His smile. The butterflies. Her laugh. Feeling like you can’t live without each other. Knowing that this time, it’s different. Realizing the future looks incomplete if he’s not in it. Seeing the faces of your not-here-yet little ones in her eyes.
Don’t you just love love?
I know I’m venturing into over-the-top-mushy-gushy territory. But I think I have a good reason. And it’s not just because it’s almost Valentine’s Day.
Jay proposed! And of course, with overwhelming joy and unrivaled certainty, I said yes.
And while all of those aforementioned feelings came into play as we fell crazy in love with each other, I’m convinced there’s one thing he simply couldn’t resist: I can cook. And he just loves it.
In fact, it’s been just over two years of talking about food, shopping for food, growing food, preparing food and enjoying food. We start every home cooked meal with a toast and usually, a photo op. Looking back at those images is like a tour of our relationship.
Jay’s tabouleh. His horseradish spike cocktail sauce. Our first Valentine’s Day dinner together. Caprese salad with tomatoes from the garden.
Tender pot roast. Butternut squash ravioli with hand rolled pasta. Frittata. Classic steak and smashed potato dinner.
The very best cheese curds. Salmon with fiery pineapple salsa. Dill-filled egg salad. My first hollandaise sauce attempt at Easter (silky, buttery perfection, by the way).
There are only so many years, so many days and so many meals to enjoy. I plan on making the most of each one and I hope you do too.
Cheers to a lifetime of delicious bites with the one you love.
Home to Homestead 
Elizabeth – I am so happy for you! I am a big fan of TCL and hearing you do the dirt alerts every day. Now following your blogs is a delight. I wish you and Jay all the happiness life will bring you!!!
Congratulations!
So happy for you both! Keep those delicious meals going! The very first purchase my husband & I made together was a dining room table. (that was back when I couldn’t imagine spending two thousand dollars on a table!) We would sit at it on Sunday mornings, reading the paper together and talk about the “someday” we’ll have our little ones gathered around it with us. Looking forward to following along on your journey together! Congrats! ❤
Love the show and your blog! Can you tell us a bit about your ring? What color is the stone? Did you discuss what you might like in advance? It is so beautiful!
Congratulation! this will bring a whole new layer to your Homestead!
So very happy for you, I have never met you but with TCL and dirt alerts and especially this blog, I feel I know you, at least a little. Best wishes for years and years of happiness. Jay is lucky.
Your writing is so fun to read keep blogging and your pictures I so enjoy looking at look. I have watched TCL since its beginning !
Much happiness always to you and Jay
It is exciting and heartwarming to follow your adventures on your blog and pinterest, from chickens to love. Best wishes on your wedding and future together.
congratulations! please tell us about the ring!
WHOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!! Congrats to you both.
Congrats to you and Jay! It’s a beautiful ring 🙂
Congratulations!!! You are all glowy, and that ring is gorgeous =)
You are an amazing writer….heartfelt. I bet you’re a wonderful cook and I love reading this blog! Cheers to you and Jay!
Elizabeth! Yes yes yes! So terrifically happy for you and Jay! Can I buy another exclamation point??!
Congrats to you both. I hope Jay realizes what a lucky guy he is. He is getting a wife who can and will cook for him and your 3 ladies to boot. And lets not forget Henry. What does he think about getting a real live Dad. Good luck to you both. P.S. I still miss John and I hope your new co-host will be a guy too.
How much do you really know about the Pioneer Woman? Here’s the thing, I used to be a Pioneer Woman fan too and read her blog on a regular basis, but something wasn’t ringing true for me. She held herself out as just a “little ol’ ranch wife” but the truth is, she wasn’t even close. When I learned in reality she was married to one of the largest landowners in the US and had built a custom television studio on their property (Ree cleverly couched it as a “lodge remodel” on her blog), I had to stop and ask myself, how many ranch wives have the means to do that? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with having money. This is America after all. But when you mislead your readers and misrepresent yourself being something you’re not, intelligent people’s radars go up. Most people don’t like being made to feel like they’re chumps.
I learned that she has tons of household help too, tutors for homeschooling the kids, maids who run errands and tidy up her multiple homes, butlers for other chores and an entire cadre of people who help her manage her blog. In reality, there is no Pioneer Woman. All this “little ol’ ranch wife” BS is nothing but a fake internet persona manufactured by Ree Drummond and her Madison Avenue publicists. Ask yourself, how many bloggers do you know who are represented by United Talent Agency?
And the fact Ree has lifted most of her recipes from church and community cookbooks without crediting her sources is very bad form. In 2012 alone, Drummond became embroiled in not one, but two plagiarism scandals. Instead of acknowledging the incidents, Drummond simply deleted the offending posts and acted like they never happened. One such incident involved an Etsy artist. Ree’s cowardice and the fact she never apologized made it appear she was trying to cover up the entire incident.
Unless you’ve got the millions of dollars in seed money that Ree has, don’t quit your day job. Without financial backing and the services of high priced publicists and talent agents, most food blogs will languish in anonymity on the perimeter of the Internet.
You might want to check out the truth behind Ree Drummond’s internet hoax:
http://themarlborowoman.com