How not to spend a Friday afternoon

This weekend was going to be all kinds of awesome - house stuff on Friday, a bridal shower and a family dinner on Saturday and then a full sewing day on Sunday. Friday morning started off great. Got in a good workout and then ran back up to the house so that Salvation Army could come by and pick up a bunch of stuff. Had lunch with my brother that afternoon and after he left, the DirecTV guy came by to add a few more services to the house.

We went outside so I could show him where the dish was on the roof. I was on our back steps and looked up so I could point out the dish. Mid sentence and next thing I know I was falling straight back off the side of the staircase - about a 3 feet drop - onto the concrete below. Tried, but couldn't break my fall, so I landed directly on the back of my head and my upper back. The DirecTV guy lost his head. I, somehow, stayed really calm, even after he started freaking out about how much blood there was on the ground.

He eventually got through to 911 and about 5 minutes later, the fireman and paramedics showed up. Even though I could feel all of my extremeties and never lost consciousness, they erred on the side of caution and off I went to the hospital in on a backboard in an ambulance. I mean, when I injure myself, I go big. :/

Thankfully, after 4 stitches and a trip to L&D, both the baby and I are okay. Well, the baby is more than okay, kicking all over the place during the entire stay. I'm pretty sore and my head feels like a combination of a bad hangover and like I banged it against a concrete floor. Oh wait, that's because I did.

I'm benched from my gym workouts until the staples are removed, which is a total bummer for me, too. But, I'm so grateful that it wasn't any worse than a bad bump and a nasty cut on my head and some icky bruising and swelling on my back.

And because no post is complete without a picture, here is the way Jim found me when he met me in the ER. Kinda looks like I'm an extra for a civil war movie, doesn't it?

Long, luxurious weekend

Somehow I lucked out with not just having a 3 day weekend, but a 4 day weekend! We had no plans and I pretty much took full advantage of 4 full days that were wide open. It really felt like a mini-vacation, which was so nice.

We found time for trips out to Costco to restock on paper products and pantry supplies and Ikea, where we think we found a much-needed new diningroom table that will seat up to 12 people. No more having to use folding tables when we host dinner parties! Yay!

We also swung down to Williams-Sonoma to test the Nespresso Citiz espresso machine. It has received great reviews online and then when an Italian friend of mine gave it a rave review, I was pretty much sold. It was super easy to use and I found a great price on Amazon, so we should have it by the end of the week. Seeing as how I've become completely and utterly obsessed with americanos at Starbucks this year, it will be really nice to be able to make them at home.

This weekend we finally got some warm and sunny weather and we took full advantage of it by getting in some pool time. Well, I should say Jim got some pool time. The water was still waaay too chilly for me (I think we need another week of hot days before our pool temp is warm enough for swimming), so I hung out in the hot tub instead. I finally got to try out one of the new bikinis I bought for this summer. Let's just say that Peak 10 is making for a very happy bikini season for me. ;)

I had a really good weigh-in on Sunday so I treated myself to some ridiculous eating on Sunday and Monday. I'd like to say that I feel guilty, but I really don't. It was nice to be able to indulge in some treats and I feel like I got rid of a lot of cravings that I'd been having for a few weeks. Oh, and in case you're curious, Reese's peanut butter cup cookies are ah-maz-ing! I did offset the crazy food though with some great workouts. Saturday morning step class was filled with all of my favorite people and we had such a fun class - lots of hoots and hollers and general silliness.

Lastly, I actually got into the sewing room and made a dress and a skirt - both of which are for me!! :D Not only that, I also cut out a second skirt and traced off the pattern for a third one. I was so productive I shocked myself! Pictures and posts this week after I get Jim to take some pictures for me. Both were successes though with only minor issues.

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend and that this week is a good one for you. :)

On the run

I'm still bemoaning the fact that I haven't had a ton of time to sew, but at least my weekend was pretty fabulous.

* I had Friday off and used the day to squeeze in two gym classes, breakfast out at one of my favorite restaurants, dropping off my new jeans (that fit!!) for free hemming and a much needed pedicure. I tried a hole in the wall place right down the street from us that has received great reviews online and I liked it. Not as luxurious as my favorite haunts, but it's a great option in a pinch.

* Saturday I met up with my bestie Blondie to shop, eat and generally catch up with each other's lives. We hadn't seen each other since New Year's and we had a great day just hanging out. :)

* Sunday I was up early to hang out with Jim before he headed out to Florida for a quick work trip. That afternoon was book club (excellent food and dang good company) and the evening was the official kick-off for Peak 10, round 2! I ate like a crazy person this weekend, but after last night, I'm back in the game and really excited for this next round of crazy.

This week is jam-packed with workouts and the weekend is full as well, including the first big summer associate party for Jim's work. The most pressing thing for the week, though, is to finish up a dress for Kelcat's daughter's 1st birthday party on Sunday. And by "finish" I mean do everything except trace the pattern and wash the fabric. Heh.

What I am particularly looking forward to, though, is Memorial Day weekend. It's a long one for me and we have zero plans! So, I plan to hunker down in the sewing room and actually make some stuff for ME. I really can't wait.

Wacky Weekend

I haven't done a weekend recap in forever, but I'm in the mood for one today. And yeah, it's in bullets because my brain is still not fully awake, even after a very strong cup of coffee. Alright, here we go:

* Friday night we had our friends Dubber and Girly over for dinner and drinks. They brought their baby girl, who passed out in our guestroom after they arrived, which left us with several hours of fun adult time. We had a great night and hope we can do it again soon.

