Baby Shower for Sabrina

 Now, let's see if I can explain this relationship:

     - I live with TR and have for the last seven years.
     - Julie Brown is TR's daughter.
     - Julie is married to Chris Brown.
     - Before being married to Julie, Chris was married to Sandy.
     - Sandy already had several children when Chris married her--I met a number of them at the shower, but I don't think I have yet met all of them.
     - One of those children was Troy. 
     - Troy married Sabrina and Sabrina is now pregnant with her first child--a girl.
     -  That, I figure sort of makes me a step-step-grandmother to Sabrina and a step-step-great grandmother to the new baby.  I figure she can just call me Grandma G.  She can't call me Grandma Julie, because (to the child, at least) that would be Julie Brown.  Whew, that was exhausting.

     The shower was at Coco's Tea Room and Bistro which is in a huge, probably consignment, very nice antique store.  It was fun.  There were cool games, little baby diaper corsages (which figured in one of the games), lovely decorations, very nice favors which Julie had made, a whole lunch (quiche, croissant, chicken salad, tuna salad, and Ritz crackers.  Then four kinds of tea--English Breakfast, Irish, Earl Grey, and Blueberry.  I tried the blueberry, which was nice, but I put too much sugar in it, so I added Earl Grey when I got it down enough.  Now that was a great combination.

     For dessert, we had scones with Devonshire Cream...(is this the same as Clotted Cream?)  Either way, it was the first time I'd had it and it was delicious.  We also had cupcakes made by another one of the sisters (there were four sisters there.  One of whom, Tasha, is Chris' daughter.)

    The gifts seemed to go on forever and there is very little I can think of that she did not get.  I didn't see a rattle anywhere....  But they now have enough clothes to last until the child grows a bit, as well as pretty much all of the equipment I can think of that she might need.

     We really had and great time, and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, although, I can't put all the names to the faces yet.  There were great conversations with very personable people.

Sabrina and Moms--Sandy and Julie

     When we got home, we helped Sabrina get all the gifts consolidated and moved into their car for the trip back down to Austin.  I don't think I'd have made it after the eventful day, but they are young.  TR and I came home and watched a double feature of bad Sci-Fi disaster flicks--we just really enjoy those things.

The Two Julies

This picture of Sabrina and Troy was taken earlier in the week.

Tuscan Summer Dinner and Wine Pairing at D'Vine Wine

First, I will apologize to myself and hope to remember my camera next time I go out to dinner.  I'm not a person for whom a camera is "must have" gear...it is often an after thought and usually long after.  Julie is trying to convince me that I need one of those "does everything but wash dishes" phones.  Maybe, if I could figure out how to use it without kerfluffling everything and not knowing how to get back where I want to be.

We took friend Rebecca who we know from the Y.  Well, to be correct--she took us.  All we had to do was drive to her house and she drove us over there (people who live in Coppell have a trick way to get to Grapevine that avoids all the construction which is different every time we go through and very confusing), and dropped us right at the door!  We are taking her again!

Maureen and John (also from the Y) joined us.  So, great conversation ensued with lots of laughter (more as the evening went on) over tales of travels, work, and family.  As we conversed, we had our choice of Pinots--Noir or Grigio.  Of course, TR, I, and Maureen took the Grigio.  John and Rebecca had the red.  I love D'Vine's Pinot Grigio, it is light, fruity, and not too acidic.

Our first course was Tarragon Stuffed Egg with a Sauvignon Blanc.  The pairing was wonderful and the egg was smooth and flavorful.  It was just one egg and, thank God, my allergy allows me to have just one.

The second course was a Panzanella Bread Salad with Tomato and Cucumber paired with D'Vine's White Symphony (which is a dry blend of three wines.)  I don't think I'd ever had a bread salad and wasn't expecting much, but it was mild though well seasoned with just a touch of a vinegrette and the tomato and cucumber had been marinated.  It was fresh and refreshing.  Though I'm not a fan of dry wines, this paired really nicely with the salad, not overpowering its mild flavor.

The entrée was Balsamic glazed Pork Tenderloin stuffed with Chevre and Sun-dried Tomato.  A couple of us found no stuffing it theirs and, since the stuffing seemed to have been injected, there wasn't much in anyone's.  The pork was almost to the point of being overdone, but not quite.  It was quite flavorful and, since it was accompanied by Seasoned Asparagus with Romesco Sauce, I was quite happy.  You can never go wrong with Asparagus!  This was paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon which was fruity enough to set off the pork quite nicely.

The dessert was Chef-made Lemon-Basil Gelato with fresh Raspberries and a Lemon Shortbread Cookie.  The ice cream was rich and tart, which I love, as well as very creamy.  And, of course, you can't go wrong with raspberries.  I also love shortbread, so the cookie was also a hit--wished I could have bought a box of them.  It was paired with D'Vine's Enchanted Granite (a Pomegranate Red Zinfandel) which was sweet enough to not get lost in the ice cream--always a challenge with dessert wine.

We had a great dinner and a wonderfully fun time.   The caterer was again All In Good Taste Catering who, we were told, would be doing the next dinner in October with a German theme.  Since German is their heritage, we were told by the owner of D'Vine that he is expecting a great meal.