Weekend Recap - Bank Job, Grillin' and Chillin', BB King, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Carter

Hope everyone had a fun weekend! Clay and I had a pretty good one. Friday night Clay rented a movie for us to watch. It was surprisingly good. Maybe even the best rental we've seen this year.

"The Bank Job" is based on the 1971 robbery of Lloyd's Bank in London, which was carried out by a bunch of second-rate, smalltime crooks. This one's a serious movie about some very serious goings-on, and will hold your interest from opening credits to the final outcome.

Then came Saturday. We ran the usual errands, and later that evening we GRILLED FISH on the back patio. We had our Seafood Friday on Saturday this time. Then we just hung out by ourselves in the backyard under the moonlight chit chattin' while enjoying Blue Hawaii's.

There are numerous variations of this recipe, many using Creme de Coconut, but this is the authentic recipe created by Harry Yee, bartender at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort back in 1957.
3/4 oz. Light Rum
3/4 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Sweet & Sour Mix
Combine all ingredients and mix well. If using ice, mix the ingredients in a blender. Serve in a tall glass.
At least that's how they started out! We ended up making them with 2 oz light rum, 2 oz blue curacao, 4 oz pineapple juice and shook like crazy. Much better with less work! :-)
We slept until noon on Sunday! Gee, wonder why!? Hahaha

Okay, time to go see BB King and Willie Nelson at Chastain Park Amphitheatre. I bought these Sunday evening tickets a couple of months ago figuring we'd never seen either of them before, and considering their ages, we better go sooner rather than later. Chastain is really cool. At most of the concerts you're allowed to bring in your own cooler of drinks and food. You see everything from buckets of popeye's chicken, to people setting up fancy smancy tables decked out with the finest tablecloths, silver, fresh flowers, and food. Not having a whole lot of energy we packed up a small cooler of beverages and party nuts and off we went....

BB King was pretty good. Can you believe he's now 83 years old?! He sat the whole time but that's perfectly okay at his age. Anyway, he kept everyone smiling with his music and stories and GUESS WHAT? He was telling a story about his two doctors, Dr. Viagra and Dr. Cialis, and then he apologized to Jimmy Carter for his joking around. Yep, Jimmy Carter was in the first row along with his wife Rosalynn. Ted Turner was also in the pit with family and friends but they weren't with the Carter's.

After BB's set Willie Nelson, the world's most famous pot smoker took stage. You know he's 74, right?! His voice is so good on CD's, but he's even better in person. I love his duets with other musicians. GUESS WHAT happened towards the end of the concert? Look close!

That's Jimmy Carter playing the harmonica on stage with Willie! He didn't do a bad job either!

I read in Rolling Stone magazine that While Carter was in the White House from 1977 until 1981, Nelson occasionally slept over. The two would discuss music and politics, and then Nelson would slip away to smoke pot on the roof. They go waaaay back. ;-)

Here is a small clip from a Q & A session on EW.com:

Willie's book said he smoked pot on the White House roof. Mr. President, what did you know and when did you know it?
CARTER I would guess that Willie and my sons knew a lot more about that than I did. That was one of the things that Willie and I never did discuss much. But I don't think there's much doubt that there was—
NELSON Actually, short-term memory — I don't remember a lot that happened then.
CARTER [Both laughing] Yeah, my memory's kind of short on that subject, too.

We left the concert thinking now THAT was a pretty interesting night for the record book. All in all a really good weekend.

And now, just in case anyone is interested:

FARM AID COMES TO NEW ENGLAND
This year’s Farm Aid concert, featuring Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews and others to be named later, will take place September 20 at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts.
This marks the first time the benefit will take place in New England, where the Farm Aid organization is based.
“We are proud to bring our annual Farm Aid concert to a region that has such strong agricultural roots…,” Farm Aid president Willie Nelson said in a statement. Whole Foods and Horizon Organic are the major sponsors.
Tickets go on sale July 28 at 9 a.m. on http://www.ticketmaster.com/ or by calling (866) 448-7849.

XOXO,
Penny

Seafood Friday and BOB the cool cow

Did you think I forgot about Seafood Friday? No way!

