Welcome 2019! Glad you arrived.

Every Christmas break, Vasek and I sit down and make our goals for the upcoming year.  We look back at what we accomplished and what else we can do.  It's a ritual I love.  It keeps us on the same page and helps to refine our hopes and dreams.  

One thing I don't love about his time is that the time between my December and January paychecks is six weeks or more!  That makes January the "clean out the panty" month.  We started doing this years ago with some encouragement from Little House Living and Bella Vista Farm.  We try to spend as little as possible on groceries for the whole month.  It's pretty incredible that this year we have plenty of chicken and rabbit in the freezer.  I put away over a 100 jars of fruits, vegetables, marinara, and broth.  January is looking pretty good this year.

We also took our one and only family trip to visit friends in Tampa.  The trip was seven full days.  We hired an excellent farm sitter and headed out on Christmas day.  The traffic was a breeze and we had a fantastic trip.  This also put us home on New Year's Day.  Being a true Southern lady, I had to quickly prepare beans and greens to guarantee success this year.  I rummaged through the pantry and sent Vasek out to the garden for the greens.  I whipped up a pretty tasty meal, if I do say so myself.  I've posted the recipe here.  It's a great winter treat.  You will not be disappointed!

I can't wait to see what the new year will bring.  I know what plans we have but God has a fantastic sense of humor.  We look forward to sharing this new year with you through our blog and our recipes.

With much love and a full belly,
Brooke

Here we are at Busch Gardens for their night of lights.  It was truly dazzling.