SIMPLE HAPPY

This week's Simple Happy was watching these guys and all their relatives partying down in our garden.

What about you? What simple wonders made your breathing slow and put a smile on your face?

FAMILY FUN AND CRAPPY DINNER PARTIES

 
Hard to believe Little Goober is four and a half months old now. Things are changing faster than we can keep up with them. One day he's a slug on a rug, the next one he's laughing and giggling and rolling all over the place! Going down in the family annals for sure was the day Papa John said something rude about "silly grandmas" and, with absolute perfect timing, Goobs got a lopsided grin on his face and let out a snarky "Heh!" Mima didn't feel too insulted however, for only she can still do this with her magic lullabies!

A couple of weeks ago, when the men were all at DerbyCon or Fantastic Fest, we gals decided to head down to Austin's Pecan Street Festival.

Our bearded boys would've loved this booth!

Unfortunately, after an entire week of lovely fall-like weather, the sun decided to come out in full force that day, and the canopy on Calvin's stroller really wasn't doing much to protect him.  Luckily, there was a nice cool Mexican joint nearby for us to adjourn to!

Now, onto the subject of "Crappy Dinner Parties". Believe it or not, that's actually a thing now! When I was a young stay at home mom, watching a bit too much Martha Stewart on TV, I longed to throw parties and spend time with other adults the way we used to (parties being our only entertainment when living on company compounds overseas), but just couldn't find the time or energy to pull it all together, especially not to Martha's standards! Thinking about the neighborhood I grew up in, where friends would call and say "We're fixing to grill some burgers out by the pool. Want to bring whatever you were planning to fix and join us?", my solution was to throw lots of pot lucks and form supper clubs with rotating hosts wherever we were living. Number one rule at supper club? She who hosts it doesn't have to cook, since planning the meal, assigning courses, providing beverages, setting tables and most importantly, cleaning one's entire house, were all more than enough to deal with! Lexi's generation has come up with their own solution -- the crappy dinner party.

Apparently a young mom named Kelley Powell wrote a blog post on how she and her best friend came up with this idea, and it really struck a chord, for last time I checked, it had been shared more than 120,000 times. In case you are one of the few people who didn't see a link to it on Facebook in recent weeks, here are 5 Rules for Hosting a Crappy Dinner Party (and Seeing Your Friends More Often) :

1. No housework is to be done prior to guests arrival
2. Menu must be simple and not involve a special grocery shop
3. You must wear whatever you happen to have on
4. No hostess gifts allowed
5. You must act like you're surprised when your guest and her family arrive (optional)

Lex has taken that idea and run with it, sending out an open invitation to friends and family to show up at her house on the last Friday of every month for a Crappy Pot Luck. I think it's a brilliant idea, and am honored to be on the guest list.

Uncle Nootie Gets Quality Goober Time at a Crappy Dinner Party

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." ~ Old Proverb

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

Though the Gaylord Texan may have been a tad short on shopping bargains and moan-inducing food, sister Gus had heard that downtown Grapevine had all that and more, so we decided to go investigate. Our greatest discovery was a little French cafe called Main Street Bistro and Bakery. Oo La La!

Believe you me, there were moans aplenty to be had in this place!

Three Takes on Grilled Cheese -- American, French and Italian

Lunch was so filling, we didn't have room for dessert, but we did take one thing from the bakery -- an amazing tart with a creamy filling beneath a shell of chocolate ganache -- back to the hotel, to share during a high-stakes game of Shanghai (kinda like gin rummy). I lost big time, but didn't really care since I was eating ganache.

Then there were the shops! My favorite, of course, being a color-mad shop called Good Things For All Seasons...

where I found the absolute perfect headpiece to wear to my daughter's annual Halloweeny Day of the Dead Anniversary Mima's Birthday Party!

Too bad I can't show it to you yet.