The Boro

Last Thursday, I left Athens after work and headed south to visit Abbye in Statesboro. I had been wanting to go see her for a while, and was delighted when Becca said she'd come and join me on Friday night. I always love spending time with Bec and Abs! It worked out perfectly with David and Brince and a bunch of other Mid-GA boys all floating down the Flint River while we were in the Boro.
We had so much fun going to the old haunts from when I was in college and would come to visit my friends who went to school at GSU. Fortunately, the weather was nice so we were able to lay out for a bit on Saturday. I had a ball meeting Abbye's friends, visiting with her sweet roomies, and having her host us, but after three days in Statesboro, this married lady had to head home and get some rest!!!!  

My and Abbye's first cousin Ben joined us as did our friend Will and Abbye's darling roommate Alli!

After a fun night at Dingus Magee's, we took the fabulous Blue Goose home....and a photo sesh ensued.

It has been a minute since I've taken a ride on a school bus....late night antics are fun on a school bus!

Friday night was spent out with Abbye's friends Anna and Samantha back at Dingus watching Those Cats play.

Such a cute jazz band!

And afterward, Abbye, Becca and I hit Rude Rudy's across the street to finish the night dancing.

On Saturday night, I had to get these cute girls in front of the Goose again.

We hung out at New Bar and listened to country tunes.....ahhh, college.

I was so happy to have Bec with me to act like we were in college again!

Cookin' it up

My hubbs is headed on his annual boy's river trip this afternoon and I am in Statesboro visiting baby sis. So, on Wednesday night I got in the kitchen and made the guys some munchies and made Abs some things for her freezer. I know what its like to be in college, and quick food is always nice especially when its healthy and a little taste of home. For the boys I made Mark Wahlberg's brother's macaroni salad. I pulled the recipe from a People magazine a few months ago and had been wanting to try it. I also sent the boys with my tried-and-true black bean dip. I told David that he and Brince didn't even have to share. Shhh! Since they're on a boat together, I wanted to make sure the hubbs and baby bro had something to eat!
The soups I made for Abs turned out great and David and I enjoyed the gumbo for dinner on Wednesday night. Wanted to share!

Alma’s Macaroni Salad
10 to 12 Servings; Total: 25 min

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon celery salt
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup finely diced celery
3 tablespoons diced red onion (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente. Drain, then rinse the macaroni until cool. Drain very well. 2. In a large bowl, toss the macaroni with the oil. Add the garlic powder, celery salt and mayonnaise and toss to coat. Stir in the green pepper, celery, onion and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill before serving.

It was delicious! Would be great for a summer picnic!

One of my favorites to make...always wonderful! Here is the recipe.

For Abbye, I made two soups out of my Weight Watchers cookbook. I've been wanting to try them, and I wanted to take her something to put in her freezer. David and I enjoyed the gumbo for dinner on Wednesday!

4 tsp. olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 scallions, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (14.5 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup trimmed sliced fresh or thawed frozen okra
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/2 cup regular long grain rice
1/2 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 lb. skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 in. pieces
1 (2-inch) piece kielbasa, but into 8 slices

1. In a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the bell pepper, celery, scallions and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, okra, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne; bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
3. Stir in the rice and simmer, covered, 15 minutes.
4. Add the shrimp, chicken, and kielbasa; simmer, covered, until the shrimp is pink, the chicken is cooked through, and rice is tender, about 5 minutes longer.

Summer Squash Soup recipe found here.

Valentine's day with my Valentine!

David surprised me last week with plans to go to Athens for Valentine's day! We love heading over to spend time there...ahhh, the college days! It worked out wonderfully too since I was working there on Tuesday. He made us a reservation at the "green" Hotel Indigo. It was super nice, and we loved the atmosphere. (I had to include pics of our room and how pretty the view was when we woke up on Tuesday!) The building and all of the furnishings are eco-friendly. After checking in and having a drink at the bar in the lobby, we headed downtown for a leisurely dinner at East West. We had a wonderful meal - he had the pasta special and I had the duck. It was kinda funny though to look around at the college kids sitting near us...we felt a little "old!" We had the nicest night, and I loved being there with my Valentine!

