An Unshakeable Day.

Sometimes, it happens.  Like lightning, or a flash flood.  Like a cake turning out unexpectedly perfect, or a hairdo that is impenetrable to the wind.  Sometimes you find exactly the dress you were looking for, sometimes you wake up smiling.  Sometimes birthdays are wonderful.  This, my friends, is about as rare an event as can be.  It is like about as rare as the flying dream, or finding twenty bucks in a jacket you wore a year ago.  But it can happen, and for me, two days ago, it did happen.  I think I had a perfect birthday.

{photo via le love}

Of all days it happened to be on a Monday, and there was a paper due.  There was rain and there was homework but there was also a lot of happiness.  It was a day of realizing how good it is to hear the voices of family on the phone, and learning that your husband does have something up his sleeve after all (even though you thought the dog was your only gift) and that you have amazing friends.  Also, when you realize that you have a voicemail box full of people, one after the other, singing "Happy Birthday" on your phone, including your grandparents (who have perfected the song as a duet over the years)... I don't know....no present can beat the good feeling that comes... thank you all for making it an unshakeable day.

The Week At End.

The weekend is upon us!  Time for some fun. Hopefully the weather will be awesome, Mable won't get too carsick on our drive to Chattanooga, the Dawgs will win and I'll manage to squeeze in some studying.  How about you?  Whatever your plans, hope you enjoy yourself and these pictures of some of the best houses in Athens. 

A Slice Of Heaven.

Because today is quickly becoming a day where nothing goes as planned, I want you all to know that there is a recipe out there that will make life better.  This is the kind of recipe that works as a iron-plated shield to guard  you from all the migraines, tests, bills, disobedient pets, slow post offices and automated voice messaging systems. 

 This recipe will help protect you from the bad by reminding you of so much heavenly melted blue cheese goodness.  Also, it will surprise you with its ease.  So if your day is completely sucking and you have to go to the grocery store on top of everything else: pick up some Wild Turkey Figs, a slab of blue cheese and some pancetta (from the deli man).  Then, go home and stuff those figs with blue cheese, wrap them with pancetta, drizzle with olive oil and slide them into the oven immediately:  pull them out when the cheese has melted and the pancetta is crisp and tune out the world.  This is it.  You are enjoying what they call a slice of heaven.  

Mable & Me.

  Well, we did it.  After much begging and pleading with John, combined with searching far and wide: we finally got a dog.  It took some effort to find her, but she was worth it.  We drove over two hours to a town called Barnesville to meet the breeders who showed us all their puppies, and in the midst of all the wriggling and playing we found our girl.  We picked her out of the group because we thought she had the most adorable freckles on her nose.  (Also, she was the best snuggler in the bunch.)

Her name is Mable.  When we took her to the beach she wanted to make friends with everybody she saw and we received a lot of feedback about her name.  One lady said she liked it because it was "old timey," and I think I would agree.  When I think of a woman named Mable I think of a lady who is brassy, but fun to hang out with.  So far, the name fits.

This girl gets up early, which means that I've been getting up early.  This isn't a problem on the beach, but now that we're back in Athens seeing the sunrise isn't quite as glamorous.  She's still a keeper.  And so is this photo.  

Happy Tuesday from Mable & me!

Winner.

[photo via fffound!]

Congratulations, Gracie, you are the winner of the photography giveaway!  Email me your address and the photo of your choice and you'll receive your photo!

[photo via fffound!]

John and I are headed back to Edisto this weekend, so I'm wishing you all an early happy weekend.  Hope you all get to enjoy some of the cooler weather and some of the new fall foods!  See you next week with another fabulous giveaway!

Photography, A Giveaway! (Closed)

We all need a little something to get us going on Mondays, don't we?  Hopefully a giveaway will do the trick!  My friend Jill is a very talented photographer and offering the winner of this giveaway a choice between two of these gorgeous photos:

Macro photograph of a pink lily. Print size is 4.5x6 inches, printed on matte finish archival photo paper. The photo is mounted in an 8x10 inch black archival window mat with sturdy acid free foam core backing, ready to frame.

Macro photograph of a lovely pink cactus. Print size is 4.5x6 inches, printed on matte finish archival photo paper. The photo is mounted in an 8x10 inch archival window mat with sturdy foam core backing, ready to frame.

Ooh la la! I think both of these photographs are so beautiful. I would have a tough time choosing one, but either would look awesome in my house and on my walls :).   Also, to eliminate confusion, I am leaving specific instructions on how to win:  To enter to win, please visit Jill's ETSY and view her incredible photos and then return to TwinYolks and leave a comment on my blog.   The winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday.  So good luck to you all and have a happy Monday!

The Mick Jagger Of Snacks.

