Black Tie Gala

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 One of the main reasons we decided to spend our birthday weekend in Nashville was to attend the annual gala for the JDRF, which our friends sit on the board.

The theme for the evening’s party was a speakeasy & they went all out with decorations & even swing dancers.

 The entire hallways was filled with hundreds of items in the silent auction- everything from original art, bottles of win, travel adventures, music & entertainment packages, and more.

We bid on a few items, like a case of wine, and were quickly outbid.  We moved onto bidding on a few of the super-silent auction items, like a turkey hunt in Arkansas, and were also rapidly out bid during dinner.

 The food was incredible considering they were feeding nearly 1,000 people & we were entertained with the live auction as we ate.

It was a really amazing experience- I’ve never been to anything quite like it & it was so inspiring to see how much money was raised to continue the research against the disease that impacts so many people.

 We had a blast getting dressed up and being all fancy for the evening- hubby had a tux & we even had a driver to take us to the ball.  It’s been a while since I’ve been out past midnight, and I apparently forgot that late night stops at Wendy’s never end well.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: It was fun, but glad I don’t have to get all fancy everyday- I’m happy bumming it most days.

Filed Under: friends, Married Life, Travels ->

Family Friends in Nahsville

May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Part of our stay in Nashville was with these fine folks- the family H went to India with last year.  In addition to our birthdays, DeeDee and Claire were also celebrating birthdays that same weekend.

I went for an awesome jog that morning around their neighborhood, enjoying the last of the cool spring weather & beautiful scenery.  Later that morning, H & I went on a long walk, just soaking up the sun and chatting away as we walked past all the beautiful homes.

The weather was beautiful on Saturday- we grilled out for lunch & had fun playing in their backyard.  It’s so strange that *not* having fenced in yards & seeing your neighbor is the norm in their neighborhood.   Having so many trees and so much space would be amazing.

After the trampoline, they broke out the cornhole and we had several fierce competitions to see who could toss the best.

 Lots of fun & lots of laughs- it was so great just hanging out with such a close family & watching the girls interact with their parents.

Lots of silliness and games, and I’m trying to talk them into going to Disneyworld with us in January when I do the marathon.

 A great way to spend the afternoon & most of us snuck in a little nap before getting all dressed up & heading out to the gala that night.

 

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Busy day of meetings & working on our house, but I’m headed to a concert with my friend tonight.

Filed Under: friends, Married Life

Babies & Fajitas

May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 I love that we are hanging out more with our friends lately, and it was awesome to have our first GTG at Mark & Pam’s new house.  It was our first double-baby dinner, and all of the “aunts” and “uncles” were fawning over them all night long.

 Others made a beeline for the babies, but I grabbed some wine & my camera to get some new photos of Abby who was 8 weeks old and growing so quickly.

 She’s put on a few pounds in a few weeks, and it was Paige’s debut and she was sleeping in her carrier when we arrived.

 I’m insanely jealous of their new house- the kitchen and living room area are incredible.  We all had a blast hanging out, snacking, passing around Abby, and getting dinner ready.

Hubby was making quite the impression with Abby & she was staring at him for a while.

 Matt & Savanha took their turn ooh-ing and ahh-ing over Abby while Jessica fed Paige.

 Hubby even took a turn holding Abby, even though he’s still very nervous,  he sang her a great song (Thriftshop- lol!).  I had my turn holding her for a while, but nobody got any pictures of us.  A great informal friends housewarming party & debut for the dueling babies.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Attended a super-cool book & wine event this evening in a fabulous restaurant.

Filed Under: friends, Married Life

Baby Paige

April 29, 2013 By 1 Comment

 Just six weeks after Abigail was born, we welcomed another baby into the friends circle- meet Ms. Paige.

Mom went into labor the day of our crawfish party & I was so excited to go meet her last week when she was about 9 days old- she looks so much bigger and older than Abby was at two weeks old

 I didn’t want to bother her & mom too much, so I just took a ton of photos while she was sitting in her chair.  I was amazed at how alert and mobile she was- opening her eyes when I’d talk and moving her arms all around.

 One big stretch and then she was done posing for the camera & ready to get back to sleeping.  I can totally tell that I’m going to be going into photographer over-drive having these two kids around to keep  me entertained and inspired with my camera.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: A quick and easy day trip to Chicago is my only work trip for the next few weeks.

Filed Under: friends

Crawfish Boil 2013

April 26, 2013 By 1 Comment

 After our fabulous crawfish boil last year, we decided we wanted to go bigger & invite more friends and more family this year.  We started early in the day with 98 pounds of crawfish- purging them using salt and baby pools.

 Clean them out, season the water, get your friends to help out, and then toss the mud bugs in the water to cook.

It wasn’t long before we had a delicious batch of crawfish & veggies ready do to chow down just in time for the party to get started.

 Dad & Aaron talking fishing, Pam & Savanha after chowing down, Mia waiting patiently for a little bite from Gram, and Elida & Craig catching up on business.

 We fired up the new grill to cook some hotdogs & hamburgers for those who aren’t into crawfish.

 Seriously good times- everybody we love, gorgeous weather, drinks, food and fun.

 The pups were even having a great time- Zoe was pretty tired soon, but Mia was full steam the whole time, especially when we let a crawfish out to play.

Lots of smiles, lots of laughs, so much that I was even wearing crawfish on my face at one point!

 Haley & her boyfriend shows up- she’s a huge crawfish fan & Mia continued to look incredibly adorable, hoping for a snack.

 Lots of kids & babies, but we got down to serious picking & peeling  after most folks left- peeling the last 20+ pounds of crawfish & saving it for some homemade Étoufféin the next few weeks.

 After everything had been cleaned, peeled, and put away- we finally all ended up hanging out on the back porch smoking cigars and telling tale tales.

 Seriously so much fun- great time & we were so happy to have everybody together to celebrate our birthdays.

We didn’t take many pics together that day- both too busy running around & hosting, but we snagged at least this one.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looking forward to a weekend at home, catching up on life.

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