May the Fourth Be With You

This weekend, we celebrated my nephew, Cole. He turns one today, and officially has the coolest birthday: Star Wars Day (May Fourth). My sister, Laura, and her husband, Matt, threw Cole a birthday party at their home in Sugar Hill (Buford), Georgia, this past Saturday. It's about an hour drive for me from West Midtown, but I love getting to see my nephews and the rest of my family. Poor Chapin had to work and missed out on all the fun.

Posing with my sister, Laura, and her son, Cole

As you grow older, you realize the importance of family. My mom has become my best friend as others have drifted out of my life, busy with their own families. She has become a great shopping buddy!

The outfit I chose for Cole's party was a casual dress with an open back - actually a gift from Laura for Christmas!

Dress: Plenty by Tracy Reese Fit and Flare Dress

I love how this print is described: Electric Plaid! It's a perfect description.

Tracy Reese is a leading African American designer, and has a several facets of her label. The Plenty by Tracy Reese line tends to skew a little younger, and is definitely cheaper than her main Tracy Reese designs. (Mrs. Obama is a fan.)

Purse: Rebecca Minkoff Studded Mini Quilted Affair Purse

Sandals: Manolo Blahnik Perpia Strappy Stretch Sandals

Fun Fact: I recently spent a day as an extra, and wore this dress with the purse above. The movie will be out next year, so I will share details as the release date gets closer. I hope I made the final cut!

Cooking for Family

The Original Five: My Family

The Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one for us. After stuffing our faces on Thursday, Chapin and I spent Friday cleaning, cleaning, cleaning our loft. Although we live in about 1,200 square feet, whenever Chapin and I decide to clean, it's a massive undertaking, mainly because we are both slobs, and don't really clean up unless we think there's any chance someone outside our tight knit crew (that's me, George and Chapin) will witness our mess.

Chapin and His Mom, Sheila

Fortunately, over the Labor Day weekend, we brought bins and bins of clothes to Good Will, and got rid of other junk, old newspapers and magazine, toys and more that was clogging up our small place. So, although the undertaking wasn't as large as usual, it was still a pain in the butt.

Anyway... the reason for our cleaning was because Chapin and I were hosting a dinner Saturday night at our loft for my parents, my sisters and their husbands, and two special out of town guests: my mother-in-law, Sheila, and her husband, Nix. They drove in Friday night, and we treated them to pizza from our favorite pizza place EVER, Antico Pizza.

The next day, we kept football on the TV while Chapin prepared the meal. Although I like to bake, Chapin is definitely the cook in our family. I think it has to do with following your instincts... When it comes to cooking, I don't have any! I can follow a recipe, but that's about it. I measure the right amount of flour, sugar, butter, etc., but I don't usually improvise. Chapin will taste something and know it needs sage or more salt or a dash of red pepper. Maybe he just has more refined taste buds. In fact, that's probably the case.

Chapin had a whole menu planned for the night:

The Appetizer

Appetizer: 

Bruschetta with Ricotta, Honey and Fresh Tomatoes

Main Course:

(1) Chicken Parmesan

(2) Baked Ziti (courtesy of my mom!)

(3) Brussels Sprouts (Chapin's version are really very good!)

Desserts:

Leftover Thanksgiving pies

Drinks:

Red wine from Alpha Omega

We enjoyed sharing our favorite wine with our family. We discovered Alpha Omega on our trip to San Francisco in 2010, and now, it's hard for me to drink the cheap wine (Middle Sister) I used to love. Chapin says I am too used to the good stuff!

Chapin worked really hard preparing the meal, and every bite was delicious. It was so wonderful to spend an evening with family on a weekend where we are especially thankful for each other.

And in case you are wondering, I am wearing an Ella Moss dress that I've had for years. Sheila said it was her favorite dress from the Fashion Challenge, so I wore it especially for her.

:)