The Annual Perdue Halloween Party Returns... hehehe
Since I've known Paul, he's prided himself on throwing fun filled Halloween Parties. Last year we missed it as we had a lot going on and were actually traveling, but the Annual Halloween Party has been re-instated and I think it was a hit! There were a lot of awesome costumes, from Cleopatra, to Quagmire to Sponge Bob!
This was Paul and my first Halloween as a married couple, so we decided to do something fun! We were Barney and Betty Rubble from the Flintsone's! All of our friends had wanted us to do this costume for years, and we finally gave in. And we even were about to find something that suited Chunk - He was our little Chunkasaurous!
Check out some of our fun pics! This is just the tip of the iceberg, and there are more at the gallery link below... Next time you should consider coming out!
Check out the full gallery here!
Our First Chili Cook-Off... Team #14 Chunk Master's Chili
This past weekend was our first Chili Cook-off EVER! And I don't think it will be the last. Paul and I, as much as we love to cook and try new things, we have (neither of us) made chili before. We started the week with a test run, in which we invited Desi and Tristan, and A.J. and Ann over to critique. Ironically it was a split vote! Desi and Tristan wanted a little less meat, and a little less spice, and A.J. and Ann said they liked the meat consistency and would like a little more spice!
So we were split down the middle, so Paul and I took the liberty of trying a new recipe for the cook-off! We started the day off with a trip to Whole Foods, and stocked up on some fresh organic veggies and meats!
We bought:
- 4.5 lbs of Bison
- 4.5 lbs of Ground Lean Sirloin
- 3 lbs of Italian Pork Sausage
- 1 lb of Chorizo Sausage
- 6 Green Peppers
- 5 Onions (mixture of white and yellow)
- 4 Jalapeno Peppers (we only used two!)
- 9 Cans of Beans (Black Beans, Kidney Beans and Pinto Beans)
- 5 Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
- 4 Cans of Corn
- 1 Can of Tomato Paste
- Two containers of beef broth
- Gluten Free Beer
The process was really pretty easy, we sautéed up the onions and peppers with the meats while adding lots of fresh chopped garlic cloves. Once all the meat, onions and green peppers were in the big pot, we added the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, canned corn and beef broth. We used about two or three bottles of gluten-free beer, and stirred regularly as we added fresh jalapeno and an assortment of other spices from chili powder to cayenne to paprika, cumin and more!
After that you add the beans to simmer with the meat, juices and seasonings! And Paul also added a bit of molasses for some sweetness (more to cut the burn) - but not a lot at all!
This recipe made 5 GALLONS!
Check out some pics of our booth!
The huge pot for lots of chili!
Doesn't that look delicious!?
Our fun booth - We were Chunk Master's Chili (Chunk our dog inspires us so much!)
Chunk really did enjoy the Chili Cook-off, but his favorite thing was Kara's awesome cornbread! He's telling us here that he wants more!
So the results were in, and while we didn't win, nor did we rank, we made a valiant effort and had repeat customers! I have some thoughts about why things may not have gone our way... and about how it wasn't what I would consider a true test of people's choice on Chili... but c'est la vie! I did bring some into work though, cause we had a good bit left over, and it was a hit!
I think we'll definitely try our hand at another Chili Cook-off in the future, but who knows...
Day Two of Mini Vaca: Perusing Downtown D.C.
Day Two we started the day with my cousin Vinnie's Wedding Rehearsal, but that was a short time before we headed back to D.C. to meet up with friends for dinner, drinks and FUN!
Check out some of our evening festivities! 
We went for Sushi, Hookah and Drinks at Gazuza Lounge in Dupont Circle, and it was amazing! I'm not a hookah person, so I did not partake in that, but I did absolutely enjoy the sushi! The Sabotage Roll was the best! It will set your mouth on fire!!!
Me and Ashley enjoying the atmosphere! Paul was able to get some fun shots!
