the Britches

I am the Britches.

A girl with a heart full of love for God, my husband, and the beauty around me. 

Ida Scott Taylor, better known to most of us as Fanny Crosby, once wrote:

"One day at a time - this is enough.  Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come.  Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering."

My hope is that as time passes me by, I will live in such a way that I see the days as beautiful, because I was blessed enough to have lived through them.  God has given us each a limited number of hours to live on this earth, and I want to make the most of every moment I'm given.  I want to cherish the gift.

The world around us is extravagant and beautiful, so far beyond what any one person can see in their lifetime.  I'm a habitual picture-taker, and often get asked why, although I would think the answer should be obvious.  The beauty.  Those once-in-a-lifetime moments.  Sunsets with colors otherwise unknown to our eyes.  Raindrops magnifying the ridges of a flower petal.  Your baby's first smile.  A doe with her fawn on the edge of the woods.  Waves crashing into the shore.  That boy and his dog, playing in the grass.  These are the moments I don't want to miss.  This is the life I want to capture.  These are the places I see my Creator every day.  This is why I take pictures. 

My personal interests span a plethora of topics, but I have never been able to commit to just one thing.  (Why constrain myself when there are so many endless things to explore?) I'm constantly creating, crafting, and concocting some new idea or project.   Books are also a pastime... my husband kindly gave me a Kindle in the hopes to preventing the stacks from growing any higher, as they are far beyond the stage of falling off the bookshelves.  There simply aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with my growing "books to read" list, which is far into the triple digits.  

And then there is my obsession with food . . . but not just any food.  Good food. 

Ironically enough, cooking and I have never had what I would call a love affair . . . until now. 

Growing up in a large family, life was centered around the kitchen. Math problems at the counter while Mom did meal prep, chewy cookies coming out of the oven, noisy family dinners around the table. The kitchen and the food it produced was always a focal point.  As I got older, I took a shift in the kitchen making dinner once a week.  There were a couple meals that became "my specialities," but time in the kitchen was never a highlight for me.

Not a highlight until I moved into a small little house, with an even smaller kitchen, and had to start cooking for my own small family (ala hubby and moi).

This is the place where I fell in love with cooking.

With my four-foot-nine avocado green refrigerator, and the ancient double-oven range with its malfunctioning burner. 

Cooking has become a creative outlet for me.  Crafting ingredients to create mouthwatering decadence that cause your taste-buds to stand up and dance.  

I'm not a fan of "exotic" foods, so I leave Duck grease, Escargot, and pickled Herring to the TV experts.  I prefer to take ordinary food and make it extraordinary.  I will always be on a hunt for the best Ranch dressing, fluffiest Pancakes, perfect Sesame Chicken, and the most comforting Macaroni & Cheese.  

I love simple food, but I want it to taste amazing.  This is my quest. 


Welcome to a piece of my world, where I will always encourage you to laugh loudly and love deeply.