Portrait of a Marriage.

Sorry for the radio silence. But, rest assured Hugh is still making me laugh every single day.

Cassie: Would you go zip lining?

Hugh: What? Right now?

C: Yes, Hugh. Right now. I have a zip line set up in the backyard. Of course not right now. Like if we were on vacation and that was an excursion.

H: We don't take vacations with "excursions." And, no, I would not zip line. That shit is for tourists.

C: So you would never zip line?

H: Well, I wouldn't say never. If a zip line were going to get me from building to building and I was being chased by ninja criminals, then I would partake in zip lining.

C: Oh, good. I'm glad we clarified that.

H: Also, only fit people can zip line.

C: No, I think anyone can zip line. They have weight ratings on the harnesses, I'm sure.

H: Okay, only fit people should zipline. Get a unfit person up there in that harness and you are looking at all kinds of bulging no one wants to see.


So, in conclusion, no, no we are not going zip lining. But please don't feel judged if you love to zip line. I would totally do it.

Also, Hugh is rude.

But funny.

What We're Doing.

Do you want to pretend like 1 week on and 2 weeks off is a legitimate blogging schedule? Can we say something is better than nothing?

No?

Okay. Sorry about that then. Life has been crazy around this White Hot house. Work is insanely busy. Hugh is at the hospital for thirteen hour a day and then studying late into the night. Fletcher and Henry - well, they are still just so cute it hurts you.

Oh, and I had a birthday. As days created in your honor go, it was pretty darn peachy. I was completely spoiled by my family and my sweet friends - cards and messages and phone calls kept pouring in until I thought my heart would burst.

Hugh has fully embraced my over-celebration tendencies - there was homemade cake, approximately one million balloons, sweet and funny cards, and a birthday lunch date. Oh, and a visit from the world's best parents. A few photos of the weekend:

A very mediocre photo of some very lovely balloons.

What's a birthday without a celebratory Bellini? Why, that's no birthday at all.

Celebrating the twenty-eighth anniversary of the day we met.

A husband who bakes you a cake (lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting and candied lemon wheels - I know, he's probably going to try to steal my blog with his skills), lights the perfect number of candles, and then sings happy birthday? Yes, please. Also, it appears from the blazing inferno atop this cake, I am getting old. I'm going to need a bigger cake next year...

With that, I'm off to another crazy work day. And lunch with a favorite friend. And (brace yourselves) house cleaning. And then, since he worked like a dog all week, Hugh has promised to take tonight off. So I am taking us on a little date. Three cheers for date night!

Have a lovely one, sweet friends.

Let's do this, twenty-eight.



Post Script: You will notice this post title did not contain its usual "And Eating." That's because what we've been eating hasn't been much to write home (or recipe posts) about - some crumbly black bean burgers, takeout, so-so pork tacos, and lots of leftovers. I'm back to it this weekend, so let's talk food on Monday, okay? Okay!

The Weekend In Photos (and Also, Words).

Happy Monday, friends. How was your weekend?

Ours was a delight. I made sure to remind Hugh every fifteen minutes that it was the weekend before my birthday celebration. He assured me that wasn't a thing, but I just kept right on having a lovely pre-birthday celebration anyway. Here's what it looked like:


A happy little Friday grocery list:

At-home happy hour with my one and only:

See, doctors aren't serious all the time.

I think cheese and crackers is my desert island food.

Do you just love the grey and white striped straws?! I do. They are the perfect accessory to the perfect cocktail.

Played in the yard with the kiddos. We've decided to just act like it's not one hundred and ten degrees outside. So far this strategy has left us sweaty, but I'll keep you posted.

Don't let this photo fool you, Henry loves Fletcher. Ten percent of the time.

Ate mussels for dinner:

This is one of those dinners whose ease of preparation belies its deliciousness.

Said goodbye to our neighbor parents (you know, neighbors who are old enough to be your parents and do things like invite you over for Christmas dinner and make you Easter baskets. We l-o-v-e them.). They are moving to Florida, and we were very sad to see them go. There may or may not have been tears on my part. It's official: no one else I know is allowed to move. Unless you live far away and are moving closer to me. In that case, I will help you pack.

Saturday morning doughnut run:



Saturday afternoon Hugh's Famous Fried Pickles run:

Saturday night we made a last minute decision to go see a 10:45pm movie. The funny part about this is that usually we have been in bed for fifteen minutes at 10:45pm. Also, I may or may not have worn my pajamas. Saw "Crazy, Stupid, Love." It was funny and worth the late bedtime. We were very proud we did not fall asleep in the theater. Not that that has ever happened. During "Sherlock Holmes."

Sunday was sleeping in (see: we do not usually stay up until 1:15), leftover doughnuts, yard work and washing the cars (for Hugh, husband extraordinaire), reading, Words with Friends (why so addictive?!), and laundry. Oh, and a very delicious dinner:

Check back this week for a recipe for the best ribs you ever ate in your life, homemade barbecue sauce and all.

Hugh said our weekend can be summed up with the following photos:

Basically, the food was good, the drinks were cold, and life was sweet.

