Petty Trio in NYC!

We love when Texas visits New York City. We especially love these three. Less than a month after Kaylie made the Petty family a trio, we were trekking across the United States in our U-Haul. Life is crazy and fast like that. It changes in a matter of weeks, suddenly and full of adventure.

I still remember our final dinner with Kristi and Ben at Cheddar's. Kaylie, just a tiny little thing… happy to be held. Not really a special restaurant, but a place that will always hold a place in our hearts. A few years ago, we traveled almost 8 hours for a wedding and then had the bright idea after a few beers to "quickly" grab spinach and artichoke dip, our favorite. Which, of course, made us so late that we had to squirm in through a back door and half stand/sit on an awkward couch. No regrets. It's that good. After we left the restaurant that night, I cried for almost 20 minutes on our way home - knowing that our lives were rapidly changing. New babies, new cities and many miles between.

Another chapter. Another page.

But you know what's so fun about new chapters? New memories. Different memories, stitched together by new experiences and old stories. And that is pretty great.

Experiencing New York City through the eyes of a 1 1/2 year old was pretty darn cool. Of course, she was a trooper… wide-eyed and full of giggles. She instantly became best friends with Pickle and Sundae with her generosity in sharing food. Richard gained a new nickname - Alford. NYC did not disappoint with an adventurous first night involving a drunken neighbor and 911 being called. We explored so much in so little time. NYC never disappoints with its adventure, views and excitement. And the four of us even put on face masks one night… we really have the best husbands, don't we?

We are thankful for these friends and for the continuation of memories.

Petty Trio: Love from New York City… and sorry about the snowpacolypse that held you captive an extra night. Although, one more dinner and bottle of wine wasn't so bad.

FRIDAY

ARRIVE IN NYC!

Lunch at Shake Shack, Grand Central Station, NYC Subway, Times Square, M&M Store, Disney Store, 30 Rock, NBC Experience Store, Lego Land, Empire State Building, NYC Public Library, Bryant Park, The Plaza Hotel, FAO, Ordered from Seamless

SATURDAY

Museum of Natural History, Lunch at Papaya Dog, Cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery, Highline Park, Chelsea Market, The Park – Bar/Restaurant, The Children’s Place (Kristi bought Kaylie a pair of cowboy boots, ironic?), Grocery Shopping, Margaritas / Guy's Night @ East End Tavern

SUNDAY

Central Park (Reservoir, Boat House Area / Bethesda Foundation, The Mall “Divorce Walk”, Coffee at Le Pain), Saw City Hall / Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 Memorial, Lunch at PRET, Battery Park City (Statue of Liberty), Wall Street, Kristi & Ben date night (dinner and Rodney Dangerfield’s Comedy Club)!

MONDAY

DUMBO (Brooklyn), Lunch at Grimaldi’s, Roosevelt Island Sky Ferry, Serendipity, Pil Pil & Nails (girl’s night!), Lasagna & Wine @ Home with face masks!

TUESDAY

Carl Schurz Park, Bagels (H&H) & Goodbyes …and then they were back after “exploring” Harlem! ☺ Dinner, movie and cards!

WEDNESDAY

Lunch at Gracie Café in the Upper East Side

"Honestly, I wanna see you be brave…"

My heart broke a little bit 2 Sundays ago.

Our church is a supporter of Love 146. Their mission is simple, yet complicated and hard. It is to end child trafficking and exploitation.

Isn't that sad? Sad that we have to have mission statements that include child trafficking and exploitation…

A reminder of just how broken our world truly is.

We all sat there on Sunday morning, with tears streaming down our face watching a video filled with horrible, horrible details on a childhood that really wasn't a childhood. But through the ugly, sad and unbearable we were reminded of the power of mercy and justice.

Sunday was a reminder about compassion. About going where it hurts to mourn with those that are lonely, to become weak with those that are weak and powerless.  To become fully immersed in the problems of this world so that compassion creates change.

