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The Official House Tour 18 Aug 2011 12:57 PM (13 years ago)

Here it is, a virtual tour of our new apartment!  I was pleasantly surprised how much less time it took us to unpack and get "settled" than it did at our last place.  Granted, our last apartment was the first J and I had together and we were just newbies at the whole moving/unpacking thing, but at this rate, moving to Omaha in a year will be a breeze (right?!?)

We will begin with another view of the lake and fountain outside our bedroom window.  Our bedroom is the smaller of the two bedrooms both in size and in closet space but it has by far the best views of the apartment and gets the afternoon sun which is helpful in keeping it cool during the day.

On a quiet day, I can hear the water lapping just outside our window which transports me to a place far away from South Bend, IN!

As you can imagine, with all this water around, there is quite a bit of wildlife just beyond our doors to keep us (and Woods) entertained.  We have almost two dozen ducks and more than that (they won't sit still for me to count them) Canadian geese that call our lake and the ones nearby home, in addition to a crane or two, rabbits and frogs.

The heart of the apartment is the living/dining room area and kitchen.  The kitchen is a bit smaller than the one we had at our last place but there is enough work space for both J and I to cook together (which was a requirement for any apartment we looked at here) and even has a little breakfast bar which I know we will utilize when entertaining so guests can be a part of the action and conversation while we cook!

The lighting in this picture is bad but you get the idea--just behind the onion painting is our very own washer and dryer, a much appreciated perk of this apartment!

A view of the dining room/breakfast bar from the living room

Same area but from the opposite angle--here we are in the kitchen looking out into the living room area

The kitchen opens out onto the dining room/living room area, which boasts new carpet and vaulted ceilings (in the living room).

A view from the dining room into the living room as Woods investigates his new surroundings

The big arch window lets in a lot of light and is often filled with bright blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Note the content cat and gorgeous blue skies

Underneath the arch window is a sliding glass door that leads out onto a small patio.  So far we have dragged a small table and chairs out there on several nights to enjoy dinner or a glass of wine.  Next spring and summer, we hope to grow a small herb garden out there as well!

We added a few new pieces to our apartment and rearranged others to create a place that feels like home and didn't cost us a lot of money.  Meijer has become our new go-to store.  We had never heard of it before we moved here and in case you haven't either, it is basically a cross between Walmart and Target that has great clearance prices and a fairly large international food section, something I thought I was giving up when we moved from St. Louis!  For example, during one of our many visits there, we nabbed a slipper chair and the two bar stools all for under 115 dollars--the slipper chair itself was originally 110.00!

The chair needs a lumbar pillow to round out the look but I haven't found any that I like...yet!

Before we moved, we craigslisted our two black bookshelves for what we had paid for them with the plan of either buying a smaller bookshelf when we arrived or going without.  Once we got here and started to unpack, we realized we needed some sort of shelf and bought an inexpensive three shelf version at Target.  Once J assembled it, I spent the next hour or so trying to decorate it.  It was my first real attempt at creating a more pared down, stylized bookshelf and I am pretty pleased with the results, especially because all of the items were ones I already owned!


At some point, I'd like to line the back of the bookshelf with a graphic print or wallpaper, but for now it looks just fine!

The other side of the living room and a more zoomed out shot of the bookshelf

Yesterday I finally recovered our dining room chairs after the fabric sat in the corner of my office (and later a moving box) for months and I am so glad that I did.  The previous seat cushions were my first attempt at reupholstery (actually it was my first attempt at anything DIY or crafty and the subject of my first blog post) two years ago.  I never really loved the fabric, it really clashed with the rug underneath it, and based on the number of staples I removed during the process, the whole job was pretty sloppy.

Before

Since then I've read a lot more about reupholstery and feel much more comfortable taking on projects on my own, which was evident yesterday in the amount of time it took me to remove all the staples and recover all of the chairs.  A project that originally took me the entire length of a Notre Dame football game was reduced to an hour long project!

After

I absolutely adore the graphic print and the way the pattern plays subtlety off the caning on the backs of the chairs.  And want to know the best part? They finally coordinate with the rug beneath it and tie in with the other blue elements found throughout our living room and dining room!

Our dining room

The bedroom is a little more of a work in progress currently.  All the furniture is in place and art hung, but eventually some of the artwork and the bedspread will be swapped out for new things that better coordinate with the space and reflect where we are now (most of the artwork was created in the months after our wedding and tend to be very wedding-focused).  Once the weather turns cooler, our original duvet cover will grace our bed once more which will go a long way in making this space more put together.  For now, we sleep sweat free (and with lower utility bills) with our light coverlet even if it doesn't exactly match.


The curtains are a new addition to the bedroom and I love them.  The buttery yellow color matches the dresser's pulls perfectly, plus they are great at keeping out sun and heat!

The office still has a few boxes that are earmarked for a friend's garage for storage which is why photos of the second bedroom are missing from the tour.  Once we get the out of there (slated for this Saturday), I promise to share photos of that space too!

We also have a bathroom with decor I really like, but I won't be sharing pictures here because every shot I've tried to take has come out dark and features our toilet--not really something I want to have all over the blog and probably not something you want to look at!

And with that, welcome to our little home!  I hope to share lots of recipes, DIY, crafts, love and laughs here with J and with you all in the next few months.  Thank you for following along and as always, for being such a vital part of KT's Refinishing School!

P.S. I am slowly working through all of your blog posts--you all have been busy!  I may not comment on all of the posts but know that I am reading each and every one of them and loving what I'm reading.  You guys seriously rock!

Where I've Been 17 Aug 2011 9:37 AM (13 years ago)

I never really intended for the blog to go dormant and neglected over the last few weeks but day after day I got busier and busier and before I knew it, it had been over a month since I'd published anything.  I haven't had that long of a dry spell since I started really blogging almost a year ago.  The days (and weeks) of silence are hopefully behind me now as J and I get into the swing of things in our new home in South Bend, IN.

Here are a few things we've been up to this month when I obviously wasn't blogging:

I left my job of two years in preparation for our move to South Bend and packed up all of our belongings while J studied for the bar exam.

J took the bar exam in Des Moines, IA.  24 hours later, we packed up our apartment in a Penske truck and cleaned the apartment within an inch of its life.  Thanks to my dad and J's parents for helping load us up and move us!

Less than 12 hours after that, we drove the six and a half hours from St. Louis to South Bend with J's parents, sister, my dad and Woods in tow.  We arrrived in South Bend around four pm and promptly unloaded the truck.

We then left South Bend for a week to vacation with our families at Feirin De--including Woods.

A big beach bonfire we had one night thanks to lots of driftwood washed ashore by heavy rains

 Returned a week later much more relaxed and refreshed to an apartment so full of furniture and boxes we could hardly move.

A view from our bedroom window taken our first night in the apartment!

Spent the next week and a half unpacking, organizing rooms, purchasing some new furniture and hanging art work.  A full house tour will be posted later this week!

I finally recovered our dining room chairs.  I love the pattern so much I wish I would have done it sooner!

Took another mini-vacation slash post-bar trip to Chicago to visit some friends last weekend.   We had a blast and I will be sharing pictures and full details later this week!

Doing our best Ferris Bueller impersonations at the Art Museum in Chicago

Cooked some delicious meals.  Recipes for Hot German Wax Beans, French-Style Perch with Vegetables and Zucchini Bread will be forthcoming in the next few days.

Oktoberfest in August--Hot German Wax Beans, homemade spaetzle and kielbasa.  Yum!

Registered for classes and spent way too much on books.  That's right, I am going back to school!  Eventually I will be obtaining a Masters in Education and a certification in secondary education (in Social Science to be more specific), but for now I am taking a few classes (three this fall and four in the spring) so that when we move back to Omaha I can hopefully complete the program there in one calendar year.  Classes start on Monday and I am nervous/excited to be back in school!

Tried to start catching up on blog posts in my Google Reader.  Right now I have over 1000 unread posts and I am hoping to get all caught up before classes start Monday!


And on the horizon for this week are the following items:

• Get satellite TV set up and DVR up and running--I've missed out on weeks of my favorite shows! 
• Take the Indiana driving test (new residents must take the written driving test...again...)
• Obtain new insurance
• Title my car in Indiana and obtain new license plates
• Visit the Farmer's Market and local co-op here on Saturday
• Have some new friends (J's soon-to-be associate at work, his wife and 2 kids) over for a pool party and dinner
• Make a kid-friendly dinner for six!
• Catch up on my Google Reader

While I am catching up and reading lots of blog posts, would you mind telling me one thing you've done or blogged about since I've been gone?!?  My last blog post was July 13th if that helps jog your memory!  

I can't wait to catch up with all of you and a big thank you for sticking around during this busy and hectic time in our lives!

WIAW and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday, Food Edition 13 Jul 2011 2:34 PM (13 years ago)

Last night I made another delicious recipe from my Cooking from the Farmer's Market cookbook.  As I mentioned in this post, I wasn't able to make it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday morning but the folks at Dierberg's (a local grocery store chain here in St. Louis) saved the day.  They had quite a few fruits and vegetables for sale that were locally grown and harvested including eggplant, which was the star of last night's dish, Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mozzarella.  This dish was easy-peasy and tasted delicious.  It could very easily be made vegetarian by omitting the sausage from the sauce.

Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mozzarella, modified from Cooking from the Farmer's Market cookbook

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds Italian or Asian eggplant, trimmed and cut lengthwise into slices approximately 1/4 inch thick--approximately two medium sized eggplant

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

5 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed--I browned up a pound and a half and then added the remaining sausage to our leftover tomato sauce from earlier this week to freeze and have for dinner next week!

2 cups tomato sauce--we used homemade, find the recipe here

1 cup whole-milk ricotta--as I got out the ingredients to make dinner, I discovered the ricotta (which I bought over a week ago) had gone bad.  I used 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese and 2 ounces of cream cheese instead which worked great!

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces--if you have a Trader Joe's nearby, I recommend getting your mozzarella (and other cheeses) there.  I saved two dollars by buying the cheese for this recipe there!

4 tablespoons grated hard cheese, such as Parmesan

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley--we used 1 teaspoon dried parsley instead


Kitchen Supplies:
Baking sheet
Ramekin
Pastry Brush
Frying pan
Medium bowl
9 inch baking dish

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Brush both sides of the eggplant with the 1/4 cup of olive oil and season with salt.  Place in an even layer on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned on the bottom, about ten minutes.  Turn the slices and bake until tender, approximately six minutes.  Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, combine ricotta, mozzarella, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan and parsley together.  Season with salt and pepper.

