Going back to Bama…

Good Day Readers! How was your weekend? Did you get a lot done, have too much fun, eat too much, watch football, yell at TV every time you saw a certain college football player on the screen? I did all some of that.

Timber Came along for the trip to Bama!

Timber Came along for the trip to Bama!

We headed over to Birmingham on Friday to spend the weekend with my parents. Over the past two years it has been the other way around, my parents driving to see me and my family. Yes, it has been about 2 years since I have been back to Bama. Birmingham is only 2 and half hours away, so it is not due to a long drive. As you are all aware, I have been kind of busy the past year and half. I am not sure why it has taken so long for us to get over there. I guess when there was a free weekend where I was feeling half way normal, we just wanted to chill out at home and rest.

Cocktail and snacks on the screened in porch.

Cocktail and snacks on the screened in porch.

We got there in time for cocktail hour! Woot! My mouth sores have settled down so I was actually able to have a cocktail. Don’t worry, there was also snacks. I was actually really hungry which is another thing I jumped onto. I haven’t been hungry all that much so when I am, I eat. So far I have lost 10 pounds and while I am happy about that, my doctors are not.

Pow! Bam!

Pow! Bam!

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Nana Pete and Papa had a gift waiting for The Boy when we got there. They weren’t sure if it was too young for The Boy but it turns out that a 4 foot punching bag was just the thing The Boy needed. My Mom thought he could use it whenever he felt upset. The Boy ATTACKED that thing. He wasn’t without it (we named him Hanz) the entire time we were at their house. It is full of two gallons of water so it isn’t light and he would haul that thing in and out of the house, up and down the stars. I had to explain that he would not fit in the car when we went shopping or to dinner and would have to stay at home. he was not happy.

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On Saturday we went out and did a little shopping. They had a Athleta store (never been to one, catalog only) at the shopping area we went to called The Summit. I think I could have spent an hour in the store and spend a lot of money. They had super cute jackets that just made me long for Fall. When will it get here!?! In the end I bought a scarf (not for my head) that was super cute. The only sucky part, is that I have to wait to wear it. On Wednesday this week it is supposed to get down in the 50’s in the evening. I just may put it on and sit out on the screened in porch so I can enjoy it! We also went to the bookstore and bought The Boy five books. He has already read two of them. He has turned into a reading machine! I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me. After shopping we went back home and watched Alabama play football. RTR.

Yummy!

Yummy!

We went to eat dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club. We had been there once before and really enjoyed it. It is probably the best restaurant in Birmingham and the chef is a James Beard winner.

So tasty

So tasty

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Best thing I ate all night.

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Donuts

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So good!

So good!

My parents have three guest rooms. One that is my old room which is where My Man and I sleep. So that leaves two beds for The Boy to choose from to sleep in. Instead the chose on the floor in our room.

Snuggle buddies

Snuggle buddies

Overall it was a very nice trip. We laughed, we cried, we talked, we ate good food and drank yummy wine. Good times. I hope you all had just as nice weekend.

I will be going to the doctor tomorrow to find out how my scans went. I am very scared Readers. Very scared. If you pray, please pray for me. If you send good vibes, please send them my way. I know if things don’t go the way we want there is still the chemo I had last summer that worked to fall back on. I really hope we don’t have to go there, the impact on The Boy is something I don’t want to even think about. But if we do, we do. I won’t stop fighting.

Amelia Island

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Readers! Team Hamer was on Vacay! For the 4th of July we decided to head own to Amelia Island, Fl. But we did not go alone! No,The Boy brought a friend, which we will refer to as ZCP. By 9:50am on Tuesday morning we were off our bellys full of bagels, coffee and apple juice and out car pack up with a number of bags, tablets and bikes. The drive took us around 5 hours and 45 minutes. We did not run into too much traffic or construction.

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It is very interesting riding in a car with two 9-year-old boys. They were both on their tablets while watching School of Rock on a portable DVD player. The Boy has watched that movie so many times that he was quoting the lines of entire scenes. Pickles! We arrived to the to Ritz Carlton at Amelia Island around 3:30pm with the sun shinning and the temperature around 90 degrees. Hot!

