Last weekend, Adam and I had one of the rarest gems of all - a weekend with no work and no plans! Which means, we immediately decided we had to make plans!

We kicked off our "Date Weekend" with some post-work drinks on Friday, followed by dinner at the newest addition to the Marietta Square, Stockyard Burgers. We were super impressed with the food and the bar scene - finally a fun, yummy place nearby! (I had the Banh Mi Burger - so impressed, Marietta.) Of course, we felt the need to stop into Mulligan's for a late night drink (or two) before heading home.

On Saturday, we decided to be local tourists and check out one of Atlanta's newest attractions - Krog Street Market. I've heard awesome things about the "food stalls", but we were pretty disappointed. While I'm still excited about the restaurants that border the market - the market itself felt a lot like an airport terminal.

…And the lines were long. Everywhere.

We decided to head over to Atlantic Station and check out a movie - Interstellar. Long, but good!

Loved the gorgeous Christmas decorations at Atlantic Station!

We decided to finish the day with dinner at one of our favorites, La Parrilla! Sunday we did a whole lot of nothing, which was fabulous. We decided on take-out dinner at Nik's Place - one of our new favorites - and I made Adam drive down Maple Avenue so we could see the fun Christmas lights. A perfect ending to a weekend of just us!

Oh, I do have a recipe! I made this on Monday and it may be my new favorite. (I think I'm addicted to anything with cilantro and lime.)

Chicken Avocado Lime Soup

6 Servings

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped green onions (including whites, mince the whites)
• 2 jalapeños, seeded and minced (leave seeds if you want soup spicy, omit if you don't like heat)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 medium avocados, peeled, cored and diced
• Tortilla chips, monterrey jack cheese, sour cream for serving (optional)

• In a large pot heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add green onions and jalapenos and saute until tender, about 2 minutes, adding garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, cumin, season with salt and pepper to taste and add chicken breasts. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Then reduce heat to medium, cover with lid and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken has cooked through 10 - 15 minutes (cook time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts). Reduce burner to warm heat, remove chicken from pan and let rest on a cutting board 5 minutes, then shred chicken and return to soup. Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Add avocados to soup just before serving (if you don't plan on serving the soup right away, I would recommend adding the avocados to each bowl individually, about 1/2 an avocado per serving). Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream if desired.

Thankful

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year! Every year is great, but this year felt really great! Maybe because we had a combined Thanksgiving, so I wasn't disgustingly full from eating two full meals? 

I kick-started my Thanksgiving break with another flat tire the day before Thanksgiving. Thanks to my dad for changing my tire and participating in a conference call at the same time! (That's his phone balancing on his leg.) Disclaimer: I do know how to change a flat - Adam made me learn in the dark, on a hill - but I was in work clothes and super close to their house. 

On Thanksgiving morning, Adam and I headed to my parents for a Thanksgiving Brunch with Mamabear. Since she's continually going downhill with her memory, we knew bringing her to the big celebration would be stressful for her and everyone else. But we all had a great morning!

Papabear did join us for all of the day's festivities - after relaxing in my mom's new Costa Rica chair.

We had three turkeys at the Bakers'! Dave smoked one, Debbie baked one and Adam fried one. They were all so delicious.

This turkey.

Check out this table! Yum, yum! So much to be thankful for! It was actually pretty hilarious, because there were 15 of us that had to keep passing all of the dishes all around the table. Buffet, next time. 

The day was really just a big game of "Pass the Baby". Precious Jude with his mama and aunts! (He's currently going through this fun phase where he doesn't really like me much. I get lots of pictures and hear stories of his big smiles, but lately all he does is cry around me. We'll fix this soon, I'm sure.)

Content! But no smile.

Adam had to work on Black Friday, because he works 2984792837 hours a week so why wouldn't he?  Saturday night we planned a get together with our friends. They hadn't been over for a bonfire this season, so we figured it was perfect timing! We had a great time, even if it wasn't even that cold out. I think the high was 60 during the day.

On Sunday, Adam and I volunteered in the nursery at church. Our room only had one kid - Jack - so he had our full attention. He was hilarious and so smart, even though he can't talk, yet.

After church we headed back to the Bakers' for Grandma's birthday lunch! It was so great to have her here to celebrate. Post-birthday lunch, Adam and I headed off to Pike to pick out our Christmas tree!

