HappyGoStuckey

Simmering in the Kitchen: A Giveaway

October 30, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 5 Comments

“In my sun-splashed kitchen, I chop onions and carrots and everything comes back into alignment. Knife to wooden cutting board— bare feet to bare floor, slowly I forget to strive. I scoop a double handful of vegetables and toss them into my dutch oven and I remember my place and it is worth more than one deep breath.

My place is here, in this blue house with these people and these countertops that warp in the heat. My place is using my hands to do what they can— and holding joy in my small circle of influence. My place is using that silver laptop and the words I have to offer hope in whatever cracks I can. My place is here. My place is not willful blindness to the hurt of the world; my place is to start where I stand and go forward from there.

And the soup helps because making soup is the opposite of striving. Any decent soup recipe is a handful of ingredients and time. Soup-making is contrary to hustle. Too much hustle often makes bad soup and a weary heart. I have little use for either.” — from Simmer: Six Seasonal Soups & the Stories that Inspired Them. Get your copy here.

Well. Friends? You have completely blown me away with your big-hearted support for this little ebook. So many of you have sent me comments, emails, text messages– all saying the most lovely things about Simmer and what you have enjoyed about it. There is nothing so sweet as seeing photos of your soup creations and feeling as though we are on this journey together.

And so, because I am a girl who loves a good product, and I am a girl who loves to celebrate– I’ve been curating a basket of kitchen pretties for one of you. Don’t you want to know what is in it? I knew you would.

Basket Contents:

Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Turkey Herbs
Gourmet Pumpkin Pie Spice, Savory Spice Shop in Franklin, TN
Harney & Sons Cinnamon Tea (this is my all time favorite fall tea.)
Golden Garden Recipe cards, Rifle Paper Co.
Blue Buffalo Check Kitchen Towel, Williams-Sonoma (their towels are a must-have in our house, so absorbent and they hold up so well.)
Polished Wooden Salt Bowl (perfect for a pinch of salt near the stove.)
Green Spatula Spoon, Williams-Sonoma
Beechwood Spoon, White’s Mercantile in Franklin, TN
Walnut Wooden Spoon, Williams-Sonoma
Blue & White Gather Banner (I have one of these and I think I may just leave it up year round!)

(basket not included.)

You may enter below by helping me spread the word about Simmer– this giveaway will run for one week and then I will choose one lucky reader and mail them all this goodness!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(Neither this giveaway nor this post are sponsored, I just thought it would be fun!)

A secret I have been keeping: introducing Simmer!

October 10, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 16 Comments

About eighteen months ago, I had a burning idea for a book.

It was to be a food and table memoir with recipes. Stories of feasting on life and hope— and the joy to be found in gathering. I dreamed up the stories I would tell, the recipes to share and even several title ideas. For nearly a year I wrote a book proposal, (and no, I don’t think it typically takes that long, but I’m a slow processor— like sloth-slow,) and then I pitched it with deep breath and shaky hands.

Those longs months of honing the idea behind the book are still something I am quite proud of. I learned much about myself as a cook, a writer, and a gatherer. Not even when I received three out of three polite agent rejections for the proposal, did I regret the time I spent in quiet preparation for my first book idea. Still, rejection stings and it took several long weeks of silence, questioning, and prayer to come completely back to the table and the writing desk.

One year later I am beyond grateful for those few polite ‘no’s. Without them I am not at all sure I would have grasped the deeper desire to keep searching. To keep creating but only in proper balance with the constraint I have to keep consuming.

I used to believe that my value as a writer was twisted together in the ropes of what I could produce.

Now I see that my responsibility as someone who desires to create, is not to merely produce much but to live first, to live well. To consume a lot of the best, leaving my inner well full and flowing over, rather than drying up inside and resting on the tenterhooks of fear and failing.

I will not seek publishing because it is seemingly the next step. I will not produce unless I have something to say that will help you or me or us both.

I’m chasing the fire. Chasing the love. Chasing the fun. Chasing the hope.
And waiting as long as it takes— for the simmer.

I know you understand. I know you’ve read books that could have been blog posts. I know you’ve read two hundred pages that could have been twenty. I know you’ve been asked to invest in things you weren’t certain you would be happy you did. Me too. But I’ve also been the happy receiver of someone else’s wait. I’ve enjoyed art that took ages in quiet production. I have read books that were twelve years in process, and it shows. I want to be willing to wait.

Back to my little book, for months I prayed and thought and to be honest, fretted, about what to do with it. Should I keep going, try again or stick it in a drawer under an old yearbook and call it a day? I hesitated to push it aside and move on until I shared it with you.

