fun after all of the thanks.

after the thanksgiving feast on thursday, we had a super fun weekend with julie & ben.  as everything else with us, most of it revolved around food.  we had to show them all the awesomeness birmy has to offer... which is a lot of food.

real southern bbq was a top the list, so saw's had to be on schedule.  their ribs are amazing.  if you are in birmingham ever, eat saw's ribs.  so good.

one of the local breweries recently opened a beer tasting room.  good people brewing company.  very tasty beer.  my fave is the brown ale.  all boys love the ipa.  oooh, & we tried their new bret pale ale.  very good too.  we ran into one of my favorites in birmy, so it was an evening of all things fun.

for the lsu vs arkansas game, we headed to our favorite chicken wings & patio.  you guessed it - moe's!  for a november afternoon, it was a gorgeous day for a patio full of football, beer, & bbq.  ben & julie loved the redneck nachos.  obviously.  & the wings were fabulous too. 

 {tic-tac-toe in beer foam = awesome}

our friends, matt & ashlee, were in town for the holiday, so they joined us too!  oh, it felt like the good ole days.  we absolutely loved seeing them.  & were very happy matt got out of the shower long enough to hang out with his buds.  {haha.}

once the patio got a bit chilly, we went across the street to the best package store/bar.  oh yes, two in one.  the bar tenders are quite funny with their adult jokes.  always a laugh.  always a good time.

 {little kiiiiiings.  holla.}

on saturday, after we convinced julie byrd & benny boo to stay an extra day {HECK YES!}, we had to watch THE big game.  if you live in alabama, you must know what game this is referencing.  the iron bowl.  alabama vs auburn.  the biggest game of the year, regardless of how bad one of the teams may or may not be.  

so even though i refuse to pick a side, as all say we have to do {i am sooner born & sooner bred & when i die, i will still not cheer for alabama or auburn}... i do love football, so we watched the game at the clyde & enjoyed a tasty alabama beer or two & maybe even a deep fried bratwurst.  & deep fried sauerkraut balls. 

it's the south.  don't judge.

did i mention blake & ben went to a shooting range?  just for fun.  man time.  boys are funny.  

also funny about man time: sitting on the couch.  next to each other.  watching tv.  while each on their electronic device.  somehow equals man time.  boys...

so girl time was a must!  & what do julie & i do for girl time?  make grandma's christmas candy!!!  english toffee & peanutbutter balls are made!  if you ask really really nicely, i might share with you.

in conclusion, we had the most fabulous weekend.  & the final result was...

love love,

kjp.

a happy happy day of thanks!

so so many things to be thankful for this year.  & that absolutely includes my sister & bro-in-law and our birmy friends.  so happy & blessed you all would join us for our thanksgiving feast!

a feast it was.  2 turkeys, 2 dressings, 2 gravies... an appetizer with cranberries & champagne... 5 more delicious side dishes...  pumpkin pie & of course julie & my famous rendition of our grandma's pecan pie!

{paula dean's brie en croute.  delish.}

as it turns out, blakey is a master turkey carver.  proud of you, babe.

{how pretty is our platter of 12lb turkey?!}

& we all already knew ogden is a master meat man.  fried turkey... i think so!

{my grandma's cornbread dressing}

{amy's family's traditional dressing}

{mushroom gravy for my almost-a-vegetarian sister.  surprisingly good.}

{amy's mom's giblet gravy}

{it wouldn't be thanksgiving without mashed potatoes.}

{& it definitely wouldn't be thanksgiving without green bean casserole.}

{ben's favorite corn casserole}

{& bobby flay's ridiculously expensive mac & cheese.

totally worth it.  even when i forget one of the cheeses.}

{our leftovers.  impressive.}

thanksgiving would not be complete without a game or two of shuffleboard.  so happy julie & ben could learn the ropes.

a very happy thanksgiving to you!!  

love love,

kjp.

so thankful.

we had a most wonderful, fun, relaxing thanksgiving week with julie & ben! 

we ate.  we drank.  we were very merry.

& i am excited to tell you all about it... tomorrow... when i've re-joined the real world.

i hope your thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful too.

love love,
kjp.

it's thanksgiving!!!

& i am so thankful it is here!

my sister & benny boo are here.
groceries are purchased.
the house is decorated.
& i am super ready to start the cooking & baking extravaganza that is thanksgiving.

thanksgiving last year was one of my favorite birmy memories that we will remember for years & years to come.  our first thanksgiving as husband & wife.  our first thanksgiving in birmy.  & my first thanksgiving meal to cook.  it was a wonderful day...

my annual panic of "oh my gosh, how am i going to fit a 5-gallon bucket in my fridge with all of the other groceries?!" has already been here & been solved.  wine fridge = beer fridge.  success!

ooooh, i already look forward to all of this...& more...

my grandma's pecan pie with julie & my twist...

my most amazing husband...

so ready for thanksgiving 2011 & all of our new memories.  

i hope you can think of many many things today for which you are thankful.

love love,

kjp.

get your vote on! {for pentatonix}

remember last week when i told you about the AMAZING group pentatonix on the sing off?  {if you missed it, check it out HERE.}

well, they made it to the finals!  & their performance was pretty kick a.  you should probably watch it:

so.  voting has begun!  if you love them as much as i do {how could you not?}, you should vote!  it is super easy.  go here: VOTE HERE!  enter your email address, click that you are 13, & vote!  