It was such a beautiful day, so we decided to take the pups to the dog park before we decorated. Hi, Ruth!

Ta da! Sticking with tradition, the top of this year's tree is one of our tacky hats from last Christmas. 

And check out our AMAZING outside decorations this year! I'm SO obsessed and want them to stay up FOREVER!!! Thanks to Adam for slaving on our roof to get those set up. I'll take credit for wrapping the handrails. :)

Seeing as last week was Thanksgiving, I have a recipe! I decided to make these Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes after a recipe I saw in Food Network Magazine. Mashed Potatoes are my mom's favorite part of Thanksgiving, so no pressure! I got rave reviews, and I actually liked them, too! (I made two dishes because we had 15 people at Thanksgiving - of course, we only went through one. Adam was happy - he ate the leftovers all week!) 

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Servings: 6-8

I made this two days prior, and then just threw it in the oven on Thanksgiving.

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut in 3/4-inch chunks

5 large garlic cloves

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

7 to 8 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese, at room temperature, such as Montrachet

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup half-and-half or milk

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the potatoes, garlic and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot with enough water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until very tender.

Drain the potatoes and garlic and process them together through a food mill fitted with the coarsest blade set on top of a bowl. (A FOOD MILL? Yeah, I don't have one. I just used my hand mixer, and it worked fine.)

While the potatoes are still hot, stir in the goat cheese, butter, sour cream, half-and-half, 4 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons pepper until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a 9-by-12-by-2-inch oval baking dish, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve hot.

here and there

Let's see… what have we been up to at the Baker house? I don't feel like going into detail (not like there's much anyway), so here is quick roundup with pictures!

How adorable is this? Kalyn asked me to be a bridesmaid with this fun balloon adventure-in-a-box. I can't believe the balloon made it all the way from California… especially since USPS was in charge!

We celebrated Jillian and Austin's upcoming wedding with a fun couples shower.

Post-shower, a handful of us went to Atkins Park for some late night fun.

Adam was thrilled to watch UGA beat Auburn at my parents' little shindig, but my mom was still the cutest fan.

I had to go on a last-minute work trip to Charlotte, so took the chance to finally see a Hornets game with Natalie. Michael Jordan was sitting 10 rows in front of us… no big deal.

The new Restoration Hardware flagship store in Buckhead held a fancy pants opening party. That place is INSANE.

One of SIX levels…

I hadn't spent some QT with my favorite little man in awhile, so I bombarded the Causey house to steal him. We had a solid 10-15 minutes of being awake and not crying… a new record for me!

Adam finally had a Saturday off, so I put him to work! (Just kidding, I didn't even have to ask him.)

Saturday night, Adam and I met up with Aimee, Doug and some of their friends for a night out in Dunwoody. First stop, taking over the band at Dunwoody Tavern.

Madi eventually met up with us and we finished the night at Steak N' Shake.

Ruthie loves human food (obvi) and fell asleep begging for my lunch on Sunday. What a little weirdo!

We all celebrated Kelsey's birthday at Pasta da Pulcinella on Sunday night, followed by some Key Lime Pie and watching Adam change Jude's diaper back at the Bakers. This provided some good laughs!

They both survived!

Let's zoom in on the difference in hand size. So adorable!

That's about it! And other than obsessed over the Cilantro Lime Cauliflower rice, I haven't really made any new recipes. I did just finish our Thanksgiving dish, but I'll save that bad boy for the next post.

Fall Fun

It's been so nice to be home these past couple weeks! And with the weather finally becoming fall-ish, being outside is actually nice (before it gets too cold). 

I finally fought off my cold, which meant JUDE SNUGGLES! It had been an entire two weeks since I saw him, and he's basically talking and walking now. Well, not really. But he does smile! I got one out of him before he decided it was lunchtime, followed by scream time, followed by nap time. 

Look at my little buddy! The cutest, ever.

Adam and my dad have been playing tennis together for a couple seasons now, but I've only seen the last five minutes of one match prior to last week. The stars aligned and I was finally able to catch a match! They did great and won, despite Adam's ridiculous outfit... gray hat, black sweatshirt, red shorts, neon orange socks and neon blue shoes. What am I going to do with him?

