The Fourth with Our Favorites

I believe I mentioned before that the (crazy) Tapella's- now a party of THREE with Baby Landon's arrival two weeks ago- were going to host us and about 15 other couples at their house for a Fourth of July Celebration.  We got the invite in the mail about 3 weeks before Landon came- and all I could think of was how very brave that girl is.  Of course, everything was just perfect- She never fails to surprise me- even with the birth of her first baby boy just a short time before. 

Yummy table full of SUGAR-y treats.  Cuppy Cakes to die for- the almond in the icing tipped the iceberg of deliciousness!                     

Goodie bags for our treats :) awesome. Sangria and fresh lemonade for the ladies and coolers of beer for the boys.. and we all (now) know how Jordan LOVES beer.

This would be the hostess with the mostest- and isn't she stunning?  LOVE her more than Jordan LOVES beer ;)

My sweet Diana- we were twinkies in festive red

My Supper Club Sweets

My gorg bestie- looking nothing less than beautiful :)

Jordan- enjoying his 1st cuppy cake and Chris (Diana's hubby)

My lovie bug ( a little blurry- but works well enough)
Make note of the jar of white gumballs in the background..

Baby Landon (gorgeous blue eyes!)

The Boys enjoying (more) cuppy cakes- Jordan.. thats your third.  STOP.

Pool time!

And...
The gumballs. 
Jarrett: "See how many can you fit in your mouth, Amber?"
Me: "More than you."
Chris: "I'll beat all of you."
Me: "Whatever. Bring it."
The stand off.. Jarrett vs. Chris vs. Amber.

SIGH.. Chris won with 14.. or 15. I thought my jaw was going to fall off after 10.

Ashley didn't know she was invited to play :) 

Mommy and Daddy Tapella love.. Landon is quite a lucky kiddo.

Burger (and dog) time!  The Fourth of July wouldn't be complete without these staple foods.

Hanging out by the pool- soaking in the sun!

What a fun way to celebrate with friends!  We love the Tapella's (and the rest of the crew loaded up in the T house over the weekend) Thank you sweet friends for your kind hospitality, delicious food, and for my baby Landon fix..until this weekend- Supper Club at the Massey's.

"I Love Beer." - J. Massey

A couple weeks ago Jordan and I planned a date night for one of our only free evenings with nothing to do.. This weekend finally came and we partook in two of our very favorite things at the moment- Movies and Sushi.   

Love at a stoplight- hurry in for a kiss!

 Hoshi Hibachi
Since Jordan's new found love, or should I say-ADORATION,  for sushi we have tried several different places.  We've decided Hoshi is the best (but we are always open to suggestions for your favorites!) While we were waiting for our Hoshi Tower (Oh geez- delicious!) Jordan enjoyed this Japanese beer. 

J: "I love beer." 
Me: "..like that specific beer?"
J: "No.  Just in general.  I love it."

Just casual conversation.. it goes so deep sometimes. :)

 A new roll we tried- The Kamikazi roll.  and we like it!

 Simple Salmon Roll, The Titanic, and El Diablo

After we overate at Hoshi.. We walked it off browsing through furniture displays at various stores- even picked up a few items for decor.

After a stop in the candy aisle at Walmart (would rather spend $0.98 than $4.50 on a box of Mike and Ike's) we headed off to the theater to see Bad Teacher. 

Meh.. it was alright.  The previews gave all the funny parts away.  It made me wish we would have picked the new Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks movie :)

Great start to our holiday weekend!  I love date nights..

and Jordan loves beer.

In Three Years..

This is the longest I have ever neglected my poor little blog.  It makes me sad to think about.  But life in general got in the way.. Even Chocolate Broccoli was left out a time or two.  Don't get me wrong.. I feel like a lifetime has passed- and I have so much to update! All of May and pretty much June, too has gone by without so much as a hello from these Massey's.  Sooo.. rather than dwell on what you've missed- I promise to keep updates regular.  Nothing better than a fresh new look for my sweet blog.  I was looking through old posts yesterday and came upon so many memories through the past three years and realized how precious my blogging hobby is.  So thankful for these memories to have been recorded somewhere other than my forgetful brain :)  Yes- at 26 I can say that my mind leaves me quite often.
Some updates I can give: The Soon-to-Be-Dunaways are no longer soon-to-be!  The wedding was beautiful, elegant, and so, so much fun.  Ashley was (with no surprise) stunning.  Here are some pictures..Ashley's multiple postings (which was totally necessary!) does better justice.