* My back had been acting up since Wednesday night, but things came to a head Saturday morning. Could barely get out of bed and walking was tough. I have a history of minor back issues and that combined with not being diligent with stretching and foam-rolling my muscles with all of the increased workouts finally led to my lower back just locking up. I was able to see a physical therapist Saturday afternoon and he confirmed what I thought was going on - my hamstrings/quads/hip flexors/glutes were all kinds of knotted up and extremely tight, which basically pulled my lower back out of shape. He worked on me for over an hour to get everything loosened up and while I felt really good when I left, during the actual treatment I was ready to scream bloody hell. OMG, it is so incredibly painful to have someone dig into your muscles to release the knots. I've had deep tissue massages before and those are like a cakewalk compared to what he did. I have a whole new respect for athletes that have to endure that kind of pain on a regular basis. I know it's necessary and helpful in the long term, but short term, it's just a special kind of hell.

* I actually am doing some sewing, too! I have a backlog of projects that are supposed to be gifts for a couple of new moms and my bff's mom who is battling cancer (good prognosis, but still, not a fun thing at all). I got quite a bit of work done on those and am hoping to finish them up this weekend. Pictures to follow once the recipients have the items in their hands. I'm also trying to squeeze in a handful of straight skirts for myself before I start making the short silk dress for the family wedding next month. I would put the skirts off a bit, except that after 2 months of eating right and working out like its my job, the vast majority of my pants are too big. And not like oh, they a little loose, but like, "I've dropped two pant sizes" too big. I have maybe 2-3 pairs that are okay, but the rest are hanging off me. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled about this, but I'm having a harder and harder time getting dressed in the morning. I finished one skirt this weekend (and in a size smaller than I made it last time - woohoo!) and have at least two others planned for this weekend. Pictures and reviews when I get them all completed.

I guess that's about it. Weekend still felt too short, but I managed to squeeze a bunch of stuff in, which is nice. And how about you, how was your weekend?

Perfect Weekend

They're rare, but sometimes the weekend shapes up to be the perfect blend of the necessary stuff and the fun stuff. This weekend definitely qualified as such.

Errands and such: We got the last few holiday returns completed and I made one large grocery run to get us through the weekend. I also caught up on all of the laundry and straigtened up the house a bit. Boring, but needed.

Reading: Finished Will Grayson, Will Grayson, thanks to Jessica who has organized an ARC Tour of the book amongst a group of us book nerds. I'll be doing a guest post on her blog about the book soon, but the short version is that it's awesome and I haven't laughed that hard while reading in a long time.

Cooking: OMG, we ate really well this weekend. And I'm not even including the impromtu breakfast I threw together Sunday morning. I'm really trying to get more mileage out of my fun cookbooks, so I'm making a point to make at least one "fancy" meal a weekend. This weekend, though, I eeked out two!

First up, T-Bone Fiorentina with Sauteed Spinach from Mario Batali Italian Grill. I couldn't find the huge 3" T-bone steak that is called for, but we made due with a smaller steak instead. I unfortunately over-salted the meat a bit (still edible, but not perfect), but the spinach was fabulous. We both agreed that we need to try it all again with the correct cut of beef.

For dessert, I tried out my new mini chocolate fondue pot and we had a little fondue spread. Simple, but yummy.
The second dinner was the Chicken Pot Pie from the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. This was a much more labor-intensive meal than the roasted chicken I made earlier this month - the pie crust and bechamel sauce are both from scratch and each vegetable is cooked individually before being added to the pie - but it's so worth all the time and effort.

This was AH-MAZ-ING! And Jim whole-heartedly agrees. He had a whole bowl of it and then went back for seconds. We were thrilled that there were leftovers the next day.

If you have this cookbook, set aside a day and make this dish - you can thank me later. ;)

Working out: Took a circuit class and a step class - both taught by the owner of my gym, who I just love. The circuit class was a zoo, like folks actually had to be turned away, but it was still a lot of fun. I'm getting my exercise groove back and it feels really good.

Sewing: I finally used my new cutting table and it was like the angels came out singing. ;) It makes this whole sewing thing that much more enjoyable and I was thrilled to be able to spend a large part of my weekend in my sewing room*. I finished two skirts (one just needed a hem), cut out some sleep shorts and got about halfway through a cardi-wrap for a friend's mom. More detailed posts once I have pictures of stuff to share.

If only every weekend could be as fun and relaxing as this one....

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* Nanette had asked me for pictures of my sewing room and I will share them as soon as I finish getting myself organized. Right now I have no good place for my fabric stash - which has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few months - so it's all just in piles on the floor. So ugly. I plan on getting it in check later this month and then I'll post pics. :)

Back to good

So, after 2 months of being sick sick sick, I finally returned to the land of the living this weekend. Hallelujah! I'd say I'm about 85%, which is good enough for me. I'm still coughing some, but it's much better than it's been in weeks. Also, my muscle strain? tear?, whatever it was on my left side has mostly resolved itself. I went back to the gym on Saturday and I cannot tell you how good it felt to move and break a sweat. It was also nice to have the owner and several regulars tell me how much I was missed - and really, the feeling was mutual. I've also cleaned the house, washed all the linens in the spare bedroom, aka the sick ward, so that my mom has a clean place to sleep when she comes to visit next month and I've started cooking again. Let's just say that my husband is very happy to have his wife back and goodness knows I'm thrilled to be feeling so normal!

