Weekend Roundup

We had an amazing weekend full of yummy food, Christmas decorating & shopping and the Polar Express! Here's a quick recap: Friday night Ray and I had one of the most FABULOUS dinners we've had in a long time! My sweet mother came up for the weekend and sent us on a dinner date night (thank you sweet mom)!! We were lucky and snagged a reservation at the last minute to Brock's which is a casual Mediterranean fare restaurant located in the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort. Ray and I had been eager to check the resort out for some time now and since we had a gift certificate, we were even more excited to get to try out Brock's. Wow, am I glad we did because it did not disappoint! Every single item we ate was beyond yummy! Each of us ordered an appetizer--Ray got the mushroom flat bread and I ordered the lentil soup. They were SO good! Our entrees consisted of braised short ribs with gnocchi and the beef tenderloin with sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts. Trust me when I tell you every item we placed in our mouths was BEYOND SCRUMPTIOUS! We've definitely found a new restaurant to add to our "special" dinner locations! Saturday we made a dent in our Christmas decorating and went on the Polar Express at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera. I will post all about that in a separate post--it was so much fun and is certain to become a Christmas tradition for our family! Sunday we finished our Christmas decorating, went to the grocery store, made 3 meals for the week, washed all the laundry, baked Christmas cookies and put together Christmas treats for Jackson's classroom party--it was a great weekend! Pin It

GiGi & PaPa

Ray's parents came from Oregon to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us and Ray's sister. It was so nice having them in town and the boys had so much fun playing with them. I feel terrible because I did not take more pictures--I completely forgot! I did manage to get a few the last night they were with us. We visited a quiet little restaurant in Mt. Laurel called "Stones Throw Bar & Grill". It was a neat place and we had a great dinner. Jackson was more than happy to say "cheese" for mommy's camera.....

Jackson & GiGi Jackson & PaPa Macklin wasn't into having his picture taken at all--he was too busy trying to get away so he could explore his surroundings... Macklin escaping from GiGi This dinner reminded me why we always do take-out! No, really, they were pretty good and we enjoyed a great meal. Afterward, we all had a slice of carrot cake and a glass of red wine to toast GiGi & PaPa's visit. We wish they lived closer but they like the cold weather (we do not)!

Pin It

Turkey Noodle Soup

Ray's mother, whom I call "Mutti" and the boys call "GiGi" makes the most amazing Turkey Noodle Soup, complete with homemade noodles, from the Thanksgiving Turkey leftovers. Her grandmother and mother used to make it and Ray had her show him how to make it a few years ago. I LOVE family recipes and we have fun making this together every year--its become an after Thanksgiving staple for us!

First he boils the turkey pieces leftover from carving the bird for Thanksgiving dinner. He reserves the broth and adds some additional seasonings.

Next, he makes noodles with egg, flour and milk. After rolling the noodles out flat with a rolling pin, he slices them into strips with a pizza cutter and lets them dry before adding them to the soup pot.

And here's the final product--it's so YUMMY!

Pin It

Weekend Roundup

We finally began to get in the Christmas spirit at our house this weekend. We got all the pumpkins, mums and fall decorations put away and transitioned to Santa Claus, poinsettias, lights and ornaments! Although we have quiet a bit to do to finish, we've gotten started and to me, that's a good thing!

Our big outing of the weekend was a Saturday morning trip to the McWane Center. Not only was there a model train exhibit and a Winter Wonderful to visit but, Jim Henson's Dinosaur Train was in town! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably caught on that Jackson is FANATIC about dinosaurs and trains and Macklin isn't far behind! So, when I saw that the Dinosaur Train was making a visit I knew we had to make a trip. Upon arrival, Jackson & Macklin were eager to jump on the sled and yell "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Jackson had a little bit of fun shoveling snow in the snow room. We could only get him to do it once and we couldn't convince Macklin to join him! This is what most of my pictures from our visit look like--the backs of their heads as they stare in amazement at all the trains! They were mesmerized! Both of them ran around the exhibit from table to table trying to catch the trains as they made their way through the tunnels! It was so much fun watching them get excited each time a train came out of the tunnel or it blew its whistle. All Jackson could say was "All Aboard" and Macklin would follow with "Train, Train!" I think the highlight of their day was getting to drive Thomas the Tank Engine and Percy. This was the only exhibit you could actually go inside and touch the trains and make them move and they both had us stand in line multiple times! We had to bribe them with popcorn for lunch so we could head home for nap-time! It was a wonderful family outing!

Pin It

Show Us Your Life--Entry Ways & Foyers

Today at Kelly's Korner it's Show Us Your Life--Entry Ways & Foyers so let me welcome you into our home! This is the view when you open the front door.

