NOLA

Hello all. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We sure did. I have been out of pocket due to all the celebrating, traveling, giving of thanks, and now laundry. It is good to be home after such a fun week, back in routine, back to blogging!

Our festivities began last Monday morning when we headed down to good ole New Or-leans with my side of the family. This trip was planned in celebration of my little brother's 21st birthday. He is affectionately known as Tator, a nickname given to him in childhood because all he ate besides candy and pumpkin bread was POTATOES.

For the longest, Tator has been the baby of the family and therefore the last to turn 21. As this exciting birthday approached Tator began to express concern that the elder members of the family might grow weary of alcohol consumption before he reached the legal drinking age. Sounds like he has a deep seeded fear of drinking alone. So to prove to him that we are not sick of booze, we took him down to the Big Easy for a couple of days. We went to fabulous restaurants, sipped on good wine, drank cafe au laits, and ate so many beignets we couldn't see straight. Seriously, I got powdered sugar all over my jeans. All in all, it was a fine time. A large time. Eat, drink, and celebrate Tator...that sums it up.

I won't bore you with a detailed play by play of the trip. Instead I'll just share a few relevant thoughts, a word about Tator, and some pictures (with captions). I like captions.

Besides being with my family, my favorite part of NOLA was drinking cafe au laits at Cafe du Monde. It is the most wonderful cup of coffee I have ever had. I wish I had one right now. Have I ever mentioned how much I love coffee?Anyway, just wanted to say it again...I love coffee and I had some darn good cups of it down in New Orleans.

About Tator. His real name is George Edward Gillespie II, named after our paternal grandfather. Tator is the nicest, sweetest, kindest person in the world!!! Easy to be around.

Tator and I have the same sense of humor. It's weird. We laugh at the same parts in movies. Usually we laugh at the parts no one else laughs at. And then we laugh more because we are both laughing.

More importantly Tator has a kind spirit. He always has words of encouragement to give. Always has. Like when I was 16 and feeling less than satisfied with my "body image." I said something like "uggghhhh, I feel so fat."He responded in the sincerest tone, "Babby, (That's my nickname. We are big on nicknames.) you don't look fat." What 10 year old brother says that to his older sister? Tator.
Tator is one of a kind. We love him. We are going to keep him around for a long time. Happy 21st Birthday!!! You can always count on us to sit down and have a drink with you. Or a drank (as Stephen Grande likes to say).

And now...a few pics...with captions.

Tator himself aka Tator Salad

the veranda at our hotel

a beignet right before I dumped that powdered sugar on my jeans

cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde....mmmm....heaven in a cup

Aunt Lu and Doc...I made them laugh

Lovie (looking like Diane Keaton in her tinted shades) and Stephen Small

a beautiful cathedral

Mississippi River

Stephen Small meeting his great aunt Lynn for the first time. Lynn is my most faithful commenter.

Me and one of my best friends, Win. We grew up together. She lives in N.O. , is a nurse, and the one I made killer cocoa with. She met us for dinner the first night. So fun!!!

Aunt Lu and Doc at the market

Tator legally orders a screwdriver

bows and masks...colorful...photo worthy

Cajun cookin'

scarves (my mom bought the flowery one on the left for me)

local art

textured paintings

Tator admiring local art

Aunt Lu and the rest of the fam trailing behind

Aunt Lu's husband, Nick

clean plates at Felix's, I devoured a fried shrimp and oyster po'boy.

Stephen Small's parents

silly boys

walking down Bourbon Street (oh the debauchery)

Tator ordered a hurricane from Pat O's. I had a taste.....and I don't recommend it.

Lobby of the Roosevelt hotel.

Tator koozie, huggie, whatever you call it


Tator we love ya!

I'm thankful....

for Stephen Small

7 Months Today

And quite preoccupied with pine straw, electrical sockets, lamp cords, his parents shoes, small bits of paper, leaves, strings, the dishwasher, the printer, cell phones, plastic grocery sacks and for some reason unknown to me... our bathroom....

We love him just the same...

Even despite his unwillingness to look at or smile for the camera.

Happy 7 months baby!

Homemaking

Beautiful fall day around here. I'm lovin' the leaves. They are brilliant. I am also enjoying the time change. I know most people don't like it, but it gets us to bed earlier! And that is a good thing for people who tend to stay up late watching too much TV.

This week I've been working on organizing...I mean really organizing our house. We have lived in 3 different homes over the past 3 and 1/2 years we've been married. I have found that it takes almost a year to really get settled...to know what goes where.

One of the organizational undertakings I've been working on is what I call...from bag to basket.

I'll explain...

For years Captain Steve has been bringing home manly items...bullets, small tools, screws, bolts, keys, etc. Stuff that could be as important as the last screw that holds the space shuttle together or as meaningless as a gum wrapper. I don't know. I can't throw his stuff away. And everybody needs a "junk" drawer.


So what I've done in the past is collect all of these... what I like to call "man things" and put them in a grocery sack, more specifically a "man bag". Every couple of months I say..."I collected a man bag for you," and his routine is to go through it and throw away or find a proper place for his "man things." Well, I got tired of looking at his "man bag" sitting under his bedside table and it was so tempting to Stephen Small. We all know that CHILDREN ARE NOT TO PLAY WITH PLASTIC BAGS.

So I went to World Market and bought some square baskets for $8. I bought one for me too! I then transferred all the mysterious items from the bag to the basket. The baskets fit perfectly on the shelves of our bedside tables.

