Memphis Weekend Recap

I don't even know where to start with this weekend.  It was completely jam packed and SO. MUCH. FUN!  I am still not sure how we packed so much into just 3 days.  I guess we'll start from the beginning and go from there.

My weekend actually started on Thursday night.  We had a graduation/going off to college get-together at our house for a family friend's daughter. Eric grilled burgers, we sat by the pool, and we even had LIVE music.  We know a guy who plays around town and he graciously agreed to come play for a couple of hours.  It made for a great night!  Because of said get-together I decided last week that I would be taking Friday off. Call it a hunch, but I figured that things would wind down waaaaay past my bedtime and I was right.  I think we had everything put up and everyone on their way by midnight, so yeah 5:30AM was NOT happening.

                                      Eric and I                                                       Lotsa Burgers.....they were all gone by the end of the night

However 6:30AM did happen.  There was no sleeping in for this gal because I had to give my car a bath and get her oil changed so we could hit the road for Memphis!  We road tripped it up to see my parents this past weekend and had a blast!  We pulled into town around 3pm and while Dad and Eric headed out to hit some golf balls, Mom and I decided to take advantage of tax-free shopping weekend. We found a few things that we could not live without and then came home to get dinner ready....our only non-bbq meal of the weekend...seriously...tomorrow there will be a full Memphis BBQ roundup, so don't miss it!

These were the three places we sampled indulged in.

Saturday morning the boys headed out early to golf again, so Mom and I took a nice long walk around their neighborhood and then hit up a local antique mall warehouse. It was seriously one of the biggest antique places I have ever seen.  To describe it as overwhelming is an understatement.  We spent nearly 2 hours in it and only made it halfway through, but we still found some really cool stuff there!  I got some old books and some old-timey spectacles.  My Mom has had a stack of books with some spectacles on them in their house for years and I have always loved how it looks, so now I have a set of my own!   Luckily when we were about antiqued out the boys called and said they were ready for lunch, so we checked out and headed home.

Lunch on Saturday was Memphis BBQ Round 1:  Corky's Barbecue.  We opted for the Collierville location instead of the Memphis location because we were hungry and knew the latter would be packed. As usual, Corky's did not disappoint. We got a taste of everything: ribs, pulled pork shoulder, sausage, beans, slaw, and rolls. Oh those rolls.  They're some of my favorites in the whole wide world.

After lunch we headed down to Beale Street to get our fill of blues and some beer.  We stopped at a few places including B.B. Kings, Beale Street Tap Room, A. Schwab, and Jerry Lee Lewis's Club on Beale. We made a pit stop at the Peabody on our way to dinner and ended up getting to see the Peabody Ducks go back to their "penthouse" on the roof.  If you go to Memphis it's worth stopping to see.  Every morning the Duckmaster marches the ducks from the roof to the fountain in the middle of the hotel where they swim/sleep/play all day long.  Every evening he rounds them up marches them to elevator and takes them back to the roof.  It's hilarious to watch!  Make sure you get there early though because the lobby gets packed quickly.You can read all about the Ducks and the history of the Peabody Hotel HERE.

After the Ducks we walked across the street to our dinner destination.  A little restaurant the basement of a building whose entrance is in a back alley called the Rendezvous.  It is one of the more famous BBQ places in Memphis and has tons of history behind it. Once again we had ribs, pulled pork shoulder, sausage, beans, and slaw, but his time we also had brisket and chicken.  I think we had every meat they serve except for the lamb....we're not exactly lamb fans.  Dinner was so so good and since we were completely full we ended up heading back the to burbs.  We took Eric by our old house and my old high school so he could see where I spent my pre-teen and teenage years and we all crashed when we got back home.

Part of the Memphis Skyline looking at the Mississippi River from the top of the Peabody and Eric and I on Beale Street...such a fun day!

1. The Peabody sign from the top of the Peabody

2. The Peabody Ducks just swimming the day away in the fountain

3. Mom and Dad at the Peabody Fountain

4. B.B. Kings

5. Mom and I at the Peabody Fountain

6. The Peabody Ducks in their Penthouse

7.  Only in Memphis....Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chip flavored chocolate bar

Sunday the boys went golfing again so Mom and I ran some errands to pick up some Memphis staples that I can't get in Alabama.  I do realize that I have gone 10 years without these items, but now that I can get them I need them in my kitchen at all times.  We decided to have BBQ one last time before we headed home and picked up some from the Germantown Commissary which is one of my absolute favorites.  I am sure it's partially nostalgic since that's where we always got BBQ from when we lived there the 1st time, but their food is just so darn good! I love it!

Our assortment of BBQ sauces and rubs and our collection of Pancho's Cheese Dips and Salsa.

We packed up the car and headed home after lunch and pulled into town around 7pm Sunday night.  The puppy dogs were so happy to see us and we were glad to see them too. We finished off our weekend with leftover BBQ (what else?) and a family walk around the neighborhood.

