hot- adj. 1. being at a high temperature 2. very good or impressive

So it was about 95 plus degrees today with very little breeze- what better time to take 2 girls to the zoo?!?! Probably not the best idea, but we made it work.

I've been to several zoos- Dallas, Fort Worth, San Diego, Washington DC, Abilene (yes, Abilene has a zoo). Out of them all, the Nashville Zoo ranks pretty low. There is a lot of walking and not a lot of animals. It seems like we would walk forever to see the meerkat exhibit, then walk forever to see a toucan. The best thing about it- they have Tim Macaw and Zebra McEntire! ha ha!

Like us, the animals were really tired too- most of them were napping in the shade. Who can blame them?!?!

Does your zoo have these two mammals??? I think it was a limited time only special exhibit. Lucky that I caught them on camera . . .

After some lunch and some down time, we headed to historic Franklin. We passed by Franklin High School where Miley Cyrus filmed part of her new movie- Hannah Montana: The Movie. Very exciting for the girls!

Then, we went to one of our favorite spots- a chocolate shop. It smells completely delicious inside. Deborah and Delancy got a specialty chocolate and Jeremy and I got frozen hot chocolates. Yum! I highly recommend stopping by this store. We walked down the streets and stopped in a few cute stores.

Next, it was Ivy’s turn for a treat. The dog park!!! There were no other dogs, but luckily Ivy had 5 people ready to entertain her. She had a great time and we had a great time watching! Click here for the rest of our pics from today!

gaud·y - adj. 1. brilliantly or excessively showy 2. ostentatiously fine

The 2nd day of Deborah and Delancy's visit has been very exciting! We decided to do a craft project and we headed to Michael's for supplies. I had already purchased two very large "Ds" for them to "embellish." Luckily, Lisa and I found our letters there on sale for $1. We bought paint, sparkles, ribbons, dazzlers, glue, rhinestones, etc.

We took a small break for lunch, but we spent most of the afternoon working on the craft project. Deborah and Delancy learned a new word- gaudy! I'll let you decide which letter we were describing when we said gaudy!

Here is our beautiful art work:

We have also spent a lot of time with Ivy! She is a little bit confused, because the girls like her, but they also get a little scared of her. Ivy can be very excited! They told me earlier today that Ivy was sitting at the top of our stairs looking down and she would not come down. They decided that she must be scared & sad and Delancy swears that she saw a little tear roll down her face! I'm not sure- I've never seen Ivy cry and there is not much she is afraid of!

We also stopped by an Italian ice and gelato place near Jeremy's office. It was delicious. We tried a little bit of everything- chocolate gelato, vanilla ice, cookies & cream gelato, lemon ice, blackberry gelato, and mint chocolate chip gelato! That was the highlight of our day!

Click here for more pics!

A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.

My cousins, Deborah and Delancy, are coming for a visit. I asked them what they would like to eat while they are here. They said- Chinese food and chocolate cake. So they're driving out here today with my Aunt Lisa and since I don't want them to be disappointed on their first day at Cousin Erin's, I have the chocolate cake waiting on them!

I made a Butterfinger Cake, which was first introduced to me by Jeremy's mom. It's completely ridiculously fattening . . . but so yummy! I think they will really like it. I personally prefer it with Symphony bars, but Jeremy told me he liked the Butterfinger better, so I did half and half!

Butterfinger Cake

1 chocolate cake mix
1 can Eagle brand milk
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 (8 oz.) tub Cool Whip
2-3 Butterfingers (or other favorite candy bar)

Bake cake as directed on box. Punch holes over entire cake top when it comes out of the over. Pour can of Eagle Brand milk over top of cake while it is hot. Pour jar of caramel over top of the cake next. Let cake cool and absorb these. Refrigerate. When cake is cooled, smooth Cool Whip over top of cake. Top with crushed candy bars.

here is the cake after I've poured on the Eagle Brand and caramel topping

the finished cake!

I’m Movin’ On

We are so sad and we can’t believe it, but we’re MOVING! It’s been in the works for a few weeks now, but I’ve been reluctant to blog about it, because it still hasn’t really sunk in! Although we are so sad about leaving Nashville, we are very excited about this new adventure in Oklahoma City.

