Sunday, September 27, 2009

And I Thought This Weekend Would Not Get Any Better....

So, on Friday I had a nice quiet evening at home. I watched movies and made my to-do list to get ready for ACL. Oh, I can't wait for it! Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper, here I come!! I know I have said this a thousand times before in blogs past but...I can't help but say it again!



On Saturday my mom and I went to Southlake for SHOPPING!! Now, Southlake really does have some great shopping. There is just about everything you can think of there. But, our destination this time was Nordstrom Rack. Neither one of us have been before but my mom's co-worker has told her time and time again how fabulous this place is so, we went. Oh...and was it fabulous! We did the ultimate time warp in there. I am the kind of shopper that does not dilly dally around. I know what I want, I get it, try it on, and then get the heck out. But, this time was a different experience. It was so happily overwhelming and I had to check out everything. We got there about 11:30 am and meandered over to the check out line about 2:30! I am going back a.s.a.p, or at least when my bank account manages to recover from this excursion. My recommendation is GO! You must go and shop there. The deals are outrageous. O.k., I am going to reel it back in now.

So, after our most fantastic shopping experience, we were famished. Right across the shopping center is MiChula's. Good Mexican! We actually drove around a bit looking for a place to eat and kept coming back to MiChula's. So, that is where we went. We walked in and were greeted by the owner, MiChula himself!




He was very nice and proud of his restaurant, which he should be. He gave us a few recommendations and a sample of his prickly pear margarita! This was less like a sample and more like a whole margarita, he was very generous. The food was fantastic.


I had the Southwest Salad, yum!







And my mom had Tamales. The tamales were great, probably the best we have had in some time.






So....all in all, this little Mexican place in Southlake is probably the best Mexican food you will find there.



To continue my gorge fest, Jeff was off on a Saturday for once. This never happens. I often spend my weekends on the couch watching girlie movies and having a drink! So, after I recovered from my shopping trip, Jeff and I went to The Italian Inn. This place has been around for years and is a lot of fun and not to mention has the best Chianti in Fort Worth! They have booths that close up for extra privacy.






You can write on the walls too. Most people write love notes on the wall but Jeff and I found this proclamation of love hilarious!



"Coco Butta and Black Thunda Forever"



We stuffed ourselves and headed back home.


And I thought this weekend could not get any better.........



We pulled in the driveway...walked up to the front door. I noticed a candle burning through a crack in the mini blinds. I said to Jeff "Is that a candle burning? I did not light any candles. What?" He responded with, "Just open the door!". So I did. I walked in and found the house full of red and white balloons. The red balloons had little white hearts on them. I thought to myself, "It is not Valentine's Day...no...its not...it is not even February."







Then I turned round and saw the dining room table fully decorated with champagne and champagne glasses waiting for us!








Jeff leaned over and got something, which was a little velvet box. I hit him and said "Your kidding, no!" He got down on one knee and then it is all a blur. But, after 10 years and 3 months...I am an engaged woman! It was just all absolutely perfect. Apparently my sneaky friends and parents came over to decorate while we were at dinner. They left the house a few minutes before we pulled up and waited at the CVS up the street until Jeff called after he proposed. They all came over and then we celebrated!



Now this is a weekend that no other weekend will be able to possibly top, well, except for the wedding weekend!



So, today, I did what any newly engaged woman would do and bought a few wedding magazines and a wedding planner. I am terribly excited. :-)



Cheers!



Sunday, September 20, 2009

Shopping, Cooking, And Mowing Torture

Hello there blog readers. I hope all is well. I cannot believe that September is rapidly coming to an end! We are encroaching on one of my very favorite months! October! Ah, fall is in the air. I love this time of year, pumpkins, leaves, cool weather, and comfort food! I went to Bath and Body Works yesterday because they were having a sale on their Slatkin candles. These candles smell great and last a long time. Since the fall bug has bitten me, I got a warm vanilla sugar candle and a sweet cinnamon pumpkin candle. The pumpkin candle smells great!! I also went to Williams-Sonoma, Kohl's, Central Market, and Double Exposure yesterday too. Seems as though the shopping bug has bit me too! There were some great finds at Double exposure. I picked up 4 new couch pillows at a steal! They are really cute and in great condition. The little rust color pillow I picked up a Kohl's. A set of 2 for next to nothing! 6 pillows total...and if the dogs mess them up, they were cheap and I won't cry!





I also found a brand new Martha Stewart Martini Mixer set at Double Exposure for a fraction of what it would have been in a store. It was still in the box and wrapped in plastic! Double Exposure is my new found place for housewares!





So, I'm busted, I can't not pick up a few bottles of wine at Central Market. That is what you see behind my Martini Set. :-) Central Market is fantastic. My friend Mel came over last night so, we went there to pick up a dinner for 2 and a bunch of other stuff that we did not need. We were there for an hour. But it was worth it! The dinner for 2 was Enchiladas and it was really good!


