curiously caught reading...

A morning with Bay Area's Bari Biscotti

As part of my May tasting box (yes, I know it's August. These are backlogged posts), I received two Bari Biscotti; lemon poppy seed and authentic almond. These were a perfect compliment one morning as we were preparing to sell our home. Yes, we have put our house on the market and moved. Pardon the lack of post these last several months. Story of my life! But I guess you now know why.

The timing couldn't have come at a better place in our lives and even though I had dreams of amping up my bungalow kitchen we have now made our contemporary modern house a home. No needed renovations here!

Foodzie monthly tasting box: May

Surprise! Here's what came in.

This month's tasting box brought in a fresh sample of goodies. I most especially enjoyed how the items were a great mix of spring and summer flavors, a good variety of sweet and savory. Stayed tuned for post reviews on each product, recipes and how we enjoyed this month's gift of flavor.



Dried Pineapple- Peeled Snacks, Brooklyn, NY
Alfajores- Dulce Caramel Co., Buffalo Grove, IL
Lemon Poppyseed and Almond Biscotti- Biscotti Bari, Petaluma, CA
Fresh Herb Seat Salts- Woody's Gourmet, Campbell, CA
Pure Southern Iced Tea- Pluff Iced Tea, Bluffton, SC
Seaweed Snack- SeaSnax, Los Angeles, CA


Check Foodzie.com if you'd like to subscribe to their monthly tasting box or purchase full sized items of those that you've seen here.

Look what's arrived! My monthly tasting box provided by the folks at Foodzie.com

Foodzie.com is an amazing website filled with crafted, hand-made food by small specialized companies. I first discovered them almost two years ago when they were first on my radar in San Francisco.



With rumors of "the rapture" looming, my monthly tasting box couldn't have come at a better time. I can't wait to share with all of you what was hand picked this month. Stay tuned!


www.foodzie.com


xoxo

A little thing called football- Super Bowl XLV

A little thing called football is not so little in the Donato home.
Tomorrow we'll be hosting our annual Super Bowl Bash and cheering on our favorites. Decorated with colors of black, yellow and green (you pick your poison), a tablescape of food and beverages (you pick your poison) and house filled with friendship and family- it's said to be another EPIC gathering.

I like to keep my menu on a theme but that went out the window when I selfishly forgot about my family and friends and their dietary brackets; low-fat, low cholesterol, vegans, vegetarians, meat lovers and just plain eaters. So I threw out the idea of riding out a Latin menu and just took a slew of different items like vegan 7 layer, salads and charcuterie, couscous w/olives and roasted tomatoes, grilled meats and veggies of all kinds, skewers of chorizo and shrimp, vegetarian chili, guinness chocolate cake (thank you Nigella Lawson!) and refreshing fruit to appease our palates. At least I'm steering clear of the doritos, twinkies and chicken wings??




xoxo

Welcome Back DineLA 2011

Happy eating!


xoxo

Eagle Rock Music Festival 2010

Another solid line up; $5 suggested donation, kid's 12 yrs and younger are free, free parking, and shuttle service! Add this on your list of to-do's this weekend (if you can stomach the hipsters).



Emerging Stage
4:00 So Many Wizards
5:00 Moses Campbell
6:00 Mia Doi Todd
7:00 Darker My Love
8:00 Blank Blue
9:00 Dunes
10:05 Announcements
10:15 The Soft Pack

Global Stage
Dublab "Future Roots" Stage
4:00 frosty
4:45 Lucky Dragons
5:30 Hashim B
6:15 Chicano Batman
7:00 Mahssa
7:45 Rainbow Arabia
8:30 Mochilla DJ Set featuring B+ and Coleman
9:15 Shinehead
10:00 Egyptian Lover & Arabian Prince

Blue Hen
Zocaloc/Razorcake Stage
4:00 Driven
5:00 Mut!ny
6:00 Handski
7:00 The Highbinders
8:00 La Bestia
9:00 Nervous Gender
10:00 Toys that Kill

Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
Experimental Stage
4:00 Santa Cecilia Orchestra
6:00 Tygerstrype
6:45 Asura and Ana Caravelle
7:30 LA Vampires
8:15 Speculator
9:00 Geneva Jacuzzi
9:45 Sun Araw
10:25 SASSAS soundShoppe

Kids' Stage
4:00 The Funky Slippers
5:00 Wacko
6:00 Ellen and Matt
7:00 Earthworm Ensemble
8:00 4SCoRE
9:00 The Dustbowl Revival
Special DJ sets from Nanny Cantaloupe (Dublab)

