broadening.....my taste buds.

as many of you may know, i am actually a picky eater. i would like to say that it is mostly a texture thing but lately seth has been pointing out that i don't really like to try things. that is why about 3 weeks ago i got talked into trying sushi. i actually tried it a long long time ago and spit it out. but this time i loved it!



i don't think i could eat just any sushi but the college roll at O Asian Fusion is delish! it had tempura shrimp in it which added another element to the texture which was very pleasing.

on another note- i am a big fan of Sweet Basil and pretty much swear by their pineapple fried rice. it is hard to find anything that compares. The first time we went to O Asian Fusion I must have missed it on the menu but to my great surprise i discovered they do have pineapple fried rice! it comes with shrimp and chicken and it is the biggest heaping pile of rice i have ever seen. it was no Sweet Basil but definitely up there. i will tell you that it came with raisins. i only like raisins of the chocoloate-covered form so i wasn't very happy when they joined us for dinner. raisins are not listed on the menu as part of this dish so condsider yourself warned.

lastly i would like to encourage everyone to try O Asian Fusion. i know that it is in an old pizza hut but once you get inside all you'll be able to say is how you can't believe it used to be a pizza hut! the food is wonderful and you get to watch the sushi man prepare your sushi if you sit at the sushi bar. they have a full bar and huge menu of yummy things to check out.

today i've been married for six months. being able to say that i am married at all still seems so surreal. but that it has now been six months seems crazy. it has gone by so fast but also has felt like forever (in a good way). love you husband.

update

just a little update. i know i said a while back that seth and i were going to try a new recipe once a week. well, we are failing royally at this.

seth's birthday was (wow almost 2 weeks ago) february 8th. i made him biscuits and gravy for breakfast.


i made this for him 4 years earlier (when i wasn't even sure if he liked me but i was crashing on his couch hoping he did) and it was terrible. i had never made gravy before. well. this time was a little better. i really should have practiced sometime in the last 4 years since this is seth's favorite breakfast but i didn't and the gravy turned out ok but i undercooked the biscuits. boo. regardless, it was fun waking up with him, eating breakfast and opening his gifts.


i got him this awesome set of vintage science encyclopedias and a clock to add to his clock collection.

on friday we went out to eat with friends to celebrate his birth and since every celebration should have a cake, i made my february cake.


nothing special. yellow cake with chococlate frosting and sprinkles. it tasted rather delightful but i didn't leave myself enough time to get fancier with the decorations so i have come to the conclusion that i need to do some practicing before my next cake.



since then we have also celebrated valentine's day.


i made seth cookies and got him this print off etsy.


seth got me the above (oh so pretty) dragon's bone and book i had been eying from Birdie. what great gifts!

we celebrated by going to benvenuti's (only the best high-class* italian in town. *i included high-class because victoria's is up there, it's just more down-to-earth italian).

beyond this our time has consisted of trying to figure out what we are doing with our lives, trying to get porter trained, and hanging out with our friends. hopefully we'll fit a new recipe in there sometime soon.

new love.

i would like to introduce the world to our newest family member. porter peaches virgil scott. he is a cutie. we are so honored to have him and excited to love on him and spoil him for years and years.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO.

happy valentine's day to all the lovely people that make up my life. if you are reading this i probably love you.

my sister turned 24

my beautiful sister, jordan love, turned 24 last friday. seth and i made the trip to fayetteville despite the snow and took the fryer so jo could have a deep fry birthday. it was a blast. things we breaded ourselves and friend were squash, zucchini, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, ravioli, red peppers, mushrooms, cheese cubes and fried chicken. For these we used an egg wash seasoned with pepper and flour breading seasoned with a pinch of cinammon. My favorites were the squash, zucchini, broccoli and ravioli. The cheese cubes didn't really work. the cheese melted into the breading so when you bit into it the cube was hollow...sort of bizarre. things we fried that we bought in the freezer section (is that cheating?) were jalapeno poppers, corn nuggets and sweet potato fries. all of these were a hit...so yummy!



*this is the fried chicken.

desserts turned out to be a little trickier. most of the things were really soft so the heat of the fryer just melted them but we can't say we failed at trying. we made a sweet batter that we tried dipping things in but it only worked out occasionally. we then attempted an egg wash, seasoned with vanilla and flour breading mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon (this didn't work everytime either). we found that if the items were frozen they turned out much better. we did bananas, cookie dough, cheesecake bites, reeses peanut butter cups, brownies, funnel cakes and the most interesting thing we fried were oatmeal cream pies. bananas were good, cookie dough didn't work every time but when it did it was quite tasty (same with cheesecake), the reeses peanut butter cups basically disintegrated and the oatmeal cream pies were a hit.


her party was so fun. the deep fry was such an interesting spin on a party and the dancing (had to dance off all that fried food) at the end made the entire night.


*this is jo and her boyfriend nathan, whipping their hair back and forth.

love you jo. i am so glad we got to make the trip and celebrate your birthday with you.

Margo Colby

The word that comes to mind when I think of Margo is VIBRANT.
Vibrant in beauty. Vibrant in the way she lit up a room. Vibrant in the way she carried herself. Vibrant in the way she spoke. Vibrant in the way she danced. Vibrant in the way she interacted with others. Vibrant with her talents. Vibrant in personality. Vibrant in the way she saw the world. Vibrant in the way she made people feel. Vibrant in the way she loved. Vibrant in the way she lived.


We tried to say goodbye to her on Friday but honestly i hope i never fully say goodbye or accept that she is gone. She lived everyday to the fullest, appreciating the details of each day and every person she encountered. She had a way about making someone feel like the most important person in town. i am beyond blessed to have gotten to know her. i am heartbroken that i won't get to have another glass of wine or dance party with her. i think she has inspired all of us to live more, to never take a day for granted. thank you for that Margo Colby O'Mealey.