Happy 40th Anniversary to my parents (yesterday!!!)
40 years?! AMAZING. My sister and I have the best parents in the world, and I know that it’s safe to say that we are both SO PROUD of them in every way. We are so thankful to have such a loving example of an amazing and God-centered marriage…our parents, although not perfect, have modeled a wonderful relationship and encouraged us to not accept anything less than a partner who loves us just the way we are and pushes us to be the people we can become. Mom, Dad, I love you so much and hope you guys had an amazing anniversary! Get ready for a yummy dinner when y’all come up in a few weeks 🙂
Speaking of fighting for a great marriage, Nate and I had the privilege to meet with 2 awesome couples yesterday to talk about their upcoming and potentially upcoming marriages. I have to say that marriage in an of itself is a truly amazing thing to me…yes, I enjoy WEDDINGS, but a MARRIAGE? That takes work, dedication, loyalty, love, fun, and the ability to die to self and put the other person before you. If anyone has any questions regarding marriage or anything, please feel free to email me anytime. I can’t promise I’ll know all the answers, and I’m not certified by an association or man-made entity, but I do promise to encourage you to do the right thing in all of your relationships 🙂 I’m not sure why I threw that out there, but maybe there’s someone who needed it today!
Breakfast yesterday was awesome…a chocolate peanut butter GM in a jar (CPBGMIAJ?)
At church I got to serve with the kiddos, which is always fun, although it does wear me out 🙂 I DID get to hold a 2-week-old baby though which was AWESOME…definitely didn’t help the baby fever go away! Lunch was a turkey-cheddar sandwich at Quizno’s with honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, and banana peppers. I ate the whole thing even though I only wanted and needed half, but can’t change that now…I can only change what I eat tomorrow for lunch!
I got to talk to my parents for about an hour or so, took the dogs to the dog park, and started cooking Father’s Day dinner for Nate (because, yes, we celebrate Mother’s & Father’s Day because of our dogs :)) We started off with Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms:
14 medium baby portabella mushrooms
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup cheese (I used cheddar)
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Wipe mushrooms, cut off the hard stem at the bottom and discard. Then remove the rest of the stems, chop finely, and set aside. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray and place mushroom caps upside down in the dish. In a saucepan heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and saute the chopped mushroom stems for about 3 minutes. Add the spinach, and cook til all leaves are wilted. Remove from heat and add Worchestershire sauce, cheese, and breadcrumbs. If mixture is too crumbly add about 1 Tbsp water. Stir until combined, then spoon into mushroom caps. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes and serve!
We also had a 5-oz steak with gorgonzola cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus:
I wouldn’t be lying if I said I licked my plate clean…just sayin’ 😉 We had our friends Josh & Ashley over for dessert (pizookie anyone?!) and some Mexican Train dominoes…so fun! Like I said, I love talking relationships, and this couple is definitely in an amazing one! Just another reason why I’m passionate about marriage and passionate about love.
CONFESSION: I love Phil Collins.
I challenge you to find a Phil Collins song that isn’t amazing…actually, I take that back. I don’t want to send anyone on an impossible mission! In college my roommate Kristin made me a T-shirt that said, “I {heart} Phil Collins” and it just about made my year 😉 She had one that said, “I {heart} John Denver” too! We are old souls 🙂
Do you have a top-secret favorite artist? Who is it and why?! It cracks me up because, even though I don’t always mention it, I can pick out Phil Collins songs playing in the background ANYWHERE! Elevator, airport, women’s restaurant restroom…you name it 🙂 And I adore it! “You’ll be in my heart…”!
Wow, 40 years is a great accomplishment 🙂 congrats!
Congrats to your parents!! That’s so beautiful. 🙂
P.S. I roasted chickpeas for the first time today after seeing yours! I’m in loveeee.
Wow 40 years!! Oh my God! Congratulations to your parents! I loved what you said about their marriage. My parents have been together for more than 25 years, and are still going strong!
That is cute that you celebrate mother’s and father’s day cause of the dogs. I told my hubby happy father’s day too. We also have a furchild.
you honestly make the best things. i love that you opened yourself up to marriage questions. So cute.
YUUM – that sandwich looked totally worth it, Heather!
Delicious eats, as always 🙂
Happy anniversary to your parents!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Happy anniversary to your parents! That’s wonderful.
Those stuffed mushrooms look really good. And my confession – I like Phil Collins too. I think it’s because I grew up listening to my parents play his music, so while I like it, it’s also nostalic.
I’m a big Lionel Richie fan, which my husband tells me I should be embarrased of, but whatever– how can you not love him?!?
Happy Anniversary to your parents!! My parents’ fortieth is coming up next year!
Happy Anniversary to your parents! That’s great.. my parents have been married for 34 years now and it is so rare to see that these days 🙂
Happy anniversary to your parents! I love Phil too, especially the Tarzan soundtrack! Your stuffed mushrooms look amazing. And don’t feel bad about the Quizno’s! At least it was something relatively healthy right?!
Phil Collins is a name I haven’t heard in a long time. My best friend in High School LOVED him and we would listen to his music all the time.
I’m going to have to download some of his songs to relive my younger years:)
I swear I could eat a whole foot long sub if given to me even if I only need half of it. That’s why it’s best for me to always order a 6″ or a “small” even if it does make more sense to buy a footlong and save half for later. Haha.
I love Phil Collins too! Lol. And John Denver. I’m a big fan of music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s…I have a huge obsession with Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Brown!
40 years… you don’t hear much of that anymore… how special!!
Secret music obsession? I love Chicago. Haha! The cheesier the song, the better! I belt out ‘You’re the Inspiration’ whenever I’m driving around in the car. SHhhh! 😉
PS- I’m going to a wedding in Lyons CO in August… is that near you at all? Any suggestions of things to do in the area??
lyons is actually really close, and I should be here for most of the month! do you know the date?
I have always liked Phil even when he was with the group Genesis (now I’m dating myself). I’m glad you took back your challenge, because he does not have a bad tune. He was one of the great artists, like Sting, who grew with the times and changed his music to fit the era…a true artist.
I have lots of favs, but a couple that come to mind are U2 and Billy Joel!
40 years is AMAZING! Congrats to your parents. 🙂
It’s not so secret, but I am obsessed with James Taylor. I love him. Annnnd most of his music was written before I was born.