Bye Bye 2010!

I don't know how people manage to blog regularly over the holidays! The theme of the holiday for me has been "Shelly is tired." I'm definitely looking forward to the new year, if only because it will give me a chance to go to bed early and eat lots of vegetables!
Things to talk about since I last blogged: Dinner at Upperline was delicious and it was great to see Bonnie and Gabe again. I spent Christmas with my parents, saw the Pinta and the Nina (excuse the lack of a tilde) which were docked in Biloxi, and recieved an awesome quilt made from all my old Sorority T-shirts from my Mom. I met up with Kristi and Colin in Hattiesburg and walked 6 miles on the Longleaf Trace while chatting and catching up with them. (I'd have preferred an actual trail to hike, but I think that walking and talking definitely beats sitting in a coffee shop or a restaurant all day!)
I get to see two more friends soon. My friend Daniel (and his friend Shauyi) are staying with me over the weekend for NYE, and I get to see my friend Ginny in Baton Rouge for brunch in a couple of weeks. It's definitely been a holiday for catching up with people I haven't seen in a while!
As for resolutions, I'm not sure I have any formal ones. I didn't do very well on my resolutions last year (I think I resolved to go to the eye doctor, the dentist, and to stay in shape and only succeeded on the last resolution- I'm gross, I know...but at least I floss all the time!)
There are a few things I'd like to do in 2011, of course. Get hitched and go to Spain are obviously on the top of my list, but I'm also thinking about running a Marathon in Feb., and in light of all of the life changes that may or may not be happening this year (getting married, and, depending on where my darling fiance ends up doing his residency, moving and finding a new job) I'd just like to handle anything that comes my way with grace. (Which obviously won't happen because I am, as ever, a stress ball.) I'd also like to keep up my good eating and fitness habits, and not get too behind on wedding planning.

What are you looking forward to in 2011?

Christmas Spirits

This weekend was SO busy! After the Christmas party on Friday (which went swimmingly), I attended an afternoon wedding on Saturday, the first of two family Christmases on Sunday (which involved a 3.5 hour drive each way), and a latkes party at Sarah and Jon's house on Mon. The holiday season is clearly in full swing! As for the rest of the season, I'll be seeing my friends Bonnie and Gabe (who now live in Sacramento) on Thurs. (and having a Reveillon dinner at Upperline- Yum!), spending time with my family (and eating Christmas dinner #2!) over the actual holiday, and seeing my friend Kristi (now living in San Francisco) the Monday after Christmas!
I promise I'll put up a few pictures from my Christmas party soon (my Mom sent me a fabulous homemade ugly Christmas sweater!) but to tide you over, I thought I'd post the drink recipes from our party.
The first year we threw a Christmas party, I made a list of the alcohol and mixers I thought we should buy for the party- basic stuff like wine, beer, rum, vodka, orange juice, and Coke. My darling fiance read my list, declared that screw drivers and rum and cokes were off the list due to this being a "Christmas party rather than a frat party" and sat down and came up with a list of fun holiday cocktails to make during the party. He even printed up a drink menu for our guests!
Since then, fancy drinks and a printed drink menu have been a big part of our Christmas party. Much like my food menu, the drink menu has evolved over the years- we keep the things that everyone loves and rotate out the drinks that didn't go over very well (this painful candy cane martini from our first party springs to mind- it went the way of the gougeres I made that everyone mistook for biscuits). Regardless of the drinks we decide to make, I think my darling fiance does a great job as a bartender every year, and I think that this year all the drinks were very good.
The classics that we've kept year after year are the Poinsettia Cocktails (my absolute favorite), Peppermint Patty shots (tasty and not overly alcoholic), Brandied Port (the gentlemen always love this one), and Brandy Milk Punch (a New Orleans classic).

Poinsettia

3 ounces cranberry juice, chilled
3 ounces champagne, chilled
1 ounce triple sec

Pour into a fluted champagne glass, stir, and serve.


