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blueberry fields forever

Peter Owen — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:48:30 +0000

Last Saturday, we drove down to Nesbit, MS to Nesbit Blueberry Plantation. Diana and I had been wanting to do this for a while and it’s a good thing we did last weekend. Nesbit Blueberry Plantation is only going to stay open for the season another couple of weeks. None of us have ever picked fruit like that before. They had us tie buckets around our waists so we could pick using both hands. They also encourage you to eat the blueberries right off the bush. Elek had a wonderful time doing just that. They only cost about $11 per bucket full. The blueberries were just delicious!

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elek’s first sleepover

Peter Owen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:53:03 +0000

The other night was Elek’s first actual sleepover. We hosted Jesse from across the street. Elek happened to be in a phase where he really wanted to misbehave. Other than that, the sleepover went great.

That Friday night, the boys are edamame among other things and drank their milk. They loved playing in the ball pit that Elek got for his birthday from Nana. Elek and Jesse watched a show or two and Elek climbed the couch. Lastly, they took turns pushing each other down a small slide. They were so funny together! Jesse stayed the next day (Sat.) until around 2PM and the McRaes came and got him to keep him for the rest of the weekend.

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moonpies and cherry slurpies: a little bit of memphis and my favorite memphibians

Peter Owen — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:58:26 +0000

Sharona, one of Diana’s best college friends, came to visit us in Memphis recently. She stayed for a few days and had a photo shoot with both Elek and Diana. As she puts it, I “had the good sense to escape for work before this photo shoot”. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do!

You can see the rest of the photos she took on her blog moonpies and cherry slurpies: A little bit of Memphis and my favorite Memphibians.

halloween and fingerpaints 09

Peter Owen — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:06:43 +0000

Several days before Halloween we carved a jack-o-lantern. Elek attempted to help, however, he thought the pumpkin guts were nasty and wouldn’t touch it much. I think his favorite part was at the end when we got to take it out on the front porch and light it together. He enjoyed lighting it with me last week. I think next year we should carve 3 pumpkins and try to be a little more festive for Halloween. Elek will probably help us get in the spirit. We also managed to let Elek watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, which is essentially timeless.

In this picture Elek is dressed as a clown in the clown suit I wore at Halloween when I was three years old. I thought the big bright red nose was a nice touch, though after the first time he wore it, we decided to put red makeup on his nose so he wouldn’t have to keep up with it. Last year unfortunately we didn’t get to trick-or-treat like we wanted to. This year we planned our route much more efficiently and we were able to trick-or-treat around a large block, visit my mom’s house, and make it to the cooper young neighborhood party for a few minutes.
The Friday night before Halloween we were lucky enough to be invited to the Donati’s annual kid friendly Halloween party. Diana dressed as a mobster’s woman who took the fall for him, went to jail, then broke out. I was that mobster. Kristen and Justin followed suit with the police officer and prisoner costumes. The food (and alcohol) was catered by Swanky’s Taco Shop and was very tasty! The next picture is of Elek finger painting with Mama at home.

There’s a few things I’d like to change about Halloween next year which include the following:

Carve more pumpkins
Decorate more with fake spiderwebs, lights, and maybe even fog
Have an even better game plan about when we’re going to start trick-or-treating and where
Maybe even have time to hand out more candy

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weekend in new orleans, la

Peter Owen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:11:25 +0000

Diana and I met Mike (my college roommate) and Camie (his wife) in New Orleans for Jared Barcenas and his wife, Ezgi’s, reception/celebration. Elek stayed with my mom (we owe her big) for the weekend and had apparently come down with the flu, though we thought it was a 24 hour virus or something of the sort after Diana took him to the doctor. We almost had to turn around halfway there. We left later than we thought we were going to, but we arrived in New Orleans at exactly the same time as Mike and Camie. No really. EXACTLY. We drove under their plane as it was landing. Sure enough Mike called me 2 minutes later and we went directly to the airport to pick them up.

We had just enough time to drop by Target for a couple of things we needed and to get settled in the Biscuit Palace.