But first you must meet Bob! Bob is a little shy.

Bob just wants you to know that grilled fish and vegetables tastes REALLY good. Bob really loves grilled vegetables - especially summer squash. You can meet him and other cute cows over at http://www.lavenderchick.blogspot.com/. I understand he's going through a little bit of the terrible two's and may even think he's a dog. How cute is that!

Grilled Fish Sammies with Garlic Tartar Sauce and Baked Waffle Fries with Spicy Bloody Ketchup and a Slaw Salad


Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray, 2007

1 pound store-bought waffle fries
4 (6-ounce) fillets white fish, such as halibut, skinless
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 crusty rolls, split 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, grated
3 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup pitted chopped green olives
Handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, your preference
1 lemon Celery salt, to season fries
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced
8 green or red leaf lettuce leaves

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and bake fries 20 minutes, or according to package directions, turning once. Heat skillet or grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Season the fish with salt and pepper and coat with about 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Toast rolls on grill or heat broiler and set them in the middle of the oven to brown, then reserve. Combine mayonnaise with grated garlic, capers, olives, parsley. Combine ketchup with Worcestershire, hot sauce, horseradish and lots of black pepper. Cook fish 3 to 4 minutes on each side until firm, opaque and cooked through. Squeeze lemon over cooked fish.
Remove fries from oven and season with celery salt and pepper.
Place fish on rolls with lettuce, red onion and tartar sauce. Serve fries alongside with bloody ketchup.

Slaw Salad:
1 bulb fennel with tops, thinly sliced plus 1/4 cup fennel tops
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded 1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick's)
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine the fennel, fennel tops and red cabbage. In a separate small bowl, combine the honey, cider vinegar, grill seasoning, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together.

Yield: 4 servings

Thanks for stopping by and have a fun weekend!

XOXO,
Penny

Four Girls That Rock

There are SO many great female musicians it's hard to select just four for this post. These aren't in any particular order, and I certainly love others just as much. I'll have to add more in the future. In the meantime, if you'd like to hear a song from them, I've added a song by each of them at the top of my music playlist. Sorry you have to scroll so far down to get to it.

You just never know where you're going to find music that inspires you. I picked up a Beth Orton CD at a yard sale in the north Georgia countryside and I have to say it was the best 50 cents I've ever spent. If you've got the music turned on you should be listening to her right now. She's got a unique, moody voice and I love listening to her on long road trips. She lives in England and doesn't get to the states much. I've got her on my ticketmaster alerts just in case!

What a voice! Could Janis Joplin belt out a song with some soul or what?! I think Tina Turner and her would have made good friends. :-) Janis Lyn Joplin was born January 19, 1943 and died October 4, 1970.

I first became aware of Aimee Mann while watching the movie Magnolia. I loved the song in it titled, "Save Me". I was so moved. The next day I was on a hunt to find out who did that song and I've been a fan ever since! I've seen her in concert twice, and I have tickets to an upcoming show. Due to not that people being familiar with her music, she always plays in small venues which makes her shows all the better.

Back when MTV actually played music videos I remember the day this cute chick Sheryl Crow came on the scene. It was instant admiration and I admire her to this day. She's got the one of the best guitar players in the whole world playing with her too. Peter Stroud. He lives right here in Atlanta and is married to Lynn, a friend of mine that you met on my blog about the Tom Petty concert.

Weekend Fun with Melanie, Hugh, Susan and Bob

FRIDAY NITE started off with Clay and I meeting up with Melanie and Hugh at a Persian restaurant. You may have met them before in a previous post. By the way, Melanie is a great decorator and she has students come from all of the country to attend her homestaging classes. Her two websites are http://www.interior-revivals.com and http://www.thehomestagersguild.com. I met her through another friend a few years ago. Not ready to go home we go around the corner to play a little pool. The music in the joint was really great. Lots of old stuff like Creedence Clearwater and bands like Aerosmith too. Here is Melanie playing air guitar rock woman with her pool stick. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but she's better at playing the guitar on the pool stick than she is at playing pool.

