{mixed greens, carrots, red pepper, sugar snap peas, cucumber, red onion, raisins, blue cheese, garbanzo beans and light ranch}.
Tonight we’re having the SAME thing.
Although, I’m adding some curried carrot soup…again, one of my faves and super easy.
Looks like I’m going to have to do some serious meal planning action.
Fortunately there is a Cooking Light subscription with my name on it making it’s way to the mailbox soon.
I need some new ideas.
Stay tuned…..more new recipes to come!
And speaking of staying tuned….we’re NOT going to be….we’ve {Jay} has decided that for the first quarter of 2011 we’re turning off Direct TV.
No Bravo.
I’m dying inside.
And then he informs me that the new TVs these days do not have antennas so you can’t even get a fuzzy showing of local channels!
A pair of old skool rabbit ears is looking pretty attractive right now.
BUT…
I think it will be good. I can’t imagine how much more I’ll/we’ll get done without our dear friend, Mr. Samsung. Last night as I was in the workout room watching RHofBH, I thought at least I may get more elliptical and treadmill time in if I HAVE to go to the gym at night to watch TV!
It’ll be interesting to see how it goes ~ it could go either way.
Who wants to invite us over to watch the Superbowl?
*****
On another note, here is a hint {a big one} of the theme of Holden’s birthday next month:
When it comes to sangria, I think less is more {not drinking less, but less ingredients!}. There are some complex recipes out there, but in my opinion the simpler ones are just as delish.
{Thanks, Hollie for supplying last night’s beverage!}
I wanted a quick and easy tapas style appetizer and came across the manchego recipe from Ty Flo {Tyler Florence}.
Soooo good!
I made paella on Valentine’s Day almost 5 years ago and Jay’s been asking me to make it ever since.
So glad I found this recipe because I will make it more often now. You can also add mussels or clams…I just used chicken breasts, pork chorizo and shrimp.
Last year when we were celebrating Jay’s 40th in Vegas, we went to Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and had the café con leche flan for dessert. It was out of this world! Mine was obviously not as good, but not a total failure….I cooked the caramel a little too long in the beginning, but the custard part was fine. I also used a square pan rather than the standard round cake pan {because seriously, how does the flan know if it’s round or square?}
It was a little ghetto-tastic, but I look forward to perfecting my skills down the road…
And it’s not a party until someone dresses up as “Santa Tiana”…
*****
I hope you enjoyed your Spanish feast, Babe!
May all your hopes and dreams come true on your way to 42.
Halloween was lots of fun, but I am pumpkin’d, witch’d, goblin’d and candied out!
I’m so glad I decided to dress up this year…it added so much to the night. I spent a grand total of $8 on our costumes this year ~ Elliott reused her dance recital costume, Holden borrowed his and I spent $5 on handcuffs and $3 on a cheetah print beanie that I fancied up with some orange rosettes to match my inmate threads!
A gal stopped me on the street and commented on my rosettes…why thank you! She asked me if I sell them…well, no I don’t, but maybe I should. Which got me thinking….stay tuned!
Getting back to trick-or-treating…we decided to go to our friends’ neighborhood this year as they have a street that goes all out and has haunted houses and stuff. There were swarms of people, my goodness!
Holden was finished before we even started:
10 minutes before we were to leave!
He rallied and we were on our way…
Perpetual mouthful of candy!
LOVE, love, love the red door on this house…
Holdy was always about 3 houses behind the group, but would catch up every now and then…
We had a great time and all was well and good until we got separated and Elliott began to worry about me {she was with her friends and my mom and Jay and I were with Holden}. Apparently she thought I was “lost” and then saw a Sheriff’s car and thought that maybe I’d gotten picked up since I told her I was an escaped inmate! Oops!
We had our annual Halloween chili and cornbread for dinner and enjoyed cobbler with the fresh peaches we picked a couple weeks ago. The cobbler was a breeze to make and turned out much better than I thought it would. Here is the recipe I followed.