On Wednesday night, Jeremy and I left Nashville and started our drive to Oklahoma City. We stayed the night in Little Rock, AR. I’ll mention here that we brought Ivy with us. The hotel in Little Rock (which shall remain nameless) did not allow dogs, so we smuggled Ivy inside in a blanket at midnight. I wish I had a camera to take the picture of Jeremy trying to wrap up Ivy and her little white head poking out of the pink blanket. Looking back, it was pretty funny but at the time I was furious. I’m not a rule breaker and I was so worried that we were going to get caught and have no place to stay! It turned out fine, but I can’t help being a rule follower.

We had a great weekend in Oklahoma. Jeremy met with people at the hospital where he will be working and I checked out the town and we looked at a few homes. We got to catch up with my friend from college, Amanda. We had some delicious sushi and had a great time!


Ivy did so great in our hotel (which in OKC allowed pets and even had a goodie bag for dogs!!!) and really great in the car. She had zero accidents and she didn't even whine! I was super proud of her. But like us, she was ready to get home! She was a little confused by the mirror in our hotel room- I think she thought the Westie in the mirror was going to get her ball!!!

I love you like a fat kid loves cake.

I made some cupcakes for our cookout on Sunday night. I think they turned out pretty well. I cheated a little bit by using a white cake mix for the actual cupcake. But the icing was completely from scratch and that's what really counts!!

I think they were a hit- although, not everyone tried a cupcake. Luckily, Jeremy can always take the leftovers to work! I also have to credit to Melissa and Jeremy- they put the sprinkles on top!

Milk Chocolate Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup milk

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add remaining ingredients, beating until smooth.

E’s Notes:

• I used one package (or box) of powdered sugar.
• I think I added a little extra cocoa powder- I like it very chocolatey!

**NASHVEGAS**

Our great friends, Melissa and John, came to Nashville for a little visit. We had an amazing time. And I spent about 88% of that time being extremely full- I mean stuffed! Because Melissa has lived in Nashville before, she knew all of the delicious restaurants in town and we went to every single one of them!

We started things off by eating at California Pizza Kitchen and looked at the stores in the new Green Hills shopping center. Lunch at CPK was so-so, not the best service, but good pizza! Life is good . . .

Ivy playing with John!

Since Melissa and John were a little tired from their flights, we ordered out sushi and fried rice for dinner. It was fabulous and relaxing!

Sunday we had a HUGE lunch at Amerigo’s and it was completely fabulous. Everything we had was so delicious!

Sunday night- cookout time! Mandy and David (& Harley and Paisley) came over for a cookout. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, queso & chips, baked beans, corn on the cob, and cupcakes for dessert. Ivy, Harley, and Paisley played until they were completely exhausted. We had a great time catching up and of course, eating!

Ivy, Paisley, & Harley

On Monday, I went to a very “Tennessee” tourist site that I have never had a chance to visit! I went to the Jack Daniels distillery- the only place that they make JD in the entire world! It was very interesting and if you’re on a trip through Nashville, I highly encourage you to drive about an hour to Lynchburg for the free tour! They even make their own barrels to store the whiskey! But you can’t buy or try any JD- it’s a dry county!

Melissa & John

Me & Melissa with Jack!

Monday night, we went to another tourist attraction- The Loveless Cafe. It has amazing Southern fried chicken and biscuits! You don’t want to miss it if you’re visiting the area! Praise the lard and pass the biscuits!

We had such a great time with Melissa and John and we can’t wait until they come back!

The “C” Word

We found out in April that Jeremy’s dad, Billy, has prostate cancer. As expected, everyone has been pretty upset. He finally had his follow up appointment today. And if you’re going to have cancer, Billy got the best news possible. The doctor said they caught it very early and it’s very slow growing. What a relief! He is scheduled to have surgery on September 2nd. I know- we couldn’t believe it either! We know there is not a serious rush, but September?!?!

Please remember to keep Billy and Jeremy’s family in your prayers during the next few months. While we are thrilled with the news, it’s still a little scary!

We had a wonderful visit with Billy and Rita! Ivy absolutely adores Billy and will hardly leave his side during the entire time he stays with us!