Above is Clay and Hugh laughing. They were probably laughing at how Melanie couldn't get a ball in a hole an inch away. Me? No, I don't play pool because I know there is no hope for me! Hugh and Melanie are lots of fun to hang with.

It's now Saturday morning and here is a pic of one of what may be hundreds of rabbits in our neighborhood. You have to look really, really hard to see him in the middle of the photo. He's eaten every single flower I planted. This is as close as I could get to him before hoppity hopped out of there. You're cute little rabbit, but please don't come back!

SATURDAY NITE~
Tiki time! Our hosts Bob & Susan had set up quite the rum bar which even included a book with ten recipes bookmarked to select from. This was fun. Clay picked out a drink called Shark's Tooth of course.



Susan and I decide on Blue Hawaii's. Susan has on a pretty top with Hawaii scenes. Remind me to keep a hawaiian shirt in my car for parties!


And here is a picture of our host Bob in his Hawaii shirt too! Bob and Susan eloped last month! She's a huge dog lover and gives many hours to rescue work. Bob has helped her a good bit with this too. They are so sweet and so cute together.


They prepared the most deelish stirfry with shrimp and chicken. After dinner we enjoyed more drinks in their lanai. There are lots of decor items from Hawaii because they love to go there. The conversation was fun as usual! Thanks for the great time!

Sunday we took naps, ran errands and cooked a burger on the grill. Not much. It was a great weekend!

XOXO,
Penny

Seafood Friday!

Seafood Scallops with Pancetta over Avocado and Wasabi

This recipe packs in great flavor with very few ingredients. I love to cook, but I have a real affection for simple recipes. It only takes about 15 minutes to make and is pretty impressive. Courtesy of Danny Boome (can you say HOT!), host and chef for the show Rescue Me.



3 avocados
3 teaspoons wasabi powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 slices pancetta
1 tablespoon butter
1 garlic clove, smashed
6 large sea scallops
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced for garnish

Halve the 3 avocados and remove the pits. Spoon out flesh into a food processor and add wasabi, lemon juice, salt and pepper, to taste. Process until it's a smooth consistency. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. (I leave the pit in the mix until I'm ready to use so the avocado doesn't brown.)

Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Cook pancetta until crispy and fat has rendered. Remove pancetta from pan reserving the fat and add butter and garlic. Once the butter has melted add the scallops to the pan and gently sear until lightly browned. About 1 minute per side. Spoon some avocado puree on each plate, arrange pancetta on top followed by the seared scallops. Dice your red pepper finely and garnish.

Off to Costco for scallops I go! Have a great weekend and take lots of pictures!

XOXO,
Penny

Let's go antiquing!

We're starting at the teeniest little antique store I've ever seen. There sure are some sweet things in here, but OH so expensive. With these prices we must be in Palm Beach, FL.

Oooh, lots of treasures out here. I think Kathy in CA may go for the cafe tables and chairs. But she does need a bigger table, so maybe she can get just the chairs. Lots of treasures in here for Tootsie, our Kathy's, Buffie, Bridget, Raquel, and all us garden people!

Oh let's see, I think Justine might like this frog. I'm sure she'll give him lots of love and put him in a story somewhere. He sure is handsome!

Wait! Here are some really cute froggy glasses. Justine is REALLY gonna love these!

And looky, looky at da' poodle! I don't want my poodle girls to get jealous so I best say no. Boy is he huge. Becky's never had a dog so maybe she can get used to looking at one first. Hmmmm Becky? :-)

Must be pet day on antique row! Here are some adorable spaghetti cats for Gollum, Buffie and all the cat lovers. Me loves them too. Purrrr!

Whew, it's getting to be lunch time and my stomach says eat. This place looks cute, what do you think? We just have to squeeze through these two buildings!

Wow, we made it. What a little tea house find! It sure is cute back here, but it's just too hot to eat outside. The sweat is literally running down our chests!
Thank goodness. They have air conditioning inside! Let's check it out. This room is cute and I love the lace tablecloth even if it is covered in plastic.

