And one day, just like that, our lives transitioned into 1-year-old birthday parties.

I’m OK with this. It’s certainly the cutest way to party. 

FRIDAY MIXTAAAAPE! 

Sorry I’ve been absent from the mixtape scene as of late. Life comes atcha fast sometimes. But even when it’s fast, it’s nice to have a soundtrack. 

Enjoy these tunes and have a rockin’ Friday! 

I haven’t posted much since I started my new job (long story short: I love it!) because I’ve been so busy. The good kind of busy where you’re equally happy and tired at the end of the day. 

Last week on my day off, I went to the Botanical Gardens (which I affectionately call The Botans) and drank Grapefruit San Pellegrino amongst the flowers. Tomorrow I’m headed to visit my grandmother in Atlanta and drink Grapefruit San Pellegrino with her. It’s an exciting life I lead. 

If you think about it, call/write/email/visit your grandparents soon. I’m realizing now how crazy it is that we live so close to each other and I don’t often get down to see her. Life is busy, for sure, but some things are more important— more than even flowers or gardens or Grapefruit San Pellegrino (though it delicious and I am obviously obsessed.) 

Berry-pickin’ season is upon us, which means I’m about to consume about 700% more berries in the upcoming weeks. And I am not complaining. 

There are a couple of farms in and around Athens that offer fresh pickin’  and last weekend we headed out to Moon Farms to get the job done. 

So far, we’ve made a chocolate strawberry cake, a strawberry pie, strawberry smoothies, a spicy strawberry coleslaw, and… just a big bowl o’ strawberries. 

I couldn’t find a recipe for a strawberry pie that didn’t sound too… gelatinous… so I made my own. 

Morgangster’s Strawberry Pie

• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/2 c flour
• 5 cups of sliced strawberries
• pie crust (Pillsbury roll-out, refrigerated kind) 

I’ve made my own pie crust before… and while it IS ultimately more delicious… it’s time consuming and when there’s pie to be made… you just get down to brass tacks. The kind you can find in the refrigerated section (usually by the other Pillsbury products/rolls/etc.) is pretty baller, too, so I say just go for it. 

1. Pre-heat oven to 450
2. Combine brown sugar, white sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Slice strawberries and put 4 of your 5 cups into the bowl with the flour and sugar. Mix and mash berries and dry ingredients until you get them into a thick paste-like substance. (I used my hands for this.) 
3. Roll out bottom pie crust and fit in pie pan. Poke bottom of the pan with fork tines to help the crust not to bubble when cooking. 
4. Spoon strawberry mix into the pan. 
5. Place the final cup of unsweetened sliced strawberries in single-layer on the top of the sweetened strawberries. 
6. Using a knife or pizza cutter, slice the top pie crust into strips. Weave the strips together on top of the pie. (It helps to lay out all the verticale strips first, and then add the horizontal ones one-by-one, weaving as you go.) 
7. Pinch edges of woven pie crust and bottom crust together with fingers. Press fork tines down on the crust edge to seal. 
8. Lightly brush the top pie crust with milk. Use tinfoil to wrap around the edges of the crust, leaving the middle of the pie exposed. (This will help your pie not get too crispy or burnt along the rim.) 

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then lower to 375 and cook for a remaining 25 minutes or until top is a light, golden brown. Cool on a cooling rack. Eat and Enjoy!

Last week, as I was deep in the trenches trying to explain my deep love and commitment to breakfast foods and as I was wrapping up my last days at work… I got an email from a friend asking to meet up for an AM meal. 

Big Deal, right? 

RIGHT.

Abby and I go back a little ways… back to the time of my Start Something That Matters book giveaway many, many moons ago. I was giving away the book… and she randomly won. We sent a few emails back and forth and… well. We became friends. Tumblr originally brought us together, but our mutual love of good food and adventure proved to be too much for these tiny Tumblr walls. We each kept up with the others adventures over the years through blogging and Instagram and then… she came to Athens. Friendship truly complete. 

