1. When the brownies exploded in the oven, I opened the over door and just stared in disbelief. Then I facebooked. And tweeted. And took pictures. And prayed it would just go away. I’m everything that I hate about my generation.
I peeked inside the oven about 16 times, just making sure it was still there. I thought maybe the cleaning fairy had taken care of it for me. I thought willing it to go away would work. FYI: this doesn’t happen in real life. I’ve come to the conclusion that stepping away from the situation prevented a massive meltdown.
Maybe I’m a grown up now?
2. I’m obsessed with hot pink. So much so that I think I permanently discolored my fingers (now hot pink) for a recipe you will see later this week. I have a pink mixer, pink measuring cups, spoons and bowls … and even put a pink tissue box in Mr. How Sweet’s bathroom. If you remember our wedding photos, you surely know I love pink. It looked like someone upchucked pink immediately before the reception.
But… my favorite color is still black.
3. Speaking of weddings, Jenna reminded me this past weekend about our cookie room. How does one forget that? I’m really getting old. And I want to have another wedding just for the cookie room. Not that I remember eating any.
And yes, that’s Mother Lovett, intensely deciding which cookie to eat while touching every single one and claiming, “Eh! None of these are as pretty as mine.” If you were at the wedding, you most likely ate a cookie fingered by Mother Lovett. Sorry.
4. And while we’re on the topic of Mother Lovett, do you know what baffled me most of all? She buttered her crackers. And no, we’re not talking whole wheat Wasa crackers. Pretty sure those didn’t exist back in the day. And by ‘back in the day,’ I mean the year of 1993. Because 1993 has been etched in my memory as the year I walked into her kitchen and watched her slather butter on a stack of Ritz crackers. Then she dipped them in cheese soup.
I have no idea where I came from.
5. Since we are still mid-wedding chat, did I ever mention that the limo took a detour to the beer distributor before the reception? Yes, immediately following the ceremony. The boys must have mistook that case of beer for water. And really, the 10 minute drive from the church to the venue was just a little too long. Who wins best driver of 2008? The guy who managed to back up a stretch 20-seater, bigger-than-a-Hummer limo down a one way alley and into a free parking spot.
6. I sort of like some vegetables now. Like… mushrooms. Sauteed. In lots and lots of butter. With salt. And cheese. And maybe even broccoli?
7. Just kidding! Not broccoli. Not ever. Blech! I’d rather eat a shoe.
I’m Jessica and this is where I share my stuff. You will find a balance of healthy recipes, comfort food and indulgent desserts.
When I was little and we were sick my mom made us buttered saltine crackers. I think it might have been margarine, but still. I liked them, too.
I want a cookie room. Just in every day life. Like a house in my room that always has cookies in it.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:04 pm
Why don’t we have those?!
Reply
Debi — February 9th, 2011 @ 5:05 pm
My mom buttered our saltines too! Thought we were the only ones:) She also made powered sugar icing and spread it on graham crackers then stored them in the frig. Weird but good, when you are a kid at least.
Lauren — February 8th, 2011 @ 10:47 pm
My mom butters Saltines too! At first I was appalled, and then I tried one. Yum!
Reply
Jennifer — February 9th, 2011 @ 12:38 am
My mom always buttered saltines for our snacks as well. Oh, and if we were sick, it was pringles and gatorade. The lemon-lime flavor so we wouldn’t be throwing up blue and red. :)
Love the shoe reference ;) I have a few of those same pairs!!!
Sooo you may just want to check out my page today…doing a shoe giveaway!!!!
Reply
i love everything about the how sweet wedding… including the cake that inspired my own wedding cake! :) cookie room = genius!
Reply
Ha! I love you. :)
Reply
We used to eat toast with butter and sugar — not too different is from buttered crackers :)
Our groomsmen somehow made a small detour to grab some booze on the way to our reception also. I didn’t even notice — I wasn’t thinking about the groomsmen by that point in the day!
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
I grew up eating toast with butter, sugar and cinnamon. So good!
Reply
My husband feels the same way about broccoli. :-) He still chokes it down when I cook it for him.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:02 pm
He is nice! I would never choke it down.
Reply
I kind of feel like I should have a cookie room in my apartment, maybe I should convert the living room?
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:01 pm
I agree!
Reply
Your wedding looks gorgeous and I adore the idea of a cookie room!
Reply
I need a cookie room in my life!!! Love the hot pink bridesmaids!!
