disgustingly delicious

When I was younger, my little brothers and I had a favorite phrase: ‘disgustingly delicious’. We would say it really loud and be SUPER awkward about it, usually when something tasty but mushy was served for dinner. Or when we made our own crazy concoctions in the kitchen (think peanut butter, butter, bacon and cheese sandwiches). “Mmmmm, this is DISGUSTINGLY delicious” or “Hey look how disgustingly delicious this looks!”  Please, don’t judge – we also wore black dress socks with sneakers and threw tantrums because we weren’t allowed to watch Power Rangers.

Yeah…..that’s not helping our case now, is it?

Anyways, I haven’t thought about that phrase for years but last night it sprang uninvited to my mind. Why? Because I made macaroni and cheese for a company pot-luck lunch. And why did that particular childhood phrase seem so appropriate? Because I used 3 sticks of butter, 3 cups of half & half, ¼ gallon of whole milk and 4lbs of cheese.  

And it was  – truly – disgustingly delicious. It was the most creamy, decadent and tasty thing I’ve eaten all year.  It also made me feel very conflicted: did I want to dress up and eat it off of fine china or put on sweat pants and eat from a bowl with a giant spoon?

We’re typically very healthy eaters, so I like to think that indulging every so often is ok. No joke, I would live off of celery year-round if it allowed me to splurge like this. And I know this is a heavily biased post, but I work with food scientists and flavorists and they also highly approved. This dish leaves you feeling fat, dumb and happy.

I’m kind of a mac n’ cheese genius. Then again, everything's delicious with enough butter and cheese. 

B

my big little brother

This is my big little brother. He's tied for 1st place in the coolest little brother contest, and he's a Marine.

He's twice as big as me, which is why he's my big little brother.  And he drives a really big armored vehicle.

In the deserts of Afghanistan.

He shoots one of these:

And while he stays very busy, he still finds time to ponder the good things in life.

So while the "99%" are busy having sex on sidewalks:

and crapping on cop cars:

my big little brother got himself a job. And works hard for his paycheck. And sacrifices everything on a daily basis. He's a self-made man, just like the rest of his group:

So blessed to have a family that labors sacrificially for the good, as best as they are able and of their own volition. 

Virtue over folly.

B

kitchen decoration

I'm getting awfully excited about our library (post with pictures to come), but today I'm thinking about the kitchen.

Because our cupboard space is somewhat limited, I've had to be creative with storage solutions. And I want my kitchen to look fancy pants too, as I expect to spend more and more time there as the years progress. So space saving and darling - is that too much to ask?

I've taken a leaf out of Smitten Kitchen's book and put all of my spices on display. The glass jars are a perfect fit on the super cheap ribba shelf. A few rows of spice shelves saves me a ton of cupboard space. And it looks really nice too.

I'm also growing fresh herbs. See?

I realize my dill in particular is looking a little sad, but that's mostly because I accidentally squished him :(

There's still a lot of empty wall space, so I'm trying to decide what else to put up. I have so many ideas for the rest of the house – the kitchen’s been overlooked. There are these 2 etsy posters I’ve had my eye on:

but I can't make up my mind....

I guess I'll go poke around pinterest for more ideas :)

B