home

we made it to birmingham, tired and cranky, but we made it. we were presently surprised by the cooler temperatures here. a small, but welcomed blessing. gladys and ted made us a picnic lunch, so we ate chicken salad sandwiches cut in the shape of hearts as we sipped on cokes in McDonalds somewhere in Kentucky. My sister came in my room last nite with tears in her eyes. She needed to be sad for us, she said. It was sweet. I am sad for us, too. But, I find some comfort in all of this... when I moved to St Louis three years ago, I knew hardly a soul. Yesterday, as I drove down hwy 40, I left behind people that I loved. Thanks be to God.

brooke

Leslie, Tirzah, Maria, and Me

I am really not obsessed with posting wedding pictures. I just got this new computer, so I am finally getting the chance to play around with them. All that to say, these are my best friends in St Louis. I will miss you, miss you, miss you. please don't forget me:)

wedding day 

st louis 

the road home

the road home starts with packing, in our case, many, many books. I packed almost 13 boxes of books last night. we still have more. I am always eager to reinvent myself when I start packing. "This time, I will be so organized". My first box was perfect. I traveled from room to room gathering poetry books. I filled it to the top with beautiful poetry. R. S. Thomas, Wendell Berry, Shakespeare, e.e. cummings, and so on. Next I proceeded to apply the tape ever so taughtly, and then I wrote with my big fat marker, POETRY. As the the English say....brilliant. I wish the other boxes were so perfect, but instead, they were merely a source of entertainment to my husband. Examples of other boxes: 'Seminary books and field guides", "english men who talk about God" (Lewis, Tolkein, McDonald..this is obvious, right?:) . My last box was simply labeled "random". So, I am not the best at categories. This is because so few things fit into one, at least in my take of things. Take, for example, Bonhoeffer's "Letters from Prison". Well, this is both memoir-ish, biography-ish, and spirituality-ish. I am not sure where it ended up. Probably not where a normal person would have put it.

all this to say, I have begun the process. the process of leaving one home to go to another. I have tried to write an entry several times, but cannot bring myself to write the goodbye blog. I cannot bring myself to recollect my favorite this and my favorite that. I cannot bring myself to wish my friends well, to let go of them. This I cannot do just yet.

Back to the boxes.

brooke

our new old house 

baby blue salad

this is sooo good. my friend jackie gave this to me. I love it, love it, love it!

Baby Blue Salad ¾ pound mixed salad greens
Balsamic Vinaigrette
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled2 oranges, peeled and cut into thin slices
1 pint strawberries, quartered
Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans

Toss greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette and crumbled blue cheese. Place on 6 individual plates. Arrange orange slices evenly over greens; sprinkle evenly with strawberries and top evenly with Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans.

Balsamic Vinaigrette
½ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons honey
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 small shallots, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 cup olive oil

Whisk together first 7 ingredients until blended. Gradually whisk in olive oil.

Sweet-and-Spicy Pecans
¼ cup sugar1 cup warm water
1 cup pecan halves
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Stir together ¼ cup sugar and warm water until sugar dissolves. Add pecans, and soak 10 minutes. Drain, discarding syrup. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar, chili powder, and red pepper. Add pecans, tossing to coat. Place pecans on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once.


yum yum!!!

the chorus

Leslie recommended this movie and I loved it. A beautiful French film. Here is the trailer if you would like to see a preview. les choristes.

also, Josh and put a contract on a house today. we feel very grown up:)

and... my very sweet parents gave us a lap top for our (my eventual) graduation. So I hope to do more with this site soon!

brooke

josh and mom

josh and mom
Originally uploaded by brookejared.

josh and me

josh and me
Originally uploaded by brookejared.

graduation day

graduation day
Originally uploaded by brookejared.

we have been super busy,but wanted to poat some pictures of life, graduation. etc.... updates to come.
brooke