A foggy morning

I thought our foggy yard at 7am looked eerily beautiful...the trees look so different with barely any leaves left!

Comfort food

Lately, David and I have been enjoying the new Gena Knox cookbook - we've joined the Hills and the Kings in trying out some of her new recipes during our weeknight cooking. For three nights, we made something new from Gena's book - the goat cheese and beet salad; the herb crusted salmon; and the roasted trout with okra and tomatoes. And man, it was all wonderful! I especially loved the salmon over cucumber - but I could eat salmon every day! I have included photos of how my dishes turned out as well as the photos in the cookbook. The beet salad was amazing with the homemade buttermilk and goat cheese dressing - my Magic Bullet food processor came in handy again! We paired the salad with a pork tenderloin, squash and zucchini.

{MY VERSION: Goat cheese and beet salad}

{GENA'S VERSION}

{My cute co-chef....this is on salmon night!}

{MY VERSION: Herb crusted salmon, brown sugar carrots, and steamed broccoli.}

{GENA'S VERSION}

{MY VERSION: Oven roasted trout with okra, black eyed peas, and tomatoes.}

GENA'S VERSION

Farm friends

On the days I drive to Athens to work, I pass by this beautiful cow farm. My attachment to this particular red cow has grown...I love his red coloring and white face! I stop at the fence every now and then...sometimes he'll walk up to the gate, and sometimes he just looks at me like "hey there!". Here he is grazing during sunset with his fellow bovines!

Adventures in Benland

On Saturday of this past weekend, David and I took Ben to visit my sweet Datee on the farm. Ben stopped by for a visit with his Joni first...and a little play time climbing all over Joni's sofas. We recited the ABC's, counted to 30+, and practiced karate. Afterward, we drove out to the farm and showed Ben all of the joys we love....green peanuts, the cows, fresh cotton, and fish ponds. Here are the pictures from our adventures....

Bennie loves his Day-da!

Abs and Bennie - fun on the farm!

Look at that tractor driver!

We loved showing Ben the cotton, tractors, and farm.

Race back to the barn!

oooooo, peanuts! fresh from the Hardy farms wagons! The best!

The most beautiful dirt road in the world! I love it here....its so peaceful and beautiful.

I see you!

Ben "drove" for a few feet

And Andrew took Ben on a nature walk around the field - they bonded!

Happy Friday!

These trees are right outside my and David's bedroom window and wrap the corner of our house...they're so pretty to wake up to!

Bringing the outdoors in

When summer gives way to fall, I love the colors that come along too....oranges and salmon pinks, and lovely shades of brown. I just grabbed these bottles at IKEA and a few leaves from the yard for a little color.

I'd love to have sunflowers in my house everyday!

A bit of fern, berries, and a simple carnation for the guest room.

And these hydrangea blooms were too beautiful to pass up when I spotted them in Athens.

My forever friends

 Yesterday was the nicest impromptu Sunday spent with Amy, Becca and David. The girls were too kind to come to Atlanta to finish a week of my 27th birthday celebrations. We began the day at Scott's Antique Market (David's first time!) and then headed to Lenox for some browsing. We had a dinner reservation at  Two Urban Licks and enjoyed an AMAZING dinner!

I am so lucky to have these girls in my life!

And this awesome boy too!

My sweet Becca made the most wonderful Red Velvet cake for me - my favorite! I was so impressed with her baking skills!

Don't be jealous! Yes, it is just as delicious as it looks!

One or two celebrations...

My 27th birthday has been so nice....it all began last Friday when my beautiful package from Marianne came in the mail. She hand-tied lavender to the CD case, so it was a delight to smell when I opened it! David and I headed to Athens last Friday afternoon to go to the game on Saturday. The Mullers so graciously let us join them for dinner at East West, and even a little bar-hopping post-dining. We really enjoyed being with them. I got to go to the UGA game on Saturday with two of my favorite men....David and Robert! We felt pretty confident that the Dawgs were going to be able to keep Idaho State from winning, so after half-time (and D&R getting their fill of the "fire girl" who performs with the Red Coats) we jetted to Mellow Mushroom for a nice afternoon of draft beer and pizza! Awesome! On Sunday, I had the best company pop in for the night - my sweet Mom and Gongaman! They arrived just in time for dinner on Sunday night. On Monday, we were able to join David for lunch, then Mom and G-man were on their way! I loved having them here even for just a quick trip! My great friends and I decided to head to Market at the W on Monday night for a little girly birthday time. It was so much fun! I hope we'll be able to go back one weekend. Lastly, David and I met Amanda and Ben for dinner last night....it has been the nicest week! I feel like such a lucky little girl!

On Friday, I received this in the mail - my and David's proofs from Marianne! So happy with the way the photos turned out!

Friday night with the Mullers and a couple of Stones!

Our old stompin' grounds!

It was chilly, but we were glad to be in Sanford Stadium cheering on the Bulldogs!

They were fun to be with!

Look at that cute little guy! The new UGA is adorable! He had full-on paparazzi!

Monday night, my fabulous girlfriends celebrated with me at Market at the W hotel in Buckhead. It was so fun to do something so girly! I want to go back here!

Last night, we met Amanda and Ben at Texas Roadhouse for a late birthday dinner....Ben and I always pick TR because we love the rolls and that sweet butter....yumm! As you can see, we were being a little silly...must have been all that butter! Or the brownie and whipped cream the waitress brought out. Or the Jelly Beans that we had after that. Either way, being with Ben is always a treat for this birthday girl!