Colombo's
Outside
6:00 Joe Johnston Band
Inside
4:00 Vertigo Road
5:00 Tim Yalda
6:00 Remake/Remodel
7:00 Ann Likes Red
8:00 Erica Lake and Paul Jacques
9:00 Blue Soul

Low End Theory Stage
4:00 Jonwayne
4:30 Teebs
5:00 matthewdavid
5:30 Take
6:00 Dibiase
6:30 SAMIYAM
7:00 Free The Robots
7:30 Ras G
8:00 D-Styles
8:30 Daddy Kev
9:00 The Gaslamp Killer
9:30 DJ Nobody
10:00 Nosaj Thing
MC - Nocando

Rantz
7:00 Eagle Rock High School Latin Jazz Band
8:00 Ollin
9:00 La Santa Cecilia

Welcome Inn
7:00 Bonne Musique Zydeco

Women's 20th Century Club
5:00 Eric Ekstrand

Panang -- Kingsize/The Ship Stage

Kingsize
4:00 Seasons
5:00 Downtown/Union
6:00 Drunk on Crutches
7:00 Pay the Man (with Raymond Pettibon)
8:00 Hi Ho Silver Oh
9:00 The Submarines
10:00 Monstre

The Ship
4:30 Honeybreath
5:30 Manhattan Murder Mystery
6:30 Radars to the Sky
7:30 Wait.Think.Fast.
8:30 Frankel
9:30 Walking Sleep
10:30 Fidlar


all information here

Backyard BBQ: Who says summer's over?

Casa de Donato is hosting a backyard boogie bbq under a string of twinking lights. The guys are in the mood for grilling and machismo while the ladies nibble the charcuterie, chit-chat and sip wine. Good times to be had in T-minus 3 hours.

Stay tuned for a photo posting.


xoxo

June 16, 2010 UCLA Royce Hall: An evening with Anthony Bourdain

The man we've all grown to know and love through the evil world of television, Anthony Bourdain is, "All about unicorns and rainbows these days."

*Gasp*

He's a father to a 3 year old daughter and admits to the above statement that,"Being a dad does this to you." Don't I know it.

So what happened to the witty, sarcastic, untamed mother-effer we've watched from such shows as The Travel Channel's No Reservation? From what I gathered not much.

Husby and I attended a speaking engagement at UCLA's Royce Hall "supposedly" for his newest book Medium Raw. While I had hoped that he'd get into more detail about his new book and it's content (I'm nosey), the event turned out to be exactly as I had expected - An overview of all of his books combined into 1 1/2 hours of talk. Good, amusing talk at that. He goes on to share the obvious dislike of certain Food Network "celebs", the ambivalent bag that is Alice Waters, is still very much antagonistic toward the vegetarian/vegan movement, his stint on Top Chef, and asks the audience to really think about where your food comes from and to make a conscious effort in eating quality food i.e. ditching the fast food chains, "The Clown, the King, the Colonel."



Photo courtesy of DailyGluttony

He engages us on what is revered as a perfect meal and have to agree that it's not about the ridiculously overpriced, overhyped 20+ course tasting menu at the newest Michelin star receiving establishment but one with a story to tell. It's a meal where you let life's unexpectancies lead you to fully enjoy the food, the culture, your surroundings and those who you are with, allowing the universe to guide you as you let go and savor the moment.

It's undeniably so he has one of, if not, the greatest job in the world: worldly travel, working closely with his friends, and making some kick ass documented memories along the way.

We ended the evening with Q+A and would like to share those thoughts with you.

What he had for dinner last night:
In-N-Out burger. Can't say enough good things about it.

What does he think of the L.A. food scene and has he had much time learning about it?
Hasn't had enough time to dive into the LA food scene, envies our melting pot of cultures and inexpensive eateries (ie. soup dumplings).

Must see places per request of Mr. Bourdain himself:
San sebastian Spain (already on my to-go list), Bahia Brazil, Hanoi Vietnam.

As a NYer, Laker's or Celtics?
Lakers.


xoxo

How the World Eats

As I go through my weekly menu I'm cognizant of the kinds of food we're eating. For example, the amount of red meat and the frequency of having it during the week, the amount of salt, bad/good fat, the amount of vegetables in a meal, and overall the ratios of each food group of each meal. It's a lot to take in and think about but for the sake of the health of my family (and pocketbook) it's worth it. I'm having a lot of fun along the way.

