It’s a chilly, blustery November day here in Northeastern Ohio, and things really couldn’t be any better.

Lebron’s back home, Christmas Ale has officially arrived at a store near you, and pumpkin-spice-everything is slowly vacating center stage to make room for its wintery cousin, peppermint mocha. The holiday season is upon us, my friends!

And, as if these three things aren’t enough, there’s also this:

I’m a married woman now 🙂

In anticipation of this post, my very first as a wife, I wanted to write something prolific; a symbolic and reflective narrative about this brand new chapter in my life and how different everything is going to be from now on.

But you know what?

I don’t really feel any different at all.

Just happier.

And lucky.

And grateful 🙂

Don’t get me wrong – I have a new last name, a sparkly new wedding band on my finger, and my better half and I finally have legal proof of our love and commitment. That’s pretty exciting stuff.

But after two years of wedding planning, the thing I’m most excited about is that we can finally get to really what matters most: our marriage.

The past few years have been a doozy: falling in love, starting graduate school, changing jobs, getting engaged, planning a wedding, changing jobs again, planning a wedding, finishing graduate school, planning a wedding. As strange as it sounds, there hasn’t been much time for us to just be..us.

So, now that we’re back from the honeymoon and the planning is over, we can finally get back to doing what we do best: hangin’ out.

And, I can get back to doing what I do best: making a huge, sticky mess in the kitchen.

Instead of cake at our wedding, my husband and I served ice cream sundaes and mini donuts for our dessert. Although we didn’t get to eat very much during the actual reception, the lovely folks at Pav’s Creamery gave us a few tubs (yes, tubs) of ice cream for the road.

So, with a freezer full of ice cream, and a heart full of happiness, I set out to make us a suite of toppings to accompany the last edible reminders of our special day. Hot fudge, salted caramel, and this new member of the family:

Savory and sweet, this sauce comes together in a snap, and is even better when reheated in the microwave the next day. It’s the perfect treat for a blustery day, or when you just need something with a slow pour to help you take a break from reality.

I hope you enjoy this new addition to our ice cream topping family!

Happy scooping 🙂