Good Times

Did anyone else get stuck in that mess on 635 Friday afternoon? Talk about a cluster!! Oh my words!! I needed some seriously good food by the time I got home. We headed over to Alfonso’s for some of their awesome goodness known as their garlic rolls. Alfonso’s was not in our cards for the evening. We should have taken more notice of the sign out front; “help wanted. waitstaff needed.” We gave them a good 10 minutes before walking out. Sali’s instead. It was a better decision for us. The casual low key atmosphere at Sali’s was exactly our speed. Not to mention the damn good pizza. Note to self: $3 Miller Lites = affordable.

Saturday was a fun filled day long chain of events. Celebrating our father-in-law’s retirement couldn’t have been more entertaining. We had trivia, obstacle courses, drink making contests, skits, deal or no deal, etc… Lots of activities plus great food to boot. We’re talking pizza, peanut butter squares, queso, chocolate chip cookies, double dipped chocolate covered peanuts, fajitas, and much more. I was stuffed when we got home. It was my kind of celebration.

Yesterday we grabbed a light lunch at Cafe Lago. The place was so cold that we opted for a cup joe after our meal which then led us on to dessert. By the time the Super Bowl started we were just getting our appetites back. We grubbed on brisket tacos, pico, corn relish and buffalo chicken dip. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for lots of fruits and veggies this week. I’m a cheesy, meaty mess right about now.

What can I say? We shared some good times over the weekend.

A Busy Weekend

First off, Happy Friday! This weekend is jam packed for us. Something the hubs likes and me…so-so. Some of us recharge by turning towards others; gaining rejuvination from the relationships that surround. Others gain healing by turning inwards; recharging with alone-time and solitude. I am one of those solitude types. I need vacations from holidays. As much as I enjoy socializing and what not, I find it exhausting. I secretly dream of my alone time doing whatever I please.

Tonight I will be getting my hair done. This is a must on my to-do list. Seriously, my hair is like a weed and my roots resemble WT. I have lots of errands planned for tonight. Tomorrow, we are going to celebrate my father-in-law’s retirement. We have a day filled with fun, food and activities. We are starting the day at 9AM and plan to go well into the evening. Can I just state that I am really looking forward to the grub? My mouth is already watering.

Sunday will be spent preparing for the Super Bowl. Guys, I have a major sweet tooth. My fix is in the that of semi sweet chocolate chip and walnut cookies. You can bet those will be made at some point. Plus, tons of cheesy and meaty appetizers for the big game.

Yum

More La Duni for us over the weekend. I ventured out with the breakfast tacos. Not much of an adventure since I consider that to be a safe dish. They were great as anticipated. I’m already gearing up for next weekend’s menu option. We just love getting up early on the weekend for a movie and lunch. It leaves our afternoons wide open to do as we wish. Not a bad plan in my book.

We shopped all weekend or so it seemed. I swear, we should have one more day left for rest, but my alarm assured me that is not the case. This was the weekend of food….good and not so good. We took the Tour of Italy at Olive Garden, had sandwiches from BJ’s Brewhouse and enchiladas at El Feinx. On top of everything, I made a cheesecake. Well, more like cheesecake-like squares. I followed one of those recipes that calls for you to leave the cake in the oven for 5-6 hours after you turn it off. You know, it worked; no cracks. The crust wasn’t as crispy/firm as I like, but overall it was a very good cream cheese concoction.

A Nice Weekend

What a lovely weekend and so much was accomplished. Friday we settled in for the evening with take-out from Tukta Thai and a DVD. Moon was entertaining in an interesting weird kind of way. I think we would have enjoyed it more had we not had so many interruptions. The really spectacular part about the night was our dinner. I with the Pad Pra Ram and hubs with the Lad Na. The Pad Pra Ram is like candy with its sweetness and the extra veggies that I requested rounded out the dish perfectly. Now if only the dish came with more food. The Lad Na was good too. Since we weren’t sure exactly what we’d be getting we googled it. We watched it created on iFood. I swear, it was like iFood prepared our exact dish. It was spot on.

On Saturday we purchased our crib, changing table and a bunch of other stuff baby related. Hubs and his brother are going to put the crib together today. Fun! I can’t wait to see the finished product in our home. We grabbed a movie at Northpark and hit up La Duni for lunch. I strayed from my usual French Press and opted for the burger. What a pleasant surprise. The burger was very flavorful and didn’t leave me with that weighed down feeling afterwards. I love that!

Of course, not being so stuffed to the gills prompted me to immediately bake chocolate chip cookies with walnuts the minute we got home. Hello goodness! I’ve been mowing them down ever since. I’m telling you that if you use dairy products from Braum’s your cookies/baked goods will rock this world. Believe me, I’ve tried all that stuff out there and Braum’s always delivers a great finished product. And, no I don’t work for them.

Yesterday was spent unloading wedding china and crystal into our new buffet. I can’t believe that stuff has been in boxes for all of these years. I’m finally ready for formal dining. For the record, I have extras so I won’t freak out if anything breaks. I took note of this as a child from both my mother and grandmother. Lunch was a couple of sandwiches from Great Outdoors and dinner was at El Fenix. Oh, how I can’t wait to sip on margaritas again. I do miss them.