The first night we got ready and wandered around looking for a place to eat. We got some general directions for cajun food from a local shop keeper. Ralph and Kacoo’s was where we ended up eating. It looked just as good as any other place. It turned out to be sub par and I’m really upset we didn’t get a chance to try out Mr. B’s! After the disappointing meal, we walked to the party which was in a luxurious suite with a large balcony and an open bar. As you can see everyone there had a great time. We met some new people and celebrated Jared and Ezgi’s marriage.

After waking up and walking to Cafe du Monde (which we did make it back to), we decided we didn’t want to wait in a line that long. On the other side of Jackson Square there was another recommended restaurant called Stanley’s. Despite the almost equally as long wait, the food was amazing!

After that meal we HAD to walk off the food. With no real agenda, we walked up to the trolley station and hopped on. When the trolley came to the end of the line there was the aquarium, right in front of us. I’ve been before, but it had been a very long time. We decided to go in and luckily both Mike and I had our triple A cards with us for the discount. The aquarium is a must see if you’re ever in New Orleans.

Afterward, we got a transfer on another trolley and went back to Cafe du Monde where we ate some wonderful beignets and drank coffee (hot chocolate for me).

After a fun filled, touristy morning most of us took a nap with the exception of Diana who walked about 4 miles to get a sweater. What a great nap! We were all recharged and ready for the reception that night at a beautiful inside courtyard. The food was exactly what I love about New Orleans. Everything was perfect. The guests, the food, the dessert, the location. Later that night we went out on Bourbon Street again, but unfortunately that was the night that Diana woke up shivering. She had gotten the flu from Elek. I was sent out at 5AM in the French Quarter to find some place with Sprite and crackers. Luckily I didn’t come back empty handed. It took Diana about 6 days to recover from the flu thanks to Tamiflu. We drove back after breakfast at a 24 hour diner across the street from our hotel.

It was a wonderful weekend in New Orleans and I wish Jared and Ezgi the best! You can see more pictures from the festivities below.

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brandon dill

Peter Owen — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:20:19 +0000

Back when Diana and I set a date for our wedding, we knew we would have to get a wedding photographer. We had no idea where to start. We had a couple of leads from a few friends, but each one seemed too cookie-cutter. The examples we saw of these photographers were exactly like every other wedding photo I’ve ever seen. Bland. Fortunately for us, we happened to attend a party at the Dill’s residence on Lawrence Avenue. This was the first time we met the Dills and it was a pleasure. We found out that Brandon was a photographer after that first party and we looked at his website brandondillphotography.com. At the party, he had a cool mini-studio set up with a white backdrop and was taking snapshots of people. By the second party we asked him to be our photographer.

He took wonderful pictures at our wedding and since then we’ve become friends. While we don’t see each other as much as I’d like, the Dills are next on our “people to have over” list. Brandon is an intellectually stimulating, talented, and funny guy who is a pleasure to hang out with. He also managed to make an appearance on the blog Cute Boys Make me Nervous. We have seen the Dills at a couple of themed potlucks which were a lot of fun. You can see some of the recipes that were made at thehornofplenty.blogspot.com.

We love our wedding pictures. Brandon was exactly what we were looking for and we didn’t even know it. I just want to say Thank you, Brandon Dill, for taking our wedding photos and hopefully we’ll be seeing you soon!

You can see most of our wedding pictures that he took here and here. Also here’s a gallery of some of our favorites, though it was really hard to pick.

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stanley’s restaurant in new orleans

Peter Owen — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:08:17 +0000

While we were in New Orleans, we stumbled across Stanley’s Restaurant quite by accident. For breakfast in the French Quarter Saturday morning we were headed to Cafe du Monde when we saw the enormous line and decided against it. Diana asked a local shopkeeper where we should eat and she recommended Stanley’s. We went to the north side of Jackson Square and saw that there was a significantly shorter wait. We put our names on the list and Diana and Camie went shopping for a minute while Mike and I waited patiently at first and then not so patiently. It took a while to get a table, but the host was very nice and explained exactly what was going on and when we could expect a table.

