I can smell the crazy

2012-02-01T21:15:00.005-06:00

The kids!

Our household officially has more animals than humans, and we are perfectly happy with that! :) We adopted Jelly and Slinky a couple of weeks ago after fostering them for 6 weeks from the Austin Animal Shelter. Originally we wanted to foster to see how the dogs got a long with kittens and vice versa. All of the animals got along so well, we couldn't bear to let them go :) So now I have PLENTY of photo opportunities of the kids playing, and if you read my blog then accept the fact that you'll be subjected to lots of animal photos :)

One thing that I have noticed is that Jelly seems to bother Chewie more and hang out near him, and Slinky bothers Abbey more and will play with her over Chewie. I wonder if the kittens picked out their favorites or if it will change as they get older?

A stare down between Chewie and Jelly

The cute look over the shoulder look from Abbey :)

Jelly hanging out on the couch

Jelly

Slinky resting on the windowsill... ignore the dirty outside window ;)

The kittens have started to play with the dogs tails. It is pretty cute to watch them bat around and chase the dogs tails. The dogs look at us like "what did you bring into our house?" every time the kittens get a little feisty!

Slinky and Abbey

Our Sweet Baby, Abbey

Jelly

Chunky Chewie Chalupa

Slinky and Jelly

I love how Jelly is hugging Slinky!! (I am hoping that he is hugging rather than strangling)

They seem so big when they are running around playing,

but in reality they are still pretty small.

Our first all animal picture! It is hard to see Jelly because he is kind of behind Slinky and laying down along Chewie

A little bit better view of Jelly.. he is stretching in between Chewie and Slinky

2012-01-31T10:51:00.003-06:00

Dinner at 24 Diner, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Dinner at 24 Diner

We have eaten at 24 diner a few times now and have always had a good meal there. So far I have tried the Applewood Bacon and Cheddar Fritta, the Pulled Chicken sandwich and 24 Hash with Bacon instead of sausage. They are on the more expensive side of food, but a nice treat every once in awhile. Jim ordered the Chicken and Waffles the last time we went and it is SOOO good. For the longest time I just couldn't wrap my head around that combination but DAMN it goes together really well. It is a food that I think is perfect for after a night of drinking downtown. If you are in the area of 6th and Lamar and want damn tasty food with an excellent selection of food, then head over there!

2012-01-26T16:00:00.000-06:00

Brunch!!

I love brunch but I love brunch with the ladies even more!! Our good friend Rachel recently moved back from Hawaii and most of the ladies met up for brunch last weekend. It had been far to long since our last brunch, so we spent about 4 hours catching up :) Now, I will say that it took 1.5 hours to get our table because Tacos N' Tequila is a hopping place on Sundays. It was damn near crazy how busy it was. They have an excellent brunch buffet for $16.95 that includes mimosa's. With the unlimited mimosa's and buffet, people would camp out at a table (much like we did :)) We were lucky and got to sit at the bar while we were waiting for a table, so the wait wasn't to bad (except for the fact that I didn't eat so I was STARVING while waiting).

Ashley, Michelle, Courtney, Kelly and Rachel

Nicole, Me, Krista and Michelle

Ashley, Courtney, Rachel and Kelly

I loved the tiles in the ladies rest room... so we took some photos in there :)

My camera was resting on top of the toliet

So this might seem random.... but since we are a bunch of catty women, we made fun of these tights. Our whole table zeroed in on these tights when she walked by the restaurant (our table was near a window). They just aren't.... brunch tights.... more like.... stipper's day off tights :)

Nicole and I

A few of us went to Kung Fu Saloon after brunch, and Rachel got a bloody mary. It was kind of cool because they had their own "bloody mary" bar were you could mix and match flavors.

Rachel, me, Michelle and Nicole

The ladies!

A very fun and much needed girl time brunch!! Next time I won't wait as long to throw it together!

2012-01-25T22:07:00.006-06:00

Engagement Pictures with Friends

A couple of weekends ago I met up with friends, Mike and Erin, to take their engagement pictures. We didn't have a lot of solid plans as to where or what type of pictures so we just headed downtown and had fun! The only issue of the day is that it was very overcast and I didn't have a lot of light to work with. For those of you not living in Austin, the weather here can be quite fickle... one day super sunny and 70 degrees but then the next day can be windy, overcast and a high of 50. There is no telling what type of weather that you will wake up to :)

Mike did mention that he wanted to get pictures in front of the Austin Greeting Card that is on South First Street, so that was our first stop.

Right around the corner from the Austin Greetings Card (which is painted on a wall),

is a cool lighting shop.
After a few more photos in that area, we headed down to South Congress. The picture below is behind the Austin Motel. I had no idea it was there until we parked on the street near there. There was a cool rusted out car with plants in it, so of course it became our backdrop.

Another iconic spot in Austin, which is on the side of Jo's Coffee on South Congress. I actually don't know much about this "sign" but it was perfect for our photo shoot!

I can't decide if I like this photo or not... I love Mike and Erin in it, but the damn leaf from a bush got in the way. Adds a little color to it, but part of me wishes it was gone.

On our last stop, I wanted to head down to a rusted out bridge that I have been eyeballing for a few years. You can see it while you are whizzing by on S. Mopac heading towards Cesar Chavez/5th street exit. I'm pretty sure this bridge is to connect the hike and bike trails to 5th street. I was fighting with the lighting at this point.... we had to hurry to get some pictures!

Love both of these pictures!!

2012-01-24T12:33:00.004-06:00

Slinky and Chewie, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Jelly and Chewie

There is no shortage of love for our animals at the house. Right now it seems a little like an animal house since the kittens are so rambunctious (as all kittens are) but we also have the kittens sequestered in the living and dining room. We don't want them to have free reign over the house since they are so feisty and need adult supervision :). Occasionally we'll see the kittens creep over to the dogs with the hopes of laying next to the dogs, but usually Abbey gets up and moves right away, and Chewie will tolerate them for a few minutes. One day I hope they'll all just lay together. But for now, here is some Chewie and Jelly cuteness!

(yes, I know, the picture says Slinky but it is really Jelly)

2012-01-09T11:55:00.000-06:00

First food I ate in 2012

Since we had our bestest couple friends come over for New Years Eve, I knew I wanted to be prepared for breakfast the next day. And I knew that I didn't want to be messing around in the kitchen just in case I woke up with a headache :) This recipe jumped out to me thanks to the hash brown crust :) I'm a sucker for anything potato. This was a very easy recipe to put together.

The flavors were mellow in the Quiche and I think I would have preferred a little more punch. Maybe a few jalapenos (finely chopped) or an addition of a sharp cheddar cheese would have given it just a little more flavor. But the great thing about this quiche is that you can add or leave out whatever you like!! Very easy to cater to your tastes. And the nice thing about this Quiche is that you can make it in advance... just pull the quiche out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you are going to eat, cut a slice and heat it up in the microwave. I thought about putting it in the oven to heat up but I didn't want to heat up the entire quiche, just the slices I cut for us to eat.

Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash Brown Crust
(adapted from Martha Stewart) – serves 8

2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 package (1 lb) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
10 large eggs
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
half of one yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup baby spinach
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1 package (4 oz) soft goat cheese, room temperature
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

Brush a 9-by-2 1/2-inch springform pan with butter, and line the sides of the pan with strips of parchment paper (same height as pan); brush paper with butter. (I forgot to brush the outside of the paper but all turned out okay)

Squeeze excess moisture from thawed hash browns. Mix hash browns in a bowl with butter, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Press into bottom and up sides of prepared pan, using a moistened dry measuring cup. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges start to turn slightly golden brown. (My hash browns were thawing enough for this impatient chick so I threw them into the microwave for a few minutes to hurry up the process... worked fine)

Saute the onion in a pan with the olive oil for about 2 minutes, then add the red pepper and saute for another minute, then add the baby spinach and saute for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk sour cream, goat cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well combined; whisk in 9 remaining eggs. Then stir in the red pepper-spinach mixture.

Pour the egg mixture into the hash brown crust, and sprinkle the top with scallions. Bake until the quiche is set, 45 to 50 minutes. Tap the side of the pan, if the sides of the quiche are set and the middle is slightly jiggly, the quiche is done.

Unmold quiche, and peel off parchment paper before serving.

2012-01-09T09:38:00.000-06:00

Rain!! Rain!! Rain!!

Rain is in the forecast all day, and that makes me totally happy! Not only was 2011 totally void of rain for almost the entire year this rain will also wash away the Cedar allergies. I know it will be a short reprieve from the allergies, but I'll take it! Of course this picture shows Austin is only in the middle of all of the storms, but we have been getting rain off and on since last night.

2012-01-05T21:07:00.003-06:00

The kittens are getting a little more comfortable around the house and the dogs. It's kind of cute because they are also bonding with the dogs as well. We haven't gotten a cuddle time between the kittens and the dogs but I have a feeling it is just a matter of time :)

Resting on New Years Day

2012-01-02T16:24:00.001-06:00

Resting on New Years Day, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Here are Chewie and Jim resting on the couch after a fun New Years Eve :)

2012-01-01T21:54:00.010-06:00

Happy New Year!

I hope everybody had a great New Years!! We spent the night with friends at the house for a very laid back night. I look forward to 2012 and what it holds for us! I'm not doing any type of resolutions but I do actually have a lot of plans for 2012 floating around in my head. Hopefully I'll get to most of my ideas but if I don't then I won't beat myself up over it. :)

Ha, this cracked me up!

Here are some of the top headlines from 2011....

From the Statesman for Top Austin Headlines:

Tragic toll from wildfires
High winds and drought-parched land made for a tragic combination as downed power lines sparked wildfires over the Labor Day weekend, destroying 1,691 homes and claiming two lives in Bastrop County. At the same time, smaller fires destroyed 57 houses in Steiner Ranch, Spicewood and Pflugerville, all in Travis County. And Leander lost 26 homes in a pair of wildfires this year.

A summer like no other
Crops wilted, lake levels dropped, lawns turned brown, and wildlife went thirsty as Texas endured record drought. At one point in October, 88 percent of the state was deemed to be in exceptional drought, the most severe level. Austin received just less than 15 inches of rain, about half of its normal precipitation, and sweated through a record 90 days of triple-digit temperatures.

F1 is off-again, on-again
After much debate, the Austin City Council gave its blessing to allowing $25 million in state sales-tax receipts to flow to Formula One race organizers for each of the next 10 years for an event to be held southeast of Austin. But construction on the Circuit of the Americas racetrack briefly halted when contract disputes arose between local and international race officials. At year's end, the disputes were settled and the race was on for November 2012

Longhorns gain network, lose rivalry
ESPN agreed to pay the University of Texas $300 million over 20 years to operate the Longhorn Network of sports programming, but the effort got off to a rocky start when major cable and satellite providers refused to carry the channel.

Perry seeks White House
No Texan garnered as many headlines as Rick Perry in 2011. Already the longest-serving governor in Texas history, he was inaugurated for an unprecedented third full term in January, then drew a hard line on preserving rainy day fund money during the legislative session. He rebuffed talk of a presidential run but reversed course, saying he felt he had been called to seek the White House. A late entrant to the race, he rocketed to front-runner status only to slide back into the pack after too many "oops" moments.

More top news stories from 2011....

From yahoo.com

A 21-year old motorcyclist who collided with a BMW on the campus of Utah State University was lying unconscious beneath the burning wreckage when bystanders rushed to help. Workers at a nearby construction site tried to lift the car along with students, while a professor shot the scene on his camera phone from an upper floor window

Almost 10 years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is finally found and killed3

Japan is hit with a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. This earthquake was so strong, it rattled the planet on its axis and shifted parts of Japan's main island 3 to 16 feet. After the earthquake came the waves, some as high as 30 feet and reaching to about 6 miles inland. According to Yahoo.com, the latest death toll reached 15,703 and 5000 are still missing. This earth quake was a natural disaster that we will not be likely to forget for some time.

