We were thrilled to spend the week of Thanksgiving with Calvin’s parents that were visiting from Florida. It was a wonderful few days of spending time together, sharing meals, and creating new memories together. Thanksgiving has become such a dear celebration to me and our family and really sets a foundational tone of gratitude for the holiday season.
Read MoreThe hard things make us better and stronger. They open up the door for new things. Every no is an opportunity for a different angle or an alternate route to the destination - or in some cases a completely different and better destination than we ever imagined.
Read MoreThanksgiving, for us, is a much slower paced holiday. We spend the day before prepping dishes and the smell of food fills our home. I love being in the kitchen with Calvin listening to music while the boys watch a movie or play in the other room…
Read MoreOne of our favorite family traditions is making cookies for our neighbors around the holidays. We’ve tried a handful of different cookies and recipes. These shortbread thumbprint cookies have stood out above the rest and have become our favorite! Over time, we’ve adjusted and tried different jams and fruits for the filling - so feel free to get creative.
Read MoreFor as long as I can remember, I've wanted to make homemade bread. But I've prioritized other things. As time has passed, I've continued to grow in my own understanding of health and taking care of yourself. I have an appreciation for sourdough and it’s health benefits. A few years ago, we made the switch to primarily using sourdough for bread in our home. This year, we took it a step further and began making our bread at home from scratch…
Read MoreBRINE… RUB… COOK…
Read MoreQuiche is one of my all-time favorite breakfast foods. The best part about a quiche is how easy it is to make. Here’s my go-to recipe for putting together a killer quiche…
Read MoreAs I thought about fun memorable recipes for the holidays in the Payne home, I wanted something sweet, simple, and exciting to look forward to at breakfast. One of the first things that came to mind was Monkey Bread…
Read MoreI love the holidays and I really enjoy the opportunity it provides to create traditions with our family. With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, we wanted to invest some time on the front end helping Emet understand thankfulness and what it means to be thankful…
Read MoreHoliday food is the best! We all have our favorite go-to recipes for the holidays: Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole... Over the years one of my consistent contributions has been this Green Bean Casserole...
Read MoreQUESTION: WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU ASK YOURSELF AS YOU PLAN?
One of the main things that I enjoy about hosting are the conversations. It's a unique opportunity to get to know people on a deeper level…
Over the years, I've tried a bunch of different recipes for mashed potatoes. Some of them worked really well, others were bland and tasteless. One year, for Thanksgiving, I really wanted to fine tune my recipe. So, here is my go-to mashed potato recipe…
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