Summer Fun

I really have been a huge slacker with this blog so this is going to cover a lot of events. I think my last post was back in March so I will start with April. Jon and I played on my company's softball team. We were called the Pinnacle Pounders and we played against other company's around town. It was a blast! Our season started in April and ended the last week of July so we played all summer. Jon rocked left field and I played catcher. This was a recreation league so most of the games were pretty laid back. We ended up placing fourth overall.
In June my family rented a beach house for a week on Dauphin Island. We had so much fun fishing, laying out, walking on the beach, watching sunsets, crabbing, shrimping, kayaking, SUP boarding, eating delicious food, evening cocktails and relaxing. The weather could not have been better and like all vacations, it was hard to come home.
At the end of July, Jon and I went to Kentucky with some friends. We enjoyed the local pub and checked out a few bars. Our main reason for going was because on Saturday we were running in The Great American Beer run. This race was like no other one I have ever participated in. It was a 3 mile run with 4 beer stops along the course. People were dressed up in costumes and there was a band playing as we finished the race so it was a fun experience. I guess I should not call it a race because we were not racing at all. Also on the trip we stopped at a few Winery's for some wine tasting. This was such a fun experience. The vineyards were gorgeous and the wine was delicious. It was a great trip!!
We had a busy summer and had some great times. I'm sad to see the summer end but excited to see what the Fall has to bring.
Cheers!!

Spirited Art "Paint Your Pet"

My friend Clara and I had a girls night last night and it was so much fun. We went to Sprited Art in Huntsville to "Paint Your Pets" night and we had a blast. After a few glasses of wine and some serious laughter we came up with these beauties:

 Clara painted her dog Atticus and I painted Lilly. They make me laugh.....so silly!

Can you see the real picture??? I tried!

This was our class. Everyone brought in a picture of either their dog or cat and most of them turned out fabulous! I was shocked at everyone's creativeness.

Cheers!

Coming Out Of The Gloom

Spring is almost here and I could not be more excited. Every year I feel as if the cold, dark days of winter take over and I become lazy. Next week is the beginning of March and in 2 weeks the time with change so I am one happy girl. This weekend Jon and I decided it was time to get are gardens going so we made a trip to Lowe's for some organic soil and vegetable plants. After a few hours this is what our garden looks like:

In our garden we have broccoli, cauliflower, two kinds of lettuce, collards, and strawberries. We have another garden on the other side of the yard that we are saving for other veggies that we will plant in April. Jon and I love piddling in the yard!

 Last night I was looking on Pintrest and came across these cutties:

I think today I will paint some of these rocks so we can tell what we have in our garden. Huntsville's high today is going up to 60 so I think Ill enjoy the sunshine, you should too!
Enjoy your day!!

From Generation to Generation

Great food has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up with a mom and grandmother who could cook better than anyone I knew. My mom would cook dinner for us every night and it was expected that Matt and I were seated at the table when dinner was served. Pretty much we hardly ever missed a family dinner around the table unless we were sick or out of town. Family dinner time consisted of everyone sharing about their day, good or bad, and enjoying a well balanced meal. My mom was the queen of well balanced meals. We always had a meat, 2 veggies and a carb. She also would make a homemade desert every week which would either be pies, cookies, cakes or homemade ice cream. Matt and I really had it made and took it for granted. I am really missing my mothers food these days. I am now married so I feel the responsibility of carrying on the tradition of cooking every night and I love it (Jon does too)! I really do love it! A few years back my mom wrote a cookbook and published it. She started the cookbook for just Matt and I because she got tired of us calling and asking her how to make this or that. It is a huge success! My mom has sold and given away over 500 copies. She actually has her own website where she displays some of her artwork and sells the cookbook so check it out www.gumbocreations.com. I love it because a lot of the dishes I grew up eating are in there so I have a quick reference when I want to cook something of mom's.

My grandmother named Momma T. is the mastermind of the chefs in our family. She is where it all started. She is from Louisiana and can cook the best cajun food you have ever eaten. I use to love it when she would cook us gumbo or etouffee but the most delicious thing she would make was her homemade sour dough bread. My brother could eat an entire loaf when it was hot out the oven b/c it was that good. Momma T would also have a freezer full of ice cream to go with deserts she had cooked each week. It really was a treat to go to her house!

So back to me, I am trying to be as good of a cook as my mom and grandmother but it is a tough task. One thing I love to do is find recipes online. I love to read blogs that other people have written and I equally love Pintrest. The recipes on Pintrest are fabulous and for the most part so easy! Check out that website if you are not already addicted to it like me www.pintrest.com. Jon is such a good sport when it comes to eating my cooking. I can honestly say that for the most part my dinners are very good but there have been times where the dinner was totally unedible and straight up GROSS. We usually end up ordering a pizza on those nights.

So Im going to leave you with 2 tasks:
1. Check out my mom's blog WWW.GUMBOCREATIONS.COM
2. Check out Pinterest WWW.PINTREST.COM

 Enjoy!

My husband is a ROCK STAR!

Check out my husband's kayaking video. I gave him a GoPro Headcam for his birthday and he has been taking some great videos while he is in his boat.

I know this video is short but you get the idea. Jon is the second boater in the orange kayak. More to come.......