Peppermint Patty

1/2 oz. crème de cacao
1/2 oz. peppermint schnapps
1 oz. cream

Stir with ice , strain into shot glass

Brandied Port

2 ounces ruby port
1 ounce brandy
Dash fresh-squeezed lemon juice (optional)

Shake well with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass; garnish with twist of lemon or orange peel.

Brandy Milk Punch

1 ½ ounces brandy
1 ounce simple syrup
½ bar spoon high quality vanilla extract
A couple ounces of Half-and-half
Cubed ice
Grated nutmeg

Pour brandy, simple syrup, vanilla extract and half-and-half into a pint glass. Add ice to a shaker and shake the concoction until well mixed and frothy. Add cubed ice to a rocks glass and, using astrainer, pour the mixture into it. Top with a bit of grated nutmeg.

The new drinks we tried this year were the Cherry Gin Sling (this one seemed to be the least popular, but I enjoyed it), the Rosemary Salty Dog (the Rosemary provided a delicious aroma and made this drink very Christmas-y), and the Elf in a Blender (which tasted like a really delicious strawberry daiquiri).

Cherry Gin Sling

2 ounces gin
1 ounce cherry brandy
4 ounces club soda
grenadine or Pom Cherry Pomegranate juice (optional)

Pour gin and brandy in serving glass over crushed ice. Top up with club soda and garnish with
maraschino cherries. You can also add a splash of grenadine or juice for a little added sweetness and color.

Rosemary Salty Dog

1 grapefruit wedge
Kosher salt
One 1-inch piece of rosemary sprig, plus 1 sprig for garnish
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 ounces fresh red grapefruit juice
1 1/2 ounces gin
Ice

Moisten the outer rim of a martini glass with the grapefruit wedge and coat lightly
with salt. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the 1-inch rosemary sprig with the sugar. Add
the grapefruit juice, gin and ice and shake vigorously. Strain into the martini glass and
garnish with the rosemary sprig.

Elf in a Blender

3 pounds strawberries, hulled and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons citrus vodka
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Ice
1/3 cup chilled Riesling

In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar and let stand, stirring occasionally, until
the strawberries release their juices, about 10 minutes.
In a blender, combine half each of the strawberries and their juices, the vodka, wine, and
lime juice with 1 cup of ice and puree. Pour into a pitcher. Repeat with the remaining
strawberries and juices, vodka and lime juice and 1 more cup of ice. Fill 10 tall
glasses halfway with ice. Pour the cocktail into the glasses, top each with about 1/2
tablespoon of Riesling and serve.

What's your favorite holiday libation?

Tis the Season

Today is my office's Christmas party. We're having a fancy 4 course luncheon at a nice restaurant. Of course, I decided to wear something festive! This is a ruffly red plaid button down paired with a pencil skirt, heels, and a skinny black belt. It looked better tucked in with a wide black belt around the waist but there is no way I'm tucking my shirt in on a day I'm going to be eating a big meal! Excuse the low quality bathroom cell phone shot, but hopefully it captures the Christmas-y nature of my outfit!

Christmas Party Planning

Yesterday I mailed out the invitations to my yearly Christmas party which means it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to make this year!
Food I'm going to carry over from last year includes Baked Brie, Cranberry and Blue Cheese stuffed Endive, Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts (always a hit), and Rotel Dip (everyone LOVED this last year).
Additionally, I want to make meringues and either rosemary chocolate chip shortbread or Scottish shortbread for my sweets because they are all easy and can be made a couple days in advance. I also want to get a veggie tray. I enjoyed having pickled veggies last year, but I enjoyed a veggie tray at a Mardi Gras ball even more- so I think that's what I'll get this year. I'd also like to do some sort of bruschetta but I haven't decided what kind yet. Maybe fig and caramelized onion? I also think that this Beluga Lentil Crostini looks amazing but am not sure it would be a crowd pleaser... Cheese twists might be a fun way to use up the rest of my puff pastry left over from the Brie...

As usual, my darling fiance will be in charge of the drinks. I've had one request for Brandy Milk Punch already, and I don't think it's a Christmas party without a Poinsettia Cocktail- but the rest is up to him!

