I enjoyed the most delightful lunch this week at my friend Tracy’s home. It was like walking into a storybook, and I wanted to share some photos of our meal and her home. I met Tracy many years ago at TCU, where we worked. She was a writer and creative for the university’s magazine. I worked as an event planner, and I would often bend her creative ear for ideas.
Meanwhile, Tracy introduced me to Renee of Lucy Betty June, who is a collector and dealer in vintage goods. Until this lunch, I had never met Renee, but I had enjoyed purchasing from her collection over the years. Tracy decided it was time for us to get together, and she invited us over for lunch. When we arrived, Tracy offered us a glass of blackberry iced tea made with fresh-picked berries and mint from her garden. The tea was delicious, and she shared that the recipe came from Vintage Kitty here. I plan to make it at home.
Homemade blackberry tea
Then Tracy took us on a tour of her home. During most of their marriage, Tracy and her husband lived in a much smaller house on the corner of their lot, which included two acres. In the last few years, rather than moving, they began all the planning to build their dream home in the center of their acreage, as they love their neighborhood and the friends they have there. They collaborated with an architect and builder to adapt a Southern Living floor plan to their exact specifications. The result is a charming home to welcome family and friends. While the house is a modern farmhouse style, Tracy’s love of mid-century modern is sprinkled throughout. Each bright and airy room, piece of furniture, and art tells a story of her parents and childhood. Her kitchen has open shelves filled with vintage Pyrex casserole dishes and bowls.
For lunch, we sat down to a delicious sorrel soup, tomato pie, green salad, and homemade sourdough bread. Tracy attended my sourdough bread class, held at my home last month, and has since become a bread-making master. She shared the recipes for the soup and pie with us so we can try making them at home. I had never tasted sorrel before, so that was a treat – it’s part herb and part green, with a nice, lemony flavor. She gave us each the recipes for her soup and pie, and a package of sorrel seeds to plant in our gardens.
After lunch, we toured her gorgeous raised vegetable garden and rows of blackberry bushes (used to make our tea), then visited on the back porch, admiring her green pasture while Kai, the dog, masterfully waited for a squirrel to run down from the giant oak tree shading the porch.
It was such a lovely day. It’s always fun to see where and how your friends live. Tracy curated a home that tells a sentimental story about her love of vintage finds and her childhood memories. And I learned a great deal about hosting and welcoming friends into your home, armed with new recipes to try. I even got to go home with a bag of fresh blackberries. Cheers!
Hospitality is in my DNA. I founded Home with a Twist, a daughter’s twist on her mother’s traditions, in memory of my mother to celebrate her life and the gifts she shared with me. Mother loved to celebrate life’s occasions – big and small.
