girlgonegrits: @atexastwist (twitter)

"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’!