What dreams are made of

Dreams are made up of amazingly designed and functional kitchens.   Kitchens that will house families.  Kitchens that inspire cooking.   Kitchens that keep families together.  Kitchens outfitted with the largest kitchen tables possible.   Forget that large dinning room table.   Put it in the kitchen.   Conversations will be started.  Lives will be changed.

I really like the idea of this kitchen:

I like this kitchen because it is organized functionally and not perfectly.   There is a MASSIVE difference.  Kitchens will stay clean if they are organized functionally, and cooking will be done with smiles and ease.    

I am not a perfectionist.   I am not an organizer.   I have fully embraced this about myself.   I always wanted to be one of those OCD perfectionist because everything they had and did was always so clean.  But as time told I realized that I was the opposite of this personality.   I like functional, comfortable, realistic organization.    

The kitchen pictured above is definitely not designed perfectly.   There needs to be some serious counter top space to the right and left of the gas stove.    But I love the feel of this kitchen.   Meals are made in this kitchen.  Family and friends gather and talk in this kitchen.

The wifie mama orchestrates the home from this kitchen.   It is awesome.   One day I will have my dream kitchen.  One day.

Love

Yesterday was our two year anniversary.   

We spent the weekend celebrating at the Westin Galleria Hotel.

On Friday night we ate at Star Pizza, and we watched Sherlock Holmes.

On Saturday morning we had french pressed coffee in bed.

We also celebrated at Nordstroms and J Crew.

( this was Chris's first shopping experience at Nordstroms, and his life is forever changed)

We laid out by the hotel pool.

We then ate at La Vista

I ate this:

And we drank this:

The we went back to the hotel and watched It's Complicated.

The next morning we slept late and drank more french pressed coffee in bed and had wonderful conversations about life.

We determined that year two of marriage brings with it a comfortableness with each other that year one simply does not have.   You simply trust one another so much more.

We then went and ate at Yao Ming's Chinese restaurant for lunch.

Chris wore this:

And I drank some of this:

All is all it was the most fantastic Houston weekend.   

It is amazing how you can spend the whole weekend with the person you are most in love with, and then still miss them when they go to work on Monday morning.

How I met Mr. Hill: Edition 3

I believe this weekend Mr. Hill will be giving his side of the story on how we met.   So stay tuned ....

I will continue with my side :)

As I remember we had this amazing conversation where I was rendered speechless and light headed and Lauren Lust had declared to the world that I would marry this man Chris Hill.

You see Lauren Lust, Wes Whitney, and Daniel Weizel all had this communication class together that particular semester.  It is also possible that the beautiful Sheridan Murphy also had that class with them.  Sheridan let me know if this was the same class!  I believe the very next day as I was getting off the bus on campus all three of them ran up to me, accosted me, and told me that I was going to marry Chris Hill.   Then they ran off and left me standing there bewildered and a little angry.

The next three weeks were all quite interesting.    Later on that same week Kristi and Lauren sabataged me at the Chi O house with Chris in tow.    I tried to act a little aloof but I was already totally smitten.   Chris and I began talking on instant messenger.   Yeah - we totally exchanged AOL im names.   My username shall remain a secret forever and ever.

Chris and I started talking via the computer and facebook and email.    Then I invited the entire Lone Star Verde over for Fratty Friends Friday at the sorority house.    This is week two after Chris and I had our three hour conversation.   We served pizza that Friday and it was a ton of fun.   Chris stayed after to talk to me as I was having a few problems with Mr. Boy from freshman year.

You see during this whole two week period of Chris and I recognizing that each other existed in the world.   Mr. Boy from freshman year had come back on the scene and thought that he wanted to date me again.    I was so very confused, and feeling lots of pressure to make a decision about which boy to choose.   This particular Friday marked the weekend before I was so to have FIVE tests the following week.    In fact ALL FIVE test fell on the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of that next week.

I was feeling a little pressured by Mr. Boy and feeling TONS of pressure about my tests.    I sat Chris down in the sorority house and told him about all of my troubles.    He instinctively gave me some great advice about Mr. Boy.   Which of course I cannot remember.   He did not muddle or munipulate, he was just very honest and wise.   He was confident and not threatened at all by Mr. Boy.    This greatly attracted me to him.