On the flip side, I finally took a looksee at my calendar and oh boy - it's a busy next two and a half months. Eeek! UCLA and Lakers games, a concert, my mom coming to visit, dinner parties, book club meetings, all the holiday hoopla, etc, etc. All fun stuff, but pretty much my weekends, aka my primary sewing hours, between now and the end of the year are packed. I was all pumped to get my LBD all made and entered, but it looks like it's just not gonna happen this month. Blah. I figure I'll scope out the contests for 2010 and find one or two that look fun and plan ahead to make some good and enter it. My goal isn't necessarily to win (although wouldn't that be awesome!), but just to have fun and get a new garment at the end of it. As for that LBD, thank you everyone for chiming in with your thoughts! I still plan on making one sometime after the new year (still undecided on the actual pattern), it will just be for my own enjoyment and not for a contest.

Speaking of sewing stuff, I'm so ridiculously behind on blogging my sewing projects. Oops! I really need to catch up, hopefully this week or over the weekend. Finished stuff includes a baby blanket, several toddler skirts, a toddler dress, a work skirt for me and some lounge pants. Mostly successes with one misstep thrown in for good measure. Ha! Pictures and reviews coming soon.

In the meantime, I'm just enjoying getting back to my regularly scheduled life. I missed it so much and am so very happy to be back in my groove.

Weekend Recap

**This is a couple of weeks late, but I'm just not getting around to uploading the appropriate pictures. Oops.**

After last year's Anniversary Dinner Bonanza, this year's celebration was much more subdued. The plan was to celebrate our anniversary with a homemade steak dinner and a bottle of good wine from our Napa Trip on Friday, the 11th. However, things didn't quite work out as planned.

I realized earlier in the week that I had likely either pulled/torn my intercostal muscles or cracked/broken a rib on my left side from all the coughing over the past month. By Friday afternoon, the pain was so bad that I was starting to have trouble taking in a full breath without wincing. Not good. I thought I'd swing by urgent care to try and get some drugs to deal with the pain and maybe see if they could tell me exactly what was going on in there. The front office staff were so sweet, but explained that it'd be an hour wait. No problem. I eventually got ushered back to see the doctor, which is when the crazy began. The nurse taking my information couldn't figure out why I was back in urgent care and not with my primary doctor (um, can't see him for two weeks). She also couldn't seem to understand that I had been diagnosed with pertussis, by the urgent care doctor and that yes, I already had my results, thank you.

By the time the doctor came back I was in a ton of pain and emotionally, I was just spent. Like, no fuel left in the tank. I'm usually very assertive with doctors (it was the only way to get them to test for pertussis in the first place after the doctor told me "adults don't get it unless there is an outbreak" - yeah right), but on Friday I was a little weakling and didn't have it in me to hash it out. The doctor was a total asshat - asked me "well, how did you even get pertussis?" (WTF?! What kind of question is that?!), told me that "young people don't break ribs so an x-ray is just a waste of time!" and barely took two seconds to examine me. He wrote up a quick pain meds prescription and tossed it to me with a minimum of explanation. Thanks a lot jerk! I finally got back out to my car and had a good ugly cry because I was so pissed at being brushed off, at not being my own best advocate and for being in even more pain from the crying. I was a hot mess.

Thankfully, my father-in-law is a pharmacist and between talking to him and the nice lady that filled my prescriptions at my local pharmacy, I calmed down and started to feel a bit better. As for having a nice relaxing dinner? Yeah, it wasn't gonna happen. Instead, we had Baja Fresh and watched football while toasting our anniversary. Nice, but not nearly the night that we had planned. :(

Saturday saw Jim up before dawn to go play golf with Dubber, while I met up with his wife, Girlie, for manis and pedis. I hadn't seen her in a long time so it was good to catch up on everything. In the afternoon, we all met back up at their house to watch the UCLA game and cheer the Bruins on to victory. Yay!

After the game, we headed home to watch more football and finally have that steak dinner I hadn't been able to cook the night before. An unfortunate side effect of still having this cough is that wine currently tastes like battery acid to me. Seriously, it's depressing. So, instead of sharing a bottle from Napa, Jim had some from our cheapy stash while I downed lovely water. For dessert, we had homemade creme brulee made by yours truly. Happy Anniversary to us.

Sunday was a lazy day at home. Jim is beyond thrilled for football to be back and for us to resume our lazy Sundays sitting at home, eating snack foods, him watching the games while doing some work and me keeping one eye on the games while I also read/straighten the house/do laundry/sew, etc. I wanted to make some extra special snacks for the first Sunday of regular NFL games, so I opted for 7 layer dip and Boneless Baked Buffalo Strips. To cap off the day of "healthy" eating, we ended the night with hot dogs and bratwursts. Wheee!


My ribs were starting to feel a bit better, but then I reirritated it this past Sunday night and I feel like I'm about back to square one. I'm alternating between Vicodin at night and extra-strength Ibuprofin during the day, but they don't do much more than take the edge off the pain. I guess I should be glad that it gets rid of the stabbing and burning feeling. Ugh. I'm really frustrated with everything, to say the least. The cough is slowly leaving, but I'm still having enough coughing fits to make getting rid of the rib pain difficult. If anyone is keeping count, it'll be 7 weeks on Monday that I've had this. I really hope that I'm back to normal soon, but my guess is it's going to be another several weeks before I get there.