So I took my favorite parts, and I wrote it anyway.

Introducing Simmer: Six Seasonal Soups and the Stories that Inspired Them.

I created these recipes (admittedly each one a spin-off from a memorable soup I once enjoyed,) in my own little kitchen in the blue house. I made them again and again, scratching down notes on the backs of water bills and preschool activity sheets.

I made soup all through the scorching summer so that when the weather turned, we would be ready for comfort and warmth.

This is my 28-page gift to you. I hope that it will inspire joy and hope as you walk through the unknown. I pray that you will see this, my stone of remembrance as a clear picture that time is a sacred privilege and whether we seem to be moving ahead or standing still, it is worth the wait.
It is worth the simmer.

I would love to share Simmer with you today. Click here to join this community and get your free copy by email. (Simmer can be enjoyed through iBooks or a kindle, but you do not have to have any type of electronic reading device to enjoy it. Just download and voila!)

If you are already an honored part of the community here, than you should have received Simmer by email. If you think you are and you did not receive it, would you just click that little “Let’s Connect” button up there and shoot me a quick email and I will check it out?

Simmer: Six Seasonal Soups & the Stories that Inspired Them. (Free E-book!) — Free Ebook. Simmer: Six Seasonal Soups & the Stories that Inspired Them.

Mid-Week Round Up (only the good stuff!)

September 7, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

Happy Wednesday! (which incidentally feels like a weird TuesdayThursday hybrid since we had a holiday on Monday.) Though the first day of Autumn is a couple of weeks away, we are nowhere near Fall temperatures around here. Which for now, is okay with me. We’re still enjoying longish days and plenty of warm sun on our well broken in flip-flops.

This is our half way point, my chance to share some goodness from the internet and elsewhere– hope you enjoy a little corner of hope, help, and a touch of silliness in your week.

Anna Dewdney, the author of the hilarious Llama Llama children’s books passed away this week, after a 15 month battle with brain cancer. Not only a celebrated author, Anna was also a huge advocate of the importance of reading to children. She in fact requested that those who wished to celebrate her life would simply take time to read to a child. This act of sharing a book with a child was to be instead of a funeral service.

When questioned, she told the Wall Street Journal–

When we open a book, and share our voice and imagination with a child, that child learns to see the world through someone else’s eyes. I will go further and say that that child then learns to feel the world more deeply, becoming more aware of himself and others in a way that he simply cannot experience except in our laps, or in our classrooms, or in our reading circles. –Anna Dewdney

I love this so much. We have loved the LlamaLlama books and will continue to laugh at them for years to come.

And now a few words of encouragement from the great wide somewhere– (Two of these are fellow Hope*Writers!)

3 Things You Can Do to Make Social Media Great Again by Amy Fritz — a simple, helpful, post in a time when it may be tempting to share unhelpful, emotionally charged comments.

A Ministry of Flowers and Discovering Me by Kamille Scellick for GraceTable. ”
“Flowers seem frivolous. Planting a vegetable garden, an orchard, well that’s quite utilitarian and serves a purpose. However, sometimes what our soul needs is rest from what is perceived as dutiful and useful. We need rest from the titles we have given ourselves.”

To Be Like Her by Amanda Bacon “…We get sidetracked so easily fixing our eyes on the temporary, while temporarily ignoring what we know to be true.”

See you soon, friends!

In case you missed it,
Most recent post on HappygoStuckey: What an Old House Can Teach me about Love.

What an Old House Can Teach Me about Love.

September 2, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 3 Comments

In this blue house with black shutters and a screen door that slams– we are home. The newish paint covers old masonite that crumbles as squirrels sharpen their teeth. The deck was painted this side of five years ago, but with each hard rain a few more shards of colonial grey wash through the life-worn beams.

Surrounded by odd electrical wiring and a handful of mystery creaks– this blue house has become the thing we always have to work on.

Last year we installed locks on a bay window that consistently crept open. From first light until bedtime, the window slowly opened about two inches. Amidst the hum of the dishwasher and the din of our day, soft little slams could be heard as we walked through the kitchen, closing the window as we went. Grab the electric bill from the counter, slam. Pull a mug of rewarmed coffee from the microwave, slam. Stir the marinara, slam. Find the forgotten baby-doll before nighttime prayers, slam. One trip to Lowe’s for window locks and no more slams. Problem solved.

The next day I noticed a spidery crack in the wall of our bedroom and one more by the doorway. Because, it’s always something. No matter how many Friday nights we spend at the hardware store, we will never have a brand new house. It isn’t really a problem, it just is. We can remake every single board and roof tile– but we will still have an abode with many years to its’ credit. And I love that. It is more than character– it is tangible life. It is the evidence that we not only live here, we love here.