Mr. Boy made several phone calls later on that afternoon as I was trying to study.   He very much felt that we needed to date again and was putting the pressure on me.    Chris being the studly man that he was sensed that I was under duress and made an executive decision.    He called me and said that I was to put on some super comfy clothes, gather up my books, and wait for him to pick me up.   He had cleared all non-studiers out of the Lonestar Verde, made coffee, and had even gotten some blue bell ice cream.

Chris came and picked me up and took me to his house to study.    Matt Sloan was there too and together the three of us studied in peace all night.   Chris protected and provided.   Mr. Boy was still calling and pressuring.

The next week I took my tests after being well studied thank to Mr. Hill.   But I was still confused about Mr. Boy.   Chris and I were definitely friends, and were definitely not dating yet.  I could tell that Chris was being supremely careful and cautious and was not about to make any sudden moves.

[  Little did I know that Chris Hill had taken Mr. Boy out to dinner DURING my accounting test and gave him a good talking to. ]

My Cowboy Daddy was drilling in Papau New Guinea at the time that all this was going down, so I was not able to talk to him much.    But I was in some desperate need of some good fatherly advice so I gave him a call and was able to get him on the phone.   I quickly explained the situation and he said one thing and hung up the phone.   He said "God leads and Satan pushes".

Instantly I knew what to do.   I called Mr. Boy up and set up a meeting in the park.   As we walked around the track I told him that it was time for me to be fought for, pursued, and cared about.   I put up that challenge and told him what I wanted.

After a summer of spending time with the Lord and talking to my Dad I suddently knew who I was and I  was no longer willing to compromise anything for that.   I wanted to present myself wholly in a relationship and not leave out the deep love I had for Jesus, or any of the opinions I had about life.

This definitely awoke something deep inside of Mr. Boy that I believe he had been searching for.   But, I had already made up my mind.   I told Mr. Boy that I did not want to date him, and that I just wanted to be friends with Chris Hill.

Mr. Boy was very confused.  FRIENDS?  I said yes, just friends.   Chris Hill had so intrigued me that I was content being just friends with him without any promise of a future.    God had stirred something deep inside of me and I was willing to risk my heart for Mr. Hill.   Mr. Boy was not happy about that at all.  Especially since when he and I had been dating the previous year he had confided in Chris about our relationship.   Chris had no idea who I was at the time.

After our conversation I went over to the Lone Star Verde with Kristi and Lauren.   Chris and his friend Brian Cooper had just gotten back from dancing at the Hall and were eating What A Burger (which I had always thought was Water Burger growing up).   Chris paid no attention to me at all.  This was mostly because his entire hosue of roommates had been pestering him that we were going to get married.

So I sat there on his couch, while he was ignoring me, thinking to myself "I have just sacrificed the relationship that I had wanted so badly for YOU."   I seriously think Chris said nothing to me that night.

More to be continued later on this weekend

Mr. Boy update:  later on that year God did some awesome and amazing things with Mr. Boy.   I believe he went on to meet his future wife that year.   They are happily married now and quite an amazing couple.

El Yum: Two Different Kinds of Pizza

Since I just posted the best pizza dough recipe I thought I would also tell y'all about the two different kinds of pizza we make in the Hill Household.

The first kind of pizza we make is just good old pepperoni.   Chris and I are pizza enthusiasts but we most love plain old pepperoni.    The foundation of a good pepperoni pizza is lots of sauce.   Of course this is all our  own opinion.   Pizza is very personal, so if you do not like lots of sauce then please do not be offended. BUT - before you totally make up your mind about that at least try lots of my favorite sauce.

I do not make my own sauce.  Praise the Lord.   But I absolutely love and adore and cherish Cento pizza sauce.   This can of sauce is on the pasta isle next to the expensive cans of special Italian tomatoes.   It is about $1.50 - $1.99 a can.   I promise that it totally makes the homemade pizza experience worth all the hard work.    If I were you I would just go ahead and pour that whole can of sauce on your pizza dough.

(Please note that this is not the fully prepared pizza sauce I love, this is just what a Cento can looks like.)

I have recently discovered that it is much better to grate your own mozzarella.    It melts so much better.
Cover your pizza in a good amount of mozzarella and then any of the following toppings: Hormel natural and uncured pepperonis,  mushrooms, banana peppers, turkey Italian sausage, bell peppers, black olives, or Roma tomatoes.   Sometimes Chris and I just do pepperoni and sometimes we get a little more creative.   Seriously y'all pizza is about the dough and the sauce.