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Saute the sausage until cooked through, about 3 minutes.  Note that it will take longer (about 10 minutes) if you are browning a whole package of sausage as I did.  Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread half of the sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.  Place a spoonful of the cheese mixture near the wide end of each eggplant slice, roll up, and place in dish.  Continue assembling the rolls until all eggplant slices have been filled.



Spoon the remaining sauce between the rolls and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.  Bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Blogger is being weird and won't let me load photos properly--grr!

Serves: 4

As you can see, there is nothing particularly carnivorous about this dish and with all those great cheeses in each roll-up, a meat-free version might taste even better!  As per usual, I had the leftovers today which is what makes this a WIAW post.




Now onto the Oh How Pinteresting part of the post.




I, like many people, have discovered the wonder  that is Pinterest and have been pinning my heart away for several weeks now.  One of my favorite boards is my cooking board, Recipes to Make, especially right now where my creativity in the kitchen is limited to using up ingredients we already have. 

So today, here are some recipes I really hope to make in the near future (perhaps from South Bend!)












Are you on Pinterest?  If so, let me know so I can follow you!  If you'd like to check out more of my foodie pins (or home decor or any other kind for that matter) I can be found here.

Don't have Pinterest yet but want to get on board?  Leave me a message in the comments with your email address and I'll send you an invite!

What are you eating this Wednesday?  Anything in particular you are pinning pining over this Wednesday evening?

P.S. If you do not already read Jen's (Peas and Crayons) or Michelle's (The Vintage Apple) blogs, you really should.  Click on the links and head on over.  You know you want to!

What I've Learned About Moving...So Far 12 Jul 2011 1:10 PM (13 years ago)

With the clock ticking down on our big move and packing now underway, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned about packing and the moving process thus far.  Obviously we've got quite a bit to do before we can say goodbye to St. Louis and hello to South Bend but for now, I thought I'd share some tips we've learned along the way (it will also serve as a great record of what we did when we have to move all over again in a year or so).

One, like voting in Chicago, pack early and often.  I am trying to pack two to three boxes a day so that we aren't scrambling to get everything done at the last minute.  This is especially important because J will be out of town taking the bar exam in the days before we move. 

Piles of boxes are becoming an increasingly common occurrence in our house

Two, be resourceful.  Ask your friends or your office mates for boxes.  Check Freecycle.  In our case, friends and coworkers had boxes to share and that they were happy to get rid off having just moved themselves.  I was also able to snag a few boxes that were on their way to the recycling center from work and a whole bunch of bubble wrap from four new office chairs we had delivered this week.  With any luck, we won't have to buy a single box!

My big bag of bubble wrap courtesy of some new office chairs at work!

Three, you can secure items in a box with more than just bubble wrap.  In packing so far I've used everything from newspaper (another free item thanks to a generous Walgreens employee) to bath towels to pages from old issues of The New Yorker (if you take out the staples out of the center fold, you have pretty decent size pieces of paper for wrapping things!).  This way we are able to save the good stuff (bubble wrap) for the really fragile stuff like my grandma's china and our crystal ware.

Apparently being a semi-hoarder has it benefits after all!

Four, labeling is tough.  I end up listing almost everything that is in the box in the *probably* vain hope that I'll know where things are once we get to South Bend.

I know silver sharpie can be hard to read but it is all I could find at the time!

Five, be prepared to make a few trips to Goodwill/Salvation Army.  So far we've donated around eight trash bags full of stuff (mostly clothes, an old comforter, a few books, picture frames and other odds and ends) and I know we will have more.  If I hadn't used it for at least a year or worse, at all since we moved here two years ago, into the donation pile it went.

Six, it's okay to take breaks.  There are some days I don't feel like packing at all and because we've started early (see number one), that's okay.  The plan is to pack when I feel like it and to try not to force it, at least until the final countdown has begun.

Seven, think outside the packing box.   This weekend as I sat trying to figure out how to best wrap and secure my grandmother's china, I remembered a Styrofoam cooler we had in the basement from one of our trips back from Peoria.  Seeing as there is no Trader Joe's in South Bend and we will be making semi-regular trips to Chicago to stock up on TJ supplies, I knew we needed to bring the cooler with us anyway.  Why not pack the cooler really tight with carefully wrapped china for extra protection that a plain cardboard box won't bring?!?

Eight, reward yourself with small things when you can.  Whether it's a glass of wine with dinner, a quick run for ice cream after dropping things off at Goodwill or allowing yourself to indulge in a gossip magazine one afternoon, you need to reward yourself or you will burn out long before the job is done. 

I do love me some Teen Mom :)

Nine, remember, it will all be over soon!  Enough said. 

Do you have any moving or packing tips to share?  Or how about what not-to-do's?   One of my biggest what not to do's involved not packing anything before my mom was set to arrive to help me move out freshman year.  Talk about a busy two days!

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli with Tomato Sauce 11 Jul 2011 11:04 AM (13 years ago)

With our big move less than three weeks away, we have begun the process of cleaning out our refrigerator and freezer.  This process is definitely going to force us to be more creative in the kitchen and will really kick our meal-planning into overdrive!

We started out with a bang with our dinner last night.  We had approximately 35 wonton wrappers left from our yummy Crab Rangoon last night and after seeing Stacy's post last week, I knew I wanted to use them to make ravioli.  But what kind?

We did not make it to the Farmer's Market on Saturday so I began by checking out the sales ads at our local grocery store.  Low and behold, they had button mushrooms on sale for a dollar a container! Mushroom ravioli it is.  After some googling around, I found another Giada recipe (seriously, that girl never lets me down) that called for mushrooms AND another ingredient we had in the freezer: frozen spinach.  I was sold.  Giada's recipe calls for egg roll wrappers but I knew I could easily substitute this for wonton wrappers.

The recipe took a little while to make but the flavors were absolutely worth it!  Who would have thought that wonton wrappers would taste like the freshest pasta imaginable once you boiled it for a few minutes?!

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli with Tomato Sauce, modified from Every Day Italian by Giada de Laurentiis

Ingredients:
For the ravioli
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons for boiling water (will keep the ravioli from sticking)
6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
(1) 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup Marscapone cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
12 wonton wrappers
2 large eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
1/2 cup mushroom (cremini, shittake)--we used Baby Bella mushrooms, finely diced
2 cups homemade tomato sauce (you can of course use store bought but homemade tastes better)
Salt and pepper for seasoning

For the tomato sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped--I used five baby carrots because we never seem to use up a bag of carrots before it goes bad but we don't have that problem with baby carrots!
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (28 ounce) cans of crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

Kitchen Supplies:
Large stockpot
Cutting board
Large skillet
Food processor 
Medium stockpot (for pasta)
Ramekin for egg wash
Pastry brush
Fork, for crimping edges 
Serving dish
Aluminum foil
Spider strainer

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and onions and saute until soft and translucent, about six minutes.  Add carrot and celery; season with salt and pepper.  Saute for another six to eight minutes until the vegetables are tender.  Add tomatoes and bay leaves and reduce heat to low, allowing to simmer uncovered for one hour.

While you wait, chop up the mushrooms and thaw and drain the spinach.  You can also get your egg wash and other supplies ready for the next step--mise en place is very helpful in this recipe since you have quite a bit of assembling and cooking to do.

You will also want to give yourself some time to bring a medium stockpot of salted water to boil.

When there is approximately 25 minutes of cook time remaining (you could do this earlier if you want but we watched an episode of Weeds in between steps), heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When the oil is almost smoking, add the sliced mushrooms and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about six minutes.  Add spinach and cook for an additional two minutes.


Remove from heat and pour contents into a food processor.  Pulse until you get a course texture.  Remove from base and carefully remove blade.  Stir in mascapone and Parmesan cheeses.  Giada recommends pouring contents into a bowl but because we already had quite a few dishes dirty, I mixed it in the food processor bowl without problems.

Line up 6 wonton wrappers (you will use two for each ravioli) and brush with a light coat of egg wash.  Place a heaping tablespoon of mixture on three of the six ravioli.  Place the other ravioli, egg wash side down (the wash helps the ravioli stick together and prevents them from coming apart in the boiling water) on top of the mixture.  Press the two wrappers together, starting in the middle and working your way to the edges.  I tried to create a seal around the mixture to again prevent them from falling apart and this seemed to work great!  Crimp edges with the edge of the fork or if you have one (we didn't) a fluted ravioli cutter.


Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the boiling water (avoiding sticky ravioli is the name of the game!) and then carefully place the ravioli in the water using a spider strainer or similar kitchen utensil.  You will only want to cook three or four ravioli at a time to prevent them from clumping or sticking to the bottom of the pan and ripping when you remove them.  Cook for three to four minutes; remove with spider strainer and place in a serving dish, covering with aluminum foil to keep warm.  Continue with the process until you use up all of the wonton wrappers and/or filling.  We double the recipe because we had more wontons than the recipe made but still ended up with extra filling! 

The ravioli did stick together once we took them out of the water and put them in the serving dish.  I would recommend you serve up each guest as the ravioli come out of the water and cover each dish with foil.  You will use more foil but the presentation will be much better.

Giada's recipe also calls for you to blend the tomato sauce once finished cooking.  Because I had chopped the vegetables finely and the chopped tomatoes were likewise fine, we skipped this step (can you tell we were trying to avoid extra cleanup?).

While the last batch of ravioli cooks, heat remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil in the large skillet (the one you cooked the mushrooms in will work great).  Add 1/2 cup of specialty mushrooms (Baby Bella, Shiitake, Cremini) and saute for three minutes.

Top each bowl with some of the tomato sauce and a tablespoon or so of the chopped mushrooms plus some Parmesan cheese for garnish.

Taken with J's new iPhone--it is sad that his phone takes better pictures than my camera.  Time for a new camera!

Serves: 4

This recipe makes six cups of tomato sauce.  You will use approximately two cups in the recipe.  The rest can be refrigerated or frozen to use later.  We are using it in our Eggplant-Sausage Roll-ups later this week!

Are you a fan of mise en place?  Have you ever made homemade ravioli?  Now that I know how easy it is, we will be making all kinds of ravioli and tortellini at home.  Is there anything a wonton wrapper can't make better?!?

Friday's Fancies: Lunch Date with Lauren 8 Jul 2011 6:45 AM (13 years ago)

Recipes: Jen's Crab Rangoon and Chocolate and Cheese Danishes 7 Jul 2011 5:52 AM (13 years ago)

With all of the traveling we've been doing lately, I haven't spent much time in the kitchen in the last week; however, I did try Jen of Peas and Crayons (aka Woods' future mother-in-law because he and Madison are dating) Crab Rangoon last night and even managed to take some pictures.

