A White Christmas

It was such a great Christmas season. I realized that Thad and I are both sentimental and sorta cheesy when it comes to Christmas. We loved to be home by the tree and watch Christmas movies. So when the season drew to a close and the tree came down, it was sad for us both. So I thought we could re-visit the season with pics from our trip home to Utah. Enjoy!


Quentin and I ready to go snowshoeing on Christmas Eve.


Thad, Cavet and Quentin behind my parents house


Thad, Cavet and I snowshoeing up Millville Canyon


Thad, Henry and I at the Millers' Live Nativity on Christmas Eve


Grandma, Max and Mimi at Hardware Ranch


The Elk feeding


We went skiing at Beaver Moutain which is about an hour east of Logan. Here is Thad striking his skiiing pose. It was tons of fun, just cold.


What a cute sporty couple (Skiiing at Beaver Mountain)

Million Dollar Cookies (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

I work at a bank where things can get slow. When this happens, which is often and I want to make the time go by a little faster, I browse food blogs and the Foodnetwork for new recipes. I love to just read the recipes and see what ingredients the authors use. Enjoying cooking and baking is something I have discovered about myself recently. When I was single, I was always grabbing food to go or eating out with friends. It was never fun to cook for one. Another reason I love to cook is because of my mom. She has always been a great cook and has been known in the land for her cooking abilities. She is an adventurous cook, who is always trying new recipes and uses no boxed ingredients (i.e. brownie mixes, cake mixes, etc.), everything is homemade. When she was a little girl she often times had to cook for herself, so she has had many years to perfect the art of cooking. I have often described the way my mom showed and shows us love is through her food she makes us and so I aspire to be half the cook my mom is!

Thad loves it when I bake. He is my best taste tester and critic. He asks me to make this recipe at least every couple of weeks and swears these are the best chocolate chip cookies he has ever had. It is a simple recipe but so good. I love this recipe because of the tecture of the cookie. It is a fluffy and dense cookie and I like to add coconut and pecans to give the cookie an even richer taste.

Million Dollar Cookies (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup butter (1 1/2 cubes)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 ½ cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
6 oz. pecans
Fresh coconut to taste (I do 1/2 cup)


Cream butter with sugars, preferably with a fork. I try to have the butter at room temperature for a better consistency in the cookie. Add egg. Combine soda, salt and flour; add to sugar mixture along with vanilla. Mix in pecans and chocolate and roughly a half cup of fresh coconut to the mixture, dough will be a little dry. Press into patties ¾ inch thick, the bigger you make them the better. Bake at 375 for 12-13 minutes. Half-way through the baking time, I rotate the cookie sheet so that they are evenly brown. Don’t over cook, I feel the key to a good cookie is how it is baked, so watch them closely! (My mom likes making them on a baking stone).

These are sure to be a delight and household favorite and hard to eat just one, so dieters beware. Enjoy!

January Celebrations........

Last Thursday we were able to celebrate too very special events, the birth day of Thad and Alabama winning the BCS National Championship. The game was a good one and come the 4th quarter we were only ahead by three points and I had to put my head down and not look, I could not imagine Bama loosing on Thad's birthday, especially when a win was all he wanted for his birthday.

For Thad's birthday he wanted an Alabama birthday cake, so I made him a scripted "A" cake and another Chocolate cake that was more edible since the "A" cake had so much red food coloring in the frosting that it would have stained every one's teeth. We were able go over the Sprayberry's home and watch the game and enjoyed parched peanuts, Pigg Shack BBQ and Thad's favorite dip that Caroline makes. In the end we returned home late Thursday night after a win by Alabama, 37-21, which a win for Bama equaled a great birthday for Thadeus.

Then On Saturday Thad and I were out running errands and just happened to stop at the Tuscaloosa Wal-mart. There was a large crowd of people in the middle of the store and a news camera, so I went over to investigate. It turned out that the BCS Trophy that was passed around by the players and that Saban held up as the BCS Champions, was displayed at Wal-mart for the day. Thad and I waited in line and were able to get our picture taken with the $30,000 dollar Waterford Crystal Trophy, a rare and cool opportunity.

Roll Tide Everyone!

Long overdue..........

