The Loot

So today I got my last present for my birthday. Mike got me the new Netflix Player by Roku. He must have ordered it the day it came out, since it just came out a week ago today. I cannot wait to hook it up. But I'll wait for Mike to get home to mess with that nightmare of wires behind the TV. We also started to get my new bookshelves for the other side of our front room. I have grand plans for that area and I just cannot wait until I get it all done. It's gonna be a crazy awesome place for reading and displaying my loverlies (books). My mom was crazy! She got the most unique thing! She got me 10 pounds of boiled peanuts from The Lee Brothers. She also got me a signed cookbook from them too. It's got some great southern recipes in there that I can't wait to try. I'm still working on the boiled peanuts. I left some out for the party, and some people tried them, and some people actually seemed to like them. But I am having the majority of the peanuts all to myself. Which is perfectly fine by me. My mom also had a fruit bouquet by Edible Arrangements delivered on the day of the party. It was so cool! It was hard to keep out at the party cuz I wanted to keep it cold. So, that didn't get much action at the party. But Mike and I have been eating it up just fine. At the party, I got cards from a lot of people, and I got some gifts -- a few gift cards from places like Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books, iTunes, and Best Buy. I also got a really cute hummingbird feeder, some Bath & Body Works girly stuff, and a nice party foam disc shooter. Oh! Mike got me the greatest birthday cake. It was a Strawberry Shortcake cake from Sweetish Hill Bakery. I asked for light and fruity and it could not have been more perfect. So delicious. I've been having some of the leftovers from it for breakfast :D

Party for the Birthday

So, I decided I wanted something different for my birthday this year. Instead of the usual dinner with friends at some restaurant I choose, I told Mike I wanted to have a big bangin' BBQ at the house. So, this past Saturday I invited everyone I could possibly imagine, and it ended up being a fabulous time! So many people, it was just awesome. My only regret is I wasn't able to get around and mingle as much as I should have, so I missed hanging out with some people. I'm new to this house party thing, so you'll have to forgive me this time. I promise I'll get better the more we do it. Probably the best birthday ever! So much fun! I'll have to do this party thing every year. My friend Sheila from Killeen/Harker Heights came down and stayed the night. The next morning we went to Hoover's for breakfast. I just had to go. They only serve their Shrimp & Grits for breakfasts on the weekends, and they stop serving breakfast at noon. It's been awhile since I've had it, and I just had to. What was even funnier is I went out to dinner at Truluck's with my friend Sarah that same night and had Shrimp & Grits again. Now, Truluck's were in a completely different class and about 5 times more expensive than the Hoover's version. I'll have to post the pictures of the Truluck's shrimps. There were only 2 on that plate, but they were the largest 2 shrimp I've ever seen in my life. Bad thing was that they had their heads on. Blech. However, the dish was great. Sarah and I also shared a Red King Crab leg, and then we also shared dessert. A carrot cake. Now, simply calling this a carrot cake seems wrong. This was a DIVINE carrot cake. I've never had any better version than that cake. Insanely lishous. Then, last night, Mike and I went over to Sarah's house and had dinner with her family. We had a good time. We'll definitely have to do that more often. Now that our backyard is totally set up for crazy socializing, we're gonna try to have more people over in general. I love having people over now! Who'da thunk? I guess it helps that everyone really seem to like the house. I always get so self-conscious about our house, but I've also never been more proud of a place we've lived. I gots mad designing skills :D

Game Night Italiano

Ok, so it's been a couple weeks since it actually occurred. But I wanted to write about it. It was the 2nd pot-luck game night, and the first time Mike and I have had a bunch of people to this house. Hell, maybe even any place we've lived. I've always been kind of embarrassed of our house. Probably without real reason though. Now, I actually love our house, so I feel free to share it with the world. We had people at both of our tables - dining & kitchen. There was tons of food. Italian was probably not the best of themes for a pot-luck cuz you just end up all carb'd up and tired after eating. I made my lasagna, but wasn't totally thrilled with how it turned out. It was good, just not the normal caliber of my lasagna. Some of the other dishes were Chicken Parm, Meatballs, Ziti or Penne (I always get those mixed up), Salad, bread, and some desserts. After eating, Mike and a few others ended up on the Xbox 360 playing Guitar Hero III. The rest of us started with Uno, and then moved to Uno Attack. I think it's safe to say that we had a great time. I provided a Pomegranate Italian Soda/Vodka drink, and it was a whole lot more popular than I had thought it would be. I thought it might be a bit of a "girlie" drink, so I only purchased 3 big bottles of the soda. We also ran out of Vodka at one point, but Mike was nice enough to go get more. Once the Pomegranate Soda was out, a couple people moved on to cranberry juice, but it just wasn't the same. That freakin' drink has turned into my party beverage of choice. It's also a very specific soda. It's the Central Market Italian Soda stuff. Do not fret, you can find it at any HEB if you're lookin'. Game night seemed to open me up a little socially. And especially as far as my house goes. I don't feel like it has to be perfect for anyone to come visit. Still has to be close :D, just not absolutely perfect. See, I'm learning.