Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We only had a few trick-or-treaters tonight and finally I turned our light out when I had two sets of kids come to the door back-to-back who were clearly too old to be going door-to-door for candy and they were NOT wearing costumes. I gave them the candy (hey, I didn't want them to come back and egg my house later) but it made me feel like a grinch so I turned the light out. Two of the kids were so old that Joe actually thought I was at the door talking to parents! Anyway, my mom sent pictures tonight so I wouldn't miss out on what was happening in Missouri.

Amber (one of my BFFs) with Baby Jacob and my sister, Cathy and Baby Brylea.

Adyson the little devil! ;)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Better late than never

The first year that Joe and I were married, I looked for Christmas stockings and couldn't find any that I liked. Last year, I found a couple of stockings that I loved and Joe actually agreed on (believe it or not, he actually cares what his stocking looks like) and when I went to order them they were sold out. I was crushed. So as Christmas number three is approaching, the search is finally over. I found two stockings that I liked which were also endorsed by Joe. They just arrived a couple days ago!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Winner!

I always look forward to playing bunco once a month but am feeling guilty tonight. We give out prizes for the most wins, least wins and most buncos. We also do a little grab bag game (just for fun) with everyone. The rule is that you can't "steal" or have any more than 3 gifts from the grab bag game. I have left before completely empty handed...well I won a prize for most wins and three prizes from the swap. I just got home with:

  • a $10 iTunes gift card
  • a $10 Starbucks gift card
  • another $10 Starbucks gift card and Longaberger travel mug
  • Halloween cupcake stencils and decorating supplies from Williams Sonoma

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Wedding time!

This past weekend I traveled to the Kansas City-area to celebrate Meggan and Mark's wedding. It was a beautiful event and I enjoyed so much seeing my Missouri friends and my family along the way.

Me with the beautiful bride
 
All the girls (minus Meera who ended up in a group shot on someone else's camera) - Breanne, Amy, Meggan and Monica


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My phone is a lemon

My phone is a lemon but I have known that for quite some time. Most commonly, when I miss a call, my phone has a habit of erasing the number of the call I missed. So I see that I have missed a call and when I go to look at the number (and person's name) all of that information has magically disappeared leaving me with no idea of who has tried to call me. Also, it erases emails out of my inbox on a regular basis. And now, apparently, I have not been getting text messages. I was supposed to meet someone for lunch today and turns out her kids have been sick. She texted me last night and again this morning. When I never replied, she finally called me. Never got any of the text messages. So the moral of this story is that if you text me and I don't respond, you may want to call or email me...I then may or may not get the message.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Mmm...good

I made a fantastic breakfast yesterday that will definitely be a favorite in our household. The recipe came from Food Network Magazine.

Sourdough Strata with Tomatoes and Greens
8 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups whole milk
8 large eggs
10 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated (about 3 cups)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1-pound loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 8 cups)
4 cups chopped greens, such as kale, spinash or arugula

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Toss the tomatoes with the thyme, olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper in a bowl. Spread on a baking sheet and roast, stirring once or twice, until the tomatoes are slightly dried and browned in spots, 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cool completely.

2. Whisk the milk, eggs, fontina, 3/4 cup parmesan, the cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a large bowl. Add the bread cubes and greens and toss to coat. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish, then top with the roasted tomatoes. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next day, preheat the oven to 350. Sprinkle the strata with the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan and bake, uncovered, until golden brown and almost set, about 45 minutes. Turn off the oven, but keep the strata inside 10 minutes before serving.

City fun

We had visitors this weekend - Joe's dad and stepmom. Friday night we enjoyed dinner at a local German restaurant. Saturday we went to Wheaton College to see their museum of artifacts from British authors including CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. Afterwards we visited the Museum of Contemporary Photography which I would highly recommend. It's a very high-caliber free museum and they change their exhibits quarterly. Next we walked over to Buckingham Fountain - my favorite spot in the city - and from there we went to Hyde Park. In Hyde Park we had pizza and visited a couple of bookstores. Today we spent a few hours at the arboretum taking in all the colors of fall before Mike and Lynn had to leave. What a fun and busy weekend!

Here I am at the Wade Center standing in front of CS Lewis' wardrobe which was the inspiration for The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe.

Mike and Lynn at Buckingham Fountain.

Joe and I pose at my favorite spot in the city.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Three!

Today Miss Adyson turned three years old and my mom sent me this picture from her Hello Kitty party. She looks so excited to be three and celebrating!

Friday, October 01, 2010

Out of England 2

We saw Ricky Gervais perform tonight at The Chicago Theatre which was recorded for an upcoming HBO special; the air date is Dec 18. Very funny when I wasn't having a frequent deer-in-the-headlights-oh-my-goodness-did-he-really-just-say-that-moment. I think that might officially make me old. 

Monday, September 27, 2010

How I spent my summer vacation

The year was 1998 and I had a brand-new favorite tv show - Felicity. (Yes, I used to watch Dawson's Creek, too.) I loved this tv show...couldn't miss it. And when it ended? I was devastated.

When the show started, I was still in college. When it ended, I was living in an apartment on my own, in a new city and had my first professional job. I kind of feel like Felicity and I both did some growing up together. I remember getting together with my girlfriends to watch episodes and debating over who Felicity should end up with - Ben or Noel.

