Oh, hey there, blog. I’m afraid I’ve neglected you lately. I’ll blame our busy work schedules and the fact that we are trying to soak up as much time with our pals as possible this spring. It has been glorious, if not exhausting. I guess that when life is happening, the blog isn’t. Anywho, here’s what we’ve been up to lately.
My birthday is April 8. Every once in a while, Easter is also on April 8. I guess if I’m going to share my day with anyone, it should be Jesus.
In celebration of both my birth and Jesus’ resurrection, my parents came to Lexington for a weekend of excitement and food (as Becca always says, calories don’t count on birthdays). Here’s how it went:
Friday: I made dinner for 6, consisting of stuffed poblano peppers (I cannot tell you how many times we have made these since Becca first posted the recipe), fruit, and chips and salsa. And after a relatively healthy meal, we had to go to Graeter’s. For those of you not from the Kentucky/Ohio region, Graeter’s is one of the most wonderful ice cream shops in all the land. We had them in Lexington for many years, until they left and were replaced by frozen yogurt (which was fun for a bit, but let’s face it, ice cream is way better than fro-yo). But Graeter’s is back, and Lexington is a better city as a result. If you happen to drop by a Graeter’s sometime soon, I highly recommend the toffee chip, strawberry chip, or mocha chip flavors. So, so good.
Saturday: Pioneer Woman’s blueberry coffee cake for breakfast. So good. Then we took the family to the racetrack for some gambling. If there’s one stereotype about Kentucky that I really enjoy, it’s anything involving horses. Horse racing is cool. And Keeneland is a blast. It’s beautiful. It’s full of horses, dresses and bowties, wealthy retirees, drunk college students, and the occasional mullet. And it’s the perfect occasion for my seersucker dress.
We all did a little betting on the races, but my mom was the only one to come out a winner. She won 3 out of 4 races! The rest of us lost a few dollars and got a little sunburned.
After the races and a birthday dinner, we enjoyed an incredible Reese’s peanut butter cake, created by my dear sister. So, so good.
Sunday: We headed to Amanda’s church in celebration of Easter. Eric and I attend a pretty contemporary church here in Lexington, so it’s always fun to visit her traditional church, full of big Easter hats, an elderly man passing out mints and butterscotch, and some classic hymns. A great morning of celebration.
For Easter lunch, we traveled back to our apartment for some traditional Easter food- ham, biscuits, fruit salad, and ice cream. Oh, wait. Is ice cream not a traditional Easter food? Oh, well. We had what was, by far, the best ice cream I’ve ever made. I think Jesus would approve. I borrowed Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams cookbook (thanks a million, Caitlin) and whipped up some strawberry crisp (vanilla bean with roasted strawberries and an oatmeal crisp) and the buckeye state (peanut butter ice cream with dark chocolate chunks). Holy cow. You have not tasted ice cream until you have tasted this stuff. I’ve never had Jeni’s from the store before (I can’t convince myself to spend $10 on a pint at Whole Foods, and we haven’t made it up to Columbus, where Jeni’s is based), but if her cookbook creates ice cream anything like the original, this ice cream is the bomb. I think I’m going to have to buy the cookbook for myself, unless anyone is interested in sending a late birthday gift? Unfortunately, no photos were taken of my ice cream, but if you check out Jeni’s website, you can drool over the real thing.
After the celebrations ended, Eric and I enjoyed a long walk at the Arboretum. I could not have asked for better weather for my birthday. Sunny, 70 degrees, and perfect for a walk through the gardens. Considering it has snowed on my birthday before, I’ll take anything above freezing. And a two-mile walk made me feel a tiny bit better about those 2 servings of dessert on Sunday.
Now that the birthday is over, we’re finishing up all of that birthday dessert (calories don’t count on the leftover birthday foods either) and trying to come to terms with the fact that we are getting older. So long, 22!
-Ally
ashleeann says
Hey Ally–It’s Ashlee Gladson (Amanda’s old friend from college). I love reading your blog–it inspires me to start mine back up! Haha! Just wanted you to know there’s a Jeni’s in East Nashville!! (Didn’t your parents just move here or close?? I thought I read that a few months ago on here.) I go ALL the time—LOVE the place! My favorite is her Sweet Corn & Black Raspberry Ice Cream in the summer—the Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Cherries is also amazing–I actually make it at home a ton! As you know, the cookbook is really great–I definitely recommend getting it! I use it ALL the time. The ice cream is a little more time consuming than normal (as you probably figured out), but it’s not hard and it’s 100% worth it!!!
ericandally says
Ashlee, I had no idea there was a Jeni’s in Nashville! I’ll have to convince my parents to take us the next time we visit. And although I’m terrified of both of your favorite flavors, I’m sure they are delicious. After reading her book, I feel she can do no wrong.
Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy some real Jeni’s for me!
ashleeann says
Don’t be scared! Like you said, she can do no wrong! 🙂 I will definitely enjoy some for you…let me know how much you love it after you try it! The two I mentioned are summer flavors so they aren’t out yet in the shops, but I make the goat cheese one at home all the time and it never disappoints!