A full weekend!

Our summer has been so steadily busy already! Has yours? Whew!
I had to share my new favorite cookbook with y'all today. When I heard Gwyneth was writing one, I was so excited to see what she compiled. And it does not disappoint. I grabbed this while I was at the beach, and have loved reading the recipes as well as the anecdotes she includes about her own family.

This has become my new favorite cookbook. I have always really liked Gwyneth, and loved that she has always been family oriented. She likes all foods, and included many recipes from other cultures in this cookbook. David and I have flipped over everything we've made so far.....the kale chips were amazing; the frittata was incredible and super easy; the turkey burgers divine; and The Ivy chopped salad wonderful.

 Over the weekend, we had lots planned...I started off shopping for work in Atlanta. Later on, we had company to stay with us...first Hollie and Wesley came to play, then my friend April and her family joined us. I love finding easy things to eat of the boat, so I made this sandwich to take out with us.

Taking a cue from my other favorite blond cookbook author, Gena Knox, I whipped up her turkey sandwiches with apple and Cheddar.

Only I used the panini press that my friend Linsey gave us as a wedding gift. She and I lived in Italy together, and have both always loved Italian food - you haven't lived until you've had a panini from The Oil Shop in Florence. So, this griddle has doubly special meaning for me.

First I made the sandwiches, but used my favorite Sandwich Thins instead of ciabatta.

MMMMM, then they were grilled and warmed just right.

This guy was hoping for a little piece. Sorry Bax.

 April and her husband Christian have two adorable little boys that David and I both love to play with. I go over to their house about once a week in Athens, so this time, April, Christian, George, Oliver, and cousin Brenna, came to play with us on the water. The boys were ecstatic to ride on the boat!

George was so excited to drive the boat! He spent most of the day in David's lap steering us all over the lake.

Little Oliver is kinda like Buddha. He's happy just chilling and watching the boats go by. April and I had so much fun under the shade, talking and snacking.

We pulled onto an island, and Christian took Ollie out into the cooler water to hangout in the float. Don't worry, they're tied together.

The little boys loved standing at the front of the boat holding on tight as David slowly cruised around.

Girl's Beach Trip

When the Memorial Day weekend was over, and everyone headed home on Monday morning, David stuck around with me, and soon after, Mom and Abbye arrived. We had dinner at Bonefish and saw Water For Elephants that night - so good! On Tuesday, David left super early, and Mom, Abbye and I headed down to the beach for a bit while waiting on the crew to arrive - Pammy, Amanda, Ben, Aunt Vicky, and Aiden! They joined us at the beach that afternoon, and we stayed in Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Mom, Pammy, Vicky and I headed to Destin for some shopping. And the last full day - Thursday - was spent under an umbrella again. Lovely week with family! Here's a few of our adventures!

This huge slide was there for the week - and the little boys loved it! I was so excited to show it to them before they got there!

Perfect afternoons

They had so much fun jumping from bunk-to-bunk!

Pre-dinner cocktails by the pool while the boys swam!

An afternoon visit to the Seaside Market...

And an afternoon drink by the Caliza pool at Alys Beach.

Thursday was another beautiful day to spend on the beach and by the pool. I let the boys bury me in the sand which was so funny! And then we all took turns burying them. I think Aiden was sorta comfy under there, but Ben can't sit still for that long!

About mid-day, Mom and Pammy scooted upstairs to bring our picnic down. This is probably my favorite thing we do at the beach. All my life, we've eaten the umbrella - taking turns being the one to go upstairs and fix lunch for everyone. Its lovely, and you never have to leave the beach!

That afternoon, we headed to Boondock's to ride the air boat!

The little boys were so cute and wanting to see an alligator in the water so bad! We settled for this one in the tank.

Our whole group! Such a fun week!

Summer Movies

Lately, we've been on a movie kick! I love the excitement that comes with summer movies...there's always some fun ones to anticipate! Two weeks ago, David and I saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was so good! I'm not sure who liked what better - me watching Johnny Depp, or David eyeing Penelope Cruz!

While we were at the beach, we saw Water For Elephants - it was amazing! Such a pretty movie...and I'm a huge RPatz fan too. The Hangover II was a tish disappointing! We were all looking forward to it, but all aggreed that #1 was better.

Just wanted to share! Hope you've had fun at the movies recently too! :)

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