Stephen and Chada: The Wedding Ceremony

Curls and Hairspray

M is 4.5 years old and has never been to the salon. She has straight, easy (albeit really thick) hair so I have always cut her hair. Over the last few months though she has been asking about where I go to have my hair done and has wanted to join me. Given her flower girl duties, I decided that this was a special occassion that deserved a special hair do. So.....we had a first girl salon experience together on Saturday. She was ready and loved every minute of it (well, after about an hour in the chair getting her curls she was starting to loose it, but who wouldn't, right!! Nothing a little candy couldn't fix!). When she was getting her girls M started laughing and said excitedly that she was going to have Annie hair!!

Stephen & Chada: Rehearsal

We were in Atlanta over the weekend where Chris' cousin Stephen married Chada.  Stephen is M's "boyrfriend" so she was tickled pink when asked to be a flower girl in the wedding.  She took her role as flower girl very seriously and since she was the big girl of the other two flower girls she took charge and escorted the little ones down the isle.  I know, I'm a bit bias but M was absolutely ADORABLE.  A real doll.

Guess What

Guess what we made yesterday using these ingredients....

Here's a clue.  Our good friends Ross and Marion had a dinner party last night to celebrate Valentine's Day and to catch up with friends.  Ross and Marion are some of the most caring thoughtful people I know.  Friendly, good conversationalist, positive, family people.  When I'm with them I always feel good and I leave even better.  And, Ross with that infectious laugh that you can pick out in a room full of people.  Fun.  The party's theme was chocolate (or chokolick as M says it!)....that's your clue.

And here's the final result. 

Yep, you guessed it a classic red mole sause with shredded beer can chicken.  OMG....finger licking good.  This was the first time that we (Ok, it was pretty much ALL Chris) attempted to make mole from scratch and it really is a labor of love.  I can't say that we will make it again any time soon.  Just too much WORK.  Good thing we had leftovers that we can freeze!!

We ended the night with this night cap....

HAPPY VALENTINES FROM THE FRIGS!!

A Stroll in the Snow

Today Chris walked the girls to school so that they could enjoy the snow. The snow was so high that it covered most of M's legs. She complained the whole time and was exhausted by the time they reached her school. ARose on the other hand didn't make a peep the whole way there :-))


ARose's pre-walk glow!!

Bacon Bowl 2010

(forgot my camera) Each year our friends Rob and Kara have a Super Bowl party with different themes. This year was bacon. Every dish was to include bacon. This year's winner was a maple, vanilla cupbake with bacon (of course). Sounds disgusting but it was excellent!! I made bacon wrapped jalapeno peppers stuffed with goat cheese and cheddar, chive and bacon biscuits----DELICIOUS!! I’m a big fan of bacon (and that’s an understatement) so this was right up my alley. That said, what’s that adage about too much of a good thing…... Chris and I hit the Mylanta bottle when we got home then hit the sack. But today is a new day and I even had a leftover cheddar, chive and bacon biscuit this morning for breakfast as Chris gagged at the thought!! Oh, and we were rooting for the underdawgs. Fun times!


We haven't decided on next year's theme but I think it is a safe bet that it will not be ham!

Dinner, Tats and Videos

Last night we had dinner at the Pettits. One of Brian's co-workers and his family joined us. They are a really cool, sweet, gorgeous family and their kids who ranged from pre-teen to teens were impressive! I'll have to get a few parenting tips from these guys. The night started with apps, then dinner, then tattoos, then youtube videos. Fun night!

E-tailing

While reading O today (yeah, I admit it—I subscribe to O. There. My secret is out. I generally go straight to the beauty advice column, then the lists of products that are under $50, then for the celebrity interviews and then I look through the rest of the magazine for articles that interest me. I skip Dr. Phil and Suze Orman because they annoy me), I ran upon an article entitled “The Cherry Pie Is in the Mail”. The picture of the cherry pie caught my eye—I was hungry.

As you can probably guess, this article was all about ordering food from e-tailers. According to the article, we Americans spend a whole lot of money online ($130 billion last year) and food, wine and beer sales tripled over the last few years. Thanks to technology, it is becoming easier for artisanal foodmakers to connect directly with us, the ultimate consumers. Which hopefully means, fresher foods, more healthful options (organic, free from preservatives, less processed foods), more gourmet options, the comfort of knowing where your food is coming from and reducing your carbon footprint (if saving the environment is part of what’s important to you and hopefully it is). I am lucky enough to live in a foodie city but it still can be hard to find some items. For instance, finding a good, affordable butcher. Chris and I really haven’t had any luck. We’ve searched online and talked with locals but nothing exceptional. And while there is something to be said for the food shopping experience—the smells, the look, the samples :-)), I just don’t always have the time or energy. So, this article hit home.

For those of you who are into food and need to free up a little time here’s the complete list of the Best Online Grocery Stores from O. I haven’t purchased anything from the sites yet but I will and I will keep you posted about my purchases.

Mom, check out the cheeses at this site. Maybe you’ll fine another supplier of chocolate cheese!

Happy e-tailing!

Joining the Crowd

We have a new blogger in the family. Here’s the Blog. Check it out!