4 day weekend here I come! and a PSA

Every so often, my regular Friday off coincides with a Monday holiday giving me a lovely, unplanned 4 day weekend. Happily, this weekend is one of them! I'm dropping Jim off tomorrow morning at Noah's so his friends can pick him up and head to Vegas for their fantasy football draft - he won't be back until Sunday. We'll have breakfast before he goes and then the rest of the weekend is all me time. :) I'm going to get a pedicure, swing by the local Farmer's Market to get some goodies for gazpacho and I might even try my hand at some homemade bread. But, what I'm most looking forward to is 4 days of sewing. I have a private lesson tomorrow afternoon to learn how to add a lining to a wool skirt and a group class on boxer shorts on Sunday. In between those, I have a stack of other projects calling my name and an ipod full of tunes to keep me company. I'm so very excited!!


Illness update: Talked to the nurse at urgent care today and whadaya know, I'm a probable pertussis case. Wheeee! :/ Day 24 and I'm still coughing all night, though things have definitely improved in the past few days - I can taste my food again and I don't feel like I've been run over by a mack truck any more. The smoke and ash from the fires raging above us aren't helping matters, but what can you do. I'm hoping that within the next few weeks I should start feeling more and more like myself. I'm even going to try a weights class this weekend to see how it goes and to try and start building my strength back up.

And here is where I get on my soapbox:

Please, please, please vaccinate your children! I think I had a "mild" adult form of this disease and it has completely knocked me on my ass. For young kids and babies, severe complications and even death can occur. It's frightening for me, an adult, to not be able to breathe during the coughing fits, but for a child it can be much more than scary. This is not like a mild cold or flu bug that your body will shake off after a few days. I can't imagine watching a child with this - the vomiting while coughing, turning blue from not breathing, etc. :( This is a nasty little bug and there is a reason a vaccine was developed for it.

And for everyone, please talk to your doctor about getting the Tdap booster shot - this covers diptheria, pertussis and tetanus. Additional information can be found here. Immunity to pertussis wanes as you get older - pertussis appears to be on the rise and teens and adults are the reservoirs. Not only can the booster prevent you from getting sick (I can't stress enough that you DO NOT WANT THIS BUG!), but it could prevent you from getting it and passing it along to a young child.

I'll step off my soapbox now, but please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about this. After the past month, it's something that has become extremely important to me and I hope to all of you, too.

Weekend Recap...a week late and other tidbits

I haven't done one of these in a while and it was a good weekend so yeah, here's the recap way later than expected. Heh.

Friday
We made sort of last minute dinner plans with two other couples and headed out to Culver City to dine on Korean BBQ at Geynari. No pictures, as this group isn't quite as used to my blogging/picture taking ways, but the food was delicious. The conversation was even better especially seeing there was lots of good, fun news all around. It's a bummer that we all live so far apart, but we still know how to have a great time when we get together.

Saturday
Most of the morning and afternoon was spent hanging out at the house and recovering from the long week. That night, Wan picked me up and we headed off to a fun evening of singing with a bunch of crazy gals. Great recap with pics on WeeMo's blog. Such a fun night! I also got to finally meet Miss Diabolina, who is a complete sweetheart. Can't wait for next year's sing-a-long. :)

Sunday
So. Freaking. Lazy. That perfectly sums up the day. We slept in, we lounged around on the couch and watched a ridiculous amount of tv. We ate yummy food that was bad for us and basically did as little as possible. Eventually, we did venture out to Target to pickup some house necessities, but that was about it. Excellent way to end the weekend.

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This week has been good as well. We've had painters here for most of the week, giving a much needed face-lift to several rooms in the house. A full pictorial to follow once they're done. Already it's looking fantastic, so I can't wait to see how good everything looks once we get finishing touches in there. Eeeee!

Have a safe and fun Halloween everyone!

Weekend Catch Up

This past weekend was our last at home before Vino's Vegas wedding, so it was filled with errands, chores and generally catching up on everything before our end of summer mini-vacation.

Thursday:
I had to drop my car off for service in the south bay, so Jim and I decided to have dinner with his parents and then spend the night there. We hadn't seen them in a long time and it was great to just sit around the table eating, drinking wine and catching up. Since there were no games or TV shows that we wanted to watch, we talked until after 10pm. So nice.

The funny part came the next morning though. Jim and his dad made it through 2 bottles of wine that night, with me and his mom only having maybe a glass each. His dad was up early and went swimming, while Jim nursed a headache all day. Jim's comment "How pathetic is it that my dad can drink me under the table?" Pathetic? Nah. I'd say hilarious!

Friday:
I was up just after dawn so I could head out on a long walk along the beach. So beautiful. I did a 10 mile loop, which took me down to Hermosa beach and back to the inlaws house. Not only was the water refreshing, but those beach houses along the strand are absolutely drool-worthy. Lots and lots of pretty things to look at. After I got back and showered, Jim and I met up with his parents and grandmother for brunch at The Corner Bakery.

After brunch, Jim headed back up to the house to get some work done, while I ran up to Beverly Hills to pick up my dress for Vino's wedding and get my toes painted and my eyebrows waxed. That night we picked up mexican food for dinner and just vegged on the couch while watching Fringe (the show has potential, but isn't quite living up to it yet).

Saturday:
Up bright and early to head out to the Rose Bowl to tailgate before the UCLA game. Tailgating was fun -- we (aka I) made breakfast burritos, which we had to eat on napkins because I forgot the plates. Um, oops. The game, however, was just depressing. Yeah, that's all I have to say about that.