These first two week's of weekly menu planning has come to remind me of an interesting article published in Time magazine, which featured gorgeous and personal photo's by Henry Mendel, of what families across the world eat each week and what their weekly expenditure bought them.

Not all families are equal nor are the total amounts the same but looking at the photos below I'm amazed at the kind of food purchased for each particular family. The main aspect that shines through in some pictures are the amount or lack of fresh produce. Additionally, I am boggled at all the processed food.
Interesting isn't it?

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07


Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week: $31.55

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week $341.98

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats


xoxo

Weekly menu planning: June 14th-21st

This week is much different than any other week. Come to think about it as previously mentioned this month is pulling us in all different directions. Funny how life has it's way with you right when you think you have a hand on it. *sigh*

Today we discovered a gas leak that was more of a plumbing issue. Go figure! We had to tap into our account thus making the menu planning that much more important for us to break even. *sigh*

With Father's day ending this week and another celebration, kick starting next, we continue onward with diligence.

Monday 6/14:
-Brekkie: Instant soup. I jazzed it up by adding veggie to sustain me through to lunch. Nugget had Joe's O's, yogurt and half a banana.

-Lunch: Turkey sandwich, dried fruit and nut mix, water

-Dinner: Shrimp with Mungo and spinach over steamed rice. One of my standby comforting dishes. Even during these warm summer months I can always for a bowl of this.

Tuesday 6/15:
-Brekkie: Pastry of the day (bought from work cafe), cup of coffee (brought from home)
Nugget enjoys: berry mixed applesauce, grilled cheese sandwich

-Lunch: Take out lunch special from neighborhood thai spot; Chicken yellow curry, steamed rice, salad with peanut sauce dressing, vegetable eggroll

-Dinner: BBQ ranchera chicken, pico de gallo. For dessert, a coke float.

Wednesday 6/16:
-Brekkie: Fruit bowl from merchant at the Santa Monica farmer's market. If we have time maybe some Sweet Rose Creamery on the way back.

-Lunch: Take out lunch at Krua Thai. I'll be picking up the husby in North Hollywood so I figured I pick up a tasty lunch while near.

-Dinner: Dinner in Westwood. We'll be attending the Anthony Bourdain event at UCLA's Royce Hall. I still haven't decided where we'll dine or if we'll dine before or after the show. I will however, have some pre-show cocktails =)

Thursday 6/17:
-Brekkie: Oatmeal with cinnamon and dried fruit, coffee with creamer

-Lunch: Homemade Gỏi cuốn with spicy peanut sauce, apple

-Dinner: Chicken Paillard w/creamy dijon sauce, black beans and rice

Friday 6/18:
-Brekkie: I'll probably get something at work and have a cup of coffee brought from home. Nugget: sliced apples, oatmeal, milk

-Lunch: Bought at work

-Dinner: Steak and potatoes. Filet mignon, buttered fingerling potatoes and zucchini

Saturday 6/19:
-Brekkie: Over-easy egg and pan fried spam, steamed rice, coffee

-Lunch: Spam musubi. Yay to left over spam, rice and handy dandy nori!

-Dinner: Spaghetti ala bolognese, vegan vanilla soy dream dreamwich

Sunday 6/20:
Happy Father's day!
We'll be traveling to Santa Barbara and will be dining out for all meals this day. Should be a great family day for us! Please stay posted.


xoxo

Monday menu: June 7th

We're weekly menu planning again. Today calls for:

Brekkie
-Raspberry danish (leftover)
-Cup of green tea

Snack- shared with my nugget
-Goldfish cheese crackers
-Raisins
-Water

Lunch
-Lavash wrap with cheddar pimento spread and layered with breaded chicken and romaine lettuce leaves
-Strawberries, blueberries and grapes (leftover from Sunday)

Dinner
-Chicken pad thai
-Choice of cupcake: carrot or chocolate ganache (leftover from Sunday)


xoxo

Weekly menu planning: June 7-13th

What the warm and balmy summer months ahead for the Donato's mean is a lot of commitments; birthdays, graduations, dinners, concerts and events, vacations, anniversaries, and family getaways. It also means it's going to get expensive. Not wanting to miss out on fun and memories, in order for us to attend as many of these as we can we're making another effort to eat at home and plan weekly menus.

Now I'm no stranger to menu planning but have to admit it's not an easy feat when you first begin and it may or may not work for you. There are so many components that make up a successful week. Menu planning is just that, planning, with a pinch of diligence.

