special times.

What a special weekend we had! My mother traveled to town for an extended visit and we couldn't have been happier to welcome her! We just love, love the time spent with our family and while we are quite aware that we could in fact be further away from those that we love, we always embrace these special visits with excitement! Filled with shopping, lots and lots of play time with the little munchkin, relaxing, and of course indulging in some favorite as well as a few new treats, the past four days flew by with a blink of an eye!

What a treat! Andy and I enjoyed a rare date night on Friday evening as mom enjoyed some "bubba time". How nice it was to sneak away for a few hours with my husband and enjoy a delicious, relaxing, and did I mention delicious dinner at Mojitos, a scrumptious tappas restuarant. What fun it is to order a few tappas and then order a few more...and then even a few more! After our fun dinner, we even enjoyed a bit of dessert at our favorite Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen - delish, delish, delish!

To top off my mother's visit, we hopped in the SUV and headed across the Ohio River to the Horseshoe Casino not to gamble, but rather to eat at Paula Deen's new restaurant, located within the casino! After a wait (we even arrived before five), we were swallowed up in some of Paula's finest dishes! Some of my highlights included her seafood salad, mashed potatoes, hoecakes, fried chicken, and the desserts - oh the desserts!

What fun my mother will have in mid-November as she travels with friends to sight-see in Savannah, Georgia! There, she will eat at the real Lady & Sons - how neat!

The oh-so-cute gift store was a replica of Paula Deen's kitchen on her Food Network show!

Thanks, mom for such a fun, fun weekend! Eli and I can't wait until our October visit! We love you!