Our Room

We chose a room on the club level of the Ritz Carlton. Why did we pay the extra money for the room and the extras? As you all know, food and drinks at any hotel is $$$$. I mean $20 for a hamburger? Your kidding right? At this point, my appetite has taken a nose dive and I hate paying for food I don’t even finish! We ate lunch and it coast $100.00. Two kids burgers and fries, shrimp tacos, a taco salad (that I thought tasted funny), a beer and a bloody mary. Really? With the club level you get five “meals” and all the drinks, sodas, wine, water, cookies, candies etc you want. We ate breakfast every morning. Two kinds of eggs, oatmeal,bagels, fruit, rolls etc. I can’t begin to think of the $$$ we saved from breakfast alone. Then there is lunch, snacks, appetizers and deserts. If you work it right you can make it work for you. Which is why I am drinking champagne in the club level room as I write this. Waiting for the snacks to come out at 4pm. Ahi Tuna anyone?

We ended up getting a King sized bed room with a chair that folded out into a twin bed for the boys. We also had a roll away bed but in the end chose not to use it. Ok, first thing to say about the room, the outlets! There were so many! Which is good when you have four tablets and three phones. We had a nice balcony with two chairs and a table that over looked two of the three pools and the beach. Wonderful to watch the nightly sunsets from. There was a flat screened tv and the largest closet in a hotel I have ever seen.

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I think someone is up.

The boys started out sleeping on the twin pull out but at some point The Boy says he woke up with ZCP on top of him and moved to our bed. ZCP said he was using The Boy as a pillow.

Daily activities

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ZCP brought a boogie board so of course we had to find a surf shop so The Boy could get one. It cost a little more than we thought it would but it was a well made one that provided hours of fun for The Boy. The waves were large on Wednesday due tropical storm Arthur but were pretty calm the rest of the week. The boys had a blast. Much more than at the pool, although they did enjoy the indoor hot tub and enjoyed going there at night.

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How cool is this? They moved the club level room to the beach! Woot! Woot! My Man was thrilled! We walked up and was shown to a set up chairs, towels and beach umbrellas (a must for me). There were sodas, waters, beer, wine and snacks too much on while hanging out by the water. it was nice to just hang out, watch the boys ride the waves and read my magazine.

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The weather was very nice most of the trip but there was some rain. Once while we were visiting downtown. The sky just opened up and the rain poured down. There was thunder and lighting and The Boy kinda freaked out. Not a fan of lighting.

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The Boy and ZCP

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My new voodoo doll!

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Yummy!

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Overall we had a great time. The Ritz is known for their service and they did not disappoint. Everyone was so nice, introduced themselves and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed.

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And now some food porn….

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You cook your meat on a 400 degree block of salt! What? What?

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The cutest thing I ever ate.

The cutest thing I ever ate.

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The Kitchen seat

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ZCP and The Boy

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Future Chefs?!

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By the time this came out I was in a food coma. SO FULL.

Happy Tuesday Reader’s!

Looks like it will be another nice day in the ATL. Which is nice, since Sunday was dark and rainy. I kept busy though. Spent sometimes with the girls, Zazzles and Terrance Peterson are growing up nicely. They are also getting along pretty well with Turbo and Poppy. The two older ones still squawk at they young ones but not as much as before.

Sunday I spent a few hours getting ready for this week. I got an idea from one of the ladies (Adrienne!) this weekend in Austin. She makes a big batch of soup on Sunday’s and ate it for lunch during the week. In mine I have onions, carrots, celery, kale, bok choy, a whole chicken and potatoes. I had some yesterday for lunch and it was really good.

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I also chopped up fruits and veggies for my daily juicing. Carrots, kale, spinach, apples, cucumbers, celery and lemon. It makes juicing each morning much easier. I took up both crisper drawers in the refrigerator!

New earrings!

New earrings!

My gal Judi gave me these super cute earrings for my birthday while I was in Austin. Aren’t they cute? I like to think of them as baby chickens.

