Cooking: I covet, therefore I am

I admit it.

I am a coveter. 

I covet like it is my job.

Gollum...I am.

Only, I don't necessarily covet a precious gold ring (more like a gold horseshoe necklace ala Carrie Bradshaw). I covet random things. I covet dishes and boots, milk glass and beads from the 1950's, art and  good blue jeans. I wish for weird things like garden gnome cookie jars and vintage lamps.


I am a sentimental fool, and I have lots of random things to prove it.
My mother-in-law has given me various things of my husband's and their family's over the years and I have kept most of them (his baby moccasins, the pewter sugar and creamer, and of course, her turquoise necklace that pinches like the devil when I wear it to  name just a few) because they are part of his life story. I have cookbooks and recipes from three grandmothers and I have my grandfather's dog tags.

All of these things are historical to me and will be passed down to my daughters as they get older. But the things that are not my own personal story are the things I truly  covet. I am always looking for for shell backed chairs, milk glass, vintage boots (Frye Campus size 7 if you come across a pair), and old levi 501s. Large paintings that grace walls at my favorite art gallery in town are always sighed over when I visit them. Weird owl mugs and Mexican pottery are things I notice when I am out and about. Why? I have no clue. Maybe I just like random things. Or,  more likely, they trigger a nostalgic memory for me. Either way, I like being a little bit off odd.



I have fairly good self control. My house could be shrine to my weird covetousness. However, I live fully in the realization that I would never be satisfied if I indulged my every whim. So, I convince myself that I am waiting for that "perfect" fill in the blank item that will be the thing that makes me truly  happy. And for the most part, I am already happy with the things I do have in addition to the things that actually do make me happy.

Cookies and a goofy kid, what could be better?

In the meantime, I am reading my cookbooks and getting ready for the Mardi Gras season which starts this weekend. I am hoping I can talk my husband into making his famous jambalaya to kick it off right.  We will be dragging out our tacky decorations and beads and readying ourselves for our favorite season.


Almost Mardi Gras menu

• Chicken tacos/veggie tacos with Mexican slaw
• chili (using chicken from Monday's tacos...recipe to follow)
• baked chicken, baked squash, baked sweet potatoes
• Pork Ragu, spaghetti squash with mushrooms, sauteed greens
•  Jambalaya (?)