Thanksgiving Leftovers

We went back to Mer and Pete's to have Thanksgiving leftovers tonight. Look, TWINS!!



Mmm, turkey sandwich!



Little Kate is old enough to play Apples to Apples Junior now, which is AWESOME! We had so much fun playing, it was hard to stop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a pretty small group this year. Just the Erlewines + Dennis! Most of the Cesta-Miller clan traveled to Asheville to visit Vana and Joe. 



We had Rosemary Gin Fizz cocktails! Cheers!



Dennis brought his chipotle dip. Mmm.



I made cranberry sauce! Bourbon brown sugar cranberry, and orange ginger.



Mer and Mom, making the gravy!



Spatchcock!



Dan Erlewine steps up to the carving table.



Lynn gave Kate a really cool State Fair horse competition toy.






Champions!



We had Kelsey bake us some rolls and THEY WERE AMAZING.



Turkey leg! For Little Kate, of course!



HAPPY THANKSGIVING!



Digging in.



Mom made a delicious apple pie.



And Mer made a delicious pumpkin pie!



Mmm, pie!

Girls Weekend!

The college crew FINALLY got together for a Girls Weekend! Thanks to Kara for initiating!



In the tradition of Girls Weekend, Jenny Wray provided us with a bizarre beverage to drink. It had MAGIC in it. We got to drink glitter!!! It was pretty gross. Here is a video of the sparkles:

Cooking Club: Athens Restaurant Inspiration

Nancy hosted this month's cooking club, and the theme was took cook something inspired by one of your favorite dishes at an Athens restaurant! Nancy paid homage to the infamous Late Night Pizza artichoke pie.



IT WAS SO GOOD. We ate it piping hot and it really hit the spot.



Hello!



Basil NEVER comes out during cooking club! He is always hiding on or under Nancy's bed! So it was a real treat to see him. He hung out with us all night!



Summer made dolmas inspired by Habibi's Restaurant. They were the best dolmas I've ever had! The spices, rice and raisins inside were warm and delicious, and the grape leaves were tender.



Yumi made a spinoff of palak paneer from Star of India!



I made the Purple Chopstix tom yum soup. SPICY. Emily recreated the Zoe chopped salad!



These three items went fantastically together! YUM!



For dessert, Valerie made the Casa Nueva brownie smackdown. It was her first time making ice cream and it was so good!! The brownies were amazing. I LOVE this dessert. I was too full to finish my last two bites and now that I'm less full I want to go back in time and get to eat them.



Basil enjoyed a couple of spoonfuls of melted ice cream.



What a fun cooking club theme, and what a delicious night!

Prettiest Tree on Campus

I just love seeing this tree next to Ellis Hall every day. It's been gorgeous every step of its transition into fall!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Today was Kate's SEVENTH birthday!! Look at those amazing hand-me-down boots she just got.



SEVEN!



Spencer and Marilyn were in town, so they were able to join our family for the celebration. It was great to see them!



Mom made a delicious salad with walnuts, pears, apples and blue cheese.



And Mer made spaghetti and meatballs!



As soon as we were done eating, it was PRESENT TIME. Yes!






SO EXCITED to receive Ivy, her doll Julie's best friend.



More presents!



A travel bunk bed for Julie and Ivy! Kate put it together immediately.



Grandpa makes the best cards.



From some of her Little People friends. Mmm, cake!



Speaking of cake, Kate requested a very specific birthday cake! She wanted: a three-layer strawberry cake with vanilla icing, covered with white snowflake sprinkles. Sitting atop that should be two plastic bunnies surrounded by "poofs of frosting snow." I'd say Mer nailed it!






Happy birthday to Kate!



Make a wish!



Mmm, candles.



YUM!!



Happy birthday, Kate!