Sixth Annual Beach Party

It was a wonderful beach party. The weather was beautiful, lots of people came, lots of food, the kids had a great time, we had great bonfire-side music. I think it was another successful beach party and we couldn't have asked for anything more.

In order for us to get a fire pit, we must get to the beach by 7 AM, which means that we must be up really early. Once we get there and unload, Mr. Casillas takes a nap before assuming his post at the grill. Once on the grill, he stays there until the end of the day. I never even saw him take a break.
He grilled over 100 burgers! Thank you for cooking, honey!

An early morning beach stroll

Cookie Monster!

Can't wait for next year!

Of course it takes lots of preparation and planning and a couple of days to recuperate but it is all well worth it. I hope everyone else thinks so too.

Sad...but I am that girl

who forgets birthdays and anniversaries. I am as guilty as they come. I am horrible with birthdays which I can chalk up to having too many to remember. But when you forget your own anniversary, well there's just no forgiving that.

July 1 marked my one year blog-a-versary and I completely blew it off. How can I be so careless? My poor little blog. Forgotten, like it never meant anything to me. Like an old sun-bleached, dusty toy. Yet, this little blog o'mine remained quiet and dignified. It never nagged. It never hinted. It just waited and waited until I got myself together and got me enough sense to remember our anniversary. I'm sorry little blog. I feel terrible about forgetting.

Intermission - I am reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett and everything I say now comes out in a Southern drawl. Even this entry.

I wish I was as cool as other bloggers and have some snazzy give away or something to mark this anniversary but I am not so I don't. Sorry!

'Course, one birthday I never forget is my sweetheart's. Mr. Casillas celebrated birthday number forty-two on June 25th. I baked him my go-to birthday cake, Recipe 66 from my favorite chocolate dessert recipe book that I got from my beautiful sister, Max Brenner's Chocolate: A Love Story. But instead of using the frosting in the recipe I made a chocolate-peanut butter frosting since that is hubby's favorite chocolate combination.

No, this was not a solar power harnessing experiment. This was dinner. We had a baked potato bar. If you want something inexpensive, satisfying, and non-labor intensive, a baked potato bar is the way to go.

Prep your scrubbed and dried potatoes by slathering them with butter, salt, and pepper. Wrap them in foil and place in cookie sheets. Bake them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Put out your favorite baked potato toppings and let your guests build their own. Fun and yum!

Happy Birthday, Baby!