Lots of fun lined up for you this week on the old blog, so check back soon. I hope on this Monday you are a whirling dervish of productivity.

What We're Doing. And Eating.

This morning I woke up feeling all, "Oh, hey, there you are, Friday. Missed you, buddy."

Which is to say I woke up in a fantastic mood. Probably because I found out last night the husband of my lifetime is off this weekend. And, also, my birthday is a week from tomorrow, so you had better believe I'm milking that as much as I possibly can by dramatically proclaiming, "Let the celebration begin!" Multiple times a day. Hugh loves me.

Here's what we've been up to this week - the good, the bad, and the food:

• Commuting like it's my job. (Get it? It kind of is my job.)
• Broke another pair of shoes. The heel snapped right off my second favorite pair of pumps as I was walking into a meeting. So, I just picked the broken heel and kept right on walking like nothing happened. That was fun. I feel very proud because those shoes were like five years old and who even keeps shoes for that long? (answer: a girl who hates to shop for shoes) Also, I feel very sad because I loved them and now they are gone, baby, gone:

• Saying goodbye. One-third of our Savannah Family is on the move. We're proud of them and excited for them because Brian and Ann and the girlies are on to bigger and better things, but man, oh man, are goodbyes hell on the heart. Fortunately their destination of choice is on Hugh's residency-options list, so perhaps we shall meet again very soon.
• Wore my cutest outfits to work from home:

I totally understand if you want to copy both my hairstyle and my beautiful facial expression. We cannot all be this naturally talented at looking awkward.

• Hugh got a new ringtone for his phone. He went with the obvious choice - MC Hammer's well-known ballad, U Can't Touch This - of course. Mine all mine, ladies. Don't be jeal.
• Cleaning like the OCD that I am. Thursday is house-cleaning day at White Hot. I think that is another reason I always wake up in a good mood on Fridays. That, plus the whole it's-almost-the-weekend thing. Also, I'm thinking about sharing some cleaning and organizational strategies with my people (that's you guys). What do you think? Want to be as fixated as I am? (Sidenote: Last night I told Hugh to leave his shoes at the door because I had just vacuumed. He looked at me and said, "Really? I'm not that worried about it. You'll be vacuuming again in thirty minutes." Note to self: tone it down with the vacuuming.)
  
• Really, I've just given up on keeping Fletcher off of the couch. I figured, if you can't beat 'em, just buy some Febreeze and go with it:

And, what we've been eating:

• BFF Sandwiches - A perfect Saturday lunch.
  
• Falafel with Tzatziki - Fast. Easy. Good for dinner, good for lunch the next day:

• Egg Salad w/ Homemade Mayo - I think egg salad is one of those foods that a lot of people don't like. But I say, tasty, easy, and cheap? Sounds good to me. Also, my MIL used to make Hugh and I egg salad sandwiches for our drives back to Gainesville way back when we were in undergrad and had just started dating and she wasn't yet my MIL but just the Mom of my dream husband. So, probably there is some positive association there as well. And, it's a pretty little sandwich too:

• Slow-Cooked Chipotle Chicken Tacos - Served these on flour tortillas with purple cabbage, red onion, avocado, sour cream, cilantro, and lime wedges. I'm a big fan of Crockpot dinners. And, of dinners that are delectable. This one was both:

With that, I'm off to do some work, go on a lunch date with my sweet friend, and decide what to Vlog about this weekend.

Hope you have a peach of a weekend, internets. Check you Monday.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.

Did your parents say this phrase when you were little? Every time we pulled into our driveway, my Mom would exclaim in her happiest voice, "Home again, home again, jiggity jig!" I loved that.

I don't know if it was hearing that so many times as a child or if it's just my personality, but as an adult there really is nowhere I'd rather be. Which means walking through the door on Wednesday nights is the best thing that happens to me all week long. Hugh is waiting to hug me and kiss me and carry my bags, Fletcher is losing his mind with Boxer joy, and Henry even comes out from his cave of a room and waits in the kitchen to be scooped up and snuggled.

We (and by we I mean I) are practicing our gratitude a whole lot as of late. When I first started this blog, it was based off of a Harper Lee quote from an interview she did, and the gist of it was sometimes inspiration comes in a white hot flash of brilliance, and other times, it is slower and quieter and you have to wait for it and work for it and look for it.

Our life here is nothing extraordinary - two people working hard to get it right, two sweet pets to keep us entertained, and a bunch of delicious dinners to tie it all together. But when I am deep in the midst of a completely ordinary day with my little family - when Hugh is settling in from work and Henry is sprawled across Hugh's shoulders and I am chopping onions and listening to hospital stories and Fletcher is sleeping right behind my feet so I can't move without alerting him - I can look around and feel that my heart will just burst from gratitude.

A house to take care of, food in the kitchen, a garden in the yard, a healthy body that can play Frisbee with a dog and stir dinner on the stove, warm furry children that wait to hear your key in the door and curl right up beside you on the couch, and a bff husband who makes you laugh at least twice an hour? It's the everyday, slow-burn flash of inspiration, and all I can think is, this is it. This is exactly what I always wanted. Jiggity jig, indeed.