We got home in the late afternoon with enough time to take a dip in the pool and then start cleaning up the house before dinner. Dinner consisted of homemade veggie and sausage calzones, salad and red wine, which we consumed while watching more college football on television. At least those games were somewhat interesting, as opposed to the one we sat in the bright sun watching that afternoon. :/

Sunday:
Sleeping in - yay! After lounging around for a bit and having breakfast, the rest of the day was an errand and chore bonanza! By the end of the day the kitchen and bathroom were sparkling, the laundry was all done, the tables were cleared off, bills were paid, plants were watered and the house was in great order. I even incorporated some errands in my 8 mile walk that afternoon (running by the grocery store to fill a prescription and picking up a book at the library).

That night we collapsed in a heap on the couch. Jim is on a business trip until really late Wednesday night and then Thursday morning we drive out to Vegas for the wedding. So excited for Vino's wedding and all the accompanying festivities. :D

Weekend Recap... almost a full week late!

What can I say? I'm still behind in my blogging. Which means that life is still humming along at warp speed. At this point, I'm content to just deal with the crazy for as long as it lasts and just keep squeezing stuff in where I can find time. On that note, let's recap the long Labor Day weekend, shall we?

Friday:
Off work early (yay!), which meant I had time to run a few errands and do some grocery shopping before getting ready for dinner. Jim and I decided to try the new Roy's in Pasadena after having a really delicious dinner at the one in Downtown a few months ago with my girlfriends.

The dinner started off on a high note. Even with our late reservation the weather was gorgeous and we sat outside on their patio. Our waiter was nothing special, but took our order relatively quickly and we had our apps in a reasonable amount of time. We were in a fish mood, so we started with the Ahi Poke and the Curry Panko Crusted Calamari. Both were excellent, although I'd say the calamari were probably my favorite. That's saying a lot seeing as how it's something I eat because Jim loves it, but I could usually take it or leave it. This version had some kick to it and was served with siracha aioli. So yummy!

And this is when dinner took a bit of turn. We had a really long wait until our entrees arrived. When they were finally served, they were barely meh. :/ I ordered the Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish and Jim had the Uni Dynamite Roasted Alaskan Halibut. When I had the butterfish at the Downtown location, it was so delicious! But while the menu described a similar preparation for the fish, this dish looked and tasted nothing like what I had a few months prior. Ugh. I tasted the halibut, too, and it was just not that great. For dessert, we split the Molten Lava Cake, which was tasty enough, but still didn't erase the total disappointment in the entrees. Looks like the kitchen and waiters are still undergoing some growing pains, so I'd say give it another couple of months before trying it out if you're so inclined.

Saturday:
I woke up at 7am and went for a 10 mile walk in and around the neighborhood. For the last part, I actually walked down to the local farmer's market and picked up some fresh produce for Sunday dinner. The market is so cute and so vibrant! I then headed from there over to Whole Foods to pick up some last minute stuff for dinner that night and then Jim was nice enough to pick my tired and sweaty bum up so I didn't have to walk all the way back carrying bags of goodies. :)

We spent the rest of the afternoon running errands and cleaning up the house. Around 4pm we had our friends Dubber and Party Girl over to hang out by the pool and have dinner. The rest of the evening was spent lounging around the pool, eating dinner while watching Cal in their football season opener and playing rock band. I'm sure our neighbors love us, especially when Jim screams Sabotage at the top of his lungs. :P

Sunday:
Nothing! We had absolutely nothing planned! This happens like maybe twice a year so it's always cause for celebration.

In reality, I cleaned the kitchen and did 395658 loads of laundry, while Jim did some work. We also squeezed a Target and 21 Choices run in there, too and ended the evening with a really awesome dinner. Ruhlman posted a loose recipe for pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil on his blog last week and ever since reading it, I've been obsessed with making it. Honestly, it was even better than I expected it to be because on my first reading, I missed the sentence saying that a bunch of butter gets added to the sauce. Butter makes everything better! So simple to make and so freaking good! Before tomatoes are out of season, you need to make this dish. No really, you do!
Monday:
We slept in. Yay!

After finally rolling out of bed, I made breakfast, took care of a few things around the house and then it was time to pack up the car and head out to the Rose Bowl for UCLA's season opener against #18 Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, perfect for tailgating and being outside. The parking was packed as usual and we had a good time enjoying our chicken fajitas and hanging out with friends.

However, we figured the game itself wasn't going to be pretty. I mean, yes, we have the holy trinity in coaching right now (Neuheisel, Walker and Chow), but we also have an offensive line that can't seem to block much of anything and we're on our 4th string quarterback. There is only so much that coaching and the crowd can do. Or so we thought....

The first quarter sucked. Our quarterback threw a lovely 4 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. We were down 7 going into the half, which was only because our defense and special teams kept it close. Lord knows our offense sure wasn't gettin' it done.

And then, something happened during halftime and wouldn't you know it, the offense got a clue and started playing well. Like, they stopped throwing the ball to the other team and they kept blocking and the passes were connecting with receivers and ... well, they just looked a lot better. If you're a Bruin you know what happened next. We were up by 3 points after a beautiful drive that marched down the field and led to a TD. Tennessee answered with a field goal in the final seconds and we were pushed into OT. For the OT coin flip, we only had 2 captains left (a total of 4 veteran players left the game with injuries), but we managed to score a field goal and then it was Tennessee's turn. We held them, but then it was time for them to attempt a FG themselves. AND THEY MISSED!!! WE WON!!! HOLY CRAP!!

