When in Waco

Little H has been all over Texas (and some of Arkansas) in his short life. This weekend was no different as my mother-in-law and I met up with my mom, sister, and "Hub mom" in Waco. We had decided to attend the Beth Moore Living Proof Live event and of course double down on our time in Wacoland while shopping at all the Fixer Upper hot spots!

The conference lasted Friday night and Saturday morning. We have always enjoyed learning from Beth Moore, but at the LPL events my favorite thing is usually Travis Cottrell and his beautiful music. I was raised on some good ol' gospel music, and I don't get as much of it in the Anglican church as I did in the Baptist church of my youth so it was a real treat to have praise & worship like I used to know.

That Beth can jump. And move. And get you filled up with the Gospel.

Beth doing her thing!

My 3 moms ready for LPL!

my sissy & me

After the conference (maybe even a tiny few minutes before it was over), we headed over to Magnolia Market. I had heard it would have a long line to get in, and I was afraid all 7,000 women from the conference would be in a rush to get over there.

comin' at ya, MM!

The line was long, but honestly it moved so fast that we could barely even snap pictures while waiting. They had some really neat stuff, but I ended up just getting a canister and 2 t-shirts. My very own Santa had given me a Magnolia Market gift card for Christmas, so I wanted to use it on something special. But if I wanted anything big I probably would order it online so I wouldn't have to carry through the busy store. Just me though.

Sis & me at MM

the silos

the ladies ready to shop!

my MIL & I at MM

something new is happening at the silos!

One really cool thing they have done is set up a food truck area in the back. My MIL and I ate Milo's. Shut the front door. It was soooo good! We both got a buttermilk biscuit with sweet tea fried chicken (that's a real thing!), an egg, bacon, and spicy honey mustard. So that buttermilk biscuit recipe I posted last week? Yeah, it's going to be used again real soon.

behind MM at the food truck area

food trucks at MM

Aunt Sis and Baby H-y

Down the street was another store called the Foundery or something like that. It was really cool too and not near as crowded. I actually bought more there than I did at MM.

Then we headed to Harp Design Co. What's really cool is that their renovated house is next door to the shop, so we got to see it from the outside. I always loved that episode of Fixer Upper, but the house was even more gorgeous in person.

Mom, me, Sis, and H at Harp

Cash found us this awesome rental house in Aquilla right outside of Waco on VRBO. It was on a gorgeous farm, and we had free range to just relax and do whatever. Saturday night we went back to the house and ate sandwiches and dips while chatting about life back home in the A-R. Probably my favorite part of the trip. Hands down. I love those 4 women, and it was so relaxing to just hang out and eat a sandwich. For crying out loud, ladies, we need to get together and just eat sandwiches sometimes. Am I right?!

campfire chats

coffee around the campfire out on the ranch

I've always felt like I don't have a group. You know what I mean? I have lots of friends, but I don't have this group that just does stuff together. I've never done a girls' weekend with friends or had a bunco group or whatever. I think most women (I can't be the only one) crave gal pals. And really I don't like being gone from my hubby very much, so I probably am okay with no big girls' trips or things too far from the house. But I've been kind of down on myself for not really finding my place. This weekend I sat there and thought how silly I've been. I do have that; it's just not a group totally my age all in one place. And that's great because they are my people!

I have my mom and sister. They're my rocks. I have the Hub...a group of my parents' closest friends. I have my in-laws who live just a few blocks away, and my MIL has more friends than I can count. And each one of these people invite me into their lives. They let me do me. And they love me unconditionally. My heart is overflowing this week thinking of my blessings.

My mother-in-law and I were headed back to MTown enjoying good conversation (really, perhaps the greatest gift my husband has shared with me is a friendship with his mom) when we passed this truck...

this little piggy went to the market...

What can I say? Even when I am heading home, a little piece of Arkansas travels with me. Woo Pig!

I hope you all have a chance to go to Waco and see all the cool stuff. And even more than that, I hope you all have a friendship (or 2 or a whole group) that makes you know how special you are too.

Keep wandering...
Avery*Jane

Butter My Biscuit!