The idea of menu planning for the week came suddenly (10 pm last night as we looked ahead at our calendar-followed by an, "oh shit!") and didn't leave much time to sort through recipes and work a creative menu. If you have more time than I did a great place to start is by browsing your weekly grocer's ads, paying close attention to the produce and protein pages. Let them guide you to creating a spectacular meal.

I also found that buying staple items in bulk really go a long way and while it will make a dent in your wallet that first week keep in mind that they will be used more than once and perhaps throughout next week's planning. A bag of rice goes a long way in the Donato home and since there are just three of us in the family I also make it a point not to overpurchase the amount of each item on my list. Unless of course it's say, a double pk of whole fryer chickens on sale, in which case I purchase. Use one for the week and use the other for the next. Ultimately you'll have to weight out what works best and what is financially smart for you and your family.

Before you make your way to the market look through your cupboards. Use what you have in stock to develop your recipes and ideas and make certain you aren't double purchasing items on your list. Work with those spices and sauces. Turn that plain grilled chicken to something exotic with a few dashes of cupboard spices. Add items to your list if you don't have them in stock.

Lists. Yes, lists. Lists keep me on track and keep me from buying items that I would have otherwise unconsciously thrown into my cart. Like that giant bag of cheese flavored chips that I had to get and after just a few bites have been left to stale over. Oops.

I try and keep my trips to the market to a minimum, no more than two maybe three times a week, and stick with what I have on my list. This helps with cutting down on costs of gas, added mileage to your vehicle and having spending your time on this task (which should have been taken care of earlier). Time is money and and to other more precious that that so use it wisely. I went to a couple of market's this morning to buy some ingredients for this week's menu. For the week I spend about $100 with a lot of the items going toward menu's for future weeks. By next week I'd like to keep my budget at $20 a week. Purchases made today went towards the adult menu and some of nugget's picky palate meals. Here's what we're working with this week:

Monday 6/7:
-Breakast: Raspberry danish (left over from Sunday), hot green tea.
Nugget had: sliced of toast, havarti cheese and cup of yogurt

-Snack (shared): Goldfish cheese crackers, raisins and water

-Lunch: Lavash wrap with pimento cheddar spread layered with breaded chicken
breast and romaine lettuce
Nugget had: breaded chicken strips with ketchup
Strawberries, blueberries and grapes (shared and left over from Sunday)

-Dinner: Chicken Pad Thai, choice of cupcakes; carrot or chocolate ganache
Assortment of fruit (left over from Sunday)

Tuesday 6/8:
-Breakfast: Oatmeal with maple syrup and cinnamon, assorted fruit, coffee

-Lunch: Lavash wrap with pimento cheddar spread layered with breaded chicken
breast and romaine lettuce.
Assortment of fruit

-Snack: Banana

-Dinner: Miso soy glazed salmon with sauteed pea sprouts and garlic, basmati rice
Choice of cupcakes; carrot or chocolate ganache
Nugget: Salmon and rice with steamed veggie, perhaps carrots I have
in the freezer

Wednesday 6/9:
-Breakfast: Miso soup with broccoli and carrot slaw I already had in stock, green tea
Nugget: Bowl of Joe's O's (Trader Joe's version of Cheerios),
sliced bananas

-Lunch: Turkey, tomato, havarti and romaine sandwich on TJ's shepard's bread, water

-Dinner: Shrimp, bacon and mushroom alfredo sauce over pasta

Thursday 6/10:
-Breakfast: Sliced toasted shepard's bread with scrambled egg, banana, green tea
Nugget: Toast with scramble egg, yogurt

-Lunch: Lavash wrap with pimento cheddar spread layered with turkey and
romaine lettuce, banana

-Dinner: fried chicken

Friday 6/11:
-Breakfast: Toast with cream cheese and jelly, coffee

-Lunch: Large salad

-Dinner: Bo luc lac, pickled onions, chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, ice cream (MIL brought over) for dessert

Saturday 6/12:
-Breakfast: Steel cut oats, cinnamon, maple syrup, Coffee

-Lunch: Left over's. I'll be working this weekend but my family will be attending a functions so lunch will be provided for them there. Lucky ducks.

-Dinner: Chicken satay skewers, homemade pickles and left over pickled onions.

Sunday 6/13:
-Breakfast: Donuts and coffee provided by the folks at our church. Nugget will likely have a bowl of cereal with a banana and yogurt.

