I’m going waterskiing wearing a tiara

Back in the day my Uncle Tom had an extensive record collection.   One of those albums was the Beauty and the Beat by The Go-Go’s. 

I thought my Uncle Tom was pretty cool.   And I wanted to be Belinda Carlisle.

Though it's from a later album this video will explain where I am off to.

For the next few days I’ll be sitting by a beach and a pool and a swim up bar.   I’m going away with the girls and there’s the promise of a pretty spectacular dinner on Saturday evening and the potential for a number of good stories.

I tried on a dress last night to pack with me.  A dress that I wore all summer long and L-O-V-E-D.

It fits – it zips up and everything but it is not the super comfy dress of last summer.   I want to wear it again and love it.  I want to wear a lot of stuff and love it.

It’s time to stop talking about it and just do it already.

I couldn’t motivate myself to get to the gym this morning but I made myself do the stairs.  3 sets – 8 flights – 160-ish calories.

Speaking of stairs – this morning I got locked in a stairwell. 

Yeah you heard me.  I walked into my office – used my security pass to get into the building – took my usual route down the escalators to the stairs that bring me right near my desk.  I went to use my badge to get out of the stairwell.

No dice.

I walked back upstairs and tried there.

Nope.

Luckily I had my phone with me. I called* Patti who did not answer her phone.  I tried to think of who else to call.  I’m now sweating and panicking a little bit.  I mean eventually someone’s going to use the stairs right?  It’s a short cut for people on our floor.  Or do I call security?   Do I just start banging on the door and screaming? 

I took a deep breath and I then remembered that the lovely ladies who answer our phones sit right near the very stairwell.

So.  I called them.   And they let me in.

The end. :)

The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes but seriously – does this kind of thing happen to anyone else?   I think I have a special knack for this kind of predicament.

Tonight I am going for a yummy dinner at the place where Miranda told Big he shouldn’t get married in the first SATC movie.   I’m excited!!!  I’ve been there for an event but never for dinner.

Review to follow.  It’s time for me to get back to writing about food instead of eating so much my dresses don’t fit.

Until then….have a lovely.

PS: Speaking of (and indirectly speaking of Mr Big) something Jen and I noticed. Do any of you watch The Good Wife? They never say they call someone. They say "I phoned..." Is this a Chicago thing? I mean I know us New Yorkers say "I was on line" when we mean "I was standing in line" but this sounds so odd to me. Please advise.

Glitter and Gingersnaps

Two great tastes….

OK.  Maybe not.

I made dinner for my boyfriend last night and he had seconds – then took a nap for about an hour and a half.

I guess it was good. :)

First YOU GUYS look at the shoes Jen gave me for Christmas.

 

I love them.

I also love jeggings.  My life is forever changed.  I hate the name jegging but they are awesome.  The ones from American Eagle look just like skinny jeans.

But this has nothing to do with dinner.

I made pot roast.  I know – kinda weird but it is so cold here and I wanted something wintery.  I would post the recipe but not gonna lie I basically used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Perfect Pot Roast – minus the rosemary (ew) and thyme (I didn’t have any).  I used bay leaves instead.  I also didn’t use red wine although I drank some with dinner. :)

I just used beef broth because of one major addition to my pot roast.

Ginger. Snaps.  

Basically you follow PW’s recipe up until the last half hour you have this sucker in the oven.  Then you add 20 or so cookies to the broth and stir.  It makes the most delicious gravy you ever tasted.

I pared down the recipe as I used a 2.5 ish lb roast so just about 2 cups of the broth in the end.

I served a spinach salad first with honey dijon balsamic dressing (and goat cheese on top)

I boiled two potatoes and mashed them with a big pat of butter and half and half.   With sweet organic peas.It’s not low fat but that was some delicious dinner.

You know.  If I do say so myself. :)

Almost all before – no after

My apartment smells out of control.

I can’t tell you what I’m making because Dave reads this and I told him dinner is a surprise but you will see tomorrow the deliciousness that is what I’m making right now.

I am definitely out of blogging practice my friends.

This weekend – I took pictures.  I took a lot of pictures.  But I always stopped taking pictures at the most pivotal point.  You’ll see what I mean in a bit.

Friday night Dave and I went to the opera.  Yeah.  That’s how we roll.

We went to the Met and saw Tosca.  

We went to dinner first at Vince and Eddie’s which I found completely charming.   I cannot wait to go back.

We split a salad – the picture came out blurry.  :(

I had the tilapia.

 

Dave had the Seafood Fra Diablo.

The next morning I made delicious breakfast sandwiches with the following ingredients.

Homemade bread. Cheddar that I got in my Hickory Farms box from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s BACON! And eggs. And a spread of this good stuff. What you will not see is the finished sandwich as I neglected to take a picture.

I also made potatoes.  I do have a picture of them.  Well.  The leftovers anyway.

Then we went out and walked a lot.

I mean….A LOT.

We walked to the Whitney Museum to see the Edward Hopper Exhibit.   You probably know this painting – which wasn’t actually part of the exhibit.  Here’s a link to one that we saw.

Half way there we stopped for lunch.

I had a Diet Coke. 

I also did not have a burger.  I had a baked potato with broccoli and cheese. 

I did not take a picture of that or of Dave’s salad.

After the museum we went to see The King’s Speech which was awesome.

