garden session

how precious is this cutie?
we spent some time in the gardens shooting her 2 year portraits.
these are a few of my favorites....
miss ella was so fun. she loved the "gapes" (gates) in the bridal garden. so we spent a lot of time hanging out there capturing her little personality. i love the catchlights in her big blue eyes...she was so expressive.
the gardens are GORGEOUS right now! if you are in b'ham, get there while the tulips are blooming!

Birthdays, Birthdays Everywhere...

the girls

the guys

"sleepin' with the fishes"...g decides to take a load off.

petting a sturgeon in the tank

in the Nemo tank

mom and her boys

the fam

March is the month for birthdays among many of our family and friends! We've had a fun month of celebrating so far and look forward to even more.
My St. Patrick's Day baby, Sumner, turned 5 on Saturday! I can hardly believe that my oldest child is 5! My friend, Lauren's daughter, Ellie, turned 5 four days before Sumner. We think this must be a rite of passage among the pre-school set b/c they can't stop talking about it..moreso than any previous birthday! On Saturday, about every 10 mins, Sumner would exclaim, "I'm 5!" Or he would tell random people that we came in contact with of his new age. Jamie has built up a lot of things that you get to do once you're 5, so I think that may have something to do w/ it!
We took the boys to Chattanooga on Sat. for a special day since Sumner's party is 2 wks away. They LOVED it! Sumner was the most excited about seeing sharks and Grayson got to pet a sturgeon....and I loved the sea horses and jelly fish exhibits!
I've included some photos from our trip and also a couple from a recent date to Sol y Luna where we celebrated another March birthday....our friend Matt's. Mindy did a great job planning a fun kid free night for all of us with food, drinks and great conversation!

Dwight K. Shrute and Jim Halpert

altoids, fitness orbs, and bat bites...the best of jim's pranks!

The Office: The Best of Andy Bernard, Vol 2

when jamie and i got in last night, we watched our tivo'd episode of the office. we nearly laughed ourselves into a stupor. i found this montage of andy bernard on youtube and had to post it for all you fellow office fans. if you don't watch this show, do yourself a favor and start!
stick with it to the pig latin "rainbow connection"!

Menu Plan Monday

here's what the plan in the parris household looks like this week. i realized later i had planned a lot of meals from the mediterranean region! bon appetit!

Lunedi: Creamy Chicken and Noodles-Italian variation

Martedi: Mediterranean Couscous Salad

Mercoledi: Homemade Pizzas and Salad...basically Wheat Boboli crust and toppings of our choosing.

Giovedi: No cooking tonight! The hubby and I have a friend's b'day dinner at Sol y Luna. Yum!

Venerdi: Rose' Pasta and Salad. Don't have a link to this one...it's my friend Shawndee's recipe and super easy. Choose your favorite pasta, then simmer the following and mix: a little olive oil and a few cloves of garlic sauteed, one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, Italian seasonings and 3 T. whipping cream. top w/ grated parmesan.

We'll also be sending cupcakes to school with Sumner today. We're going to use the basic recipe from the famous Magnolia Cafe in NYC and add our own variations... Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes

Sabato: Happy 5th Birthday to my sweet Sumner...we'll be out for a day just for him!

New Announcement Designs!

ford

anna caroline

luke

simon

finn

olivia

I've had a lot of fun selecting and editing these fresh new designs for birth announcements and invitations! These designs come in 5x7 flat photo cards except for the "Finn" and "Olivia" designs which are a 4x6. Most have a corresponding boy and girl design and some are unisex. Envelopes are included and these cards come in sets of 25. For a closer view here on the blog, click on the image. Check out the full selection of announcement/invitations at www.jessicaparrisphotography.com!

Works for me Wednesday

So Monday has passed and I'm a little behind, so we'll just call this post, "this menu Works for me Wednesday!"
My dear friend Amanda (whom i would link to here if she had a blog....come on everybody, in unison now...."Join the Blogosphere, Amanda!") told me about this blog the other day. What a great idea!
This blogger, along with several other cooks, posts her week's menu w/ links to the recipes. So, it is quite helpful if you are stuck in a culinary rut!
Here's our plan for this week and I'll try to get on top of things and post next week's on Menu Plan Monday!

Monday: Taco Soup with tortilla chips, sour cream and grated cheese
Tuesday: Cook-Out! I served Grilled Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Chips and Fruit Salad
Wednesday: Dinner at the church
Thursday: Champagne Shrimp and Pasta
with Mandarin Orange and Feta Salad
Friday:Make Your Own Take Out-Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
and bread
Saturday:(Don't forget to set your clocks forward tonight!)
Crab Cakes and Corn Pimento Salad
and salad
**amendment to Thursday-forgot to buy lettuce so we went with Haricots Verts with Lemon Butter (just fancy french for green beans)...we LOVE these at Chez Fon Fon where everything Frank does is delish, so I've been trying to find a comparable recipe for some time.