Ok so it has been too long since I have made a post and I am sorry for that. It just seemed like Brooke had baby Henry and then the rest of summer and fall zoomed by too fast for me to even think about writing anything. One of my new years resolutions is to be a better blogger so that my family and friends who aren't so close can be kept up to date on our life in T-town. I also want this blog to be a cooking blog. Thad will tell you that my favorite thing to do is hang out in the kitchen and bake. I also love, when I am bored, to surf food blogs, read recipes and then print them off (I must have a stack of over 200 recipes I want to try).

Thad and I were blessed to be able to spend Christmas with my family in Utah. It was fun to have a white Christmas and be a part of all the Nelson traditions which usually involves good food. We had Fondue, Crab, Brie, Raclette, orange rolls, smoked salmon and so much more. I seriously gained 7 pounds while I was home. We enjoyed some skiing, snow shoeing, hanging out with my nephews and niece and just soaked up time at home. Sigh. It was a great time and I already miss my little kiddies.

After a week in Millville we ventured home to Alabama and went straight to Haleyville (Thad's hometown) to spend time with his family. Joseph, Patsy and the kids were in town and Terri's kids also ventured up to play with the cousins. We had a full house and it was fun to be all together because it rarely happens.

As we begin the New Year I am so thankful for all the great people in my life and a warm and cozy roof over my head. We are blessed. Happy 2010 ya'll!

Home Sweet Home...

So I know that I already posted something today but I had to add these photos.  As some of you know my parents' black lab Chole died on July 23rd after 12 years of being a member of the Nelson family, she was a great dog and we have so many great memories with her.  My favorite memory of Chole was when we lived in Park City. We lived over a Golf Course and she would get out and run down the hill and harrass the golfers on the green.  After several attempts of calling her from the back deck we would give up and pretend she was not ours (horrible I know).  I also remember that after I moved away from Utah and would come home for a visit, she would always be so happy to see me.  We will miss our Clo-bo!  

Max and Maddie love this little puppy.  So sweet. 

My parents other dog Zeus had been so sad at Chole's passing that my parents rushed to get a new dog as a companion to Zeus.  They got a Cheasapeake Bay Retriever and we named him Brownie III.  My great granfather had a Cheasapeake Bay Retriever named Brownie and so did my father and they have always been great dogs.  Brownie is soooo cute (as all puppies are) and we are all pretty much smitten with him.

My parents purchased a playhouse for Maddie and placed it near the apple orchard. It is not all completed just yet but will soon be fully decorated and be every little girl's dream playhouse.  In this picture we were ordering ice-cream from "Mimi's ice-cream house".   She is too cute.

And lastly, I have posted pictures of Sunday dinner made by my mom.   Anybody who knows her knows that she is a five star cook and that her food is pretty much awesome.   The salad is a comprise salad with fresh Mozarella and for the main course we had Pork Tenderloin with Chevre lavender and a lavendar apple jelly sauce.   For dessert we had homemade ice cream with homemade sauteed cherry lavender sauce.  It was to die for and I have big shoes to fill and hope one day to be the kind of cook she is.  

We Welcomed Henry into the world on July 19th

Our baby Henry has arrived and we have never been so excited (except for when Max and Maddie were born).  Brooke went into labor earlier than expected and I was able to hop on a plane and get there three days earlier than planned.  I missed him being born but was able to get there soon after.

Henry is beautiful and as expected looks like a Bartholomew.  I have always told Brooke and Steve that one thing they are good at is making beautiful babies and they have done it yet again. He is so chill and honestly just precious.  I took the kids up to my parents home in Millville for the weekend so Brooke can rest and Maddie keeps telling us that she misses her baby and tells anyone who will listen that her baby is out and his name is Henry......so cute!

Welcome baby Henry, we are so thrilled you are here!

Seersucker is so southern........

When I first moved to the South I would see Seersucker suits on the Southern gentlemen and was not sure how I felt about them. Then over time I began to like them. Garrett, who attends our church would always wear his seersucker suit with a tie that just popped and I grew to really love the look.

So one day Thad and Mark were in Belk and saw some seersucker blazers on sale for $30 plus a tie that they loved. Thad was being good and said that although he wanted them he did not need them. I made a point the next day after work to go over and get the tie and blazer for him because he is always getting me things and putting my needs and wants above his, so it was fun to actually get him something. We took a picture of my hansome Thad in his seersucker blazer and new tie after church. So sharp, so Southern and I love it!