{don't worry.  nbc doesn't email you.  or at least they haven't for me yet.  & i voted all 10 times :) }

shameless kappa love.

love love,

kjp.

happy engagement {party} to elyse & matt!

the mcgowans hosted an engagement party with us for elyse & matt this weekend!  the weather cooperated quite beautifully for our backyard party.  we celebrate our wonderful friends' engagement with a southern soiree - an evening of paper lanterns, whiskey punch, & a few paula dean favorites.  it was so much fun to celebrate these two with our friends & so many of theirs.

our southern soiree menu was quite delicious.  we had pulled pork sliders with pickled onions.  {have you ever pickled anything??  amy made these amazing little gems.  i must try pickling things!}  we had amy's family's pimento cheese dip.  delicious!

mrs paula dean's south georgia caviar:

 {super easy & tasty recipe.

link above.

add salt & garlic, of course.}

& no southern meal would be complete without a tasty treat or two!  we had pumpkin whoopie pies with maple cream cheese filling, which turned out to be everyone's favorite.  oh, how i love pumpkin season.

& of course red velvet cupcakes too.

 a huge congratulations to the lovely couple!  we are so happy for you two.  & are happy for a reason to throw a party :)

love love,
kjp.

mom's new puppy!

{dakota}

my mom & ray got a new puppy!  an adorable little boxer named dakota.  we cannot wait to meet her in december when we go home for christmas.

she looks so much like tanky as puppy!  what do you think?

{my t guy}

happy friday, friends!

love love,

kjp.

thankful thursday # 41.

on this week before thanksgiving, we are thankful for so many things.

i am thankful for my wonderful husband who shows his love for me every day.

i am thankful for our families that we miss so dearly.  & super thankful that we are going to hang out with every one of them in the next two months.

i am thankful for our friends.  our friends from norman that we still talk to weekly on fantasy football.  my college friends that i gchat with on a regular basis.  our med school friends that are way too busy but know we miss them.  our birmy friends that have made us feel so welcome in this new state.

i am thankful for my tanky.  he is the best snuggler in the world.  & probably the cutest too.

i am thankful for my fuchsia monkey.  my first pet.  she still greets me every morning with a lot of purrs.

i am thankful for my wonderful job.  i am so blessed to have a job i truly enjoy.

i am thankful for a night out with great friends last night & a great meal.

i am thankful for an engagement party with friends this weekend & my sister & ben coming to town next week.

& i am thankful for God showing His love to us every day.  His patience with us when we need it.  His encouragement when we need that too. & His amazing blessings.

i hope you can think of something for which you are thankful today.

love love,
kjp.

let's get it on.

do you watch the sing-off?  you should.  it is fabulous.

the show is all types of performances by acapella groups.  they are really really good.

& probably my favorite so far is:

seriously good, right?

& that adorable girl.  she's a kappa.  at ou.  that's right.  rah rah for kkg.

you should watch the show.  monday nights.  they are down to 4 groups.  & we will get to vote for the winner.  you should probably vote for pentatonix :)

love love,
kjp.

a huge gigantic yay.

{via all of our new favorite obsession pinterest

& originally blondebirdie.com}

my sister & benny boo are going to be here one week from today!!!

a huge gigantic yay.

i love my sister.  & benny boo too.

love love,

kjp.

a potter wars birthday!

i finished the super scary baking job i told you about last week! 

& i must say, i am a little bit proud of myself.  mostly for accomplishing something that i wasn't sure i could do.  & a little bit because i actually did a pretty darn good job.

first up, star wars cookies!  i used these williams-sonoma cookie cutters.  they were much easier to work with than i expected.  as for the decorating, i have never made royal icing, so this was the ultimate learning experience.  if you want to decorate cookies, ABSOLUTELY watch this video from joy of baking.  it is a super helpful step-by-step instruction.  thank you, joyofbaking.com! 

i also know nothing about star wars.  so i had to look up a lot of pictures.  but they are cute little guys:

 {darth vader.  i did know this one!}

 {& yoda!

blakey always calls tanky "yoda",

so i knew this one too.}

& then a harry potter book cake.  chase wanted a white cake, & delicious white cake with white buttercream, i can do.  since it had to be in the shape of a book, i got to slice off the ends...& then eat the slice.  it was yummy :)

there was quite a bit of fondant work on the cake.  although fondant sounds super intimidating, it really isn't.  once you roll it out super thin {takes some arm muscles!}, it can make a cake look so pretty & smooth.  & shaping little figurines is like working with play-doh.  this cake was so much fun. 

{the awesome feather thing is snitch.
it's a game ball.
& no, the feathers are not fondant.  they are real feathers.
i liked the effect.}

 {harry's wand with the page detail in the background}

 {the sorting hat:

yes, i totally just googled that}

 {harry's awesome black glasses}

{love piping.}

chase, i hope you loved your birthday treats!  it was a huge growing experience for me.  i learned a ton.  & i learned even more about believing in myself.  

love love,

kjp.