Do you like to host parties? I love to cook for a party, but I get stressed out by all the cleaning and preparations before hand- so one big party a year is perfect for me!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I'm in Gulfport right now, and I was way too busy stuffing my face to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving yesterday. :) After lunch yesterday, all the guys (my darling fiance, dad, brother and brother's friend Heath) went to Natchez to go hunting, and my mom and I had a girl's night with my brother's girlfriend Stacy and Heath's wife Ashley (and their sweet baby, Zaiden). We watched Mamma Mia and ate candy and popcorn. Yum!

Today, Mom and I woke up at a reasonable time (8am) and went to the local outlet mall to check out the Black Friday deals. We wandered around for a couple hours and I got some nice stuff. The best things I got were 3 pairs of work pants (buy 1 get 2 free at Bass!), a really warm wind and waterproof jacket with a soft fuzzy lining (also from Bass), and a really awesome old man hat from the Gap. I'm obsessed with it. :)

Tomorrow morning I'm running in the Stennis Space Center Half Marathon. I'm really excited b/c last year's was my first ever half marathon. This will be my third. It's supposed to be really cold, which makes for two things: an uncomfortable wait at the start line, and a good, fast race! I'm looking forward to it. Plans for the rest of the day include taking mom to TJ Maxx to look for sheets, picking up my race registration, and meeting Grace for pasta at Salute.

Shelly's Christmas Gift Guide (Part 2)

I'm sure you all were waiting with baited breath for my gift suggestions for the gentleman in your life. (And if not, just leave me and my delusions of grandeur in peace.)

I really love shopping for guys. I think menswear is classic and appealing and timeless in a way that women's clothing is not (as an aside, I probably can't pull off these lady's wingtips, can I?) and there are so many neat gadgets marketed towards men! (On a related note, I gave up playing with girls toys when I was a little kid b/c my brother's toys were way more fun.) So overall, coming up with this half of my gift guide has been a lot of fun! (And right after I typed this paragraph, my friend Bonnie, who is apparently a mind reader, sent me a link to a great blog- Tomboy Style. Now I seriously want the wingtips!)

First I'd suggest you check out the new L.L. Bean Signature Collection and the new Land's End Canvas collection b/c I think they've done a good job of making these with an eye to a younger consumer. The styling is more current, and the fits are more tailored- but I think that they both have a lot of casual but classic appeal.

For dressier clothing, I'd check out Brooks Brothers and J. Press (home of the Chuck Bass scarf). J Peterman has some cool stuff if you don't mind the uncertainly of ordering something from an illustration (excuse me while I go drool over the lambskin flight jacket).

For a sportsman's kind of look- I'd go to Kevin's or Orvis.

And of course, there's always Jcrew. I've been really loving their men's shoes lately.

I'm also loving the ties and bowties from Southern Proper.

I've had good success giving men bags as gifts as well. Messenger bags, weekend bags, and shooting bags always come in handy.

As far as gizmos go, I'm always amused by ThinkGeek. I think that whiskey stones, fire starter knives, samuri sword umbrella, moleskin notebooks, a portable hammock, and a coffee cup power inverter, are all cool gifts. The entire site is worth pouring over and I think that they have a lot of stuff that's great for kids as well. I'll keep it brief, but their kitchen gadgets section alone is a thing of joy- who doesn't want a zombie head cookie jar, science themed cookie cutters, a brass knuckles corkscrew (true story I almost bought a clutch with brass knuckles as a handle at the thrift store last week!), a build your own crazy drinking straw kit, a pi ice-cube tray (okay maybe that's just me...), an egg cuber, or a pirate toast maker?

For entertainment, I like to give boxed sets of movies and TV shows as gifts. Star Wars always seems to be appreciated. (As a bonus, here's a really funny video on Talking to your Kids about Star Wars that my darling fiance sent to me last night.)

