About


Hello, and welcome to my little corner of this big, blog world. I am a Virginia girl who loves cooking, baking, entertaining guests and photography. There is quite a list of things I enjoy. I won't bore you with the list.

I met my husband of two years, Josh, in grade school. At the time we were not real fond of each other. He was at the age where he thought girls were dumb and I was at the age where, well, girls tend to be a little silly. I grew 5 inches in one year and had braces to boot. Hanging out with my BFF was my favorite pastime and my dream was to own a horse ranch. Now... back to how we met. After 8th grade he headed off to a different school. We'd see each other once in a great while, but I never imagined we would later get married. He started to attend my youth group volleyball games and my dear friend, Lana, finally convinced me that yes, Josh really was pursuing me. Three years later we were married and are living happily ever after. The end.


I came from a family of five with two sisters, Faith and Charity. They are such a blessing to me. My husband will never understand how we can talk on the phone just hours after we were together for a whole day. It's a sister thing you know.

My mother, Sandra, taught me do everything from cooking to floral arranging. She really is my inspiration in life. She's mastered cleaning, cooking, sewing,  gardening and everything else in between. I was taught at a young age about hospitality and putting others needs first. Really both of my parents taught me that. I don't call her with questions as much as I did when we first got married- but still call her when I'm in a pinch.

Faith, Me, Mom and Charity

Some folks ask if the recipes I post are from a cookbook or created by me. If the recipe is from a cookbook I will credit the cookbook, otherwise it's a recipe I created or seriously tweaked. I always have a notepad and pen beside me as I cook and write the measurements down as I go.

 The aftermath of creating a recipe.

I would say that I'm a simple cook, but like things to taste good and look appetizing. You wont find canned, cream of mushroom soup here. It can easily be made with mushrooms, milk and flour. The less processed the better. Some folks think that just by looking at my blog that I never mess up and the food I make always is perfect. Sorry, but you are wrong. I have made many a cake into a trifle because it ran over or sank like a submarine in the middle. How do you learn? By making mistakes- you must take a risk in order to learn. So those of you thinking that cooking or baking is impossible because you mess up you are really in culinary school. You are learning what doesn't work. In order to learn how to cook you don't have to have a spacious kitchen with the most expensive tools. You need basic ingredients, a fridge, a stove, a oven and a willing mind to learn.

As my mother would say, "half of the taste of food is the presentation." While food should not be our only focus in life- I believe God gave us all the colorful fruits and vegetables for us to enjoy and create beautiful things with.


I recently started a new venture with my good friend, Amy. We remodeled a room in her home for a commercial kitchen. We plan to teach workshops and host seasonal meals. To keep up with us visit our facebook page.




And last, but not least I am a follower of Christ. Without Him I am nothing. I strive to serve Him with the gifts He has given me.

I am glad you stopped by,
Hope

3 comments:

  1. Hope - you are distracting me from the bookwork i'm supposed to be doing! ;) I LOVE LOVE this page! So many beautiful details of what make you ever so interesting. I'm so grateful for the way you share your passion with those who read your blog and the lucky ones like me who get to taste your meals and experience your hospitality.
    This last collage of your kitchen is one of my favorites.
    xoxo - Amy

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  2. I found your blog through a youtube video of your doughnut recipe. I love your page and thank you for giving me hope that I, too, can make these meals.

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  3. Hi Hope,

    My name is Raine Orallo and I am the Sales Manager of Kuisiware, a company that sells grill and kitchen products. I noticed that you have been promoting/featuring products on your website/account similar to ours, which is why we would like to do business with you.

    If you could kindly feature and promote our latest product, the 2-in-1 salt and pepper grinder set, we are willing to offer you 12% of the total price for each unit sold through your website. We can pay you via Paypal twice a month, or at the end of each month.

    We are open for negotiations, so feel free to ask me any questions that you may have. You can view a list of our products at our website - http://www.kuisiware.com/our-products

    Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you soon.

    Raine Orallo
    Sales Manager
    Kuisiware

    ReplyDelete