Fourth of July

Isn't this the cutest table setting!
photo from here

I can’t believe it’s already time for the fourth of July! Where has the time gone? AK and I are loading up and heading to Nashville on Friday for the weekend. We have a family cookout on Friday, Saturday we get to meet sweet Baby Trey!!! (Really Excited), and Sunday we will enjoy the fireworks downtown on AK’s parents boat.

Some Random but Interesting Facts about Fireworks from Real Simple:

• Fireworks first appeared around 1000 A.D., in Chinese religious ceremonies.
  Various metal salts are used to create the colored explosions. Barium makes green, copper makes blue, and aluminum is responsible for the sparkle.

• Smiley faces, words, and logos. Fireworks have expanded far beyond the classic palm tree. To make different shapes, a chemical mixture is glued to wax paper in the form that it will take when it explodes. Next, the paper is put inside a spherical shell made of cardboard or some other paper. Several are fired off at the same time to give the appearance of three dimensions, says John Steinberg, a vice president of the Pyrotechnics Guild International.
  
• The United States imported around $217 million worth of fireworks in 2007, with $207 million of that coming from China, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Be Safe and Have a Happy 4th!!

The Fam

We had such a nice weekend! AK’s older brother and his girlfriend, mom and dad came up for a visit. This was the first time we have had family come for a visit so it was great to have them in town. We had a lot of fun showing them around Columbus and visited the neighborhoods of German Village, downtown Dublin and the Short North.

We ate and ate until we just couldn’t eat anymore!

The Rock Filet at The Elevator -
you grill it yourself on a 375 degree rock

Group Shot at The Elevator

AK and I in German Village being silly!

The Help

I sooo recommend reading this book!! Best book I have read in a long time. I couldn’t put it down and was kinda sad when the book came to a end. It tells the story of African American women working as maids for white families in Jackson, MS, but also tells so much more! If you want a quick summer read, this is your book!

Baby Trey is on the Way!

SO EXCITED!!!

I can hardly stand it!! Baby Trey will be making his debut in about 4 hours!! I can’t wait to meet the lil' guy and spoil him rotten!! Here are a couple pics of his cute nursery!






Congrats Van and Caison, y’all are going to be the best parents!!

DMB

Last night we went to The Dave Matthews Concert. We had such a great time and it was a beautiful night! We had never seen him live before, but I think he is much better in person than on the radio. Here are few pics that recap our night....

Group Shot


Shane, Kristen, AK


Dave!



At the end of the night, we couldn't get a cab, so this guy offered us a ride home....
Pretty much sums up our night!! :)

Thankfully Shane and Kristen live downtown and he didn't have to peddle all four of us too far...it was defintely a adventure!!

Cheeseburger in Paradise...Really

Yum Yum!! AK and I made these burgers last weekend and they were so tasty. We used the Pioneer woman’s recipe and she has not let me down yet!

Are you ready to drool?

Ingredients:
2 pounds 80/20 Ground Beef
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoons Black Pepper
Tabasco Sauce, To Taste
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Red Onion, Sliced
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
Kaiser Rolls
Blue Cheese, I used Colby Jack because I'm not big on Blue Cheese
Your Favorite Lettuce

Instructions:

Place the ground beef into a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce. With your hands, mix the meat and seasoning well. Set aside.

If you like onions, these are the BEST!!! Heat a medium skillet over low heat. Add in 2 tablespoons butter. Dump in the sliced red onions. Now add 2 generous tablespoons brown sugar. Give it a toss to combine the ingredients, and then allow the onions to caramelize over low heat for about twenty minutes, tossing occasionally.

Form the meat into two patties and place on a grill pan or skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Allow each to cook about 3 minutes, then using a spatula, rotate 45 degrees, leaving it on the same side.

Flip the burger and cook it for a couple of minutes, rotating it 45 degrees again to get the nice grill marks.

Now add a large helping of caramelized onions over top of that glorious patty

New Haircut

Harley before his haircut... Relaxed...

Harley after his haircut... Let's just say he is not a happy camper with my mom and is pretty much giving her the cold shoulder

My mom has quickly learned how people in the "country" groom Persian cats! I do feel kinda bad for the little guy, but I must be honest, AK and I had a great laugh!!

Found It!

I am so excited, I have purchased AK's anniversary gift! Yes, I'm about a month ahead of schedule, but hey that's the planner in me!

I don't know about you but in the summer, I love to grill out... well really have someone grill out (AK) and I prepare the sides . I love grilled cheeseburgers, steaks, veggies, and grilled bbq chicken (although growing up my father used to grill barbecue chicken until it was BLACK and crunchy, I'm talking burnt to a crisp!)

this actually is not as burnt as my dad's famous chicken...


So since the summer has begun we have have grilled out a few times, and two out of three times, let's just say it hasn't gone so well.

So on Sunday, AK mentioned that he would love to take grilling lessons or a class on the techniques of grilling. I thought perfect, I could get him a gift certificate to a grilling class, (and this could be my paper thing) I found the perfect place, Sur La Table. They are in 13 states and provide all sorts cooking classes and also have stores filled with kitchen stuff! I have signed him up for the 5 grill recipes every cook should know. In this class he will learn how to cook, Grilled Chicken with Citrus and Cilantro - Perfect Grilled New York Steak - Grilled Swordfish Kebabs with Mixed Herb Pesto - Salmon Tacos with Chipotle Sauce - Grilled Peaches with Balsamic Glaze and Vanilla Ice Cream. Sounds Fabulous!!

My heart will go on...

Oh Yes! AK and I went to the Titanic exhibit this weekend at Cosi here in Columbus. We had the best time! We may have been the only people there without children, but we didn't mind, we pretended we were kids ourselves!

Here's a sneak preview of the exhibit



They had unopened champagne bottles, plates, cups, clothes, glasses, and china from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd classes. They also had on display what a 1st class room would like look. To book first class it cost $2500 what would cost $40,000 today! This exhibit travels all across the country, I highly recommend you check it out!

Must Haves

Wedding season has officially begun for AK and I! This week in the mail we received a save the date, wedding invitation and shower invitation for three different weddings. Such a exciting time for all of the brides and grooms! I began to look up their registries and wanted to share some of items that I think every bride and groom should consider registering for.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A nice set of bakeware

China/Everyday - I just registered for China and I love it!

Dutch Oven - This is one of those that my mother was like you have to register for
and I am so glad I did!! I love it!

A great set of knives

Everyday Silverware - Use it everyday and we love it!

Nice set of towels, I had my towels still from college and it's amazing what a good towel feels like!

Serveware, I love to entertain so these platters comes in handy!!

Finally, AK's favorite gift...the pilsner!

Memorial Day Weekend

I can't believe Memorial Day has come and gone!

AK and I had a great weekend. We relaxed at the pool on Saturday

and celebrated my brother's 30th birthday on Saturday night!
Man, do I feel old!

We ended the perfect weekend with a day/night out on the river.
It was just what I needed.