Then we headed around the other side of Dupont Circle to Eighteenth Street Lounge. A hip bar with good music and lot of interesting people (great for people watching)!
Jeff and his friends, Aliya and Cat... having a good time!
One of the only pics of Paul and I together on the trip! Thank you Ashley! :)
Me and Ash getting our buzz on!
Paul, doing the Jeff pose! haha
We had parted ways with Jeff and his friends at the Eighteenth Street Lounge and decided to meet back up with them. After leaving Dupont, we headed over to U Street for some more bar hopping. We stopped in one of Jeff's favorite stops, Queen Makeda, it was pretty cool, but a little empty for our taste and Jeff and his friends weren't there, so onto the next stop!
From there we reunited with Jeff and his gang at Black Bird's or Black Cats... I'm really not sure! But it was a really cool spot and a nice place to end our D.C. bar tour!
And last, but certainly not least we stopped into the place that Jeff calls JUMBO SLICE, and had like a quarter of this huge pizza per person! It was definitely a good stop after a night of drinking, of course definitely off our diet. Oh well, it definitely hit the spot!
We made it home safe and sound, and actually woke up in plenty of time to head out to MD for the wedding (it started at 2PM and Paul was photographing so we had to be there early)! This was truly a busy weekend, but it's totally awesome to experience D.C. in new ways every time we go!
Click here for the full gallery of pics!
Sushi and Laughs for Biscuit's Birthday
For my Biscuit's (Monica's) birthday, we did it up with a fun-filled day and evening of good eats and laughs.
We started out the day with a trip to the Home Show with my Mother, Trey (my nephew) and Desi! It was a pretty good time once we got over to Cobb Galleria. We stopped into Buckhead Pizza Co. and Monica and I tried their Gluten Free Pizza - It was AWESOME!
Then we headed into the Home Show, and Desi got to meet her HGTV Curb Appeal Idol, John Gidding, as you can tell she was very happy and excited!
Then onto the evening at Zest Sushi and Tapas Bar in Roswell, GA. Monica LOVES sushi and made a point to me that she will have sushi for her birthday. It was actually a great place to start the evening as it had a great atmosphere, Tapas for those whom aren't fans of sushi, and awesome sushi! Everything was cooked, and seasoned to perfection, the presentation was top-notch! The atmosphere was warm and contemporary trendy. The entire package was amazing! Our meal started with calamari, pan seared scallops, lamb lollipops, spicy shrimp over mashed potatoes, dinner consisted of several delectable rolls of sushi, and we ended it with a chocolate soufflé and cheesecake! Don't worry we shared it with 8 super cool people! Everything was absolutely phenomenal! We were all very satisfied with this great restaurant.
From the restaurant we moved to Andretti, unfortunately not for racing, but for a comedy show! Funny Farm Comedy Club has moved their shows to Andretti, and the new location was not quite what I expected, but the comedians and show more than made up for that! We saw Pat Dixon, someone we haven't seen before, but definitely would check out again. He was hilarious, with his dry humor and wit! You should definitely check him out!
Overall I think the Biscuit Birthday was a success, doesn't she look happy? Awww I love my Biscuit! Happy Birthday baby
We Finally Got Our Wedding Album!
Paul and I were married on November 13th of last year. It took us a while to get our wedding album design done, but I put the deadline of Mother's Day out there and we met it! We decided to buy an album for each of our Mom's for Mother's day and they were so excited. But after spending the money on that, we really didn't want to invest in one for ourselves just yet!
But it turned out great that we waited cause, the company (Blurb.com) we use to publish our albums has come out with a "proline" with a pearl paper. I was so excited to see that and was totally ready to order it and we did! It was delivered yesterday and look look, it's WONDERFUL!
You can check out the full digital click-through of the album here...
Paul does amazing photography and just as amazing design albums! Whether or not you have him photograph your wedding or event, he could certainly design you an amazing album! Check out his photography site and albums to find out more!