Because I had a few days off in between my old job and starting my new one, the timing was absolutely perfect. We headed to the Athens Best Breakfast place, Mama’s Boy, and spent a few hours talking Life over hot coffee and delicious grits, french toast, and goat cheese scramblers. Abby is an incredible person and I’m thankful to this little weird internet community for bringing us together. 

This is what I call Tumblreality, and it’s a beautiful thing. You know. As long as the person doesn’t kidnap you. 

I have always had an affinity for breakfast foods. I believe this stems from my Mom’s philosophy when eating in restaurants: she’d always look at the dessert menu first to see what she wanted, and choose her meal in accordance with the amount of room she wanted to save for the treat. And breakfast is basically a free pass to eat dessert for an entire meal and have it be legit. Cake for breakfast? Insanity. But here. Have a donut.

Late in high school, I remember coming across a quote that resonated so deeply with me that it became my own sort of food philosophy: 

“Dinner parties are mere formalities; but you invite a man to breakfast because you want to see him.” - Thomas Babington Macaulay

In college, I interviewed musician, artist, and fellow UGAer Allison Weiss (who shares a similar love for breakfast and pancakes that I do (in fact, it was her album art of pancakes that originally drew me to wanting to interview her)) and one thing she said about breakfast (because of course I asked!) that has stuck with me was something similar to the Macaulay quote: 

Breakfast is really special and delicious because you wake up and the first thing you want to do is see this other person and share a stack of pancakes with them. You really only do that with people you love. 

(Allison also got me onto Tumblr many moons ago AND she’s the famous one whose tunes you hear on the Customize Your Theme page. Go Dawgs.)

BREAKFAST! I mean just think about it! It’s early, you’re not always in a pleasant mood or lookin’ great and you think Hey, yes. Let’s share something yummy even before these bags under my eyes go away. It’s the first thing you do in the morning and you’re inviting this other person to share in that moment with you. That’s intense! 

So, anyways, today’s my last day at work. As a Going Away Celebration, the office organized a breakfast because they know how much I love it. Sure, it’s really just donuts and cinnamon rolls and coffee… but. It’s love. I feel very loved today and that makes me excited about the future. In the words of my girl Leslie Knope, Why Would Anybody Eat Anything Besides Breakfast Food? 

I sure don’t know, Leslie. I sure don’t know. 

With that…. ENJOY this Friday’s Mixtape. And go eat breakfast with someone you love. Go on. Go on. 

As always, all the Friday Mixtape Tunes are here—-> ++ Friday Mix! 

PS. That super sweet Tolkien print up there was created by my dear friend Karla who is wicked talented and awesome and just basically the best. 

Another Friday! 

I’m over here… workin’ workin’ workin’… one week left at this job. I hope your Friday involves something equally as exciting. (But, not as busy, let’s be honest.)

Enjoy these tunes as you work/play/drive in preparation for your weekend plans! As we were reminded sadly and horrifically earlier this week with Boston… there’s no telling what the day will hold. I pray you’ll all be safe, happy, and loved this weekend. The pictures above are some of my favorites from the trip my Dad and I took to Boston back in November. Truly an awesome place.

As always, all the Friday Mixtape Tunes are here—-> ++ Friday Mix! Huzzah! 

And this Friday’s Mix is below! Have a great weekend!  

The other night, some friends and I checked out a new place in Athens called The World Famous. I have a major sweet tooth when it comes to drinks (they don’t call me Dirty Shirley for nothing.) Because of that, this place has now become what I will colloquially refer to as “My Jam.” 

I’ve decided I’m going to try everything on the menu before I repeat, and that includes the yummy hand-dipped corndogs and fried okra etc etc getinmybelly. (I see you, fried chicken and waffles. I see you.) So far I’ve tried the Flash Gordon (made with Cheerwine!) and the Charlie Brown, which is similar to this drink that Garden & Gun wrote about recently, which is made with Coke and Peanuts. 

Never was there a more Georgian drink! Coke! Peanuts! World Famousness! They serve everything out of mason jars! I’m dying! My Jam!