Summer Dinner

I love grilling during the summer! Last time I was visiting Nathan we grilled corn, asparagus, onions and pork. It was sooo yummy!

Hiking Stone Mnt. NC

A few weekends ago I headed up to Charlotte to see Nathan and do a little hiking. There was a 30% chance of rain but it held off till late afternoon so we had a great hike. It was so beautiful! We didn't have time to do the whole loop but we did hike to the top and back.

Chai Shortbread Cookies

I made Chai Shortbread Cookies last week on my day off. They turned out really well and are so good when the come out of the oven and are still warm. Yummy!

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Dash of ground cloves
• Dash of freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 10 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon ice water

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until combined (mixture will appear crumbly). Sprinkle dough with 1 tablespoon ice water; toss with a fork. Divide dough in half. Shape dough into 2 (6-inch-long) logs; wrap each log in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour or until very firm.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Unwrap dough logs. Carefully cut each log into 18 slices using a serrated knife. Place dough circles 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Transportation Museum

A couple weekends ago I went up to visit Nathan. Sunday afternoon after church we rode the bike up to Spencer, NC to the North Carolina Transportation Museum. It was a lot of fun and it was free! Here are a few pictures.

Graduation

My brother Micah (#5) graduated from Mary Persons High School a few weeks ago. Congratulations Micah!

Bachelorette Cake

Last week we had a bachelorette party in our private dinning room. They wanted a cake so...tada!

Things To Come

So...I'm sitting in this amazing little bakery in Charlotte called Amelie's. Each time I'm up here I somehow end up here at some point. It's becoming a favorite spot. Anyway the reason I'm here is I've been putting together tests for my servers because our spring menu and new wine menu debut's this week. I'm done with all my test's and have quit a few things to blog about but I left my camera at the house :( So hopefully in the next week I can find the time to blog about: bachelorette cake, Micah's highschool graduation and a few other little bits fun. Keep checking back!

The face of anticipation!