I guess you could say this past weekend capped off our summer fun because today is the official start of football season. For the next 6 months one or both of us will have practice or a game every afternoon.  While I am excited about new seasons and I adore the football/basketball atmosphere, I am going to miss the ability to pick up and leave for the weekend on a whim.  We have certainly taken advantage of that this year.  I guess when you know you only have a certain window of time to do things like that you learn to take advantage of it and that we did.  We definitely went out with a bang this year!

Embarking on #4

I am pumped about today!  #1 because it's my Friday, nuff said  =). #2 because we're having a going-off-to-college party at our house tonight for a family friend that will consist of pool time, hamburgers on the grill, and live music...what what?! and #3 because we're headed to Memphis tomorrow!  I cannot wait!

As of today Eric and I are officially embarking on our 4th year of marriage. That seems like a really long time when I see it written out, but time has flown by and I can hardly believe it's been that long.  Of course we celebrated our anniversary yesterday.  We went out to dinner at The Pub, which is actually the restaurant where we had our rehearsal dinner.  We had an amazing dinner.....spinach artichoke dip with the best pita chips I have ever eaten, salad, fried shrimp and asparagus for me, and shrimp and grits plus some fried oysters for Eric.  However we did our best to contain ourselves and were able to enjoy some frozen yogurt afterward.  We don't really get each other anniversary presents.  For our first anniversary we bought a table and chairs for the pool, last year we both got new running shoes, and this year.....lounge chairs for the pool deck!  Exciting I know. All of the pool stuff is on sale right this time of year so it just makes sense to purchase something like that since we lust over pretty pool furniture all summer long. =)

I am ashamed to say that these are the only 2 pictures I got from last night.  The pub was too dark to take any pics inside and it was raining when we left the restaurant, so I don't have a picture of us....oops.  Let me tell you about that little large bowl of fro yo goodness on the right.  If you ever venture into a frozen yogurt place and you see Sea Salted Caramel Pretzel flavored yogurt on the wall, RUN to the machine and get all of the fro yo your bowl can handle.  Then go over to the toppings bar and load on some mini-reeces.....your taste buds will Riverdance the whole time you are eating it.  Long story short, it's amazing.

3 Years Ago....

Three years ago today I put on a gorgeous white dress that made me feel like a princess, walked down the aisle of a church, and made a promise to a man who still makes my heart go pitter patter when I hear him come home everyday.   I will never forget how blessed I felt to have so many family members and friends there to celebrate with us.  I am so thankful to have found a man who loves me for me, knows how to make me laugh, has taught me to stop sweating the small stuff, works hard to take care of us, and always keeps me on my toes.

Happy 3 Years Babe!  Here's to many many more!

Homemade Peach Cobbler

When I was growing up I loved dessert....let's face it I still do.  The difference was that when I was a kid, if it was not chocolate or whipped cream I would not give it the time of day.  Pecan pie? Nope.  Fruit Cobblers? Nope. Buttermilk Pie?  Nope.  It had to be chocolate or I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole.  My grandma used to give me a bowl of cool whip when we were having non-chocolate desserts....that's how bad it was. I now realize what a mistake this was on my part because I missed out on some really delicious desserts.  Don't worry though...I have made up for it in my older, wiser years.

There is a county just north of us that is known for their peaches.  They actually crown a peach queen and peach princesses every year.....they love them some peaches. Rightfully so because they grow some of the most delicious peaches ever!  I had to go past there one day last week so I stopped in and purchased a few peaches since they are one of the few fruits that Eric will actually eat. When he saw them that night he immediately asked me to make peach cobbler. The only problem with that is that I have never made a peach cobbler. Lucky for me I have a recipe savvy Mom and Pinterest.  We were literally on the phone with each other, while both of us were looking through pinterest for recipes. We'd pin one and the other would refresh the page so it would show up on our feed.....this my friends is the beauty of technology.  We settled on one that sounded simple and delicious.  I think I even inspired her to make one, too.

via

What you need: 

Peach Layer

4-5 cups peeled and sliced or chopped peaches (I made mine bite-sized)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg (I grated mine fresh!)

dash of salt

Cobbler Layer

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup half -and-half

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and slice peaches (if using fresh peaches).  A serrated-edged peeler works the best on peaches.
Place sliced/chopped peaches, 1/4 c sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dash of salt in a large bowl.  Toss gently to combine.  Spread in a greased 11"x 7" baking dish and set aside.

Combine flour, 1 c sugar, baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and ginger in a large bowl. Stir well. (I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer.) In another bowl, whisk together half-and-half, melted butter, and egg. Stir well.  Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until blended.  Pour batter over peach mixture.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until lightly browned.

Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

There she is in all of her golden brown goodness!

This stuff was seriously amazing.  I am not quite sure how I made it 28 years without ever liking it (or even trying it for that matter).  As I said yesterday the first batch didn't last an entire evening, so we got more peaches and I ended up making another batch the next day.   As easy as it is to make I am sure there will be more peach cobblers in our future.

...and if you turned your nose up at the sound of buttermilk pie earlier....don't knock it til you try it.  It's the sweetest, most delicious pie you will every eat....EVER.