Father's Day Dinner

We had both of our families up for dinner on Saturday to celebrate Father's Day.

I did a terrible job of taking pictures of actual PEOPLE, so instead I'll show you the menu and pictures of the FOOD.

Appetizers

Fresh Bruschetta

Bacon-wrapped Jalapenos

Beverages

Fresh Lemonade

Sweet Tea

Main

Barbecue Chicken

Baked Beans

Twice Baked Potatoes

Summer Pasta Salad

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Dessert

Nutella Cheesecake

I don't really use a recipe for the bruschetta, it's just a mixture of diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and salt and pepper.

Some of the jalapenos were really really mild, and some packed a punch. The only problem? You can't tell which 'til you bite in.

Twice baked potatoes are a lot of work but oh so worth it.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the pasta salad but it's nice and colorful. Here's the recipe: 16 oz. box rotini pasta, 4 hard boiled eggs, 1 cucumber, 2 diced tomatoes, 1 chopped green onion, 1 chopped onion, 2 shredded carrots. Mix together with dressing made from 1 3/4 cups mayo, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt.

These rolls were gorgeous, and pretty tasty too.

This was my first attempt at cheesecake, and it was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. Nutella makes EVERYTHING better.

The food was delish and I think everyone had a great time. Sugar sure was sad to see everyone go!

This Week: Hydrangeas

Courtesy of my mom's gigantic hydrangea bush.

It's the Small Things

Before:

After:

Peonies

It's hard for me to describe how much joy these have brought me this week.

Flowers on the nightstand feels SO luxurious.

Peonies are officially my new favorite.

Good Jams

Here's what I'm currently jamming to:

1. My First Kiss -- 3OH!3 featuring Ke$ha

2. Your Love is My Drug -- Ke$ha

3. Sex On Fire -- Kings of Leon

4. Fire -- Glee Cast

5. I Never Told You -- Colbie Caillat

6. Farmer's Daughter -- Rodney Atkins

7. Undo It -- Carrie Underwood

8. The House That Built Me -- Miranda Lambert

9. California Gurls -- Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg

All Better

My car is out of the hospital and no longer ghetto.

However, my cable box took its place. Going on day 3 of no DVR and no cable except in the bedroom.

Being without DVR has been much harder than being without a car.

This is sad.

My 8 Things

I've enjoyed reading these on other blogs, so I decided to make a list myself.

8 TV Shows I Like to Watch

1. Friday Night Lights
2. So You Think You Can Dance
3. Glee
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Brothers & Sisters
6. Jersey Shore (GTL babyyyy)
7. Real World Road Rules Challenge (keepin' it old school)
8. Amazing Race

8 Favorite Places to Eat and Drink:

1. J&S Pizza
2. Firehouse Subs
3. Chick-fil-A
4. Pizza Villa
5. Mexican (any)
6. Parker & Otis
7. Cheesecake Factory
8. Maggiano's

8 Things I Look Forward To:

Now:

1. Hammock time
2. Reading before bed
3. Trips to La Grange
4. Checking Google Reader and catching up on my favorite blogs
5. Trips to Target and Lowe's

Future:

1. Building our dream house back home someday
2. T-ball games and/or dance recitals (wayyy in the future)
3. Seeing my parents become grandparents (again, future)

8 Things That Happened to Me This Weekend:

1. Amazing dinner with friends at their new place
2. Volunteered at Ride for Clive
3. Bought peonies at Trader Joes; watched them bloom all weekend
4. Also bought bouquet of flowers for cousin's dance recital; attended dance recital and delivered said flowers
5. Had sleepover at sister's house with 5- and 11-year-old cousins -- one of the most fulfilling ways to spend a Saturday night
6. Sang Party in the USA and Taylor Swift with cousins
7. Took a nap on Saturday AND Sunday
8. Sunday night routine of grocery shopping at Walmart

