The new Hamsleys!

I just had to include a few more pics of the new Mr. and Mrs. Griffin Hamsley. I totally stole these from Facebook but wanted those of you who don't have a FB account to be able to see how great they looked at their rehearsal dinner, how pretty Alli was on her wedding day, and how cool the reception venue was when the party was in full swing! Happy Tuesday!

Wow! What a weekend!

David and I had a full weekend once again, and loved every minute of it! We were able to be with so many friends! Friday night we met friends Meghan and Brian, Lauren and Ryals and Renee at Davio's in Atlanta to splurge a little since it was Restaurant Week. We loved being with them in our private dining room and eating that delicious Italian food while catching up! On Saturday morning, we had brunch with the Griffins to celebrate Pammy's birthday. Brio was wonderful....after a few frozen Bellini's, a crepe and some creme brulee, we were on our way to pick up Christen at the airport and head to LaGrange for Griffin and Allison's wedding. We were so excited! Griffin and I graduated high school together and so many of our HS friends were there as were a ton of Georgia Southern friends to support he and Alli. The wedding was at the First Baptist Church and the reception was at an amazing new venue downtown with bricked walls and a lovely trayed ceiling. Their band was awesome and played forever! Today, before heading back to the airport, 14 of us had breakfast at Cracker Barrel to celebrate Christen's March 10th birthday! Here is the birthday girl with her ice cream treat!

The {early} birthday girl, Christen! Nothing like celebrating with all our friends from home at the Cracker Barrel in LaGrange!

The interior of Davios at Phipps.

The interior of Brio in Buckhead.

Birthday Girl #1 gets to chose her dessert at brunch on Saturday!

The little man!

Love that they brought a "P" candle!

We enjoyed our family time...and so happy that Christie was there too!

At the reception for Griffin and Alli!

Good looking couple!

And love these two! Awesome friends!

My beautiful Mom with her three oldest!

Abbye and Cole cuttin' a rug!

Love love love!

Birthday Girl!

Happy Birthday to my sweet mother-in-law!
Hope you have a great day, Pammy!

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!