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.)

Year of the Cat

Remember how I said October was insane? Do you believe me, yet? Last weekend was the 125th Anniversary of Western Carolina University and a big group of us had all been planning to go up for Homecoming. The drive up is one of my favorite parts, especially during fall. I mean, really? This doesn't even look real!

And if that wasn't good enough, check out the view from our cabin! (Here's the link for more pics/info, if you're interested in renting some time.)

Just relaxing on the couch with this terrible view…

Melvin and I kickstarted the weekend with some mimosas. As he said, "Make the mimost of it." (Side note: Do you see how I'm wearing workout clothes…with tennis shoes? Halfway through my drive I realized I forgot to bring shoes!! I literally only had my tennis shoes on my feet. I had to make a pitstop at the local Shoe Show, but luckily was able to borrow someone else's so I got to take them back. So embarrassing.)

Shots of Fireball to get the weekend started!

Dinner at Speedy's, drinks at O'Malley's and No Name, then finishing off the night in the hot tub at the cabin. Could our first night have been more perfect?

The next morning, we were up early to tailgate for the game (we didn't actually go into the game, duh).

Check out this "Selfie Stick" that Natalie bought. So hilarious… and useful.

Sisters!

Um, please zoom in on this terrifying "Catamount".

After tailgating, we posted up at O'Malley's. We were in the same booth from 2pm - 10pm. Literally an entire work day.

After a late-night stop at Sylva's newest "disco", Tropical - we headed home for more hot tub time machine fun! Check out this amazing pizza sweatshirt that Whittney and I got Natalie for her birthday! Of course I borrowed it for the photo op.

The next morning, we all cleaned up, packed out and hit the road. But not before snapping a few pictures of the absolutely gorgeous morning from our deck. Ah, Cullowhee. I miss you always.

While I was enjoying my weekend with friends in Cullowhee, Adam was having a little homecoming of his own! He headed up to DC to spend the weekend with his BBF/Best Man, Brent. (Thanks to Brent's girlfriend for posting some pics on Facebook!)

Adam actually sent me this pic on his own! It was my one request, and made me very happy.

We boarded the pups at a new place this time, and it's safe to say they also had an amazing weekend! Southern Tails posts daily pics on their Facebook page, and I about died when I saw this one of little Hankie Doodle! Eeeeek, he's so cute!

This was them about 2 minutes after I picked them up. This has never happened. They'll definitely be going back!

Also, kudos to me for getting all these posts in before November! Minus the whole "I haven't been cooking" thing.