The fans had been loud the entire game, but the stadium just erupted! The players started running around like crazy people. The Volunteers just looked dumb-founded. I screamed until I literally didn't have a voice left. Such a great win for our team and our new head coach. This feels like a new era in UCLA football. No, we're not gonna be great this season, but we're gonna fight and we're gonna have heart and we're gonna try to actually win!

A really fantastic way to end the holiday weekend if I do say so myself. :)

Weekend Recap

So many things to blog about, so little time. :( I still need to recap my b-day celebrations last week and the weekend before and some other fun stuff that is going on, but since those posts have fun pictures and this weekend doesn't, I'll just start with this one.

Friday
Yay for a day off! Still had to get up early to make it to Westwood for a morning doctor appointment (all is well, just a yearly check-up). After that was wrapped up, I headed home to run some errands, then I picked up lunch and vegged on the couch while watching Project Runway.

That night, we met up with some friends for sushi and then drinks afterwards at Trader Vick's. Mr. Metro is still in town from jolly 'ol England and it was fun to catch up with him and the rest of the group. Trader Vick's has totally changed since the last time I was there -- the bar is now right next to the pool at the Beverly Hilton and there is lots of space to hang out and unwind with a group of friends. As a bonus, they were playing the opening ceremony of the Olympics on the side of the building, so we didn't miss anything. So fun!

Saturday
Up early. Again. Our realtor was hosting a housewarming party at our place that afternoon and we needed to finish cleaning up the house, both inside and out. While our family and some friends were invited to the shindig, the main purpose was for us to meet our neighbors, but more importantly (although he wouldn't admit to this) was to help him meet new people and maybe get some business out of it. Totally fine by us. He paid for everything and all we had to do was be gracious hosts.

However, while our friends and family all showed up, only ONE set of neighbors showed. ONE! :/ Ah well. What can you do, right? The taco cart food was yummy and it was a chance to show the house to friends and family, which was fun. Thanks for making the trek out to the new pad R, Wan, Trish and WeeMo!

By about 6pm or so, everyone had left and the exhaustion set in. After having another round of tacos for dinner, we got ice cream for dessert and collapsed on the couch to watch the Olympics.

Sunday
We got to sleep in! Finally! The morning and afternoon passed in a lazy haze. We had some breakfast then Jim started working from home while I finished up some laundry and worked on making a batch of 'thank you' cards.

Later that afternoon, I went for a walk in the blistering heat and made a beeline for the pool once I got back. So refreshing. Makes the walks a lot easier when you have that to look forward to ;) That night, we trekked out to Yard House for dinner - mmm framboise and burgers -- and then somehow drug ourselves home and collapsed on the couch to watch more Olympics.

Weekend was fun, but too short. What else is new, right? ;)

Why I love Fridays

* Wearing jeans to the office. So comfy and casual.
* Lighter traffic. The freeway was moving at a nice 65mph this morning. Made it into work in 22 minutes.
* Leaving early. That extra hour of me time feels so decadent.
* Thinking about all the fun stuff I'll cram into the weekend. Okay, so maybe it's not fun in the traditional sense of the word, but it's fun to me. :)

Happy Friday everyone!


p.s. The pool is finally back from it's swampy beginnings and we took our first dip last night. So great. I could seriously get used to this!

Butterflies and another busy weekend

It's been an insane last few days. Can't really go into details right now, but suffice to say, our weekend took a very different shape than we had anticipated. Nothing bad, but your good vibes and prayers are appreciated. :)

In other news, the weekend was again, jam-packed! I swear, my weekends have got to start letting up soon, but I'm not really sure when that is going to happen. My brother-in-law graduated from USC on Friday morning and it decided to be one of the hottest days of the year so far. Lovely :/ Somehow we all managed not to melt into puddles on our seats and got to see him walk across the stage and hear his name announced. Congratulations to you, Herbie! That afternoon was a whirlwind, but we ended the evening noshing on pizza, sipping red wine and watching the Lakers tie up the 2nd round of the playoffs. We actually had tickets to Game 7 and are thrilled that we don't get to use them. Western Conference Finals, here we come!

Saturday morning I woke up before 7am to meet a friend at the Rose Bowl to go for a morning run/walk. Even with the heat and the fact that I was exhausted, it was such a great start to my day. We ran about 2.5 miles -- the longest run I've done so far -- and then did another 3 mile loop at a brisk walk. So much more fun than the treadmill not only because I had company, but because the scenery and number of people out just gave the place a great vibe. I can't wait to do it again!

That afternoon Jim and I ran around taking care of more craziness and then ended the evening with homemade greek salad and a bottle of pinot grigio -- light and cool and more than deserved after our long day.

We finally had a morning to sleep in today and enjoy breakfast and some TV at home before heading out for an afternoon appointment. And now we're back, trying to stay cool at the apartment and not let the butterflies in our stomach get the best of us. We're not doing well on either account. Wheeee!

Weekend Rewind

Friday
My workday ended at 3:30pm (wheee!) and then I was off to run some menial errands (drycleaning, grocery store, etc) before meeting up with my trainer at 6pm. Fifteen minutes into the session and I asked him to remind me that the next time I wanted to reschedule our Wednesday session for a Friday night, to tell me it was a dumb idea and that he wouldn't do it. :/

After the brutal hour was up, I headed home, took a shower and changed into comfy clothes. Hubs had followed the directions I left for starting dinner to the letter, which left me with grilling the steak, dressing the baked potatoes and quickly making a salad. Add in a bottle of red wine and there you have it. Simple, but so good! I can't remember what we watched on TV, but I do know we turned in around 11pm. We're so old!