You can find the full recipe here but here's what our dinner preparation looked like last night:

J lining the muffin tins

We used crab (or Krab if you want to get technical) because we also made California rolls to accompany the rangoons.   The best part was that I was able to pack a few boxes up while I made dinner, first while the rice soaked and then while it simmered away on the stove.  Woods even got in on the action.


The picture's a little grainy because I had to take it quickly from my iPhone.  Woods is notorious for running away before I can snap a picture of him (case in point: he jumped out of the box as soon as he realized what I was doing).

As I got out the cream cheese last night, I realized I hadn't shared the recipe for the cheese and chocolate danishes we had on our date night last week.  The recipe is so easy and tasty I couldn't not post it here.  I halved Giada's original recipe and made a few substitutions so that I could use what I had on hand instead of buying more ingredients at the store.  The results really got my wheels turning as to what else I could stuff inside danishes--they were that easy and that good!


Chocolate and Cheese Danishes, modified from Giada at Home

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator for 4 hours or on the counter for 40 minutes
2 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt--we used whole milk vanilla yogurt from Trader Joe's but fat-free would also work
1/2 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten


Kitchen Supplies:
Cutting board
Sheet pan
Small bowl
Ramekin
Pastry Brush
Knife
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray sheet pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese, yogurt, flour, sugar and salt, mixing until smooth.  Fold in the chocolate chips and set aside.

Unfold the puff pastry and cut into fours.  Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the mixture into the center of each piece of pastry.  Fold one corner of the pastry diagonally over the mixture, leaving yourself a one inch border around the opposite edge.  Brush the egg wash over the folded part of the pastry.  Take the point of the triangle shape you made and fold it on top of the danish for an open-ended danish and a crisp look.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until golden and puffy.  Remove from oven and cool for five minutes before serving.

Serves: 4

We waited a bit longer than five minutes to eat them since we had dinner reservations before the concert.  However, they were just as good a few hours later with a glass of crisp white wine! 

Have you ever tried to make danishes?  What about sushi?  They both are definitely way easier than they look!

What a Week! 6 Jul 2011 11:18 AM (13 years ago)

I can't believe it's already Wednesday and that I haven't posted on here since our date night a week ago!  Time flew by this weekend which is evident by the number of things we did and people we saw over the weekend.  Here's a little breakdown of how I've spent the last week and what I've been doing since I obviously wasn't blogging!

Wednesday night
Dinner at Brasserie was amazing!  It definitely had an upscale French bistro vibe and lots of personal touches that had me drooling.  Everything from the little containers of loose salt and pepper on the tables to the typography on the menu was perfect.  I wish I could have taken photos of the decor and the meal to share with you but I was a little weary of whipping out my camera in front of all the fine patrons there.

I tried some French beer (tasted very similar to a Belgian Whit to me) and J had a German beer I had never heard of before.  We munched on some olives that had been cooked with hot oil, lemon peel and fennel seed while we waited for our main dishes to come.  I had never had hot olives before and the combination of flavors was amazing!  For the main course, J ordered the beef bourguignon which was melt in your mouth delicious.  It was served with silky smooth mashed potatoes.  In keeping with the French theme, I ordered the bouillabaisse which was incredible.  Full of shrimp (head on), pollack, clams, mussels and potatoes and a tangy-sweet broth, I ate all of it and even drank the broth, it was that good.

After that we headed to the park for some jazz and cheese and chocolate danishes.  The night started out pretty warm but we found a shady spot under a tree and our chilled white wine quickly cooled us down.  The weather cooled even more while we were there which made the evening even more enjoyable.  I definitely want to go back before we leave (weather and time permitting)!

Thursday
We left for Omaha after work and due to flooding in northwestern Missouri (Rockport) and southeastern Iowa (Hamburg) a trip that normally takes us 7 to 7 1/2 hours took us 8 1/2 due to a detour.  This time we planned ahead and I packed plenty of snacks (and dinner) for us to limit our number of stops and we even picked up a few audiobooks to listen to along the way.  The drive flew by, faster than any other visit thus far.  I wish I would have discovered the greatness that is audiobooks sooner!

Friday
J studied for the bar exam Friday morning while I finished reading Middlesex (review forthcoming) before we met some friends for lunch.  After lunch, I had several appointments to gather information about graduate school that took up most of the afternoon.  We then met up with Ashlee and JY before heading to my godparents' house for the Fourth of July concert and fireworks in Memorial Park that evening.  It was a hot night weather wise but we had a great time catching up with friends and family!

Saturday
My mother-in-law and I went to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning while J studied.  I was really impressed with the selection there and was happy to know we'd be able to get lots of farm-fresh produce in Omaha when we move back!  After a late brunch, we went to the driving range for a few hours before coming home and making mojitos with mint we had purchased at the Farmer's Market that morning.  Since it was such nice weather, we played ladder ball (or lawn golf depending on who you ask) for a few hours before we met up with JDP and a professor of ours from college for dinner.

Sunday
Sunday morning we watched the Men's Final at Wimbledon and parts of the Casey Anthony closing arguments before I met a friend from college for coffee.  The weather that day started out dark and rainy but had cleared up enough by the afternoon for us to drive out to the lake for some drinks and a swim.  We then headed to a friend's house who lives on a golf course (so cool!) for a cook out and fireworks.  The golf course puts on a show every year which was really great and from their deck we could see lots of fireworks going off all over Omaha.  Because of that, it was a fireworks show that lasted for over an hour!

Monday
We packed up the car and headed to St. Joseph, MO for our second cookout of the trip with J's dad, step mom and her family.  We visited with them for a few hours and even went for a dip in the pool before we headed to our next stop in Kansas City to visit with J's grandpa and his mom's family.  We played croquet and met some of their neighbors for a block party cook-out.   There was so much food, including award-winning pulled pork and barbequed chicken, that J and I left there very full and happy.  We didn't stay for fireworks since we still had a 4 hour drive ahead of us but we saw plenty along our drive home.  We arrived in St. Louis at 11:30 pm tired and full but happy!

Tuesday it was back to work for me and back to studying for J and back to packing for the both of us.  I can't believe we are moving in less than a month!

Do you listen to audiobooks?  If so, do you have any recommendations for me?! How was your Fourth of July?  Did you see any fireworks or attend any cookouts? 

P.S. I'd like to wish a very happy anniversary to my grandparents who today are celebrating fifty-four years of marriage!  Grandma and Papa, thank you for your love and example all these years.  I can only hope that J and I will have the sort of marriage and be the sort of partners, parents, friends and grandparents that you have been to all of us over the years.  I love you!

My grandparents and J and and me at our wedding last year

What I Ate (and Will Eat) Wednesday 29 Jun 2011 11:06 AM (13 years ago)

As I mentioned in this post (and this one), last night we made Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce.  It was so good and so easy I just had to share it with you.  Normally I think of pumpkin as a fall or winter vegetable but in this recipe it becomes more of a mole sauce (without the work!) which would taste great any time of year!

Warning: if you have a cat that is anything like Woods and loves chicken, be prepared for lots of meowing and leg rubbing while you shred the chicken.  I don't think Woods stopped talking for the entire 15 minutes it took me to shred the chicken even after I gave him a few pieces in the living room (where he gets all treats in a vain attempt to keep him from begging).  It was so funny; I really wish we would have gotten the whole thing on video!

Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce, taken from Martha Stewart's Kitchen Everyday Food cookbook

Ingredients:
1/2 roast chicken, skin removed and meat shredded
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno chile, quartered--remove ribs and sees for less heat if desired.  I removed them because I am not a big fan of super spicy things but with the amount of pumpkin in the sauce, you could leave some or all of the ribs and seeds in.  We missed the heat!
1 teaspoon chili powder
8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated sharp white Cheddar cheese

Kitchen Supplies:
Medium mixing bowl
Blender or food processor
Cutting board
2 quart baking dish
Sheet tray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken and scallions.  Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.

In a blender, puree the pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 1/2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth.  Hold the top down firmly with one hand as the blender will be quite full.  Pour 1 cup of the sauce in the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish (square or rectangle).


Lay the tortillas on a work surface; mound the chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly.  Roll up each tortilla in a tight log; place seam side down over the sauce in the baking dish.  My logs didn't stay together very well but the pumpkin sauce and cheese cover all sorts of things.


Pour the remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with the cheese.  Place the dish on a baking sheet; bake until the cheese is golden and the sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.  Ours took 30 minutes to get really bubbly and golden brown.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.


Serves: 4

According to the cookbook, this dish can be made up to 8 hours ahead of time.  Simply prepare as described above, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.  Be sure to add a few minutes to the cooking time to account for the chilled dish.

This recipe was everything a weeknight dinner should be (in my book at least): quick, simple, cheap and tasty.  We will definitely be making this again soon.  As is our tradition, we had leftovers of this yummy dinner for lunch today, hence the What I Ate part of the post.





Now for the What I Will Eat part.  In yesterday's post, I mentioned that meal plans should be flexible.  Tonight's dinner is a perfect example of that.  We were planning on making shrimp and egg-knot soup tonight but J emailed me earlier today that he wanted to do something fun tonight.  All of the ingredients for the soup were freezer and pantry items that could keep for another week so we quickly devised a plan: 

Dinner at this local-food restaurant (which came recommended courtesy of Slow Food St. Louis) followed by a free night of jazz music at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  We will have an appetizer and dinner at Brasserie before we feast on homemade chocolate and cheese danishes and wine at the Botanical Gardens.



Want to know the very best part?  This whole night will be free!  You see, we are having dinner on my parents thanks to a generous anniversary gift they sent our way that has been burning a hole in our pockets sitting in our account for a while now.   THANKS MOM AND DAD!  The concert is free.  We had a bottle of Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio in our fridge and ingredients for the danishes in the pantry and freezer.  So we might have to pay for parking in the Central West End but I think I can handle that.  I can't wait!

What have you eaten this Wednesday?  What will you eat for dinner?  In my family, we always talk about what we are going to eat for our next meal while we are eating our current one, which goes a long way in explaining my love of meal planning and talking about food.  Happy Wednesday everyone!

How To: Meal Plan 28 Jun 2011 5:21 AM (13 years ago)

Since I share our weekly menus almost every week here on the blog (lately I've been sharing them on the blog's Facebook page), I thought I'd give you a behind-the-scenes look at the process and my "system" that allows me to generate interesting and tasty meals for around 60-70 dollars a week.

