Dad's 70th Birthday!

Today is Dad's 70th birthday!! Obviously that is an occasion worth celebrating, so we threw a party at Purple Chopstix.



The weather was great, and we had appetizers on the patio!



Birthday boy!



Mini burritos, pinwheels, greek pizza, stuffed mushrooms, and artichoke dip. MMM!






Just some Millers eatin' some burritos! What else is new?



Kate wanted Grandpa to join her at the special bridge table.



Cheers!



Speaking of the bridge, LOOK at this frog that was sitting underneath it in the creek!! He sat very still for HOURS. We were curious if maybe he was fake, but he was real. He was HUMONGOUS.



HUGE. HUGE!!!!!



Like auntie, like niece!



These Kates sure do like to dress up!



We hung out on the new deck across the creek. Looking back at the party!



Summer!



Kate had one of those ice cream cone foam ball shooter toys, and BOY did she think it was hilarious!!!



Time for dinner!



Mmm.



Kate lucked out and got to sit at a special table with Grandpa AGAIN!!



Hello!



The Rettos!



Mer gave a little toast for dad which QUICKLY turned into Dad giving a speech!!



Speech, speech, speech!






Oh, shucks, there goes that hilarious ice cream ball again!!



CAKE TIME! Time for CAKE!



Happy birthday to DAD!






Wish time!



Cherri and Missy joined dad for some cake!





Everyone was having so much fun that it was hard to leave! We lingered on the patio for awhile. And then Moss showed up!!




 Happy birthday, Dad!! We love you!

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Emily threw herself a birthday party this year, and made an AMAZING CAKE!!!! Loooook at that cake!!! Go, Emily! Yumi and Sarah lit the candles.



Stacia carried that bad boy out to the deck!



Happy birthday to EMILY!



Birthday girl!



Make a wish!



Slice of cake. She NAILED IT!!!! It was delicious.



Happy birthday, Em!

Labor Day Cookout

Kayla and Derrick had a cookout today in honor of Labor Day! Cheryl brought deviled eggs!



I was in charge of salad! Peaches, blueberries, candied pecans, cucumbers and feta.



Yang and Kayla tended to the kebobs!



Ben gives his dinner a thumbs up!



Mmm, Kayla and Derrick made these amazing little kale hummus boats.



It's starting to get dark earlier! Wah!

Anniversary

Our second wedding anniversary is tomorrow! When I planned our wedding, I didn't intentionally plan for it to be on Labor Day Weekend, and I didn't even realize it was until a ways into the planning. So far, every year since I feel excited and surprised again that we get a three-day weekend to celebrate our anniversary!

We decided to start the celebration early and have a champagne and cheese picnic! One of our favorite traditions.



CHEERS.



Two kinds of brie! Chicken salad, egg salad, pickles, olives, apples, grapes, crackers and bread.



And chocolate covered strawberries for dessert!



We declared this guy the most perfect of them all. So fancy! I got to eat it!!


Happy anniversary to Ben and me!

Summertime Cooking Club

I hosted the August cooking club, and I was feeling like keeping it really simple. I just asked people to make something featuring flavors that they've been loving this summer. Since peaches are pretty much my favorite flavor EVERY summer, I started us off with some Peach and Rosemary Bourbon Cocktails. The rosemary simple syrup in this recipe is just delicious. Cheers!



Yumi made this amazing mixed greens dip, featuring so many fresh greens! Spinach, chard, arugula and beet greens! It also had mushrooms, gruyere and parm and it was delicious.



She brought bread from the new Athens Bread Company. It was amazing!!



Valerie stole the show with this Cold Avocado Corn Soup with Cilantro Oil.



Each bowl was lovely in a different way! The layers of flavor in this soup were intense. We were all in agreement that it was one of the best soups we've ever had!!



Emily made little BLT's!



Nothing says summertime like a good BLT.



I made a pasta with fresh tomatoes and Brie! YUM.



Nancy finished us off with an amazing peach and ginger pie, and Summer made super creamy mint ice cream to accompany it.


 It's been a great summer, and it was fun reliving all the delicious moments during cooking club!

Cheryl's Disco 50th

Cheryl turned 50 this month, which was obviously cause for a major party!! Carrie hosted a fantastic disco-themed birthday party. There was a low-country boil!



Low-country boil is where you cook corn, potatoes, crab, shrimp and sausage together in a big pot.



The pot gets dumped out onto some clean newspaper, and everyone eats with their hands!! I've read about them, but this was my first time experiencing one.



It was delicious!!



And fun to eat!






There was also a table full of sides and appetizers!



And strawberry margarita cupcakes!!



Everybody got super decked out and Cheryl looked AMAZING.



There was lots of great music and dancing!















Bros.



When night fell, the party really got started! Disco lights!



Line dancing!



The Village People even made an appearance!!






Kaylee did the Thriller Dance!



Cheryl, Megan and Molly!



Nighttime cornhole.



And of course there was some Goofy Cornhole. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHERYL!