Taking the Day Off

So, it’s Friday and I’m taking the day off.

But, you can find me over here doing a guestpost for Camila, of High Heeled Foot in the Door. She does a series called, In Her Shoes, and asked ME to come over and contribute about what my day is like. Seriously! I warned her, my daily life isn’t all that exciting, but I came up with something to share, so hope you’ll go on over and read all about it.

Boring, really.

And in the meantime, you can enjoy my anniversary roses. I have the best, most thoughtful husband. I think I’ll keep him another year. :)

Anniversary dinner was at a new place in town on Hwy. 280, Chuck’s Fish. The owner is from Destin and has opened many seafood restaurants over the years.

Pretty menus

I had amberjack with artichokes and asparagus with a side of mashed potatoes. It was all yummy and I’d recommend that you try it if you live in the area. Nice place for a special dinner out.

And before I go, one of my readers told me about an estate sale in Hoover, taking place today and Saturday: 1894 Napier Drive, Hoover, if any of you in the area would like to check it out. I am going over this morning.

Here's another link to check out, Joycee at Granny Mountain did a thrifting recap of blogs and included me in the list. Go over and take a look and you might find another new blog to peruse. Cute post, Joycee!

Hope you all have a great weekend! We don’t have anything planned, but it’s hot, hot, hot here right now.

Bogue’s Restaurant

Back in 2005, long before I knew we’d be moving to Birmingham, I picked up my beloved Traditional Home magazine, the March 2005 issue and opened it up for a browse. This issue featured homes, gardens, and places to visit all in Birmingham. I quickly fell in love. I read every bit of the articles talking about Birmingham, loved all the homes, and had no idea that I’d be living here one day very soon. Turns out, it was the end of that year when we moved over here from Atlanta. Thank goodness I like to hang onto magazines. When we did decide to move, I picked the magazine back up and scoured that article over and over. One place that I decided I’d love to visit was this restaurant recommendation, called Bogue’s. It took me awhile to visit the original location, but I did when I was working a couple of years ago. We all went there for lunch one day. It was good Southern cooking. I sure was looking forward to the sweet rolls that were bragged on in the Traditional Home article (above) and wouldn’t you know it, they were completely OUT that day. That was the one and only time I had been to Bogue’s.

So, imagine my glee when driving down Hwy. 280 recently, I saw what was going in on OUR side of town but another Bogue’s, a tradition since 1938, as you can see from the sign. They cook up breakfast and lunch Southern style. Peter and I hit it for breakfast recently and were not disappointed.

We both got the veggie omelet with hashbrowns and biscuits.

It was all delish! We’ll definitely be going back. But the best part is….we ordered 1/2 dozen sweet rolls to go.

And it’s a good thing we ordered them first, because the waitress brought them out in a to-go box and told us that we got the last of the breakfast batch. There wouldn’t be anymore until lunch. We lucked out! And I finally got to taste those sweet rolls that made me want to check this place out when I was first reading that March ‘05 Traditional Home magazine. Sometimes a magazine article just sticks with you! If you get a chance, check out Bogue’s.

And yes, the rolls are heavenly, like homemade cinnamon rolls, definitely worth the wait. And they have a drive-thru, not that I'll be using that or anything. No, not me.

Joe’s Italian Restaurant

My friend, Sandi from Whistlestop Cafe Cooking, introduced me to a great little Italian restaurant in her neck of the woods, so Peter and I checked it out with Sandi and her hubby one night not too long ago. And we’ve been hooked ever since. If you live in Birmingham, it would definitely be worth your while to check out Joe’s. Joe is originally from Sicily (with the thick accent to prove it!) and owned and operated a restaurant out in Gilroy, CA for many years before moving to Birmingham last year to be near his children. They talked him into opening this small family-owned and run restaurant in a residential area of Pelham/Alabaster and it is truly fantastic.

Not a huge place, if you go on Friday or Saturday night, be prepared to wait for a table. The food is cooked by the mama (homemade pasta and pizza) and Joe will greet you at the door. Their son and daughters are also on hand cooking and taking care of things.

Joe makes homemade tiramisu and it is just to die for and they offer many other homemade desserts made by the mama herself. You will not leave this place hungry or disappointed. They are at 21 Weatherly Club Drive in Alabaster on Hwy. 11.

We’ve told all our friends about Joe’s and I hope you’ll try it too if you live in Birmingham!

Mangia Mangia!

Celebrating Debbie's Birthday

(Debbie's hubby, Rick, along with their entire family: daughter & SIL, and 2 sons, who were acting crazy, as usual!) I was playing with my new camera on night setting.