I'll wrap this up with some outdoorsy gift ideas. I shop for the hunters and fishermen in my life at Cabela's (Pretty much the only thing that makes my dad happier than a gift card from Home Depot is one from Cabela's). Sigg water bottles are great, useful gifts that come in a lot of cool colors. It's always a good idea to check out the deals on things like camping gear at Overstock.com. (Right now, there's a pretty good deal on cast iron skillets, for example.) I also think this telescope is really cool. (I think this would be a good gift for a guy with kids- my dad bought me and my brother a telescope for Christmas one year and we all looked at the stars together for years after that!) And if you live somewhere that actually has a winter- snowshoes could be a pretty cool gift as well!

Shelly's Christmas Gift Guide (Part 1)

Since the holidays are rapidly approaching, I thought that putting together a little list of gift ideas would be fun! So if you're looking for gift ideas this year, I hope I can provide some inspiration. For this guide, I'll be linking to things that are primarily girly. Part two will focus on gifts for guys.

Homemade- I think that baked goods make wonderful homemade gifts. Choose something that's easy to make in bulk and keeps well like Scottish shortbread, meringues, or if you're feeling creative, you can make a cake in a jar! (Cake in a jar can be made two ways- you can bake it in the jar, which means that it will last up to 6 months, but the downside is that you can't frost it. Alternately, you can bake a cup cake and then put it in a jar along with frosting for an adorable presentation. I think both are great ideas. Here's a another link in case you are team pie.)

Paper- I LOVE paper products. I think that cards and stationary are great gifts because they fall right into that "this is so nice but not something I'd buy for myself category." Also, it harkens back to that golden age when people wrote letters instead of email. I'm a huge fan of Crane and Kate Spade stationary.

For the dreamer- I love sleepy time presents like herbal tea, lavender eye pillows, cute slippers, and PJ's! (A note on those PJ's- my darling fiance has two pairs of Brooks Brothers PJ's and the fabric is so soft. Highly recommend.)

For the reader- Kindles are great because you can get books, papers, and magazines! Plus, they solve that pesky problem of having to balance packing space versus reading needs (I usually need at least 2 books for a long trip!) when you travel.

For the fitness enthusiast- I'm not advocating that you give a gym membership to someone who isn't a religious gym goer (because that could possibly be misconstrued), but if you are looking for a gift for someone who loves a particular activity- gear is always appreciated. For runners, I'd suggest a spibelt, running clothes, or a sample pack of Gu. Yoga enthusiasts might like a gift certificate for sessions at their favorite yoga studio (ditto for Pilates studios) or a little something from Lululemon. A camelbak is a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors.

Jewelry and accessories- obviously the options in this category are practically infinite, but here are a few things I think are awesome. I love this clutch, all of these five necklaces, this pin, these too. And since I hear that in some parts of the country (not New Orleans this year, apparently) there' a thing called winter- knitwear can also make a great gift.

Obviously there are tons of gift options that I haven't covered like books, wine, and decorative Christmas platters (you laugh, but I was pretty thrilled to receive several last year since I host a yearly Christmas party), but one lowly blogger can't do it all! Stay tuned for part two- gifts for the guys.

What's your favorite thing to give as a Christmas gift?

Goody Two Shoes

In the past two days, I've voted, gotten my flu shot, had my oil changed, worked out, and and eaten plenty of veggies. I've been so responsible! Bleh! :)
As far as my recovery from the half marathon, it couldn't have been better. I swam on Sunday like I planned, then spent the afternoon walking around the quarter and tailgating for the Saints game. I though I had probably over done it in terms of being on my feet so I took another Epsom Salt bath and I had almost no pain on Monday, which would normally be my worst day in terms of soreness.
Sunday was a lot of fun. I got to see my friends from college, Belmont and Brittany, who I haven't seen in a couple of years. I also sold my costume for the day (a pair of cat ears that were really cute, but at least 4 years old) to a random lady at Pat O' Brian's for $20 (which was way more than I paid for them!) The coolest thing was that my friend Jon won the costume contest at Pat O's and got $100!
He was teen wolf!

