Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad!  We celebrated Father's Day one weekend late.  It was just as special and we all had a great time. 

As usual, our time together revolved solely around food.  We are foodies and not ones to miss a meal.  Lunch on Saturday was at Zsa Zsa's.  You can't beat their steak salad and wood fired pizzas.  I always want to have their homemade gelato for dessert but am always too full.  One day...one day I will get my dessert!  Pre-dinner cocktails and appetizers were at our house.  John and I had too much fun putting our spread together.  Blue cheese stuffed olives, grape leaves, marinated tomatoes/mozzarella balls, jarlsberg and fontina cheese with some hard salami rounded out the menu.  I am a sucker for a good cheese spread.  We went the Italian route because dinner was at Vesuvio's Italian Bistro-hands down the best Italian food in Little Rock (or at least of what I've experienced thus far).  We have been talking this place up so much, that I must admit I was nervous that it wouldn't live up to the hype.  I am happy to report that it did!  John and I both got the spaghetti guitara.  Words cannot express my love for this dish--homemade egg noodles with sauteed shitake mushrooms and the entire dish is dumped into an 80 lb wheel of Parmesan cheese and stirred/scraped around before being replated-table side.  I'm telling you, if you like table side guacomole, this will knock your socks off!  Oh, and John had a chocolate martini that was to die for.  Finally, we went to Mass at 10:30 on Sunday and headed to the Capitol Hotel for lunch.  Once again, the pimento cheese and soda crackers were the highlight...that is until the french fries w/ a truffle bernaise dipping sauce came to the table....O.M.G...put a fork in me, I'm done!

Thanks Dad and Suzanne for coming to Little Rock--we love you!  I will now go plan my weekly workout schedule in an effort to work off the 10 lbs I gained in the last 48 hours, thank you very much.

Appetizers before heading to Vesuvio's

Our Beloved

Since I'm blogging now, I couldn't let the day pass without writing a little something on Mom.  Four years ago today she left this earth just 22 days shy of her 60th birthday.  Talk about a day I now dread...JUNE 1--ugh.  It is pretty close to NOVEMBER 1, the day we found out how sick she was.  Seven months to the day.  Totally sucks.  I hate cancer.  I mean, I HATE cancer. 

On a lighter note, Mom was one of a kind.  I miss her, and I know lots of other people do as well.  Either they miss her as much as they say they do, or they are just being nice.  I prefer to think it is the former and not the latter.  She was kind in every way.  Soft spoken but not one to be pushed around.  I am speaking from experience here--she meant what she said and she didn't often have to say what she meant.  You just knew.  She led by example and Kerry and I learned to take our cues from her.  She was always right and not because she said so, she really was.  She was gracious and dignified.  When she was sick, she never missed writing thank you notes when a meal was delivered.  At one point, one of her best friends asked her to please stop!  She knew Mom was thankful and she appreciated the gesture, but she was going to keep bringing meals no matter what.  When Mom was sick, the sweet cards, meals, and random acts of kindness poured in.  Having cancer is a brutal way to find out how much you are loved, but as Mom said:  "I know who my friends are, and I have not been disappointed!"

Dad put Kerry and I in charge of her headstone and footstone.  I, in turn, put Kerry in charge of said monuments.  Kerry is an artist, and Kerry was not going to let Mom have anything less than awesome.  We were all thrilled with how it turned out, so I thought I would post a picture.  Dad helped us come up with the wording for her footstone, and I think it sums her up to a T...'Our Beloved'...Perfect!

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her, Amen.

Headstone that Kerry designed and painstakingly handled every detail from start to finish.

Footstone--we discussed something more traditional like:  Wife, Mother, Friend etc...but Dad chose "Our Beloved"

Happy Birthday to KERRY!

Not to be outdone by the Mabry House, I too can cook.  No, we didn't have lobster, Gouda soup or bananas foster, but we did have tacos, cheese dip, and banana splits!!  If only I had the staff at Mabry House, maybe I could cook like that.  Oh wait, I have a great husband who is a mad dish washer and a great birthday decorator (see Happy Birthday to ME post).

We went to Shreveport on May 20-22 and Kerry's birthday is May 23.  We couldn't let the day go by without a party, so John and I hosted a small fiesta to celebrate her day.  There was a sombrero, cheese, presents, and cherry vodka.  The banana splits might not be "fiesta appropriate" but I wanted to use my banana split dishes.  I can think of nothing else that screams party.  Below are some photos, but I warn you that Iphone cameras aren't all they are cracked up to be sometimes.  Excuse the extreme lighting on my nose and the lack of any light on Kerry's face. 

Once again, John is the master birthday decorator.  Oh yeah, and Kerry turned THIRTY-SIX.

No she did not want to take this picture.  Yes we made her.  She might kill me.  Oh well!!

John's banana split-out of control.

This is not approved on the Duchess of Cambridge's diet, but I couldn't help myself.

Mabry House

When we were kids, Mom and Dad had it tough.  Two daughters born in May meant two birthday parties, two rounds of presents, two excited girls...and that doesn't include Mom on Mother's Day.  Ok, POOR DAD :).  As we've gotten older, they wised up and started combining our birthdays.  So, Dad manages to knock out our birthdays in one fail swoop.  I kid, I kid...we remain spoiled, rotten, and completely in love with our Birthday Month of May.  This year was no exception.  Dad and Suzanne hosted us in Shreveport and took us to dinner at the Mabry House.  We sat at the special Chef's Table and enjoyed an eight course meal!  Simply divine.  We arrived at 7:00 PM and left at 10:30 PM.  We ate and drank the ENTIRE time.   The Chef matched each course with a suitable wine/cocktail pairing.  Every dish was exceptional.  If you are ever in Shreveport, I highly recommend this restaurant.  It is more than a good meal, it is an experience. Call ahead though as they are booked months in advance (318) 227-1121. Below are some of the highlights.  Sadly, the appetizer was not captured.  I blame excitement and the fact that it was off the hook amazing.  It was lobster on top of a puff pastry with a cream sauce.  Sorry.  Similar situation with the smoked Gouda and roasted tomato soup.  I have a picture of it, but it is after I pretty much scarfed it down.  Coincidentally, these were two of my favorite dishes. 

Tomato wrapped in mozzarella cheese with marinated yellow cherry tomatoes.

Smoked Gouda and roasted tomato soup--could have had seconds on this one!!

Rabbit with a cucumber salad

Bananas Foster served over a beneiget and with a side of homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

Saki

This was my favorite wine-sweet and wonderful.

Another wine--again, there were numerous bottles of all varieties.  All good and all empty by the end of the night.

Happy Birthday to ME!!

May 10 has come and gone, but I wanted to post a picture of what I woke up to from John.  God love him--he stayed up late to decorate, so I would wake up to a birthday surprise.  Not only is this super sweet and thoughtful, but it is typical of us--he is the late night owl, and I am the early bird.  Poor guy, I woke him up at 5:15 AM to say THANK YOU!!!

Complete with a "vintage" school photo of me!!