Good Music and Even Better Ham

I'm not sure when we got so old. When did we start having dinner parties? When did I start offering to bring an appetizer...and getting excited about it?

I'll tell you when. When I discovered this stuff. Oh man. Heaven in a jar. Especially this particular jelly. I bought it at the market straight from the lovely hippie that made it.

I'm sure folks have been serving it for ages so I must live under a rock. Toss it on a cracker with brie, goat cheese or cream cheese and people will love you. It's the best three bucks (translation: loonie and a toonie) that I've spent in a long time.

It was Mike's birthday. He and his fabulous wife, Christina, are one amazing couple. We don't see them as much as we would like to since the arrival of their 18 month old daughter and the purchase of their house that needed some updating. They've been busy, but man, have they done a nice job.

Christina made a ham dinner that made me salivate. She cooked the ham in Coca-Cola and brown sugar. It made me proud to be from Atlanta, seeing as it's the home of Coke.

Then she added this crazy concoction as a sauce. I couldn't get enough of it. Excuse me, which way to the gym?

The six of us had so much fun. The wine was flowing. Celebratory whiskey may, or may not, have been involved. Delicious food. Good music. All followed up with Chocolate Cloud Cake.

Christina lovingly lit the 8,000,000 candles because Mike is getting up there in years. Kidding! But, I would like to point out that I was the youngest in attendance. I have Christina beat by 24 hours.

Then a chocolate stick caught on fire. Small panic.

Then we dug in and showed that cake who was boss. Then I rolled out of my chair and crawled toward the couch. But The Canadian beat me to it. So I went exploring.

Mike is a bit of, how do you say? music freak. Maybe connoisseur is a better term. He loooooooves old records.

We listened to this guy during dinner. I don't know who he is but the Glee Cast and Mariah Carey got nothin' on him.

This is a lot of paychecks and a lot of years.

He doesn't just collect, he goes to the shows too. Their entire house is decorated with framed posters of shows. It's awesome.

Case in point. This is a Kings of Leon poster from a show he caught in 2005. That is at least five years before the rest of us decided KOL was remotely cool.

The posters adorn every wall in a really cool, artsy, unique way. So much better than the riffraff all over my house.

And Pearl Jam. The list goes on, but I was having ham-overload and had to go find the nearest couch.