For Katie's 30th birthday, Jeff offered to fly Aiden and I out to help celebrate. We jumped at the offer! We haven't visited them in Arizona and haven't seen them since they got engaged back in June.

I was a little nervous considering I was flying across the country solo with a toddler. Check out all of this stuff I had to lug in by myself!

Trying to wear her out before we get locked on a plane for four hours.

BINGO. Want to know how to keep a toddler occupied? Trap yourself in the lavatory... with a lot of sanitizing wipes. We killed a lot of time playing with the sink and toilet paper rolls. Of course, we cleaned up after ourselves and made sure we weren't holding up a line or anything.

I also packed a backpack full of snacks and new toys from the Dollar Store (sure, throw them down the aisle - they will not be missed!). Finally, we made it to Arizona! It was a long and exhausting four hours, but overall she did great. 

Uncle Jefe picked us up and after a quick stop at Jack in the Box (obviously), we headed to their house. Jeff is kind of (read: a total) neat freak and the maids were just finishing up when we arrived. It took Aiden all of two minutes to flip the dog's water bowl upside down and leave a trail of bananas. I laughed as Jeff followed her around with a rag. 

Jeff and Katie leave this door open a lot, but it only took Aiden a couple hours to walk right through it thinking it was a window. Poor thing fell flat on her face! But being the trooper she is, it didn't slow her down.

Katie and Jeff live just outside of Scottsdale in Cave Creek. It was so beautiful and so different from what we're used to.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and planned to go see the Baker fam on Thursday morning. I was so excited it worked out for us to see Grandma and Grandpa Baker, along with Liz, Tom, Monica, Joe and Carter. I hadn't met Carter before and Aiden was so excited to play with her cousin!

Afterward, Adam thanked me for making the time to visit with his family. My first reaction was "what?" I honestly forgot it was his family we were hanging out with! We love the Bakers and are so glad we were able to get together.

Aunt Liz was so fun!

Cheeeeese!

Loved getting to spend some time with Monica! She's pregnant with baby #2 and is due March 12. My vote is girl! (They're finding out at Christmas.)

They gave each other a hug! So cute.

After a fun morning with the Bakers, we headed to the grocery store to pick up some essentials. It was Aiden's first time riding in one of these and she loved it. It was hilarious.

Beep, beep!

Friday was Katie's actual birthday and we headed across the street to celebrate with neighbors.

Aiden and Jeff quickly became besties on the trip. It was so fun to watch them together.

Monica and Carter were able to join us for the celebration! Jeff and Katie have such a fun group of friends - we had a blast.

Playing games... with props, of course.

Saturday morning, we headed to the park where Jeff schooled everyone on the rock climbing wall.

Then we headed to see the Discount Tire hangar and chill out in the planes Jeff flies. 

Captain Aiden!

After a fun afternoon at the hangar and exploring Scottsdale, we headed to Harold's in Cave Creek.

Fun zip around the neighborhood in the rhino before we headed out on Sunday.

Aiden didn't want to leave! We had such a great time and can't wait to see them again for Thanksgiving. We were bummed Adam couldn't join us, but he's out of vacation days for the year. Boooo.

keeping busy until we're an aunt and uncle

Still. No. Nephew.  I leave for a business trip tomorrow and won't be back until Friday, so obviously I'm sure he'll make his debut during that window of time. In the meantime, we've managed to keep ourselves busy!

On Wednesday, I joined Allison for Glow Dry's 1st Anniversary Party. In addition to some fun mojitos and a DJ, you could also get a quick hairstyle or makeup fix. I went for the hairstyle, and I looked ridiculous. No offense to my lovely hair lady! Just not my style. (Think Heidi.)

Ruthie and Hank are always fighting over this bone, but they're typically moving too fast for me to get a picture. But BINGO, I got one. They make us laugh.

On Friday, we headed to 57th Fighter Group to celebrate Linda's promotion! Her daughter, Lindsay, and I have been best friends since high school and Linda and Johnny are basically a second set of parents to me. We'll miss them, but excited for their new adventure in DC!

Obviously, our parents are pretty close. After all, they had to deal with two crazy teenagers! :)

Right after the going away party, my parents and I headed to the James Beard: Taste America dinner in Atlanta. Allison had extra tickets and invited us as her dates!

 This is when I wish my parents had signed me up for cotillion - where do I start?

I was lucky enough to meet someone who scored me two tickets to the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta on Saturday! I figured Adam would come with me, but he had to work. Then I thought I'd take my dad, but he was leaving for Dubai the next day and wanted to hang out at home. So I went to my go-to adventure friend, Madi! We had no idea what we were getting into - we had to google what we were supposed to wear.

They offered free parking at Turner Field, then a shuttle took you to East Lake Golf Club. I was super impressed by how easy everything was. I also hate waiting, so it was nice that they had so many shuttles to and from the golf course that we would just walk right on and go.

We had to ask the PGA-worker-lady who was who. (In my defense, I did pick out Rory McIlroy!) I'm holding Adam Scott, since he has the same name as my hubs I thought it was appropriate.

