An Overdue Weekend Roundup.

Had me some girl time this past weekend. Long overdue. Was in dire need of some estrogen and people outside of work. I do enjoy my coworkers, but I feel as though I spend too much time with them (hello, 12 hours!). Need a break from the chaos.

We finally were able to set upon a date that amazingly didn't take too long to coordinate. Phew! Work, Family, and other social events have filled up our calendars throughout the summer months. Well, not mines, but everyone else's. I have no life. Heh.


Wanted to re-create the little tea shindig we had at a tea place and since a couple of the girls hadn't seen my new digs, it was held at my house. Fact: It was a blazing 100+ degree's outside. Call us insane for drinking hot tea. Problem solved by cranking up the AC.


I have to say that our little tea shindig went really well. A few of us are or starting to get into loose tea leaves, thanks to Bernbaby. We had an array of tea's to choose from. My favorite being a Black Tea with Lychee! Can I say yummm??? We also had Apricot, Bourbon with Vanilla, and Strawberry-Lemonade.



Our shindig also gave us the chance to meet each other's newest addition's. So stinkin' cute, no?

That night, the hubs and I watched The Hangover. We enjoyed it very much. So much, that I think my abdominal muscles were sore the next day from laughing so much and hard. Seriously, I was stretching the next two days. Ofcourse, we were excited to see Dr. Ken as always. Was a bit taken aback by his ahem, initial scene, but nevertheless, it was funny.

Sunday, we made a little trip to REI. Felt so "naturistic" and "outdoosey" the moment we pulled into the parking lot. Felt like I should have worn some teava's or keen's. Heh. Anyways, needed to stock up on some running gear and a little backpack for our little Maddie. We are taking a camping trip with some friends next month and I wanted to get her something for our hikes and such.

The pack comes in red or blue and being the die hard Cal fan he is, the hubs did not want to get our little girl Stanford red. Dam. Whatevs. Blue it was.

Man, when we put that pack on, she had this crazed look on her face. No lie! It's like she was saying, wtf? You want me to carry my shiz and YOUR shiz???? Seriously, look at her eyes. Crazy!!!!

I'm Beet.

The hubs and I have recently made a tradition of going to the Farmer's Market every Sunday and purchasing our vegetables, fruits, and breads. So far, we have been able to stick with this tradition for the past couple of Sundays and I love it.


I feel so Alice Waters when I am using the fresh ingredients bought at the Farmeris Market. Recently, I made the most delicious Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread. All of the items were bought at the Farmer's Market sans the bacon. Although, I can purchase some bacon there, but it's a bit pricey. It's like $5.99. No thanks. I can get it on sale for $1.99.

It's very exciting for me (at least) to get up early, make my cup of coffee to bring with me, and see what kind of vegetable I can bring home that I've never tried cooking with before. Something that I would only eat at restaurant, but wouldn't have the courage to buy fresh and make something of it.

Last Sunday, we brought home fresh beets. They are quite a site to see in person. They have ginormous green leaves attached to them. It's unfortunate, that we have to chop them up and not use it. At least, I think we can't use them. Can we?


I didn't quite know how to cook these. I honestly thought we could just peel them and viola, we have beets! Not. It's a good thing I looked it up online because that's exactly what I would have done.


Turns out, you have to boil them for about an hour, just until you can stick a fork into them. Once you can, you take them and their skin easily comes off of them. Easy, but messy.

I plan on making a huge salad with these. I can't wait!

Now, that we go to the Farmers Market every Sunday, it got me re-thinking about subscribing to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that I blogged about. I find it more exciting to see what produce I can purchase in person. Plus, I'm still supporting the local farmers and not to mention, I can get homemade bread and cheeses from other vendors.

Ain't No Thang But a Chicken Wing.

Huge News. BIG. Ginormous. OMG News.

Sorry, I can't help it. I'm just a person that hypes up stuff like this. I get a little bit too excited.

Background story.
We are huge Thomas Keller fans. We were blessed to eat at his French Laundry restaurants, not once, but twice. Back when the prices were a measly $100 and something? I think, it was. But still, it's relatively cheap compared to the over $200 a person it is now.

Stoked that he opened a casual dining restaurant called, Ad Hoc. The hubs and I have dined there several times so far. We even brought my dad there for his birthday. Unfortunately, my familia doesn't have a greater appreciation for food, especially fresh ingredients. They thought it was just okay to which I scoffed at. Whatevs. To each his own.

Getting to the good part. I swear.

Ad Hoc is highly known for their fried chicken dinners. They normally serve it every other Monday. Unfortunately, the one Monday that we dined there, it wasn't their Fried Chicken night. Slightly disappointed, yes, but we still have hopes of making it out there someday.