Snack: Cheese cubes, crackers, fruit.

Lunch: Out for lunch

-Dinner: BBQ'd bulgogi, brown rice, roasted veggies, red wine.


Stayed tuned for what's in store next week and what challenges I'll face then.


xoxo

Oeuf en cocotte

Vegetarian oeuf en cocotte

Happy Monday!



xoxo

Sunday

This evening's Suns vs. Laker game came equipt with simple tacos that took less than 30 minutes to make from grill to plate. Take that Rachael Ray.







xoxo

SpottieOttieDopaliscious

I tried to think of witty words, informative tidbits for my write up to my picture of a red beet salad but when I thought of the word marinate the first thing that came to mind was Outkasts' SpottieOttieDopalicious and the last line of the song, "Go on and marinate on that for a minute."



Yep, that's all i got.
A dope song and a perfect marinating song for you and these beets. The horns are sick. Enjoy!





xoxo

The Biggest Loser Challenge

I'm referencing of course to the game show and its concept: Take a group of ordinary Joe's who have dealt with body weight issues, struggled with self-confidence and want total change, put them on a strenuous work-out schedule and strict diet over the course of several months and see who, at the end, comes through weighing the least amount and feeling good about it!
In between the course of the diet/recovery program, each participants' progress is recorded with weight-ins.

And since you can't have a pizza hanging over the treadmill as a motivator, they throw in a wad of cash. It's all about the green backs if you ask me and while you're at it, lose some weight too.

This part, unfortunately, does not reign true for me.
You see, my company has taken part in our very own 'Biggest Loser Challenge.' Not as intense as the TV show, is run at your own pace, with weight-in's every few weeks and, no moola as an incentive. And what's the point now?

I'm not taking this challenge as seriously, doing this mostly for fun and information. Our diet has changed compared to what and how we use to eat. We indulge here and there, fall off track, but for the most part we're doing much better than before. Here are some examples.

*Red meat is now eaten once maybe twice a week and considered a 'treat' for us. This is where I purchase lovely tender cuts of filet mignon's or go ravenous at a korean bbq joint for date night. Cowboy ribeyes are a thing of the past unless we split it.

*Fast food is limited and if we do go out, are thoughtful of our choice. We do however miss King Taco and Hooter's three mile-isle wings. Now I can just as simply create my own flavor packet controlling as much or as little of the sodium. A great plus for us! Grilling them, in my opinion, are sooo much better tasting.

*For the most part I've given up on soda's but occassionaly have a sprite. I don't do diet soda. It is not one of my weight loss tools. I absolutely hate anything "synthetic" and "artificial sugar."

*Fat, steaming bowls of calrose white rice have been replaced with brown and/or an occassional other grain. Sometimes we skip out starches entirely. Oatmeal has become our friend and congee, is loved by everyone not just the little one.

*Tofu and/or a vegetarian menu has replaced a meal during the week. Vegetable intake has increased thrice fold and the Husby is getting to know and enjoy more seafood. Yes, it has gone beyond wild caught salmon.

God only knows with old age comes a lower metabolism. Fortunately as Angeleno's we're spoiled with year round gorgeous weather which calls for the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Get active outside! We prefer this to working out in a gym.
It's work in progress and we're learning together to find a balance where we're not having a low-sodium, low-fat, no-sugar, false sugar, high protein, cabbage soup diet, etc. diet. God bless those who do!

We love what we eat and I have to say we've been feeling pretty damn good and looking pretty good. I've lost 10 lbs already.

Getting High.

It was a matter of time before all of our joyous outings and delicious adventures in food would catch up to us. At our yearly physical exam a full panel screen was administered and holy shit, are the results alarming!

Which is why I decided today for lunch I'd indulge in a high saturated, high triglyceride, high sodium, no-good-for-you but ooh-so-good tasting filipino meal.


Lumpia (shanghai) - a type of eggroll, fried, mainly filled with meat. In this case, ground pork and teeny tiny bit of aromatics.


Boneless Bangus (boneless milkfish) - split and fried.


Pickled mustard geens, tomatoes and onions - Probably one, the only one thing that was healthiest.


Dinardaraan / Dinuguan (depending on your dialect) - Savory filipino stew of blood and meat (typically stomach, intestines, ears, and snout) simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili, and vinegar. Yep, another pork dish with no vegetables.


Longaniza - Pork sausage similar to chorizo except this version is slightly sweeter. I threw it on the frying pan to crisp it up even more. I love them crunchy.