Reply
Oh I feel your pain! I made nacho dip in the crockpot to feed a bunch of hungry boys for the Superbowl game. Right when everyone was ready to eat, I took the lid off to give it one more stir. It was sitting under the cupboard that holds all my mason jars. One of them slipped and fell, crashing onto the edge of the crockpot. Yep, shards of glass all over my melty gooey cheese! I WAS SO MAD!!
Those brownies look amazing, even garnished in glass!:)
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:01 pm
I would cry.
Reply
Haha! This was awesome!
Reply
I feel the same way about pink! I absolutely adore pink things… but my favorite color is green.
Reply
You’re too funny- I love broccoli! By the way, my wedding was all about pink too! And you should see our cake…in fact, I’m giving you a link to a pic of it:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_Vm-8Ujvh3-4/TVGclD_NL2I/AAAAAAAAC7w/2hYaNXzU3Cw/s144/cake.jpg
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:56 pm
Gorgeous!
Reply
Awesome post!
When we first moved here 6 years ago, we didn’t really know what to get at the grocery store. Some friends had left a basket of food (mostly fresh fruit) in our apartment, and there were some crackers in it. We all liked them, and for the longest time we ate crackers with tons of butter for breakfast because we didn’t speak the language and were scared of the grocery store! =P
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:56 pm
I love this story. :)
Reply
I made your better than crack brownies this morning for my friend who just had a baby.
They are in my car right now as we speak.
I’m terrified of opening the car door because I have a feeling I might get a “better than crack” high from my car smelling so peanut buttery chocolatety delightful.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:56 pm
I hope she loves them!
Reply
I love the cookie room!!! I wish I had one in my house.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
Me too!
Reply
My college swim team’s mascot was the panther- so the women decided we would be the “pink panthers.” We were also obnoxious and wore pink from head to toe at every meet. My friend on another team observed that it looked like “pink threw up all over the pool” when we showed up.
I continue to be obsess with pink to this day. And black. Hot pink and black make me happier than bacon in my bloody marys. Kidding. NOTHING makes me happier than bacon in my bloody marys.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
I think that is obnoxiously awesome.
Reply
Hilarious. Love the cookie table idea. Did you bake them all yourself?
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:55 pm
Oh heck no. I didn’t bake any of them!
Reply
You are too hilarious, I was laughing out loud during most of that post. Actually, I take that back—your writing makes me laugh during most of your posts. Thanks for always showing the real side of cooking and baking. This one time (*cough* yesterday *cough*) I made some cookies that tasted more like cardboard…or a shoe, than a cookie. They’re in the trash now.
Anyway. Love your blog so much. I also love pink (twas my wedding color), but black is my favorite color :)
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
Thank you!
Reply
I love your wedding pictures! And hot pink. If I ever get married, I want to wear hot pinks shoes and have hot pink flowers with my white dress. And make all of my bridesmaids wear black dresses but with hot pink shoes and flowers as well. So fun!
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
That sounds so fun!
Reply
Your wedding pictures are beautiful! I adore pink, in every shade. It’s a good thing I got three daughters of my own (sadly only one of them likes pink).
As for the buttering of crackers…I do that too!!! You mean it’s not normal? Not common? I butter saltines and dip them in my chili or soup. Oh yum.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:54 pm
I think it is much more common than I thought. Everyone is saying they do it too!
Reply
Aw, my grandmother used to butter her crackers too! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :-)
Reply
I used to eat ritz crackers and cream cheese as a snack…and now I’m craving it. I’m not sure I’ve had a cream cheese ritz cracker since I was about 11…
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
I used to eat pretzels with cream cheese!
Reply
I love this post, Jessica!
My grandma buttered Saltines. with like…a pat of butter per cracker. Like maybe 10 crackers per stick. Not even kidding :)
Ironically i am doing a post about my grandma later today!
Reply
I guess you just had to throw in the vegetable loving “thing” because of people being afraid to come here due to the bacon mention. I’m sorry. :)
Reply
I have personally taken you on as my pet project so you’ll learn to like broccoli, perhaps even love it. Keep looking over your shoulder… it’ll be scary, I assure you.
Read my Green Giant Pizza post and maybe you’ll be able to start liking broccoli by hiding it in your pizza sauce!
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
Just read it… it looks scrumptious!
Reply
I love reading your lists and posts. Wish I could have met (I typed meeten and realized it wasn’t word..took me a good 5 min to figure that one out) Mother Lovett, the stories and memories you have of her are just too precious.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
Hahahah thank you! :)
Reply
My husband and his family butters their crackers when eating soup. The things you marry into… :D
Reply
Oh I definitely grew up dipping buttered Saltine crackers in my Campbells chicken noodle soup… is that weird?