Fast-forward eight years after the series ended and I'm on break in between summer and fall quarters. I hadn't realized just how much time I had on my hands without classes and homework. And then one day, on a whim, I decided to watch an episode of Felicity. Then another. Another. And another. No, I'm not proud that I have managed to spend my break watching four years worth of television but I am so glad to finally revisit Felicity, Ben and Noel. And now that I got that out of the way, I probably won't have to do it again for about another decade.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Baby Brylea

I haven't seen Baby Brylea since she was a week old but my mom has done a great job of sending me pictures. Here's one I got yesterday of sleeping beauty.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Quite a day

Early this afternoon, Joe and I went downtown to see Rock of Ages. Our tickets to this 80s jukebox rock musical were my birthday present from Joe and I've been looking forward to it for months. We had such a great time! I mean, what other musical have you been to before where you get "lighters" on your way in so you can sway along to the ballads? And, even though I am not an American Idol fan, I am now a fan of Constantine Maroulis - he was great! It was so much fun to sing-a-long to all of my favorites and if you love hair bands (I do!) than this is the show for you.

Afterwards, we saw the documentary, Catfish. I have been completely intrigued by this one since I saw my first preview. And it didn't disappoint; it was so suspenseful! I highly recommend it. Both of us have put it on our short-list of the greatest movies we've seen so far in 2010.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Sadly

Sadly, I am sitting in front of the television on a Friday night watching a CBS drama only because my all-time "boy" band crush is starring in it. (Um, Donnie Wahlberg. Hello.)

Monday, September 13, 2010

More SLC and Park City

Saturday we visited the downtown Salt Lake City farmer's market which was wonderful and full of great art and delicious smells. We also checked out the local public library. Might not sound like a trip-worthy experience but check out this picture. You can even walk to the rooftop and see views of the entire city (which we did). After the library visit we went to Gilgal sculpture garden. From the garden we headed to Park City for hours of shopping and dining to finish out our day. What a wonderful ski resort town. Loved it!!  Sunday we had brunch, did some shopping and finally headed to the airport - what a great weekend!*

One of the views at the sculpture garden.
Another picture from the sculpture garden. Can you pick out the head, torso, foot, legs and arm? 
Here I am with a new friend in Park City, Utah


*Minor incident (because no trip would be complete without one) we checked our bags with our hotel on Sunday morning while we were out and about once we checked out. We came back to retrieve our bags before heading to the airport and they had mistakenly given one of our suitcases to someone else...who had already packed it in their car and left the hotel. Gulp. Some real panic set in but the hotel was able to contact the people who turned around, came back and the suitcase was, once again, ours. Whew!

SLC and 33

On Friday, Joe and I traveled to Salt Lake City to visit Joe's brother, Tommy and his mom who was also meeting us there; it was also my birthday (the big, uneventful 33). On day one of our trip we spent a lot of time checking out the city and taking in Temple Square.  

We had lunch at the Red Iguana. You may have seen it on the Food Network on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Yum!

Joe, Jo Ann and Tommy in Temple Square

The Mormon Temple. This photo doesn't show its vastness but I could never get far enough away to get the full effect.

My mother-in-law, JoAnn and me sitting at a fountain in Temple Square
We also visited the Utah State Capitol where Joe's brother, Tommy works.

Monday, September 06, 2010

It feels like fall!

It feels like fall here which couldn't make me any happier. And my friend, Monica came to Chicagoland over the weekend to visit with four groups of friends - including me - so that has been an extra treat. Last night we went to see Jailbait. I will say it is truly one of the best plays that I have ever seen; I can't stop thinking about it. We also spent some time shopping yesterday and took in some nature this morning at the Arboretum.  Of course, my husband is spending his Labor Day at the office working but hopefully not for the entire day. Maybe a bike ride is in our future?

Saturday, September 04, 2010

A girl needs to dream, right?

I am looking for a sponsor. Someone to fund my spot on the NKOTB cruise who would also like to accompany me - anyone?? I am pretty sure when I mentioned it to my husband he paused long enough to roll his eyes and then went back to what he was already doing. Sigh.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Undercover agents

Joe and I have been on a secret mission for the last few weeks as "secret shoppers" for a local restaurant company. I know it sounds like everyone's dream job but I will say that it is actually a bit more stressful than I had envisioned. We have to visit certain restaurants on certain weeks and certain days of the week. Our hectic schedule has made it sometimes difficult to fit in our meal on a scheduled night and then we have an hour of paperwork to do afterwards. During the meal we have so much to think about and focus on that I am not sure we actually relax. So far, it has been an eye-opener and I am certain my dining experiences will never be the same. Since we each have to order three courses it's definitely not waistline friendly either but I am happy to experience what will probably be my one and only crack at being a professional food critic!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Galveston - Day Three

My last day in Galveston, Kate and I played a very competitive round of mini golf before I had to head to the airport. (Have I mentioned before that I love mini golf? I do!!) We had a really great time and the fact that there was an ocean view was even better. Thank you, Boone and Kate for a wonderful mini vacation!

Kate with our new friend

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Galveston - Day Two

Day two in Galveston we took a ferry ride to Bolivar as Kate assured me we'd see dolphins. In fact, we saw so many that I completely lost track - they were everywhere! After the ferry ride, we did more shopping, had lunch at a great little cafe and eventually made our way to an old fashioned soda shop and candy store. Also on the agenda was a trip to the local fish market where we picked up fresh shrimp so Boone could make us some creole for dinner - yum!

Watching dolphins on the ferry
My tour guide, Kate

 
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