Casey Anthony Trial-- (copied from yahoo.com) In December 2008, the body of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony was found a quarter-mile from her Orlando home. She had been reported missing by her grandmother, with whom she lived, along with her grandfather and her mother, Casey. Three years and countless headlines later, Casey Anthony's murder trial was the courtroom spectacle of 2011 (or, as CNN described it, "one hot ticket"). The media furor had been whipped up partly by Casey's astonishing number of lies , which had eroded her faltering credibility. Still, no one had a clue how sharply this trial would seize the public imagination in 2011. Obsessed "tot mom" watchers descended on Florida from across the country, waiting in long lines overnight to duke it out for one of the coveted 50 courtroom seats reserved for the public. Police were called in more than once to deal with brawls and stampedes. In the end, Casey Anthony was convicted of nothing more than lying to police and being a terrible mom -- neither of which necessarily make her a murderer. In the court of public opinion, she was already sentenced to life, which will surely make the rest of her days insufferable.

On April 29, 2011, Prince William of England married Catherine Middleton -- and the world was invited to the wedding. The last royal ceremony of this magnitude was 30 years before, when Lady Diana married Prince Charles.

Six people were killed and 14 injured when a gunman opened fire January 8 on a crowd gathered to meet U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords at a Safeway store near Tucson. Among the dead were 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, born on September 11, 2001; federal judge John Roll; and Gabriel "Gabe" Zimmerman, Giffords's community outreach director. Giffords, the alleged assassination target, was shot in the head at point-blank range. Quick-thinking citizens were lauded for preventing further deaths. When the shooter reached for a new clip for his semiautomatic handgun, a bystander hit him in the head with a metal folding chair, and another man pinned him to the ground. Patricia Maisch, then 61, wrestled away the ammunition clip.
Amid the contentious rhetoric and complicated legal developments, observers held close to the concrete milestones of Giffords's recovery. Crime scene photographs gave way to the first images of a smiling, short-haired survivor. Her struggle to walk became a triumphant return to the House floor. She continues to progress, although it is unclear how complete her neurological recovery can be.

Death of Amy Winehouse--Nothing testified to the staying power of her music than the heartbroken worldwide reaction to her sudden death from accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011.

Occupy Wall Street--The notion of a privileged 1% has been kicking around for a while. About 1% of the population owns 40% of global wealth. To put it another way, if the 48 poorest nations pooled their resources, they'd still own less than the three richest guys in the world. Protesters took to the streets -- including Wall Street -- and went online almost immediately. "Occupy Wall Street" buzzed in searches September 16, the day before the first protest, with searchers ages 13 and up, from coast (New York) to coast (Oregon). Some supporters fretted about the lack of media coverage, and some journalists thought the movement's leaderless concept backfired.

2011-12-30T10:48:00.003-06:00

Untitled, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

On Wednesday I did a little shopping with my birthday money :) I wanted to wait until after Christmas to do my shopping just to make sure I didn't buy anything that somebody might have gifted me. I had my eye on this ring for a few months. I found it on South Congress in a shop that promotes local artists. I can't remember the name but it has the word Gift in it and it is in the back of another gift shop that is right off of South Congress. As soon as I figure it out I'll update the post. :) Anyway, I love the simplicity of this ring. I’m not a big jewelry wearer but I can see putting this on for a night on the town.

Playing through the curtians

2011-12-29T12:19:00.001-06:00

Kitty on the other side of the sheer curtain, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

The kittens are growing so fast!! That is Jelly in front, and Slinky behind the curtain. And their playing abilities are amazing! They are only 6-7 weeks old and they are leaping, stalking, rolling, figuring out all the hiding places and overall having tons of fun! They are hilarious to watch running around the room. I'm sure I'll have to replace a few curtains since their sharp little claws are being used to climb on them, but it is worth it :)

2011-12-28T21:01:00.007-06:00

Christmas 2011

This year Christmas really felt like it snuck up on me. I think part of the reason was due to our Seattle trip earlier in the month (which I STILL need to post pictures from!!). But we did get our tree up and decorated around the house just a little later than normal. The weather around Austin also helped get us into the Christmas mood... lots of cooler wet weather, which I loved. After the hellacious summer, any type of rain and cold is welcomed.

During Christmas we found out that the foster kittens prefer used boxes and wrapping paper as their toys over all the little cat toys that I have bought them :) They played for an hour in the wrapping paper, playing hide and seek.

For dinner we had ham, chicken Florentine, au gratin potato's, green beans flavored with a Cesar marinade, stuffed mushrooms, broccoli rice casserole, and rolls. We also had plenty of snacks before dinner... veggie tray, roasted red bell pepper dip, and deviled eggs. And for dessert we had 3 different options... a pudding and whipped cream dessert, a raspberry dessert and my Bavarian Apple, Cranberry and almond torte. We ate very well on Christmas Day!

The kids at the kids table :) They didn't mind missing out on the adult talk, they watched Christmas Story while they ate.

Poor Chewie. I know he doesn't really enjoy putting the headband on,

but look at how damn cute he is!! Don't you just want to kiss that face?!?!?

Abbey is still getting used to the headbands. She figured out that if she dipped her head it would fall off :)

Abbey and Jamie (Jim's sister)

Jay, Caden and Dawson getting ready to open presents.

Travis and Caden goofing off

Jim and I... showing off my new hat from my In-Laws. Can't wait for cold weather to wear it

Ryan with Jelly and Caden with Slinky

Opening presents in the living room

Family Photo- Even Abbey and Jelly got in the picture... Chewie was off to the side and not sure where Slinky was hiding

After everybody left, we settled in for some couch time to relax. Here is Jim and Slinky. The kittens are cool with being held for a bit, but then they want to go off and wrestle. :) They are hilarious to watch wrestle.

Me and Jelly

Freakin Adorable Photo!!

2011-12-24T15:50:00.003-06:00

Christmas!!

Hello Blog world! Did you have a nice Christmas? We had a pretty nice Christmas this year, but of course it flew right on buy and now it is over :(. I don't have the holiday photos ready to post yet, but I do have some photos from Christmas Eve and the animals. Of course I chased them around with the camera while trying to dress them up. It just wouldn't be the holidays without those type of pictures! :)

The Kittens (Jelly and Slinky) were to small for all of my Santa hats so I had to quickly take a picture before they took off running in seperate directions

Chewie and I

Can't you tell that Chewie loves his Santa hat?

Jim and Chewie

The pups near the Christmas Tree

The pups dressed up next to the tree. Chewie doesn't mind the hat, but Abbey doesn't exactly like it

In fact, I'm pretty sure that Abbey is plotting a way to get back at me for making her wear a hat.

2011-12-23T10:18:00.003-06:00

The Cuddler, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

This was the The Cuddler (who we named Peanut because he was the smallest kitten) on Sunday. On Monday he started to take a turn for the worst, very lethargic, the weight started to look like it was falling off quick, didn't want to play with his brothers. I took him into the vet on Tuesday and they said he had a parasite and gave us medicine. He started to eat again, and it appeared that he was starting to come back to his normal self. Unfortunately on Thursday I came home from lunch to find a very sick kitty and rushed him back to the vet. The vet took one look at him and said they were going to put him down. Peanut was only in our lives for 2 weeks and I wish we had been able to nurse him back to health but I understand sometimes that isn't possible. Rest in Peace little kitty, We loved you while we had you and we hope we gave you a comfortable home for the last 2 weeks!

2011-12-20T21:08:00.008-06:00

Thanksgiving Day

We started our Thanksgiving day with a 5 mile run.... well..... Jim and his sister started their Thanksgiving day with a 5 mile run, I simply drank coffee, took pictures and cheered them on. There were 21,000 runners in the race and people were all over.... people with strollers, people with dogs, people in costumes, people, people, people!

There was a band playing at the packet pick up area, good way to get the crowd pumped for the race
Jim and his sister Jamie getting ready to run!

I'm at the starting line for the race.... look at all of the people! I was looking for Jim and Jamie, but I didn't see them.

Look at how CUTE this dog is! I imagine he is really soft and fluffy and would be fun to cuddle.

Run, run run!

I love this chicks hat

I hung out on a median near Congress and Cesar Chavez to watch for Jim and Jamie run by.... and of course I didn't see them in the crowd but there were plenty of people/dogs to watch!

I have no idea how this guy didn't pass out since his entire head was covered. I'm sure the red fabric was breathable but had to be hard to run 5 miles in it. And this guy was at the front of the pack so his pace was fast.

Here we have a tequila bottle and a taco running in the race

Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without an Indian running in the race

Lots of cute dogs running with their owners. Many had little jackets/sweaters on

Not sure why, but the Queen of England decided to change genders and then run in the Turkey Trot

A turkey and a pilgram walking together :) Shouldn't the turkey be running from the pilgram?

Lots of runners!

After the race we headed to Lubys to meet Jim's family for Thanksgiving dinner. Jims familiy prefered to go out instead of home cooking and hanging at one of the houses so we met up at Lubys for the holiday. We met up with his parents, sister and her family, 2 cousins and his aunt. It was a nice showing!

Jim's cousin Lori's Kids.... Jace, Charles, and Celeste

Jim's sisters family.... Caden, Jamie, Ryan, Travis and Dawson

Here we are one big family. Thanks to the lady walking by who took our picture! :)

And I couldn't pass up posting this picture of Chewie... he is running towards me while licking his nose. He is my adorable boo-boo! :)

2011-12-20T21:04:00.003-06:00

Mike and Erin's Engagement Party

I'm playing catch up on the blog, so I had to go back to the middle of October for this party :) Mike and Erin got engaged this summer and are planning their wedding for next September. Their Aunt and Uncle very generously offered their house for the party. This is the house where Mike and Charlie have their boat on Lake Austin so we have visited the house a few times. The party was beautiful and of course having Lake Austin as your backdrop is always pretty darn nice.

Jason, Ashley, Jim and Lindsay enjoying some cocktails and the view

Jim, Jason and Charlie

Some of the ladies.... Cheryl, me, Erin (the soon to be bride), the next two ladies are Erin's friends from Colorado and can't remember their names, and then Lindsay

Giving the speeches

Lindsay, Chris Jim and I

And to end the post, me and my bud Lindsay!

I Love This

2011-12-15T16:30:00.001-06:00

lovethis, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

These sweeties don't have names... yet

2011-12-14T21:17:00.001-06:00

These sweeties don't have names... yet, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Jim and I are the current fosters of 3 kittens from the Austin Animal Shelter. I have wanted to be a foster parent for awhile but the time just wasnt right. Well the time is right and these guys were available so now they get to call our house home for the next month. They are about a month old and about a pound each. It took them a few days to warm up to us but now they are our buddies. There is a slight chance that we might keep one of them, but we'll see :) We aren't opposed to the idea if we meet the right kitty.

Another football season... another vacation

2011-12-13T15:17:00.001-06:00

IMG_5991 0544a, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Mom, Jim and I met up in Seattle for vacation a couple of weeks ago. Jim and I have wanted to visit Seattle for the LONGEST time! The Eagles were playing the Seahawks, so it gave us the perfect opportunity for a visit. Early December is not a great time for a touristy visit based on the weather but we still had a fantastic time. I'll be posting WAY more photos soon!

Thanksgiving Day

2011-12-13T15:13:00.001-06:00

IMG_5474 086a, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

On Thanksgiving Day Jim and his sister Jamie ran in the Turkey Trot. It was 5 miles long and they had 21,000 other runners with them. It was crazy busy!!! My legs would have fallen off if I tried to run 5 miles so I was just there for moral support and snapping pictures

Engagement Party

2011-12-13T15:11:00.001-06:00

IMG_2414 071a, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

Here we are with our buddies, Chris and Lindsay, at Mike and Erin's Engagement Party. It was held at Mike's Aunt and Uncles fantastic house off of Lake Austin.

2011-12-13T14:59:00.001-06:00

Alright my blogger followers... I know I have been HORRIBLE at keeping up with this blog but I still have the drive to keep it alive. It is always on my mind but I just seem to lose steam after a day of work and every day life. However, I have a lot of material to share so I will do my best to post!! In the mean time, I have my Flickr account set up so I can just quickly post photos to Blogger so I can throw in a couple of easy posts mixed in with the more wordy posts :)

Jim with our friends baby, Gavin.

2011-12-13T14:58:00.001-06:00

IMG_2353 010, a photo by dbinatx on Flickr.

2011-11-20T20:46:00.005-06:00

Shrinking Lake Travis

Last week Abbey and I drove out to Lake Travis to walk around Sometimes Island. Since the water is so low at Lake Travis, you can now walk from Mansfield Damn park to Sometimes Island. I was shocked at how low the lake is currently! I was curious to see how low the lake has been in the past and I found this information (found on LCRA's website).....