But, I may be able to try it sooner than I thought.

Williams Sonoma has partnered up with Thomas Keller and sells his fried chicken kit! Craaaaaaazy, I know. It retails for $14.95 which is way bigger steal of a price compared to his $49 3 course pre-fixe menu. But.... check it out.

there is brining involved, apparently. It takes about 8-12 hours. Perhaps, it's best that we just go to Ad Hoc instead.

Give me 2 seconds of bragging.....

Just received word that our wedding venue, Malibou Lake Mountain Club is going to be featured on TNT's new reality show, Wedding Day. We don't know exactly when the episode is suppose to air, but as soon as I know, believe me, I'll be putting that on blast for yah'll to see.


About the show: Every couple dreams of having the perfect wedding. For many, it’s the most important and emotional day of their lives. But for some, insurmountable obstacles create barriers to making their dream day a reality. WEDDING DAY is here to prove that a girl doesn’t have to be rich to have a wedding fit for a princess. In this uplifting series, deserving couples from all over the United States will get a helping hand to ensure the most important day of their lives is also the most magical. Each week, celebrity event planner and food expert Alan Dunn (For Better or Worse) and celebrity wedding planner Diann Valentine (author of Weddings Valentine Style) host as family, friends and community come together to create a dream wedding. Along the way, viewers will learn each couple’s compelling story, from their first date to the big day.

We Got Nothin' But Love For Yah, Honey.

For the past 6 days, the hubs and I have been sleeping downstairs in our living room. Why?

Here's Why.









The post op instructions are to have no strenuous activity for 7-10 days. We have two flights of stairs in our house and we don't want to risk it and have something go wrong with Maddie. So, we are enduring back aches for our little puppy dog so that she will recover well. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

Gawd, I miss my bed though. I can't wait until this is all over. Official spooning time with the bed takes place on June 20th.

On another note, for those of you that run, I've started a running blog, titled, A Modern Day Runner. I'm wanting to document my journey with running as well as bond with other runners. Plus, my Nike Half Marathon is creeping up close {4 months away} and I am starting to panic. I need to start hitting the pavement for longer than 6 mile runs now and get on a strict training schedule. Eeeek. The thought of that scares me, yet excites me at the same time because it's something new.

Bur, Bur, Bur. Bur is the Word.

Totally blog worthy. I think.

I got in the mail a super, duper, adorable, make you want to scream OUT LOUD iPhone case. Okay, so I'm probably overhyping this thing up, but I can't help it. It's just too cute.


She's even got back. Oh yeah. Sexy thing, isn't she?

The Details: Purchased this online here.
Retails for $8.99. A heckuva lot cheaper than those rubbermaid thing-a-ma-bobs at the Apple store. Yes?






Peeped that they other cuties, but resisted the temptation to rescue them all.

Is There Such a Thing as a Dog Snob?

I can count the number of dog brand dry food on one had within a span of 7 months Maddie has gone through. I know. I know. I know what you all are already doing and saying after reading that sentence. Shame on me for changing up my puppy's diet so many times. Yeah, I know. I've read the literature and heard it from other dog owners. But, when your dog just isn't eating, you gots to do what you gots to do.

We started with Puppy Chow because her mother and siblings started off with that. I wasn't a happy camper feeding her this junk as the nutrient content was insane, so I got to split it with a bag of Science Diet her vet gave us for free on her first visit. She loooooved Science Diet, while I didn't. It was too much money for our wallet.

Then the husband's friend who is a vet, highly recommend Royal Canine which really didn't do much to our wallets either. That shiz could buy me a pair of shoes at the Nine West outlet! No lie! Yeah, she loved that too. Go figure.

So, we went the middle man route and got her a bag of Iams. Yeah, no. She grudgingly ate this stuff. Sometimes, she wouldn't eat all day until we reminded her to eat. So, we added some Kibbles n' Bits stuff that I felt guilty about because really, you mightest well throw in a cheeseburger into her meal because that's pretty much what it is. Ofcourse, she gobbled it all up. So, with the suggestion of my coworkers, I added chicken broth at times, some brown rice, even some chicken just to get her to eat her dam Iams food.

Scurry over to today. We just got sick and tired of it and bought her Science Diet and we are back to having a happy dog. She eats it on the dime. Whenever. Wherever. Jeez, I think we have a dog food snob on our hands.

By the way, Maddie was spayed on Thursday and I was a nervous wreck at work the night before and all day while waiting for her to be done. I felt so guilty. She's recovering well, thank goodness. I have to admit, her first day was really hard. She would cry silently to herself while lying down and all I could was just lay with her and pet her to calm her down. Poor baby.