Our meal plan begins at the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings.  Farmer's Markets are a great way to support community farmers and purchase pesticide-free produce without spending a lot of money!  We usually spend between $10-12 dollars a week for four to five fruits and vegetables that we will incorporate into our meals that week.  For example, this week our haul included asparagus, cucumber, green onions and green beans all for $8.  The week before that was green peas, zucchini and yellow squash, radishes and beets for around $13.  We could spend WAY more at the Farmer's Market every week (and usually I really want to!) but with one income to speak of at the moment, we try to keep our costs as low as possible.

Produce from a few weeks ago: dill, strawberries, kale and local bacon

Once I get home, I pull out my new favorite cookbook which was my first anniversary (paper) present from J: Williams-Sonoma's Cooking from the Farmers' Market.  The cookbook is filled with gorgeous, art-quality photos of all types of produce in addition to delicious recipes, tips for buying the ripest produce and how to store almost any produce you could buy at the market.  Then I grab a blank piece of paper and start researching.

I begin by writing down the produce I've purchased that week as well as notes about storing it and how long it will last before it goes bad.  This week my produce section reads something like this (all of this information can be found in the cookbook):

Asparagus--cut 1 inch off stalks and store upright in refrigerator using a container with shallow layer of water for up to four days.  Asparagus is best if eaten soon after harvest however.
Cucumber--wrap in paper towel and store in plastic bag in fridge for up to 5 days
Green onions--store in plastic bag in fridge for up two weeks
Green beans--wrap in paper towel and store in plastic bag (open to prevent mold) for up to 3 days

Next I write out each day of the week for the menu (usually it's Saturday-Thursday with dinner out or pizza on Friday nights) and next to each day I write when produce will go bad/be at its peak.  For this week, that meant eating the asparagus as soon as possible (Sunday night) and the green beans soon after that (Monday).  I hate throwing away spoiled food, especially from the Farmer's Market, and this helps me make sure we use everything before it starts to turn.

Once I start looking for recipes, I pull out at least five cookbooks, sometimes more, and pull up my Pinterest "Recipes to Make" board for inspiration.  I also take a mental (and sometimes physical) inventory of what we have in the pantry, fridge and freezer before I start looking for recipes.  This week my inventory of must-use items included a whole chicken for roasting, corn tortillas from our Carne Asada dinner last week, and some frozen shrimp.


Often times, one recipe leads me to another, as was the case with Sunday and Tuesday nights' recipes.  Last week over lunch, I saw a delicious recipe for Lemon-stuffed Roast Chicken on Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics.  I knew that would be how I would use up the whole chicken.  I also knew from experience there would be leftovers and thought chicken enchiladas might be a good way to use up the chicken and corn tortillas.  After comparing recipes in several cookbooks, I found a recipe that required minimal additional ingredients and looked tasty.  Enter Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce courtesy of Martha Stewart's Kitchen's Food Everyday Cookbook.  Once I find a recipe and add it to the menu, I use the other side of the paper (waste not, want not) for my shopping list.  I continue with my researching until all the days are filled, trying to reuse ingredients and leftovers in whatever way I can.  If I am going to make a substitution, for example using red onions and garlic instead of shallots or macaroni instead of cavatappi, I also note this next to the recipe along with the cookbook source and page number.  That way I'm not looking in indexes trying to find recipes when it comes time to cook!

This week the menu portion of our meal plan looks something like this:

I tend to write our menu in pencil so I can erase and move dinners around as necessary while I plan

It is a bit difficult to read the menu there, especially since I wrote it in pencil, so I have replicated the contents for you below for easier reading:

Saturday                                                                                    Sunday-asparagus
Beet Risotto                                                                               Lemon Roast Chicken (Ina)
                                                                                                   Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic-      
                                                                                                   Shallot Butter (Cooking Light pg.
                                                                                                   289)--use red onion to substitute shallot
                                                                                                   *save 1/2 chicken for Tuesday dinner*

Monday-green beans                                                                 Tuesday
Pasta with Peso, Potatoes & Green Beans--use macaroni       Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce
(p. 158 Food Everyday cookbook)                                            (Food Everyday p. 279)
                                                                                                   South American Garlic Rice
                                                                                                   (see recipe book)
Wednesday-soup
Shrimp and Egg-Knot soup (Soup Bible pg. 241)
Wontons

Once I've completed my shopping list, I head to the grocery store and Trader Joe's to buy groceries for the week.  Because J and I eat mostly leftovers and the occasional sandwich for lunch every day, I only need to buy ingredients for the recipes and a few staples like bread, yogurt and milk.  Here are our receipt totals for this week (including alcohol): $20.41 at Trader Joe's and $30.86 at Dierberg's (our local grocery store) plus the $8 I spent at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

When I return home, our meal plan is then put on the fridge so that J and I can both see at a glance what we are having for dinner that week.



We occasionally deviate from the meal plan (I've found that they have to be flexible or it just won't work long term) but usually we are pretty good about staying on track.   We also try to have at least one meatless meal a week to cut costs (and because it's tasty).  If we are having meat later in the week, I freeze it immediately and then thaw it the night before so that the food doesn't spoil by the time we go to eat it.  Some weeks I try to schedule our meat-free dinners on Wednesdays and Thursdays to avoid this step completely!

This system really works for us for the following reasons:

1. We waste way less food
2. We spend less money by avoiding nights where we would go out for dinner because we just don't feel like going to the grocery store and cooking
3. We save gas money by not stopping by the store several times a week
4. We really use all of our various cookbooks
5. We have fun in the kitchen and never have to utter the words " What are we going to make for dinner" that is, unless one of us forgets and has to consult the fridge!

In looking at this list, I realized that our system is pretty green friendly if you think about it.  Less food waste = less garbage that ends up in a landfill.  Less gas consumption = less pollution.  Less going out = more money to spend on organic and local foods.  A win-win if you ask me!

Do you meal-plan?  Or perhaps you have a system of your own regarding laundry, cleaning, home repair scheduling or something else I haven't thought of and listed here?  I am loving systems that make life easier and would love to hear your ideas!

A French Sunday Night Dinner 27 Jun 2011 11:42 AM (13 years ago)

Every Sunday night J and I try to make a special meal together for just the two of us where we sit down, talk and really savor our food together.

I've written about this before but growing up, we always had dinner as a family on Sunday nights.  As a doctor, my dad didn't always make it home in time for dinner during the week and for us kids, Friday and Saturday nights were filled with friends and sleepovers and later when we were teenagers, football games, movies and work.  Sunday night was a time we were all home and my dad would whip up another fabulous creation in the kitchen or on the grill.   I love that we are carrying on that tradition with our little family!

This Sunday we had a delicious and organic French-inspired meal that I would like to share with you all.



Way back in February, I bought two organic whole roasting chickens at Whole Foods during a sale (At $1.69 a pound, I wish I would have bought even more!).  We ate one that Friday and froze the other to use at a later date.  With the big move coming up in just over a month (yikes!), that date was last night.  Using an easy-peasy recipe I saw on Barefoot Contessa last week, we made delicious and tender roast chicken.



Ingredients:
1 four to five pound organic roasting chicken
1 large onion, sliced--we used red onion because that is what we had on hand
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 lemons, quartered
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 cups bread cubes cut to 3/4" thick or the equivalent of one baguette--if you are making this dish for two people, which we were, you will need half of a baguette or three cups of bread cubes


Kitchen Supplies:
Large oven-proof pan for roasting
Paper towels
Kitchen twine
Small saucepan for melting butter
Pastry brush
Large skillet for croutons
Paring knife
Carving knife and fork

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Take the giblets out of the chicken's cavity and wash inside and out.  Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers (mine had a few that came right out with a paring knife).  In the roasting pan, toss the onion with a little olive oil to coat then place the bird on top of the onions.  Sprinkle the inside cavity with salt and pepper and place the quartered lemons inside.  Pat the outside of the bird dry with paper towels (this will help get the skin nice and crispy), brush it with the melted butter and season with additional salt and pepper.  Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and cut little slits in the "armpits" of the bird before tucking the wing tips into them so that they do not brown.

Roast for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours until the juices run clear when you cut between the leg and the thigh.  My bird took about 1 hour 20 minutes this time!  Cover with foil and let rest at room temperature for fifteen minutes.

While the chicken rests, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high to high heat.  Add croutons and immediately turn down the heat to medium-low.  This will allow the bread cubes to become golden and crispy rather than soggy!  Saute the bread cubes, stirring frequently for 8 to 10 minutes.  When golden brown, toss with salt and pepper and place in the bottom of a serving platter.  Carve the chicken (J did the honors for us) and place over the bed of croutons before pouring the pan juices over the platter.

We only served half of the chicken--the other half will be turned into a spicy Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas tomorrow!

On Saturday, I got up early and headed to the Farmer's Market a bit earlier than I usually get there (I arrived at 8:30 and usually do not make it over until 9:30 or 10:00).  I was rewarded with thin and crisp asparagus (one of three bundles left!) which we roasted along with the chicken.  According to my new favorite cookbook and anniversary gift, Williams-Sonoma's Cooking from the Farmer's Market, trimmed asparagus can be stored in a shallow cup of water for up to three days but it is best when eaten shortly after purchase which we did after eating risotto with roasted beets the night before (look for more about the cookbook and the recipe in a future post!).  As good as the chicken was (and it was delicious!), I think the asparagus stole the show!

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic-Shallot Butter, adapted from The Best of Cooking Light Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallots--we used 3 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion and 1 clove of chopped garlic instead because it is what we had on hand
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme--we used 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme instead
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 bunch of local asparagus spears fresh from the Farmer's Market

Kitchen Supplies:
Small sauce pan or ramekin (if using microwave) to melt the butter
Mixing bowl
Whisk
Glass baking dish
Cooking Spray
Aluminum foil

Combine shallots, butter, vinegar, thyme, salt and rind; stirring well with a whisk.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Snap off tough ends of the asparagus.  Arrange asparagus in a single layer in a pan coated with cooking spray.  Cover with foil; bake at 450 degrees for 5 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.  Pour butter mixture over asparagus; toss gently to coat.  Serve immediately.

Serves: 4 or in our case, 2

We paired the dinner with a glass of red wine which only added to the French bistro vibe we had going on with the food.  The food was so delicious that we ate all of the asparagus and croutons and had to restrain ourselves from devouring the chicken (since we knew we needed half of it for dinner later this week.)  This chicken recipe will definitely become part of our repertoire!

