Friday, November 7, 2008

Joyeux Anniversaire Brett!

As promised, I'm featuring some photos taken last evening at the home of my friends Kevin Ivy and Brett Thibodeaux, in Southaven, Mississippi. It was a beautiful fall evening to celebrate Brett's birthday. After cocktails, the guests were served a cajun feast prepared by the host Kevin Ivy. The birthday boy was born and raised in Louisiana and is a graduate of LSU, so he is huge tiger fan. Their home is decorated in French-Spanish decor and everytime I go over, I find more great decorating ideas! Come along and see what you might like...



Geaux Tigers!
Brett the birthday boy in the center...

The foyer


The dining room is painted dark...it's lovely!



This is the dining room chandelier. Many of the light fixtures in the home formerly graced the Jack Binion Steakhouse at the Horseshoe Casino, in Tunica, Mississippi.

The entrance to the study...

The study...sorry it's dark, but it's very classy!


This is another chandelier from the Jack Binion Steakhouse at the Horseshoe...look at that ceiling! I love it:)


Custom shower curtain to hide the shower door



Love this wall treatment and coordinating window treatment near the jacuzzi


This is actually one of my favorite things they have done in the house. The prints are of famous places in New Orleans. The iron gate section is from a home in New Orleans...it's placed over the toilet.

Bookshelves line both sides of a kitchen window, usually loaded with fleur de lis pewter, which is being used as serverware for the evening...love the iron piece at the top!

Over-the-kitchen-cabinets decor


More decor over-the-cabinets



Another favorite of mine--the wrought iron pot rack LOADED with Daniel Cremieux copper pots and pans

Here's the menu:
White Rice with Beans & Sausage
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo*
Garlic Bread
Birthday Cake
Mixed Beverages
*The recipe for the gumbo is at the end of the post.

Here I am enjoying some chicken and sausage gumbo. Of course, I did not blow on the gumbo to cool it down, certainly never slurped the gumbo, and for sure I was spooning away from me!

The birthday cake...I told you he was a tigers fan!


*Recipe for Kevin Ivy's Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut up
3 lbs. andouille sausage, sliced
12 cups water
2 lg. onions
4 celery ribs
1 bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup flour
1 cup oil
Cajun spice to taste
3 tblsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
6 shakes tabasco
8 bay leaves
1 tsp. file
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Boil the chicken until done with cajun spice and salt & pepper, saving the seasoned broth. Chop the onions, celery, bell pepper, and garlic--set aside. To prepare the roux, mix one cup of flour with one cup of oil; microwave for three minutes, then whisk. Continue microwaving eight minutes, whisking after each minute. Add chopped celery, bell pepper, garlic, and onion to the browned roux; saute until softened.
In your stock pot make sure you have 12 cups of the seasoned broth, if not, add water to make a total of 12 cups. Add the chicken, sausage, and roux. Stir and begin cooking. Season as follows: 3 tblsp. salt, 1 tblsp. pepper, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, 6 shakes of tabasco, 8 bay leaves, 1 tsp. file, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1/2 cup chopped green onions, and 1/2 cup chopped parsley.
Serve over steamed white rice.
Thank you to the host Kevin for making this event very Southern and very memorable.
I thank y'all for stopping by today. Tonight I am attending one of those mega-Southern Baptist Church tablescape events. I hope I have some great table displays to show you. I am also planning to participate in Charm School Saturday. Until then, Make your weekend Southern...make it memorable.


21 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, love that harlequin ceiling. mishelle

Tardevil said...

Yum....that sounds so good! What a beautiful home they have! I bet you had loads of fun!

a. said...

Oh my - that ceiling is WONDERFUL! Thanks for sharing!

CMB said...

what a fabulous house...I am loving that ceiling.

Lady Katherine said...

Thank you for sharing the tour of the Southaven,Ms home. I love it all, favorite was the shower door covered with a curtian. Louisana folks really know how to cook! I spent a lot of time there and the meals were wonderful, as the crawfish. My hubby has a crawfish pond, We plan to have a crawfish cook out, come Spring.

Melissa Miller said...

Oh I love their home! The decor' is spectacular. You look great and the gumbo sounds tasty.~Melissa

Lady Katherine said...

I am so honored that you enjoy my blog article. I do love your blog and in need of a little etiquette. I admire those that have studied etiquette. If I were to have a chance,would have gone to Washington to study. Life came at me another way, so I just enjoy so much reading others articles. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Hi Miss Janice,

It looks like you had a lovely time and that house is so pretty.

Nice to meet you,
Kathy :)

ps thanks for the recipe :)

Unknown said...

Wow...I am your friend and I am wowed by your site and Kevin's decorating skill.
Congrates on the ~Southern Lady~ plug.
Kara

Melissa Miller said...

Hi Miss Janice, I have an award for you to pick up over at my blog when you have time. ~Warmly, Melissa

Cynthia's Cottage Design said...

Miss Janice,

Oh what a wonderful Post! I felt as if I was there enjoying it all too! They have such a lovely home, very warm and inviting and full of fabulous decor!

Thank you for sharing what seemed like such a nice evening! and the recipes look scrumptious too :)

~ Cynthia ~

Gone said...

Oh, how I love the chandelier and the ironwork!! Very pretty!

Nancy Rosalina said...

Hello Miss Janice, I think that home is lovely, and it looks like you enjoyed your visit! Thanks so much for sharing the photos with us. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Blessings to you, Nancy

Anonymous said...

Hi Miss Janice! I'm stopping by from Nancy at Southern Lady's site. I very much enjoyed this post and may have to borrow a couple of ideas!lol Welcome to the world of blogging; I look forward to visiting you again and again! Sincerely, Jeannette

Anonymous said...

Well, good evening, Miss Janice! Oh, you look so cute not slurping up the gumbo! It sounds so delicious! Now your friends home is certainly very pretty and someone has a flair with decorating, don't they! Those chandies are quite something! Wish we all could have been there! We would have sang Happy Birthday really loud for Kevin!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Kevin Ivy said...

Miss Janice, I just had to thank you for coming over to help celebrate Brett's birthday party! It's wonderful to have such good friends as yourself! I also want to thank everyone for the nice comments, you are all too kind!

Rhondi said...

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Your friends home sure is beautiful!
Hugs, Rhondi

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

What a beautiful home. Love that ceiling treatment, and that fabric in the bathroom. Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I live about 60 miles from you. Maybe we can meet some time. I come to Memphis all of the time. I have to go to West Memphis this afternoon for a funeral, but no time to come into Memphis for shopping today. My f-i-l is in assisted living in Memphis, so we often go to visit him. Hope we can meet some time. laurie

Rue said...

Hello Miss Janice :)

I found you through Nancy over at Southern Lady. I have loved all things Southern and everything about etiquette my whole life, so of course I love your blog and look forward to visiting you.

Your friend's home is gorgeous and I about fell over when the picture of the ceiling came onto my screen! Happy Birthday to Brett :)

I hope you have a beautiful weekend,
rue

Faracat said...

What a beautiful home! I have known Brett for over 25 years and his dream used to be to own a double wide and now look! DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!!! Happy, Happy birthday Brett!

donnananney said...

LOL LOL LOL Faracat.... We love you Brett!!!!!!!!!!