Question:  Do you think Dave looks like Colin Firth?

 

Then we went for pizza.

This is all I have for you from dinner.

Then I took Dave to Rolf’s for a drink because the Christmas decorations are not to be believed.

No.

Really.

 

And that is just a minor sampling.

The next day I made French Toast for breakfast.   

That’s as good as it’s gonna get.

We met my mom and Jen for brunch at a place I’m going to go with the girls so I will save my thoughts on that for a later time.

And also because I didn’t take any pictures.

And that brings you up to speed.  We were all feeling a little blue because the best baby dog that ever was is no longer here but just like everything else this past year we’re taking a deep breath and going forward.

It’s the only thing you can really do.

Be back tomorrow with something scrumptious.

Sun and Snow

Man, it’s chillllllllly here.   The snow is not going to melt any time soon they say as the temperature is only just above freezing for the next few days

Gotta tell you - I’m in a bit of a funk.   I can’t explain why exactly (except the first holiday without my dad/losing my doggie thing).  I was so tired of living out of a suitcase I haven’t been to NJ since Monday.  I have barely left my apartment since then.

This is why I can not work from home exclusively.  I totally become a recluse.

I dragged myself out to the gym yesterday – watched Top Chef while incline walking.    It always makes me want to cook.  As a result I have bread dough rising in the kitchen.  

I really need to mop that floor.  It’s now not even an option to wait.

I am all over the place today – forgive me.

I still have the minimal Christmas decorations up and packing them away is on my agenda this morning.  I’m going to work a webcast from home (it starts in about 20 min) and then head to the office to the studio for the rest of the afternoon.   I think it’s time I change out of pajamas, sweats and/or gym clothes.

I’m meeting the girls for a drink this evening.  I’m hoping to walk to/from work and that’ll cover my exercise for the day.

I was Snacky McSnackerson all day yesterday.  I can’t explain exactly why (again other than the obvious) but I kept walking back and forth to my kitchen.

Living in a studio apartment is dangerous.  I can’t just go upstairs or into another room.  My kitchen is RIGHT THERE all the time.  

It’s a little bit of a problem.

I had some cheddar cheese, a hot pretzel, a handful or four of peanuts and ended with two TJ Mint Mini Mouthfuls for dessert.

Last night – after the gym I threw together a semi homemade feast. 

Not semi homemade like a Kwanzaa cake.

I mean – I have no words for that thing but I can tell you from personal experience that Sandra Lee is a perfectly lovely person who has had a tough road to Angel Food Cake/Apple Pie Filling stardom.  Jen and I met her at the NYC Wine and Food Festival 2 years ago and she could not have been more gracious.

Anyway this has nothing to do with my dinner last night which was TJ’s Asparagus Risotto + 4 shrimp + tomatoes, basil and garlic and a little parmesan cheese.

That’s the closest you’ll ever see me get to eating something that looks like oatmeal.   I’m on a rice kick lately.   I still have at least 1 possibly 2 servings of my Mexican Rice thing to take to work for lunch.  I ate it for lunch yesterday too.

I don’t have much else to say today as I said I feel really blah.    Hopefully getting out in the sunshine and amongst other people will improve my mood.

I’m really looking forward to the weekend.   My tentative schedule is as follows:

Friday – with Dave either in NYC or in NJ where we will go to karaoke and I can finally prove to him I can actually sing as he doesn’t quite believe me even though when we first met I invited him to hear me perform at Carnegie Hall.

Sheesh.  I mean do I need to perform in Madison Square Garden before he gets it?? :)

Saturday – Zumba, Museums and/or movies in the big city.

Sunday – Brunch with Mom, Jen and Dave.

And with that – I’m off.   Have a great day.

Mexican Rice (for lack of a better description) with Pace Picante Sauce. Also: sing it Gwyneth!

In an effort to make myself feel a bit better I ventured out to take in a movie last evening.  I was trying to decide what to see and settled on Country Strong.  It might not have been the best choice but I loved the music.

I have 2 songs by Gwyneth on my iTunes from the movie Duets.  A movie I never saw but I gotta admit – I really like the tone of her voice.  And I’m really digging this song.

I wasn’t cheered up by the movie but spending 2 hours with my new boyfriends Garrett and Tim wasn’t torture either.

I promised to show you my leftover creation the other day didn’t I?  Well – here it is.

I had leftover chicken and wanted something – well – just not Italian was my only thought.  I had planned on chili earlier in the week but changed my mind.

Mexican sounded good.

I put together a spice mix of cumin, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, a pinch of cinnamon and some fresh ground pepper.   I tossed some leftover chicken with the spice mix.

I grilled some orange bell pepper and onions and then added the chicken.

Plus 1 can of black beans and 1 bottle of Pace Picante Sauce that I remembered I had from the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.  I had planned to use a can of TJ’s Fire Roasted Tomatoes w/Green Chiles but this sounded like a better idea.

I also added a bag of TJ’s frozen brown rice, tossed it together and topped it with cheddar and light sour cream.

   I had a mug full of leftovers for lunch yesterday.In other news - I’m loving eggs lately for some reason.  The other day I made myself a little breakfast sandwich and today made myself a little casserole with an EM on the side.   

Today I’m going to get some sort of workout in and enjoy the snowy scenery.   Hope you’re staying warm where you are!