The one thing we really liked about our house when we picked the floor plan was the entry way. The foyer is nice, long and welcoming. We chose to do hardwood floors instead of tile so the entire space would be seamless and we are very happy with our decision. We used to have a large rug in the center of the space but it was in Jackson & Macklin's way for riding their train so we've moved it to our laundry room so they have plenty of open space! There's a tiny wall right behind the front door where I have a small, distressed white table I found at a local antique mall. This is the space at the bottom of the stairs. This cabinet was Ray's when we got married and I gave it a little face-lift with some suede paint. The lamp I purchased at an estate sale for a dollar and I spray painted it red for a punch of color. This is the hallway that brings guests into the keeping room and kitchen. The pictures on the wall are one's Ray and I took on our trips to Greece, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Seattle and all sorts of fun places we visited prior to babies! The tiered cabinet was a clearance purchase at Pier One and we have lots of family and travel pictures displayed on it. The wall across from it has two Magnolia Lane wooden frames I LOVE--sorry I don't have a photograph to share (you can see a side view of where they hang on the wall in the very first picture)! One of the frames is hand-painted with 1 Corinthians 13 (we had this verse read at our wedding) and the other is the frame "Life is Not Measured"--they are really special and I hope to get another to add to my collection for Christmas! Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Pin It

It's the Most WONDERFUL Time of the Year

Why yes, it is! I love Christmas and I'm so excited it is finally December!! Now all I need to do is pack up all my pumpkins, purchase a tree and get to decorating. I have to confess that I'm a bit behind since we had Thanksgiving company and opted to wait until everyone was gone to start the seasonal transition. Our goal is to complete all our Christmas decorating this weekend so we can relax and enjoy the Christmas season.

The one Christmas task I have checked off my "To Do" list is our Christmas card. They are already on their way to all our family and friends and I couldn't be happier! Not only are they the highest quality card I think I've ever sent out, they are BEAUTIFUL and I got them super fast! How did I manage that you ask? Shutterfly's 2010 Holiday Card Promotion, that's how. Haven't heard of it--check out this post to see how you can earn 50 free folded or flat 5x7 holiday cards of your very own and I know you'll be as ECSTATIC as I am with your Christmas card this year!

Pin It

The One That Got Away

For the first time in as long as I can remember the Iron Bowl was held the day after Thanksgiving. We were pretty lucky (and surprised) to get tickets and sky-box passes to the game (THANKS Kirk). To say I was excited would be an understatement! Ray was more than happy to watch the game in the warmth of our house while cooking (which was our plan) but with the gift of tickets, he was happy to tag along for the fun!

After a call to my mom to be sure she could watch the boys if we went to the game (she was delighted), we were out the door. Everyone sported their Alabama gear, loaded up (even Rainbow Dog) and headed to Tuscaloosa.

Since we hadn't planned on attending the game, we had a few errands to run before we could leave town. I'd ordered a carrot cake from Edgar's that wouldn't be ready until 9am. We also needed a new cooler and a different jersey for Jackson so we scurried around town like crazy people! We'd hoped to get to Tuscaloosa early enough to take the boys to a few pre-game festivities before having my mom take them to her house. We rushed to get the cake, cooler and jersey. We changed Jackson and were on the road by 9:45. Luckily, Ray was savvy and maneuvered us around most of the early traffic congestion. Unfortunately, as we got closer to Tuscaloosa, this is what we saw! We knew we wouldn't be able to do any pre-game festivities so we met my mom at her office to hand off the boys so we could continue our fight with traffic to Bryant Denny Stadium. We parked, layered up because it was COLD, bought some shakers and made our way to our seats. I was still amazed we were actually there--it felt GREAT! The Million Dollar Band took the field and the excitement mounted! We were hopeful that we would end Auburn's run at the National Championship title we were defending! As I watched Coach Saban and the team position themselves to take the field, listened to the elephant roars and saw the sea of red & white shakers I began to get chill-bumps (not from the cold-although it was pretty cold)! THIS IS ALABAMA FOOTBALL!!!! I took this picture as the first half was drawing to a close and the score was 21-0, Crimson Tide! If I could have made it happen, I would have ended the game right here--this would have been a much better outcome for us! The first half of the game was beautiful--we looked like a championship team that was not about to let our rival come to our house and win--no matter what! It was a great feeling and we were so glad to be at the game to witness what we hoped, would be a HUGE win for us. During halftime we enjoyed a pizza, a stadium dog and a large coke! We visited the sky-box during the second half and got a much needed chance to thaw out! Unfortunately, with the warmth of the indoors came the fizzle of the Crimson Tide. We seemed to look like a team that was trying not to loose and Auburn started to look like the team that was playing to win. All our momentum was gone and crazy enough, we lost 28-27. WHAT JUST HAPPENED and HOW? We felt nauseated and and couldn't wait to get back home to mourn! Although we didn't win we had a great time and hold our heads high with a 9-3 season and a bowl game appearance--Roll Tide Roll!!!

Pin It