Saturday
Such an early morning. Ugh. We needed to be at the Rose Bowl by 9am so that we could participate in the new "select a seat" program for season ticket holders. It was gray and chilly outside, but the fans were all surprisingly chipper. Once our group was called in, we were ushered into the locker room to listen to a brief intro on how it was all going to work. The guy was funny and straight-forward and the locker room itself was just beautiful! Millions of dollars of renovations transformed it into a space where a board meeting would be just as at home there as a collegiate football team.

After the briefing, we were released onto the field to survey the available seats. We opted not to donate this year, but we were still able to move 1.5 sections closer to mid-field and move over into actual seats as opposed to the benches. Score!

At this point, it was only 10am, so we took the next few hours doing some house-hunting. We found a few neighborhoods that appear to be somewhat affordable and very cute. [Really the term "affordable" is all relative, we're still talking Los Angeles here folks.] There were a few houses in particular that we really liked from the street and planned to see the inside later in the week. Alas, we found out the next day they were already in escrow. Wah! :(

For lunch, I was craving the "after-school special" (cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese) from Doughboys and talked Jim out of visiting Phillipe's for it. Big mistake. Our lunch was just icky. My soup had a strange smoky flavor to it and the grilled cheese was basically flavorless. Jim's breakfast quesadilla should have been called a "grilled onion quesadilla" as that is the only thing you could taste in it. :/ Phillipe's would have been a muuuuch better choice.

To make up for lunch, we visited the Ice Pan, a new ice cream shop that makes your ice cream right in front of you. Jim had vanilla with berries and I had low-fat chocolate with strawberries. Both were tasty, but I think the whole concept is just a fad and won't last long. I'd still rather have Golden Spoon. [shrug]

We also quickly ran through Target so Jim could check out the latest Wii stuff and I could try and get some new sports bras. And wouldn't you know, it looked like they had just restocked their activewear section so they actually had ample sizes and colors. Yay! I picked up 4 of the seamless camisole sports bras from the C9 line. Jim tried to also convince me that we needed DWTS for the Wii, but I opted out, especially as we already have Rock Band on pre-order.

By the time we got home, we were both exhausted so we flipped on the NBA playoffs and Jim napped while I read a book and kept a half-eye on the game. I managed to not get up the rest of the evening though, as we ordered PF Changs for dinner and Jim was forced volunteered to go pick it up by himself. It was just okay, but it still meant I didn't have to cook. The rest of the night was spent watching Sports Center and our favorite show, 48 Hours Mystery.

Sunday
We both, finally, got to sleep in for a bit. I doctored up some frozen Kashi waffles for breakfast and then we got ready and headed down to my ILs house for lunch. A quick stop at DSW and Bristol Farms provided gifts for the mommies. I ordered my own mommy a Sigg bottle earlier in the week and the silly company didn't send it until Saturday. Ah well, I called her to wish her a happy mother's day and say the gift was on its way.

We had a pretty large group (ILs, both BILs, MIL's bestie and her son, hubs grandma) and it was good to see everyone. One of Jim's brothers picked up El Burrito Jr. on his way to the house (my jr. super deluxe veggie burrito was delish!) and then we capped it off with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Mmmmm. I spent some time after dessert chatting with my MIL about her elbow (it's still a mess and they are considering a 2nd surgery to try and fix it; they've even told her she may never be able to pick up a bag of groceries with that arm again) and I could hear the ridiculousness that was the 4th quarter/OT of the Lakers game from the other room. The dejected look on everyone's faces said loud and clear that things hadn't gone well. Boooo!

Jim and I headed back to our apartment in the early evening so he could get some work done and I somehow managed to motivate enough to go for a short run (gotta make use of those new sports bras). When I got back, I was all energized and made quick work of 4 loads of laundry, cleaning the kitchen and getting my stuff ready for the next day. And again, yet another weekend that went by far too quickly!

Weekend Rewind

Busy, busy and busy. That's the short version.

For the full recap, read on.

Friday
The best man at our wedding, Mr. Metro, was visiting from England, so a group of us got together for dinner and drinks. Dinner was at James' Beach, a casual little restaurant in the heart of Venice Beach. Jim said his beef and potatoes were just okay, but my shrimp tacos were super yummy and came with a very generous side of guacamole. Mmmm!

After dinner, we headed to the otheroom. A trendy chic wine and beer bar with a plethora of drink choices, it seemed to be the place to be and be seen that night. However, it's far from an intimate scene, which made actually talking to the guest of honor difficult at best. Frankly, I think I'm just over the whole trendy bar scene. I am so much happier either chilling at someone's home or at a local watering hole where you can actually converse with your friends instead of spending the whole night shouting "what?". Oh well. The upside is that Mr. Metro is back stateside in a couple of months so we should get a chance to hang out more then.

Saturday
I actually managed to wake up at a decent hour and headed to the gym for an hour of step aerobics. Felt so good! After showering and getting pretty for the day, the hubs met me for lunch at the mall, udon for him and a wrap sandwich for me. I think his udon trumped my sandwich though, even with the ridiculous heatwave this weekend.

Jim headed back to the apartment to get a little work done, while I stayed at the mall and did some shopping. Save for a new pair of black work pants, I left empty-handed.

