Memorial Day Weekend

For the Memorial Day weekend, David and I were able to head to PCB on Thursday night, escaping Atlanta and the bad storms that were moving through. He and I got down about 1am on Thursday night, but were so excited to have the whole day to sit under the umbrella on the beach on Friday. We read, people-watched, napped, and had an early dinner at our favorite - Firefly - before our buddies arrived. Brince and Becca got there about 10:00 so we got to visit with them for a few minutes before the others arrived. Amy and Chris Arnold drove down with Jesse and Roy Noble - some Perry friends. Jesse and I were in the same major together and spent a ton of time together in school slaving away on our endless projects! And Roy graduated from Fullington and is from Vienna. He and Jesse graciously brought their new corn hole set, and provided the entertainment for the beach time. We had the most gorgeous weather, and the best time catching up under the umbrellas. Wanted to share a few pics from our fun long weekend!  

We had quite the set-up for the weekend on the beach...two umbrellas, a huge cooler, corn hole, and plenty of beach chairs. It was so nice!

These two were corn hole champs....brother-in-law love at its best!

Roy and Jesse brought the nicest new corn hole boards, and the boys had a ball talking trash to each other and competing for The Title.

What gorgeous skies!

We had a lengthy dinner at Boatyard on Saturday night, and headed back to
Firefly for Sunday night before catching The Hangover II.

B&B

The Arnolds

Griffins!

Jesse and Roy

Sunday Ben-day

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon, we were able to meet Amanda to take Ben for the night. David and I had had company for the weekend, but are always so excited when this little guy comes to stay! He loves walking around our house and finding his "usual" things..."his" bed, his box of toys, his cup...its really adorable. Later that afternoon, we took a boat ride/tow ride to take our friend Brandon (and his boat attached to our boat) to the boat ramp. Even though Ben had already swam for 3 hours in his new swim league, he wanted to jump  into the lake. Well, who are we to tell him no? He put himself to bed about 9:30, so no complaints here. 6:30am came early on Monday, but he's always so sweet! We left to go to school about 7:15 - and one doughnut stop along the way, we arrived at school early!

Look at this cutie pie with our Bax!

Amanda and Ben have choreographed moves to Taio Cruz' "Dynamite" and this is Ben doing his dance when it came on the radio on Sunday night. You really haven't seen cute till you've seen this little guy do his hip/hop moves.

We towed our friend Brandon to the boat ramp across the lake from us, and Ben took the opportunity to jump in the water while we were parked.

In case you cant tell, I love this little guy! And I think he loves me back!

I insisted he wear his life jacket, even though he doesn't need it at all anymore. Its really just to make Aunt Maggie feel better.

More lake time with friends

On Friday night, our good friends Colby and Jamie came up to Gainesville to join us for dinner and a weekend on the lake. A little while after they arrived, Brince, Becca, and Clayton arrived too. Talk about a fun crew! The 7 of us stayed up super late playing games and laughing til our stomachs hurt. On Saturday morning, Griffin and Alli joined us for the day/night. After scooping up Jamie's sister Ashley, we spent the whole beautiful day on the lake. We met Amanda, Ben, Sally, and Brian on an island and enjoyed hot dogs, brewskies, telling stories, and dips in the water. On Saturday night, we had a fun dinner and retired to the back deck for more game-time. When Clayton and Griffin, my highschool BFFs, are around, I laugh non-stop; we all do. I mean, laughing-with-no-sound-with-my-abs-aching type of laugh. Alli, Griffin's wife is awesome too! Colby, Becca and I have a ball together, and Brince and Jamie always love seeing each other. I love melding friends and laughing with them all! We slept in on Sunday for obvious reasons, and after bidding farewell to our pals about 4pm, we scooped up Ben to continue our weekend of fun. 

Look at this princess. Isn't she the cutest?



Friday night was so mild and wonderful that we were able to hang out on the deck. I had to include this pic of the candle sticks that David cut for me with our citronella candles. They kept the bugs at bay, and were pretty! Our new favorite game is The Game of Things, and we played until our sides hurt..maybe until like 3am.

The boys had a nice, sweet toast to the recently deceased Harmon Killebrew. They killed-a-brew in honor of him. Harmon!

We love when Jim Roper comes to visit too!

Best pals.

Saturday lake time!

So so so happy to have Griff, Ally, Clayton and The Smithsons for the weekend, and the Roper-Coodys too!

Our favorite little man joined us on the boat for some string cheese and photos!

He's a popular guy. What can you say? Brince loves to fish with him, Becca loves nature walks with him, and Ashley thinks he's a hoot!

Saturday night brought many more laughs during the Game of Things!

Good food and fun friends



After a week of being in Hawkinsville with Asa, I brought him back to Gainesville with me on Friday. David, Asa, and I started our weekend off with Mexican and the movie Bridesmaids. It was hilarious! I was crying half the time from laughing so hard! On Saturday morning, Lauren and Ryals arrived early, followed by Hollie, Meghan, and Brian. The day started off a little overcast, but once the sun came out to play, it was a lovely afternoon on the boat with friends. Abbye got here about 6:00, then the Muller-Stones headed back to the city, but the Wages (plus their adorable little Sophie) stayed for a lasagna dinner and then also headed home. We had been planning to have a bunch of people over on Sunday for a while, and even though the weather wasnt exactly ideal, we still had a great time and hope everyone comes back when its warmer! I wanted to share some of my recipes from the weekend!    

