White Chocolate Dipped Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

Hello, friend.

This last weekend I had the honor of being one of two ushers in my cousin Katelyn's wedding. Katelyn and her fiancé Mark officially tied the knot this past Saturday. Countless family members and close friends came from near and far for the celebratory affair. With our fresh-flower boutonnieres pinned to our shirts and our feet set to march down the church sanctuary aisles, all kept to the time of the organ music heard on the balcony above, it quickly flew by with a single blink. Happy tears and joyful embraces were in abundance. At the reception, Jon played MC and overall comedian for the evening. The passing day and budding night were full of happiness, tears, memories, and thoughts on love. For the happy couple, I decided to put together a wedding inspired food care basket, filled with baked goods sweet and salty alike. From chocolate covered popcorn to apple pie cookies, it was the sweetest way to celebrate love.

To Katelyn & Mark, congratulations! 

No Churn Vanilla & Cardamom Ice-cream Two Ways | Root Beer Floats + Cherry Compote Topping

Hello friend,

It’s been scorching out here in the Midwest. The sun’s ray beat down brutally. The temperature steadily rises above comfort levels. The sidewalks sizzle like oil in a hot iron skillet. The air is thick and heavy like breathing oatmeal. Heartbeats flutter faster as the air condition blows harder. Sweat drips down spines and tongues become dry and dehydrated. It’s the kind of weather fit for staying indoors, listening to jazz music on a record player, sipping on a tall glass of cold sweet tea, and enjoying the day away from the tumultuous weather. It’s time for ice cream.

Jasmine Sweet Tea + video!

Hello, friend.

It’s almost August already, and I’m not in agreeance with that. Where is the time going? The world in constant rotation. Time is quickly passing. The sky changes its vantage point upon the constellations. The air begins to shifts as the humidity rises. Where has summer gone? I’m currently in the midst of preparing to uproot my entire life, my friends, my work, and my family and head off to school. In two weeks, I’ll pack up my array of clothes and kitchen utensils in our family van and head an hour away to my new apartment. My first place. My blank slate. My oasis. My bachelor pad. My open book. The place where childhood comes to an end and my adult life story begins. More information on the new place in the future, so stay tuned.

Rustic Balsamic Cherry & Basil Galette

Hello friend

It’s been a while since I sat down and wrote up a post hasn’t it? Fear not, I have a reason for my minor absence. I've been fairly busy as of lately. I recently finished up an article for the Kitchen Journals on Raspberries and celebrated the fourth of July with the family. Summer months are supposed to be made up of BBQ’s, carnival rides, senseless debauchery, and late night music in the parks. My summer has been far from that. I’ve been in an avid growth mode. My days have been spent cleaning, organizing for my new apartment, recipe developing, and website tweaking. I’ve been frivolously replying to emails, meeting with clients, updating the blog, and being on the phone until one AM with Yahoo tech support over domain issues. My summer has been spent tirelessly scrolling through page after page of analytics, searching for that sense of hidden truth, the niche I need to take my blog to the next level. A few months back I sat down and took a real hard look at myself in mirror and asked myself;

“What am I doing?”