This has to be the most neglected blog ever (well, except for Jay !!).  Life has been crazy and turned upside down over the last couple of months and my blog has been put on the back burner.  I have to admit that I have really missed it!

One thing that definitely deserves a blog post is the breakfast Jonathan and I had at Myra’s Saturday morning.  It was amazing!!  I had my usual stuffed french toast.  I typically do not eat french toast, as it usually just tastes like loaf bread with eggs to me.  If I had to pick one food that disgusts me more than any other food…it would be the egg!  If it would the only food left, I would probably try to force myself to eat it…but it would have to be desperate times!

Anyway, back to the french toast – Myra leaves the eggs out for me and dips it in a sort of pancake batter.  It is then stuffed with nuts, cream cheese, and powdered sugar and topped with some whipped cream — AMAZING!

Jonathan had his usual eggs (nasty…but for whatever reason he loves them!), bacon, and hash browns.  This time he had hash browns with onions, bacon, and cheese — also AMAZING!  They were the best hashbrowns/home fries I have ever eaten.  We’ve been doing a lot less eating out these days, so it was nice to get to see Myra and Martha. 

Speaking of not eating out, I have made it a point to try as many new recipes as possible each week.  There are several that I know will become “regulars” in my recipe collection.  I’ll try to post several of them soon. 

That actually leads to my other recent project…I’m writing a cookbook!  I don’t actually know that anyone will ever want to read it, but my sister talked me into it a couple of months ago and I wanted to have it completed for my granny’s birthday in March.  I’m getting down to my deadline and I have to get it finished over the weekend.  More on that soon!

As you can tell, I have been on a bit of a hiatus from the blog…not intentional might I add!  The Confection Company had a very successful Christmas season, and it really kept me busier than anticipated.   So much has happened over the last couple of months – I’ll try to squeeze a lot of it into this one post.

• We are almost moved out of Shops of Steele Street and the transition into Added Accents and Cafe 121 is occurring over the next couple of days.   We are very excited to have teamed up with two fabulous businesses!
• New website — Amy’s is getting a whole new look!  A wonderful website designer is in the process of finishing up the new site and I will post as soon as it launches. 
• Christmas – Christmas was wonderful!  I could not have asked for anything better.  I think all four of us really enjoyed the entire Christmas season (along with our extended family).  Christmas Day, as usual, was a whirlwind, but it was great fun! 
• Breakfast at Myra’s – Myra’s Kitchen has started opening for breakfast Monday through Saturday.  I few weeks ago Jonathan and I were able to get by there on a Saturday morning to try it out, and I am so glad we did!  Myra knows that I do not eat eggs and that I think most French Toast tastes like bread soaked in scrambled eggs — gross!  So, she made me the most delicious egg-free French Toast ever, and it was stuffed with cream cheese and pecans and topped with whipped cream.  IT.WAS.TO.DIE.FOR!  Jonathan had eggs (still gross), bacon and sausage (I know…can you say I had a heart attack three years ago?), home fries with onions, and a biscuit.  He also loved everything, especially the home fries!
• Honey Baked Ham Store – About 5+ years ago, I started a new Christmas tradition for my mom.  I always buy her a Honey Baked Ham a few days before Christmas.  Jonathan and I ventured to Cary the day before Christmas Eve and he was kind enough to wait in the line that stretched WAY out the door to get THE ham!  And it was well worth the wait.  It was the best Honey Baked Ham we have ever had.  Everything about it was absolutely perfect!
• Handmade gifts – When my sister got married in August, she was blessed with two amazing stepchildren – twins no less, a boy and a girl (10 years old).  Two of my favorite gifts this year came from my new niece and nephew – a hand-painted birdhouse and a handmade “baking lady” ornament.  I love receiving handmade gifts and these are two I will always treasure.
• The magical amazing fabulous Jawhorse – For literally months, I have listened to Jonathan talk about wanting a Jawhorse.  Every time a commercial would come on he would drool in silence as he stared at the screen.  Not to mention the full infomercial — the whole world would have to stop for 30 minutes (it feels like hours) while he watched it AGAIN!  I would remind him that it was the same commercial/infomercial that he had already watched 50 times, but he would watch it anyway.   We had agreed to only buy each other small gifts (which ultimately did not exactly happen), so I did not buy the Jawhorse for him for Christmas.  Fortunately, the after-Christmas elves at our house ordered him one a few days ago and it arrived this morning!  I cannot wait until he gets home and can open it up and try it out!  I really hope it is “everything” he hopes it will be and it does not disappoint!
• Speaking of those “small gifts,” I was so excited that Jonathan gave me a set of Paula Deen Cookware.  This is what I have drooled over every time we go to Sams.  He was very generous this year — I also got a huge painting from the Carpenter’s Shop that I have had my eye on for a while and several other wonderful gifts!
• Shopping the day after Christmas – I had not planned to shop the day after Christmas, but somehow my sister conned me into driving us both to Apex.  I have not been to SuperTarget in Apex in probably 5 years.  We usually need to go to several other places in Cary, so we always go there if we need to go to Target.  Boy am I glad we went…I had no idea there were so many new stores – Old Navy, Kohls, Circuit City, Home Depot, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, and the list goes on and on.  SuperTarget, in my opinion, was worse than WalMart the day after Thanksgiving.  People were pushing and shoving and reaching and grabbing.  It was crazy.  After a while, I had to get out of the Christmas section.  I just could not take anymore.  Melissa, however, is another story.  She thrives in that kind of environment.  I planted myself in the automotive section down the aisle and she would bring her “finds” and put them in the cart.  If there was something I liked, she would go back to wrestle some little old lady to get one for me also (not really, but it sounds more exciting that way)!
• My musician – Phillip started guitar lessons maybe 7 or 8 months ago (I cannot remember for sure) and has really developed a great talent.  We bought him a new book of songs that we like (luckily he likes many of the same things we do) and he has been breezing through it, serenading me with songs that I love.  I am so proud of him!

