Friendship Feast 2011 and a 27th Birthday Celebration!

Each year for the past five years, our college friends have gotten together to share in an amazing Thanksgiving feast.



This year we continued our Thanksgiving tradition at our good friends, the Dukes. We dinned on foods including pumpkin dip, deviled eggs, pumpkin spread, fruit salad, vegetable salad, rolls, au gratin potatoes, sweet potato casserole, macaroni, turkey, and stuffing and three different types of desserts including a surprise cookie cake for Kristin's 27th birthday from her husband, Michael. It was definitely a special night of thankful celebration and friendship.


That afternoon, Ray and I spent several hours in preparation for our Thanksgiving dinner. For months Ray has been perfecting his limoncello and officially bottled it up for consumption. We also signed up to bring fruit salad, homemade rolls, and a dessert. We did end up having a few minor mix ups with the rolls, but all went well as the 5 second rule still counts right?!? ha! Or maybe just having a second batch was key.

Upon our arrival, we enjoyed pumpkin dip and deviled eggs from the Fants. It has become tradition to take a ladies deviled egg picture. Kaylan you are here in spirit and many were eaten in your honor:)




As our friends continued to make their way to the Dukes, we enjoyed great conversation and catch up and delicious pre dinner snacks. Once all guests had arrived, it was time to make a wish...

...and say a prayer for all the blessings that God had given us.

The food was absolutely amazing as it is each and every year!


While we have had 5 years to perfect these fabulous dishes, it is been one of my favorite meals to look forward to throughout the year.


After our meal, it was time for a surprise celebration! Happy 27 years to an amazing friend! To a lady I absolutely adore and are so blessed to have in our lives...
Happy Birthday Kristin!



"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!..."

As each and every year, we truly do have so much to be thankful for.... for amazing friendships, traditions, delicious food, memories made and those to come... I love our fabulous Friendship Feasts!

Deviled Egg Picture Tradition!

Our ladies deviled egg picture began in 2008 during our annual Thanksgiving dinner with friends. From this point on has continued for several years to come. Enjoy our picture tradition.

Thanksgiving: November 2009

Brushwood Bye Bye Bash: July 2009

Thanksgiving: November 2010

Thanksgiving: November 2011

Two Years!

To my best friend, partner, husband, and soul mate... I love you beyond words. Here is to two amazing years of love and adventure. All my love!

2 Year Anniversary Weekend

5 Hours, 4 glasses, 3 wineries, 2 amazing years of marriage, and one super cute German town= an amazing anniversary weekend to Fredricksburg.

Our weekend was filled with delicious homemade desserts, wine tastings, German eats, breakfast kolaches, secret gardens, clear river ice cream and soda shop, candy bar, Pacific War Museum, and a walk downtown. Here is to celebrating two years of daily adventure and to all those still to come!

Bariloche Farm: Homemade peach and raspberry cobbler and homemade ice cream

We bought pumpkin butter and caramel amaretto pecan spread

We tasted three of the ten local wineries on Wine Road 290. We enjoyed wines from Grape Creek Vineyard, Becker Vineyards, and Torre Di Pietra Winery.

Age improves with wine:)

For dinner we ate at Friedhelms Bavarian Inn, a local German restaurant and inn. The food was absolutely delicious. For many weeks, both Ray and I had been fighting a terrible cold, my sinus infection, and other throat ailments. After dinner we definitely had to make a stop to the local Walmart for some good cough medicine and ended up turning in early. This was not exactly how I had envisioned the weekend but definitely the way it ended.

The next morning we definitely felt a lot better and picked up kolaches and cream cheese croissants at Hill Country Donuts and Kolaches. We took our breakfast to a local park and enjoyed our breakfast in Pioneer Garden. The wind was a bit cool in the shade, a local cat definitely way eyeing my breakfast, and a few insect friends did make this trip a bit shorter than expected.

After breakfast we decided to take a walk around Fredericksburg and enjoy some local sights and of course taste some delicious treats. We enjoyed ice cream sodas from Clear River's ice cream shop and sampled fudge from Lone Star Candy Bar. We then journeyed to the Pacific War Museum and later made our way to Pasta Bella for lunch.

We were stuffed. The intention was to stop by the Auslander for a beverage but decided we were both tired, stuffed, and ready to return home to relax:) It was definitely a fun weekend to celebrate two amazing years together! I am so thankful for the moments we've shared. Happy two years to my love!

Thankful Pumpkin Project

With the Thanksgiving season upon us, I am constantly reminded of those things that I am truly thankful for. You may recognize our family pumpkin found here. This year with all that was going on, we sadly did not have the opportunity to carve/paint our pumpkin as previously planned. This gave me an idea and an opportunity to begin a new family tradition- our thankful pumpkin project. Throughout the month of November, Ray and I will write many of those wonderful things we are thankful for on our pumpkin. At the end of the month, our pumpkin will be an amazing reminder of all that God truly blesses us with on a daily basis. Here's to being thankful for all of our blessings!