Current Lake Travis: 626 feet

Exactly one year ago: 668 feet

2 years ago 648 feet

Lowest on record (records go back to 1943) in Nov: 616.98 (lowest ever was 615.29 Aug 1951)

We are currently just over 10 feet away from the record, and I have a feeling we'll beat that record. Based on the history of the lake, the low was typically for a month or two but then it started to raise back up. So let's hope that we can start raising back up soon!! We need rain, and lots of it!!

From the Mansfield Damn Park. At one point where I was standing was underwater, but that was due to an insane amount of rain one spring (I believe it was in 2006).

Abbey standing on rocks that are typically under water.

LOVE this picture of her! Little Miss Adventurer

One of the many boat ramps closed on Lake Travis. I believe all ramps were closed by August of this year due to the water being so low

At the end of the boat ramp... as you can see no way a truck could get down there towing a boat.

Lots of old beer cans were littered along the shore... so old they had the pull tabs on the top!

Here is a picture looking back at Mansfield Dam... and typically this part of the lake is under a lot of water and can't be seen.

There were a TON of stumps out there. I remember hearing that before the lake was damned it was an orchard, and it makes sense seeing all of the stumps out there.

Even an old trash can was out there

Transmission? or some type of mechanical part

Hello! I bet the last time I was this far out in Lake Travis, I was on a boat floating around. Who knew I would be walking along this part of the lake!

Where is Abbey? Hiding along all of the brush that has sprouted up

2011-11-18T16:35:00.002-06:00

Pit Bull Awareness Weekend

A couple of Sundays ago Abbey and I headed out to Republic Park in Downtown Austin for a Pit Bull Awareness Weekend. I wasn't really sure what to expect but it was a really great festival with plenty of booths, lots of great looking and behaving dogs, and an awesome Frisbee show!

Abbey checking out the other dogs and items around her

Abbey greeting this pup (butt sniff) with an awesome pink Mohawk

(a little hard to see from behind)

This cutie was totally content wearing a cow costume

The festival had a fun show of dog catching Frisbee,,, these dogs were amazing and seemed like they flew through the air and amazingly picked the Frisbees out of the air

zooooommmm!!!

Might be the cutest puppy ever!

(well... right behind our dogs and any of our family/friends dogs)

As we were leaving the festival, I noticed that a booth was painting dogs toe nails. Midtown Groomers were painting nails for a donation to a local pit bull shelter. Abbey isn't fond of people touching her feet so I wasn't sure how she would react. We got her up on the table okay but that is when she gave me a look like "What in the Hell is going on?"

Abbey has black toe nails so the groomer had to put glitter on top of the nail polish :) My little girl's first experience with glitter! :) Abbey was not as excited about the polish as I was, so after a lot of wiggling around (and at one point 3 people holding her in place), we stopped with her front paws. They looked pretty good, but I bet that will be the last time that Abbey has pink glittery toe nails :)

The festival was a great time and I'm glad that Love-A-Bull is trying to turn peoples perception around of Pit Bulls. I know Pit Bulls have a horrible reputation when in reality it should be the jackasses that raise the Pit Bulls incorrectly that get a horrible reputation. The entire park was swarming with Pit and Pit Mixes and I saw ZERO fights and minimal agression (no more than what I see at dog parks). I hate the reputation Pit Bulls have, but with more public awareness like this festival hopefully things will start to turn around.

2011-11-13T13:15:00.009-06:00

Bud Bones goes to his first wedding

A few weekends back we went to a friends wedding in Houston. I thought Bud needed to get out and see the world so off we went!

The chapel was beautiful and HUGE. We parked on one side of the buildings and it turned out we were on the wrong side,,,, so off we went in search of the right chapel.

Bud really thought the car was cool, so he wanted to take a picture in front of the car and pretend like he is a big baller :) (tough guy/rich guy for those of you unsure of what a big baller was)

Bud peeping around a column at the church

Once at the reception I put down my purse at our table and Bud decided to walk around to check things out. He found the "gifts" for the people attending the reception and decided to dig in and hang out. No gold chocolate coins for you Bud!

The food at the reception was really good! I sampled a little of everything and Bud thought that gave him a free pass to sample from my plate. He only took a nibble or two so I let him have some.

Who knew Bud was such a flirt! Here he is with the ladies... I wonder if that little bugger was trying to look up our skirts?

The wedding cake was very pretty! It was also surrounded by waiters and waitresses,,, so I am surprised that Bud made it so close to getting a taste before the rest of us! Luckily I found him before he took a chunk out of the cake.

Ahhh... the joys of an open bar at a wedding! Bud stuck with Gin and Tonics all night and he even convinced the bartender to let him tend bar for a few minutes.

After a few to many Gin and Tonics, he was using the glasses to help prop him up.

Bud met the groom and wanted to hang out with him for a little bit so he could be the center of attention. Chris let him hang out in his vest (a little hard to see him since it is white on white). He wasn't as transparent as he thought, John spied Bud hanging out with Chris!

Bud really enjoyed his first wedding and liked sitting on the dance floor watching people dance the night away.

Where will Bud show up next???

2011-11-06T20:37:00.012-06:00

Friends, Road Trip and a Wedding

We carpooled with our friends to Houston for a friends wedding last weekend. I don't know the couple very well, but Jim went to college with the groom. All of our friends were going so we knew we would have a fun time :)

We were cutting it really close driving to Houston hours before the ceremony. Once we reached our friends mom's house, we had 30 minutes to change and get to the ceremony. Classy people that we are, we got done what we needed to and made it to the ceremony by the hair of our chinny chin chin.

We found the church with about 5 minutes to spare BUT this damn church was freakin massive and we parked on the wrong side. So we walked very fast while following the signs, and made it just as they were shutting the doors to the church. I'm not going to lie.. I was worried this was going to be a traditional church ceremony but we got lucky and it was only about a 30 minute ceremony. The pastor, who was youngish, was kind of cheesy talking how the groom had to wait on the bride hand and foot and joked about them having kids soon. It wasn't my type of ceremony but maybe they liked it.

Lindsay, Ashley, me and Tammy in front of the Rolls, that will drive the bride and groom from the ceremony to the reception. The car even had it's own bottle of Grey Poupon. As you can see... tall girls on the left, short girls on the right.

We spent a few minutes talking with friends after the ceremony and before the reception. Here is Jim, Jason and John.

Here we are at the ceremony... all of the ladies :)

(accidental deleted the picture...will re-add soon)

Chris, Jim, John, Amil, Guy in the background, Chris and Chris (we know a lot of Chris' :))

Hubs and I

Our Sexy Feet photo

Lindsay and I with Tammy sneaking in the photo in the background :)

Erik, Jim, Charlie and Jason

Erin, Tammy and I

Jim's fraternity brothers with the bride, Madelyn

Charlie and Jennifer

Erin and Mike

Tammy and John

Ashley and Jason

Jim and I

Chris and Lindsay

Everybody on the dance floor watching the bride and groom dance (and me sneaking on the floor to take the picture :)

Back to photos in the middle... I was to lazy to fix the photos above :)

Madelyn with her sister and dad dancing

Jennifer and Charlie dancing the night away

The wedding had a live band, which was really fun. The only complaint I would have, is they seemed to be very limited on the songs they knew. I think we heard Brickhouse like 10 times... either that or it was the longest version EVA.

Julie, Whitney and Ashley taking a break from the dance floor

Madelyn and Chris dancing

Erin, Ashley, Lindsay and Jennifer

Chris showing he can "move like Jagger" (current song reference for my older blog fans ;)

Jim and Chris (the groom)

2011-10-26T22:06:00.004-05:00

Day Off

Today I picked up a new friend at Toy Joy. He accompanied me on my day off while I ran some errands. I haven't figured out his/her name yet but I'm sure something will come to me soon.

After Toy Joy, we went to Jo's Coffee on Congress for a drink then walked around doing a little shopping.

He was curious about the art cows around the city so he climbed up to get a better view

We had heard that Johnny Depp was at the Continental Club recently so we had to stop by

All that walking made us hungry so we stopped at a newish food trailer called Hill Country Pierogi. I tried the Bacon Pierogi while my little buddy watched. Somebody needs to teach him that it is rude to stare. The pierogi was really good, I look forward to eating there again.

My little buddy decided that he wanted to try driving. This didn't work well since he couldn't reach the peddles.

After the stressful time driving we headed to my massage appointment. While I was taking off my shoes, he decided to jump ahead of me and get on the bed. Ummm... mama doesn't play like that. He was promptly put in my purse for the remainder of my appointment.

After the massage we walked down to the Farmers Market to pick up some veggies for dinner.

It was time to meet the pups. They were a little cautious of him but ultimately they became buddies.

He must have said something to make Chewie laugh

We ended our day with a nice meal at home!! Hopefully soon I'll have a name for my little friend because I'm sure we'll be seeing more of him.

2011-10-16T23:09:00.007-05:00

I went to 2 baby Showers in the same month and survived

My friend Vannessa is very close to having her little baby boy. Her mother in law and sister in law threw a baby shower for her about a month ago. It was a great little party, her in-laws really know how to throw a shower! Great food, fun games and good friends!

Opening gifts

Playing a game where you have to reach into a pillow case, feel around, and then write down everything you felt. I did pretty good but the mom's in the group kicked my ass.

I took Vannessa's maternity photos a few weeks ago at Mayfield Park. I love this park! So many great and diverse areas for pictures in a small area. She is a beautiful pregnant lady!!

She was such a good sport... we laughed a lot, I sweated (thanks to a late burst of summer in Sept), and I think we were able to get beautiful shots.

The Mama and Daddy to be!

While at Vannessa's first shower her mom pulled me aside and let me know she was also hosting a baby shower in a few weeks. She would have it at her house with their family. I always have fun with her family so I didn't mind going to 2 baby showers :) The boys got together to play "Poker for Pampers" while we were at the shower. Basically their buy in to the game was a package of diapers. And in the boys eyes, it was a great time to get to have boy time together while the ladies were at the shower.

I failed miserably at this game,,, you had to cut off a piece of string that you think would fit around Vanessa. Let's just say my piece of string was big enough to go around both of us :)

One of Vannessa's friends who got pretty darn close

Did you really think you were going to get through a post without a self portrait?

Lindsay, me, Vannessa (looking gorgeous), Ashley and Whitney

After the baby shower we drove over to Matt and Vannessa's house to meet up with the boys. As you can see, they had a few beers before we got over there.

The poker game was played in 3 stages since they had so many people. Chris is waiving the one finger salute towards me.

The entire night was a really fun time! Can't wait to meet Baby Gavin, he is due in early Nov. I am hoping that it falls on our wedding anniversary so I can remember his birthday :)

2011-10-09T12:52:00.003-05:00

Being damn picky is annoying when shopping

I have wanted a new coffee and side tables for quite awhile now. When Jim and I moved in together we picked out a cheap set to get us by, but now I am ready for a change. I have some ideas of what I would like to get but I haven't really found it, or at least I haven't found it in my price range, in Austin.

I searched around Etsy and the internet and I found a few pictures of what I think (would really need to see it in person) I would like. Now I just need to find these coffee tables in Austin :)

I found this coffee table at Crate and Barrel and I am finding that I am drawn to tables that have a mix of wood and metal. I think this table was around $600 or so... more than I wanted to spend for just the one table. I'll be keeping an eye out to see if it goes on clearance :)

I found this table on a website called Etsy.com. It is a website where individual artists sell their work. The only issue is that most of these tables are far far away from me. I like the lines on this table, but I would have to put a piece of glass over it so it would be a smooth surface. Love the color of the wood.

I like the size of this table, the unique legs and the space in the middle to hide remotes and anything else. I would worry about the amount of dog hair that might get stuck in the middle :)

This reminds me of the 2nd table, but without the space in between the slates of wood. I like the variety of color and the metal frame. This table seems like it would be for a dining room table but of course I would want it smaller for a coffee table.

The coloring and the legs of this bench would look awesome as a coffee table

Can you sense a theme here? Dark wood, pieces of wood, metal frame? Yes, I believe i have found my style I am looking for.

I did come across a few side tables that I liked. I like the color difference between the top of this table and the bottom. I am drawn to the clean lines and having a top and bottom shelf.

I love the shape of this side table, but not in love with the color.

