Scones for Downton Abbey

What do you do when Downton Abbey is coming on, your apartment looks like a tornado has blown threw it (a tornado of moving boxes and tubs and messes) and you haven't baked in weeks?

Make scones.

You bake some classically delicious scones made with yes, heavy cream, and sprinkle in some chocolate chips and walnuts for that extra warmth and delectable flavor.

Burma Part 1: The Market

About a month ago, after about two days hopping from various airplanes, I returned to the U.S. from a 2-week trip to Burma with my mom.

If you don't know where Burma is, it's in Southeast Asia and borders Thailand.

Here's the back story on my trip.

For about the past year I have been the social media/website manager for my parent's mission organization Firefall International. All of my life, my parents have been invested in spreading the gospel across the world, taking many trip to many different nations since I was very young. I think one of the reasons that I became a writer was because I learned to love listening to the stories my parents would bring back from across the world and the tales the missionaries that would visit us would tell.

So, I have always had a passion for seeing people in other nations come to know the Lord. And it has been so neat to use my passion for social media and writing to help further that cause.

And a month and a half ago I got to experience firsthand the wonderful harvest that is happening in Burma and the wonderful people who are a part of it. (You can read more about my trip here.)

Simple Saturday: Sweet Potato Soup

I'm just going to cut to the chase.

Do you like soup?

Do you like healthy things that still feel indulgent?

Do you like meals that stay good for days and are great to take to work?

If you answered yes to all of these (or even if you didn't), then you need to make this sweet potato soup.

25th Birthday in Style

This past weekend, I turned 25!

Wahoo!

I decided that I wanted to have a family birthday as my main shindig, so I invited my sister and brother-in-law from Oklahoma City and my parents to join Jason and I for a party in Tulsa.

Both of my sisters went to college in Tulsa and there are so many fun things to do and places to eat there, so many of my memories of celebrations have been in this town. It's also fairly easy for all of us (except for my sister and brother-in-law in North Carolina) to get to.

Anyway, we have our usual brunch spots and coffee shops, but this past weekend we tried out a few new places that I can highly recommend.

First Fruitful Cocktail

For our New Year's gathering, my sister and I decided that we needed a signature cocktail or fun drink for the evening.

It is the new year, after all.

So, I began searching for a delicious drink that contained Champagne.

And I stumbled upon the French 75.

Food Resolutions 2013

Hello again, folks!

I hope everyone's new year is starting out fantastically.

I wanted to take this time at the beginning of the year to look at my food resolutions from 2012 and make some new ones for 2013.

Here were my resolutions from last year, only one of which was left unaccomplished. I hosted a few dinner parties this year, I made bread (Rosemary Cheese Buttermilk Biscuits), I have cooked a lot more real meals and Jason and I cook together most weeknights!

Simple Saturday: Garlic Croutons

This Simple Saturday recipe really couldn't get any easier.

You take some old crusty bread, like baguette or ciabatta, cut it into cubes, pour some olive oil over it, add some crushed garlic and salt and bake until crisp. (I baked mine at 375 for 5-10 minutes, until browned.)