Anniversary Present: Maple Bacon Biscuits & A Giveaway

Can you believe it's been two! whole! years! since I started this little blog?  Holy man, where does the time go?  163 posts later and I'm still in awe that people other than my sister and a handful of close friends read these pages on a fairly regular basis.  Many of you, okay, most of you are complete strangers and you've welcomed my words, recipes and photographs into your world.  It's humbling, let me tell you.  Never in a million years would I be here unless you guys were too, so thank you so very very much for hanging out with me through the joys and sorrows; the cat talk and mom talk; the cake and the kale.  Thank you for every kind comment and encouraging word - they go straight to the heart.  Thanks also for letting me know when I goof up (it happens! - I'm not a robot!).  Lately I've been trying to surround myself with things that make me happy (tea, chocolate, cats, books, food mags, Bruce Springsteen, Downton Abbey, Bradley Cooper - oh to be surrounded by Bradley Cooper!) and you know what?  This little blog makes me really, really happy.  It's a joy to sit down in my den, with slippers on the feet and a cat on the lap, and share a little piece of my world with you.  Thank you for two wonderful years.  Let's rock the heck out of year three, shall we?

Remember: Rosemary & Olive Oil Bundt Cake

There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.  Pray you, love, remember. ~ William Shakespeare

So here's the thing that remains after the loved one has left.  Memories.  All of those memories you carry around, lodged in your heart and mind.  And it doesn't take much to rouse one up - a song on the radio.  The smell of something on the stove.  Driving by the place where you met for the first time.  Standing in your kitchen where he would always kiss the back of your neck.  That dress you wore on his birthday.  Looking out at the snow-covered garden where you attempted to grow kale because he really, really loved it.  I'm surrounded and can't help but remember.  As the days go on, maybe the memories will fade a little, retreating into that little corner of my heart saved for loves lost.

Reset: Tuscan White Bean Soup with Leeks & Roasted Garlic

 

First off, I want to express my gratitude to all of you who left me a comment or sent an email regarding my last post.  Thank you thank you thank you.  Your words mean so much and I am frankly overwhelmed by everyone being so kind - especially those of you I've never even met.  I'm doing okay - much better than I was a couple of weeks ago, that's for sure.  The other day I even caught myself humming, against my musical judgement, that Bruno Mars song.  You know the one, so damn catchy I might have even danced a little.  While I may have lost the handsome man, I'm still surrounded by so many other good things right now, and if I don't remind myself of it, others do.  Every day is a chance to press reset.  While 2013 started off quite crappy bumpy, I relish the opportunity to make it better.  Like I wrote in my final post of 2012 ... you just never know what is going to happen to you.  Words to hold near and dear.

Difficult Days: Sugar Coated Cake Doughnuts

Maybe you've noticed things have been quiet around here.  I wish I could tell you that I jetted off to Jamaica for a two week stint of sunbathing and drinking.  That would have been nice.  And a helluva lot better than the truth.  The thing is, my handsome man ended our relationship in the early hours of this brand new year.  It came without a great deal of warning, so you can imagine how majorly my little world has been thrown off its axis.  Life is still very raw, very sad, but somehow I'm carrying on through these difficult days.   He was a huge part of my life, and I was convinced that the right man had finally come along.  Turns out some of the best things simply are not meant to be.  Life can be quite beautiful, but it can also be incredibly unfair, dumping terrible circumstances on those who deserve it the least.  The hard part now is picking my heart off the floor and trying to fill the hole the handsome man leaves behind.