Job perks! After doing a Wait Staff Training at Murphy's, I got to try out one of their new cocktails. This one is called Bye Felicia. Hilarious name and amazing drink.

Adam went hunting all weekend, so Dominica came over on Friday night to entertain me. I finally got photo evidence of our ridiculous dogs taking up the WHOLE bed. That's Dominica, so just think of how much worse it is with a grown man in the bed. Anyone have any tips to get/keep them off? It's getting ridiculous!

On Sunday, I attended one of my favorite events of the year - Les Dames d'Escoffier's Afternoon in the Country. It's a food and wine event out at Serenbe Farms - and the past three years we've lucked out with awesome weather!

Keurig had a pretty cool activation... and apple cider!

After the day in the country, Adam and I headed over to his parents' for dinner. His Aunt Liz (the original Elizabeth Baker!) and Uncle Tom were in town and Jude really enjoyed Uncle Tom's moose antlers!

Look at this kid! Could he be any cuter? It's nuts how much you love someone who's so little and doesn't actually do much. But every time I see him he's more alert. It was the coolest to see his face while Meagan was talking to him. He was so engaged and attentive - he loves that mama of his!

And my heart melted into a puddle. Adam loves this kid a whole lot.

Even when he's fussy he's the cutest thing!

No recipes this week! Unless you call baked chicken and broccoli a recipe. If you do, here it is. Bake chicken. Cook broccoli on the stove. Enjoy!

Low Key Halloween

For the first time in my whole life, I did not dress up or celebrate Halloween this year! I should probably be more bummed about it, but I was fighting a cold and thoroughly enjoyed our cozy night in. We also only had two trick-or-treaters, so I like to think that no one celebrated this year. (Except for all my friends, whose pictures I had to see all night.)

You know who did celebrate Halloween? HANK AND RUTHIE. Adam came home with these costumes on Thursday and I just about died. Much to our shock, they actually really loved having them on. (A little green creature of ours found Miss Piggy a little too attractive and started humping her. I wish I had taken a picture!)

Needless to say, they were our entertainment for the night.

It's a good thing we didn't have many trick-or-treaters, because this little guy flipped out when we didn't let him meet the kids at the door. Here he is on watch for any stragglers...

On Saturday, I did nothing and Adam worked. My busy day continued into the afternoon, evening and night, with my only distraction being my dad who came over to watch the first half of the UGA/FL game. (And we were happy to host him!)

Adam and I decided to really start planning our bathroom "remodel" (oh, yeah - that's happening) on Sunday. We picked out some paint options to try out and did some pricing. You know, really thrilling, exciting stuff.

That evening, I attended the GRACE Awards with Allison. It was the last thing on the planet I wanted to do (I was way too tired from doing nothing all weekend), but as usual, once I got there I had a great time. (Minus the timing of everything. We sat down for the program and waited a solid hour before we even got our salads or any wine. Thank goodness for the bar in the lobby!) Regardless, it was an awesome evening recognizing some really awesome people in the Atlanta restaurant industry - an industry I'm very proud to work with!

(DRUMROLL PLEASE) Recipes are BACK! For the most part, Adam and I had separate plans after work last week. But because I was fighting a cold all weekend I cooked. (Wait, that sounds bad. I promise I washed my hands a lot.)

Friday night I made my favorrrrite dish, Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice. Since I learned that's not actually a meal for most people, I also bought stuff to make Turkey Taco Salad. Literally, ground turkey, taco seasoning and the fixins - lettuce, jalapeños and salsa for me; add in sour cream and cheese for Adam.

Apparently I was feeling adventurous/lazy on Saturday, because I decided to "make up" my own chili recipe. Since I clearly have the experience to do so… (or not). Regardless, it actually turned out really yummy!

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili  (It is paleo, by the way)
2 lbs ground turkey (browned on the stove)
1 16oz. can diced tomatoes
1 8oz. can tomato paste
2 12 oz. cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
3 cups chicken stock
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
6 tablespoons cumin powder
1 red onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
6 garlic cloves chopped

I put it all in the slow cooker and let it sit for 2 hours on High and 2 hours on Low. (Top with cheese, sour cream, Fritos, etc. if you want to make it un-paleo.)