The Rehearsal Dinner
Our Supper Club Friends :)

My Speech!  It was better than the Bride's brother ;)  

The After Party

The Wedding

My beautiful best friend and her 'maids

 The wedding party.. stopping traffic.  Literally.

The Ceremony
The Avanti Fountain Place- simply fabulous!

The Reception
Dance, Dance!

 Jordan made his appearance.. and I gave him grief :)

Photobooth Fun
Silly, yet elegant

These Crazies.  This is by far the best picture of the night.  I laugh out loud every time I look at it- mainly because this shows the personality of each one of my supper club crazies.  It deserves a frame in my house.

 Quite a beautiful day overall- and I'm so thankful to have been apart of it.

**Shortly after The Dunway's returned from their honeymoon- they invited us and the new soon-to-be-Dunaway's to the Byron Nelson.  Diana and Chris were there, too :)  They came for the golfing.. We showed not for the golfing.. but for the live country music, beer, and delightful friends.
Blurry Camera Phone. They wouldn't let you bring anything more than this in.
They encouraged 'Tweeting'  HA!

They boys challenged us to 'get on stage' with the entertainment of the evening.. which happened to be Jack Ingram.  We weaseled our way to the 'pit'..well around the pit. and then Jack came off stage and grabbed my arm for us girls to come on in. True Story.
..again with the camera phone. 

Then proceeded to be invited on stage- by Jack (We are now on a first name basis.)  Jarrett took a picture of the Jumbotron.  Three girls on the left.. that's us :)

 Oh..and this is our view from the stage- that would be Jack's head. 

In the words of Kellie Raspberry That's all I got- How'd ya like that? 

What's new this week? 
**The annual Station 6 Fourth of July Party was this weekend- and I'm sad I didn't snap one single picture.  Truthfully I left my camera on the counter after cooking and taking pictures the night before.  Then failed to grab it among the million other things we were toting to the party. Blech.

**A couple of speaking enagements for work- a cooking demo/Lunch and Learn tomorrow. I've done several Lunch and Learn talks, but never have I actually prepared the lunch :)  I should be tweaking my final powerpoint intstead of blogging, but I've got my priorities in line today. 

**Our Supper Club friends- the Tapella's are graciously hosting us for a Fourth of July Party, and really looking forward to it!  Not only for the time with friends, but selfishly getting to love on their new and oh-so-pinchably-cute baby Landon.  I met him briefly this past weekend when dropping off dinner and love to the Tapella's and it was NOT enough. Brave sister girl for hosting this bash less than 2 weeks post baby boy.  But that overdue belly toted along with Jacqueline as she made her way through the stores preparing for this party.  Super Woman to say the least.  I almost failed to mention that she cooked for us 3 days before going in to be induced.  We could have had our nineth addition to the table just in time for the pasta to be done that night :) 

Although my updates are not brief, hence the long as all get out blog posting- I did my best to update.  Here's to my new(est) post, on my new blog (design), and new start to the summer :) 

Have a beautiful, Tuesday

Seee ME!

On the Texas Health Mom's blog today- my Chocolate Broccoli feature is up with one of my most popular recipes for the Sneaky Mom :) 

Gooooo ahead- show me some love :)

A Lot of Catching Up to Do..

I've been a bad blogger, that's for sure.  I feel like there hasn't been much of anything going on.. but, actually- my life has been pretty full :)  Last time I posted- I mentioned the tragic death of my blessed camera.  Ohhh emmm gee.  My right arm is missing.  Poor Chocolate Broccoli readers have been enjoying pictures from the iPhone. But- I will say- I'm totally impressed with the quality of the pictures that camera will take.  ANYway.  So.. life the past month or so (EWweee- I hate that kind of posting..)  A couple weeks ago we celebrated Miss Ashley for a girls weekend in Austin- OH so much fun!!   Quite a different experience, as you can see from the 'pole' picture below.. HA!  It was a blast!  Fellow MoH-Katie opened up her house to the girls for the weekend., and I will say it was amazing how smooth it all went with so many females in one place.  Three bathrooms, and 12 females..and I wish someone would have gotten a picture of the living room..blow-up matresses lined side by side- each lady with her own snuggle partner.  And then there was Katie, the Bride, and myself upstairs in Katie's queen sized bed- I love those girls much more now after the near suffocation from hair and arms and pillows for three nights straight ;)

