Welcome to Rosemary and Olive Oil!

I started this blog to keep track of the many recipes that I try. I love to cook for family and friends and plan birthdays, baby showers and dinner parties. I had the bad habit of cooking and creating recipes then forgetting what I made or how I made it. Hopefully this blog will allow me to have my own personal record and help me share it with others at the same time!

40 things about me:

1. I’m a 34 year old college student currently working on a Bachelor of Science degree. My major is Mass Communications with a Public Relation focus
2. My son Devin will start the 10th grade this fall
3. I love to make lists
4. I live in downtown Richmond, VA
5. I have a scooter
6. Buying organic and locally grown or raised food is very important to me
7. I the oldest in my family; I have 2 sisters and 2 brothers
8. I like to order vegetarian dishes when I go out to eat even though I’m not a vegetarian
9. I have a rooftop herb garden
10. My boyfriend, Travis and I have been together for 5 years
11. I have a labradoodle named Walter
12. and a goldendoodle named Randolph
13. we also have a 10 year old cat named Kane
14. I eat Kashi or Cliff bars for breakfast almost every day
15. I love Pinterest
16. Giada De Laurentiis is my favorite Food Network chef
17. I worked for Dominion Virginia Power for 10 years (1999-2010)
18. I left my career specifically to focus on college and I’m not working right now. Thanks Travis!!
19. I want to learn how to clean and filet a fish because people on Chopped always get made fun of when they don’t know how to.
20. I love to cook (and EAT) Mexican food
21. I buy fresh cilantro almost every time I grocery shop
22. Sauvignon Blanc is my favorite wine…especially if it’s from New Zealand
23. I collect matchbooks
24. We love to travel but pretty much stick to the east coast… NYC, Philly, DC, Charleston, Key West
25. Speaking of DC, my sister Zandria lives there and I love when her and her boyfriend Paul come to stay for the weekend
26. I love pickles
27. My boyfriend has taught himself how to play guitar since we met and is awesome at it.
28. He also now collects guitars…he so many I lost count
29. I’m on the Dean’s List
30. I made a school scrapbook for Devin that covered kindergarten through 8th grade.
31. I subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine
32. When I work out I always use the elliptical
33. Hydrangea’s are my favorite flower (green and white)
34. I love going to the pool
35. We are members of a Mariners Club and go boating as much as we can
36. My son is working at the Mariners Club this summer
37. I put cinnamon on my coffee grounds
38. My first ever nephew, Ryder, missed sharing my birthday by just a couple hours. He was born at 8pm on July 5th, 2011 and my birthday is July 6
39. I have never tried to make my own dough or bread
40. I love to see comments and likes on my new blog and follows and comments on Twitter…if you like something let me know…I will always respond

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NOTE: This is what my boyfriend Travis wrote about me after being sneaky and taking my computer from me one day. I had been working on putting my blog together and he took advantage of the opportunity to write on my behalf! I just had to keep it because it is so thoughtful and funny. – Elissa

Hello, I am a very lucky girl. I have 2 labradoodles, a very handsmome man in my life whom is of the utmost in terms of quality and delivery. Whether it is music on his gibson dove or his conversation. It always delivers inspiration and is one of the things in my life that has propelled me towards cooking. He likes my potato salad.

I am very fortunate in that I am so well taken care of and have little to no petty daily time-killers like commuting to work or being bothered with bills etc. This has allowed me to further my education and pursue my full self actualization.

My labradoodles are like having happiness in a four furry paw paws. They greet me every morning with a new day and biscuits.

Devin is my beginning. He has now been with me for 14 years and is quite the little traveling  companion while I am on walkabouts through new york, philly, miami, or DC. He is always so helpful. He makes me laugh and has had a deep voice since he was like 4. He was like a 4 yr old barry white. MOM.