The next pizza is Margarita pizza courtesy of my friend Elizabeth Meeh.   She made this pizza for Lauren and Matt's couples shower that she so wonderfully hosted.   Of course I spied something wonderful being made and paid close attention.  

All you need for this is:
Homemade pizza dough
Pesto
Fresh mozzarella sliced thinly
3-4 Roma tomatoes
A dash or two of garlic salt

Liz spread the pesto over the dough.   I would say a good 1/2 a cup to 2/3 a cup depending on how much you think you want, or how large you have rolled your dough out.   She then covered the pizza in the sliced mozzarella and then covered it in the sliced Roma tomatoes.    Then she lightly lightly sprinkled the top with garlic salt and brushed some olive oil on the crust.    I bake this pizz in a 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes.   I promise you will not burn the cheese.

Then prepare yourself for some amazing awesomeness.   This is truly an amazing recipe.   Chris, my meat eating husband,  absolutely LOVES LOVES LOVES this pizza.

There you have it.   Two great pizza recipes to spoil your loved ones with.   A homemade pizza and some good beer or wine while watching a movie = a great "Art of Staying In" date which was coined by the one and only Julie Prothro.

El Yum: The Best Pizza Dough

Tonight I am making pizza with some of my high school, and now real life, besties.

I made 3 balls of pizza dough this morning.  Two for for the four of us, and one for Chris and his sister Heritage.

In the Hill House pizza is very much a nostalgic thing.   Pizza means romance, comfort, love, and is always the best conclusion to a long hard day at the office.    Ever since I got married I have been on a pizza mission.    A pizza mission to make the best homemade pizza.

I finally found the best pizza dough recipe, and I finally figured out the whole yeast thing!   I thought I would share since it only took me a year and half to figure it all out!

If I was super cool I would post pictures of the pizza dough making process.   But I am at work and access to pictures and a kitchens is limited --- even on my lunch break!

This recipe is from williams and sonoma where they also sell the best pizza stones.

Here's the deal though: I use the ingredients in this recipe but I do not follow the directions.

Here are the ingredients you need:

1. 2 tsp of active dry yeast, or 1 yeast packet.
2. 1 tsp of sugar
3. 1 cup of warm / hot water
4. 2 cups of bread flour
5. 1 1/2 tsp of fine salt (no kosher salt)
6. 1 tbs of olive oil

Turn your water facet on to hot and let the water run until the water is hot.   How hot you ask?   Hot enough that it stings your finger a little when you hold it under, but not so hot that you cannot hold your finger under.  In short not scalding but fairly hot.  In a large glass bowl pour in your yeast and sugar, the take a cup of the hot water and very slowly pour the water in.   Then take a small whisk and gently stir until all the yeast and sugar are dissolved.   Then leave the yeast, sugar, and water mixture alone for TEN minutes.    No longer and no less because during that TEN minutes the yeast will eat up the sugar and start to get frothy on top.   If no froth appears after ten minutes then you have killed your yeast and you will need to start over.    NOTE:  if you follow the water facet technique you should not kill your yeast, and you should be able to dissolve it.  It is a fine line folks!

After the ten minutes is over pour in your 2 cups of bread flour, then your 1 1/2 tsp of salt, and then the olive oil.    

The williams and sonoma recipe says to use your kitchen aid stand mixer with the bread hook attached.   But I have found that if you do this you tend to over knead the dough.   What I do is just mix everything in the glass bowl with a wooden spoon.   Stir until all the flour is mixed into the dough.   The dough will be fairly sticky, but that is exactly what is supposed to be.    Then lift your dough out of the bowl and pour another tablespoon of olive oil into the bowl.   Then cover then dough in the olive oil, and then cover the bowl with a clean dish towel.

It is important that you leave the dough in a warm a dark place.    Depending on how fluffy you want your pizza - let the dough rise for about 1-2 hours.   

If you would like your dough sooner than that --- heat up your toaster oven -- place a towel over the top of it --- and then place the bowl with the dough in it on top of that.    The dough will rise in about 45 minutes.

On a clean surface sprinkle a good handful of the bread flour and put your pizza dough on top.   Carefully coat the ball of dough and begin to knead for about 2 minutes.    Then roll your pizza dough out!