While I was looking at Crate and Barrel's website, I saw this side table and liked the simple shape of the table, but not sure it is very usable as a main side table. Not enough room for a lamp to sit on

There are lots of great options out there... just need to find the right shape, color, size, style and have it be near Austin. :)

2011-10-02T22:18:00.008-05:00

Day Trip

One day while looking through the internet I saw that Round Top was having an antique fair on my day off (http://www.roundtoptexasantiques.com/) and I thought,,, why not! Round Top is about 1.5 hrs away from Austin but it is a very easy drive. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was hoping that I was going to find a coffee and side tables. I don't really like our tables and would love to get new ones!! But I am picky as hell which means it takes me way longer to find items that I really like and are willing to pay for.

When I was driving into Round Top there was what appeared to be a flea type market on both sides of the road so I pulled over and checked it out. There was full booths on both sides of the road with plenty of really neat items.

One side was a ginormous tent full of booths and the other side of the road was made up of smaller buildings with items inside as well as out on the grass.

Hellllooooooooo!

I thought these were really cool, but didn't really have any where to put them. Almost every dealer that I came across on this portion of the fair let me know that they were flexible with pricing. I honestly wish I came across something that I just couldn't live without, but I didn't.

This little building had a lot of colorful cabinets of all shapes and sizes.

It just wouldn't be a antique fair without an old bathtub (which was pretty cool) filled with old beer cans. :)

I moved over to the Big Red Barn to check out the fair inside. This area cost $10 to go in, and I heard people talk about being charged for parking, but I accidental drove into the section for vendors only and didn't have to pay for parking :) The Barn had more expensive booths, AC and rest rooms so I was pretty happy to pay $10.

I did find a few items that I would have loved to buy but they were just to damn expensive or I didn't have a place to put them. But I did find a lot of items that inspired me to either make stuff of find like items around town that wouldn't cost so much.

I came across this chair... made of horns.... seriously... horns.... and they wanted over $1500 for it.

LOVE this photo! This artist was told about a machinist that was selling his warehouse in Missouri. She took his equipment, cleaned it and then either buffered it or painted it. There were lots of great little parts that she took and created different pieces of art. She also refurbished the guys drawers and tables. They were pricey but not to out of reach. I just didn't have any use for the tables.

Another favorite picture that I took while at the fair. These were all of the saw bits that the machist used.

This was another booth that I liked. They had a lot of refurbished furniture that had a slight country feel to it.

After the Red Barn I left and ran into another shopping area. These tents had a mix of new and old items. I loved almost all of the items in the tent below (picture). Loved all of the dining room tables and cabinets. I found a couple of tables that I would have wanted as a coffee table, but they were either way to big or way to small. GRRR. Oh well, I'll just have to keep shopping while looking for a new coffee table! :)

In case you would like to go to a show, here are the next years show dates: (HINT: Mom- one of these dates would be good to come and visit :)

WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW
January 14, 15, 2012
Big Red Barn
9AM to 5PM Saturday
10AM 4PM Sunday
Admission $5 Good for all days.

44th ANNUAL SPRING ANTIQUES FAIR
April 4, 5, 6 & 7, 2012
Big Red Barn & Tent, Continental Tent
Carmine Dance Hall
Admission $10 Good for all days
and all locations

SUMMER ANTIQUES SHOW
June 23, 24, 2012
Big Red Barn
9AM to 5PM Saturday
10AM 4PM Sunday
Admission $5 Good for all days.

45th ANNUAL FALL ANTIQUES FAIR
October 3, 4, 5, & 6, 2012
Big Red Barn & Tent, Continental Tent
Carmine Dance Hall
Admission $10 Good for all days
and all locations

2011-09-28T22:33:00.008-05:00

Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

I received a couple of butternut squashes in my Farmhouse Delivery (more on that later) and I didn't really know what to do with them. I stared at them for a week or two before I figured that i could just roast them and throw them into another dish. I haven't really cooked with them before so I wanted to find a recipe that would incorporate the squash but not totally highlight it.

I started off by roasting the squash, which is pretty simple. Quarter up the squash, remove the seeds (which looks a lot like pumpkin), use a little olive oil, sprinkle on some salt/pepper and stick it in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes. If you wanted a sweeter flavor you could also layer on some OJ or maple syrup on the squash. I figured that the squash is sweet on it's own and I didn't want the extra calories so I didn't add it.

Once the squash was done cooking, I let it cool down and scooped out the flesh and chopped it up and added it to the risotto which was almost done cooking (recipe below). We were really happy with the final result! The risotto was nice and creamy and the squash added a nice flavor without being to overpowering.

Basic Risotto Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
•1½ cups arborio rice
•1 qt chicken stock
•½ cup white wine
•1 medium shallot or ½ small onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
•3 Tbsp unsalted butter
•1 Tbsp vegetable oil
•¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
•1 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
•Kosher salt, to taste
Preparation:
1.Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.

2.In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped shallot or onion. Sauté for 2-3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent.

3.Add the rice to the pot and stir it briskly with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so, until there is a slightly nutty aroma. But don't let the rice turn brown.

4.Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed.

5.Add a ladle of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process.

Note: It's important to stir constantly, especially while the hot stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry.

6.Continue adding ladles of hot stock and stirring the rice while the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks, you'll see that the rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches.

7.Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20-30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. If you run out of stock and the risotto still isn't done, you can finish the cooking using hot water. Just add the water as you did with the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring while it's absorbed.

8.Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp butter, the parmesan cheese and the parsley, and season to taste with Kosher salt.

9.Risotto turns glutinous if held for too long, you should serve it right away. A properly cooked risotto should form a soft, creamy mound on a dinner plate. It shouldn't run across the plate, nor should it be stiff or gluey.

2011-09-26T21:47:00.005-05:00

A post full of our pups!!

2011-09-26T21:19:00.016-05:00

Fun day of bikes, friends and beer!

As soon as I found out about the Texas Craft Beer Festival (http://www.texascraftbrewersfestival.org/ ) I made sure that I had that weekend off! We went to a beer festival last year at the Flying Saucer and we had a really good time. We chose to do this festival this year (instead of the Flying Saucer) because it was local brews and it was something new. This festival was being held at Fiesta Gardens which is right off of Lady Bird Lake.

Since this was the same weekend as the Pecan Festival, we decided to drive to downtown with our bikes, park in the middle of the two events and then just bike from place to place instead of looking for parking multiple times. Unfortunately the heat crept back up this weekend and the high was 102 so it was quite gross outside.

Here I am doing a self portrait while riding a bike, and Jim is in the background on the phone. We are talented peeps.

Our first stop, after meeting up with Chris and Lindsay, was at the Twisted X booth. I tried their Siesta Prickley Pear Lager as my first beer. Here is the description from their website: "A summer seasonal based on Twisted X. "Bloody Butcher" red corn from Richardson farms provides a slight hint of color. Prickly pears from the fields of Texas provide the rest of the color and add a fruity cactus flavor. Siesta is more carbonated than our other beers and this adds to its summer time drinkability. It has 5.5% alcohol by volume. We vote to reinstate the Siesta tradition, sit back, take a snooze, relax and ride the Texas heat wave with a refreshing Siesta." I really enjoyed this beer, a slight hint of sweet but not overpowering.

My second beer was one that I have read about on the internet and heard about from friends... From the website....This extra hoppy Pilsner has a jalapeno aroma, a mild jalapeno flavor, and leaves you with pleasant warmth in the back of your throat. At 6.5% alcohol by volume Fuego is strong yet still crisp and refreshing. Most chili beers are more focused on the heat, but this one is 100% beer. The secret to this beer is the amount and duration of the jalapeno soak, as it has taken nearly two years to get it just right. At my first sip I was a little disappointed because I didn't detect the heat but after a minute or two I got a little tickle in the back of my throat and that is when the heat came on. I really enjoyed this beer but I don't think that I could drink them all night long, it is more of a one or two beer at a time.

Jim, Lindsay and Chris

Me, Jim and Lindsay

Another favorite of mine at the festival was the Austin Beerworks Pearl Snaps. Okay, not going to lie, I was pulled in by the name Pearl Snaps :)http://austinbeerworks.com/beer/ Description from Austin Beerworks website: When the temperature hits 100, this beer will be your best friend. When it hits 109, six of these will be your girlfriend. It has a bright hop character with a finish so clean it will pick up after itself. It’s Crisp, Refreshing, and Clean. I have to agree that the beer was crisp and clean. I didn't go back for seconds, but I will be looking for this beer in the future to give it a second try.

One of my favorite food carts, Chilantro, was at the festival. I have had just about everything on their menu and haven't found much that I don't adore. They had a limited menu at the festival so I went with the beef tacos. I was saddened by the fact they didn't have their wonderful kim chee on the menu :( In my opinion, their kim chee is what puts their food above other food carts.

Next up for our tasting, was Ranger Creek. They are a brewery out of San Antonio that brews their own beer as well as whiskey.

I tried their Heffe, which I really enjoyed. I am finding that banana is a common flavor in Heffe's. I tried to research it on their website but that beer isn't listed. I can't say their beer was my favorite, but they certainly weren't my least liked of the festival.

Ranger Creek Beers at Festival

I finally got around to going to Thirsty Planet. I am familiar with a couple of their beers so I didn't want to use up all of my "tokens" at their booth. When I finally got around to the booth I found out they had just opened a keg of their new beer, Smittle Fest, which is their Oktoberfest type beer. They don't have this beer listed on their website, but I did find the owners last name is Smittle, so I guess that explains the name :) I also asked one of the guys serving beer when they were going to bottle beer and I was told they are working on it but they were given directions in Italian. So Thirsty Planet so get Rosetta Stone and bottle your beer! I would love to buy your beer to enjoy at home!!

Me, Jim, Chris and Lindsay

Jim and Chris doing their tough guy looks

After a couple of hours at the festival, we were out of tokens and totally tired of sweating. We hopped on our bikes and headed towards Rainey Street. Our initial plan was to go to Pecan Street Festival but we were so sick of sweating that we wanted AC. So we headed over to Bar 96 bar.

First ever attempted self double portrait while riding bikes. So glad I didn't crash and burn while trying to take this picture :)

Ahhhh... AC at Bar 96. We ended up watching some college football and got a bite to eat.

Jim and I split a chicken quesadilla and a brisket sandwich. The brisket sandwich was really good. Not much to it but the brisket was cooked well. The quesadillia was just meh, nothing that really stood out to us.

After cooling down and eating at Bar 96 we headed over to Luster Pearl to play a little ping pong. We never made it over to the Pecan Street Festival, but we had a great day with good beer and great friends!

2011-09-18T21:18:00.005-05:00

Roll On Sushi Diner

I love eating out, and I like it even better when it is a locally owned restaurant. Recently a new sushi joint opened near the house so we gave it a try. We walked in to a semi filled restaurant with a DJ playing in the corner. We sat at the counter and checked out our options. The first thing I noticed is that they have a lot of "cooked" sushi. That isn't a bad thing because the roll that we ordered that was cooked was delish! This would be a good place for people that want both options... or for a couple that one person likes sushi and one that does not :)

The restaurant is set up primarily around the middle of the store so you can sit at the counter and watch them make the sushi for you. I love watching the chefs at work, so this is the perfect set up for me.

Dy-No-Mite Roll

Tempura Shrimp, Rice, Nori and Spicy mayo

This roll was a simple roll with a fresh taste. I stuck with the pieces topped with tuna vs the jalapeno because I prefer not to eat the heat :).

The Beefy Texan

Beef Brisket, Wasabi Cole Slaw, rice and spicy BBQ Mayo

This roll had a wonderful flavor, the beef went well with the avocado and the spicy BBQ mayo sauce. We were very impressed with this faux sushi roll. The Wasabi Cole Slaw got a little lost in all of the flavors, so I wish there was just a bit more in there.

Guaca-Rolly

Tempura shrimp and spicy Tuna inside with avocado on the outside with spicy mayo

Hello yummy roll! We watched the chef take his time while slicing the pieces of avocado very thin (you can see them layered on top of the sushi). I think it had the eel sauce on top, which added a nice salty taste to it. It was a close tie between this roll and The Beefy Texan roll for being our favorites.

The ordered was very simple... you grabbed the paper, got a pen and marked what you wanted!! The prices were based on what the color was on the paper so you knew how much you were spending. We will be back soon, especially since it is on the edge of the neighborhood!