Dirty Paws

Dirty Paws

On Saturday it is The Boy’s birthday! He will be 9 years old. I can’t believe how fast time has gone by. School ends on Friday and I think I am going to bring donuts at lunch time for his class. He asked for them. I am solo happy school is out soon. It will be nice to sleep in for an extra hour and no homework!

How is your Tuesday?

Big Table Farm

Big Table Farm

Big Table Farm

My Man gave me a surprise last night. Six bottles of Big Table Farm wine. My Man and I were introduced to the wine when we went out to dinner a few weeks ago at Empire State South. Big Table Farm is run by a husband and wife team, Brian Marcy and Clare Carver, (I think they are married) and they look like such cool people. I really want to hang out with them on their farm. I love the farm, their chickens (of course), pigs, cows, etc. My Man ended up e-mailing and then talking to Tiffany and ordered one of each of their wines. In fact, one was no longer available on the website and they found one for us! Thanks Tiffany! She checked out My Hotel Yorba blog and also has a cat that squeaks like Simon!

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Clare Carver draws and paints all the labels for the wine bottles. I love her paintings of her chickens! How cool would it be for her to paint portraits of The Girls?!?

Big Table Farm

Big Table Farm

Our Labels

The labels on our wines are made by hand using a letterpress and thick printmaking paper and then hand cut. You will notice the labels are much thicker and have a wonderful texture due to the printing process used. We then hand apply each lable. These Labels are also more fragile than most so each bottle is then carefully wrapped in tissue. While very labor-intensive, this makes for an elegant package that not only befits its contents but also produces less waste than traditional label printing. The art is drawn by Clare and are inspired by our life here at Big Table Farm often featuring a food product or animal from the farm. You can count on the label art being as unique as each vintage of wine.—From Big Table Farm website.

Big Table Farm

Big Table Farm

What My Man ordered:
2011 Cattrall Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml
2011 Wirtz Vineyard Pinot Noir 750 ml
2011 Sunnyside Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml
2011 Resonance Vineyard Pinot Noir 750ml
2011 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 750ml
2010 Big Table Farm Syrah 750ml
We love our Pinot Noir! I can’t wait to open our first bottle. Check out the video that tells you all about Big Table Farm and its history. Watching it will make you want a glass of wine, some delicious food and a chicken or two!

Shout Out!!

Melissa & Eric D. & The D. Family- Thank you so much for the Love With Food subscription! That was so kind of you guys! I am so looking forward to the first shipment and will post all about it.

Happy Birthday to My Man

Quinones

Quinones

On Saturday night, I took My Man out for his birthday dinner at Quinones at Bacchanalia. He has been wanting to go eat there for years and we were lucky to get reservations. We had a 20 course tasting. Mine was slighty different from My Man’s since I do not eat pork.

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SummerLand Farm Radish, Preserved lemon

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North Georgia Trout Crudo, Smoked Egg, House Made Yogurt

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Cauliflower, Red Onion Petals

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Jerusalem Artichoke Profiterole, Black Truffle

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House Cured Bresaola, Mustard

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Kumamoto Oysters, Caviar, Chervil

   

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Hamachi, Shoyu

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Marinated Clams, Uni

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Nantucket Bay Scallops

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Poached Loup de Mer, Sweet Potato

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Greens & Heirloom Grains, Onion, Foie Gras

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Confit Lamb Belly, Apple, Turnip

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Sweetbread, Pumpkin, Leek

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Ballotine of Squab, Chestnut, Sour Cherry

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Lamb Tongue “Ribolitta”

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Apple, Endive, Cabernet

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Cranberry, Orange

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Chocolate & Buttermilk

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Petit Fours

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Happy Birthday!

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Madeleines

I forgot to take a picture of th Maple Pecan desert. We also went ahead and had the Wine Pairings with the meal. All were very good except the I wasn’t a big fan of the port we had with desert. Much to thick and sweet for me. My Man had a wonderful time and the food was incredible. Quinones is now our favorite special occasion restaurant. Today is My Man’s actual birthday and his first gift from me is that I am not waking him up.