Crab tarts

I made these cute little crab puffs a few weeks ago for a Super Bowl party. Instead of the phyllo pastry, I  used puff pastry shells. I let them puff up for a few minutes in the oven, then finished baking them with the crab mixture inside. They're an easy party treat and a great filler. 

3 (2.1 ounce) packages frozen miniature phyllo tart shells

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

2 eggs

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup half-and-half cream

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 (6 ounce) can crabmeat - drained, flaked and cartilage removed

1.Place tart shells on an ungreased baking sheet. Sprinkle Swiss cheese into each shell. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon a teaspoonful of crab mixture into each tart shell. Bake at 375 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until pastry is browned. Serve warm. 

Happy (day after) Valentine's Day!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and day celebrating Love! On Saturday, David and I received the most special package, one we look forward to every year! Our Valentine's fudge and pralines! My whole life, while I was growing up and even into college, my Baboo made batches and batches of her home made fudge for her family and the special people in her life. When I was in college, she spent the most special packages to me and it was always fun to share with my roomies and let them have a little taste of this heavenly fudge. Her labor of love made it more special, and I looked forward to getting my containers of fudge decorated with paint pens and stickers. I have them all, and they are so special to me. Now, my Mom, my Aunt Jill, and our Susie continue the tradition and have added pralines to the baking! Man, this stuff is awesome, and I could literally eat it until I was sick! David and I do our best to ration it so it'll last longer, but so far we're not doing so well!  

Herbs de provence

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, and David and I spent it together grocery shopping, planting pansies, and getting our herb garden ready. I chose to start with parsley, basil, cilantro, and chives. I want to add mint and rosemary, but I was going to see how I did with these 4 little guys first. They're inside in my kitchen for the time being, but when the weather warms a little they'll live outside on my porch. I cant wait to have summer caprese salad with my basil, fresh guacamole with the cilantro, salads with chives, and grilled chicken with parsley! I included a few pictures of other herb plantings to spark ideas for your own. And pictures of the chalkboard painted tongue depressors I used to label my pots.  

This is adorable ...so cute for a window sill!

If I see these while I'm out and about, I wouldn't be able to resist grabbing them!

These would be an adorable party favor.

And here's a spin on my tongue depressor method.

1 can of chalkboard paint, and 1 pack of craft sticks

I have two plantings each of Italian Parsley, Basil, Chives and Cilantro. We'll see in 5-10 days if we have sprouts!

Morning moo cows

We awoke to a snowy morning today with about an inch of snow covering most of the ground. I was enjoying my morning drive to Athens when I pulled over to say hello to my favorite bovines. I know you all must think "Whats with Maggie and these cows?" or more specifically, this red cow with the white face. And the truth is, I don't know what it is about this cow! I have driven by him many many times, and often wave or honk. Maybe we were friends in another time or in an alternate universe.... regardless, I love stopping to say hello. This morning, he couldn't quit mooing! I guess he thought I may have him a snack. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics with the snow-white covered field and those gorgeous blue skies!



These guys thought I had treats and came running to the fence!







What a beautiful morning!




Au revoir mon cheri!