Today was the Bridal Luncheon, hosted by Ashley and Momma Deb at the Lally house.  It was B-E-A-utiful.  Brunch was delicious and the company was even better.  One week away!  Can't quite believe it!  And wouldn't you know leave it to the wind to be up close and personal.  It seemed to make it's way up under my dress in not one, but TWO pictures.  Awesome :)

Lastly- a short update in my RD life- 1.) I just returned from a 4-day stretch in Houston for the Texas Dietetics Association Food Nutrition Conference and Expo.  (Will blog later about that..gotta wait for pictures- UGH, hate relying on other to take my pictures.  I need a camera. ASAP.)  2.)  I have recently accepted a postion with Texas Health Resources Executive Health Program.  It is the opportunity of a lifetime that completely fell in my lap, with an offer I could not refuse.  I am now doing much more of what I seek in my career as a dietitian- counseling, wellness, media, and public communication.  Lots of exposure of the RD in this position, and I am so thankful (and flattered) that my dietetic rockstar friend referred me to the position.  I'm in week two- and seriously loving every moment.  Sad to leave Kindred- but I am satisfied in my decision to make this positive career move. 

So- that's all for now.  I promise not to stay away too long next time!

A Martini Masquerade

Moving right along to April 16th, We celebrated Ashley and Jarrett with a Martini Masquerade themed couple's shower.  Our Supper Club friends were the perfect hosts- thinking of every detail- right down to the most creative Bride and Groom masks!  

Green Apple-tini's and Ashley's favorite- Raspberry Lemon Drop Martini

Jambalaya and various Fat Tuesday cuisine filled our bellies:)

Love these hostesses :)  Jacqueline, Baby Boy T, and Diana

The Guests of Honor

Ashley with her some of her best girls..That mask on my face left me looking like I had been beaten with a bat.  The blue rubbed off onto my cheeks and nose..grrrr..

My Supper Club girls..and this was the last picture I got before dropping my precious camera.  Not a scratch on it- but the darn thing wont even turn on.  SICK, sick about it. :(

The Bridesmaids (minus Lo..poor girl was traveling for work)

MOH Katie and Amber

Now.. what Mardi Gras party wouldn't be complete without a King Cake.. Jarrett found the baby :)  The Tapella's and Cabrera's decided on the award for the individual the found the King Cake Baby.. kick off  karaoke.  Jarrett was the lucky man.. clearly seen here pleading his case.

 His pleading did not work.... Madonna's Material Girl was the song of choice.

 And it turned into quite the entertaining show

What could be better than these pictures??  Oh... a video. :)

Our turn next..sorry, no video- that I've seen anyway.

We giggled our way through Britney Spears, our second choice after we realized Spice Girls was not an option.

 Ashley and her proud parents- love me some Scott and Deb  :)

 Beautiful Masked Ladies of the night. 

 WHAT and AWESOMELY fun shower :)  Hard laughs, karaoke, dancing, and good company.  The fun isn't over, yet.. T-minus 2 days until our girls gettaway to Austin! 

29

That past Thursday was Jordan's 29th birthday- and we celebrated with an evening out- just the two of us. 
He worked at the station on Wednesday- I had a treat for him when he got home Thursday morning- YUMMY caramel and chocolate cuppy cake from Market Street's bakery.  DELISH.

Thursday evening we treated ourselves to at Hoshi Hibachi and Sushi.  Much to my surprise- after his visit to Sushi Zushi, and then a restaurant at our resort in Mexico..and again in College Station, J has become quite the sushi lover.  Eating sushi was once something I could do only on dinner dates with girlfriends- but now I can share a roll with my sweet :)  SWEET.

Dinner was delicious..can't wait to go back! This place was so close to our house, too.

Jordan all smiles with his Volcano Roll- so good!

After dinner we went to see a movie- Unknown.  Pretty good- spent most of the movie a little confused, and I was happy to know Jordan was, too!  It was such a perefct night with my sweet man.

Friday I took off work so we could spend time together- we had a busy weekend ahead of us (more blogging to come!) and I didn't want his birthday to be left in the dust.  Jordan was under the impression that we were going to breakfast that morning- up until the doorbell rang... Two massage therapists were there to provide us with a couple's massage, right in our living room!!  My jaw-dropped husband quickly tranisitioned to excitement as we relaxed for an hour of silence, right in the comfort of our own home. 

Needless to say- he had a great birthday- and I had just as much fun planning it for him :)  Love you, my sweet (29 year old) fireman!