After a while, our time to be seated finally came. We got a four top with a view of the street and the cooks. Diana and I were trying not to eat too much so we could eat lunch at Mr. B’s. so we decided to split the Breaux Bridge Benedict, which happened to be really rich. I’m very glad we split it. I am not very keen on breakfast, but the Breaux Bridge Benedict is one hell of an exception. It was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had.

elek’s first wiffleball experience

Peter Owen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:57:45 +0000

For Elek’s birthday, Diana and I got him a whiffle bat and ball. The other day when the rain finally decided to take a break, we played together. He has done really well. He’s actually hit the ball many times, which means good hand eye coordination. I’m excited and can’t wait to get him involved in organized sports. I remember playing baseball, basketball, and soccer which I loved.

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zach’s party and republic club oct. 16

Peter Owen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:00:59 +0000

Diana’s mom, Nilda, babysat for us the other Friday night so we were able to go out. Zach and Slam had a party that Friday which we were lucky enough to be able to attend. Turns out three of us, Dave, Ben, and I, were wearing chucks. We decided to take a picture of all of them, but in an odd angle. Diana took a few, but I liked this one the best. We enjoyed posing for the pictures. Slam was playing old music videos on their large screen TV in the living room while we were scaling the walls in their kitchen.

Tiny Dancer Connie Gomez, Becky, and Amy all came with us as well. Annabeth also showed up a few minutes before we headed out. As usual, Diana and I took our liquor with us. It always seems less confusing and easier/cheaper that way. Who knows when there will be liquor where you go unless you bring it yourself.

The girls were getting restless and wanted to head to Republic downtown on Beale. Usually I don’t go with something like that and prefer to stay at house parties, but that night for some reason I decided to go.
We met Cory down at Republic along with Rubi (Diana’s cousin’s cousin) and Sarah, Rubi’s girlfriend. I think Rubi and Sarah both work down there, but that night Rubi was bar tending. The last time I went to Republic was opening night and it was absolutely PACKED. This night the people were few and far between, which through me off. It was still fun dancing, though apparently Tanya had her fill of alcohol and needed to be taken home.

Diana and I exchanged looks and discussed it with Cory, Amy, and Becky. It was time for Tanya to go to sleep. We decided it was best for her to spend the night at our house so we made our way toward the exit. Turns out there were so few people there, they locked the large entrance and we couldn’t get out. The front entrance on the corner of Beale and Second was the only one open. (Haven’t people in night clubs died because of things like this?)
Well, when we walked out, Tiny dancer got ambushed by about 4 or 5 guys who were having a good time (you can see more pictures below), which was pretty funny. We also ran into a guy looking for change for a $1 bill? I don’t know what that was about. Connie Gomez was walking and it was like another gravitational force took hold of her and drug her to the ground. Finally we got her up after that first spill, but then it was happening again and she slammed her head into a car and fell on the ground at which point I took this picture. After we got her up again, we were able to stabilize her enough to get her in the car and she passed out on our couch around 2:30AM. All in all it was a pretty good night.

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cooper young night out

Peter Owen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:43:22 +0000

Cooper Young Night Out was last Tuesday night despite all the rain. Brett and Sharon Ammons were hosting again this year for our block. Again the Cooper Young Night Out was sponsored by Target. The reason it was so late this year is because last year the weather was so hot that they decided to move it to a cooler date. It was much cooler this year and rainy and wet, but that didn’t stop us from having fun! Diana, Elek, and I showed up a little early to help with the preparations. The picture above is of the Huseriks’ arrival.

Brett fired up the grill and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs while we talked about the neighborhood and last year’s party. Everyone entered for a chance to win a new bicycle from Target. I think our odds were better this year than last since not as many people came probably due to the gloomy weather. Target also left us with some early Halloween candy, beach balls, and reusable Target shopping bags. As usual the boys played together in the ball pit, tent, and with all the other toys with minimal involvement from the adults.

I am hoping that next year the weather will be a bit more cooperative. This year everyone is really sick of the month long monsoon. Our family is also trying to become more involved so we can participate in more family oriented and neighborhood oriented events. Ever since Elek was born (3 years ago!), it has been one continuous metamorphosis from one lifestyle to another. Because of get togethers like these, Cooper Young is a wonderful neighborhood to live in especially if you have children.