Ingredients for Frankie's Corn Salad
4 ears corn
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp mint leaves, torn
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
big pinch of salt
red pepper flakes
casterlrosso or mild provolone cheese (optional) Add Cooking Step Directions

1. Soak ears of corn in a bowl or water for 10-15 minutes. Peel back husks, remove silk, and pull husks back over to cover corn kernels while cooking.
Grill corn for 5 minutes over moderately hot fire.
Remove corn from grill, and when they're cool enough to handle, peel off husks. Scrape kernels off cobs and place in a big salad bowl.
Toss tomatoes in with corn. Add mint and onions. Dress with olive oil, lemon, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. Crumble cheese on top.
**I didn't grill my corn and shuck - too much time involved. But, I used canned corn and it was still delicious.



Ingredients for Avocado-Cucumber Soup
1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
2 avocados, pitted and peeled
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 minced small jalapeno chile (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
1/3 cup sliced scallions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
12 medium shrimp (about 6 ounces), peeled and deveined

Directions
1.In a blender, combine half the cucumber and 1 avocado with the yogurt, lime juice, jalapeno, scallions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 cup ice water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Puree until completely smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.
2.Cut remaining avocado into 1/4-inch cubes. Stir avocado and remaining cucumber into soup. Thin with 1/2 to 1 cup ice water, as desired. Season again with salt and pepper. Chill, about 1 hour.
3.In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp, turning once, until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with shrimp and remaining tablespoon cilantro.

Southwestern Turkey Club
8 slices bacon (8 ounces)
4 turkey cutlets
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno chiles
12 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread, lightly toasted
1 tomato, thinly sliced

Directions
1.Working in two batches if necessary, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes per side; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons rendered fat from skillet.
2.Season turkey generously with salt and pepper. Add to skillet, and cook over medium heat until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
3.In a small bowl, mash avocado, lime juice, and chiles with a fork; season with salt and pepper.
4.Spread avocado mixture on one side of each slice of toast. Layer turkey, bacon, tomato, and toast to form four triple-decker sandwiches. To serve, skewer with toothpicks; slice in half with a serrated knife.
**I used deli turkey instead of cutlets, and the sandwiches were wonderful.

It was a little chilly....

but Bax always loves the boat!

The afternoon was beautiful, but instead of subjecting ourselves to the cold just for the boat's sake, we moved to the house to stay out of the chilly breeze!

We had a great afternoon laughing with our friends and family - Abbye and Asa, Hollie, Amanda, Katie and Nathan, Trent, Alyssa and Layna, Wade and Kate, and Renee!   

Living Vicariously

Hey blogger friends!

My baby sis Abbye is living in Madrid, Spain this summer, so be sure to follow her!
http://viajesdeverano2011.blogspot.com/

And our friend Alli is living in Montepulciano, Italy too....check out her Italian adventures here:
http://vitaebuona2011.blogspot.com/

Ciao Bellas!

Mother's Day weekend

I came to Hawkinsville last Friday to celebrate Mother's Day and to see my parents off on a week long trip. So, here I am, keeping my baby bro Asa while the parents are playing.
Saturday brought the annual FriendGirls Mother's Day brunch. My mom and her best friends began this tradition 8 years ago...a time for them to get together with their moms and daughters. This year it was at Mrs. Claudette's house, and we had the best time! After a delicious lunch with chicken salad, fruit, mimosas and strawberry cake, us younger girls sat down to create memory books with photos from years past. The FG's each have their own big scrapbook, so they made pages for those. Afterwards, the yearly picture time ensued.

Morgan, Taylor and Abs working on their memory books.

It was so fun to look back on all the years since 2003 that they've had the Mother's Day brunch.

Claudette's hydrangeas looked gorgeous!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Jen, Mom, Steph, Claudette, Susan and Tina

My and Abbye's completed memory books!

On Friday before I drove to Hawkinsville, I met Hollie for a little girl time. She helped me deliver some goodies to a client in Buckhead, she had her car booted, then had the boot removed (long story), we checked out some furniture showrooms and hit Golden Stella at the mart, and we even had a little fun doing our own version of Copycat Chic in Bloomingdale's. She was carrying her gorgeous snake-skin tote so when we spotted the Michael Kors version, I snapped a pic with her comparing the two. Love it!

Can you spot the Michael Kors version?

A "wow" dessert with little effort!

By request from my dear Meghan...the most delicious, simplest dessert!

 

Ingredients:

2 cups fruit sorbet

2 cups Prosecco, champagne or sparkling wine

Directions:

Using an ice cream scoop, spoon 1/2 cup sorbet into 4 glasses. Top each with 1/2 cup sparkling wine, or more if desired. Make it kid-friendly by substituting sparkling grape juice for the wine.

Family Photos

While sorting through things at my grandparents' home, I gathered as many of the old photos in frames as I could find. I brought them home with me to scan them in, to insure that nothing happens to them and we all have access to the digital copies. All my life, these sat on a tiered shelf in the living room at Mama Doris and Datee's. When I took them out of frames, MD had handwritten explanations of who it was and when these were taken. There are many of both Datee and Mama Doris' family, dating back to 1844. I wanted to share a snippett of them with you all.

A young Charles Robert Coody in uniform

Virginia Doris Woods, Age 5 months

Virginia Doris Woods in 1946, Age 18

Left to Right:
Mamie Woods - Mama Doris' Aunt
Jim Tippett Woods - Mama Doris' Uncle
Emma Love Woods - Mama Doris' Grandmother, My Great-Great-Grandmother
Willie Belle Woods Anderson - Mama Doris' Aunt
Thomas Edward Woods Sr. - Mama Doris' Dad, My Great-Grandfather

Another photo of young Datee

Mama Doris in 1949, Age 21

Mama Doris with my Uncle Bruce, My Aunt Dinah, and My Dad