Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here! We’ve been busy in and out of the kitchen here at our house so let me take a minute and catch you up.
The end of last year was a beautiful, crazy whirlwind of happiness. We took a quick leaf peeping trip over the Blue Ridge Parkway and were amazed as ever by the grandeur and beauty of God’s creation.
And right after that, we welcomed a precious son in love and grandcat to our family with Callie and Ryan’s gorgeous fall wedding taking center stage in our hearts (and schedules) for a good chunk of time. The ceremony was so special and took place at their home church which is on the National Register of Historic Places and it was just beautiful, we could not have had a more perfect day!
After the wedding we immediately went into holiday mode and I hope you enjoyed all the Thanksgiving and Christmas food content as much as I did. Ryan’s homemade eggnog stole the show Christmas day, it was the family’s favorite treat! In the past, it always seemed like the holidays were here and gone without me having the time to enjoy them. But this year I made it a priority for myself to slow down, simplify things, and truly savor the season, the reason, and my family. And friends, IT WAS WORTH IT! I was blessed and refreshed beyond measure.
Between all this and creating content I did actually get out of the kitchen for a little bit of local fun, charity, and business, too. My eyes have opened to many needs in my area and ways that I can help by joining a group of ladies called 100 Women of Blount County. The group encourages women to make a difference in our community by fostering support and awareness of local non profit agencies serving women and children in our county. In November, it was really exciting to be a guest on the Ignition Podcast along with my fellow foodie and friend Willie Daugherty who owns The Neighborhood Chef. Willie is a private chef who makes delicious, healthy, restaurant worthy, meals prepped for local pick up. I don’t like to cook EVERY night either, LOL. And I had the chance to catch up with local readers in the winter issue of Horizon Magazine. They were kind enough to do a cover story on my YouTube channel in the summer of 2022 and I was so happy when they asked for an update!
Just yesterday we got back from a weekend getaway at the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, TN. And I couldn’t believe that just by chance I ran into my favorite YouTuber Karen Jones. She was every bit as sweet as I knew she would be and it was a pleasure to meet her and Pop! We had a great visit and are already making plans to collaborate soon! Patrick and I really enjoyed this weekend and I’ve got a lot of new cornbread recipes headed your way along with summer salads, cookout recipes, fresh garden cooking, and more so stay tuned friends.
YOU FRIENDS are the best part of sharing content on YouTube and I feel like we’re all old friends every week so I thought you might enjoy this behind the camera view of my little life. I appreciate you being a part of this community and until next time…
Love from my kitchen,
Mel