Halloween Treats

Two posts in one day! My goodness!
I wanted to post a quick and easy Halloween goody that I made for my friend Sarah's Halloween party on Friday. I made "ghosts" buy piping vanilla frosting out of a plastic bag (just snip off a corner and don't seal the top unless you want to pop your bag) onto store bought 2-bite brownies (I'm obsessed with these things) and adding mini-chocolate chip eyes. So if you need something quick to bring to a Halloween get together- give this a try!
And now, as a bonus, our costumes. I was a ninja and my darling fiance was a retired General McChrystal, now endorsed by Bud Light Lime. (It's an inside joke but I love his costume, especially since I sewed the better part of the outside of a case onto that thing!) Enjoy!

The Morning After

Our Christmas party last night was lots of fun! Of course, I'm totally ignoring the fact that every glass in the house needs to be washed in favor of blogging.
I was very pleased with the food I made this year. I did a couple of things differently than I had planned- namely, I made hazelnut bark instead of chocolate chip cookies, and the stuffed peppadews (which I accidentally called pequillo's in the last post) didn't use up all of the goat cheese and chive filling, so I used the rest of the filling as a dip. I got a lot of good feedback about all of the food- I'd say that the Rotel dip was the biggest hit, I could have doubled the recipe and probably wouldn't have any left-overs. Everyone loved the bacon wrapped water chestnuts too. The fruit pizza and baked brie were also popular items. I was grateful for the pickled veggies, especially as the evening wore on- it was nice to reach for a piece of pickled okra instead of something unhealthy when I got snacky later in the evening.
My friend Stephanie brought some cookies she calls shorts (I think they are something like this recipe), and my friend Julianne brought fresh satsuma slices that she'd dipped halfway into dark chocolate. They were both excellent!
Our drink menu was great this year too. We had poinsetta cocktails, gluehwein (cook over low heat 2 bottles of red wine, 2 cups of sugar, the juice of one orange, the orange itself, 3 cinnamon sticks and 10 cloves for about an hour- being careful not to boil the wine), brandy milk punch, peppermint patty shots, and brandied port (brandy, port, and a twist of lemon).
I am sitting on the couch blogging while wearing the snuggie that my brother gave me for Christmas. I've certainly mocked snuggies in the past,but there is something to be said for being able to drink my coffee without having to adjust my blanket. Also, Homer is obsessed with the snuggie. He slept in my lap for 2 entire hours the other night because I was wearing the snuggie and watching a movie.
In other news, the shower in my bathroom has decided to stop working. I usually have amazing water pressure (and copious amounts of hot water), but the water just stopped coming out of the shower head in the middle of my shower yesterday. This has happened to me before at a previous apartment (although that apartment had only a shower head and no faucet, so I occasionally had to bathe using a pot full of hot water, which reminded me of Miss Honey in Matilda...this time I just crouched under the faucet and cursed loudly while trying to rinse my hair) and I think that the problem is that there are solids clogging up the line (a few rusty chunks came out of the faucet yesterday and today, which supports my supposition). Of course, I'm hoping that it will clear itself up in a couple of days (my old place often did) because if we call the landlords now, they probably won't be able to send someone over until we are out of town. Given that there are two cats in my house who have to be kept apart (we're not ready for Pancake to meet Homer until he no longer limps), we'd rather not have strangers in the house opening doors while we're gone. So worst comes to worst I'll have to use my darling fiance's shower for a couple of days. His water pressure is actually pretty lousy, but it's certainly better than nothing. Just now the pipes in my bathroom were making a horrible noise, so maybe the water will start up again soon.....this is the price of living in a charming old house!
My darling fiance and I opened our Christmas presents to each other on Thursday night so we would have more seating for our Christmas party. (The tree is sitting in our bay window, which serves as a bench when we entertain.) He gave me fuzzy socks, a new running shirt that is both long sleeved and reflective, another pair of Lululemon yoga pants, and a Wii and Wii fit kit! I've been wanting a Wii for years, so I am really excited to finally have one! I'm planning to play with the Wii fit this afternoon (which is a good incentive to get my house cleaning done).
As for now I think I will finish my coffee and read through my google reader before I get up and clean. It's nice to relax. Aside from two days of work this coming week, my holiday stress is pretty much behind me. I do have to pack and I have both a long run and a brunch for my book club at Dante's Kitchen to look forward to tomorrow. I leave for Switzerland on Wednesday!
Happy Holidays!!

