Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Miss Charley Adalynn Day

Today was the day! Miss Charley Adalynn Day made her debut into this world! This little lady couldn't be any more perfect or beautiful. Not to mention, Mom and Dad did awesome as well. 
This girl couldn't even sleep last night  because I was afraid I would miss out on all the action. I was wide awake at 6 am ready to go to the hospital and wait on "our baby" to arrive! 
 Waiting, waiting, waiting, all ready to bust with excitement
Beautiful, healthy, 5.8 pound, 19 1/4 inch sweet baby girl. 
Goodness! We are all so in love already!

 Proud Pop 
 I love this sweet picture, look at Charley looking at her Gigi



I love this picture. 3 generations right here. 
 With the newest girl!
 Look at those tiny, precious feet!


 Grandparents, already wrapped around her little finger
This was such a special, fun day!

Praying for this sweet little family as they change into a family of 3 today and 
a Happy Birthday to Charley!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Dill & Caper Salmon Burgers

It's been one of those productive days and I am loving it!
Dinner tonight was awesome which means, I have to share. 
I love salmon. It's one of my top 3 favorite things to eat (in the fish world) and I love dill--so when I saw "Dill & Caper Salmon Burgers" in our "Primal Blueprint: Quick & Easy Meals" I knew it had to be made. This wasn't the first time but I actually remembered to snap a picture this time around not to mention, I actually took the lead in the kitchen tonight and made these bad boys. 
Time in the kitchen: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 patties

What you need:
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless wild salmon 
(we just bought a bag of frozen wild salmon from good ole' walley world)
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons dill, finely chopped 
(we didn't use fresh dill-we had dried dill with our spices/herbs already meaning, **I only used 1 tablespoon since the dried dill is more potent**)
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and white veins removed, finely chopped
(we used already chopped jalapeno's in the jar)
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1/4 teaspoon salt

optional: 
1 egg to help hold everything together
lemon for garnish

What you do:
Cut the salmon into chunks and put 1/4 of it into the food processor (we don't have a food processor so we use our ninja blender) with the dijon mustard
Pulse the salmon/mustard until it forms a smooth paste (it's this paste-like texture that will help hold the burgers together)
Add the remaining salmon to the blender and pulse to break the salmon up into small chunks, but no so long that it becomes smooth
Once you've blended the salmon put it all into a mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients (dill, capers, jalapeño pepper, red onion, salt, and optional egg)
Once all the ingredients are well mixed, shape the salmon into 4 burgers
The burgers can be friend in a skillet with a little oil or grilled
In both cases, cook for 3-5 minutes until the burger is firm and easy to flip
Continue cooking the second side for another 3-5 minutes

They are delicious!
I promise you won't regret making these bad boys!

I also embarked on another fun little food journey today: dried mango. 
We had some as a snack on Ship Island this weekend and decided to try it ourselves. 
It was awesome. 
All you need: mangos and a dehydrator. Easy peasy. 

If you don't have a dehydrator there are plenty of recipes online for ways to dry mango using the oven. But trust me, the dehydrator is so much easier and it's a wonderful investment! We've dried apples, zucchini, squash, bananas, and now mangos! 

Here's to a fun, food filled day. 

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Ship Island & Father's Day

We had the best weekend! 
Early, early, Saturday morning (unbeknownst to our family) we made our way to Gulf Port to go to Ship Island with all Jason's family. It was amazing! This was my first time to Ship Island and I'm glad I got to spend it celebrating Coco for Father's Day. It was a beautiful day! It was sunny, hot, and awesome. My first taste of the beach has me craving more--come on July! We spent the whole day on the beach soaking up the sun, exploring, eating snacks, catching fish and just enjoying one another's company. 






Love these people! 

And of course with today being Father's Day I have to give a shout out to the best father I could have ever asked for. I am so thankful that God made me your daughter! What a fun, beautiful, awesome life our family has had with you leading us every step of the way! Thank you for being our rock and such a strong spiritual leader for our family. 


Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's, Step Dad's, Grandpa's, and every male who means the world to someone!

Monday, June 9, 2014

Moon River Music Festival

This weekend, we made our way to Memphis for the 1st Annual Moon River Music Festival which was put on by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors (one of our favorite bands). It was amazing! A day full of great bands, a lot of sunlight, and great company. 
The lineup included: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, Ellie Holcomb, Judah & The Lion, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Will Hoge, Holly Williams, Rob Baird, Dwan Hill, Apollo Mighty, Myla Smith, STAX Music Academy Alumni, and Idle&Wild. 
This was my parents first ever festival and it was the perfect one for them. Being the 1st annual (or possibly the 40% chance of rain) there were not too many people there, which was super nice. 
We had a really great view, the sound was awesome--it was a wonderful day. 


 Ellie Holcomb tearing it up!
I love this lady's voice and I love the lyrics to her songs even more so. Her newest album "As Sure As The Sun" is beautiful. 
 There's nothing sweeter (music wise) than watching them perform together. 
 My zoom lens did it's job. This was my first time to really use it and it was awesome. 
 Rob Baird and his guitarist
 These festival "first timers" had a good ole' time. 


 Y'all, Judah & The Lion were AMAZING. They were so fun to watch and they are all so talented. 
My favorite one we heard (other than Drew & Ellie of course!)






 The Dirty Guv'nahs were so much fun--as you can tell 

 Mister Will Hoge---"keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart"


 We were hot, sunburned, and nasty but we were ready for Drew & The Neighbors
Mom, trying out the zoom lens




And wouldn't you know, we had been there since 10:30 am and when Drew & The Neighbors finally came on (around 8:20), the lightening and rain decided to show up! As you can see, we were ready. 

We all came home exhausted, nasty, and sunburned, but boy it was worth it.