On day one, after spending the afternoon on the Crush Pad with Doug, Sharon and Chef Dairen, we drove home to Atlanta where Eric had made dinner reservations at Abbatoir. It was a splendid affair, although no pictures. A couple needs to have some private time, after all.

But on Sunday, we made our favorite baked potato salad and headed over to Jay and Valerie’s house for their fabulous fried chicken, and Curtis’ world famous pulled pork and lots of other goodies. And of course, I brought my camera!

She's A Grand Old Flag, She's A High Flying Flag....

Jay and Valerie are masters at frying chicken and there was bunch of it! Curtis made his pulled pork, (you met him here), I made potato salad, but there was also pasta salad, deviled eggs, Taruan’s amazing baked beans, Chioke’s wowee jello shots(!!), watermelon (of course – it’s July 4th!), cobbler and I’m sure lots of other dishes I am forgetting. I blame the jello shots.

Mr. Photo, please!

Mmmm, Fried Chicken!

Baked Beans and Deviled Eggs

The Aforementioned Jello Shots

No, Chioke did not make one type of jello shot – he made three! The green is a margarita shot, the dark red are Jack Daniels and black cherry and the last offering was Tropic Thunder – Malibu Rum, pineapple and cranberry juices. That last one was my favorite. Oh yes, yes, it was.

One Perfect, Carb Laden Plate

Curtis even made his own bbq sauce. Yum, yum, yum.

World Famous Curtis, Our Own BBQ KIng

Sweet Denise

Tim and Becky, Cutting Up

Our Buddy Rick

Taruan & Valerie, Kicking Back

Darling Chioke and Me

Mr. Perfect and Me!

Shane, Showing Off His Neighborhood Gear

I Love The Impish Look On Valerie's Face Here....

Always Adorable Marcus and Shawn

I'm Pretty Sure This Was Later In The Evening...

It was a perfect way to not only celebrate July 4th, but to celebrate Eric and I moving home to Atlanta just one short year ago today.

Thanks again, Jay and Valerie, for hosting – you all are the greatest!

xoxo, Patti

Today blogging to Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried

Isn’t it great to have an extra day off? Since Eric had Monday off we were able to squeeze in some extra fun this weekend. Friday night found us at Farm Burger in Decatur for the yummiest burgers this side of your home grill (actually, better than home burgers). Saturday we decided to go back to Dahlonega and visit our friends Doug and Sharon Paul at Three Sisters Vineyard & Winery for a special treat. We started with the wine pairings – my favorite was their Blood Mountain Red paired with Cheetos! Cheetos! Don’t you love Cheetos? Me, too.

Have No Idea How Doug & Sharon Thought This Up, But It's Great!

Three Sisters is such a fabulous getaway. Awesome wines, the quiet calm of the vineyards and my friendly, yet wildly vinocentric friends.

My Sweet Eric

Outside on the crush pad held more surprises. One was meeting the delightful Chef Dairen of Pig-N-Chips BBQ & Catering, who was formerly the yacht chef for Jimmy Buffett – don’t you just love Jimmy Buffett, especially in the summertime? Anyhoo, Chef Dairen has dreamed up the perfect portable summertime dish – a BBQ Sundae! This fun concoction is a clear cup layered with bbq beans, slaw, pulled pork, more beans, more slaw and topped with a cherry tomato! So delicious and so adorable!

Chef Dairen. Got Pork? Love The Tee.

Are You Ready For Some Sundae?

While We Waited for Sundaes, I Snapped More Photos of My Sweetie.

Nom, Nom, Nom! It's A BBQ Sundae, Y'all!

Doug and I are banding together with Chef Dairen to bring you a special Key West inspired dinner at Three Sisters for 40 folks. Please leave me a comment if you would like to make a reservation for this fun evening of conch fritters and other south Florida delights. We will be holding the dinner in September, with more details to follow.

And of course, there will be music. This day’s music was bluegrass. It paired perfectly with the bbq, the wine (Fat Boy Red-perfect for bbq) and all that bucolic scenery.

BBQ & Wine, Made Better With Bluegrass Music

A special hello to Val and Jim, our new friends from our afternoon on the Crush Pad and as always, the biggest thanks to Doug & Sharon, the most wonderful hosts ever.

xoox, Patti

Today blogging to Seals & Croft – Summer Breeze