I hope you all have a Happy Monday!!

Canoe

My Man

My Man

For the last month My Man has been working from home while his office is being renovated. It has been kinda of nice having him at home during the day. He makes the coffee in the morning after dropping off to the boy to school and take breaks and does some cleaning or laundry. Tomorrow will be the last day before he heads back to his office north of us. Today we went to one of his favorite restaurants, Canoe, for lunch. We have eaten dinner there many times but never lunch.

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We ordered two appetizers to share, Shrimp Spring Rolls with Cilantro and Yuzu and Canoe’s House Smoked Salmon on a Crispy Potato Cake with Vermont Goat’s Cheese. The Smoked Salmon was soooo good. I think I could have eaten two of them all by myself. The Spring Rolls were also very good but the salmon was my favorite.

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For lunch both My Man and I ordered Crispy George’s Bank Cod Fish Sandwich with House Made Tartar Sauce. The sandwich was very tasty. The cod is fresh not frozen and you could tell the difference. The french fries were so good I had to force myself to stop eating them or I would have eaten all of them!

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It was really nice having lunch with My Man. It is such a pretty day today and we had a good time. It is too bad he doesn’t work closer to home. We could meet for lunch much more!

Little Puppy

Little Puppy

It’s Saturday!

We are having a great day today. My Boy was asked on a date today by my assistant’s daughter, Stephanie. She picked him at noon and they went to Sky Zone. He had a great time. Like I have said before, being an only child is cool but being with parents all the time can get old. We are lucky to have such good friends who like our son! He is pretty cool.

While he was gone, I did some “work” work, did laundry (we have so much of it) cleaned out the chicken coop, played ball with Timber and then went to Fresh Market with My Man. We bought items for tonight’s and tomorrow’s dinner.

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Last night me and my boys went out to dinner at C&S Seafood. So YUMMY!!! My Man and I    started with a cocktail. We then split the Wedge Salad (I had them give my bacon to My Man) and a Shrimp and Goat Cheese Beignets. The beignets were so soft and lovely. Perfect for me. We then ordered the Plateaux de Fruits De Mer. It included 12 oysters, 4 shrimp and a pound of king carb legs. OMG! It was soooo good. I have always wanted to order the Plateaux de Fruits De Mer and I am so glad we did. It was wonderful night out.

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Tired out a new scarf yesterday. Thanks again Sue!!

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Shout Out to my Mom and Dad. Look what I got in the mail!! The toothpaste is sooo smooth on my gums, it feels like heaven. The gel, spray and liquid all work wonderful too. Thanks Mom and Dad!

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This is my a view of my home office where I have been working on “work” from home and on the blog. On Thursday, I thought I had lost my Mac. We had icky weather and the power flickered and boom! Mac dead! I was horrified! NOT MY MAC! On the laptop I started IM-ing My Man. He was not happy. I tried restarting it over and over again. I unplugged it. I plugged it in a different outlet. Nothing. I had to go to the store and when I got back I thought I would try to start it again. Bingo! It started. I guess it just needed to rest.

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My work companion, he is never far away. Sometimes we are joined by Panny too. When Simon joins me, he usually sits on top of me or one of the key boards.

Whatcha Reading?

At the moment, I am not reading anything. Sometimes, I am just not in the mood read. Not sure why that is.  However, I am listening to a new series via Audible Books.  It is called the White Trash Zombies Series.  Zombies, I know right? Crazy Me.

So far there are three books in the series and I am now listening to the third one. I really like the books. They take place in a small town in Louisiana. The narrator, Allison McLemore, does a great good with the accent. A bad narrator can totally ruin a book. I have returned books just because of the narrator. The main character is named Angle she is a white trash, high school dropout and addicted to drugs and alcohol when she is turned into a zombie. I really like her character. Being turned into a zombie is the best thing that happens to her. There are cringe worthy gross parts and being white trash and all, cursing but it is a fun series! Check it out!

Hope y’all are having as good as day as I am!  Be Good!!

Question: What are you reading/listening too? I need some suggestions!