2011-09-18T20:33:00.000-05:00

Sunday Funday
(during Labor Day weekend)

I had today all to myself so I decided to make the best of it. Jim was out of town with his dad for a shooting competition. I debated on whether or not to make breakfast or eat out, and I just couldn't pass up eating out at a new restaurant (to me). Foreign and Domestic has been on my radar for awhile now and honestly it was the only restaurant that I though of. After walking the dogs and watering the lawn, I headed out for a few hours.

I sat at the counter at Foreign and Domestic, which I totally love. I love to watch the hustle and bustle behind the counter and how they create the food. I wasn't in the mood for a boozy breakfast so i stuck with coffee. The coffee was delicious!

I couldn’t decide on what to order… it was between the Fried Green Tomato BLT or the Fried Chicken Biscuit. My decision was made when the guy next to me ordered the Fried Chicken Biscuit. Per their website, the Fried Chicken Biscuit had Red Eye Gravy, Romaine Slaw, Lemon Marmalade and a fried egg. I have heard of Red Eye Gravy before, but have never tasted it. After looking it up, some recipes have strong coffee and some have the coffee, bacon and ham. Not sure if the F&D had ham or bacon in the gravy, if they did I didn’t taste it. My plate came looking like a hot mess, but it was damn good. I believe the salad is supposed to sit on top of the egg, but since a fried egg is somewhat slimy, the salad slid right down the side. Didn't matter to me, it all tasted the same :)

The piece of fried chicken (a thigh) was so juicy with a crispy outside. The chicken sat on a split biscuit that was a bit dense but held up to all of the ingredients on the plate. The romaine slaw had a thick dressing on it and was a nice fresh cool crunch on the plate, perfect for the fried chicken and biscuit. The one flavor that really jumped up and slapped you was the lemon marmalade. It wasn't over powering but really added a brightness to the dish. It took a few bites to figure out what the flavor was (forgot it was mentioned on the menu).

F&D has a slightly limited menu for Jim and I. They have some items that I just don't think I have the stomach to try (Crispy Beef Tongue, Cincinnati style Tripe, Beef Heart Tartare), however there is plenty of items that appeal to me. Now I just need to drag Jim there, I know he'll enjoy it.

After brunch I headed to the City Wide Garage Sale. It is always a hit or miss whether I find something to buy or not. This weekend, I found a couple of items that I just loved. Both were small tables/side tables so I had to choose which one I liked the best. I ultimatly went with this white table because it was so unique. I LOVED it as soon as I saw it, and couldn't pass it up at $35. I'm still not really sure where I am going to put it but for now it is hanging out in the living room. Yay for finding unique pieces for the house!!

2011-09-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

Old Friends

Last month when I headed back to AZ I met up with an old friend from High School. We found each other through Facebook recently. Brigita and I were best friends in High School, both jocks who played the alto saxophone and both fairly sarcastic :) It was a perfect match! We grew apart a few years after high school and lost touch. But once we found each other on Facebook, we chatted away like the old times. Our conversation flowed as if we had just seen each other a few days ago. I had a wonderful time at lunch and I look forward to rekindling our relationship!!

High School Graduation- Me, Leslie, and Brigita

18 years later--Lunch at a Greek restaurant in Chandler, Az

2011-08-27T20:38:00.002-05:00

My Backyard Boo Boo's

2011-08-27T20:37:00.005-05:00

Abbey Babbey

2011-08-27T20:36:00.002-05:00

My Chunky Chewie Chalupa

2011-08-25T21:10:00.015-05:00

Kickball Tourney

Months ago my brother let me know that his kickball team in Arizona might be travelling to Austin to play in a tourney. I was pretty stoked because that meant that Jim and I would be able to play. HOWEVER, when we were talking about his trip it was in the spring when it wasn't extremely hot in Austin. I was soooo worried as the tourney date came up because Austin has been under such an extreme heat.

The weekend came for the tourney and we were loaded up on water, water and more water, along with power aid, sun screen, and more water. Chris and Lindsay played with us in the tourney and they did so well!! Jim kicked ass as well! I was ehhhh.... I knew I was out of shape but it didn't help that I pulled my vagina (aka... groin) muscle in the first game. I continued to play but I knew I wasn't at 100%. But the tourney must go on!

Playing rock, paper, sissors to determine who has home field advantage

Jim with his first kick... and it was a HOME RUN! Nice job babe!

Chris and Lindsay were so AWESOME... they brought this tent for us to use. The high was 107 on that day and there wasn't any type of covering at the field. This tent was super nice to get away from the sun.

Kicking the ball.... I was thrown out at first :(

Team cheering on our players

Val kicking the ball

Chris made an awesome grab out in the outfield

Lee kicking the ball... he had a really great tourney

Chris kicking the ball

Cooling off under the tent

Lee the coach with his Urban Outfitters hat :) Nice catch Jimmy! Aaron pitching. I didn't realize how sideways he got during pitching

Lindsay had a really good game too!! This was her and Chris' first time playing,, they both did really well!

Even though the heat was a ball buster and we had some health issues, I would totally play in another kickball tourney!! I had a lot of fun and I'm glad that Lee and his team made the trip to Austin!!

2011-08-13T20:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday Fun Roaming Night

We didn't have any plans on Saturday night so we originally thought we would split our time between 2 places. We were going to have appetizers and drinks at each place. Our plans changed slightly when we decided we didn't want to drive once we found a parking place.

We started our night at Trio which is inside of the Four Seasons. They have an excellent happy that runs 5pm-7pm Monday through Saturday. Yes people.... they have a happy hour on Saturday :) I have been to their happy hour in the past, but this was Jim's first time. All of their appetizers and glasses of wine are half off. Can I get a hell yeah!?!!?

I looked up and noticed their incredibly modern and cool light fixture. I like the fixture way better looking up than seeing it from across the restaurant.

While I wanted to order one of everything I had to remind myself that we were making other food stops that night. We decided on the pulled pork sliders and the truffle mac and cheese. All was EXCELLENT! The only slight bitch I have about the meal is I wish the buns were different on the pulled pork sliders. They looked like something we would find in HEB. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's Trio and I wanted better than what appeared to be HEB buns! The mac and cheese was just heavenly. So cheesy and so delish that it put a big smile on both of our faces.

After Trio we stopped in at Shoreline Grill and reminisced about our wedding there.. almost 7 years ago! :) Such happy and fun times!! We were going to try to get a self portrait under the gazebo, but just as we were going to try, a wedding party walked out, so we didn't want to get in the way! (no guests, but they were about to rehearse!)

We walked down to Town Lake (still can't call it Lady Bird Lake) to see if the bats were getting ready to take off but we were to early and didn't feel like waiting in the blistering sun. However, the light was great, so we took a photo with the help of another person waiting to see the bats.

Our next stop was at Hanks Garage. I have heard some buzz about this Belgium Pub so we thought we would give it a try.

Duck Fat Fries!! Duck Fat Fries!! I think duck fat fries are the new thing because I keep hearing about them all over the place. So when I saw them on the menu we ordered a small with 2 dipping sauces... garlic aioli and a grain mustard/mayo mix. While these fries were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, they tasted just like fries. I don't know what I was supposed to expect but they tasted like good french fries. I was a little let down by the sauces.... the garlic aioli was mostly just mayo. I hardly tasted the garlic.. so much so that I dipped my finger in the sauce to see if the sauce was weak or if the fry was just overpowering in taste. The garlic taste was almost non-existent. BUT the fries were delish so I'll overlook the dipping sauces!

After our fries and beer, we headed over to Second Bar and Kitchen. I have been wanting to eat there ever since they opened. This may not have been the best time to go eat there since I was already getting full. I had a talk with my stomach and told it to get ready because i was about to eat just a little more. Jim said he was done eating, but I knew that he would still have a few bites of what ever I ordered. They have so many great sounding items like the Blue Crab and Corn fritters, Buffalo Fried Pickles, Baked Ricotta and Goat Cheese.... but ultimately I kept looking at the Bacon and Eggs. Per the menu at Second.... Bacon and Eggs- Crisp Pork Belly, poached egg, frisee, orange, maple gastrique and croutons. As soon as this was put down in front of me, I broke out in a huge smile.

The pork belly was delightful, the frisee gave a nice cool crunch, the egg was perfect with the pork belly... and who could deny the maple gastrique? I loved every single bite and cannot wait to try it again. My minor complaint was the egg did not have a runny yolk.

We had such a fun time!! I think we are going to have to do this again soon. Pick a few places, have one drink and one appetizer/small plate at each place to be able to try multiple places.

2011-08-07T20:09:00.004-05:00

Sunday Sleepy Time

2011-08-06T15:46:00.010-05:00

F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Over the past few weeks we have been busy with friends birthdays and catching up with a friend that has been living in Hawaii. We are very blessed to have such great friends and we always have a wonderful time with them.

We met up with friends for dinner at Malaga for Magens's birthday. It has been years since we have been there (it was at their old location) so we were looking forward to getting our grub on with friends. We ordered 3 tapa's to share.....

Croquetas de Pollo y Jamon -- Four crispy and creamy chicken and Jamon Serrano croquettes served with our house made saffronaioli and a side of gazpacho sauce

Viuras Serrano -- Grilled Sea Scallops wrapped in fresh basil leaves and Spanish Serrano ham and drizzled with basilolive oil

Lomo a la Plancha -- Olive oil marinated beef tenderloin seared medium rare and served with side of roasted garlic aioli. Served with fresh baked pita bread

Hands down the beef tenderloin was our favorite. The meat was so tender and simply seasoned so the beef flavor was spot on. The scallops were also very tasty but I wasn't a fan of the basil leaves. They brought a nice flavor to the scallop but it was slightly overpowering. The croquettes were good but they didn't have a wow factor. The saffron aioli was delicious and it was a nice dipping sauce for the scallop. I didn't take any pictures of the food due to a fairly dark restaurant and I was seated next to a few ladies that I had just met. I'm still a little embarrassed to take food photos around people that I just met. Silly I know, but one day I'll get over it.

After dinner we walked over to The Royal... at least that is what I think it is called, it is where the Apple Bar was. They have a great patio but half of it is roped off for the special VIP peeps in Austin. From the other side of velvet rope, it appeared that they had some comfy looking cushioned bench seats around large tables. I'm not bitter about being on the wrong side of the velvet ropes... (maybe a little)

Nick and Magen, the birthday girl

Magen the Rockstar

Chris and Lindsay with downtown Austin in the background. The views from the rooftop were beautiful

Hubs and I

Magen, me, Jim, Chris and Lindsay

John, Nick, Chris, Joe and Jim

Lindsay and I....I'm in small heels and Lindsay is in flats and she still has at least 6 inches on me :)

A couple weeks later we met up at Nicole and Stevens for dinner. Rachel was in town from Hawaii and this gave us the perfect opportunity to catch up. Nicole grilled up some sliders with caramelized onions and garlic aioli, Rachel brought a salad with lots of toppings, I brought stuffed mushrooms and mini-cup cakes with a caramel butter cream frosting. All of the food was wonderful!

Michelle and Rachel

Me, Nicole and Steven

Jennifer, Rachel, me and Nicole

HAM ALERT!!

Last weekend we met up with friends at Icenhouse for Erin's birthday. I'm a big fan of the Rainey street bars. 4 cool bars on the same block, food trailers around each bar, and a laid back feeling. Parking can suck balls, but overall a great place to hang out.

Lindsay, Vannessa and I

Jim, Chris, Matt and Charlie

Erin (birthday gal), Vannessa, Lindsay, Katie, Jennifer, and me

Lots of fun has been had over the past few weeks!!!

2011-08-02T21:39:00.002-05:00

Grilled Salmon with Blueberry BBQ sauce

Fruit in a BBQ sauce? Sure, I'll give it a try. When I started to make the BBQ sauce I wasn't sure what the outcome was going to be, but I am glad I gave it a try! The BBQ sauce has your typical BBQ sauce ingredients with the addition of fresh blueberries. The sauce was not overpowered by the sauce, in fact it was a nice hint of sweet. I'm not a huge salmon fan but this was pretty darn good. Next time I'll try this out with a firm white fish and using some type of nut as a crust!

