Chris is rockin' out again...

Live music tonight out at Don Gallo Grill!

Chris is playing tonight (Friday) instead of last night.

Maybe even J. will be there with his guitar...

Cross your fingers that the weather is as good as last night!

PS:  If you want a sneak peak of new pictures of baby River, check them out on my cousin's blog.  River could not be any cuter!

J. and Chris play guitar

On Friday night, our little cousin J. spent the night with us.

When Chris and J. got to the house, J. couldn't get himself and his guitar out of the car fast enough.

The next thing Chris knew, he had his guitar out and was answering every question J. could come up with.

 

It was precious.

J.'s always been inquisitive about Chris' guitars.  But hearing Chris play out at Don Gallo only increased the number of times he asked the questions why and what.

 

Can you see how intently he was taking it all in?

At the ripe old age of 4, he's getting it figured out.  He remembers things that Chris has told him before and loves learning more stuff.

Stuff that he in turns tries to play on his little guitar.

 

Oh, these moments.  I'm so glad I was able to catch this on camera.

J. will only get bigger and eventually cousins Chris and Julie may not be as cool.

 

These are two of my favorite people in the world, having a little moment of their own.

As Chris was teaching him all kinds of good stuff, I almost heeded the words of my mother threw the ol' birth control right out the front door.

I was done with that.

But Chris looked at me, knew what I was thinking, and sent me a look that said "show restraint, woman."

So, I pulled myself together and shut the door.

We could just pretend he was ours for the night.

That's exactly what we did.

Welllll, except that I gave him two bowls of ready whip.  Straight from the can.  That's the kind of special stuff you can do away from home.

Family is a beautiful thing.

and I'm in love with those two men.

the Hubby's name on a sign...

He's hit the big time!

There's a little Chris Connell promotion for you.

Chris will be back at Don Gallo Grill this Thursday.  {and me too!}

Prepare for some good stuff.

Angel food cake

Cooking is in my heritage.  From my great grandmother to my mother, they've all been very good.

My mother:  Great cook!  She's made sure I have been well nourished since birth.  Age doesn't deter her.  She'll still ask about what I've had to eat to this day.  Considering she worked full time, had three babies, and still made sure we had food in our bellies?  That deserves a gold star in my book.  She's my hero.

My Nana:  Unbelievable!  I've never seen anyone put together a meal as effortlessly like she can.  And it's all so delicious!  Take her two dessert specialities - fudge brownies and cheesecake.  I'm sure half of our family's weight can be traced back to these two things.  Nana's always made sure we had our fill.  She's a natural.

Granny (Nana's mother):  This lady I never knew.  However, with 8 children and family who always loved to just stop by, you can guarantee she knew how to prepare a meal. 

Jump on over to the other side of my family tree (Dad's side) and you find my Mamaw:

[Sometime in her 20s]

This lady can cook.  Anything.  And make it taste like butter in your mouth.  Most recipes she just has in her head.  Especially her tried and true ones.

She's also the baker of my most favorite cake ever. The cake I always requested for my birthday and prayed she'd have at family functions.

Angel food cake.

But this angel food cake is like none other. It's super moist and has more flavor than any store bought brand ever will.  It's like the angels sing from above when you eat it.  Hence, the name.

So one day, armed with the recipe, I headed to her house to find out her secret tweaks.  The ones she'll only remember when making the cake.  I also needed to show proof of why Angel Food is my favorite cake to my husband.  At the time, he wasn't a believer.

[Me - 1985.  Three years old in Mamaw's kitchen.]

Batter has always been a weakness.

We cooked.  She taught.  I learned.  She threw out secrets that I prayed I'd remember.  Later that afternoon, I carried the prize winning cake home to my husband.  He converted.

Then ate 4 pieces in a row.

He would have eaten the entire thing, but I beat him to it.

A couple months later, I braved up to bake an Angel Food cake all by myself.

In my new non-stick Angel Food cake pan.

Only, it didn't rise like it should.  It's also not supposed to be that brown on the sides.

When we inverted the pan over a bottle, the cake slide right out over the bottle and onto my helping man's hands.  It was a slight disaster, but we still ate it.

I later consulted my grandmother and she confirmed that the pan I was using wasn't the best.  Non-stick will lead to browning too quickly.  You also want the cake to "climb up the sides" of the pan and it can't be non-stick for that to happen.

