Football Fun!

What a fantastic fall football Saturday we just had! College Gameday came to Athens and set up right near our tailgate... you could feel the excitement in the air! And then Georgia played a great game against LSU and came out victorious! We had a huge tailgate, the weather was perfect and you could not ask for a better day. I love these days with family and friends - it's what fall is all about. 

Shelby and Scott checking out the Gameday set up - it was cool to see all the behind the scenes stuff that goes into putting on a huge live show like Gameday. Of course Scott the tech geek loved it! 

Shelby being silly next to the Gameday bus! 

We're coming to your city! 

A perfect game under a beautiful fall sky!

Celebrating a victory under a beautiful sunset! What a game to remember! 

Nature Walk

On Sunday, we had some time to kill between the princess party and our  Mo's patio dinner tradition, so we decided to check out the South Peachtree Creek Trail at Mason Mill Park. It was wonderful and we will definitely be back! I can't wait to go again when the leaves are changing. 

I love the way the sun is shining on her bun. She looks so grown up!

Bulldogs and Birthdays

We had a fun weekend full of football and birthday parties! 

Friday night dinner at Jason's Deli. The mini ice cream cone is the real attraction!

Shelby and Luke in Athens on Saturday - they love playing together. 

On Sunday we were invited to a princess themed birthday party. Shelby wanted to wear a tutu and her ballet clothes! She's proudly showing off her present. We always let her choose her presents for her friends and she's always really proud of them. Although we might think the present is strange, it's cute! 

A princess party at a frozen yogurt place... could there be anything more exciting to 3- and 4-year olds?! No! 

It's Soup Season!

I made this delicious curry and white bean soup this week and just had to share the recipe. It was so good! I modified the recipe by adding a little cream and pureed the soup before serving, and that made it so much better. The rich, velvety texture was amazing!  If you love vegetarian recipes and curry, make this!

Ingredients

2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chopped onion

4 garlic cloves

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

fresh thyme, 2 branches

2 teaspoons yellow curry powder

couple shakes of cayenne pepper

1 32 oz. box of low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup shredded sharp white cheddar cheese plus more to sprinkle on top

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Turn stove to medium heat. In soup pot, add half the oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Add your onions, whole Thyme branches, and curry powder. Stir often and cook until onions soft, 3-4 mins. Then add chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, beans, cheddar, and rest of olive oil. Cover and turn it down and let it simmer for 40 minutes and up to an hour over low heat. Splash in a little cream or milk if you want. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Garnish with cheese or croutons and serve with garlic toast and a salad. 

(adapted from this recipe)

Family Weekend in Augusta

Scott had a work retreat this weekend so Shelby and I traveled to Augusta for a family reunion with some dear family friends. The Testino and Creasy grandparents lived across the street from each other on Hillside Lane in Augusta and the generations to come have been friends ever since! It was wonderful to catch up, visit and play tourist in Augusta. We stayed at the historic Partridge Inn and had a great time. We had a covered dish dinner Saturday evening and then got to enjoy a cocktail at the hotel later that night. On Sunday, Shelby and I woke up early and walked around the old neighborhood and we all enjoyed a delicious southern brunch on the veranda. Stuffing ourselves with sweet tea, shrimp and grits, oysters, fried chicken, collards and biscuits... nothing better in the world!

Some old pictures from Hillside Lane! I think this was my third birthday.  Chelsea is on the far left and I am in the striped shirt. 

Chelsea and I today!

Above: Allison and I as little girls on Hillside Lane. Below: our own little girls today! 

Hillside Lane today. Augusta National purchased all the properties and now it's used as parking during the Masters. All the homes were torn down... it's sad! 

Shelby at the Partridge Inn. It was fun to be a tourist in my hometown. Our server at brunch told us about a ghost that supposedly haunts the hotel and after two unexplainable knocked down glasses at our meals, I believe it! 

Shelby playing at nearby Hickman Park. I played here when I was little (but they've updated the playground equipment since then and the pool that was there has been filled in). 

Enjoying a morning walk around the historic Summerville neighborhood. 

Shelby and Rachel at brunch. They became fast friends! 

This and That

Sorry for the lack of updates lately! When fall and football starts, we get busy and our calendar fills up!

Shelby is really into fairies and Tinkerbell right now so one afternoon we made a fairy house from a discarded box. Shelby had fun painting it and then I added some curtains, a doorbell and a doorknob that night after she went to sleep. I also had to make Blaze, Tinkerbell's lighting bug friend! 

The first home game of the year! Shelby had a great time playing with little friends at the tailgate. We napped at the Kelly's house and then I took her back to the game. She had so much fun looking for Hairy Dawg, watching the band and eating concession snacks. 

Tomato Pie

I made this tomato pie again tonight. It has to be one of my favorite summer recipes. The pie crust recipe calls for shortening but I didn't have any so I just used butter. I think I will substitute butter from now on... it's so much better! Between this and the thumbprint cookies, we've had a lot of buttery pastries this week! 

First Braves Game

On Sunday afternoon, we got a special treat - tickets to a Braves game! This was Shelby's first time going and she loved it! She clapped when everyone else clapped, got treated to an icee, and even did the Tomahawk Chop! The tickets were from our neighbors and they were really great seats. We had so much fun! 

Our Weekend

Scott and Shelby went on a bike ride one evening while I went running. We're trying to bring home some of our beach fun into our daily routines at home!

On Sunday, Scott took Shelby to DragonCon (again... while I had to go on a long run... will be so glad when this training is over!). She wanted to wear a costume, so we got out her fairy Halloween costume that she had picked out the week before. She is super into fairies and Tinkerbell right now. 

On Monday, we went swimming and had dinner at Papa and Glee's house. Shelby showed off her new swimming skills. 

Shelby and I made thumbprint cookies to take for dessert. They were so easy and delicious, and really fun for little hands because the dough is almost like play dough. We will be making these again! I halved the recipe because I didn't have time to bake two pans. They are very buttery but so good!

Thumbprint Cookies

3 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

3 3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fruit preserves of your choice (we used blackberry)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar.

3. Add egg yolks.

4. Sift flour and salt; blend into butter mixture.

5. Spoon out into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Make an indentation in center of cookie with thumb.

7. Fill with preserves.

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack.

(From Paula Deen)