What was your favorite meal this weekend?  Do you have a night set aside each week for a family dinner like we do?  Anything delicious planned for this week?  Do tell!

Visit: Hannibal MO; Part Three or Going Home 21 Jun 2011 12:03 PM (13 years ago)

I apologize it's taken me a few days to finish this series.  I took a break from blogging this weekend to start packing (eek!), finish reading a great book, stroll around the Farmer's Market, cook some great meals, wash and put away 9 loads of laundry and spend time with J and friends.  Anyway, here is the end of our anniversary trip (read part one and part two here) and a DIY project I completed with some mementos from our trip!

After listening to some great local music (including two very talented harmonica players), we headed back to Lulabelle's for a good night sleep.  We had seen (and heard) our mystery guest earlier that day but figured he would be long retired and in bed by the time we ourselves hit the sack.

Who is this mystery guest?  Well, you saw him in this photo earlier.

Meet Mr. Train.

Much to our chagrin, Mr. Train went by every hour or so throughout the night, whistling loudly as he came through, letting his presence be known to all.  The B & B did let us know on their website that there were train tracks nearby ("Most of our customers understand that trains are an integral part of the Mississippi River experience, since tracks run right along the river...However, after a glass of wine and a jacuzzi bath, most people don't mind.") and even left out some earplugs for our convenience but we figured with a few glasses of wine and a long day, we would sleep right through it.

Not really.  We tried sleeping without earplugs at first because they can be a bit uncomfortable but after an hour or two, we caved and put them in.  They did a better job of drowning out the horns but we still found ourselves waking up every few hours when the earplugs would slip out.  We gave up sleeping woke up for good around 5:30 and watched the sunrise over the river from our bed.  That part was really neat.  Not sleeping through the night, not so much.  We did have a good laugh about it though before heading to breakfast!

After a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and pancakes, we checked out of our room and headed to the Mark Twain Museum for a few hours before hitting the road. 

Us in front of Mark Twain's boyhood home

 The museum itself was a complex of building consisting of a visitor's center, art gallery, Mark Twain's childhood home, Tom Blankenship's home (Mark Twain's boyhood friend who inspired the character Huckleberry Finn), the general store and his father's law office. 


Because the museum is not owned by the State or Federal Parks system and therefore relies on private donations and admission fees to keep it up and running, some of the exhibits were more accessible than others (Becky Thatcher's house for example was completely closed for renovation) and others were in need of some repair and updating.  However, it was very interesting to learn about Mark Twain's early life and see some of the places that inspired the novels.   All weekend J and I both remarked that we needed to go back and reread The Adventures of Tom Sawyer again after everything we had read and seen!

We drove back that afternoon pretty tired but after a small lunch, a nap and dinner at a local restaurant we were finally feeling like ourselves again by Sunday night.  Our night with Mr. Train was definitely one for the memory books!

And speaking of memory books, last week I created a little keepsake from our anniversary trip that I wanted to share with you all.  I had picked up some little glass jars from Hobby Lobby last fall with the idea that I would fill each of them with mementos from each of the years we have dated (I've saved movie stubs, wristbands, corks, and so forth over the years).  Alas, many of the mementos are back in California as a result of my move out there after graduation so the jars sat empty in my basement for months until I came up with a new idea.  Why not fill each of them with items from vacations we take together instead? 

Here's what I filled our Hannibal glass jar with:


Now I can't wait for us to go on more vacations so that I can fill more of these cute little guys with stuff!  We are already planning to visit Mackinac Island and Toronto sometime next year (these destinations will be a lot closer to us once we move).  I only wish I would have thought of this sooner (like when we went on our honeymoon to San Francisco and Napa Valley last year)!

Do you save things like ticket stubs and wine corks?  Do you buy souvenirs when you go on trips?  If so, how do you display them? 

Visit: Hannibal MO; Part Two or Our Afternoon 15 Jun 2011 4:30 AM (13 years ago)

After visiting the lighthouse, we got into the car and drove the few miles to the outskirts of Hannibal to visit the Mark Twain Cave.  The cave is actually part of a cave complex with two cave systems, Mark Twain Cave and Cameron Cave.  The Mark Twain Cave was discovered in 1821 and Cameron Cave in 1925, making them the oldest and youngest show (or tour-guided) caves in Missouri respectively.  Visitors can tour one or both of the caves and we opted for the Mark Twain Cave tour because
a) it was shorter (55 minutes versus 1 hour 30 minutes which given the fact we arrived at 4:30 would make for a later night out for us early birds)
b) it was cheaper
c) there was no wait (we would have had to wait until the 5:00 tour for Cameron Cave).

During the tour, our tour guide shared with us a little history of the cave and later, parts of the story of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the time Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher got lost in the cave.  Mark Twain is said to have modeled the caves in his stories after the Mark Twain Cave that he would have explored himself as a child.

The original entrance, found in 1820 by a boy and his dog

This photo shows the ash years and years of flame powered lanterns have left on the stone.

One of the more narrower passageways in the cave

Prior to becoming a National Natural Monument,  people wrote or otherwise carved their names into the cave walls.

In the late 1800s a local resident was married here.  Since then there have been six marriages in the cave.

After our tour, we headed over to the wine tasting room on the property to try some local wines.  While on the way, we stopped to whitewash some fences for good ole Tom Sawyer.

For 3.95 a person, we each tried six wines and got to keep the glasses.  Pretty good deal, huh?  We tried their dry wines and were pleasantly surprised with their quality--sometimes with wines, local isn't always better (at least when it comes to sweet Missouri wines) :)  So much so that we bought a bottle home as a souvenir!

After we finished our tasting, we stopped by Lover's Leap on the way back to the hotel.  Many towns have spots like this where two star-crossed lovers (in this story two native Americans from warring tribes) took their lives rather than be separated.  It provided great views of downtown Hannibal and the river.

The legend

River view complete with riverboat

Once back in our room, we dressed for dinner and opened the bottle of champagne we had brought with us, a graduation gift to J from his former boss in Omaha who now lives in Napa Valley.   It was delicious!

In my research last week I had found a local restaurant I really wanted to try called LaBinnah Bistro.  I wrote down the address of the Bed and Breakfast whose owners managed the bistro and who hosted the information about the restaurant on their site.  It turned out that wasn't its actual location.  When I googled the bistro on my phone, we also found the address of an old mansion in Hannibal listed.  We drove up there only to find that the bistro had moved to a new location further down the hill.  We finally found the correct address (after three tries) and went inside for dinner!

The food did not disappoint.  The chef there tried to use as many fresh and local ingredients as possible in his dishes and it showed in the taste and quality of the food.

Our appetizer: Pesto topped with tomatoes, white onions and Parmesan cheese served over poppy seed baguette

My dinner: Shrimp Istanbul with golden raisins and a sweet and spicy sauce

J's dinner: African Peri-Peri (pork with a spicy African glaze)

After dinner we headed back to Java Jive (where we had gotten coffee earlier that day) for open mike night.  We listened to local musicians play for an hour or so before heading back to finish our champagne and sleep.  Little did we know we would have a frequent, uninvited visitor who would keep us awake most of the night!

To learn who this guest was, come back tomorrow for the third and final installment of our anniversary trip recap!

Visit: Hannibal MO; Part One or Our Arrival 14 Jun 2011 1:10 PM (13 years ago)

As I mentioned in this post, J and I enjoyed a little weekend getaway in Hannibal, MO to celebrate our first anniversary.  And boy was it fun!  I originally was going to share all of the details and all of the photos in one post but there are too many words and too many photos to share in just one post so I'll be splitting them up into three parts (arrival, afternoon and morning) and posting it all over the next several days!

We began the morning by filling up on delicious iced coffee from our good friend JDP at Cafe Rationale.  Afterwards, we headed back to the house so J could get a few hours of bar exam studying in before hitting the road.  I finished reading The Princess of Nowhere, a quick read I had checked out from the library days before (check back tomorrow for a review!), and got done the chores necessary for our trip: packing, putting out extra food and water for Woods, cleaning his litter box, cleaning out the fridge of anything that would go bad while we were gone and taking out the trash.  After a quick but delicious lunch, we hit the road.

Pictured: Smoked Gouda, turkey and cranberry apple chutney sandwich with Caesar salad

I drove on the way there so J could get a few more hours of studying in for the weekend which was fine with me because I had the Dixie Chicks' Taking the Long Way to sing along with!  We arrived in Hannibal just after two o'clock and promptly checked into our Bed and Breakfast.

We stayed at Lulabelle's Bed and Breakfast which was a bordello in the early 1900s run by a madam from Chicago in its former life.  According to the B & B's promotional materials, the building was one of few that was designed and built specifically for its purpose.

See that grey and yellow box peaking up over the hill there on the left.  That would be a train and a foreshadowing of things to come!

We stayed in the Purple Passion room (all of the rooms have very suggestive names to go with the theme) which was quaint and perfect for our needs.  In our room at least (I don't know about the others) visitors had taken to signing and dating bars of soap or wine corks and leaving them behind as a souvenir.  The bars of soap were literally all over the room and it was fun to read them and the occasions for which people had stayed there to celebrate (engagements, honeymoons, anniversaries).



After we checked in and got settled into our room (including having an ice bucket brought to the room for some champagne we brought along), we decided to explore Main street a little bit before heading to the Mark Twain Caves nearby.  We first stopped by Java Jive which billed itself as the first coffee shop west of the Mississippi (get it?) for some coffee.  We got a cappuccino (for J) and  an iced Chai latte (for me) to go and walked up and down Main street looking in the little shops and generally getting a feel for the area.

When we turned to head back to our room, we saw a white lighthouse at the far end of the street.  I had read about the Mark Twain Lighthouse online--like in Springfield with Lincoln, almost everything in the town had Mark Twain's name attached to it even if it was built after he lived/died.  Our favorites were the Mark Twain soda dispensers and the restaurant that promised Mark Twain Fried Chicken.  We decided a lighthouse in Missouri was worth seeing and wanted to get a closer look.  On our way up there, we came across this lovely bronze statue of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.



Halfway up the long flights of stairs was a lookout area that we learned used to be the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge.


Built as part of the New Deal in 1936 and demolished in 2001, the Mark Twain Bridge was a major go-between over the Mississippi River.  Now it is a great place to look out over the river and take in the sites.