There are so many other things that I am sure I wanted to write about, but I have to get back in the kitchen…truffles are calling!

There has been a lot going on over the last month or so and just not enough time to blog about it!

The first thing I had all intentions of blogging about was the Sanford Second Century reveal party.  It was amazing!!  First of all, I love the new logo, and the poem that goes along with it literally made me cry as they read it.  I honestly love being a Sanfordian (if you would have told me that when I was 15 I probably would have laughed in your face — I thought I was getting out of the town fast!) and think our downtown is morphing into a fabulous “destination!”  Secondly, the band was fabulous — The Band of Oz out of Raleigh.  I had heard of them, but really did not know a thing about them…we were really surprised!  It was hands down the best concert I have ever heard in Depot Park.  I can’t wait until they are performing in/near Sanford again!

Next came the CIS Gala.  As usual, we had a great time.  We served Carolina Cake Truffles, cheesecake bites, pecan tassies, lemon bars, and almond English toffee.  I always love that evening because it gives us a chance to spend some time with a lot of our regular customers that I don’t always get to see in person.  I also finally met fellow blogger Emily Page in person and really enjoyed chatting with her — I felt like I had known her forever! 

One of the new additions to the gala this year was Myra’s Kitchen — and she was a rock star!  She and Buddy served meatloaf (the best ever!), chicken and dumplins (which Jonathan said were to die for!), peach crisp (which I was sad I didn’t get to try, but I have had it in the restaurant and it is delicious), and one of my favorites — her cornbread muffins.  We were set up within earshot of each other, so I heard a lot of “where are you located” and “I will definitely be eating there!”

This past Saturday was ARToberfest in downtown Sanford, which I think was a great success for its 2nd year — especially considering the weather.  We had our first really cool day, and it was windy!  The wind made for a long day, but overall it was great.  We completely sold out of toffee and truffles, and I finally got to meet Lindsay from Anyone Hungry and her new hubbie!  They are the cutest couple ever and so sweet!  I was also excited to see Kim Pritt (who has to be the best Sanford resident ever — she is at everything!).

I think it’s starting to sound like we eat out every meal, but I promise we don’t!!  I was so excited to see Jonathan Owens and a photographer from The Herald in the Fastop Grill in Lemon Springs when I picked up my lunch today.  I am assuming this means they will be the next restaurant featured in The Herald’s restaurant spotlights. 

I’m not really sure when the Fastop Grill opened, but I’m pretty sure it was before I was born.  I cannot remember I time in my life when they weren’t open!  As a child, the locations in Tramway/Lemon Springs where places like Hardees, Food Lion, and Subway (even Jackson Brothers) were woodland areas or tobacco fields.  The only place to eat without have to go all the way into town (which seemed like a really long way) was the Fastop Grill.  At that time, they were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (for a while dinner was just Friday and Saturday nights), and we ate there A LOT! 