Pet Peeve

What gives? Someone has been skimping on the frosting in my boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats. Seriously guys! The last three or four boxes have been filled with significantly less white covered minis. It’s such a bummer to open the box, pour a bowl of cereal and see that you got jipped. It’s not like the nutrition label has changed. I would think with less frosting that I would getting a more figure friendly cereal, but that is simply not the case. I’m not giving up on my Frosted Mini Wheats just yet. However; I severely close to an extinction burst.

Again

We had another glorious weekend for the books. Friday night was a blast! We started our evening off at the Magnolia for a 5:30PM showing of Up in the Air. What a brilliant movie! Afterward, we schmoozed with our friends and nibbled on trays of mini chicks from Chick-fil-a. Those little treats might not mean much to you, but they sure do a number for me. Hello, nuggets!

Saturday and Sunday were spent in search of flooring. We are debating between different types of tile and so forth. I think we have narrowed it down enough to call in for some bids. That’s my job for this week. Anyone got a good tile guy out there?

Yesterday, it was all about furniture shopping. I’m sure this is just an inexperienced mother talking, but why the heck are cribs so expensive? I can justify a boat load of money for a good dining room table and chairs….not so much for a crib. You guys know what I’m talking about. There are tables and chairs everywhere, but crap they are. I want my table and chairs carved out of a single piece of wood. No glue, no nails, screws, bots, nuts, etc…SOLID! Hmpf…

On to the good stuff. We hit up La Duni once again yesterday for lunch. Marvelous it was indeed. This time we both went for the French Press. Oh, how I love me some La Duni. We have it on the calendar every weekend until the baby is due. Lucky me!

Dinner was take-out from Tukta Thai. I’m done asking for specific stars to determine the spice level of my dish. I really don’t think it matters what I ask for because they give me what they want. The red curry lit me up so much that my lips got raw and puffy. Thank goodness I opted for milk with my dinner. Seriously, I think I went through a half gallon. The joke is on me. When I ask for 5 star spicy, I get nothing. Ask for 3 and I’m calling the local authorities.

Long Weekend

One of the best things about working for a bank is that we get to take advantage of so many holidays. That said, we aren’t closed on Christmas Eve or Good Friday and so on… Anywho, the hubs and I have a nice three day weekend ahead and we couldn’t be more stoked. We’ll be making our way over to La Duni at some point. Obviously. Dinner tonight has yet to be determined. I’m thinking seafood.

I’d like to make a nice dinner for the two of us one night. I’ve got my eye on a nice lasagna recipe. The only problem is that is feeds 12. I seem to have issue with disecting large recipes down to smaller ones. Believe me, I try and still I end up with army sized portions. There is something so satisfying about the whole ingredients, chopping, trash, pots and pans process. If only I could master recipes that serve two.

I’ve also got the itch to bake. I was blessed with the baking touch except for one thing; brownies. I’m looking for a good recipe sans coffee and cinnamon. Got any suggestions?

Now I remember why I don’t like that place…

That place that I speak of is Mi Cocina. Once upon a time, I frequented Mi Cocina more than I care to admit. I wasn’t a fan at first, but as time went on the place grew on me. I ate there at least once a week.

Flash forward to present day; I have no desire to visit. I magically appeared at the Mi Cocina to-go counter last night. Fajitas for the hubs and the Rico salad for myself. Note to self. The queso is disgusting. I’d rather eat Rico cheese out of the can. I discovered that I used to like the taste of body odor. Yep, you heard me right. Everything that comes out of the Mi Cocina kitchen tastes and smells like B.O. I was literally grossed out after having dinner. My darling and I were reminded again why we avoid that which is Mi Cocina. I’ll drive one more block for Mariano’s. It’s well worth it.

Thankfully, I had vivid memories of our La Duni visit from Saturday. I’ll be dining there again very soon.

Chocolate Cake

Typically, I do not start my new year with a new diet or meal plan. So, it should come as no surprise that I made a fabulous chocolate cake last Sunday. The hub and I have been devouring it all week. More me than him, but whatever. It’s one damn good cake. I simply used the Hershey’s Dutch Cocoa Powder recipe for both the cake and the icing. Normally, I go for the Special Dark, but this time around I stuck with the original. There is something to the recipes from the powdered cocoa; simply marvelous! I must also recommend the chocolate mousse recipe as well. It’s rich and it’s amazing!

There is only one piece left. I’m sorry to say, but I just  might have to make the whole darn thing again on Sunday. We will be out shopping on Saturday and as usual I have requested lunch at La Duni. Their desserts might inspire me to branch away from the standard chocolate cake and try something entirely different. Gosh, sweets are so good!

Happy New Year!

This year started out differently than the last 4. We skipped our traditional Snuffer’s gorge fest. Instead we opted for a  day of grazing on left overs and some serious couch time. A few traditions stood in place like seafood gumbo and take-out from Maggiano’s. Let me state for the record that Maggiano’s is not what is used to be. It could be me and the fact that my taste buds that are all out of whack, but I highly doubt that. Plus, the wise one with whom I shared this not so lovely dinner completely agreed. Going forward, no more take-out from Maggiano’s on New Year’s Eve.

I am happy to say that 2009 brought us great joy and success. For that we are truly thankful. 2010, here we come! Cheers!