Festive

I have to post a picture of the first Christmas Tree I've had in 7 years. I know it's awful that I haven't had a tree since I stopped living with my parents. But isn't my little tree pretty? :)
Other than getting a Christmas tree, my weekend hasn't been too eventful. My office party was Friday. It was fun, but I forgot to take any pictures. We looked at wedding venues and bought the Christmas tree on Saturday.
Today I did chores and ran 6 miles. This evening I made a really delicious dinner. Baked Shrimp with Feta. Pro-tip: triple the garlic, which is basically my motto in life. I served this with quinoa instead of couscous and used the shrimp/quinoa combo to stuff baked red bell peppers. It was really good and very easy!

The Gentlewoman's Holiday Gift Guide

Since there are few things I love more than shopping, I thought I'd put together a holiday gift guide for those of you trying to wrap up your Christmas shopping.

For the foodie in your life, why not give them cheese? Locally, I think that the St. James Cheese Co. gift boxes would be a great treat. Online, I'd go for Dean and Deluca.

For a runner, I'd suggest athletic wear- specifically reflective athletic wear for those dark runs after work. Illuminite shirts like this one look really cool and keep you visible. A Road ID or a Spibelt are also great gifts for runners.

For a drinker, I think that these ice-cube stones are really neat. Pair it with a nice bourbon- maybe Blanton's?

For a writer, some beautiful paper. I love Crane and Co. stationary.

For a DIY enthusiast, I'd choose something from Etsy. Scarves, bags, and jewelry are always lovely gifts.

For someone who loves the great outdoors, I'd get gear. I love these parachute silk hammocks. Camelbaks are also good gifts.

For a snow bunny, try a funny ski hat. They keep you warm and make you easy to spot on the slopes!

For a great cook, I'd go for a nice Le Creuset piece if you're feeling extravagant. I think bakewear like ramekins, pizza stones and tart pans would also be nice. It's stuff a cook will definitely use, but might not buy themselves.

For a homebody, comfy slippers. I love these from L.L. Bean.

Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I'm at my parent's house, and am about to go to bed so I can get up early-ish and go shopping with my mom. It is definitely in my best interest to not spend very much money tomorrow (a fact that failed to prevent me from going to Old Navy after Thanksgiving dinner...) but I would like a heavy black button down or zip front sweater with no hood or large collar. The one I currently have is a) old, and b) has a flap collar that makes it uncomfortable to wear under a coat. Mom wants new towels. Exciting, I know. We're not getting up especially early, but we're hoping to get out to the stores by mid-morning.
I just want to stop for a moment and reflect upon how blessed I have been this year. This may actually have been my best year thus far!
I am so thankful for my wonderful fiance, family, future in-laws, friends, and pets. I am thankful for my good health and for my athletic achievements this year. I am thankful for my new car and for being able to keep the job I love during a tough economic time. And I am thankful to live in a city that I love. I am also thankful for all the good things that have happened to my friends this year as well. It's been wonderful to see my friends achieve their goals, get married, and expand their families. It's been a wonderful year and I hope that we all have many more years that are just as good!

