If this is your first time reading these monthly life updates, welcome!
I am happy that you are here. These life update posts are a way to share things that I am working on, enjoying, and struggling with. They are honest conversations about my life in a particular month. But I think more than anything, they are a diary of where I was, am, and now are heading.
It’s The Boiled Peanut Season
The first time I had boiled peanuts was when I went to a baseball game in Atlanta back in 2006. It was my first time both eating boiled peanuts and watching baseball in a stadium. It was quite memorable, to say the least.
I won’t go into the details of how shocking it was to me to see people around me care less about the game while eating their weight in boiled peanuts with ice-cold beer all consumed under the sun.
But, I adapted quickly, because boiled peanuts were love at first bite. Ever since that day, I am a boiled peanut addict, and that by itself is a reason to love summer.
Yesterday we went to our local farmer’s market and had Cajun spiced boiled peanuts. OH MY! It is the kind of spicy that you just can’t stop eating. Even after you feel like your lips are swollen.
I just can’t get enough of it.
Birthday Celebrations
We celebrated Dwight’s birthday in June. The foodies that we are, we celebrated in a new-to-us restaurant in Atlanta.
St. Cecilia is located in the heart of Buckhead, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Atlanta. If you were living here in the 2000s, you might remember Bluepoint, the Asian-Fusion restaurant, that closed years ago. That spot is now St. Cecilia.
It felt a bit weird to go there because I used to go to Bluepoint all the time. The vibe is totally different but the layout is still the same.
Still, I forgot all about it after they brought the warm focaccia bread with whipped butter and burrata on the side.
Good food, good vibes, we will definitely go again.
What’s Working?
Now that you are up to date with life things, I will continue in my usual format and talk about what is working and what is not working. Let’s talk about the positives first:
- Dwight is on board: You might remember from last month, my husband moved down to Atlanta from Maine, after working there for almost 2 years. While we think it is going to be for a short amount of time, during the transition, Dwight is helping me with creating content. We are now spending most of our days testing recipes and making videos in our kitchen.
They are mostly silly cooking videos but both filming and watching them later is so much fun. If you need a good laugh, feel free to give them a watch (and follow us while you are there). - Currently looking forward to: While we do not have a big vacation plan planned for the summer, I am very excited about a few events coming up:
- Secret Supper – Austin, TX in August: I have been following the folks at Secret Supper for a few years now. They put together these beautiful dinners in “secret” locations. From what I understand, it is never the same place and they tell you the location 24 hours before the event. A friend of ours experienced one of these dinners and said that it is a must. So, when they announced their next locations we immediately signed up. It is the last weekend of August and we are so excited!
- Fetes De Bayonne – Atlanta, GA: One of our favorite restaurants in Atlanta is bringing the biggest summer festival in France, Fetes De Bayonne, to our neck of the woods. I still need to go out and purchase a red dress for the occasion, but I am looking forward to delicious French food with friends.
- Bloggers Retreat – San Diego, CA in September: Ever since I came back from the food bloggers conference in Chicago, we have been chatting about putting together a bloggers retreat. It is finally happening. It is going to be a fun get-together/power session with a few of my favorite food bloggers in beautiful South California.
- Abraham-Hicks – Atlanta, GA in October: There is still so much time until October, but Esther Hicks is coming to Atlanta. I was contemplating going to one of the cruises, but I was putting it off because of the pandemic. So, when I heard that she is coming here, I bought my ticket immediately. I cannot tell you how excited I am. If you are reading this and plan on being there, please let me know.
What’s Not Working?
- Raised Beds/Gardening: Last year around this time I was raving about my tomatoes. Sadly, this year, I just couldn’t get myself together to work on the backyard. I guess I didn’t realize how much work is required to maintain a backyard. I plan on getting back to it in the fall but for now, it is on the backburner.
- Negative Comments: I hear bloggers talk about getting negative/hateful comments about their recipes from time to time. Until recently, I have been very fortunate to not have gotten many of them over the 9 years of my blogging career. Last week, I received a note from a reader telling me that my food tastes so bland that it is like “prison food”. I am pretty thick-skinned but this one got to me. Whenever I receive a note from someone who had a less than satisfactory experience with a recipe I immediately follow up with an email asking what happened. In this instance, I could not get myself to do that. I just couldn’t believe someone could say something so mean for a recipe that they found online.
But then I remembered that quote, “Hurt people hurt people” and decided to let it go.
I Leave You With This
We watched Father of The Bride last night and it felt so good. It is light, happy, and fun. If you need a few hours of easy entertainment with a fantastic soundtrack, I can’t think of a better movie.
Wishing you a wonderful summer friends. Until next month…
Aysegul
Want To Travel In Time?
If you enjoy life updates like this one, here are a few more that you might like:
Christine
Hi again! Great post as usual! So happy you and your husband are together again, for good! Love your watch and bracelet combo! Where did you get them?
Aysegul Sanford
Hey Christine,
I am happy to hear that you enjoy reading these. Thanks for your sweet note.
My watch is Shinola (it is a watch brand out of Detroit). I find their watches work best for my wrist compared to other watches. My bracelet (the one with evil eyes) is from Turkey. My mom gifted it to me when I graduated high school. Though they are still widely available in Turkey. If you ever go for a visit, you can easily find one at any jewelry store. I love that combo so much that I almost never take them off 😉
Cheers!
Alexandra Randall
Hi Asygul. This is the first time I’ve read your blog & I really enjoyed “being” with you. Whoever says your recipes are bland have dead tastebuds! Good on you for not retaliating, that would have lowered you to their level. My personal favourites are the almond flour recipes as here in Portugal almonds are a grown on the Algarve where I live! We have an abundance of carob trees too, (alfarroba in portuguese) which is used to replace cocoa & used in bread recipes. I wish you great joy in your summer. Alex.
Aysegul Sanford
Alexandra,
Thanks for your sweet note. I am happy to hear you enjoy my Almond Flour Recipes. Also, thanks for following along all the way from Portugal.
I have never been to Algarve (or Portugal) but I know seafood is big in your country. We love seafood so it is at the top of our wish list to visit some day.
Thanks for coming by and supporting my work. I truly appreciate it. ❤️
susan
A fun recap. Yes, hurt people hurt people……….very good to let it GO. I LOVE all of your ‘stuff’, that covers everything right 🙂 Your restaurant explorations sound like a lot fun and joy! Enjoy!! And the back yard will still be there for you when you are ready.
Aysegul Sanford
Susan,
I feel vulnerable sharing my life with people I do not know but then when I read sweet notes like this it makes me feel great.
Thanks for all the words of encouragement about my backyard. You are right, it is going nowhere. I will get to it when I am ready.
Sending you all the good vibes.