Blueberry bbq Salmon

2 8oz salmon filets
kosher salt/ground pepper
olive oil
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs grated onion
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Pat salmon dry on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In medium saucepan, heat blueberries over medium-low heat until they begin to soften and some burst, about 10 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash some of them, then add the ketchup, vinegars, brown sugar, garlic, onion, mustard, Worcestershire and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine, then increase heat to medium. Stirring often, cook until the sauce begins to bubble, then lower the heat back to medium low. Continue to cook over low heat until the sauce has thickened, another 10-15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat a grill pan or prepare an outdoor grill. Drizzle salmon with olive oil and cook, skin side up, 4 minutes. Flip and brush the salmon with some the blueberry sauce and cook second side until done, depending on thickness of fish, anywhere from another 2-5 minutes. Fish should still be slightly pink in the center – do not overcook. We aren't skin fans, so I actually cooked the fish, skin side down, and when I flipped it I removed the skin. The skin slides right off.

2011-07-21T20:39:00.009-05:00

See it on TV one day,,, eat there the next day

We caught Eden Eats on the cooking channel last Sunday and lucky for us she was in Austin going "around the world in 24 hours in Austin". She visited various ethnic cuisine like a Middle Eastern food cart, a Lebanese bakery, a European Bistro and the Cuban Cafe. there were a couple of other places as well, but I forgot ;)

The cafe was a part of town in Austin that I haven't really explored so I was pretty thankful for GPS on my cell phone. The cafe was in a small strip center in the middle of a few neighborhoods.

They had a lot of great sounding items on their menu but I had to go with the sandwich that I saw on the show, the Cuban Sandwich.

What I first noticed was the bread and the density (which is a good thing) along with the crunch on the top.... delicious. I can't really say that I have experienced that type of bread before. The sandwich had a layer of roasted pork, many layers of ham, Swiss cheese, mayo, mustard and pickles. This sandwich was awesome! I could only eat about half of the sandwich, it was huge! I can't remember the price of the sandwich but I paid $7 for the sandwich, bag of chips and a coke.

I was extremely thankful for catching the TV show that featured Cuba Sandwich because the sandwich was totally awesome.

2011-07-20T15:59:00.002-05:00

Chewie is stretching as much as he can to get to the squirrels up in the tree

2011-07-20T15:58:00.003-05:00

Abbey taking a break during our walk this morning

2011-07-10T20:58:00.015-05:00

4th July Weekend Fun

We had a very good 3 day weekend over the 4th of July holiday. We had fun on 2 days and one day was more of a "fix the house" type of a day. On Friday night we decided to head out to dinner at Zocalo Cafe which is a more modern than tex mex type of a restaurant. We had our trusty Groupon... yay for discounts!!! We started off with the Guacamole, which was nice and creamy. It came deconstructed which means they had the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lime wedges on the side versus being all mixed together. We ended up just mixing it all together and enjoyed it.

I ordered the Empanada plate with one pork, chicken and veggie empanada (pictured below). I enjoyed the pork empanada it was filled with juicy pork. The chicken empanada was good but lacked flavor... it was pretty simple. Thankfully the salsa gave it a nice kick. And I wasn't really thinking when I ordered the veggie empanada,,,, it was filled with black beans (not a fan). So I can't really comment on that one. Jim ordered the shrimp tacos, which were 3 flour tortillas filled with shrimp. He was a fan of the dish but he wished the slaw that came with it had more kick, he thought it was bland.

As we were eating dinner, Jim noticed that people kept walking by with collapsible chairs. At first we thought maybe a park was having fire works, but then we remembered that fire works were banned this year due to the drought. After dinner we decided to check it out and followed a couple of people. We came across the sign and though... very cool! We have taken a broken TV to Bonds in the past so we are familiar with the company.

They were giving away free popcorn, hot dogs and watermelon along with the movie. We didn't have any plans so we decided to hang around and watch the movie, which was Unstoppable with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. Apparantly they do these movies in the summer on the first Friday of each month. I forgot to check out what they are playing in August but if we are free then I'd like to go again.

The sound was really good and the picture was clear. It was neat sitting in a parking lot to watch the movie. Plus you can bring your own cooler full of adult beverages, treats, pups or kids!

On Saturday night we headed over to Dawn and Matt's for a 4th of July BBQ. We had a great time relaxing and catching up with friends. Matt smoked a brisket and cooked up some hot dogs and guests brought tasty side dishes!!

Rachel, Dawn, me, Jennifer, and Sarah
Jim and Jake

Dawn had a beautiful little girl 2 months ago, Vivienne. Since she was sleeping so well I asked if I could hold her ;) No crying babies for me! She slept the entire time on my lady bumps.

Dawn and baby Vivienne

On the morning of the 4th, Abbey and I walked down the street to watch the neighborhood 4th of July parade. There isn't much to the parade.... some people with drums dressed in period costumes, some classic cars that threw candy to the kids, and then it is followed up with parents and their kids all dressed in red, white and blue. It takes about 10 minutes to roll by but I still enjoy going.

Abbey was very well behaved. She met some other dogs, had a little girl constantly hug her (we ended up moving down the street because I was getting annoyed with how much she was all over Abbey).

That afternoon we met up with our friends to hand out on Lake Austin. Here is Jenn showing us her 4th of July spirit! ;)Jim, John, and Chris

We had to wait on the boat (our friends family member borrowed it) but it was fun to do since we had a great pool to hang out in.

We were even served margaritas while we were waiting. Those frosty beverages were awesome in the heat.

Finally on the boat

Charlie enjoying a drink while surfing

Jenn was the rockstar of the day, she was able to surf for awhile without the rope.
Lindsay

This was the best caught wipe out of the day... Chris falling like a champI am a ham. Pretty sure I fell shortly after this.

Jim riding along

Charlie flipping off of the side of the boat

John surfing

Chris and Lindsay

Georgetown Gangstas

We had a fun and eventful 4th of July!!!

2011-07-07T14:17:00.003-05:00

2011-06-28T20:32:00.009-05:00

Last day in Chicago

Our flight didn't leave until 8pm so we had a full day of fun ahead of us. Our first stop was the Willis (formerly Sears) building. We had attempted to go the day before, but there was a power surge in the building and the elevators stopped working. We were waiting in line for the elevators when it happened :) kinda glad we weren't on those elevators when they stopped working. I think the people were only stuck for about 20 minutes. So we woke up early to miss the lines, and were able to walk through and go up the elevator to the 103rd floor to see the views, and the famous "ledge". The view was a little hazy but still very beautiful.

Here we are ... the ledge... where the little girls and grown women are separated.... who will have the balls to stand out in the glass box that is suspended 1353 feet in the air :) I didn't have any issues walking out to see, but once I was out there and started to look around, my stomach did a little flip. However, the Jersey girl inside of me took control and reminded me that 1.3 million people stand in these glass boxes each year and they are perfectly fine.

There were plenty of people waiting to get inside of the box, so we were a little limited on the time we had in the box. It was a fantastic experience.

After the Willis Building we walked towards Lake Michigan, where we came across the Buckingham Fountain. It is located in Grant Park and is one of the largest fountains in the world. Remember the TV show, Married with Children? This is the fountain in the opening of the show.

We found a little Italian place for lunch called Volare. I found this gem through yelp.com, it was located a block off of Michigan Ave (where all of the shopping is) and is slightly tucked away. I saw the glowing reviews for the gnocchi so that is what I ordered. I ordered it with their vodka sauce and it was perfection in a bowl. The gnocchi was so tender and the sauce was flavorful without being overpowering. Jim ordered the special which was chicken breast with spinach, ricotta in a white wine sauce. His was good, but lacked the wow factor that my dish had :)

Saturday crowds walking along Michigan Ave. I was really glad that our vacation started in the middle of the week, since there was WAY less crowds than the weekend.

After lunch and doing a little window shopping, we headed over to Navy Pier. I didn't have high hopes since I have heard it is a big tourist trap but we still wanted to check it out. The pier had plenty of restaurants and ice cream and Italian ice stands along with rides. We chose to ride the Ferris wheel and the other ride that I have no clue what the name is. Did you know that the Ferris wheel was invented in Chicago? George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. designed and constructed for the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition.

We saved the best for last, one of my favorite rides. I never knew the rides name until I just looked it up,,,, Wave Swinger-an Old Fashioned Swing. I used to LOVE this ride as a kid (I can only remember going on it during the fair in Arizona) and I was so damn happy to see this ride on the pier. Jim hasn't been on this ride before so it was a first time for him.

I even got a self picture while on the ride :)

I took this picture from the hotel bar right before we hopped on the train to the airport. I love the Indian busts on the corners of the buildings.

Chicago, you rock. We can't wait to come back and see more of the city. What an excellent vacation!

2011-06-23T21:46:00.015-05:00

Chicago
Day 3

If you haven't realized by the other two posts... we love Chicago and we are having a blast on our vacation. Our 3rd day goal is to hit at least 3 touristy spots and then go to a Pasta and Wine festival at night. Our first stop of the day is Millennium park, which has lots of things to do and see. Our first stop is the Crown Fountain which are two fountains that consist of two 50 foot glass block towers which shows a video of 1000 different Chicago residents. There were a TON of kids playing around in the water at the display.

This kid cracked us up... he would stand right at the edge of the water and move slightly to get wet, turn around run out and do a little dance.

Here you can see the face on the tower (on the left of the photo) along with all of the kids playing

This is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. According to explorechicago.org, the Pavilion stands 120 feet high which can hold 4000 in the fixed seats and 7000 in the lawn. There was an orchstra practicing while we were there, and they sounded really good. I would have loved to return at night when they were playing. Perhaps on our next trip.

View from the other side of the lawn

At the Lurie Garden

This garden is paying homage to Chicago's motto which (once again)according to explorechicago.org is "Urbs in Horto" (City in Garden) which refers to Chicagos transformation from its flat and marshy orgins to a bold and powerful city. The flowers were blooming and it was a beautiful sight in the middle of the city.

This was my favorite section of the park. This is the Cloud Gate. It is a 110 tone elliptical sculpture which many have dubbed the Bean due to the shape. There is a 12 foot arch under the structure that you can walk under, which will give you a different perspective than when you just walk next to it. The sculpture is 66 feet long and 33 feet high and UBER fun to plan around with if you enjoy photography.

Jim and I laying down

LOVE this shot

After walking around the park, we headed to the edge of the park to the Art Institute of Chicago. This museum was massive and I don't think we even saw 2/3 of it. I tried to track how much we walked in there, and my counter had us at right around 2 miles.

hmmmm...which one is Jim?

Medusa

We stopped in at the Billy Goat Tavern for a burger. This tavern has been around since 1934 and it is named after the original owner (it was originally called the Lincoln Tavern). He got the nick name Billy Goat because a goat fell off of a passing truck and wandered inside. The tavern moved to its current location in 1964.

Here is the more history from www.billygoattavern.com/history:

Ordering at the Billy Goat may go something like this: "Cheezborger! Cheezborger! You want doublecheez?!? Who's next!?! WHO'S NEXT!?!" If you take more than one second to answer: "Don't look at the menu, look at ME! I order for you - DOUBLECHEEZ!" If you only feel like a single: "No. DOUBLECHEEZ!!!" If it's the end of the week: "It's Friday, doublecheez for everybody! It's payday! Triplecheez for the big guy!" Want French fries with that? "No fries - CHEEPS!" Thirsty? "No Pepsi - COKE!" To drink: "Coke or Diet?!" Such rantings by the Billy Goat staff have gone on for almost 40 years and originated when Billy Goat Sianis and another Greek immigrant by the name of Bill Charuchas would entertain patrons by yelling out: "Try the double cheese! It's the best! No fries, cheeps!" In the 1978, Sam Sianis and Charuchas were immortalized by Saturday Night Live's John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Loraine Newman. The sketch was originally written by Don Novello (of Father Guido Sarducci fame) when he was an advertising copywriter in Chicago. John Belushi and Bill Murray knew the Billy Goat from their Second City days, and the rest is history. As a result, the Billy Goat Tavern achieved national infamy. When in Chicago, Don Novello and Bill Murray still come by and visit Sam and the Billy Goat staff and have their "Doublecheezborger"!

I have to say, their cheese burgers won't be winning any awards for their burgers, but the experience was worth it.

