Tuesday, September 07, 2010

a sweet summertime evening

while i love being able to work very part time as an rn
i almost always work weekends & holidays
this weekend i was at work all day saturday & sunday
meanwhile
dan was putting in some serious labor hours
packing up his parents home
both an emotionally tiring and physically overwhelming job

his parents were not hoarders by any means
in fact , they were minimalist before minimalism became chic
whew..
 a ginormous task even still

dan & i have also been dealing with a bit of an issue here on the home front
that has left me a bit drained

so we decided after all that 
to be wild & crazy
& did not set the alarm for our usual 5am

ended up sleeping until 7:30
 woke up to temps here in atlanta somewhere in the 50's!
& virtually no humidity

dan & i headed out to one of our fave breakfast places
(the flying biscuit)
and then on to our fave coffee house
( dancing goat in decatur)

i knew he'd spend the rest of the day packing up an attic
& i needed to tend to things back at the ranch
i told the girls everybody needed to be here at 6pm for an overdue home cooked meal
~ we eat alot on the weekends :)

i'm sure everybody has their own broccoli cheese casserole
but i'll share this one with you too



i cleaned the kitchen with my restoration hardware "shore" cleaner
opened the windows for the first time since probably april
& cranked up some lady antebellum on pandora


marinated the chicken in our fave marinade
marinated shrimp in some lemon juice & olive oil
boiled corn on the cob
baked the broccoli casserole
sauteed mushrooms

my madison came home from cheerleading
& whipped up some paula deen lemon bars
delish!!





i love setting a fun table
& enjoying meals out on our backporch
 a sweet summertime evening













i think its sorta sexy that he texts while grilling....













must have caught my vibe
texting again....




"a happy family
is but an earlier heaven"



ok back to the broccoli casserole
& let me redeem myself from my paula deen moment
one
only one stick of butter
not two, as pictured


broccoli cheese casserole~

2 10 oz pkgs frozen chopped broccoli
1/2 c butter
8 oz velveeta cheese
sleeve of town house crackers

cook broccoli according to directions & drain well
cut up 4T of butter and all the velveeta
add to hot cooked broccoli

place in a greased casserole dish & bake at 350 for 20 min

crush crackers and add to 4T melted butter
sprinkle on top & bake for 5-10 more minutes

hope each of ya'll had your own sweet summertime evening!

41 comments:

Kelli said...

You had me at the sunflowers...and then again at the napkins trimmed with yellow. LOVE! Sounds like a beautiful evening.

Heather said...

you inspire me Paige! i wish i had your back porch .... and your forks ;)

who is the cutie pie boy at the table?!?!?

xo
HH

Love Being A Nonny said...

LOVE the ruffled napkins! Did you make them? What a great looking family!

Love Being A Nonny said...
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Shelly Powers said...

i am lovin the cute polka doted silverware... so cute... i noticed the cute boy too... i guess the flip side to all daughters is boyfriends and "son in laws"... hang in there dan...testosterone is on the herizon... ha ha :)

Shelly Powers said...
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Shelly Powers said...
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Jen Kershner said...

Love those napkins and those glasses made me swoon. Please don't tell me they came from Anthro 4 years ago and have been discontinued.
I also noticed that boy. The joys of raising girls!

kasey said...

what's with all the deleted comments?
looks fabulous....wish you could make me some of the cheesy goodness;-)
xo

Tina said...

Hi Paige:) Your photos are amazing! I had a little giggle about the texting...I think the same of my hubby when I watch him touch type on his laptop ...;) Wow, your dinner looked amazing! I have no idea what Velveeta cheese is, but I have to get me some, as the casserole sounds delicious:) Beautiful sunflowers and such a beautiful family:) Hope you have fabulous week. hugs ~ Tina xx

Deborah said...

What a happy blessed home. Love the napkins also.

Deborah said...
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Katie said...

Sounds like a great Labor Day!

Amber said...

Beautiful! You make me a little less sad about my little one growing up. You seem to have the best relationship with your kids!

Susan R said...

Hey Paige
This post seems so appropriate. I scrolled through your blog this weekend looking for that post you did on the perfect summer meal. You know the one (steak, pasta peas and parm, shrimp, mashed potatoes, etc...) I made that. It probably didn't come close to your cooking, but it tasted good.
This meal you have posted here will be my next copycat. Hey, I have dinner guests coming on Thursday. What are you making on Thurs., so I can copy that too?
Uh oh....dealing with issues on the homefront. Sounds exactly like what I'm going through with two of my kiddos. Totally different situations that are in desperate need of a solution and answers. I find myself praying even more and harder for my children these days. Really bad situation last Friday....I'll email you about it.
God Bless my friend
PS...who's the boy in the photo eating over at your place?

