Save The Cupcakes

I know I've mentioned my friend Stef's blog about cupcakes before, but she hit a home run this week with some fabulous sounding eggnog latte cupcakes. Anybody got a holiday party to attend? I am thinking of bringing them to a housewarming party on Saturday - they sounded so yummy I want to try them. She also has a brownie recipe she swears is more "cakey" than "fudgey" - and I love my brownies on the cakey side. Hmmm...wonder if I'll have time to make both?

She's also running a "Save the Cupcake" t-shirt contest. Apparently, cupcakes have come under siege in Huntington, NY - which to add insult to injury, is Stef's hometown. So go check out her blog and read about how to save the cupcakes. (And she has some awesome recipes as well as links to other fabulous sites.)

Almost Done...

Actually, we've finished painting the room, and most of the cleanup is done. What we haven't yet accomplished is moving all the computer stuff to the new room, and setting up the guest room again. Anyone want to come visit to kick us into gear?

The color is very intense, but we both love it. It's like walking into a sunrise.

Dan also managed to cut a hole in the side of the house and install a new door to the "basement" area. We'd like to level it out some, which will require lots of shoveling, but it will be nice to have a storage area. We're even going to store some excess root vegetable (potatoes, carrots and onions) we bought on the cheap at Costco.

We hit Costco after Turkey Day, and the deals were great. We bought a nice fresh turkey for $0.49 per pound! We cut it apart and threw the big pieces (legs, thighs, wings and most of the breast) on the smoker and ended up with the best tasting turkey I've ever had. The rest (including about 1/3 of the breast) was ground raw into "hamburger" for future use. I then boiled all the bones and made some great turkey stock for soup.

More on Dan's first experience with Black Friday later!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone is spending Thanksgiving in the way that they most enjoy.

Dan and I got up and started cooking some side dishes to bring to his friend Mike's house. Mike is hosting about a dozen people. He's providing a fried turkey, and asked everyone else to bring sides. So we (being consummate foodies) are bringing avocado triangles (an avocado mixture stuffed into a wanton wrapper), squash triangles, mint/basil dipping sauce, homemade fresh cranberry salad, rolls and a pumpkin-cranberry trifle that our neighbor said looked like something out of Martha Stewart Living. :)

We walked up to Walgreens with the dogs to grab a paper with ads for tomorrow's shopping...Dan and Kai have agreed to experience their first every Black Friday :)

All our love!

It Begins Again

I know I said no home improvement projects until after the 1st of the year, but, well it IS Dan and me, so you had to know that wasn't going to hold :)

Our pink room is no more. Almost. It's actually still pink in places but it's mostly white. We've put 1 1/2 gallons of white (2 full coats) and still have pink showing through. It's doesn't look that obnoxiously bright, but it's proving very difficult to cover.

Tonight will be the last coat of white. Tomorrow we'll begin painting the color on the walls. The room will be mostly daffodil, with the jut-out (just visable on the right) a spicy orange.

Merry (Early) Christmas To Me

Dan gave me my Christmas gift last night - a 3 year membership to 24 Hour Fitness and 11 sessions with a personal trainer! I love it! He also joined, but opted not to take the sessions with the trainer. I can't wait to get started! I've already called the guy to set up an appointment, but am waiting on a call back.

We also met Kai and friends for tea, a quick couple games of poker, and dinner at Fuji Sushi in celebration of Kai's birthday. Dan and I gave her a different gift, but I think she liked it. She had been talking about hanging pictures, curtain rods and putting together some furniture - and how much easier it would be if she bought a drill - so Dan and I bought her a cordless drill. :) It came complete with a case and set of starter bits. Odd gift, but I know from personal experience a very handy one.

Beautiful Sunrise

Dan woke me up at 7:00 this morning to show me the most gorgeous sunrise I have ever seen. Outside the bedroom window was a sky streaked with red, gold and orange. Centered in the middle of it all was the magnificent Mt. Rainier.

Any grumbling I had about being woken up early vanished the minute I saw that beautiful view. It didn't last long, but wow.

Blustery Sort of Day

It is crazy windy here today. I'm sitting at our dining room table and the lawn chairs on our deck just blew by and down the steps. The rain is falling almost horizontal because of the intense wind. According to the paper the gusts are up to 92mph in some areas of western Washington. Around here (Puget Sound) they are 40-50mph. If the winds reach a sustained 50mph they close down the floating bridges because they are unsafe to drive on. That will be a traffic nightmare - highway 52o and Interstate 90 both have floating bridges. A nice day to be inside, and glad to be working from home :)

A nice bright spot is Dan is home! He was at a wedding in Dallas (that I was not invited to) all weekend. I heard all about it through drunken phone calls that lasted up until around midnight Pacific time. Goofball friends of mine - although I did get a kick out of the calls. Half the time I wasn't even sure who I was talking to, then just as I'd figure it out the phone would get passed again.

It sounded like a good time was had by all, although I wish desperately that I had been there. I would loved to have seen everyone again. Missing my great group of friends has been the hardest part of leaving St. Louis.

Happy Birthday Dan

Today is Dan's 32nd birthday! We went out last night to a bar to celebrate with some of Dan's friends (who I really like as well). I poured him into bed pretty late, and coffee was required to get him up and moving this morning. :)

His gift from me was an attachment for our KitchenAid mixer to make homemade pasta. I can't wait for us to try it out.

We're headed to Pike Place Market and the mall to do a bit of shopping.

Yelping For Fun!

Dan is an Elite Yelp! member, and last night we reaped the benefits of his celebrity status. :) He had received an invitation to the New Year Oyster Celebration at Elliott's Oyster House down on the waterfront. It was fabulous!

The restaurant had waitstaff serving hot appetizers and red and white wine. There was an ice bar filled with all the raw oysters you could eat, and a bartender serving mixed drinks. A DJ was playing music (not nearly as good as DJ Mano) and it was a general party/good time atmosphere. The oysters were fabulous, and we met several nice people and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I even bought a book about how to become an oyster connoisseur. Since I already love them, I'm hoping to learn about the subtle flavor variations and how to successfully pick really tasty oysters every time.

Go Yelp!