"…show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart." Zechariah 7:8-10

Love these lyrics… 

SARA BAREILLES LYRICS

"Brave"

You can be amazing

You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug

You can be the outcast

Or be the backlash of somebody’s lack of love

Or you can start speaking up

Nothing’s gonna hurt you the way that words do

When they settle ‘neath your skin

Kept on the inside and no sunlight

Sometimes a shadow wins

But I wonder what would happen if you

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

Everybody’s been there,

Everybody’s been stared down by the enemy

Fallen for the fear

And done some disappearing,

Bow down to the mighty

Don’t run, just stop holding your tongue

Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live

Maybe one of these days you can let the light in

Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

And since your history of silence

Won’t do you any good,

Did you think it would?

Let your words be anything but empty

Why don’t you tell them the truth?

Say what you wanna say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say

And let the words fall out

Honestly I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I wanna see you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

See you be brave

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

I just wanna see you

Cooking thru Bread and Wine - brannon's caesar salad

Brannon's Caesar Salad was introduced a few monthly dinner parties ago. A very chilly night with lots of wine, good conversation and delicious food. There were even candle sticks… how fancy is that? My favorite part of this recipe is the homemade croutons - they are such a fun addition! 

Happy eating! 

***

Brannon's Caesar Salad

Shauna Niequist, Bread and Wine

2 hearts of romaine, washed and dried and torn into bite-size pieces

2 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese

Dressing

1 garlic clove - I used the minced garlic from Trader Joes

1/4 c white vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

A few dashes of Tabasco, to taste

Juice of half a lemon

1 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp sugar

Chop garlic clove in a food processor, then add remaining ingredients and blend together.  Or chop a garlic clove, drop it into the bottom of an old pickle jar or jelly jar, add everything else, and shake like crazy.

Croutons

4 c bread cubes

1 tblsp oilive oil

1 tblsp grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and then toss the frozen bread cubes with olive oil, salt, pepper and grated Parm.  Bake until crispy and golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss the romaine lettuce with croutons, grated Parm and dressing.

Our 50 State Travels: Memorable Trips and Favorite Moments

Our 50 State Travels

Memorable Trips and Favorite Moments

Our Honeymoon: San Fran and Hawaii (Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Big Island)
Our honeymoon will always, always, always be my favorite trip. We started in San Fran, then stayed a few nights in Waikiki before boarding a cruise that took us to all the islands. It started a new chapter in our lives and it's freakin' Hawaii! Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to spend my honeymoon in Hawaii. That's how I knew Richard was the one… he had the same dream. [This is when you say "awwww".] Awesomely cheesy right? Right!

Favorites trip moments for Hawaii included staying in a cruise suite that was larger than our apartment (not just our NY apartment . . . our Dallas apartment) while visiting all the Hawaiian islands, having a butler (a real butler!!! and we didn't know what to have him do, so we just chatted), golfing on a scenic course with DUCKS, zip lining through a mountain, biking down a mountain (this is memorable, but it's up for debate if this was my favorite since I thought I was going to die), learning to surf - we both stood up!, snorkeling - and watching Richard flail like a crazy person, swimming with dolphins - watching Richard get nosed in the crotch by a dolphin at full speed, being pulled onstage during a luau and learning how to make martinis behind a bar! As for San Fran, we loved trying our first Irish Coffees at Buena Vista, experiencing Alcatraz and walking to the center of the Golden Gate Bridge!

Alaskan Cruise (Seattle and Juneau, Skagway, Ketchican, Victoria, B.C.)
For our 4th anniversary, we sailed to Alaska! This was such a fun trip for us because it was something very different and we had Richard's best friend and wife with us which made it really special. Since Alaska is such a unique place to live, I had a great time chatting with the locals about everyday life, how they got to Alaska and struggles of living in Alaska. Crazy fact - you are required to have air flight insurance in the event that you have to be flown back to Seattle for a full-service hospital. This only insures you for one flight - so if you have to be flown twice in one year you are easily looking at over $100K! Ekk!

