Nana and Papa's Anniversary Dinner

My parents' (aka Nana and Papa) anniversary was April 19th. They've been married 41 years (awesome, I know). They have a beautiful home that has been exquisitely decorated by my interior designer mom. Buying presents for them is not an easy task because ... well, after 41 years, they pretty much have everything they need or want. Plus, Mom's very picky.

So rather than buying them presents, Brian and I decided to make them dinner. Allen provided a suggestion for the menu: chocolate cake. Good. That decision was made. However, now we had to come up with the appetizer and entree portions of the meal. We thought and thought about what they really loved, and came up with the following menu

Raw Oysters Served with a Ginger-Lime Relish and a Horseradish Sauce

Mixed Field Greens with Dried Cranberries and Maytag Blue Cheese

Moules Fromage Bleu

(Mussels in a Blue Cheese and White Wine Broth with Bacon and Shallots)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

Candy Dish

Here are some pictures of the delicious food.

Raw Oysters served on Mom and Dad's Screened-in Porch.

(We got the buckets at Target for $1 each)

 Moules Fromage Bleu

 Just one of the four buckets filled with Mussel shells

 The Chocolate-Peanut Butter Torte (made from scratch thankyouverymuch)

 Mom's Candy Dish with JuJu Bees and Red Vines

I would never have had the guts to do this if not for my very brave and talented husband. He reassured me constantly that we could pull it off, and he patiently shucked three dozen oysters that evening. Thanks to him we were able to pull off (what I hope was) a lovely evening.

xoxo,
AHC

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Yes, today is our 8th anniversary. Eight years ago today, we were probably sharing our last dance before changing and waving goodbye to all of our gorgeous guests. I can honestly say that I am more in love with Brian today than I was then. Babe, you're a fabulous (fab-u-lous) father, fantastic husband, and well, basically just an all-around hottie. I love you!

Here is a photo-centric post of the highlights of our anniversary ...

Presents for Leggy from Brian

Present to Mommy from Allen

(in case you can't read it, it says, "Mom You mean the world to me!)

Brian's Presents from Leggy

Presents are (in order): "dirty martini" martini glass; owl key chain; Live, love laugh box with matching necklace; mom trinket box; "road trip" pilsner glass; Beaufort nautical map coasters (it has Habersham on the map!); motorcycle chain-link key chain (all items available at Joli -- if interested in any, e-mail me at allegra(at)jolihomeandevents(dot)com.)

Here are the breathtaking flowers I (we) got too: