Kitts Kornbread Jefferson Tx

very small town, very quaint decor, at less than 10 dollars A Meal with sweet tea and a corn bread sandwich, kits is a real find the historic Jefferson tx. 

mint m&m cookies

Pandora teen pop music,  mint M&M and a basic cookie recipe from Rachel. Need I say anymore?

http://www.rachelcooks.com/2013/07/12/perfect-mm-cookies/

White chocolate bread pudding

A new years treat after a long travel and moving filled two days we went hunting for a restaurant that we have not yet been to. We found ourselves at the historic Johnny Caces. Full New Years festivities were underway with punch and champagne for those waiting on tables, live music in the lobby and the place was just packed. Great food, quality service and even some conversation with the gentleman at the table next to us made this place a win. The price accurately reflected the quality of food but by far the highlight of the night was the white chocolate bread pudding.


If you are in longview you MUST have the white chocolate bread pudding from Johnny Caces

Chimp Haven

Heard a great story on NPR a while back on Chimp Haven. Found out is only a few hours drive from East Texas. They have limited viewing opportunities but if your moving into the area it would be a good thing to put on your to do list. I have not gone yet but hope to visit sometime this upcoming year.

http://www.chimphaven.org/category/events/

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/18/169656920/figuring-how-to-pay-for-chimp-retirement

Holiday Party Speech

I watched this great Ted Talk about body language changing your life and realized that I will be making not one but three holiday party speeches this year.

After several google searches and multiple pages of results I have elected to write my own and am sharing it with the hope that a speech giver who dose not see the need to re invent the wheel can use this.

The following is being given at three different American Red Cross holiday parties in East Texas 2013

Good Evening volunteers, staff and friends. If I could pull your attention for a few moments. 2013 has been an amazing year for us at the Red Cross. We have seen our volunteer grow in numbers and in responsibility. We have been able to help those in need in a timely, respectful and professional way. we have had our bumps as we have seen changes and begun the process of reengineering, however 24/7 our communities are getting to know us and giving us the opportunity to serve them.

I came to East Texas thrilled to be joining one of the largest most respected volunteer driven organizations in the world and after year of long days and hard work I understand how very much of our organization depends on each and every one of you.

Thank you all for giving me and the Red Cross of East Texas one of the best years ever.

Please raise your glasses

May y'all have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart.

Cheers

Mini Blackberry Pies.... thanks Katie!

A dear college friend of mine is a fabulous food blogger and from time to time I go to her blog: http://makingmichaelpollanproud.blogspot.com/ to find inspiration for a weekend cooking/ baking endeavor.

Today she has inspired me to make mini blackberry pies. I want to skip a trip to the store so will be utilizing jiffy pie crust mix made according to the box.

For the filling - inspired by: http://bakedsundaymornings.blogspot.com/

2 tablespoons honey
dash of salt
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoons all purpose flour

The remaining bag of frozen blackberries I found when cleaning out my freezer

Any good weekend baking endeavor has a soundtrack, this weekend is Jake Bugg Radio on Pandora.

Bake the Mini Pies at 350F for 20 min 

I like my pie extra sweet so I added some white sugar on top before serving

Little Free Library

The Little Free Library is a project I simply adore. Learn more at http://littlefreelibrary.org/ 

The city of Kilgore has taken this project on and several of the local parks now are home to little libraries!  

My neighborhood park, Drillers Park, has one of these and i stop by and check it several times a week. While this is a recent addition to our community is looks as if its getting a decent start with a rotation of a variety of book. If your moving to Kilgore I would highly suggest finding the location closest to you and making it part of your weekly Kilgore Experience!