The Great Pumpkin

This week has been very pumpkin-y. On Sunday, I carved pumpkins with Sarah, Jonathan, and our friend Georgia. This is my pumkin, which I named Zohan Homer after Sarah's cat Zoe (who would have been Zohan, had she been a boy) and my cat Homer. I brought home a bunch of pumpkin seeds and baked them with cayenne, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. I liked the flavor profile but it wasn't strong enough. Also, the pumkin seeds were nice and crispy straight out of the oven, but as they cooled, they got less crispy and harder to enjoy. I think that the seasoning mixture would be good on popcorn though. (Too bad I don't care for popcorn!)
On Monday, I opened up a can of pumpkin and mixed half of it with skim milk, garlic, vermouth, and shriracha (sounds strange, but makes a great sauce). I ended up mixing the sauce with some quinoa. I served it inside half a microwaved heirloom squash (I was going to roast it but I couldn't cut through the raw squash!), topped with strips of roasted red pepper and goat cheese (with the rest of the grilled Italian turkey sausage on the side). It was really good.
I ended up dipping a grilled cheese sandwich in the leftover pumpkin sauce for lunch the next day.
As for the rest of the canned pumpkin- I used 1/4 of the can in some oats for breakfast, along with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. This was delicious and tasted exactly like pie, but it didn't fill me up as much as I would have liked. I usually put almond or peanut butter in my oatmeal as well, so I think I needed a little more protein in this breakfast.
I remedied the hunger situation the next morning by making a pumpkin smoothie with 6oz of vanilla greek yogurt, 1/4 can of pumpkin, a banana, some milk, ground flax seeds, and some pumpkin pie spice. This was tasty and filling, but it didn't really taste like pie. Maybe I needed more pumpkin and spice.
Is anyone surprised that I'm not orange at this point? :)
Finally, after all this fall food, the weather seemed to get the hint to cool back down. It's been really depressing to have temperatures in the low 90's all week, given that it's the middle of October! It is supposed to be cool and sunny for the next week though, so I am really looking forward to the runs I have coming up. I have a 10 miler to look forward to this weekend so wish me luck!
Other things taking place this weekend include drinks at the new Sazerac bar in the Roosevelt hotel tonight, shopping at Macy's for charity tomorrow, and seeing Yo-Yo Ma play on Sunday!! I am really excited about Yo-Yo Ma!
I also plan to make a Lime Tart on Sunday b/c someone brought a giant bag of limes to work today- I grabbed several! (But I'll bring the tart to work, so it all evens out.)