Ironically, due to some large overgrown trees in the area, the views from the bridge were better than they were from the lighthouse itself.  The lighthouse's tower itself was padlocked shut, which might have something to do with the lackluster views.  There was also no explanation anywhere of why the lighthouse was built or even what year it was constructed.  Tourism fail!

Lots of green make for a somewhat obscured view of the river

On our way back down, we came upon a house nestled in the hillside there with two lovely orange tabby cats.  They were very sweet and could have been Woods' long lost siblings!

The one in the back looks especially like Woods!

After our little walk around town, we got in the car and headed to the Mark Twain Caves for some cave-exploring and wine tasting, which is where the tale from our weekend getaway will pick up tomorrow! 

In the meantime, have you ever played tourist in a nearby city?  Any summer trips on the horizon?  Where to?  I'd love to hear all about it!

Guest Post and Weekend Update 14 Jun 2011 7:39 AM (13 years ago)

We're back after a very relaxing and wonderful weekend away!  Okay we've been back since Sunday night but little things like sleep and work have gotten in the way of blog posting!  I am in the process of sorting through and uploading all the pictures from this weekend so I can share them with you all.  I hope to have them up later this afternoon. 

A snapshot of downtown Hannibal

In the meantime, head on over to Miss Alana's Miscellany where I've shared some tips we've learned over this past year.  I cannot believe it has already been that long!

Do you think I could still get by calling us newlyweds as we enter year 2?

Weekend Getaway and a Big Announcement 9 Jun 2011 10:43 AM (13 years ago)

This weekend marks our first wedding anniversary and to celebrate we are hitting the road!  We have been talking about taking a trip for a while now but we finally hammered out all the details this week which has created a fun, spontaneous air around the weekend.

The cool mustang we got to drive around in on our wedding day.  House pictured: site of our wedding reception

Leading up to it, we had a few criteria that needed to be met for our trip:

1. Cost: With J studying for the bar, only one income (mine) to speak of and some major changes on the horizon (more on that in a minute), it needed to be a relatively inexpensive trip.
2. Location: Must be within driving distance.  See number 1.  Plane tickets this time of year are notoriously expensive. 
3. Distance: Even though we are driving, with the high price of gas we knew the destination couldn't be too far away in order to keep costs low.
4. New: Must be a place neither of us have been to before.  We love exploring new cities together!
5. B & B's: We really wanted to stay at a Bed and Breakfast while we were there.  I love them and find them extremely romantic and much more personal than a standard hotel room!

With these criteria in mind, we narrowed it down to 3 finalists: Sainte Genevieve, Hermann (Missouri wine country), and Hannibal, MO.  Sainte Genevieve is having a French Heritage Festival this weekend, which may explain why all the B & B's in the area were booked on Saturday night (the night we were hoping to stay).  Hermann's B & B's were all more than we were looking to spend for a night (average was around 140 dollars a night) which, combined with wine tasting fees, would be pretty pricey for a two day trip.

Enter Hannibal.  Only two hours and four minutes away from St. Louis, we were able to find a charming B & B for only $90.00 a night! With lots to do including visiting Mark Twain Caves, Mark Twain's Boyhood Home and Museum, a cute downtown area and a few wineries nearby, I know we will have a great time and I can't wait to share all of our photos and experiences with you next week!

Okay so this is Disneyland's version of a steam boat, but you get the idea!  Image via weheartit

Oh, and about that big announcement? 

Image via weheartit

J was offered a great job for a year and we are very excited/a tiny bit nervous about this next stage in our lives!  I will of course take you all along for the ride as well as we start new jobs, explore a new city, make new friends, take in a football game or two, and decorate a new apartment.  There are great things on the horizon so stay tuned :)

What I'm Grilling Wednesday and RWW 8 Jun 2011 7:14 AM (13 years ago)

As I mentioned in this post, my dad bought us a grill for a belated house warming gift during graduation weekend.  J and I have used the grill several times since then and I'd like to share some of the recipes (and meals) we've had using the grill.

J getting the grill ready

First up was a meal we made last Thursday and it is perfect for the heatwave we've been having: Mint Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Tabbouleh Salad.  I got to cook with an ingredient I'd never worked with before (bulgur) and there is so much mint in the dish, it literally gave me the chills while I was preparing it.  How's that for free air conditioning?

Mint Marinated Grilled Shrimp with Tabbouleh Salad, as seen on Boy Meets Grill by Bobby Flay

Ingredients:
For the tabbouleh salad:
1/2 cup medium or coarsely cracked bulgur--I found it in the bulk bins at our local grocery store (Dierberg's)
1 1/2 cups boiling water
3/4 cup baby arugula leaves
2 large green onions, thinly sliced 
3 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves, plus fresh mint leaves for garnish
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice--if it is a juicy one, this is about half a lemon
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

For the grilled shrimp:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (the other half of your juicy lemon)
3 tablespoons fresh mint
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound of shrimp (20 to 24 size) shelled and deveined
Salt

Kitchen Supplies:
Wooden or metal skewers--if using wooden skewers (which we did) you will need to soak them for at least 12 hours (we soaked them for 24 hours) to prevent them from burning on the grill
Large glass bowl
Medium glass bowl
Small glass bowl
Plastic wrap
Blender or food processor
Grill or grill pan
Fine mesh strainer, for draining bulgur 



Place bulgur in a large bowl and pour boiling water over.  Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until bulgur is tender, about 90 minutes.


 Drain off any excess liquid and stir in the arugula, green onions and mint. 


Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, and oil and season with salt and pepper.  Pour the mixture over the bulgur and season with salt and pepper. 

Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, mint, canola oil and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.  Place shrimp in a bowl and pour marinade over, stirring to coat thoroughly.  Marinate for 10 minutes.  Heat grill to high heat (ours took about 15 minutes to warm up) and thread shrimp onto skewers.

Here's a tip I read in the latest Real Simple magazine that helped tremendously with the actual grilling of the shrimp.  Instead of sticking one skewer through the center of each shrimp, use two skewers to thread the sides of it.  This will produce a much flatter surface and plane for grilling and will prevent shrimp from sticking as much or falling through the grill plate.  Here is a picture of what I mean.


Season shrimp with salt and grill for 1 to 2 minutes a side or until slightly charred and just cooked through.

Serves: 4

Our grilling tray--2 beers, skewered shrimp on the bottom, two plates and some pineapple

As you can see from the photo, we also grilled some pineapple for a delicious side dish.  We like to season our pineapple with a little chili pepper at the end for some extra kick!

Our next grilling menu is what we had last night (and the leftovers of which I will be eating today, which is how WIAW ties in).  As I alluded to in this post, we were going to have chorizo brats and grilled avocado for dinner last night.  If you have a grill or a grill pan, you must try grilling avocados.  It is just too delicious and easy not too!


Grilled Avocado with Fresh Pico de Gallo sauce, modified from a recipe from our friend HHD

Ingredients:
For the avocados:
2 ripe avocados
Half of a lime, juiced
Drizzle of olive oil

For the Pico de Gallo:
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 of a yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
Half of a bunch of cilantro, stems removed
1 lime, juiced
Salt 
Pepper
Dash of red pepper flakes

Kitchen Supplies:
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Medium glass bowl
Food processor or blender

Place ingredients for the Pico de Gallo sauce in a food processor and blend until the sauce has the desired consistency--I like my Pico to be mostly smooth but not sauce-like, if that makes sense.  Set aside.

Heat grill to medium-medium high.  Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove pits.   Squeeze lime juice over each half before drizzling each with a little olive oil.  When you get to the grill, pour out excess lime-olive oil juices (so they don't splatter when you place them on the grill) and place flesh side down on the grill.  Let cook for about 5-6 minutes until char lines appear.  Remove and spoon a little of the Pico de Gallo into the hole of the avocado, topping with sour cream or Greek yogurt if desired.  Devour with a spoon.  No chips required!

I may or may not have taken a bite of this avocado before taking a picture.  Sorry!

Which brings us to the RWW (Remember When Wednesday) part of the post.  Grilling to me will always remind me of this old girl, our first dog Amber.

This photo is from the last Christmas we had Amber circa 2005

She was born in Missouri and we adopted her when we lived here for two years when I was in first and second grade.  We originally had adopted her sister, Mallory, from a rescue group at a local Petsmart or Petsco, so named because her mom was an Alaskan Malamute.  Sadly Mallory developed some sort of illness a few days after we brought her home and passed away.  Luckily Amber had yet to be adopted and we were able to bring her home with us.  Bringing her home may have involved a long hour drive into rural Missouri where she was living in a farmhouse bathroom, but that's a different story.

The reason I bring up Amber today is that she was an ever-present part of grilling in our house.  As soon as the lid on the grill went up, she was there laying in front of it the entire time we cooked out there just in case any scraps fell off.  If we had steaks or other meat that could be given to her safely with her food, we would always give her and our other dog Rojo a little extra treat in their bowls that night.  I think that might have been the real motivation behind laying by the grill--to remind us she was there and that she expected some treats!

She was so diligent about laying in front of the grill that once when my dad had the lid up (because he had spray painted it black to combat some fading and rust and it was drying) she sat there for days waiting for some food to come her way.  We finally figured out what she was doing out there in the grass and quickly closed the lid (and gave her some treats)!  When J and I grilled this week, we didn't have a dog at our side while we were cooking but we did have a vocal cat who lectured us about coming in and out of the apartment so much while we were cooking.  What is that saying, the more things change, the more things stay the same?

What are you eating this Wednesday?  Do you have a grill or grill pan?  If so, what is your favorite thing to grill?  We are always looking for new grilling ideas!

Menu Monday and Summer Sunday Night Dinner 6 Jun 2011 12:55 PM (13 years ago)

After a relaxing but warm weekend (temps stayed at 90 degrees or above all weekend), J and I wanted to make something tasty but cool to keep the heat in the kitchen to a minimum.  We also wanted to use some of the produce we had picked up at the Ferguson Farmer's Market this weekend.

This week's wares from the Farmer's Market

The result was the following menu:

• BLAT (Bacon-Lettuce-Avocado-Tomato) sandwiches with London bacon from The Farmer's Larder
• Massaged Kale with bunches of kale from the FM
• J's Deviled Eggs with Dill--with dill and eggs from the FM; so called because he hates mayonnaise and I modified the recipe to omit the offending ingredient!
• Dutch Apple Pie--we used apple pie filling I had made earlier and froze for less sweat in the kitchen, even though we did have to turn on the oven (375 degrees) for a while! 