Lord, have mercy.  Ever since discovering this phenomenal salad, John and I have since learned that we have a little problem.  A bacon problem.  As in, I'm coming home from class needing a snack and tossing bacon into the frying pan.  It is a real problem, because bacon is not a snack food.  I repeat:  bacon is not a snack food.  Or a refreshment.  Or a suit.

On the drive back from our Labor Day retreat in the mountains, John looked over at me with a soft look in his eye and said, "Annie, I think we need to stop buying bacon."  All I could do was stare at my shoes and nod.  He was right.  We were abusing bacon privileges.

The obvious thing to do at this point was purchase a vegetable instead.  And as fall is creeping upon us, I decided to get into the spirit and buy some sweet potatoes.  Sounds innocent enough, doesn't it?  A big orange vegetable?  With this rationalization at hand, the sweet potato chip has now entered into our repertoire of delicious, unapologetically bad snacks.  For some reason, my subconscious was unwilling to yield to hacking up these potatoes, frying them in canola oil until crispy and then tossing them all in their greasy glory with crumbled blue cheese.  

 

I can't tell you how good these are.  Honest, I can't.  Because there are no words to describe their deliciousness. I can, however, tell you how bad they are.  Readers, they are baaad.  And yet, I declare, you will make them and love them anyway because they are good/bad.  Perhaps the Mick Jagger of snacks?   The Bill Clinton of Presidential chips?  A little sleazy, a little greasy, yet lovable?   Anyway, careful not to fall in love and get your heart broken.  Also be careful not to wear anything resembling a sweet potato suit.  These chips have some kind of crazy-making potential.  You've been warned.

Mick's Sweet Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Crumbles

-1 medium sweet potato (good for 2 people) sliced lengthwise (can be performed with a mandolin, we use a swissmar peeler)
-blue cheese crumbles
-canola oil, as needed
-(*if you're feeling fancy, you can also top with chives)

In a medium sized bottom heavy saucepan, heat 1/2 a cup of canola oil on high heat until slightly smoking.  Add sliced potatoes and cook until the edges begin to curl slightly.  Using tongs, pull out potato and dry on paper towels, they will crisp as they cool. When the batch of potatoes is cooked, add to a bowl and toss with blue cheese crumbles and/or chopped fresh chives.  Enjoy!

Sweet Like That.

Summer,

You always go by too fast.  Somehow, just a little bit too fast.  Even though we complain about your heat and the ways in which you overstay your welcome - we still miss you when you fade into the background.  And even though you drive us all crazy and restless with your high temperatures, you bring a lot of good into the world.  We like you for that good.  We like you for the way you make the days long.  We like to see you bring fruits to fruition and flowers to bloom.  You're sweet like that.  You were good to us this year, Summer, so come back soon... but not too soon.

Respectfully yours,

Annie

Labor Day Recipes.

Labor Day weekend is upon us!  Soon we may no longer be able to wear white, but we can use up the remaining summer bounty:  corn, tomatoes, basil and the like. 

John and I are headed to the mountains for some much needed R&R, and we can't wait to make lamb burgers, baked parmesan tomatoes and grilled corn.  The best part of these recipes is that they are easy and delicious. Which is important, because I really want to relax.  I want you to relax too, so enjoy these recipes and have a wonderful weekend!

 Baked Parmesan Tomatoes 

[from eatingwell]

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, halved horizontally
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Top with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and bake until the tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

When Worlds Collide.

Those of you who know and love Athens know it and love it for what it is: a town with many layers.  My favorite layer is the food, my husband's favorite layer is the football.  Yet whatever you are into, you can find it, somehow, in this town.

Here's one of the reasons I love Athens:  my friend, LA, works for renowned chef of 5&10, Hugh Acheson.  Hugh recently opened a new restaurant in Atlanta, Empire State South, which sounds just plain awesome: it boasts libations, bocce, Tiffins and more.  Recently Hugh was featured on Design Sponge for a Southern Supper, photographed by none other than the talented Rinne Allen.  

Can anybody say "small world"?  Or, for that matter, "small town"?  To add even more talent into the mix, I have to make the connection between a UGA grad and friend of mine, Rachel Halvorson (you know her from NestEgg) who is featured on the August cover of Garden & Gun magazine for her interior design work.   

In Garden & Gun's newsletter Tastes and Tunes she lists her favorite Tunes right alongside chef Hugh Acheson's recipe for a Southern Pimm's Cup.  

Phew!  It's an intimidating amount of talent, I know, but that's the fun of Athens:  anybody can experience these joys.  So my hat is off to all of these individuals who simply do what they do best: work to beautify the place where they live.  Oh, and if the stunning pottery in the first photo caught your eye, you should know its by another artist in Athens, R. Wood, and available for purchase here.  Don't you love it when worlds collide?  Go Dawgs!