Play time with Ben

When David and I picked up Ben from school on Friday, Ben exclaimed how hungry he was. I remember being a kid and always being starving when Mom picked us up from school. Our snacks would be Taco Bell soft tacos, a Dairy Queen blizzard, or a McDonald's apple pie. For this little guy though, since it was almost 5pm, we decided to go ahead and have dinner at the Buckhead Pizza across the street before heading to see Tangled at a nearby movie theater. We even had a little popcorn during the movie. What the hey, its Friday! When we got to the apartment in Atlanta, Ben had fun running and jumping on the bed over and over and over. Then, with bath time complete, he put himself to bed and fell asleep immediately.
On Saturday, we hit Fernbank bright and early. This was a nice thing to do indoors since the weather was still a bit yucky. Lunch at the Varsity was great, and then we headed to the Zoo. We took our time and looked at every single animal on exhibit, every reptile, rode the carousel, climbed the rock wall, and played on the playground. By mid-afternoon, the little guy was tuckered out! As the Zoo was beginning to close, we headed to Pet Smart to take up a little more time. Ben played with the kitties there and picked out a new toy for Sandy. A trip to Kroger hooked us up with a fresh box of Fruit Roll-Ups. Score! No sooner had Ben finished his roll-up, that the eyelids started to droop. We were in panic mode! It was only 5:30 - he couldn't take a nap or he'd be up all night! We were trying to keep him awake while we found a place for dinner. Some crayons and paper at Twist occupied the little guy for a bit longer. Amy and Chris randomly joined us, and we had a nice time catching up with them. When the tired 5 year old crept along the edge of a total melt-down, we headed back to Gainesville to put him to bed. He didn't fight us one bit, and slept until almost 9 on Sunday. We had breakfast, hung out in our pj's, and worked on his Valentine's day box. After lunch and a little movie time, Amanda came to pick him up and they were heading to Chucky Cheese. David and I were tired ourselves, but we had the best time playing with Ben, wrestling with Ben, and getting to spend some quality time with our favorite nephew. Sorry for all of the pictures, but he's so cute, I had to share them all!

I asked Ben to write his name, and he says "You want me to write it perfectly?" I said "Of course." His penmanship is awesome!

When we got to the apartment, it was immediately time for jumping on the bed. He barely stays still!

Saturday morning breakfast - fuel for the day ahead!

Waiting for Fernbank to open....

We took pictures in every face cut-out available! His face is just so cute in those round cut-outs!

In the Sensing Nature exhibit we played with bubbles, lightning...

...the color prism wall...

....that Ben said was his favorite part of the museum.

In front of the two huge dinosaur skeletons in the atrium at Fernbank.

Getting ready to watch our IMAX movie...Animalopolis.

My favorite 5 year old!

Ben and his Day-da at the fountain outside.

It turned into such a beautiful afternoon, so after lunch at the Varsity, we hit Zoo Atlanta. The pink flamingos welcomed us inside!

The elephant was out and about...

.....the parakeets chirping...

...and the lions were roaring!

Ben loves the Kimodo dragons. Maggie, however, is terrified! Fortunately, I knew this bronze statue wouldn't come crawlin' after me!

We got to see the baby pandas, Lun Lun and Yang Yang. They were adorable!

This little guy kept saying "According to the map, we should go left here to get to the crocodiles." He's a better map ready than me!

We got to see the hogs and goats at the petting zoo!

And the cute sheep too!



Ben is so great around other kids, and quickly made friends with the other children on the playground. He was stoked to ride the see-saw.



And I was tickled to join him on the carousel. I {think} I rode a seal and Ben, a cheetah.

Mr. Fearless was brave enough to try climbing the rock wall for the first time!

He did great! And rang that bell proudly once he reached the top!

Ben got a new stuffed animal at the gift shop...a cute little white furry think he named Ty Ty.

We were goofy in the photo booth too.

Reward of the day: a giant fruit roll-up!

On Sunday morning, Ben and Aunt Maggie worked on his Valentine box to take to school. Ben had fun coloring on it - drawing hearts, writing his name, and drawing "maps". I am pretty sure that Aunt Maggie was super stoked about craft time though. I love any excuse to get out my rendering markers from college, some ribbon and craft paper. I even added beads to the box with my trusty hot glue gun...woopsie! Maggie, take note: The box is for Ben. The box is for Ben. The box is for Ben.

This look is the "I want to negotiate something" look. Here, we worked out a deal to take a bath, get squeaky clean, get dressed and then we'd eat lunch and watch Transformers.