Streets of Chicago

We ended up going to a street festival just outside of downtown Chicago. There were a bunch of restaurants that were selling their food so the street smelled absolutely heavenly. As we walked up to the block the garlic smell led the way to the festival. To get here, we took a train then a bus and then walked 2 blocks....have I mentioned how much I LOVE public transportation!?!

Unfortunately we weren't as hungry at this festival since we had just had the Billy Goat Tavern burger a few hours before. We tried the Penne with Vodka sauce, and it was heavenly. I really wanted to try their polena fries, but my stomach said no :(

Waiting on the train

View of downtown from the train platform, the largest building is the John Hancock Building

We only hung around the Italian festival for about an hour before heading back to downtown. Once we were there, we decided to have a drink at Harry Carray's restaurant. It would have been nice to have something to eat but they were busy and we were still stuffed from before.

Here we are with Harry Carray's bust

After Harry Carray's we walked around to a few other bars... one wine bar, one bar at the top of the John Hancock Building (but thanks to a 2 hr wait we decided to leave), and then at the bar in the Hotel Sofitel. We found some very comfy chairs so we had a couple of drinks there while resting our feet. Our 3 day was another long day of walking and having fun. We enjoyed a cheese plate before we decided it was time to head out.

2011-06-22T14:37:00.007-05:00

Chicago

Day Two

After a fun first day of trip, our second day was the driving force behind our trip... the Cubs game! We bought the tickets for the Cubs game way before we planned the trip :) I got lucky finding our fan-freakin-tastic seats on Cubs website on the first day of single ticket sales.

Of we took the train to the Wrigley, super easy and one train change. We decided to eat breakfast around the field so once we got off of the train, I pulled up Yelp.com and found a place to eat within 5 blocks from the field. There was probably closer places, but I went with a breakfast place versus a fast food place.

We ate at a place called Nookies Tree. They had a lot of options for breakfast and they all looked fantastic. I decided on poached eggs over corned beef hash with hash browns, Jim got a breakfast skillet. Everything from the toast, to the coffee, to the patio, to the main dish was damn good. Sure, I was starving at that point, but I think I still would have loved the food .if I wasn't starving.

We walked back to Wrigleyville through a couple of neighborhoods, enjoying the cool weather and looking at the row houses. We weren't really sure where the field was, but we followed the masses. And then when we weren't expecting it, we were face to face with Wrigley field. I got a little emotional when I saw Wrigley... I have been a Cubs fan for as long as I can remember and have many games on TV showing Wrigley and now it was right in front of me.

The famous ivy, score board, and the bleachers. We got to the field early enough to walk around the stadium . We wanted to see all the possible angles that we could. We couldn't get into the bleachers because they had a separate entrance and you needed tickets to get in there :(

View from the upper deck in the right field

I am pointing to where our seats are...

Since we were so close to the field, I was able to get some great photos of the players!

The Cubs won the game against the Brewers, and it was a slug fest! I believe there were 5 home runs in the game and the Cubs won 12-5. So much fun to watch and then cheer the team on in the stands with all of the fans.

Jim is showing us the "w" for WIN

After the game we walked down to Lake Michigan to see the area. The breeze was delightful and we enjoyed walking around.

We decided that dinner would be deep dish pizza, but we were far enough away from the pizza place that we needed a snack and a beer after walking quite a few blocks (unable to find a cab). I can't remember the name of this place, but it was tiny with lots of open space and Goose Island on tap so we were happy. We also ordered fried mac and cheese,,, which was pretty darn good and VERY bad for us but we were on vacation so we had a pass for fried foods.

We finally found a cab and headed over to get this deep dish pizza. It was oh so cheesy an thick with goodness. We both were only able to finish about a slice and a half (we also ordered a salad to share before the pizza). We took the left overs hoping to give it to a homeless person, but son of a bitch, we didn't see one before the John Hancock building. Seriously... we saw homeless people the entire time during the trip except for the time I had some damn fine pizza to share with them.

We got to the John Hancock building observatory right at sunset, so we were able to experience the end of the sunset and night time.

Another jammed packed day in Chicago!!! We ended up heading home after doing some window shopping along Michigan Avenue.

2011-06-22T14:32:00.002-05:00

Didn't expect to come across a full moon during the day :) I have seen this guy a few times riding his bike around town. Thankfully if I have to look at that much of his body, he is decently in shape

2011-06-19T20:21:00.014-05:00

Chicago

Day One

I have wanted to visit Chicago for as long as I can remember. It all stemmed from watching teh Cubs play in spring training in Phoenix, it's when I became a fan. While our driving force was to watch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, the city offers so much to see and do during the visit. We had a blast and loved every single minute of it. I am looking forward to going back soon.

Beautiful sunrise on the flight to Chicago. I booked the first flight out, which was 6:05am. At the time of booking I didn't think much of it, but DAMN that was an early flight. We made the flight by the hair on our chiny, chin, chins. First off... we didn't allow enough time in the morning to get up, get ready and love on the pups before leaving. Then when we pulled up to the parking lot, there was a "Lot Full" sign... and then I just about shit myself since we didn't really have a back up plan. BUT they let us in since we are "frequent members". AND THEN we walked into the airport to a line at the check in counter and a long line at the security line. We know better, but we just let the morning get away from us. Thankfully a person let us cut in line at the security line and we had about 5 minutes to spare before boarding.

We took the train from the airport to the hotel. We had a very small walk from the train station to the hotel. I absolutely LOVE city's that have public transportation that is usable. The ride cost us $2.25 (per person) and took about 30 minutes.

Once we checked in at the hotel we took off to look for the architecture water tour. Luckily we walked up at the right time and only had to wait for about 10 minutes for the next tour. This tour was highly recommended by everybody that has visited Chicago. We truly enjoyed the tour and listening to the history of Chicago and the buildings. Our tour guide gave us a lot of great information and it was relaxing to sit and float along the water.

Jim checking out the bridge as we went under it on the tour boat.

Looking up through the bridge at the buildings and cars passing by while floating on the boat

Here is the Willis (formerly Sears building) with the structures popped out of the building. We are going to visit the Willis Building in a day or two. SOOOO excited to step out and look down ;) (more on that later....)

I love the detail on older buildings.

A few of the bridges are double decker bridges... cars on the bottom and train on the top.

There are a few walk ways along the water that are under the bridge... I didn't realize that they were mirrored until we floated by

Beautiful skyline of Chicago

Love this view from the train

FINALLY... food! We probably should have eaten before the water tour because we were starving. We came across this restaurant and stopped in to eat. We had an awesome Chicago hot dog and a hot beef sandwich which was "dipped". While we were eating, it started to pour so we took our time in the restaurant. While at the restaurant we tried to plan our next destination, which is the Art Institute. Well....... my navigation system led us on a little trip to South Chicago. Yeah.... not the touristy part of Chicago. We turned right around and headed back to the hotel.

At the hotel, we decided to sit in the hotel bar and enjoy an adult beverage to unwind a little after all of our adventures. The bar had gorgeous views of Chicago, and probably had the best view that i have seen from a bar.

I was enjoying a drink with Gin and Pomegranate juice. Very tasty

After enjoying our drinks and the view, we went up stairs and got ready for dinner. We were a bit sluggish since we had been going since 3:45am, but we toughed it out for good food :)

Right after we started walking to the restaurant it started to POUR again. So we had to hurry up and hide under a walk way until the rain calmed down. If you look at the back left of the photo you can see the buildings are being covered by the clouds.

Our dinner plans were to eat at Fronter Grill, but since they had a 1.5 to 2 hr wait, we decided to walk down the street to a bar to have a drink while we waited. Hubbard Grill was a restaurant on the bottom floor and a bar on the 2nd floor. I loved the decor... brick, dark woods, glowing lights and rustic furniture mixed with leather couches and one side of the wall was all windows.

I also found out that I am in love with a local craft brew called Goose Island. It is a light beer with a slightly fruity after taste. I could have sat at that bar drinking and enjoying the view all night. We were on a good streak for finding bars with exceptional views.

We ate at one of Rick Bayless's restaurant, Frontera Grill. I first learned about Rick during one of the Top Chef shows, and then more about his cooking on Top Chef Masters. I knew that he created dishes that Jim and I would love.

We started off with an appetizer of Sashimi-grade Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, avocado-tomatillo guacamole, tangy mango-grapefruit salsa. As we ate the fish, the big flavors really became apparant. We needed to mix it up to get all of the flavors, and once we realized that we loved this dish.

Jim ordered the Grill-roasted Gunthorp pork loin, fruit-studded ancho-almond mole, grilled pineapple tamal, braised quelites (bacon, grilled white onions), crispy chorizo. His dish was good but the meat was a little dry and the flavors weren't as bold as you might think based on the description. I ordered the special which was the Cochinita Pibil: Achiote-marinated Maple Creek Farm suckling pig roasted in banana leaves. My dish was FANTASTIC, the pork was so tender and flavorful. I didn't get a good picture of it, it was to dark and I didn't want to mess with photo because I couldn't wait to eat it :)

We took our time walking home so I could take pictures of Chicago at night. I could have spent all night taking photos but I didn't have my tripod with me so I was limited on the type of pictures I could take.

Reflection off of a shiny building

On the bridge

What an excellent first day and night in Chicago, we fell in love with the city after this day.

More to come!!!

2011-06-12T13:49:00.003-05:00

Keeping Austin Weird, one car at a time

I have seen this car cruising along Austin roads for a few years now but this is the first time I have had the opportunity to snap a picture. I also realized there are a shitload of Barbies (clothed and naked) attached to the car. I wonder how often the dolls take flight while the guy/gal is driving. :)

2011-06-05T22:13:00.006-05:00

Summer Pasta Salad

I am always on the look out for new recipes for cold salads/sides for the summer. This recipe really stood out for me,,, love the dressing, love the grilled veggies and you can't go wrong with the pasta :) We paired this salad with hamburgers, but it is fairly versatile and would go with many dishes. The garlic I used for the sauce was potent and was more garlic flavor than I wanted. Next time I'll adjust the amounts depending on how strong the garlic is.

Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing

1/4 cup mayo (I used olive oil mayo)

1/4 cup sour cream (non-fat is fine)

3 tablespoons of low fat greek yogurt

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste

1/2 teaspoon garlic that’s been pushed through a garlic press (I used 1 larger clove of garlic, and the dish had a very strong garlic flavor, which I liked but wanted to warn you guys)

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together. Toss with pasta and grilled vegetables, below.

Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

1 recipe Creamy Garlic Parmesan Dressing, above

12 ounce box Ronzoni Garden Delight Rotini or pasta of choice (next time I would only use half of the box so that way it would be more of a veggie dish than a pasta dish)

3/4 ounce can of corn, rinsed and drained (I cut the corn off of 2 ears of fresh corn)

1 medium-large zucchini

1 small egg plant

1 red onion

Olive oil

Granulated garlic powder

Granulated onion powder

Salt & pepper

1. Make the pasta according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water.2. Meanwhile, turn the grill to medium-high. Slice the onion, zucchini and eggplant large enough they don’t fall through the grates. Season well with oil, granulated garlic, granulated onion, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Grill until char marks form and veggies are tender. Chop into small bite sized pieces and cool to room temperature.3. In a large bowl, toss pasta with dressing and vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve immediately or chill until ready to use.

2011-06-05T11:53:00.003-05:00

Hmmm... I wonder which dog was brushed this morning? :)

2011-06-01T20:19:00.010-05:00

Memorial Day Bike Bar Crawl

This Memorial Day weekend we decided to do something a little different, we did a biking bar crawl. Basically we wanted to ride our bikes from bar to bar downtown ending up at Barton Springs pool to cool off. While we were making these plans we didn't realize the heat wave that was going to settle in Austin for the weekend. We started around noon, so the heat wasn't great, but not terrible. Chris and Lindsay came along for the ride, and we had a really fun time.

Once we parked the car we hopped on our bikes and headed towards our first stop, Tacos and Tequila. This was our first time visiting this restaurant and we were all pretty excited. The restaurant was empty, so we had very good service (have heard from friends that they have experienced slow service). We started off with some of their tasty beverages... I ordered the Avocado Honey Dew Melon Margarita. It was good but not something that I am going to crave all of the time. We did get a free Peach Blueberry Margarita (bartender made it by mistake) so we all were able to try that out, and it was the table favorite.