This was a very small yet life changing organizational maneuver. And I'm so happy with it. No more "man bags"!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bag to basket is not the only Suzy Q homemaker trick I have up my sleeve today. I also have the secret to making the perfect chocolate chip cookies....

Are you ready for it?

Butter temperature.

It is all about butter temperature. Cookies are best when the butter is properly allowed to reach room temperature. Not melted in the microwave. It requires patience, but is worth the wait.

Be back soon. Happy homemaking.

Because It's Wednesday

Because it's Wednesday, and we are all thinking toward the weekend, I thought I'd share a dinner recommendation....

Several weeks ago I made the Pioneer Woman's Coq au Vin. It is to die for. Really, it's amazing. The recipe calls for quite a bit of a cooking process, but it is worth your time if you enjoy that sort of thing.

The pasta with butter and parsley is.... perfect.

Also, speaking of French cooking, I'm slowly reading through My Life in France by Julia Child. It is fascinating. I love all the talk of good food and real butter. I always cook with real butter, and sugar.


In other events....Both Doc and Lovie (my parents) had birthdays this week! So a Big....

Happy Birthday

to them.

Picture taken at last year's AU vs. Ole Miss football game. Is this picture of me not a prime example of WHY I should wear more lipstick?! I'll save that subject for another day.

And once again....because it's Wednesday....and because I was in the mood to take some black and whites this morning....

He didn't get those long skinny fingers from me. Definitely a Stephen Grande trait.

So sweet...I just love him. He's got a great personality.

Happy Wednesday!

Thoughts and Stories About Publix

I cannot say it enough. I LOVE PUBLIX!

I want to shout it from the rooftops.

But this is a love that has evolved. You could call it an acquired love.

The short version (okay long version; there is no short version) of this love story all started with my first grocery trip as a newlywed. I went to Publix, spent 80 something dollars, and had little to show for it. I did not plan my meals well and ended up buying things like fresh basil with the intention to use only a teaspoon for ONE recipe. I discarded the rest a week later after it rotted in my refrigerator drawer. (Now days I would substitute, skip the fresh basil, or pick some out of a sister's yard.) Anyway, that one trip left me with a bad impression of Publix. I concluded that it was too expensive, and I've always been a Kroger girl if you want to know the truth. So I spent the next year and a half driving out of my way to shop at Kroger.

But when we moved to our current city. There... was... no... Kroger.

Tear.

Sniffle.

I seriously mourned this fact for weeks.

And not being able to be patient on the tiny isles at Winn Dixie, I resolved myself to shop at Publix. I accepted it, tried to make the most of it, and moved on.

But over time shopping at Publix has turned from a necessity to a joy. I'm not exactly sure why the change of heart. Maybe its just the familiarity. But anyhow...I love to go. I've learned to shop the sales and I'm a sucker for BUY ONE GET ONE (free). I chat with the deli man and the check out ladies. And you can imagine how much they love Stephen Small. I know where every item in the store is from milk to toothpicks to silver polish. I'm pretty sure I could work there and require no orientation.

Here are a couple of examples of my successful shopping experiences.

I bought all these groceries for $18.47 BUY ONE GET ONE.
Normally all this would cost $36.94.
My shopper's high was exhilarating.
Not pictured are the hot dogs I bought for 1 cent with the penny item coupon from Sunday's paper.

A few weeks ago I bought olive oil and mayonnaise BUY ONE GET ONE.
Normally $26. I paid $13. It simply doesn't get any better.
I even have funny family memories from shopping at my Publix. Like the time my dad was confronted in the check out line by a lady that "perceived" him to be rude at the deli.

We were checking out and a woman comes up to him and says, "Were you born rude?"

We both looked at her with bewilderment...WHAT? We had never seen this woman.

She then goes on to say that he (my dad, Doc) cut in front of her at the deli. Neither of us could recall that he actually did that or that she was even at the deli. So we shrugged it off, paid for the three pounds of Havarti cheese, and went on our merry way. What kind of bitter person brings her beef (not literal beef) all the way from the deli to the check out line? Why would you not just say something in the moment if you were truly offended by someone stepping in front of you in line. Guess we'll never know.

Really the encounter with this bizarre lady was the second part to this funny story. The first part took place at the deli when we were buying the Havarti cheese I referenced above (but with no involvement from that random lady because neither of us remember her being there in the first place).

So rewind back to the deli. We were standing there and my dad wants to buy some Havarti cheese for the Auburn/Ole Miss tailgate we were on our way to. The deli woman behind the counter ask "What can I get for you?"

My dad says "I'll take some Havarti cheese."

"How much?," asked the deli lady.

Barry says..."Bout' half of that block."

And when I say this was a huge block of cheese...I mean like a six pound block. I swear he bought 3 pounds NOT SLICED. Just a huge block.

This might just be funny to me, but most people don't buy deli cheese that way. I found it hilarious.

In summary: We bought three pounds of Havarti cheese, my dad was insulted at the check out line, and I love Publix!

And Barry is not rude. Silly...yes. Quiet at times. But rude...never.

This picture is from the day we moved into our new house. I have no idea who took it or what it is about. But it kind of sums up my dad's personality. Does this man look rude to you?

Thank you Publix for your smokin' good deals and hilarious family memories.

Happy Tuesday! And I hope y'all come back to my blog despite this silly, weird, and maybe a little confusing post.