The spread minus the kale

Yum!  Look at all those greens :)

The London bacon was thick, smokey and salty and cooked up much faster (and with much less grease) than you can find in the grocery store, not to mention that the meat was local and sustainable!  I splurged (at 2.99) on some good bread, sliced Italian bread from Trader Joe's, since we were using such high quality ingredients in the dish.   The result was delicious and perfect for a summer picnic or you know, dinner inside with the A/C on a Sunday night!


Massaged Kale, modified from Aarti Sequiera of Aarti Party

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon (believe it or not we still have lemons from my parents' tree that they brought with them to graduation!)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly black pepper
Kosher salt


Kitchen Supplies:
Large bowl
Small bowl for collecting lemon juice
Cutting board
Sharp knife
Juicer (although a fork would also work)
Whisk

In a large bowl, add the kale, half of the lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a little kosher salt.  Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile whisk together remaining lemon, honey and lots of black pepper.  Then stream in 1/4 cup of olive oil in small bowl or ramekin, whisking to combine.  Pour dressing over the kale, toss and serve.

We let the kale marinate in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes or so while we pulled the rest of dinner together, which worked great as well!  Aarti's original recipe calls for one mango (cubed) and a few handfuls of pepitas to finish it off which would also be a nice touch.

Serves: 4



J's Dill Deviled Eggs, modified from The Taste of Home

Ingredients:
6 hard cooked eggs 
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon grain mustard
1/3 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
Salt
Pepper
12 sprigs of fresh dill 
Paprika, for dusting


Kitchen Supplies:
Medium pot, for boiling eggs
Measuring spoons
Knife
Spoon
Small bowl

Place eggs in medium pot and then cover with water by approximately one inch.  Heat on high until the water starts to boil and then remove from heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.  Rinse under cold water and peel.

Cut eggs in half lengthwise and spoon out the yolks into a small bowl.  Mash them.  Add vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Greek yogurt and salt and pepper and mix until smooth.  Place a spoonful of the mixture in each egg and top each one with a sprig of dill.  Arrange on plate and sprinkle with paprika.

Serves: 4 (3 eggs each)

Speaking of food, here is what is on our menu for the rest of the week:

Monday:
Orecchiette Salad with Mint and Roast Beef
Kale Gratin--to use up the rest of our kale bunches from the FM; photos and recipe to follow!

Tuesday:
Chorizo Brats with Grilled Avocado, topped with pico de gallo--photos and recipe to follow!  We had this over the weekend poolside and it was out-of-this-world good.  I can't wait to make it again and share the recipe with you!

Wednesday:
White Clam Pizza--photos and recipe to follow!

Thursday:
Pea, Leek and Prosciutto Risotto--you know the drill.  Photos and recipe to follow!

Friday:
Anniversary Dinner, Part 1: Linguine with Mussels and Clams and Pink Champagne Cupcakes--To celebrate our first wedding anniversary (official date: June 12th) I am recreating part of a meal we had here while on our honeymoon in Napa Valley.  The pink champagne cupcakes (which we served as one of our wedding cake flavors) will take the place of our cake topper since we did not save it after the wedding last year! 

Saturday:
Coffee with JDP
Picnic lunch of salami, olives, french baguette and cheese
Anniversary Dinner, Part 2: Dinner at a restaurant in Ste. Genevieve for a little weekend getaway; location TBD

What's on your menu this week?  If you are married or in a long term relationship, how did you celebrate your first anniversary?  What did you get your significant other?  I have a few ideas but mum's the word since J reads the blog :) 

P.S. KT's Refinishing School is now on Facebook.  Like my page and be sure to let me know in the comments if your blog has a page so we can be friends!

WIAW and Remember When Wednesday (RWW) 1 Jun 2011 10:19 AM (13 years ago)

Today's WIAW post brought back a lot of memories from my childhood as well as reminded me that my Remember When Wednesdays (RWW) posts have gone somewhat by the wayside.  I've decided to combine the two today and share both what I'm eating today as well as what I'm reminiscing about!

As I mentioned in this post, last night J and I made walnut-lentil burgers.  This time I made them into smaller patties and served them in a pita pocket shell.  We also stuffed the pitas with some organic baby arugula that I bought for our grilled shrimp tabbouleh tomorrow.  If you ever make this recipe (and you really should!) I definitely recommend making smaller patties and serving them in a pita pocket.  Our mixture went a lot further this way (think dinner and two days worth of lunches for two people) than it did before and you feel full but not overly stuffed when you are finished.  Pair this with a simple salad (we did a quick pickling of cucumbers, grape tomatoes and yellow onions) or some hummus and raw veggies and you are all set!

Perfect summer meal!

Well that's what we had to dinner last night and WIAW is about what I ate today, so here are those details!  While J and I were cooking last night, we also made a big batch of my grandpa's gazpacho.  With the forecast in the 90s all week, it will be great to have a cold soup to go to when we just don't feel like turning on the stove or oven!  I made the soup last night even though according to our menu, we are having it tonight for dinner because I have a work event tonight and wanted to have something for J (and later me) to eat this evening.  However, the smells coming from our large stockpot this morning tempted me into eating a bowl with lunch along with a leftover walnut lentil burger.

Woods slept while J and I enjoyed lunch together

Yummy walnut-lentil burger

Which brings us to RWW.  Eating spoonful after spoonful of the tasty gazpacho triggered a food memory for me, one that goes back as far as I can remember.


You see, my grandpa makes gazpacho every summer while we are up at Feirin De in Michigan.  First he gets out all of the knives in the house (even the ones he won't use for the gazpacho) and sharpens them, grating away a year's worth of buildup and dullness.  Then he gets out all of the ingredients and methodically, one by one, adds them to a large metal pot.  He tastes the mixture as he goes, adding a little more lemon juice, Tabasco or horseradish as needed. Sometimes this is done outside on the picnic table by the pool in the shade of our big pine trees and other times it's done in the farmhouse kitchen in the main house.  No matter what, when he is done tinkering, it goes into the refrigerator where it sits and marinates for at least twelve, oftentimes twenty-four hours, before we eat it.

The pot is freezing cold to the touch when we pull it out the next day and ladle it into soup bowls topped with a few crunchy croutons, along some sort of sandwich (my favorite is braunschweiger--something I only ever eat in Michigan).  Some years we have friends and neighbors come over for lunch to share the meal with us, other years it's served after a round of golf.  No matter what, the taste is always delicious: cold, smooth, tangy and crunchy.  A bowl of gazpacho for me is summer and family on a spoon!

An old picture but a good one of my grandparents and parents golfing in Michigan

What are you eating this Wednesday afternoon?  Anything you are feeling particularly nostalgic about?  I'd love to hear all about it!

Menu Tuesday 31 May 2011 10:57 AM (13 years ago)

Menu Tuesday doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Menu Monday does but seeing as it was a holiday weekend and we took a much needed break via our visit to Omaha this weekend, I thought I'd share with you what is on our menu this week.

After a weekend full of visiting family and friends (and lots of food and drinks), we are in need of some fresh, minimally processed foods and lots of vegetables!

Me water skiing this weekend--first time out this season!

Tonight, Lentil-Walnut Burgers with Cilantro-Cucumber Sauce with a Tomato, Onion and Cucumber Salad-this time we are serving the burgers in pita pockets!

Wednesday, Grandpa's Gazpacho

Thursday, Mint Marinated Grilled Shrimp Tabbouleh Salad--pictures and recipe forthcoming!

What's on your menu this week?

P.S. Have you heard about the new food pyramid plate that will be released Thursday?  Over half of the plate will be covered with fruits and vegetables, a not so subtle reminder that we all need to eat more of them.  What do you think of the new food plate?  Do you usually fill your plate full of fruits and veggies? We usually do but there is always room for improvement :)  Happy Tuesday everyone!

Graduation Ceremony 25 May 2011 9:42 AM (13 years ago)

After celebrating late into the night on Thursday night, we woke up early to head to J's graduation.  My mom, dad and grandparents picked me up around 6:20 to head to campus, find parking and secure a spot for graduation itself.  Because my grandpa is in a wheelchair, we were able to park at the law school and take a golf cart over to the main ceremony which was on the other side of campus.

We got fairly good seats and we were even able to reserve some for J's mom Brenda, Jimmy and Jenny.  The main commencement ceremony was held in a large grassy quad just outside Brookings Hall, the oldest and possibly most iconic part of Washington University's campus.  New this year, the university lined the quad with flags from all of the students' home countries.  This provided some great entertainment as we all tried to associate the flags with their countries.

Image by Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

The best part was that our seats were very close to where J and the rest of the class were lining up to process into the ceremony.  J carried one of the three banners for the law school class and represented his class during the commencement ceremony by coming on stage and receiving his hood from the faculty rather than his classmates.  This made him easy to spot in the crowd and I got some great pictures.   When I walked over to where they were lining up, I called J's name and snapped a quick photo.  I felt full of pride and love when I saw J turn to his friend, smile and say "That's my wife."  Yes I am and there is no other title I would rather have!

The school banners via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

Commencement speaker Elie Wiesel via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

J on stage representing the law school class

Following the main commencement (which at 2.5 hours from start to finish ran a bit long for my taste), the law school had a separate ceremony where each graduate got to walk across the stage and receive their diploma.  Because J was a marshal in the commencement activities, we had reserved seats near the front.  However with all of the people trying to leave the quad at the same time, we barely arrived in time to watch them process in (my dad and grandpa actually missed the beginning because of the large crowds)!  The law school ceremony was much shorter and more exciting as we watched J and our friends graduate and receive their diplomas.

J after receiving his diploma

Stopping for my dad to take a picture

J and I posing with his diploma--written entirely in Latin!

The law school then arranged for a reception for all graduates in the law school building with three floors of food available (the food was the same for each floor) and lots of available classrooms for the graduates to celebrate with their family and friends.  This was a great way to talk to everyone before they went their separate ways with their families for the day!

The law school crew via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

After leaving the law school, everyone headed back to their hotel rooms for a nap and J, my dad and I headed home.  J and my dad don't really take naps so they volunteered to go to Cosco to buy steaks, potatoes, salad, bread, wine and beer for dinner that night.  They returned with a grill for us as a graduation/belated house warming gift and we could not be more excited to grill out all summer long.  We capped off the night with some great New York strip steaks and lots of love and laughter!

During the ceremony, we tried to brainstorm some ideas of things we needed to bring for future graduations.  I thought I would share them here so you can benefit from the lessons we've learned over the years--this is our third graduation in four years and we have two more on the horizon!