Oddly, I remember the day I was allowed to order a quarter-pounder with cheese.  My dad always had the quarter-pounder and my sister and I were not allowed to get it because it was just to big (and too expensive) for us.  Then, finally, after so very long, it was mine!  I have loved it ever since (as does the rest of my family).  I also have very fond memories of piling up in my papa’s big pickup truck and going to have lunch during the summer.  It was rare that we actually ate there; we always got take out.  But once in a while, he would treat me to a “sit down meal!”

Even when I lived way on the other side of town in far away West Sanford, I would still drive to Lemon Springs for a cheeseburger steak, quarter-pounder with cheese, or the greatest BLT ever!  Now, being back on my family farm, I am only maybe 2 or 3 miles away and take advantage of the close proximity quite often.  Now they are open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. 

I was also quite excited to see Bud’s BBQ in today’s edition of The Herald.  Bud’s is very special at our house.  Bud Burns was Jonathan’s grandpa — his dad’s dad.  After the passing of Mr. Burns, Jonathan’s dad took over the family business.  You can read more about the history here http://www.sanfordherald.com/index.php?pSetup=sanfordherald&curDate=20080625&pageToLoad=showFreeArticle.php&type=art&index=04.

Jonathan has very fond memories of growing up as the “son of the Bud’s BBQ family.”  I still often have people say “now, you’re married to the BBQ guy from Cumnock, right?”  We ate lunch with Jonathan’s dad in the restaurant on the last day he was open as the owner of Bud’s BBQ and it was both touching and sad.  Brandon (Jonathan’s oldest son) and his then girlfriend also joined us that day — it was the day we told him we were getting married.  I also remember meeting Phillip (Jonathan’s youngest) for the first time ever in the restaurant during a Friday night hootnanny (when Jonathan’s dad and his friends would get together for some pickin’ and grinnin’).  Jonathan often recalls his summers spent there and every Tuesday morning his MawMaw (Mrs. Burns) would cook breakfast at 4 a.m. for their family while the BBQ was cooking.  He would then be left to clean the BBQ house while his dad when went to start serving customers.  His list of memories goes on and on.

Just as the article states, the new owner, Bill, has done a great job on the place.  I often hear folks talking about the awesome ribs and just how tasty everything is!

So, has talked for some time now on her blog about Myra’s Kitchen on Colon Road across from Turner’s Chapel Church.  Jonathan and I ate there a few weeks ago and loved it. 

Last night, we took Phillip there for dinner, and once again, it was amazing!!  Last time, we went on a Friday night and it was packed.  Last night, there were about five other tables full, it was nice and quiet, and as usual, the atmosphere was quaint and comfortable.  The special was chicken n’ dumplings.  I think we all debated it, but we ended up with…Phillip – fried pork chops with onion rings and fried corn on the cob; Jonathan – marinated beef tips over rice with smashed potatoes and gravy (odd choice with beef tips!) and fried corn on the cob; me – country fried steak with smashed potatoes and gravy and fried corn on the cob.  Needless to say, we love, love, love the fried corn on the cob. 

Last time, they had some type of roll or biscuit that I wasn’t entirely crazy about — and anyone who knows me knows that bread is VERY important to me (my thighs prove it!)!  This time, they served a scrumtious corn bread muffin that was a little sweet and a little buttery, but completely delicious!

Phillip was very impressed with the amount of food he received.  His plate was spilling over it was so full.  Jonathan’s beef tips had the perfect pairing of spices.  My country fried steak was so crispy — just like I like it.  I love when all of the little “crispins” get mixed in with the potatoes by the end of the meal — my favorite part! 

For dessert, we split an apple crunch and brownie delight.  Both were good, but I think Jonathan would have stabbed me in the hand with his fork if I had taken more than my share of the apple.  It was divine!

Overall, it was another delightful visit to Myra’s!  I believe the special tonight is ribeye and shimp — maybe some of you will want to try it!  Unfortunately, you won’t see us there tonight.  I am hoping for a trip to the movies!  Kim’s review of Made of Honor has me dying to go see it and Phillip is itching to see Iron Man (we’ll see who Jonathan decides to sit with!)!