If you let the pizza dough rise for two hours then it will make two pizzas.  If you use the 45 minute method then you will be able to make one large pizza.

 ( Please excuse the weird formatting on this page.   I have no idea what is going on ).

The Free

Our friend, Kyle Wood's favorite book is East of Eden by John Steinbeck, and Jasmine Star just recently posted on her blog that she also loved the book.


I have kind of been starved for something a little more intellectually challenging to read than your average Christian novel.   Ya know, sometimes your mind just needs the exercise.   So, last week I walked in to Tomball's little used book store and picked up a brand new copy.


So far it is very interesting.   


As I read last night John transitioned in between story lines to make a little vignette about human kind, and it just captured me so I thought I would share:


"And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.  And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.  And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.  This is what I am and what I am about.  I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for that is one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system.   Surely I can understand this, and I hate and I will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts.  If the glory can be killed, we are lost."


On this memorial weekend where we remember and honor all those who have fought and died for this "free" country, I think this little vignette is especially appropriate.  It is the interesting thing about America that we fight for some sort of chaotic balance between the system and the individual.   It is the tension between the two that gives us momentum to continue to move forward, freely.   


It is also interesting to me that it is God who gave us our free mind and will, and because of that we are presented with the most valuable choice on earth.  To choose Him or not.


Happy Memorial Weedend, y'all!

How I met Mr. Hill: Edition 2

Lauren Lust marched me up to the front door of the Lone Star Verde while I was still holding my large vanilla dr.  pepper from Sonic.   I was also wearing a dr. pepper t-shirt from Urban Outfitters and my old worn out Abercrombie jeans.    Please note: this was the same outfit I wore the last time I was at the Verde, which of course was a crime of humanity.

So, Lauren is marching me up to the front door all the while I am complaining and resisting because we were not invited.   I was not a boy chaser.   I did not go places uninvited.   I did not walk into a boys house just to say.

Then the front door was pulled open and there Chris Hill was sitting on the couch in a green John Deere shirt playing Madden on PlayStation.     The neck of his shirt had been stretched out a little so I could see some chest hair peeking out ---- and I thought this was totally sexy.

I was smitten like I had just seen Brad Pitt, and as far as I was concerned I had.

I sat down on the couch across from Chris and Lauren sat next to me.   I believe Wes and Matt were also there. At first we were all in the room together talking.    Then all of the sudden Chris scooted over closer to me.  My heart sank and started beating really fast.   All of the sudden Chris and  I began having our own conversation, and all of the sudden we were the only two in the room.

Chris was talking a lot -- and I was glad because I had been rendered speechless and light headed. You see that previous summer I had sat my Cowboy Daddy down and handed him my list of requirements for my future husband.   He agreed to the terms and signed off on it.   As I sat there on the couch, and while Chris was talking,  God slowly took me through that list and checked off each item.   I kept thinking WHAT IS GOD DOING.  I am SINGLE.  I want to be SINGLE.  But this man is so incredible.  

You see I had never met a person who I was both intellectually attracted to and physically attracted to -- who also loved Jesus with his whole heart.

Chris was:
1. A Cowboy
2. Radically loved Jesus but was not weird
3. Loved business
4. Had also lived in a different country
5. His dad also owned a business
6. Believed in excellence
7. Was raised with on the same principles as me
8.  Grew up going to the same kind of church as me
9.  A Cowboy :)
10. Had chest hair
11. Was really, really, really TALL
12. Had shoulders that were as wide as I am tall
13. Had deep blue eyes
14. Had dark curly hair
15. Had vision
16. Was so attractive that I could barely stand to sit on the couch talking to him

We talked for three hours straight, about everything.   Our hopes, our dreams, our previous relationships, everything.   I just sat there thinking, "God what are you doing?".

Then Lauren came back out and we started walking to the car, and before we got in  it she looked at me and said "You are going marry him".  I told her that I was not and there was no way she could know that.

But in my heart of hearts I knew that I had just met my future husband.

And that was just beginning .......

And my sin...

OH the bliss of this glorious thought...

My sin - not in part but the whole - 

Was nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.

I heard this hymn this morning during my quiet time.  I cannot even begin to tell you the emotion that rises up into my heart when I sing those words - "not in part but the whole" and "I bear it no more."