A couple years ago Cash and I spent a week on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. On Sunday morning we went into Savannah (GA) for church and subsequently had lunch at Lady & Sons. As we sat there on the second floor overlooking downtown Savannah from Paula Deen's table after being blessed a beautiful Lutheran service, I literally had tears in my eyes. I looked at my dear Texas husband and said, "This makes my southern heart so happy." (Texas is the South, but y'all it's a different kind of South--it's its very own place.)

I can't think of anything I don't love about the South. I love the good food, the sayings, the many times your heart gets blessed, the religion, all of it! Now that I live in West Texas, I get the biggest kick out of the way people laugh at things I say. My sister reminded me just this weekend of the You Tube videos called Sh*t Southern Women Say. Oh my. I love it!

A few weeks ago H and I were blessed to spend a few days back in AR with my family. During that time I had my mom teach me how to make my Aunt Sherry's Buttermilk Biscuits. Y'all. Shut the front door. These are SO GOOD, SO SOUTHERN, SO EASY!!! I made them for Cash the next week when I got home, and he loved them! If I can make them, I know anyone can. So...I wanted to share with y'all the recipe and pictures. You. Will. Love. Them.

Aunt Sherry's Buttermilk Biscuits

Things You Need

cast iron skillet (I use an enamel coated one; either way works)

buttermilk

self-rising flour (NOT all purpose)

a tiny bit of oil

The HEB brand flour was in the cutest bag!

Basically, you will mix the flour and buttermilk together until you get the right, sticky consistency. I started with a 1:1 ratio, but I ended up adding much more flour. Next time I will probably start with 2 cups flour and 1 cup buttermilk and go from there. You will get the hang of how much you need depending on the size of your skillet. I realized I needed about twice as much of the mixture as I had made. Although it worked just fine, I had room in my skillet for more biscuits.

It's also a good idea to start your grease at this time. You want barely enough oil to cover the bottom of your skillet. Put the stove on about medium to medium-low to get it warm enough.

the consistency

One tip Aunt Sherry gave to my mom was not to stir or whisk it too much. Less is more in this case. 

Once you have your mixture, put flour on a plate. (This is how my mom taught me, and it made it so easy since the mixture is super sticky.) Use a spatula to gather the mixture and basically wipe off the mixture from the spatula onto the side of the plate. 

Once you have your "biscuits" covering the edge of the plate, use the spatula to roll them one at a time into the flour. Again, the mixture is super sticky, so the spatula just keeps you a little cleaner. 

After your cover each biscuit with flour, use your hands (the biscuit should not be sticky at this point) to make the biscuit more into a ball. I just toss it lightly back and forth. As Aunt Sherry said, don't mess with them too much! So, just a couple tosses back and forth should do the trick. 

Thanks to my gal pal Leslie for my apron!

Drop each biscuit into the skillet. It's good to squish them in there real tight. I had way too much room left over in mine. You also want to dab the biscuit into grease and then flip it over to cook on its first side. 

get a little grease on one side, flip it over, and let it cook

covered and cooking up some goodness

Turn the fire down to medium-low or low and cover. Check them frequently, and once the bottom is browned, flip them over. Cover those suckers back up and keep your fire on low. In no time you'll have beautiful homemade buttermilk biscuits. Your honey will love you!

halfway there!

 On top of my husband loving these biscuits, it made me feel very proud to be able to cook something so southern, so reminiscent of home. We finished the meal with some bacon, sausage patties from rams we killed on an anniversary trip, and eggs from my parents' farm. It doesn't get better than breakfast for dinner (and a cheap one to boot)!

I hope you enjoy these southern biscuits from my Aunt Sherry as much as we did!

Keep wandering...
Avery*Jane

The Surprise is in the Bag!

I'm all over the map on my chronology of posting lately. But, oh well, it's my blog so I can.

Last year before Mother's Day my parents came to visit. We wanted to surprise them with the news that we were pregnant, so we played it up that we were going to celebrate my mom for Mother's Day and give her a gift that weekend. I think the video speaks for itself:

Mom, you're a rockstar. I love your enthusiasm for your kids and grandkids. I love the excitement you bring to life. And I love your sweet tea (plus a million other things). This is one of the best days of my life! Thanks for letting me share it with you.

Keep wandering...
Avery Jane