Happy New Year!

Welcome 2013! 

We decided to take it easy this New Year’s Eve.  After hosting two parties during Christmas, we were happy to hang out just the two of us. 

No designated driver needed.  No dog sitter or overnight bags to pack.  No cab to call.  No dinner reservations.  No uncomfy shoes!

While I headed to the gym for one extra 2012 workout, Michael headed to the grocery store to get a few treats for our evening.  As I laid on my gym mat doing my final stretches I received a text message…. something about a couple of 3 pound lobsters.  Um, 3 pounds?  Each?  Yowza.

That’s a lot of lobstah!  We ate the tails and then cracked up the rest to use in the morning. 

After dinner we embarked on a marathon of Downton Abbey Season One.  Yep, we are 89 years old and that’s how we roll.  What?  We had champagne and shenanigans.

I don’t know about you party animals, but it was just what I needed to ring in the New Year.  Comfy, cozy, perfect.

Well, all that and a delicious plate of lobster eggs benedict. Happy New Year!

Scenes from our Weekend

Friday: Impromptu belated anniversary dinner date night.  Live music.

Saturday:  Michael worked on his deck.  I walked dogs, picked flowers, and prepared Greek Pasta Salad.

And shopped for a flowy new top and found new sunglasses.

Celebrated our lovely friend Jessica’s birthday with deep fried turkey and Mars bars. 

Sunday:  Michael golfed.  I brunched.

And laid on the beach with my friend Charmaine.

Then we took the dogs to the park…where they found it too hot to walk themselves so M took them for a ‘drag’ through the grass.

Another harvest of romaine, red leaf and kale.

All finished up with a grilled burger topped with French brie.

How was your weekend?

Cherries to the Rescue

Wednesday = morning conference call day… AKA Venti Mocha Misto day!

Fastest breakfast I could muster while on my call.  Nanner with AB.

Super craving sammich!  Mixed salami.  I often forget how much I love salami.  Especially on a smooooshy cheese bun with lettuce, tomato, olive oil mayo, mustard and some light Laughing Cow.  Nom.

Nice.  Nothing like a mid-day face mask for the whole interwebz to see.

Drinking up day old coffee over ice is how I roll.

Afternoon snackeroo courtesy of my mailbox and the lovely folks at Kashi.

Date night.  Casual dinner for a hungry duo.  I wanted Michael to try my favourite soup at Ferris’s Grill…sadly they’ve made some minor changes (or maybe were having an off night) and everything just seemed a wee bit under par.

Big, cheap IPA.  Too hoppy for me.

Their usually perfect mixed fries were still tasty but we must have got the bottom of the basket because they were all teeny tiny.

My house salad with Creamy Lemon Feta was still yummy but just not the best I’ve ever had there.  Considering the beautiful tomatoes in stores right now these were pretty sad.  :(

Michael’s Oysters Rockefeller were not actually Rockefeller.  Even our server explained that they are not a true Rockefeller (in there defense it is described on the menu).  So our question is:  why call them Rockefeller if that’s not what they are?  Weird, no?

My beloved Chicken Penne Soup.  Slightly smaller portion (boooo!) and although it was still tasty there was just something different about it.  Thankfully Michael enjoyed it, but overall I was disappointed that I’d raved about it and our expectations weren’t met. 

Here’s hoping it was just a one-off and next time everything is perfect and scrumptious the way I know it to be.

We drowned our sorrows in a bigass bowl of cherries for a late dessert while movie watching. 

Cherries always save the day!  Someone should make them a cape.

Friday night…

…a boy made me dinner.  That’s all the dirt you are getting! ;)

The point being that since I’ve been living on my own for over six months it’s pretty rare that anyone else cooks for me so I was quite excited when the offer presented itself.  Especially since I was fairly certain his claims about being a good cook were likely true. ha.

My little point and shoot didn’t do the meal any justice but it was delicious (and I didn’t get laughed at for playing paparazzi!).

While our dinner baked we snacked on spanakopita and sipped Montepulciano…

Our main course revolved around this gorgeous piece of salmon he was gifted and had been dying to cook up.  He told me the marinade for documenting here but of course I don’t remember…um…mayo, salt & pepper, herbs, and stuff. :)  Whatever, it was good!

With salad and rice (which makes for a terrible picture…big white blob). 

And um, oh yeah!  Homemade apple pie!! 

Apparently the way to girl’s heart is through her stomach. ha.

здравствуйте

After a day of fresh air and a sweaty gym workout, Saturday night was spent curled up on the sofa clearing off the DVR and eating a few treaties from Bulk Barn.  :)

On my way home I stopped to check our mail and found what might just be the coolest blog giftie I’ve ever received!

Ex Yo-Yo Dieter Debbie lives in Russia and offered to bring me a Moscow Starbucks Collectors Mug when she ventured over to the US for a family visit recently…

 

How effing cool is that?!  Me lurves it!!  haha, I know it looks just like any other Starbies collector mug, but people…it’s from freaking Russia!  :)

She also threw in some Russian chocolate (from the “Red October” store) and a packet of S’mints, which she says are all the rage in Europe.

Unfortunately Halifax doesn’t rate large enough to have it’s own city mugs so I’m going to have a look around the West Coast for a city mug to send to Debbie in exchange.  That girl gets around, so I can actually send it to her in Newfoundland and she’ll get it the next time she visits.

Thanks Debbie!!

Yesterday morning was spent enjoying a coffee and croissant date with my girlies Angie and Lynn at Two if By Sea. 

Cafe au Lait…

 

See the bear?

And a chocolate croissant the size of my head…

These croissants will be dearly missed when I return to Victoria. :(

We sat there so long I ordered a regular coffee.  We girls sure can chat!  (and by we, I mean me…haha)

Afterwards I hit up the mall to pick out a few Summer basics.  I’m not entirely sure what happened to last year’s Summer wardrobe but I seem to only have one pair of presentable shorts and NO capri pants.  Weird.  I spent over an hour trying on about 16 items at H&M, and while a lot of it fit I just didn’t love any of it and walked out empty handed.  I hate trying to figure out what “my style” is at the beginning of new seasons.  Gah.  Oh well, try and try again right?

Now here is another picture of a lovely flower for you.  :)  This is the one blooming tulip in our front garden…

You get that in lieu of any photos of the FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC dinner Arron treated me to last night.  He suggested we should have a “last supper” and who am I to turn down a lovely meal? :)

He chose CUT Steakhouse…I’ve written about it before…a la carte steaks and sides.  Yummmmm!  The service was a little off last night but the meal was one of the best we’ve had there. 

I enjoyed one glass of an Australian Cab Arron picked out…can’t have a fabulous steak without a glass of red, but I was driving so no overindulging for me. 

As always, my steak of choice was the 6oz local petite filet…medium-rare.  It’s the only cut on their menu that is just my size!  We shared side dishes of their Caesar Salad (the big chunks of pork belly and parmesan are deeeeelish), Pomme de Terre (who doesn’t love potatoes wrapped in potatoes?), and their newest side dish…Mac & Cheeeeese! 

In an odd turn of events, Arron actually suggested we order dessert!  People, this rarely happens.  And he didn’t want to share his freakishly fudgey chocolate tort so I got to have my own dessert.  hehe.  Creme Brulee all the way!  Not sure how I fit that in, but it was sooooo worth it. 

Once home, we commented that this may have been our best date ever…even though it wasn’t technically a date.  :)

I will however be making a date with some cardio today to burn of 1/100th of that decadent meal.