There was a time in my life where I wrote prolific love letters… deep and meaningful words spoken from the heart. Then, after a failed first marriage, I came face to face with a box of letters I had written. Each page, raw, real and vulnerable, laid out there to remind me how exposed I had let my heart become through words. I can remember so clearly, sitting on the floor of my bedroom, reading each letter, sobbing at what was and what would never be again and feeling nakedly exposed and so vulnerable.

I was young…really young and was convinced any vision of a happily married life was over. I remember crying to my sister the first time I had to put a check mark on a form asking whether I was “married, divorced or widowed”.  23 and already divorced. Who would want me now?

Thankfully, God had very specific plans for me… the first marriage, the divorce… those and every relationship I had even prior to that led me to the man I ended up marrying 13 years ago today. And you know what? Despite the hurt and heartache each relationship yielded, I would gladly do it all over again if it led me to the man I am now married to. For, because of him, I am eternally blessed.

Photo courtesy of my talented friend, Jennifer of Jennifer Mullinax Photography.

So, to my husband, who has never received a love letter from me, but deserves a box full, I want you and the world to know that I love you more than words can say. You are the answer to my prayers, and each and every day I am extremely thankful that you chose me to be your bride. I love the life we have together… it has not always been rosy, but even through our darkest times, I know that we are meant to be together and that our love is as real as it comes.

Marriage is full of peaks and valleys, I now know that. I’m glad you are there to hold me during both.

Thank you for your patience, your kindness and most of all for being my best friend.

I am ever grateful to have you as my partner in this life. Happy 13th Anniversary!

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My sister recently went through a divorce…in fact her divorce was final at the end of October. It is hard for me to write about because it is still so fresh and personal with all of us. I have known her now ex-husband since they started dating when I was 14 years old. I looked up to them both and felt like they had the “perfect marriage”. As things often are, what appears to be reality often isn’t. I love my sister and hate that she has had to go through this pain…a pain that I know she never envisioned being a part of her life. Even though the marriage has ended between the two of them, some wonderful things have come out of their relationship. I have a nephew who is incredibly talented, brilliant, witty and wonderful. I also have a niece who is loving, beautiful, compassionate and smart. We have lots of great memories, laughs and family moments that will always be in our heart. And, last but not least, our families have swapped some pretty tasty recipes.

What would our birthday parties be like without his great-grandma’s sugar cookie recipe or our grandmother’s homemade ice cream recipe? I have several emails from his mom sharing family recipes that I have asked for. Not to make light of the situation, but if these two families didn’t unite at some point in history, our recipe boxes would be void of some great tasting things.

The Viva Diva Cafe (home of Viva paper towels) is hosting a great family recipe contest on their website and they have asked me to be one of the judges when the contest has closed. The prizes are fantastic… top prize is a $1000 gift certificate to Willams Sonoma. 2nd prize, a KitchenAid Professional 600 series mixer and a set of OXO utensils. 3rd prize is an Apple iPod Nano 8GB and JBL On Stage II Speaker System.To enter, all you need to do is register with The Viva Diva Cafe (which seriously takes less than a minute) and then enter your favorite family recipe. Whether it is one passed down from generation to generation within your own family, or a recipe snagged up from a relationship lost, head on over to The Viva Diva Cafe and share it with us.

The recipe I am sharing with you today is not one that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family, but the cup and saucer shown have a story to go along with this post. My sister, one evening feeling hurt and angry about the divorce, decided to take her wedding china out to her back porch and have a little therapy session with it. She put a blanket down on the concrete porch and began throwing pieces of her china against her homes brick wall watching the pieces fall into the blanket (which I thought was brilliant… much easier to clean up!). After she broke the first setting, she called me feeling much better and explained to me what she was doing. I, being the sensitive sister that I am, applauded her for finding a way to let out her aggressions and then thinking of the most important thing first said… “Ummmm, if you are just going to be crashing your china against the wall, would you mind saving out a place setting for me for my food photography photos?” Yep… you can call me Mrs Sensitive if you want.

Chai Tea Latte (from Simple and Delicious Magazine, October 2008)

15 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 2

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