We kept ours green, but you can add a touch of grenadine or blue curaçao to change up the color {as seen in the above pic}. Personally, I thought it was just fine the way it was. This is the perfect group cocktail to make in a big bowl with lots of ice and a ladle and people can serve themselves.
Already looking forward to next year and planning my costume! I’ve been missing out all these years…
I didn’t really know what angle I was going to take with blogging ~ I just wanted fff to be random, real, unpredictable and fun. If I had to choose one word to describe this blog it would be BALANCE.
Chaos vs. Organization
“Good” Recipes {not-so-good-for-you} vs. Healthy Recipes {good-fer-ya}
Lazy Days vs. Active Days
Laughing vs. Crying
Thrifty Finds vs. ” My Wish List”
Sharing Things I LOVE vs. Maybe Sharing Things I Don’t
Sharing From The Past ~ Celebrating The Present ~ Looking Forward To The Future
Thank YOU so much for sharing in all this with me! I truly DO appreciate your readership!
We’re almost at 400 posts ~ So anxious to see what the next 12 months bring.
I hope you’ll follow along with me and see….
XOXO
*****
And now for a winner…
Yay, Lisa!
The apricot Havs are yours! Fortunately, I can hand deliver this pair.
The first pair went to San Diego, then I sent a pair to Kentucky and now one gets to stay here!
Thanks again to all who entered. I’ll kick off Spring 2011 with another one so keep trying! 😉
Starting with this delivered to our room just minutes after arriving:
A sweet {and bubbly} gift from two of my girls in Nor Cal.
Thanks, Mel & Linz ~ it was the ultimate surprise to kick off the weekend!
I was introduced to Bahama Breeze many moons ago while visiting my bestie, Dee, in Orlando. I was hooked…there is a location in Vegas. Let me just say that thanks to my bro-in-law I discovered the West Indies Beef Patties this time around and….um, YUM! The Jerk Chicken Pasta is also a must.
{Pineapple-Coconut Martini}
Birthday Breakfast:
We spent the afternoon of my b-day at the pool. The weather was gorgeous. I literally laid on the lounge chair and did nothing. It was stupendous. Jay took Holden to the room and bubbled in parlay cards with U-Rod and Lola and Elliott swam. I didn’t have to keep an eye on anyone, take anyone to the bathroom or fill a sippy cup for several hours! MAGIC I tell you….
Jay and I went to a “fancy dinner” at Mon Ami Gabi. I have walked by this bistro a gazillion times…envious of all who sit up along the strip out on the patio sipping their wine and enjoying French cuisine! Now it was OUR turn. I insisted we sit outside even though the wait was almost 2 hours.
Oh man….
we slurped French Onion Soup and slathered warm brie with honey and roasted garlic onto fresh baguettes. We sipped {more} wine and viewed the Bellagio water show every 15 minutes. We ordered out-of-this-world entreés ~ Lemon Chicken Paillard and Steak Roquefort. We chatted. And sipped. And took it all in. We enjoyed a “Joyeux Anniversaire” cream puff compliments of our sweet, ever so pleasant server.
You have got to try this place.
Seriously.
A meal to remember.
After dinner, we strolled back into Paris and noticed a lounge band…I love me some Vegas lounge music. They were doing current Lady Gaga stuff and taking it back old skool ~ running the gamut. I decided we’d set up shop and sit…who needs an expensive Vegas show when you have these guys?
I was a total cheeseball and went up to request a song from the DJ during the band’s break.
Uh, how can you NOT dance to the song you requested…
“California Girls we’re undeniable
fine, fresh, fierce we got it on lock
West Coast represent
now put your hands up
Oooooh Oh Oooooh”
Oh YES I did!
I may have even danced with a 21 year old guy in bunny ears and pink glasses for a brief minute.
We stayed out ’til 2:14am! I was so impressed….
And as if keeping an eye on the kiddos for well over 12 hours wasn’t enough, my in-laws treated the family to Lion King. It was amazing and Elliott loved it…and so did Holdy until he fell asleep right before intermission!