Chris and Lindsay enjoying our free drink

Jim and our drinks

I wanted to get a picture of us before we started biking around town and getting all sweaty

We shared some tacos at TNT and they were pretty good, but they needed the salsa on the table for a little moisture. We ordered the steak, pulled pork and chicken tacos and our favorite was the steak which had a great peppery crust on it.

I really liked the way they displayed their tequila bottles over the bar

To end our time at TNT we ordered a flight of tequila to share. Jim and Chris ordered straight tequila, and Lindsay and I shared a deconstructed German Chocolate Cake tequila shot. It was DAMN good, and DAMN dangerous since it doesn't taste like tequila.

Our next stop was Little Woodrows. They have a nice outdoor patio and decent sitting around the bar. We found the darts and decided to see which couple could beat each other :)

Enjoying the AC after our bike ride from TNT. A soccer game was on the TV so we watched a bit before moving on to darts.

We played 2 games and each couple won a game. We would have played a 3rd game, but it was time to move to a different bar.

Chris and Lindsay

Lindsay and I

Our next stop was the Tiniest Bar in Texas and it was our least favorite stop. The beer was reasonably priced but it was freaking HOT inside. They had one wall unit AC pumping out luke warm air and it just made us feel even more hot after our bike ride over. We should have sat outside under the misters but we only stayed for one beer and I think we kept hoping that it would cool down for us.

Jim doing his best to cool down

Our next stop was at Billies Brew and BBQ where we sat out on the patio (with fans) and listened to the band play.

I could not pass these nachos up, they sounded (and tasted) delicious!! We enjoyed a pitcher of a light blonde beer that they brew in house.

After Billy's we headed to Barton Springs Pool to cool off and relax a bit.

Barton Springs Pool

Chris and Lindsay taking the plunge

Hello!

Riding back to the car on the hike and bike trail, after the visit to the springs (and our nap)

Beautiful sunset on the way home

2011-05-30T10:07:00.002-05:00

This odd shaped cloud appeared at Jim's softball game last week. We dubbed it the alien cloud since we thought it was shaped just like an alien space ship. I saw on the news later that the cloud was formed due to the atmosphere being unstable. This cloud turned into a storm for Hays County and produced large hail.

2011-05-15T20:17:00.018-05:00

Muddy Buddy

This is our 3rd year of doing the Muddy Buddy Race, and I am still loving it. I like the competition, the fact that we are running and biking, the obstacles and the MUD. I mean, when else is it acceptable for an adult to play in mud? This year we had a lot of friends join us for the race. Chris & Lindsay, Nick & Magen, Mike & John, Matt & Charlie, Erin & Katie, all raced with us. Chris, Lindsay, Nick and Magen were all in our heat so we were able to see each other during the race, which is nice when you are ready to fall over from exhaustion and you see your buddy. The guys and gals that teamed up were in a different heat so we didn't see them until the very end,,,, after the mud :)

We were happy with our time this year... 57 minutes 40ish seconds. We thought we had a better time (we both felt good running this race) but it is 3 minutes slower than our first race time. Hopefully next year we will beat our fastest time!

Our race heat buddies.... clean and full of energy

Chris and Lindsay

Nick and Magen

Katie, Erin and Jim before the race. They were in a heat behind us so we didn't see them until the end of the race.

This year I only took a couple of photos during the race. I knew we had some stiff competition with our friends in the same heat and we really wanted to beat everybody :) So I kept the photo taking during the race to a minimum. The picture below is what it looks like right before the mud pit. The make shift fence is there to make sure that people get down in the mud instead of running through it.

This was the last obstacle of the race right before the mud. It was a little tough after running/biking through the race to pull yourself up using the rope and then getting over the top of the obstacle.

Tammy (John's wife) didn't do the race so she was at the mud pit ready to take photos for us!! I have a pretty mean looking face here... I wonder if I got stuck in the mud or something

You know what is a fantastic post race food? 7 layer dip!!!

Erin and I. We didn't see them at the race except for the very beginning and the very end. It was nice to catch up with her and Katie at the campsite

We walked down to the Pedernales Falls river to cool down after the race. I didn't have my bathing suit with me so I hung out on the beach with Lindsay and Magen

While sitting on the beach I noticed this little guy sitting next to me. After taking the picture I made sure that he was shooed away.

2011-05-15T17:10:00.008-05:00

Picture Time!

I had the wonderful opportunity to take pictures of my friend Kelli's family. We decided to meet up at Berry Springs park in Georgetown, Tx a few weeks ago. it was supposed to be beautiful weather but a weird cold front blew in and dropped the tempures 20 degrees to the low 70's with a cool breeze. We had to move pretty quick because the kids were pretty darn cold!!

Hannah and the Donkeys... she was a little cold here :)

4 month old Ella

Love this shot of the happy family

Hannah is a great older sister

Hannah had her flower that she was sweetly showing me

Peek-a-boo

After photos Hannah had her fun on the swings!

2011-05-11T15:14:00.003-05:00

Happy 90th Birthday Pop Pop!!!

2011-05-10T16:22:00.006-05:00

Mothers Day

Last Sunday we met up with Jim's family for a brunch picnic at a park in Georgetown. We all brought a dish or two to share. The weather was beautiful as was the park. Jim's mom had rented out the pavilion to ensure we had a place to sit. It was nice to catch up with everybody and eat homemade food. The only thing I would have changed would to have paid a barrista to be there so we could have free flowing coffee :)

Jamie brought a breakfast casserole, very tasty!

Jill brought biscuits and sausage

I brought mini quiche's (ham, spinach, onions and cheese)

When trying to see who was taller, this was Cadens method rather than stand back to back. I can't remember the outcome, but I think they are reallllly close

Caden being timed while running to and from the tree

Me, Jim and Jamie

Leave it to a nephew to bring up a critter from the mud :) He was not a happy camper

Playing catch
In the background, Tammy, Matt and Lindsay. Jim's cousins (Lindsay is married to Matt). In the foreground is Ryan

Caden making an announcement that he will NOT be getting any birthday spanks at the picnic.

Maddy (Jim's cousins kid) playing with the bubbles

The park also had a couple of donkeys. We fed them left over biscuits and some leaves. They were VERY used to people feeding them. Jim said that I couldn't take one home. Party Pooper.

Jim playing catch with the nephews

Judy, Jim's aunt

Ryan chillin while eating a doughnut

2011-05-01T23:14:00.014-05:00

Takoba x 2

Last weekend we ate brunch at Takoba for the first time. I have been hearing the buzz for a few months on Takoba and was excited to try out the restaurant. About a year ago (maybe longer?? can't really remember) I had one of their tacos that they served out of a trailer in front of East End Wines. It was a simple pulled pork taco, but I remember it being very good.

Fast forward a year or so and now they have their own restaurant on East 7th. I love the building design and lay out. They have a great covered patio and a smallish inside section. The inside is really loud so the both times we opted to eat there, we sat on the patio.

The chips were thicker than I normally like but they were fresh and went well with salsa. The salsa was more liquid than chunky and didn't have much heat to it. But that didn't stop us from almost finishing the basket of chips ;)

I decided to go outside of my normal order for brunch (Migas) and ordered the Torta De Chorizo. I'm not sure what I was expecting but this sandwich was AWESOME! In the picture it looks a little bready, but I didn't mind it at all. According to the menu this bad boy had 2 eggs, house made choizo, jalapeno escabeche, queso fresco, and salsa secreta. I could have sworn that there was also avocado on the sandwich. Normally when I think of chorizo I think of grease but the grease factor wasn't that bad. Jim and I shared our breakfasts so I gave him half of the torta and he gave me half of his migas.

Jim's migas were pretty damn good. The eggs were cooked perfectly and were nice and fluffy. To many times in restaurants they will either not scramble the eggs before it hits the cook top (not terrible, but doesn't create fluffy eggs) or they put in WAY to many ingredients and then the eggs are non existent. There wasn't much heat to the migas, but overall they were very good. The only downside to the plate was the potato's... they were cooked well but hardly seasoned.

Jim ordered the White Sangria while I stuck with the $1 Mimosas (Hello... FANTASTIC deal on those puppies!!). The White Sangria was infused with pears, apples, oranges and cinnamon. They finished the drink off with a splash of champagne. For me, the drink was refreshing but the cinnamon really cut through the fruitiness of the drink. I like cinnamon but wasn't a fan of it being such a big flavor in the drink.

On Friday night we met up with Jim's sister and cousins for dinner at Takoba. I made the reservation while we were there for brunch the previous weekend. I couldn't wait to try their dinner. I was feeling ambitious that night and tried a Pisco Sour. A Pisco Sour is made with Capel Pisco, egg white, fresh lemon juice (bartender used an entire lemon), gomme syrup, and angostura bitters. I'm not going to lie, I had to look up most of what the ingredients are :)

Capel Pisco:Pisco is a brandy or aguardiente distilled from the white muscat grapes grown in two main regions of South America: the area around Pisco, described in A miracle of man and the desert, and the Valle del río Elqui in central Chile.

Gomme Syrup:Gum (or gomme) syrup is a drink sweetener that was commonly used instead of simple syrup in many classic cocktails. The advantage to using gomme syrup is that, especially in heavy-alcohol cocktails such as many of the classics, it adds a silky texture and softens the alcohol's flavor. It also prevents the syrup from crystallizing

Angostura bitters:said to contain over 40 ingredients — although few can know for sure, since the recipe, which was developed as medicine by a German doctor in Venezuela in 1824, is a closely guarded secret.

The drink was very tart and was a sipping drink. It was good but not something I could drink all night. Part of me was worried about the egg white being slimy in the drink, but it was mixed up well and made it more creamy than slimy. I'm living on the edge, drinking raw egg whites :) The rim was covered in sugar which helped cut down on the tartness of the drink.

We had horrible lighting for pictures, and I didn't have my little light to use. I ordered the Tacos De Carnitas Estilo Don Alberto. A whole lotta words to say pork tacos ;) They were delicious, the meat was tender and juicy. I ordered the rice (which was forgettable) and the side salad was lightly dressed in a vinaigrette and had slices of oranges and (I believe) feta cheese.

We meet up with Jamie, Julie, Lori and Charles for dinner. It has been far to long since the last time that we have all met up and hung out. The weather was perfect when the wind wasn't trying to blow away the table. I think everybody enjoyed their food, and we all definitely enjoyed each others company.

Jamie, Lori, Jim and Julie.... the Cousins (and brother and sister)

2011-04-27T21:13:00.011-05:00

Chasing a Toddler with a Camera

I met up with Courtney and Rachel to take some photos of the two for Mothers Day a few days ago. Originally we were going to attempt to find wild flowers to take pictures in, but this year is not the year for wild flowers... lots of grass no flowers :( Hopefully next year we get more rain so we can have a pretty spring. We decided to head to Mayfield Park to take the pictures. I love this little park, so pretty and every inch of the park is photogenic.

We met after work at the park and of course we picked the one day of the week that was the extreme hottest. It was freakin 97 degrees on the day we took photos.... in APRIL!! I'll save that rant for a different post :). Rachel was FAR more interested in the ponds, birds and squirrels than me but I managed to get some cute photos. And she is in that stage where she runs every where and she is quick. She was so enamored with her surroundings and it was fun to watch. I had to keep remembering to keep the shutter going to get the pictures.

Here are a couple photos I took of Rachel when she was a month old.

Rachel at 16 months!

I was actually running with Rachel, and I am damn lucky to have gotten this shot.

She loved chasing the squirrels... they just ran around her trying to get to the bird food

2011-04-24T22:20:00.002-05:00

Crispy Treats

I bought package of Easter themed cookie cut outs about a month ago. I have been eyeballing them and trying to decide what to do with them. My mom mentioned to me that she made Rice Crispy treats for Easter and it clicked! Flower and rabbit shaped rice crispy treats would be perfect!!

I followed the recipe on the back of the marshmallows to make the Rice Crispy Treats. Once I used my muscles to mix the melted marshmallows and rice crispies (seriously, it was a sticky work out to mix everything), I cooled the mix on a cookie sheet pan. Once cooled I used the cookie cutters to create the cute little crispy treats.

To spiffy up the rice crispy treats, I melted some white chocolate, slathered it over the treats, and added some little crunchy candy. I only put the chocolate on half of the treats because I was worried it would be sugar overload. Jim and I took these to work (with some left at home for us) so everybody was able to enjoy!