It has been raining for days here. I love the rain but, when it rains as much at it has....my yard looks awful! Jeff hates mowing. I really never understood until today why he hates it so much. I know it takes a while to mow because our yard is ridiculously huge (we are on a corner lot), but...I always figured it could be way worse and honestly thought he was just being a baby (sorry Jeff, love you!). He has been stressed because it is his last year of school and he has been studying a lot. I have been stressed because our yard is the worst looking yard on the block. I thought I would be nice and offer to help him with the yard today. I figured he could get done faster and then study and then I would be happy because our yard would not be 12 inches tall anymore and random people would stop ringing the bell offering to mow our yard for a "low price". Now, you know that your yard has to look pretty bad when random people are coming by offering to mow your yard for you. So, my bright idea was for him to edge and I would mow. Um...yeah..did I just say bright idea?


There are some things that I am just not meant to do and mowing is one of them.





This is only a very teeny tiny itty bitty small fraction of our yard, the side yard to be exact. It is also the flat part. The rest of the yard is on a hill and I have recently discovered that it is hard to push a mower up a hill. I thought I was going to throw up at one point but...I did not and I am proud! Jeff did finish it up for me after he finished edging but, I could have done it, with the very real possibility of passing out on the last stretch (I think I started hallucinating at one point), BUT...I could have done it! :-) So, the yard looks nice now and I am happy.



After our early morning mow, I made breakfast. I am growing jalapenos in my backyard garden and I happily harvested one.






Of course, our morning breakfast staple is eggs. So I chopped up my little tiny homegrown jalapeno pepper, sauteed it up with some turkey, and made an omelet.





I picked up some whole grain English muffins at Central Market yesterday so, I toasted those and added the most fantastic cheese I have ever eaten (that I also picked up at Central Market, It's called California Sicilian Jack) and toasted it until the cheese melted. I added the omelet to the muffin and viola, egg muffins!




Now I am working on a few little sewing projects which I will blog about later this week!



Cheers everyone!

Monday, September 7, 2009

A Nice Day Free Of Labor

I really do love my job. It keeps me on my toes and every day holds something challenging and different for me. So, I am never bored. But, I also really do love my days off. Hello Labor Day!! Wah-hoo! It is about 5:30pm and I am still in my pajamas! But, don't misunderstand me. I have not been completely unproductive. I cleaned out my closet today. Oh, what a task. This is a task that I have been putting off since the last time I cleaned it out which was about a year ago. I keep my house very clean, it is just my closet that I struggle with. But this time, I am determined to keep it clean and organized! Well, we will see how long that lasts but, it looks fantastic right now!!


Since I had an extra day off today, I slept in just a little. I did not sleep in too long because Ziggy woke me up chewing on the alarm clock cord (yes, I am a light sleeper). One of these days I will wake up to the aroma of fried kitty but fortunately today, I woke up to the wonderful aroma of coffee (I programed my coffee pot last night to have my coffee ready at 8:30am). I watched a bit of Rachel Ray, which inspired me to make breakfast. In my happy day off breakfast making state, I felt the need to capture it, step by step. :-)


Hacienda Nicholas Inn Blue Corn Waffles



Ingredients:


1 cup whole wheat flour




1 1/2 cups blue cornmeal (I used the cornmeal I picked up at the Santa Fe School of Cooking)




2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar




2 tablespoons baking powder





3/4 teaspoon baking soda





4 egg whites (I accidentally got a little yolk in there)





1 3/4 cups nonfat buttermilk





Now, I had a little problem. I did not have buttermilk. But, I remember my sister telling me that you can make your own butter milk. So that is what I did and here is how you do it:


It is super easy. You just need one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to every cup of milk.


So, I poured the milk into a mason jar. Actually I used 1%milk and a bit of fat free 1/2 and 1/2





Added white vinegar





Then, you just wait 10 minutes and you have buttermilk!



Mix all your ingredients together and put on your waffle iron.






I topped the waffles with maple syrup, butter, and some berries. I also made jalapeno and sharp cheese scrambled eggs with garlic chives on top, and cooked up some turkey sausage. I wish I could eat like this every morning.





So...since I had so much fun making breakfast, I immediatley started planning dinner. Labor Day seems like a good day to grill so, that is what I did. I made Stubbs BBQ pork ribs, corn on the cob, and BBQ pinto beans.


Days off are fantastic. I wish there was one at least once a month



Next month we approach on October. There is not a national day off then (Halloween should be) but , there is a Lizzie few days off and I can't wait! ACL is just right around the corner! Eddie Vedder, here I come!

Cheers!
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