Cooking with Fire and Wild New Decor

Last weekend we had a great time officially "christening" Ryan's new grill. Every August, we celebrate another healthy year for Ryan, and this year's celebration included the purchase of a new, manly grill. I have to admit, this purchase may have been partially motivated by the fact that Ryan's little sister has been taunting him for weeks about his inadequate outdoor cooking devise. Blair bought her first house a few months ago and somehow ended up with a grill much bigger than ours :) Naturally, we could not let this go on....in fact, as we were shopping for the new grill, Ryan made a point of calling Blair to ask how big hers was....just so we could be sure ours was bigger :)

So after buying this enormous man-oven, we had to invite a few friends over to "bless" it with a multitude of meats. We had six couples from church over, who each brought their own main dish. The ladies stayed inside...content to be relegated to salad duty, while the guys broke in the grill. It was a great evening!

As if all that manly grilling action wasn't enough, we also added some new macho decorations to the house. After two years of anxious waiting, Ryan finally got the call that the animals he shot in Africa were ready to be brought home. So, we are officially a "hunter's household" with animal heads hanging in our living room (I did put my foot down and kept them out of the bedroom!).

Lucky for Ryan, I grew up in a family where the hunting theme always dominated a least one room in the house. My dad is a serious hunter, and he's the one who invited us to join him on that amazing trip to Africa. Here are a few pics, and I have to say, I think these animals actually look beautiful in our home. They are certainly conversation pieces!

That's right people...since I'm the official decorator of the house, I naturally had to jump in and make sure the placement of Mr. Impala was juuuuust right.

The gemsbok was quite a bit heavier, so I reluctantly let Ryan handle this guy :)

This is Ziggy, our zebra rug...we've had him for quite a bit longer than the others....I have to admit, it looks really cool in our living room.

Ahh memories....this is where our journey into Hunter Chic began...rockin' the khaki!

Anniversary & Cherished Friends

The weekend before last, Ryan and I had a blast celebrating my parents' anniversary with an intimate dinner party. A few months ago my sister Heather suggested that it would be nice to plan a special dinner for them this year. So we reserved a private room at Silver Fox - a great steak and seafood place - and surprised Mom and Dad with a little dinner party. My friend Mary made beautiful flower arrangements, Heather brought a cake from the same bakery we both used for our wedding cakes, and I made a fun slideshow - thank you Mac computer! All in all it was a fabulous evening, full of laughter, great food, and the sharing of sweet memories. Congratulations Mom and Dad! We love you!

As if the anniversary celebration wasn't enough excitement for one weekend, we also had the pleasure of welcoming some dear friends from Florida for a brief visit. My old college roommate Paige was in town with her sweet, albeit demanding, hubby Jordan (what's the big deal about wormy apples and not being served breakfast until 10:30 a.m.?) and their ADORABLE little girl Finley. I just LOVE you guys and I'm so glad we got to spend a little time with you this summer!

We miss you Codes - counting down the days until we share our "family" bed at Homecoming!