Celebrations: Alabama Football Birthday Party

To celebrate my dad’s birthday earlier this month, we hosted some family for a day of football and fun. My husband’s cousin was also in town for a golf weekend so it was a great time to get together and catch-up.

And of course, the day also happened to be the same day as the Georgia vs. Alabama game (sorry to my Georgia friends!). While the rest of the guests were coming around 6:30, my parents came over earlier to so we could watch the game. I knew that I didn’t want to be stuck in the kitchen cooking while the game was on so turned to my trusty crock pot. I love this thing!

I made red beans & rice for the first time, using this Southern Living recipe. A few changes – I used one cup less water than the recipe called for, only 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning,  Turkey sausage instead of Andouille, and added two bay leaves to amp up the flavor since I was using less spice. I was nervous as I’ve never cooked dried beans before, but it turned out awesome! I highly recommend trying this recipe. Plus, it’s very wallet friendly, which is always a plus when cooking for 8!

For decor, I quickly grabbed my favorite red napkins and pulled out two scarves to use as table runners – one houndstooth and one crimson. I used some leftover houndstooth fabric from my Game Day wreath to make the tablescape even more festive, along with some Alabama shakers (aka pom-poms).

Publix made this awesome cake for my dad, and I had some red plastic plates and used some Alabama napkins, along with the leftover fabric again for napkin rings. The platter was one of our wedding presents, part of the Lenox Ruffle collection and it’s the perfect size for sheet cake.

Overall, it was a great day! I love that I had all this decor on hand to make a fun atmosphere and celebrate my dad and family! Oh, and Roll Tide!