Jboo said...

Great photos -- it all looked so beautiful!! You inspire me!

Your hub is so cute -- texting and all -- and I'll bet he was happy to have another guy around all your sweet females! :)

Hope you have a great week!

janet

Kristin said...

Love this. it makes my heart feel like a summer day.
I love it that you all sit down as a family to eat, to enjoy, to talk, to grow in your souls and eat yumm food it appears. So just saying don't be surprised if I just show up for dinner sweet BFF of mine. You are blessed and I know you don't take one second of it for granted but love looking in the window of your family and finding beautiful! Love you.

xo,
me

Unknown said...

Oh how wonderful Paige!!! Your family meals seem like just about the best place in the world to be! Lovely, lovely photos!!!

Hugs my friend ~

:) T

Privet and Holly said...

Loved all of
the details and
then seeing you
all together...
That's what it's
really about. I
think you could
switch from RN
to Stylist, no
problemo : )!!
xx Suzanne

Tammy said...

The temps here in Charlotte this weekend and today are awesome! I love this time of year! I used to make 4 trips a year to Atlanta but haven't been since last Jan.09
( I worked in sales and did the America's Mart shows). I love the Flying Biscuit ...and many others!
Casserole looks great...started my diet yesterday so I'll make this for my sweetie! or maybe I'll just have a small serving??? LOL
Great pics again!! Love your posts!
and you are too cute about the
"sexy texting man"...
Have a great one!
Tammy :-)

Heather said...

This is so lovely! I love those napkins. The food looks delicious and your porch is so inviting.

melissa said...

Everything is SO beautiful! How I wish we could do the same here ... but temps are still in the 90's - even the evenings are a bit steamy :(.
I am going to make that broccoli casserole for my boys - they will love it.
And yes, I noticed the young MAN at the table too!! ;)

traci said...

Is texting while grilling dangerous? Hehehe on
Y to you huh. Paige, your photos are getting more beautiful with every post. So crisp and clear. Love them. What a wonderful evening. We just spent all weekend grilling out And eating together as a family. That's kind of hard for us to do at home these days. It was wonderful.

Angela said...

Beautiful blog. I have fallen in love with your amazing family. Many, many blessings to you all!!!

Shannon said...

Sounds like the perfect way to end the summer! ;)

jenniferjohnson said...

Oh my! Your food makes me wanna come down there and eat it all up!!! Seriously, as Kasey said... What is with all the deleted comments?

xoxo,
Jennifer

Courtney Walsh said...

yum. paige, it's just beautiful. i love your table and all the fun touches! :)

Clare said...

what a beautiful post, so captured a wonderful family moment!! thanks for the recipe too:)

Nina Diane said...

looks like such a lovely family dinner. And oh my...the Flying Biscuit!! We were in Atlanta last year and discovered the Flying Biscuit and then proceeded to eat there most every morning we were in town!! Love it

Martha said...

I love this post all sooooo much! I love it!!! thank you for sharing the recipe too...it looks like a great, great evening for you all
xo

Eric and Hannah Avery said...

Your table looks beautiful and the menu sounds delicious!

-Hannah

Dawn said...

oh the sunflowers! and then all the little touches on the table. and all for family. i love that you took the time. felt like a celebration from here!

Val said...

Everything looks amazing.

3 Peanuts said...

OH I just LOVE that saying about a happy family being an earlier heaven...who is the author of that quote? LOVE it and totally feel that. Your summer evening sounds and looks delightful. Sorry you had to work part of the weekend but the non working part sounds really good too.

3 Peanuts said...

Oh I had to go back and look...there was a BOY at the table;)

Anonymous said...

what a lovely evening. The table looks so cute! I think it's funny that you're starting to open the windows and we're getting ready to batten down the hatches!

christina said...

love seeing your family together, at this beautifully set table. really, that's what it's all about~ togetherness : )

you know i am loving those napkins! wink!

XO

{edie} said...

love the tablescape Paige! makes me wanna eat outside~
lots of love,
edie

{edie} said...
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Faded Plains said...

I love all the photos...you set such a beautiful and happy table.

Kat said...

I love your porch, your committment to family time and I share your love of the Flying Biscuit. I have their cookbook, it's delish. I'll sometimes dash over the the FB by the Forum for a quick brunch with friends while my girls are at preschool. A treat indeed.