Enter the new pan.  {Click on that to purchase one for yourself.}  I like it because it has feet for propping the cake upside down.  Aluminum (like my Mamaw has) and it's definitely NOT non-stick.

Worked like a charm!

Mamaw has perfected the art of knowing when something is just done.  Not too done, not done enough, but rather just right.  When I inverted this cake upside down on the counter, part of the top fell off.  (The top is really on the bottom when you put it on a cake plate...)  That's when I realized it wasn't done enough.

So, we put the cake back in the oven and scraped up the other part for Macy.  It was her lucky, lucky day.

A few minutes later, the extra baking was complete!

We didn't even wait the full two hours before cutting in to her.

Mamaw's recipe is McCall's Best Angel Food Cake.  You only have to separate 13 egg whites.  But it's worth it.  The directions are very specific, but Mamaw would add a few other tips for you:

1.  Don't over beat your eggs.  (This is true for scrambled eggs as well.)  It will make your eggs tough.

2.  If a little flavoring is good, more is better.

3.  Don't bake Angel Food Cake when it's raining or damp outside.  It won't rise as well.

4.  She removes her cakes soon after the top splits in the oven.

Those are top secret tips, so don't tell anyone.  Okay?!

Oh!  And if you're an angel food lover like myself, I'll be happy to pass on the recipe.  You've just gotta speak up and ask!  :)

You won't be sorry.

Beth's beautiful wedding shower

Even before Beth had a wedding date, Dr. Regina was sure she wanted to throw her a party.

So one day at work, she held Beth down on the ground until she agreed to a date.  Beth conceded and August 2nd it was!

Little did we know it would be perfect timing before the wedding.

(Check your calendar:  the wedding is less than four weeks away!)

Dr. Regina's home was made for parties.  And in true hostess form, everything was perfect.

Beth loves a good chocolate fountain.  White chocolate makes it even better.

There was even a cake ball cake with an S on top.

The red velvet cake balls are really really good!  Such a special treat.

Beth and Amy

Beth and Kiffiny

Family!

Wendy, Aunt Hannah, Nana, Cindy, Mom, and Beth.

Here's a little history for you...  Nana and Aunt Hannah are sisters (2 of 8).  Nana is my mother's mom.  Cindy is Aunt Hannah's daugther and Wendy is Aunt Hannah's granddaughter.  Making the connection?  Then of course, Beth is my mother's daughter and Nana's granddaughter.  I'm sure you feel more complete in life by knowing that.

Everyone forgot everything else though when this little baby came in:

Little River.

In this picture, you see that Mom snatched him up.  You can also see that Nana was coming in right behind her and Aunt Sonya (smiling in the background) was contemplating her move to get the handsome little man.

For you who are curious - this is Beth's wedding line up:

Cousin Abby coming in as a bridesmaid.

Cousin Anna is also a bridesmaid.

And me with the little Bethie.  I'm also a bridesmaid or the ol' matron of honor!

I've been waiting my whole life to be a MOH.

Beth really didn't have a choice (I'm her favorite sister)...  and come to think about it, she hasn't officially asked me. 

Hmm.

Anyway, I'm also doing the programs for the wedding, so yes, you'll find MOH by my name.  That's what sisters are in weddings.

Flower girls do not get any cuter than this little face.

Pretty Addalee.

And that's that for her wedding line up today.  I hope you enjoyed that tidbit of info.

Sweet work friends who came - Rachel and Amber sandwiching Bethie.

The food?  Delicious.

Beautiful fam!

Cousin Addalee, Cousin Abby, Cousin Anna, Cousin Yegi (and yes, this one is technically by marriage - I only wish I had her tan), and Cousin River

I love having a large family!

Showers are such blessings!

Bethie loved every gift that was given to her and she smiled so big with each one.

Seeing her so happy..   Oh!  It just makes my heart smile.

Okay, so children?  Do not underestimate them.

Especially gorgeous little ones like Addalee.

You only think this precious girl opening presents is good...

But when she comes running to your arms?

You'll think everything is wonderful in the world.

She's trying to give all the great-grandchildren (and grandchildren) a run for their money on being the favorite.

She's working it pretty good.

Addalee is just the sweetest little girl!  You cannot get enough of her.