With that sugary sweetness (What can I say? Thursdays make me feel all warm and fuzzy.), I'm off to drink another cup of coffee and walk the dog child and do some work. But, if the weather clears up, I intend to get out and take some photos for a fun little Things I love Thursday, so check back later. If it's not raining.

Thanks for tolerating my over-the-top love for this little family of mine. If you were here, I'd show my appreciation by making more coffee and cooking you some perfectly poached eggs.

A BFF Sandwich

There are two stories I'd like to tell you about this sandwich.

The first is the story of how I am too easily swayed by the thought of restaurant food when I get hungry. Remember how I told you about my melt downs? Well, the meltdown is preceded by a ravenous hunger. The kind of hunger that makes you scrap your dinner plans of a little Saturday night picnic in front of a movie on your couch (i.e. the reasonable, budget-friendly, fairly healthful option) and decide that if you do not have pizza, specifically deep dish pizza, in the next half hour, you are going to melt the f down*.

This explains why I was left with a bowl of chopped garden tomatoes (worth their weight in dollar bills) in the fridge on Sunday morning. Everyone knows that the refrigerator is the death of delicious tomatoes, turning their beautiful texture mealy. I had intended to use my chopped tomatoes in a tomato salad for our Saturday night picnic before the hunger demons took hold of me, my budget, and my healthful-eating ways.

Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to tell you.

Sunday morning I was drinking my coffee and pondering my tomatoes languishing in the fridge, when I noticed two nectarines languishing in the produce basket, looking like they needed to be used yesterday. And I was hit with a flash of my beloved white hot inspiration: Nectarine Tomato Compote.

I took my lemons and turned them into lemonade. Or in this case, took my now-mealy tomatoes and turned them into a delicious topping which then led to the creation of what I like to call the BFF sandwich. Because these sandwich ingredients get along so famously, they should definitely be together forever. The creamy cheese, the salty prosciutto, the tart sweetness of the compote, the freshness of the basil, the spice of the Dijon - be still my lunch-loving heart:

The BFF Sandwich
A White Hot original
serves 2

1 baguette, sliced in halved and toasted
2oz bleu brie (or brie or a creamy blue cheese), room temperature

8 - 10 paper-thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup Nectarine Tomato Compote (recipe below)
8 leaves fresh basil
Dijon mustard

Spread cheese on one side of baguette.

Top with prosciutto, compote, and basil.

Spread Dijon (to taste) on other side of baguette.

Slice in half and eat it up.

Nectarine Tomato Compote
A White Hot Original

makes approximately 1 cup

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup chopped ripe nectarines (or peaches or apricots)
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
dash cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 grinds black pepper (approximately 1/4 teaspoon)

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 - 12 minutes, or until liquid begins to thicken.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about 5 minutes, or until liquid has been reduced to a syrup.

Chill. If you are in a hurry, you can put this in a shallow bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.

*Let's go ahead and acknowledge that my husband is a saint. St. Hugh, Patron Saint of Awesome. And of patience with his favorite wife.

Homemade Mayonnaise: A Vlog and a Recipe

Hi, sweet friends. Today is the premiere of our first ever White Hot Video Blog: Homemade Mayonnaise. The vlog is something we've been toying around with (i.e. Hugh has been telling me to just do it, and I have been hemming and hawing) for awhile now, and this weekend we decided to go for it.

Hugh and I had so much fun with this and I hope you will take a few minutes to check it out:

Please note: although this video is ten minutes long, it only takes about five minutes to make this mayo. The other five minutes are me chatting away with my imaginary audience. Can you tell I work at home alone all day? I just have so much I want to share with you. I might start setting up the video camera in my office so I have someone to talk to...

The recipe is below - amended slightly after I tasted it, made adjustments (more lemon juice), and measured exactly how much oil I used. This really is such an easy way to bring some wow to your meals. Also, an easy way to clog your arteries right up if you don't practice some restraint. But I know you are fantastic at practicing restraint.


Homemade Mayonnaise
makes approximately 3/4 cup

1 egg yolk, room temperature
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 - 3/4 cup oil, 3 parts vegetable oil to 1 part extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl (glass, ceramic, or stainless steel), whisk egg yolk and mustard until completely combined and smooth.

Slowly add oil, a drop at a time, whisking constantly. Oil should be completely combined after each addition before more oil is added. As the mixture starts to come together, you can add a bit more oil each time, but it's imperative that the oil is mixed in after each addition. This will take about 3 - 4 minutes.

Once you get the consistency you're looking for (see: Vlog), stop adding oil. Remember, it's more important that you get the right consistency than it is that you use all of your oil.

Whisk in lemon juice until completely combined. Add salt; whisk to combine.

Taste. Add more salt if necessary.

Eat it up.


I hope you enjoyed this new series. If you like it, you could probably twist my arm to do another one. And by probably twist my arm I mean I already have a page-long list of other recipes and skills I'd love to show you.

Let me know what you think and thanks so much for watching!