My eyes choose not to see the chippy front porch paint because it is the evidence of a house stretched to fit more. With every footfall that scrapes a few more slivers of black, I count us lucky. Beyond lucky to be here in this house that is our home. Shards of paint equal more feet scaling our steps.

With every new issue that appears, my sighs of exasperation are often sighs of delight. Because this house, this family, this marriage– I’ve known it all long enough for things to need to be repaired. And even though these four walls around us are much older than our family of four– I see similarities between this house and us.

We’ve known this love long enough to wear out many of our wedding gifts and we have begun to feel the age in our couch.
But it’s all a gift. This favor of one more day, month, year.
I find it a gracious beauty that this life keeps going. And though the toaster may need to be replaced for the second time, we are still just getting started.

Because the longer we live, the more we get to fix. The more we know life within this house, it fills us with more than snapshots and splinters. For every time we discover something to be improved that makes us groan and ask, “how much–” there are at least a dozen moments of deep, happy, sighs, just from the living. When we sit on the porch and read or share waffles at the kitchen table. When we dog pile on a tiny twin bed to pray out the day— or nestle our whole family on aforementioned couch– I know the messy is magnificent.

I know that life as a family– with its’ frenzied, complicated elements is more perfect than perfect itself could be. And I know that each and every time we glimpse one another’s ugly bits, we come face to face with grace. Why we needed Jesus. Why we need Him still.

In every moment of frustration and work, we know it is worth it.
Worth the effort. The sweat. The elbow grease. The guttural sighs of not again.

It is only in the privilege of time that we see that very work as a gift. That an investment in something, somewhere, someone we love– is always a bestowal of kindness to us (perhaps even more than to them?)
It is a treasure, not an imposition. Whether old house or humanity-frail family, the long, slow growth is the path to what we truly need.

In only nine years of marriage and a few less with this house, I know. I know that new love is exciting but growing in forever love is settling. If new love is a jolt of espresso— nine years love is a pot of soup– warming me to my toes and possessing the deep savory of simmering slowly for a long time.

I choose soup. I choose soup and walls that need a touch up any day.

“I don’t want sunbursts and marble halls. I just want You. … Sunbursts and marble halls may be all very well, but there is more ‘scope for imagination’ without them. …We’ll just be happy, waiting and working for each other—and dreaming. Oh, dreams will be very sweet now.” –Anne Shirley, in Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

Mid-Week Round Up (only the good stuff!)

August 17, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey Leave a Comment

Hi there friends.

We are several weeks into a new routine but still worlds away from the temperature drop of Fall. I find myself in this odd mix of relief for the scheduled days but still wanting to forget it all and head to the pool. Once school begins, I kind of lose my patience with the heat, which likely means I shouldn’t live in the South.

But the weekend is always on it’s way and for that I’m thankful.

I just wanted to share a few links of goodness with you from around the internet today.

You Shrunk My Shirt by Cherie of Vine + Victory, (Cherie is a beautiful artist with many talents and a new space for her words.)

Meeting God’s Grace in Our Waiting by Caitlin Lieder, (this beautiful, vulnerable piece from a long-time friend speak volumes about the ministry of our God to us in times of wilderness. Read them you’re feeling lonely?)

Is Your Soul Drinking Bad Coffee? by April Knapp, (Great reminder from April, a fellow Hope*Writer!)

“I can swim” Thank you, Simon Manuel! by Lucretia Berry, (I have learned several things of great value from this sweet Hope*Writer!)

One more thing– I’m a softie for a great book trailer and I loved this one for Ann Voskamp’s upcoming release, The Broken Way, which comes out in October.

Enjoy and Happy Wednesday! I’ll be over here dreaming of October’s cooler temperatures and nine different kinds of soup.

What I Learned & Loved this Summer

August 14, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 10 Comments

What I Learned:

This summer, in the midst of the long pool days and the front porch nights, I read ALOT. As in, more books than I usually read in 6 months. I’ve consumed a mostly-fiction diet these last few months and mainly stuck with good, solid stories I knew wouldn’t let me down– and through them all I have learned a glaring truth.

Good literature is substantial and never in a hurry. Good stories are luxurious.

Not one time all summer did I wish the author would hurry through her words. I enjoyed the long road of story-telling and story-receiving we were on together.