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 8:53 pm
I’m beginning to think I’m the weird one. Everyone else does this but me!
Reply
I grew up eating buttered Saltine crackers (always with Campbell’s Tomato Soup or chili!) So unhealthy, but delicious.
By the way – gorgeous wedding photo!
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:00 pm
Thanks!
Reply
I love posts like this one. :)
Reply
Such fun facts! And I had no idea about those brownies exploding!! I’m about to head over and read about it..dang, never had that happen before!
Reply
That’s soo funny! I am the same way about pink! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.. I even find myself being drawn to drinking things that are pink.. Everything I own is pink.. and guess what.. I am getting married and August.. and my wedding is going to probably be very pink! :) I am going to try not to overwhelm people.. but I bet it still happens.. haha. My bridesmaids will also being wearing hot pink dresses! lol :) I forgot to mention hot pink is the pink im obsessed with.Your wedding pics look soo pretty! What was your other wedding color besides pink… lol oh and I love your cookie room. I am going to have an Ice cream sundae bar!! mmm… If you have any other creative wedding suggestions. .I’d love to hear them! haha :) I haven’t decided what to do for favors.. i kind of want something edible..
Reply
We had buttered saltines too as a kid. My grandma would give them to us as our snacks…that or buttered bread. Not toasted…just straight up white bread with butter on it, folded in half. Loved it!
Reply
haha hilarious! grandparents are so funny – mine says stuff like “we’ll just have a light dinner tonight” then proceeds to cook a roast, apple crumble, custard, and bread. light my arse!
Reply
Love the cookie roooom!
Reply
I sometimes *love* broccoli depending on how it’s prepared. Like in Jamie Oliver’s spicy pasta, it’s absolutely divine – I bet even you would … okay, may … love it.
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:42 pm
I sort of like it when it’s roasted to high heavens and topped with cheese. Does that count?
Reply
I eat buttered cracker sandwiches too! I’ve passed the tradition on to my daughter who has dubbed them “Worm crackers.” You know, cause when you bite into the crackers the butter oozes out the holes like little worms popping out of a hole in the ground.
Reply
Confession: I put butter on my Ritz, and then more salt :) yum!! but my dad’s convinced I was a bunny in a previous life with the amount of veggies I go through in a week…
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 9:57 pm
I sort of love you for this. Well… the butter and salt part.
Reply
This post is why I love your blog so much :) I love (like LOVE) your recipes, but I also love getting to know you… and also love anything relating to Mother L.
I have to say… I have put butter on a cracker before. LOL :X
Reply
Love this!! You were a beeeeautiful bride lady! I’ll throw in that I make sure to get in some fruit every day…thank goodness for Godiva orange-infused dark chocolate :D
Reply
You brownies with shards of glass still looks amazing. And my dad butters his saltine crackers….weird.
Reply
my mom used to butter her crackers…i gotta say, i’m still a little disturbed by that :)
Reply
I want to retire to a cookie room when I’m old.
Reply
Ha, loved this post!! I absolutely love that cookie room!! I want one for my wedding now!
Reply
Can I have a pie room at my wedding?
Reply
Jessica — February 8th, 2011 @ 10:55 pm
Now you’re talking!
Reply
“I’m everything that I hate about my generation.” – LOL seriously. I hate that every time something major happens, my mind automatically goes to, “I need to Facebook/Twitter/E-mail/Text/Photograph this. Now.”
Reply
OMG – when I was little we’d butter saltines and dip them in soup – usually chicken noodle or tomato.
honestly? they’re GOOD. I want a buttered saltine NOW :D
Reply
My dad always eats buttered saltines. Must be a generational thing.
Oh…and if it makes you feel any better, my nails are now painted hot pink. They are so hot pink that they nearly burn my eye to look at them…but for some strange reason, I find this pleasing. Go figure. The only way this would be even better would be if I added glitter. Huh. Perhaps I shall….
Reply
Love the very pink wedding picture! I have to admit, though, that I thought the huge blur of pink on the right edge was a shoulder or elbow…until I finally realized that it wasn’t. Oh, dear! Is this bridesmaid still your friend? I mean, after today’s post? ;)
Also, I am extremely tempted to scrap the (90% complete) renovation of my craft room and go with a cookie room instead. I think my husband would approve. His sweet tooth is (somehow) even bigger than mine.
Reply