Growing, Growing

Hello there and Happy Memorial Day to you! I hope you are enjoying this beautiful, relaxing day off! I wanted to finally share that I have planted my herb kit and will hopefully be cooking with some delicious new herbs in no time!

My lovely husband got me this great gift (for Christmas.....yes, I'm very late at planting it)!!

Please notice the stamp/guarantee in the bottom right corner.

This is crucial for me! Most of my plants end up like the one below due to my lack of care. :(

Yes, this is really a plant on our balcony right now! haha!

A few days ago, I decided to plant the seeds and put together my very own herb kit.

Parsley:

Cilantro:

Chives:

Thyme:

Basil:

They were all planted and set out to bask in the sun! Hopefully I will not kill them and I will get beautiful, fragrant, delicious green herbs in a few short weeks. I'll keep you posted on my little herbs' life span!

Mudbugs...

This past weekend I went to TWO crawfish boils....in one day! Can you say busy?!?!

I volunteered to help set up Mudbugs and Music which you can learn more about here. The crawfish boil benefits the Arthritis Foundation of Birmingham. They have live music, drinks, all the crawfish you could ask for, a silent auction, and tons of kids activities! It was a fun time and the first year I've been to this event. Hopefully next year I won't have to attend a second boil and can actually enjoy a little more of the live music.

The second stop on my mudbug day was here.

The ASDA (American Dental Student Association) Crawfish Boil:

Ahhhh yes, our dear friend dumping out the pot of mudbugs. Obviously I'm waiting right in front for my share! This was some of the best crawfish I've ever had. The chef, with the big black gloves on is one of Brian's classmates. He grew up in south Alabama and knows how to cook some crawfish! Usually I'm not one to partake in a ton of crawfish. I will normally eat about 2 or 3 and then start to get grossed out and give up. It so much work for such a little amount of food.

But THIS crawfish boil......my oh my.

Here is proof. Do you see all those veggies? There is plenty to eat when you get tired of the little red guys. His wife tells me he has this down to a science. I suppose I've never paid much attention to what all goes into a crawfish pot, but this time I was extra curious. It's probably due to my recent cooking obsession and all things food.

From what I could tell and what I was told, this is what he put in the pot:

• Crawfish
• Sausage
• Corn
• Potatoes - My favorite thing...with the cajun spices on the skins.....YUM-O!
• Mushrooms - These were little treasures if you were lucky enough to snag one. It pays to be friends with the chef's wife! :)
• Vidalia Onions - Surprisingly tender and delicious as well!
• Garlic Cloves
• Fresh lemon juice
• Special seasoning blend

Needless to say, it was quite the tasty meal and makes me happy that the summer months are finally here!

Teach Me How To Derby

This past weekend was the 137^th Kentucky Derby. A group of dental students held a Derby Party. It was tons of fun! The girls dressed up in true derby fashion with big hats and fascinators. The boys dressed as preppy as possible in seersucker and pastels.

We had mint juleps in official derby cups.

The boys got jealous of the hats and decided they would try and sport one.

All the dental students at the derby party (juniors and seniors). I can’t believe Brian will be a senior in just a few short weeks!

Brian and me in our derby day attire.

We had so much fun with the Derby. The party hosts created a board for all to partake in $1 Derby bets. We picked out our favorite horses and if your horse won, you split the pot with everyone else who picked that horse.

My picks: Midnight Interlude, Much Macho Man (He placed 3^rd!), and Master of Hounds.

Lucky for Mr. Brian, he picked Animal Kingdom because it only had one pick. We heard rumors that it had the best practice runs the day before the races so he placed his name there at the very last minute! What a good pick!! We won $46 on that horse! Pretty good odds for a $1 bet!