This room is best because we can all fit in here. Let's turn the AC in the window on high. Curried chicken for all! Bridget and Kathy remind us that wine is made from grapes, and grapes go so well with chicken salad. We must have our daily fruit so we order wine!

I go to the powder room to freshen up and look at what I find! Murals! It's whimsical with the jewels and all, but not as nice as what Kathy would have done.

More shopping to do. Hey, this is a nice shop. Lots of ornate furniture. I'm feeling a little dizzy from the wine so I decide to take a little break on this chair that looks like it's made for a princess. Hey, if it fits, right? Why am I looking up and why am I smiling so big? Something on the ceiling must be funny. hahaha
Get out! Tucked away in a little shop is an original oil by Purvis Young! If I had an extra $1150. I'd take it. My girlfiend Judy in Ft. Lauderdale has a whole storage room filled with his art. She says it's a way better investment than stocks. She should know because her husband Patrick has been a financial advisor his whole career. She is going to scold me good for not buying this.

Here's Judy and Patrick earlier this year when they visited us in Atlanta. Patrick and Clay went to High School together. I met Judy in 1980 when we met up with them in Cozumel, Mexico. Cozumel was just a little sleepy village town back then. We rode around on scooters drinking shots of tequilla howling at the moon and stars. I knew we would all be close friends.


Buffie can paint this beautiful garden dragonfly red and hang from a tree in her backyard. It will turn into an angel!

Ta dah, inspiration for the day! I love the big pillow on this couch. I think I might have to make this for the duncan phyfe sofa in our card room. cool!

Gee whiz, nothing french country today. Maybe Bridget will like this vintage California tablecloth. Sure wish that there was something better for Bridget.

How could you see these and NOT think of him. ROFL!


I think French will like these antique glass birds. They came over on a British boat many years ago. I can hear them chirping about their journey now.


WOW WOW WOW! These are going to look great in or outside the scubashack! What a treasure! Time to load them up and go home! But first, let's get those price tags off in case Clay's back from his day of diving.


XOXO,
Penny

Free Hugs!

Please check out my favorite you tube video. The first time I saw it I cried.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

XOXO,
Penny

Cool Accessorizing Element!

We're still amped up from the Petty concert, but I guess it's time I move on to new posts... :-)

Last nite we went to a caribbean restaurant and when I went in the restroom look what was in the sink. How fun is this!? We later met the owner and when I commented on the shells he said that he had put them in the sink to clean them, and had forgot about them. Then someone remarked how cool it looked so he decided to just leave them. Neat!

So of course I just HAD to come home and do it in our powder room! My shells were sprayed gold from another project, but I think they look pretty cool in here with the brass and the gold leafed mirror frame. Clay likes them too. I asked the owner of the restaurant if they were hard to keep clean and he said not at all. They look fun when you wash your hands and the bubbles are on them. LOVE IT!

XOXO,
Penny

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Concert!

WOW! Clay and I had a complete blast at the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers concert last nite. Here are some photos!

The opening act was Steve Winwood who is also awesome. Here is a picture of when Winwood came on stage with Petty for a few songs. Clay actually got to shake his hand backstage! Clay is still buzzing high about that! Yes, we got to go backstage!

Here is Tom smiling. He's one in a million and I love seeing someone doing what they love and having a great life doing it. He is truly someone a person can look up to for inspiration. I hope he never, ever quits touring!

Here is a self portrait of Clay and I having fun at the concert!

Mike Campbell and Scott Thurston jammin'

Petty Rockin'


I ran into the super nice Lynn Stroud. I know her through my job, and we occasionally run into each other at concerts in Atlanta. Her husband is a really nice guy and more than just your awesome guitar player. His name is Peter Stroud and he's the guitar player for Sheryl Crow's band. He's also co-owner/founder of 65 amps. What a life! He's played with Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, and more great guitar player's than I'll ever know. Lynn was there with Peter and their son Dylan. They all looked adorable together, but I was so excited to get my picture with Lynn because you know how behind every great man there's a good woman and Lynn is a doll! :-)


Here's a picture of our group leaving to go home. A good time was had by all.