queen of sheba

i promise this isn't turning into a baking blog, but lately we have had a lot of fun, foodie occasions that have offered the opportunity to try some new recipes and of course play around with the new camera.

this weekend we celebrated our friend sonja's birth. she and her husband are also fellow blog/food/photography lovers and hosted a "julia child" dinner party for the occasion.

each guest was to bring a french course to share, and the food, wine and company was fantastic! to be honest, it was just what i have been needing lately - some quality time with quality people (and fancy pants food never hurts the cause!) it really made me covet what the europeans have going on over there...days and nights full of a slower paced life, enjoying the company of loved ones and food cooked with care. and i think things like this need to happen more often. perhaps we can host once we get some more dining room chairs (ahem, this is where's the husband's coworkers should remind him of this!)

appetizers began at 7pm and i'm pretty sure we wrapped up with eclairs at almost 11. i feel like we really had time to savor the great conversation with new friends. make sure to check back to sonja and alex's blog link above for their post (hint, hint to them!) for a more complete documentation of the evening! 

behold below, the "reine de saba avec glaçage au chocolat", or translated to the "queen of sheba cake with chocolate glaze"...not sure why the french didn't mention the almonds used in the recipe, but that too.

hello, cupcake

as promised, irish car bomb cupcakes i made for the husband's birthday - chocolate guiness cupcake with an irish cream frosting and ganache - and yes, they were as awesome as they sound!!

dishes

my husband put this cup away last night and actually considered it clean! no, really.

i'll admit...i have been spoiled because he has been the one doing the dishes since we got married. i thought "wow, lucky me, i snagged a good one!" because he really doesn't mind doing it (in fact, he is the kind of person that can't stand them sitting in the sink). however, i am now second guessing my faith in his abilities.

last night, i noticed that what he used to pass off as "hard water stains" is now just plan food remnants. i hand-washed (really scrubbed) half our dishes last night. and they needed it.

the debate is now whether the jumbo, mega-deal dish soap he picked out at sam's club is the problem or if we flat out need a new dishwasher...

edits

so after a recommendation from one of my loyal followers (and fellow photo lover!) i tried to make a few [quick] edits to the layout of the site to allow for a new design and larger photos. between my attempt to multi-task and lack of attention, i ended up switching to a template (with spanish links if you didnt notice) and messing up a few links, etc. with no successful outcome.

so hopefully now things should be back to normal and perhaps this weekend i will work on some more "friendly" changes - along with adding a post about me latest baking adventure - irish car bomb cupcakes!

this child is crazy

and so is her hair. believe it or not, she actually tried to brush it before we took her photo...

so my grandma had her picture taken as a baby in this dress. my mom then had my sister's picture taken in this dress to keep the tradition alive. now ellie has her picture taken in this dress. doesn't anyone wonder why i didn't get my picture taken in this dress? needless to say, my grandma and sister's photos were more stoic than this wild child's...

seriously

well folks, it happened again. except this time it wasn't a critter lurking across the room. nope. it was...wait for it...A CHAIR!

it goes as follows:

brandt: "seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously, seriously!!!" pause. "shhh. seriously." pause.

me: what do you think you are seeing right now?

brandt: "the chair. seriously." pause. "oh, never mind."

little [snow] buddy

i've got to be a part of it...

new york, new york.....

i know- the song will be stuck in your head for next few minutes now. you're welcome. thought i would make my first post with my photos from the new nikon d3000!

i am still working on meeting and getting to know the camera...so this will be fun. you get to watch me get back into photography and play around with my apertures, shutter speed, blah blah blah.

please note the exceptional quality improvement of the food post - now isn't THAT exciting!

walking across the brooklyn bridge

russian beef stroganoff

ringing in the new year

ice skaters at central park central park
city life

coney island

tree at rockafeller center

new year = new look for the blog

i am trying to get back into the groove of some quick blogs and updates in our lives for 2010 - the craziness of decemeber wasn't too forgiving on the home front for stories and posts ...

we had an AMAZING first christmas as a mr. and mrs., with many great meals and memories with family and friends over the days surrounding christmas. since we didn't travel down to evansville (though we missed seeing you uncle steve and aunt teresa!) i feel like we were able to get a lot in this year.

christmas eve day we had a lasagna lunch at my moms and that evening we went to christmas eve service at church, followed by a fancy-pants dinner for the two of us, made by yours truly - beef tenderloin with tarragon, thyme potatoes au gratin, rolls and green been casserole (a back-up in case the first two items were a bust). i have to say, the recipes i pulled from a few magazines really pulled through - they were great and are on the books for a tradition in the years to come!

christmas morning we went to my moms to open gifts and have a yummy christmas brunch (my sister even made homemade cinnamon rolls from the pioneer woman!). we started a new tradition with some friends for christmas evening - two other couples came over to our house for some chinese, wine and a movie. i can't tell you how much we genuinely love and appreciate their company and friendship - i look forward to continuing this tradition in the coming years!

the day after christmas we spent with brandts family and i must say, one of the biggest entertainments this year is watching everyone in the family playing mario brothers on the Wii...

this year we were blessed to get so many great gifts in addition to quality time with loved ones. my mom is so good at finding unique gifts...to name a few, i got some outdoor entertaining items for summer cookouts and an antique wine opener and silver bowl (which needs to be polished but actually looks great "as is"). brandt and his parents schemed and gave me the new digital SLR i am sure you ALL are tired of getting hints on!

so for the new year, no more iphone photos! (unless necessary of course!)

up next: photos from our NYC venture on new years! stay tuned...

dear santa

dear santa,

i am very sorry for eating all the chocolate from mom's stocking while they were at christmas eve service. though the 1 lb bag of peanut m&ms and assorted 1 lb mix of chocolates wrapped in tin foil were probably the best thing i have ever eaten (and would do it again if i had a chance), i am regretful for making mom and dad take me to the emergency vet on christmas morning to pretty much have my stomach pumped. the IVs and coal they made me take to get rid of the toxins were not very pleasant either, not to mention probably not worth the excessive amount my parents spent. but i sure do hope you brought me a new bone or chew toy.

love,
milo