Do you see the reocurring theme here?



My cholesterol level is swiftly rising.


Controlled restraint. I love dindardaraan! Notice the portion control? I could have easily, easily had a huge bowl of it.

I already feel my levels rising but damn, was it finger lickin' good.

A week from tomorrow my work place is hosting a Biggest Loser competition with monies at stake with a buy in price of course. I could use to lose the last dozen post baby pounds and a piece of the pot wouldn't hurt either. Be on the look-out for a complete u-turn on my dining options and a real effort in eating healthier- for all of us. As for today's choice, no regrets. I loved every bit of it.


xoxo

Mobile uploads

I'd like to take the time to display my mobile uploads in concurrence with events and moments that have occured these last few months. Enjoy!


Nugget as a skeleton for Halloween


Our attempt at making a Jack Skellington Jack o' Latern


Here's husby unwrapping his gift, a new samsung LCD flat screen TV.


We had all you can eat ribs for Husby's birthday dinner. Yum! Robin's blueberry cornbread was to die for!


Getting crafty as I got ready making party items for nugget


Bloody Mary's Thanksgiving morning


Weak display of banchan during out dinner date


Nugget's smash cake


Holiday dessert buffet at work


Our yearly Xmas light outings


NYE 2009 dinner


The streets of Pasadena, day after the Rose Parade. Disgusting!


Here's a sample of the double chaise lounge that we're searching for

Change. Take it how you will.

With all time that passes we each have some sort of change occuring in our lives. Whether it be good or bad differs with what we put forth in our lives and what we choose to take in.

In reflection of the last month and few months prior to 2009 ending I've had a multitude of blessings and heartache occur. I'd like to the take the opportunity to use this forum as my platform to share with you the up's and down's.

My last post noted a new change in where we would be residing. We officially moved in October of 2009.

A picture of the living room during the first stages of rennovation.

We didn't purchase a credenza so to speak but we did get an inexpensive storage unit to house our enormous collection of DVDs and display our photos. We laid it on its side to utilize the length of space. It's the expedit storage unit in dark brown from Ikea reasonably priced at $70.

I'm holding off on a tripod lamp. I just havent found one that I love. However I am in the market for a double chaise lounge sofa (Double chaise, double lounge factor!) and a butlers tray table/or stylish cabinetry to hold our ever growing liquor stash.

I was also in the first stages of planning for nugget's 1st birthday party. Unfortunately we did not end up celebrating due to a sudden case of a stomach virus that left us staying in the hospital for 3 nights. A very scary and uncomfortable episode for all of us. I am happy to report that nugget is doing much better and walking around all on his own! We had his party a couple of weeks after his intial date and almost everyone was able to make it. Thank you for those who did and made it that much more special!

A week before he got sick I landed a job that I had my eye on for a few months. I have to say it's a dream job and unfortunately can't divulge too much information about it. Let's just say it's a complete blessing!

Our 2nd Christmas together as a family was just as special as the first one, one week after bringing home baby from the hospital. We purchased another fresh tree and this year he had an official stocking hanging from the chimney. We spend the day with family and couldn't have had a better time. Pictures to be posted soon.

Our 2009 ended with a delicious home cooked dinner. I got a little fancy this time around and had a full course meal complete with wine and desserts. I took the time to make this one extra special. Afterall, I wanted to end the year and begin a new one with good food, drink and amazing company.

Here's the menu:

First
Sea scallops benedict over enoki mushrooms served with country ham grits, a salad of frisee & side of pickled cucumbers

Second
Chinese 5 spice soup with bok choy & sweet potato

Third
Nobu's miso marinated black cod with flash steamed baby zucchini

Fourth
Grilled fillet mignon with freshly made bearnaise sauce topped with pan fried onions & yam mash

Final
Several choices of dessert wines, dark chocolates and macarons

As noted in previous entries I'm a bit of a party hostess whore. I'm glad I could do this for my family. I'm looking forward to more dinner parties and events to host and hold. Next up, Super Bowl! Who's in? But first brain storming a menu.

These first few weeks of this new year is exciting and our outlook is promising. We have several trips lined up; Various aquariums, LV, SD, and Maui. We're trying to squeeze in a NYC trip but we're playing that by ear.

Hope all of your resolutions are stead fast and your new year is going just as smoothly. Good luck with all of your endeavors and best of the best for you and yours!

Thanks for your readership!


xoxo