girlgonegrits: 11/27/11

Saturday, December 3, 2011

30 Days of Gratitude Day 2 - Furry Friends

They warm your heart. They distinctly know when your having a bad day. Their only desire is to let you know how amazing you are. I am so grateful for my Furry Friends. As a kid I have probably owned every kind of pet (minus reptiles) available. From cats and rats to bunnies and turtles but the dog will always remain my favored choice. The two beautiful Catahulas that rescued us keep me feeling full of gratitude daily. Whether I am walking them in the morning or cuddling with them at night, there is something so satisfying in the unconditional love of an animal... I'm jus' sayin'!

"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
~ Ben Williams

"No Matter how little money and how few possessions, you own, having a dog makes you rich."
~ Louis Sabin

Friday, December 2, 2011

30 Days of Gratitude

Yikes! Looks like I am going to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I have decided - with some support from a local friend/food blogger - to participate in a project being put on by Jote, another local food blogger writing the Bless Her Heart blog. In a nutshell, she is posting her own personal "30 Days of Gratitude" and asked if anyone was interested in joining in. It would be wrong of me not to participate in this because I am such a firm believer in being grateful for all that we have, no matter what the circumstances that life throw's you. However, being accountable for posting every day for a month? I must be crazy to be taking on a task like this during what is always the busiest time of the year. With that said, if you know me you know that I am constantly posting positive quotes on my facebook page and I make it a daily goal to not complain, but to be thankful for everything I have. So this should be easy, right? We shall see. I'm going to do my best and hopefully this will inspire you to join in as well, or just follow along and leave me comments on my daily posts about the things that you are thankful for. What comes around goes around, right? So if a bunch of us are participating in positive energy, surely only good things can come from this... I'm jus' sayin'!

Day 1 - December 2, 2011

I am thankful for Time! God has blessed me with the ability to stay home these last 3 years and that's allowed me to be available for my family/friends/charities. Instead of looking at not enough time in the day I am thankful for every minute.

"I took some time out for life."
James L. Brooks

"I'm jus' sayin'..."

Welcome to my blog. I was born and raised in Northern California and 15 years ago I packed my Kitchen-Aid and moved from sunny and predictable weather to smoking-hot, unpredictable Austin, Texas. GRITS is an acronym for Girls Raised In The South. It took me a while but I got here (hence the "Girl Gone") and now I don’t think I ever want to leave. The food, people, BBQ (I make that distinction from food because BBQ is its own entity around these parts), and lively music keeps my feet tapping and my heart grounded. Along for the ride is my best friend and husband, our two kids (a 18 year old daughter away in college and a 27-year-old son), 2 Catahoulas and my Mom that lives just a few blocks away. I love to write stories about the food I grew up with and the new dishes I come across. I’m a commercial food stylist and, novice gardener, loving wife and mother, family cook, and chief bottle-washer. A perfect day for me is getting in the truck with my favorite guy to go explore a new food market, be it farmers, ethnic or even grocery, and then come home to cook up something comforting for the soul. My day job is really a dream job, I'm a food stylist here in Austin and I actually get paid to play with food. Every job/client is unique and I love how it's a revolving door of creativity. We love casual entertaining where tapas and cocktails on the patio has become a spring time ritual. I hope you enjoy the recipes and stories. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog... I’m jus’ sayin’!