8 Things I am Passionate About:

1. My husband
2. My family
3. My friends
4. Our dog
5. Being organized
6. Good food
7. Reading
8. Doing my job well

8 Words or Phrases I Use or Hear Often:

Use:

1. Sugar, no!
2. Wait, I have a coupon for that
3. Seriously?
4. I love you

Hear:

1. Whatever lady
2. What's for dinner?
3. Awesome corporate buzzwords like: circling back, teeing it up, moving the needle and touching base
4. I love you

8 Things I Have Learned From the Past:

1. Your high school friends will not be your for-life friends, with the exception of blonde girls named Sara that you've known since preschool
2. Try your best and the rest will work out
3. Listen to your mother, particularly when she says not to stand too close to the fireplace
4. I should have practiced for that driving test
5. No matter how much you dread going to the gym, you'll always be glad you went afterwards
6. Find the person that makes you laugh and treats you well, and marry him
7. Bowl cuts are not cute on 4th grade girls. Ever.
8. It might rain on your wedding day. It's ok.

8 Places I Would Like to Visit:

1. Australia (is our trip EVER going to get here??)
2. Greece
3. U.S. Virgin Islands
4. Napa Valley
5. Italy
6. Paris
7. Hawaii
8. The Olympics (preferably summer, don't care what city)

8 Things I Currently Want/Need:

1. A huge hydrangea bush (or two)
2. A massage and/or pedicure
3. New shorts
4. Tickets to see Lady A in Cary in September
5. A cleaning lady
6. A fancy new washer and dryer
7. My car to be fixed
8. To get off the computer and watch the season finale of Glee!

Dock Dog

This sequence was taken on Memorial Day but I've just now figured out how to put it together.



This is one of my favorite features of the new camera. The continuous release mode lets you hold down the shutter-release button to capture about 4 frames per second, so no more missing the perfect frame.

Bird's Nest

On our porch.

You know I don't like birds.

Don't know what I'm gonna do when they hatch.

But they sure are purty for now.

Black Bean Salad

Black bean salad is one of our go-to weeknight meals. We make it at least once or twice a month. And I always take leftovers for lunch the next day. It's pretty much the only meatless meal that Lee will consider an actual meal.

And it's pretty darn healthy. I have no idea how many calories is in it (the tortilla chips and sour cream don't help), but eating all those veggies makes me feel good.

There are lots of different variations, but here's how we make it:

2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of corn kernels, drained

1 or 2 bell peppers (any color), diced

1 tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced (optional)

Chopped fresh cilantro

A healthy splash of lime juice (my splash is more like a steady pour)

Salt and pepper to taste

Just throw everything into a bowl and stir. Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream. In this pic, Lee has also added salsa and guacamole to his bowl.

Memorial Day in Pictures

We spent the first half of the long weekend at the river and the second half at the beach. Beautiful weather. Good food. Quality time with family. We're both now sunburnt and 5 lbs heavier.

Please catch me a fish!

There is nothing more relaxing than riding bikes at Jarvis Landing.

Dad made THE BEST barbecue beef for Mom's birthday. This is him, doing what he loves best, in the place he loves best.

Umm, we'd like some please!

Beaufort dog

Lee is smiling in this picture after spending the day at Big Rock catching dolphin. But what you don't know is that he's still seasick from vomiting ALL. DAY. LONG. (They stopped counting after 12 times.) Deep sea fishing and Lee Wade = not so much. Also, his shorts are very short and his legs are very burnt. Love you babe!

Nice Rock

This is the current state of my car.

You see that thing there, in the bumper? That's a rock. I mean boulder.

It came bouncing down I-40 on my way to work one morning and decided to lodge itself into my bumper.

Also please notice that half of my hood emblem decided to peel off a few months ago. Lee ordered me a new one about two days before the rock incident. Now I think it's safe to say we've got bigger fish to fry.

My car is officially ghetto.

And will remain that way until at least next week, when the new parts will be in. In the meantime, you can find me on 40, rockin' the rock.