Weekend with the Family

Friday night, James and I relaxed at home after a long work week.  We found a pretty good beer selection at a place near our office, so we picked up a few new things to try and then played video games into the evening.  It's a good thing, too, because the rest of the weekend I didn't get a bit of rest!

Saturday morning I got up early and started on my extensive weekend menu.  I was in charge of our Mother's Day lunch. These are some of my favorite types of meals to plan because I get to think about cute packaging and everything is expected to be at room temperature (or cool) so I don't have to worry about getting several things hot at once. I also get to have a little more fun with the menu because I'm not worried about having meat (NOT my forte) or something "manly."

Our menu:

Tomato and Mozzerella Tart with Garlic-Basil Crust (from here)

Broccoli Salad (I'll share the recipe soon)

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Bread (recipe here)

Mrs. Wilson's Rosemary Lemonade (James Farmer's recipe)

That afternoon, we went to my cousin's house for a birthday party.  There was a great turnout and we had so much fun hanging out with family.  The food was delicious, too, and I loved taking pictures of all of the neat little corners of her home and backyard.

This rose bush was actually planted from a clipping of my great-great-grandmother's plant!

Couldn't resist a shot of the back of this dress!

On Sunday morning, I packed everything up and we ate at Nana's.  I hope she'll let me share photos of her entire home at some point, but for the time being here is a quick look at her precious patio. I was hungry and forgot to take many photos of our actual lunch!

(That's my niece Natalie--love a baby Lilly!)



After lunch, my Nana, mom, sister, niece, and I  went to a Spring Home Tour in Edgemont, party of the Park Hill section of North Little Rock.  The tour was a self-guided walk through five homes in the historic area of North Little Rock.  The first and last homes were my favorites.  


First, the Hiawatha Daniels house.  

The outside was really cute, but hid the huge addition that nearly doubled the size of the home.  

I loved the historic detailed and art collection throughout.

The back of the house had amazing views (you can see the Little Rock skyline in the background).  And the backyard?  I can totally imagine a wedding out there!  (The tent, car, etc. are remaining from a Gatsby party the night before).

I loved this little bathroom.  It was attached to the daughter's bedroom and had the cutest details like that light fixture and original tile.

Second was the T. Wade Jeffries house.  

I fell for the rock, colonial-style exterior.

And this beautiful spiral staircase right in the entry.

The master bathroom was being renovated.  They had opened up a wall into the attic and left the brick chimney exposed.  That was one of my favorite details on the entire tour.

The other bathroom had fantastic tile and the cutest glass doorknob!

It also had a fantastic back yard with the original goldfish pond.  The water was tinted blue--which we were told was to prevent the white fish from getting sunburned!  

Third was the new construction.  I only got one photo of the outside because it was very crowded.  It was built on the site of a historic home that had been on the National Register before it was entirely burned in the last month of a complete renovation.

Next, we toured the First Kirby home. This house is also called "The Round House" or "Boat House" because of it's shape.

The current owner was in the living room telling guests about how the original owner had installed the wood floors with his eleven-year-old daughter.  They soaked the planks in water until they could curve them to fit the rounded walls.

The kitchen cabinets (and lots of other features in the home--including the master bed!) were custom builds.  The cabinets had roll tops because standard cabinets and drawers would not work for the round rooms.

We finished our tour at the Justin Matthews, Jr. House.  This one was undergoing a renovation so we were only able to tour a few rooms on the first floor.  I would love to go back in a couple of years and see it all finished up.  

This home was absolutely beautiful.  The front had a huge wraparound porch.  I can totally imagine throwing dinner parties there.

The front entrance had a beautiful blue ceiling and arched doorways and windows.  

The hallway was breathtaking. I would probably spend my whole day there if I could. Fabulous.

And the vintage Fiesta collection!

Sunday night we had supper at my sister and brother-in-law's house.  He grilled steaks, onions, and squash.  James baked French bread (amazing!) and I brought brownies and honey vanilla frozen custard.  The brownie recipe is one of my go-to dessert recipes.  It's fairly easy and always a hit.  I'll share that recipe soon, too.  I found the frozen custard recipe online, but I honestly can't remember where!





It was a great weekend, but I feel like I am just now recovering and it's already Saturday night again!