More family shots.

Mom, Beth, future Mother in law, and future husband

Sister Beth, Cousin Jenny, and Cousin Addalee

Aunt Libby, Sister Beth, and Cousin Anna

Beth and our Nana:

We just love our little Nana!  Especially when she gives kisses in pictures.  :)

Auntie Sonya, Sister Bethie, and Cousin Abby

Still with me after such a long post?  I am so proud!  And honored.  Thank you to the four people who may read this.

It was really a beautiful shower!  Beth is so great and all of us there truly enjoyed loving on her and Will.

I just love seeing my sister so happy.

Because I need to tell you some things...

1.  That's my sister at our rehearsal dinner.  She's giving her speech about how much she loves me us.

2.  My father in law put all of our rehearsal dinner pictures and some candid wedding shots on cds for us today!  It's been really fun looking through them.

3.  My sister is wearing a dress.  You just can't see it above.

4.  We're up to our eyeballs in wedding planning.  The big day is less than 4 weeks away!

5.  I love it.

6.  Every bit of it.

7.  She calls me her wedding planner.  And I'm earning that title well.

8.  She and Will are buying their *dream home so I figure she could use some assistance.

9.  This iMac is really awesome.  All of my photos are right at a click of my hand.  I vow to never post anything ever again without a photo.  Amen.

10.  Did I tell you Chris and I had a marital dispute while in the apple store line?  We did.  And I'm pretty sure everyone in line also heard us.

11.  At one point, I told him to just go home and leave me there.

12.  He didn't.

13.  Because he's awesome.

14.  The marital dispute didn't last more than 40 minutes.

15.  Then we kissed and made up.  In line.  In cute PDA form.  Everyone cheered.  Not really, but I imagine it so in my head.

16.  Marriage is fun.

17.  I can't wait for my sister to get married either.

18.  She's so beautiful and I want every beautiful life thing for her.  And this upcoming wedding?  

Well, it's going to be out of this world.

Don Gallo

Chris will be playing at Don Gallo Grill tomorrow night!

(unless it rains of course)

Hope to see you there!  xo

SMOKIES GAME

What says summer like a baseball game?

Okay, besides watermelon?

There's not much.  And I'm (please don't judge) not a huge baseball fanatic.  But throw in a little socialness and I'm all there.

Enter in our four fun friends:

Sarah and Kealan on the left, Rebecca and Matt on the right

Rebec (as Matt so endearingly calls her) scored four tickets to watch the Tennessee Smokies play.  Chris and I were totally in.  When ballpark hot dogs and nachos are involved, who wouldn't be?!

Bleachers are where it's at.

The first 1.5 hours we were there, the power was out.  It was really kinda strange watching a game and not having any idea what was going on.  The score board was even off.  And credit cards?  They don't work either in a power outage.

But when those big lights burst forth and announced that the power was back on, we were some of the first in line for...

hot dogs and nachos.


and a very large coke.

Talk about a great surprise when I got to the counter and saw my friend Maggie C. working!  I was so glad to see her that I thought she might not recognize me...  So, in giddy excitement, I said...

"Oh my gosh!  Hey!...  (insert the slight pause where my unsureness crept in...)  I'm Julie!"

You know, what if she didn't recognize me.  It was a different environment and my hair was pulled back.  And really, I was just excited to see her...

She replies, very sweetly I might add, "I know."

Granted, not that everyone knows me...  but this girl - I remember when she was like six years old.  She's cousins with one of my very oldest and dearest friends.  Now, she's like a senior in high school and gorgeous.

If I could have recovered, I would have taken her picture behind the counter.  She just looked so cute.

After she loaded us down with goodies, we retreated back to the bleachers.

It was so fun catching up with these two newlyweds.  Talking about the first couple of months after the wedding brings that feeling right back.  You just learn so much about each other then...  and you can just see how happy they are being together.

Sarah and Kealan got married soon after Chris and I did last year.  Now, Sarah's pregnant with a precious baby boy!  They didn't waste any time multiplying!  It was great getting to see how excited they are about this next stage of life.

Soon after I took this cute picture of Rebecca, the Smokies shut off the lights again, only this time intentionally.

We all snuggled up to our loves and watched an incredible fireworks display.

It was a beautiful evening.