Foodie Week and a Great Weekend

I wanted to share a few recipes I tried out this week that were really good. I mixed things up for breakfast by replacing my standard Greek yogurt/honey/fruit/and granola with baked oatmeal. I made a big casserole dish of baked oatmeal with blueberries, almonds, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla and it lasted me for 3 days. It was really good- my advice is to use a lot of spice because otherwise it can end up tasting a little bland.
My dinners this week have been especially tasty. I tried out this recipe for spaghetti with Kale and my dear boyfriend and I both loved it! I also adapted this recipe for shrimp scampi by using scallops and adding broccoli. (I've also actually used it to make some fantastic shrimp scampi too.)
I also made a couple recipe free dishes that turned out very well. I made artichoke hummus by combining 1 can of chick peas and 2 cans of artichoke bottoms (drained) in my food processor with a couple of cloves of garlic, a little lemon juice, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
For lunch, I made a baked bean bowl by putting a can of baked beans over brown rice and topping it with chopped tomato, chopped green onion, cilantro, sprouts, and a little BBQ sauce. It was really good! I find beans and rice to be very filling, but you can always beef it up with some shredded cooked chicken if you want more protein.
This weekend has been absolutely wonderful. Friday night, my dear boyfriend and I saw Opus at the Southern Rep Theater. We both thought it was a great play. The tagline is "Sex, Drugs, and Chamber Music." It's about the dynamic between the members of a string quartet as they get ready to play Beethoven's Opus 131 at the White House shortly after adding a new member (a young woman) to their group of middle aged men.
Before the play, we went to Iris and had drinks and appetizers. Iris is officially my favorite place to go before a play because it is within walking distance of both the Southern Rep and Le Petite Theaters. The bartender is also known for amazing, creative cocktails. My first cocktail, for example, contained elderflower liqueur, basil, and a pineapple balsamic reduction. My second one contained bourbon, vanilla, ginger liqueur, and Thai tea. My dear boyfriend had one drink that contained scotch, gin, and a plum/cardomom syrup. His other cocktail contained Rye, bitters, beet juice and apple juice. They were all amazing. As for food- we split a cheese plate, 1/2 a dozen oysters, and some short rib rolls that were wrapped in lettuce. It was all delicious!
I also got to wear the purple ruffled shirt that I bought last week. I paired it with black pumps and a pencil skirt. I'm glad I got to wear it because a cold front finally rolled in on Saturday.
On Saturday, I started the day off in a terrible mood because the chance of rain was 75% on and off all day. However, it never really rained! I really wanted to go for a run, but was convinced that the second I got out there, the bottom would fall out. Finally, I decided to just go for it. (I brought my phone with me so I could call home for a ride if I got trapped by rain.) I am so glad I did because I had the best run ever! I was a little nervous because of my horrible 8 mile run, but I shouldn't have been. Clearly, the 78 degree weather played a big part- but I had tons of energy and had a great time! I was also thrilled with my pace. I ran a 9 minute mile pace all the way through mile 6 (54 minutes, compared, for example, to my Crescent City Classic time of 62 minutes), and didn't slow up very much for my last 3 miles. I finished the run in 84:16!
On Saturday evening, we were supposed to have a picnic in the park and listen to the LPO, but that got cancelled due to rain (although it never rained!), so instead my dear boyfriend and I grilled out. We had chicken kabobs, mango chili chicken sausage, and sweet Italian turkey sausage (we cooked a ton of meat so we'd have leftovers to eat this week) along with a side salad. I had blue cheese on multi-grain bread for dessert as well. I really love the amablu Gorgonzola. It is a fairly mild blue cheese that is really creamy. It's great spread on bread or alongside a sliced pear.
Today I have been being pretty lazy. I am about to get up, clean the kitchen, and wash the dogs. Later, I am going to go over to Sarah's house to carve pumpkins, eat pizza, and watch Hocus Pocus. I loved that movie when I was a kid!
All in all this weekend has been just what I needed. It's been so nice to relax and spend some quality time with my dear boyfriend. :)

5770

Sarah's Rosh Hashanah dinner party was so much fun. Sarah and her boyfriend Jon made a wonderful meal for everyone!
We started off with apple slices dipped in honey, for a sweet new year. Then, we had Matzo Ball soup. (I am officially obsessed with Matzo Ball soup now- probably because I have come down with a cold and it was the most delicious comforting chicken soup ever. I want more, but don't have the energy to tackle a new recipe today. But seriously, I can't shut up about soup today.)
Next we tried Gefilte fish. Sarah warned us that it is an acquired taste- but I didn't think it was too bad. It reminded me of eating canned sardines with mayonnaise on saltine crackers which was my grandmother's favorite midnight snack. (But based on that description, I guess you can see why it would be an acquired taste!)
Next we had a yummy salad with greens, olives, cherry tomatoes, and artichoke hearts.
For the main course, we had potatoes in an apricot glaze (that tasted kind of like bbq sauce, actually, but I think it was apricot preserves and soy sauce for the most part), along with brisket and chicken in the same glaze. Everything was delicious!
I made Smitten Kitchen's honey cake to bring to the party, and it was served for dessert. The caked turned out great! The recipe has a pretty long list of ingredients (upon seeing me buying orange juice and whiskey for the cake when we went to the store last weekend, my dear boyfriend was like "What kind of cake is this again?") and a long baking time, but it was really easy to make. It turned out to be a really moist spice cake. It reminded everyone of carrot cake without the carrots (and we actually smeared cream cheese onto slices of it today for breakfast). I would totally recommend making this cake because it was really easy and the flavor profile is perfect for fall and winter.
It was a great dinner and I'm looking forward to celebrating with Sarah and Jon again next year. :)
Today my dear boyfriend helped my friend Steph move a TV she's giving to Goodwill and then we went to Mcalister's for lunch. Other than that I've been resting because I have a lousy cold. Hopefully I'll feel well enough to make a cameo at the black light party tonight because I have a great costume!