My friend, Debbie turned 48 on Saturday, so we were invited to join their family and another couple who are friends of theirs for dinner at a local Japanese steakhouse restaurant, Stix. There were 10 of us and we had a ball. You know the drill, sit around the big cooking pit where the guy cooks everything right in front of you. It's always a fun experience to see your food being cooked and then you get to eat it right away.
The rest of us waiting for dinner to start. That's Debbie beside me. Remember when I took you on a visit to their farmhouse in the country last year? Debbie and Rick are great people!
So, the show starts with major flame throwing by the chef. Always a treat to see fire!
Took so many pics while he was preparing our meal, he called me papparazzi. We all got a kick out of that one.
We all ate so much we were stuffed at the end of dinner. But, Debbie had other plans......
Since it was HER birthday, she wanted to go and get HOT Krispee Kreme donuts for dessert. We didn't argue and luckily the big neon sign was lit, so you know what that means! I had never been inside this big store that we have and what a fun place to watch donuts being made. Look at them all! There was a group of 14-yr. old girls in there who were celebrating a birthday and after they heard us sing to Debbie, they all rushed over and gave her a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday in a way only 14-yr. old girls on a sugar high can do. It was too cute!
Here they are coming out of the cooking vat, ready for the icing to go on. We all wondered if we would get tired of donuts if we worked at a donut shop. Huummmm, maybe not!

Yardsales & Restaurants

Of course, I found a couple of keepers this weekend...how could I not? This aqua old bottle was $2 & looks very much at home here in the den entertainment center.

This cute little bunny needlepoint pillow was $2 & I'm keeping him! With my love of bunnies, he is a welcome little addition to our house. Right now he is sitting on a guestroom bed.
This pic doesn't do this dress justice, but it's the cutest little linen turquoise dress(matches my eyes!) for $3. Pretty embroidered flowers on the bottom hem. And I wore it to church on Sunday.

And, one more little piece of creamware for my collection, $3.00, a little soup or gravy tureen.

That's all for me, but check out the shop today for more finds!

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Sandi, over at Whistlestop Cafe, tagged me last week for a restaurant meme (how in the world do you pronounce that & what exactly is it...is it mimi...someone please tell me?? LOL). Anyway, I am going to list 5 of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham. Well, this might be a little boring, but I'll give it a shot anyway. We don't go out to eat at fancy restaurants all that often anymore, but I'll come up with some others since Sandy named 3 of our favorites already. I think you all know I'm in Birmingham, AL. I think I'll break the rules & not tag anyone else. Can I do that? I think I just did!

Here are the rules:
*Link to the name of the person that tagged you
*Include state and country you live in
*List top 5 favorite local restaurants
*Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged


1. Jim & Nicks BBQ - We go to the Hwy. 280 location & it is the best BBQ in town, as far as we're concerned. I always get the same thing...chopped pork plate with homemade french fries, coleslaw & the best cheese muffins you've ever put in your mouth! YUM...it's good! B'ham is known for it's BBQ, which I did not know until we moved here.

2. Giuseppe's Cafe - 925 Eight St. South From City Scene: "If Grandma's Italian cooking is what you're after, head to Giuseppe's, which specializes in pizza, pasta and friendly service." We visited here for lunch one day. It's right off I-65, sort of in a neighborhood, & the food was really very good. Have only been there once, but we'd go again. Very casual, but good Italian fare.

3. Classic Joe's - This place is close to our home & we used to go there quite a bit last summer when my hubby's son was working there. It's more of an upscale (but not extremely so) kind of place, with good American food done very well. There's a big oak tree out front with a huge deck built around it & they have live music on the weekends. Great place to sit & chill. The vanilla bread pudding is to die for!!

4. The Fish Market - I have to include this wonderful place too, even though it's on Sandi's list also. I had never seen a fish restaurant quite like this one until we came over here. My hubby loves this place & couldn't wait for us to go there & again, we are hooked. There's a new location out in our neck of the woods & that's the one we frequent. Wonderful fresh seafood, family friendly, & great prices too!

5. Edgar's Bakery & Cafe - I met some friends here for lunch a few weeks ago & was pleasantly surprised at what a great lunch menu they have. We got there early & it's a good thing, because lots of folks showed up for lunch. You can also grab something from the bakery on your way out the door. The baked goods will make you drool just looking at them through the glass! I have heard that this place has been around forever & they are known as THE bakery around here.

Edited to Add: We have been out to several of the more upscale places here in Birmingham & I'll give them a big shout-out too. The Copper Grill (went there on my birthday one year) is superb for seafood & steaks, as is Shula's. We've also been to the Hot & Hot Fish Club & Bottega (stepson worked there for several months last year too). Both of those were really great, pricey, but really good food. You know...the more upscale restaurants that have a wonderful presentation, delicious food, but you leave hungry?? So, that's one reason why we don't do upscale all the time. Classic Joe's, that I've already mentioned is very good too & they give you plenty of food. I guess that's one of my pet peeves. You spend a ton of money for a great meal & leave hungry? Something is wrong with that! Cause I'm tellin' y'all, I can really pack it in when I'm hungry!

That's it for the restaurant meme! I'm still learning about Birmingham, since we haven't been here all that long. If anyone else wants to play, just let me know! Have a great week!