Favorite trip moments for Alaska included climbing a mountain… by far one of the most difficult things I've ever done! Eating fresh, cheap and delicious sushi. Seeing glaciers everywhere and breathing in the crisp, clean air. Watching the Dallas Cowboys beat the Giants on NFL opening day in the atrium of our cruise ship (thanks to Richard, this went up on the large screen and men quickly filed in…). :)

Northeast (Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire)
I had no idea just how much I would fall in love with the Northeast. Not a clue! This is a trip I would do over and over again, and will certainly take my kiddos one day! We went in the Spring which was beyond beautiful, with perfect temps. Side note: There is also nothing else that compares to the Northeast in the Fall. The colors are so vibrant, it is scarf and coffee weather… and everyone is outdoors, everyone!

Favorite trip moments in the Northeast included taking photos of all the beautiful foliage, tasting our way through the Ben and Jerry's factory (and visiting the flavor graveyard!), staying at the most adorable and quirky Bed and Breakfasts, creating our own lobster roll tour (and eating at SIX restaurants in one night… yep, SIX) and driving through the Kancamangus pass.

Disney World (Orlando, FL)
For our first anniversary, we kicked it into kid mode and took ourselves to Disney World! Everyone says you should experience Disney three ways - as a kid, without a kid and then with kids of your own.   There is such a fun "adult" side to Disney while still letting your inner-child roam free. I'd go to Disney again in a heartbeat. In fact, I could stay at Epcot the entire time.

Favorite trip moments in Disney included falling asleep on hammocks in the sand at our resort, going to the Disney castle (inner-princess coming out!), eating and drinking our way through the international food and wine festival at Disney (I've never tried such a variety of food!), and I've talked about the cobb salad at the Brown Derby for years now. It's that amazing.

Chicago, IL
If I could live in Chicago during the warmer months, I would. The city is so clean, interesting and there's a ton to do, see and eat! We spent almost an entire week lounging around the city together and it was fabulous. The Chicago Marathon just happened to be going on at the same time and it was so neat to experience the excitement and see people "prep" the night before with dinner - hello, Italian dining.

Favorite trip moments in Chicago really surround all the amazing food we ate (Carnivale, Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, Wildfire). Our favorite bar, Watershed, was hidden under another bar and it was laid-back with quite the selection of unique local spirits and brews. We were also introduced to Garrett's Popcorn and proceeded to down an entire bag in one sitting. Richard loved the Architecture Tour and I loved people-watching in Millennium Park.

Pacific Northwest (Portland, Seattle and Vancouver)

This trip is so memorable because it was quirky, relaxing, and the weather was perfect! We took the train to hop from one spot to the next (which made me feel like a true backpacker!). One of my favorite memories from this trip is the afternoon we spent walking around the Portland neighborhood in which we stayed. We love seeing the daily routine of other's lives, and it was so fun to stroll through the quirky houses and get lost in the day.

Favorite trips moments in the Pacific Northwest included eating oysters on the water at Elliott's Oyster House (we've been back since!), unique drinks at Zig Zag Cafe (we felt like we were back in the 1920's), watching a movie in a couch-style cocktail theater while in Portland, and the excitement of exploring Vancouver and learning more about Canada!

Black-eyed Pea Cornbread. Cheers to 2014!

Happy New Year's, from our tiny kitchen to yours.

For as long as I can remember, my mom has insisted I eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for luck in the new year. It's a good thing she always has a yummy dish prepared…. because for years I've been gobbling up handfuls of black eye peas. A southern tradition indeed.

This year, we introduced the black-eyed pea cornbread to New York. And it was delicious.

Cheers to 2014 - for health, happiness and hearty meals. :)

***

My Mom's Black-eyed Pea Cornbread

Mix together:
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, chopped
3/4 cup cut corn, drain
1 lb. browned sausage (can also use hamburger, spicy is great too!)

Add last:
1 cup cooked black-eyed peas (drain)
1/2 lb. grated cheese

Pour into well greased pan (sheet cake pan or oblong casserole)

Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Can be served hot or cold.