I am sitting down to type this up during nap time with a panoramic ocean view in front of me.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  I still haven’t filled you in on the rest of our Atlanta travels, and I need to catch up before too much more happens!

The rest of our visit with Casey’s family was wonderful.  On Thursday, Casey and I took Cullen to the Georgia Aquarium, and I spent all of Friday over at his aunt’s house getting ready for my sister-in-law’s baby shower. 

We’d been prepping and planning for months, and it was so exciting to see it all finally come to life!  Saturday morning finally arrived, and I headed over early to do the finishing touches and get ready to celebrate.

I planned the shower along with Casey’s mom, Tina, and aunt, Toby.  My main focus was on theme, invitations, and decorations.  I spent all of Friday assembling, climbing, hanging, and taping. 

No party is complete without fresh flowers.  I ran out to get these right before we got started!

Pretty lanterns and streamers all around the dining room. 

And of course, the FOOD!  I planned the menu around the theme, and Casey’s mom and aunts made all of the dishes.  Our theme was a “bring-a-book” baby shower, so guests brought children’s books instead of cards (and signed the inside), in order to help build baby girl’s first library.  (I got the idea from Krissy and bookmarked it forever ago!)

On the brunch table, I set out each dish with its corresponding children’s book, and a little chalkboard menu card.  I think it turned out really cute!  We had fruit salad to go along with Sara Anderson’s Fruit (one of Cullen’s favorites!). 

Pasta shells with fresh tomatoes, peas, and feta cheese, to go with Little Pea. 

Blueberry cinnamon muffins, next to Blueberries For Sal, of course. 

We had herb cheese cucumber sandwiches to go with The Giant Jam Sandwich.  (We were originally going to put them with Sam’s Sandwich, but couldn’t find it in print anymore!)

And of course, no book-themed shower is complete without meatballs and marinara, along side Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. 

And everyone’s favorite – Green Eggs and Ham.  We made mini frittata muffins – one batch with spinach and one with bacon.  So delicious!

It was an awesome spread of food, and I think the stacks of books really made for a fun display.  Of course no party is complete without dessert!  We ordered sugar cookies and a carrot cake (from Cakes By Darcy), set up next to If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and The Carrot Seed.  It turned out so cute (and tasty!). 

A delicious carrot cake to welcome in the new (still nameless – it’s a secret!) baby girl.  I can’t wait to meet her!

Just as we finished getting set up, our guest of honor arrived.  I feel so lucky to have a sister-in-law that I am really close with, and I was happy to help be able to throw her such a fun celebration. 

Couldn’t have done it without these three fabulous women.  Casey’s mom and aunts are all so wonderful – I had a blast hanging out and cooking/decorating with them all day on Friday.  I feel very blessed to have two families I love so much.

Pretty lanterns hung and ready for guests to enjoy!

We also had a drink table set up in the kitchen.  Orange juice and champagne mimosas…

And yummy sparkling pink lemonade!

All the girls arrived, and hung out talking and ate for a bit.  We had torrential rain the morning, and it cleared up just in time for the party. 

After brunch, it was time for gifts.  We moved into the family room to watch Katie open all her adorable goodies.  Those yellow poms were a labor of love – much trickier than I thought they would be!

Katie opened a ton of tiny, adorable pink ruffly things.  Baby girl stuff is just so precious!  I about died when she opened a red heart covered mini bathing suit. 

Toward the end, the boys showed up to say hello.  Daddy-to-be!

And I forced everyone outside for some family group shots before we left.  The next generation of Malones.  I love these guys!

Cullen and Aunt Katie!  He’s so excited to have a new playmate in the family.

Happy couple, soaking up the last bit of freedom.  :) 

And of course, Mimi and “Ampa” – Cullen is totally obsessed.  He had so much fun with them this week, and it made saying goodbye that much harder. 

As soon as the party was over and we helped clean up a bit, we had to pack up and hit the road for phase two of our trip.  It was such a wonderful week with Casey’s family, and I’m so grateful that it worked out for us to be there with the timing of Casey’s conference. 

Counting down until Baby Girl Malone arrives in just a few short weeks!

For those who are keeping track, you might remember a summer evening last July, where we had big news and reasons to celebrate Casey’s career.  We’ve waited all this time for it to be official, but as of yesterday, Casey officially has his FSA degree.   

His final conference and certificate ceremony were the main reasons for our trip to Atlanta this week.  And of course, with so much family living down here, it worked out perfectly to turn it into a long visit.  Once the conference was over and the graduate was home, Casey and I left Cullen at home with Mimi and Grandpa…

And headed out for a night to celebrate – just us two. 

He has worked toward this achievement for over ten years, and it’s hard to believe all the exams, study hours, and seminars are finally over.  I am so unbelievably proud of him!

We headed out to Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, and made our way to Flip Burger.  I’m a big Top Chef fan, and I knew of Flip Burger from hearing Richard Blais talk about it on the show, but had never really considered going before…until I looked at the menu. 

Of course there was your usual burger fare and plenty of meat and seafood options, but there were some delicious sounding veggie sides, and a veggie burger I knew we had to try.  We had the crispy cauliflower with almond romesco, fried capers, and pickled cippolinnis. 

The fried bread and butter pickles with buttermilk ranch – ooooomgggg you guys.  I could have eaten three more orders of these, and I think poor Casey only got two or three because I wolfed down the whole bowl.  This is fried food done right – not too greasy and perfect batter.

We also shared sweet potato tots with coffee BBQ spice rub and a blue cheese foam.  Delicious.

And for the main event, we each got the Fauxlafel – chickpea patty, tzatziki sauce, marinated vegetables, and arugula.  Casey and I agreed it was one of the best veggie burgers we’ve ever had. 

I couldn’t resist the temptation of the dessert menu.  We shared a Nutella and burnt marshmallow liquid nitrogen milkshake.  Exactly as amazing as it sounds. 

It was a really fun night out, and a great chance to celebrate together.  We made it home to sneak in a few extra hours visiting with everyone before bedtime.  Now that Casey’s conference is over, he’s back at the house hanging out with us for a few more days until we head to our next destination (Hilton Head!).  This week is going by too quickly!