Part of the fun in forming friendships is finding the similarities & differences you share with someone else. There’s nothing like an opportunity to tell your stories and parts of who you are to fresh ears. When we were about a year into our friendship and still learning about each other’s lives, I remember walking down the street with Joy, telling her about my husband and his silly antics. Casey has a love for blueberry muffins like no one else and in the late 90s he created a little website for himself where he could track the best blueberry muffins around his office in downtown San Francisco. I happened to find it utterly charming and I could see that Joy respected his dedication. During that walk, Joy shared that she was working on a recipe for blueberry muffins in her cookbook that Casey would no doubt love.

Fast forward a few years later and now said cookbook is in my hands with her personal purple sharpie notes all over it. I felt somewhat paralyzed by it all. Where do I even begin?! Her friendship is so very dear to me and her cookbook has genuinely blown me away. I’m not saying this because we’re great friends; I have honestly never had a cookbook in my possession that has made me want to rush into my kitchen and try EVERY single recipe. So when I say I was paralyzed, I honestly didn’t know where to start. Which recipe first?!

I looked at her notes in the book and then found myself staring down this brown butter blueberry muffin recipe. Of course she had me at brown butter but then the memory of our conversation popped into my head. This is the killer blueberry muffin recipe! DUDE. I saw it on her website but now it’s in print!  And it’s resting on my kitchen counter!

She wasn’t kidding; even the muffin batter was insane (it tasted like caramel!). Twelve super moist (she hates that word) muffins LOADED with blueberries and speckled with a buttery crumb topping. Tracy Shutterbean & Casey approved!

Joy! Thank you for sharing your talents with me, my family and the WORLD. You’ve challenged me to see things differently. You have opened my mind up to crazy wacky pattern combos, you’ve turned me into a girl that paints her nails every week, you’ve made a bourbon lover out of me, you’ve shown me that hard work eventually pays off and you’ve also helped me find my inner Oprah voice that shouts “YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO!”  I’m so happy the rest of the world can see how truly talented & hard working you are. I’m so dang proud of you, friend!