 Rory! One of very few golfers I know. (And by "know", I mean I know his name.)

After a fun day in the sun, I came home to take a nap while Adam finished the UGA game. Then it was off to date night! We decided on ONE Midtown Kitchen because they're a great client of mine and it was Restaurant Week!

Adam started off with this super cool drink! It was a Jack Daniels and Coke, but the Jack Daniels was infused with peanuts. Then it's poured into this old-timey Coke bottle and topped with peanuts. (I stuck with the ever-boring vodka tonic.)

After dinner, we decided to stop for a quick drink at Meehan's on the way home. And here's the only picture I got of us on our fun date night. FAIL.

Sunday we planned to take it easy and watch the Falcons game, but then Jeff came in town for a couple hours before he had to head up to Pennsylvania. As always, we met him at Taco Mac for a quick lunch before he headed out again. (This was especially crucial because Katie and Kalyn had just sent me a picture of them together in Dallas - so I was experiencing serious FOMO.)

And because I'm now Suzy Homemaker/Career Woman, I'm going to end my posts with recipes I'VE MADE. This is huge. And also may not last long. So listen closely.

Salsa from last week

Ok, this isn't a joke. This salsa is SO good. I may or may not have eaten all of my sweet potato chips in two days because I couldn't stop. And now it's just sitting in my fridge staring at me because I have nothing to dip it in. Except a fork... That may have happened. Don't judge.

Paleo(ish) Slow Cooker Pot Roast

-1 hunk of meat (See how good I am at measurements and such? I used a Cabernet Beef Pot Roast from Trader Joe's - my newfound Mecca)

-1.5 cups of small, raw carrots

-3 celery stalks, diced or chopped or whatever (Is a stalk one piece of the celery bunch? If so, I used that word right. And I don't know the term for how I cut them. Small-ish?)

-1/2 yellow onion cut up (Again with the cutting techniques.)

-1 cup chicken stock (I was probably supposed to use beef stock, wasn't I?)

1. Brown the roast over the stove for 5 min on each side, Med-High heat

2. Pour chicken stock into slow cooker

3. Add the roast

4. Place carrots around the roast

5. Place onion and celery on top of the roast

6. Cook on High for 5.5 hours (The Roast's packaging said 5-6, so I just decided the middle would work.)

If you leave it there (without reading all of the seasonings that go into the Cabernet Beef Pot Roast) - you've got a paleo meal! Since we had company over, I also cooked wild rice (that I didn't eat, thankyouverymuch). And I probably should have done some sort of bread/roll for them. Regardless, everyone loved it! Definitely keeping this made-up recipe around for chilly/lazy nights.

Pecan Crusted Chicken

While I was at the dinner on Friday, Adam made this bad boy. He said it was delicious - I had some leftovers and have to agree!

give me five

This past Sunday was our Give Me Five event at the beautiful Cherokee Town & Country Club in Buckhead. Different from the Taste of the Nation events, this is a 5-course dinner prepared by 5 different chefs and complemented by wines chosen by 5 different sommeliers. It was such a fun event and we raised 35% more than last year! Adam was forced to volunteered to help us out and I'm so glad he got to kind of see what it is I do.

The event also happened to fall on Jeffrey's 30th birthday! I was (obviously) beyond bummed I couldn't make it to Dallas for his birthday, but my parents flew in on Friday night and surprised him at a bar after dinner.

Dad had a really good time catching up with friends. Old frat habits die hard, I suppose. Speaking of frats, Mitchell accepted a bid to Theta Chi - which is my dad's fraternity! How cute is that?

While they were all having the time of their life on Friday, I got to witness this guy in Buckhead traffic. Yes, he is playing a saxophone while driving. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why they created cameras within cell phones.

Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up!

On Saturday, Katie planned a surprise party for Jeff! (Again, so bummed I couldn't make it to any of the festivities!) While they were partying, I made a delish dinner. Yep - I cooked again! Adam was at a softball tournament all day, so he wasn't there to bother help me.

I was planning to do grilled chicken, but I actually found two steaks for less than two chicken breasts (literally, only $4 for both). Say whaa? Is that normal? I just made up my own marinade, since I'm a pro and all. But really, I just threw in soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, tabasco sauce (I had to!), and some garlic.

Adam loves cheese, so I thought I'd try to make some homemade mac n cheese. It was a keeper!

Chuck's Favorite Mac N Cheese

1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add    pasta, and cook until done; drain.
-In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
-Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

I also made this ridiculously easy and fast zucchini recipe.

Parmesan-Roasted Zucchini

2 zucchini
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

-Cut off ends of zucchini, cut into 4ths (length wise)
-Lay zucchini on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (I used foil)
-Brush olive oil on each and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder
-Top with cheese
-Bake for 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender and cheese is browned

Ta da!! I'm a cook!

To cap off a great weekend/kick start a new week, I got home from work on Monday and found this waiting for me. Best husband, ever! Seriously. How cute is he? For those of you who live under a rock, this is the quote for The Hunger Games - which we're both obsessed with. We even went to the midnight premiere with Kelly and Jason (and a bunch of teeny boppers).