If you haven’t read the books, Cold Tangerines & Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist I strongly recommend them. My dear friend, Danielle, told me a few months ago that I needed to read them and then along the way I realized that Shauna and I share a very close mutual friend. Such a small world. 


Then we decided to dream big and see if she would want to come share her story at Hope Spoken, which was incredibly exciting & humbling when she said yes!

Her new book, Bread & Wine is getting released in the next month and I was honored to get an early copy and dive in. This is a beautiful book for those who love food and value the community and connection of family and friends around the table. 

You know, as I journey along in life and also as my role as a wife and a mama, I realize more and more the kind of person that I long to be. When I started this blog a little over two years ago I never ever cooked. Then slowly through blogs and pinterest and friends I started to dance with a kitchen a bit. 


I have realized the value in a family dinner and not just sitting down together to eat but also involving my babies in the process.


Bonding with your little ones in the kitchen can be such a special & beautiful time. It is still an area a long to do more & more; better & better. I want them to have memories of cooking and making a mess in the kitchen with mama. 

The other night Chris & I made the dark chocolate sea salted butter toffee from her book. To say it was marvelous is a complete understatement! I have never made candy before and was so surprised how easy it was to do!

“Bread and Wine is a collection of essays about family relationships, friendships and the meals that bring us together. It is a celebration of food shared, reminding readers of the joy found in a life around the table. It’s about the ways God teaches and nourishes people as they nourish the people around them. It’s about hunger, both physical and otherwise, and the connections between the two.”

Just last night Aiden & Ainsleigh had helped me make dinner. They poured and mashed and talked along side me. We sat down as a family to eat and I couldn’t help but think about how we never would have done this just two years ago. And how just because that is the way it has been, doesn’t mean you can’t make a change. 


Already this year we have gotten involved in a new church and are making fellowship and community a priority in our life. 


Aiden and Ains won’t remember the two years that we didn’t do it right, 
they will remember the next 16 years of community. Family meals. & more. 


Book can be pre.ordered here!