deep down that even when I say goodbye to Emily Monday morning or remember the three hundred mile distance that separates me from my family, I am still loved and still love, and that’s more than enough to get by.

What is it about our parents that even as grown adults we have an obsession with pleasing them?  Will it really matter to them that every picture and decoration on the wall is level?  No, you say?  Then why did I have to check every single thing on every wall with a level last night?  I’m sure Cory thought I was losing my mind as I checked and rechecked my parental preparation list 15 times yesterday and today to make sure everything was just right, but you only get one chance to make a first impression.  Even as I think about this afternoon, it seemes laughable to spend that much time focusing on details they won’t even notice.  People come in and out of my place all the time and probably couldn’t tell you what colors the throw pillows on my couches are, and yet I went so far as considering ironing the wrinkles in them that I noticed late last night.  Maybe I’ll just turn off all the lights and light candles, so that the room has a nice glow when they get there without shining a spotlight on anything I might have missed.  Yeah, that’s a good plan.  Then they’ll think their daughter is holding a seance and not critique her decorating, cleaning, or living as an adult skills.  Whew, I feel so much better.

Even though I’m no longer in charge of feeding the crowd, I still find joy in shopping the bargains on a smaller scale,.  So today after combing through the ads and planning meals for the next two weeks, we headed off to conquer the grocery list.  At the end of the day, the freezer, fridge and pantry were stocked.  We had saved 21% more than we spent and have everything needed for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few weeks.  Now, who wants to come over for dinner?