Such a special treat.
We finished off our Saturday evening with a trip to Serendipity3.
We skipped the frozen hot chocolate this time, but it is a must if you ever visit this little gem of a place!
The kiddos held up very well. We visited M&M’s World and, might I add, that place is ridiculous and not at all kid friendly. How much m&m paraphernalia can they produce? Apparently enough to fill like 4 stories! Oh. my. word. I’m good with my 68¢ bag of m&m pretzels from Wal-mart.
But the kids had a great time at the New York, New York arcade, Lion Habitat, pool and just being spoiled by Lolo and Lola!
The. Perfect. Celebration.
Everything I LOVE about Vegas minus the buffets and crazy pool parties!
Thank you to my family for celebrating with me first class all the way.
And I LOVE that I came home to my sunflowers looking just as gorgeous as when we left…
40s lookin’ pretty darn good!
*****
“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”
{William W. Purkey}
A HUGE thank you to my sweet father-in-law for arranging this!
He may or may not LOVE Vegas.
It’ll be trés magnifique!
*****
{mcclaincycle.com}
Also, Jay bought me my beach cruiser. Should be here next week!
Been wanting one since my carefree days of living in Pacific Beach back in college.
If I could just reminisce for a moment…
My best friend, Denise, and I lived in a, we’ll just call it “beachy slum”, 2-bedroom apartment just steps from Mission Bay.
I used to wear a pair of brown clogs around the place because I didn’t want my feet to touch the NASTY carpet and she’d make fun of me.
We would try to catch cockroaches under plastic tumblers.
The front door was hollow and I don’t believe was intended for a FRONT door….bedroom door maybe.
Oh my…
I think the rent was $600.
We split it 3 ways, but I had my own room so I paid a little more.
Oh my….
those were the days.
I used to help Dee do bra and CD inventories, but that’s a whole different post for a whole different day.
I LOVED living in this little rundown triplex.
So many memories.
So long ago.
SOOOOOO different from life as it is today.
And I wouldn’t change ANY of it for the world.
Thanks for letting me go back and remember times past!
Now, where was I?
Oh yes, the bike…it’s an early b-day gift from my sweet and generous hubby.
I cannot wait to lay eyes on it.
Now to look for a fun helmet to compliment the beachy, Hawaiian feel.
Thinking about embellishing whatever helmet I find with a little bling…
Planning some fun family bike outings as Jay also just purchased a 2 seat trailer for the back of his bike. This year we’re planning on enjoying the holiday lights at Griffith Park on bikes. I’ll have to figure out how to drink my salted caramel hot chocolate and ride a bike at the same time!
I’m a FREAK when it comes to planning my kids’ birthday parties.
They really aren’t as extravagant as many I see on all the darling party blogs out there, but I try to keep them fun yet frugal.
I usually have a “theme” about a year ahead of time. I get an idea and build from there…over the course of about 12 months…I gather little things here and there that I find on sale or for cheap. I stow them in a “secret place” away from the kids (& Jay!). I also cruise around the net and pick up ideas from this site and that site, jot things down and get the creative juices flowing early on.
Elliott’s birthday is in May and I just found what I think are going to be her invites.
I had something in mind and when I saw these on my TJ Maxx excursion yesterday, I knew I had to grab them since they’d be long gone if I decided to go back down the road and look for them again.
They fit the color scheme that I had in mind and reflect the party’s venue.
I am so excited that I crossed paths with these.
Here’s a sneak peek…
I think I need help.
Because there are a million and one things that will take place before her 6th birthday that I need to think about, but I just couldn’t pass these up.
If I can give my unsolicited party planning advice I would say to start early {obviously}.
But is 9 months to a year TOO early?
I find that when you have an inspiration far enough out, you can pick things up bit by bit and won’t have to shell out a grip of cash all at once. I save receipts in case I need to make returns or exchanges.