Here they are:

• Wear a fabulous hat--hats shouldn't just be reserved for royal weddings and the Kentucky Derby!
• Bring an umbrella, just in case
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring bottles of water
• Make sure you eat breakfast or bring a portable one
• Bring magazines or crossword puzzle to work on
• Seat cushions are a must.  You will be sitting for long periods of time in uncomfortable chairs--your backside will thank you :)
• Wear wedges or flats--getting stilettos stuck in grass over and over is no fun!
• Bring your camera and make sure your batteries are fully charged!

What would make your "must bring" list for graduation?  Like us, do you have some graduations in your future?  Let's hear it!

Graduation Open House: Recap 24 May 2011 5:23 AM (13 years ago)

I can't believe J's graduation weekend is already behind us!  It was such a fun and busy weekend full of family and friends and one that we won't soon forget.  Before we get into the details of Friday's graduation and the rest of our weekend events, I have photos and details from our graduation open house on Thursday.

My mom arrived at 1 pm on Wednesday and after a delicious sushi lunch here, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the dinner the next day.  Soon J's mom Brenda and her friend Jenny arrived, as did J's dad, step mom and sister Cheyenne.  We spent a few hours catching up and enjoying some cocktails before Brenda, Jenny, my mom, J and I walked to Dewey's for a late dinner.  Their specialty pizza that night was Taco pizza complete with hot sauce, shredded lettuce and crushed tortilla chips--needless to say, it was delicious!  We also used our sleeper sofa for the first time as all three girls (Brenda, Jenny, my mom) spent the night. 

The next morning J had a graduation training so we got up early and headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a few more things for the party in the form of chips, salsa, mini pitas, hummus, assorted veggies, and some pretty sunflowers for the table.  When we got home we put away the food and began prepping for the party that night.  Our schedule for the rest of the day would be hectic (lunch with everyone at Snarf's, pedicures, another graduation training for J, Academic Excellence reception) so we tried to get as much done as possible ahead of time.  This included cutting up/washing all veggies, cutting the rolls in half (for the BBQ sandwiches), cutting our lemon twists for the mixed drinks, and getting out all of our serving ware for the evening.

Showing off our pedicures--my foot is the one in the silver sandal

We also washed any dishes that were dusty or new and using post-its, labeled each of them with what dish we would be using them for.  This is a tip I learned from my mom and she learned from my aunties Les and Rita who are great party planners and it really makes a dinner party run smoothly!  No running around trying to find serving platters while your food burns or gets cold and it is very useful if you have guests who volunteer to help get food on the table!  Unfortunately, my camera battery died during this preparation so I don't have any pictures of this part of the planning process.  Bad blogger bad.  All this preparation was definitely necessary because while the open house was originally scheduled for 7:00 pm, most if not all of our guests arrived around 5:30 after the Academic Excellence reception ended early!

J and I at the Academic Excellence reception

To keep things simple, I bought mostly prepared ingredients (frozen toasted ravioli, Trader Joe's pizza dough and Gooey Butter Cake to name a few) and we let the crock pot help us cook the pork roast all day long so it was fall off the bone tender.  A few of the items listed in this post did not end up making our final menu like frozen custard and penne with vodka sauce because we had plenty of food without them and with only one oven trying to cook toasted ravioli, pizza and penne would have been too difficult.

The spread--minus pizza and BBQ sandwiches which were still cooking at the time this photo was taken!

I did make little cards describing the dishes we served with a little fun fact or explanation of why we chose the dish.  I created the cards on Microsoft Word and used J's school colors for the borders.  These added a bit of whimsy to the table and we all learned something that night, almost without even realizing it! 

Because this is a lengthy post with little party planning tips buried beneath lots of text, I thought I would summarize them for you using bullet points.  Plus, what would one of my recap posts be without bullet points?

• Wash all serving ware and lay them out wherever you will be serving the food--buffet, table, kitchen counters
• Label each piece of serving ware with post-its with the names of what will be served in each of them for easy set-up
• Prep vegetables and anything else that can be done in advance early in the day so you are not scrambling the hour or so before your guests arrive
• Be flexible--if all of the elements you have planned for your meal don't work out (for example there was no way we could bake all of the menu items at once with our small oven) don't be afraid to scratch one of them
• Don't be afraid of pre-made ingredients--they will save you time, in some cases money, and your sanity so that you are able to relax and enjoy your party!
• Say yes to help--if your mom or best friend wants to bring a dish or offers to help you with the dishes before they leave, let them!
• Buy fresh flowers, either cut or potted--fresh flowers can make a big impact for very little money (our sunflowers were only 3.99 at Trader Joe's).  If you use potted flowers, you can send them home with the guest of honor!
• Light candles, especially one or two in the bathroom, for ambiance
• HAVE FUN!

Do you agree with my list?  Any tips you would add?  What's your party planning secret?!  Spill it!

Graduation Open House: Menu and Updated To Do List 17 May 2011 11:40 AM (13 years ago)

Image via weheartit

As I mentioned in this post, we are having our family and friends over to celebrate J's graduation from law school this Thursday night.  With family beginning to arrive tomorrow afternoon, we are in full planning mode.  For example, I spent part of my lunch break today scrubbing out our microwave and refrigerator and left our stove plates soaking in the sink to also be scrubbed down later this afternoon, thereby allowing me to cross off a few more things off my to do list before guests arrive and before we go out to dinner to celebrate this lovely's birthday.

Clean out kitchen pantry
Clean out and wipe down the refrigerator
Clean microwave inside and out
Clean stove
Clean and pare down closets--two in the hallway and one in the office/guest room
Reupholster our dining room chairs with fabric I've had since January!
Reorganize bookshelves and dining room hutch
Clean all surfaces including baseboards: spot cleaning of apartment needed week of graduation
Wash slipcover on couch
Replace slipcover on couch
Clean out car
Plan menu
Set up bar
Shop for menu and bar--my dear friend Ashlee has said she will help with this!

As you can see, I've also decided on a menu and a theme for said menu, one I'd like to share with you here.  The theme is a taste of St. Louis, featuring foods (and drinks) that either originated here or that St. Louis made famous.  Here is what we will be serving:

Toasted Ravioli
St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Penne with Vodka Sauce, inspired by St. Louis' Italian neighborhood, The Hill
St. Louis Style Pizza--we will be leaving off provel cheese because I find it unappetizing!  For those of you who have been lucky enough never to try the stuff, it is a processed cheese made out of a combination of Swiss, Velveeta and provolone cheeses.
Gooey Butter Cake, a St. Louis classic
Frozen Custard from Whistle Stop in Ferguson, not solely a St. Louis frozen treat but it is popular here!
Anheuser Busch beverages, a St. Louis staple

I might not get everything (like upholstering the chairs and reorganizing our shelves) before my mom arrives tomorrow but considering everything we've had going on, I think we did pretty good!  And who knows, maybe my mom will want to tackle a reupholstering project with me tomorrow afternoon :)

What hometown favorite would you serve at a party like this?  If it were my hometown's menu, I'd make sure there was some In-n-Out and California rolls on it!

Books, Comments and the BBC 16 May 2011 10:44 AM (13 years ago)

I hope you all had a great weekend!  Ours was cold and rainy but fun.  I came across a Barnes and Noble gift card I didn't know I had (love it when that happens!) and bought a few new books thanks to a buy two, get one free sale and spent part of the weekend getting lost in Tudor England. 

This cat reminds me of my childhood pet Cricket!  Image via weheartit

When I wasn't reading or cooking up a storm, I was spending time with Ashlee, JY, Danielle and Kyle and celebrating Ashlee's graduation from her Master's program.  Let's just say all that regalia made me want to go to graduate school.  Badly.

Switching gears, I've recently changed the way I respond to comments on the blog and wanted to share my thoughts on the subject.  I love comments (who doesn't?!) and have been trying to figure out the best way to respond to them and communicate with you all.  I thought about using Disqus (these lovelies use it and they seem to work really well) and other options before deciding to reply to individual comments via email.  Many blogs I comment on reply to my comments this way and I love it when a response pops up in my inbox!  Will receiving fun, non-spam, non-work related emails ever get old?

For this to work, however, an email address must be associated with your Blogger account or else when I hit reply, the only email address listed is noreply@blogger.com which means my message isn't going anywhere which is sad!  Kristin at A Guide to Living Graciously has a great tutorial complete with screenshots on how to associate an email address with your account and it is something that only took me a few minutes to change!

It also has occurred to me that we completely skipped over April's BBC book!  April was a very busy month for me and while I did read the book, I never got around to hosting the discussion.  A few of you have been asking about this month's book but before we go any further, I thought I'd gauge interest in the BBC as a whole.   If you belong to the BBC, do you want to continue to join us for discussions?  Would having longer to read the books be helpful?  What type of books do you prefer: ones you can easily find at the library and check out for free or the latest best sellers? 

If you do not belong to the BBC, would you ever consider joining us?  What has held you back before now?  Is there something I can do to make being a part of the group easier?

I can't wait to hear what you all have to say and respond to your comments :)

P.S.  We received our wedding album this weekend and a complete reveal post with photos will be posted soon--I can't wait to share them with you!

Friday's Fancies: Drinks with Friends 13 May 2011 11:20 AM (13 years ago)

It's been a while (too long really!) since I've linked up with {av} for Friday's Fancies and as seeing as we have some exciting Friday night plans ahead of us, I thought I'd fix that, pronto!

Ashlee is finally back in the Lou for a week after a much-too-long absence and to celebrate, we are going to grab drinks at our usual Ferguson haunt (at least when we are with Ashlee and JY) Ferguson Brewery Company.  With them will be Ashlee's good friend Danielle and her fiance Kyle (in town to celebrate Ashlee's graduation from her Master's program--woop woop!) as well as friends Nick and Brian.  If money were no object, this is what I'd be wearing tonight while we laugh and talk the night away!

Drinks with Friends by ktrefinishingschool featuring michael kors handbags
Dorothy Perkins green jewelry
10 GBP - dorothyperkins.com
sddd 

When I designed this set, I began as I often do, with the blouse.  I was immediately attracted to the bright jade color and its wrap shape.  Soon after I selected some leather leggings to help the jade really pop!  Then I found some Dries Van Noen shoes that while floral print, reminded me of a large snake skin print which I thought would go great with the leather pants and snakeskin handbag by Michael Kors that I had picked out.  Finally I rounded the whole outfit out with some feathery earrings and a chunky and colorful cocktail ring.

What do you think?  Did I mix too many different animal species in the creation of my outfit?  

What are your plans tonight?!  Whatever they are, I hope you have a wonderful night and a fabulous weekend!