I think that in the very best books, there is an ever-present sense of the author’s love for the characters and excitement for us as we discover them. Truly, as you read the best stories you find that the author has taken their time and not just in the merciless editing process; but also in the loving discovery of who the characters are. What they want to tell us through their story. In this world of quick online publishing, immediate gratification, and sudden approval or disapproval– I LOVE that someone has written this “for me” over many months and years, in solitude.

And it teaches me things about my own writing.
It truly makes me wonder why we must always make things for immediate sharing, publishing, and production.
I think we need to screw up in solitude a whole lot more.
I think we need to write more that no one ever sees so that what we do offer the world, is our very best.
Not for them– but for us and for the One who made us, Who created us to create.

Anyway. I’m okay with not having all the answers. But I’m thinking about it. And listening. And reading whatever is good, and becoming comfortable with myself when I decide to put down a book I’m not loving.

What I’m Loving Lately:

These square prints from Parabo Press. I love being pleasantly surprised when I try a new company, and my recent interaction with Parabo Press was a delight. I had a coupon to try a set of 25 square prints for free, and I ordered a bunch of pictures from our past Disney trips. I’m planning to make a banner out of them to hang in the girls’ room. The paper is lush and thick and the packaging was so fun. If you would like a set for yourself, use this referral coupon: CBZJJD and you will pay only shipping on a set of 25 4inch prints! (Note: I upgraded to the 5 inch prints and paid a few dollars, but the 4 inch prints are free.)
This sautéed corn recipe which I shared on Instagram last week. The basil is coming in like gangbusters around our little Blue House garden!
No longer being in my first year of homeschooling or my first year of teaching literature. It feels good to have struggled with all the new for an entire year and to have come away learning a few things. For most of last year, I struggled with one or more portions of our new normal. This year, it feels broken in like that sweatshirt from college. I like broken in. On to different challenges and to making new mistakes. (but maybe not as many?)

Your turn! What did you learn & love this summer?

Want to see what others learned this summer? I’m linking up with Emily Freeman to share what we learned— Would love to have you there!

On Stepping Back & Letting Go

August 7, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 5 Comments

Sometime soon– you will find that you have to let go again.

You will pour cereal and smile at sleepy faces. You will pack lunches and breathe a prayer. You will grab keys and kiss foreheads and tousle hair.

You will help them take this step. And even though you will want to turn the car around, and around and around until you find yourself in their old nursery with the crib and the blanket and lamp and all these days still ahead — be brave.

You get to show them what brave looks like. You move forward with hope. You’re living the example that growing up is good and more time given is a privilege. That we were not placed on this earth to stand still or to go back– but to move forward in faith and courage. To be lights.

No matter how the shadows of this world lengthen, our role does not change. We are the lights. We may often lay down heavy hearted at the state of the planet we will awaken to, but this is the purpose of lights. It’s what they do. They shine in dark places. And the light that shares your last name? You’ve been preparing them to shine since they padded around in footie pajamas.

They are ready. And so are you. And the moment we remember that they were made for this– to go out and shine– is the moment our grip loosens with a little less fear and a little more peace. Our hands relax to open and offer back what was given us for a season.

If they forget to stop and turn and wave, it is only because you gave them courage and confidence. They haven’t forgotten.

If it feels like they need you less all of a sudden, it is because you were there, all those days when they needed you more than anything.

Whether they stare in the face of preschool or fifth grade or freshman year– your job is the same as you take a breath and take a step back.

Step back knowing that God never does. Not for one second that they are out of your sight, will they ever leave His. When your arms aren’t long enough to pull them back, He is firmly holding them right where they should be.

And the soul ache- heart ache- head ache of watching them walk away? It’s the seared mark of a deep abiding love. We are rarely ready to let go of what we love the most. But letting go is holy when it makes room for God’s glory. So, yes. Take the tiny step back that feels horrendously risky. And know that there is no risk too great when true obedience is present.

Tomorrow in houses strangely lacking the din of summer togetherness, let us remember to pray not only for God’s protection over our children– but for His glory to be seen through them.

Let their kindness be clear, their hope be sure, and their belonging to Him be deep in their bones.
Let them come to us when they feel too much or not quite enough.
May they know who they are because we have written it upon their hearts with a thousand conversations.
May God fill in all the spaces where we fail them.
May He be the One they know as the standard for love and acceptance.
May they make their schools better by their presence– lighting up corners and sparking from cracks.
May they be known as true friends who speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.
May they shine, diamonds on a backdrop of midnight– reflecting the Light of Christ.

Also, it’s completely acceptable to sit in the parking lot, cry, & flip through all those mental snapshots of their baby days. Wear the dark sunglasses and know you are not alone.
And neither are they.