Later that afternoon, we made a run to Costco to pick up some essentials (paper towels, napkins, etc) and to let me price out food for Sporty's bridal shower next weekend. More about that later. ;)

By this point, we were both tired and still hot, so a quick stop at Baja Fresh provided dinner. While eating, we watched Sports Center and caught up on the day's sports (Lakers took Game 3 and are just one game away from sweeping Denver. Wheee!) before heading to bed relatively early for a weekend.

Sunday
For some unknown reason, I was up at 7:30am. WTH?! It was pointless trying to go back to sleep as it was already getting warm in the apartment. The upside to getting up so early? You can get so much done!

After having breakfast and watching some TV, I walked to the gym, ran 2 miles in the air-conditioned building and then walked home. I also did 4 loads of laundry in the morning, caught up on some more DVR'd shows, walked to the grocery store and did the shopping for the week. At this point, I looked at the clock and it was only 2:30pm! Craziness.

The rest of the afternoon was spent having lunch at home, folding laundry, chatting with Blondie about next weekend's shower, cleaning the bathroom and just trying to stay cool. For dinner, I tested a recipe that we're using for the bridal shower. While it was mostly good, I'm glad I tested it first, as there are a few changes I'll need to make.

And before I knew it, it was 9pm and time to call it a night. I curled up in bed with a new book (Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle) and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

All in all, a very productive weekend!

Lovely Day

Blondie and I try to get together every several months for some girl time and to catch up with one another in person. We don't live that far from each other, she is in SD, but it's enough distance to make regular short visits difficult. Lately, our usual haunt has been South Coast Plaza, where we meet in the late morning and hang out shopping, talking and eating until well after dinner. We had been planning to get together this past Saturday, but neither of us were in the mood to run around the mall.

Instead, I suggested a day spa. We could spend the day relaxing and hanging out without having to roam the mall, pretending to shop in the process. I found out later this would be Blondie's first time at a spa and I was excited to show her how wondeful spas can be!

Through the wonders of Google, I discovered the spa at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point. A day pass was only $35 and it included use of the spa, fitness center and the hotel pool all day. We planned to meet up in the late morning, get in a workout and then just relax the rest of the day.

Right as I'm pulling off the freeway, Blondie calls, says she is right around the corner and then informs me "Well, I'm stupid." Um, no, but what's up? Come to find out, her sister Sporty, lives just 5 minutes up the road. It didn't dawn on her until she was getting off the freeway. Blondie left a message for her sis to see if she wanted to meet up with us (the short version is yes, she'd be there in a bit).

Once we got our cars taken care of -- valet is free with a spa validation -- we made our way to the front desk to check in. The first thing that I noticed was the receptionist's friendly and welcoming demeanor. She filled us in on the spa, lunch options and local discounts while getting our information into the system and then another staff member came out to give us a tour.

The place isn't huge, but it's good-sized, made even larger with the small number of guests using the facility. The decor is beach chic with lots of light colored furnishings and splashes of blue, green and yellow. Perfect for their location right next to the ocean. The common room had a fireplace and complimentary snacks, such as muffins, crudite, mixed nuts, dried fruit, etc, throughout the day. It looked like a great place to relax and hang out. Blondie and I were quite impressed.

We stayed true to our original plan and walked on the treadmill for about an hour while catching up with wedding plans for her sister and our bestie Vino. Then it was time to hang out by the pool and grab some lunch. After ordering food with the spa front desk, it was brought to us in the pool area about 30 minutes later. I opted for the crab and shrimp salad while Blondie went for the club sandwich, both of which were delicious. Around that time, Sporty joined us and we headed over to the lounge chairs to get some sun (for everyone but me) and hang out.

Have I mentioned yet that Saturday had the most perfect weather at the beach?! I think it was in the 90s with a great ocean breeze. Sporty even said that we couldn't have picked a better day to hang out by the pool.

The snack bar next to the pool served fun cocktails and Sporty treated us to one (thanks dear!), which we enjoyed while cooling off in the pool. Aside from the random guys that tried to hit on us (alright girls, raise your left hands) it was fantastic. Some time in the whirlpool and more chatting while hanging out on the chaise lounges and then we headed back inside to get ready.

The showers at this place are heaven! 14 different showerheads so you're completely surrounded by water the entire time. Total and utter heaven. We were all like wet noodles afterwards and Blondie said that we definitely have to make a return visit. Absolutely!

Before Blondie and I headed off for dinner, we stopped by Sporty's new house (they just moved in a few months ago) so I could see it and so we could get a good idea of how to arrange everything for her bridal shower in a few weeks. It's a gorgeous home and I'm green with envy (in the nicest way possible) over their kitchen. I think I might have even started drooling when I stepped inside. I'm helping Blondie with the food for the shower so to say I'm excited to be able to cook and prep in that kitchen would be a major understatement! ;)

Once we said our goodbyes, Blondie and I headed to dinner. Originally, we were gonna just get Golden Spoon, but upon seeing a pizza shop right next door, I suddenly thought we should get both. They totally hit the spot.

By then, it was after 9pm and we both needed to get home. I had so much fun catching up and hanging out with Blondie and her sister. Saturday really felt like a resort vacation without all the crazy traveling and hotel costs and I can't wait to do it again soon!

Weekend Round-Up

Why is it that the weekends always fly by far too quickly? Ah well. All in all my weekend was pretty great. Jim took Friday night, all day Saturday and Sunday evening off from work and we hung out -- always fun! And since I'm still loving bullet points, here goes:

Friday
* Jim and I actually had lunch together! Amazing. We only work about a mile from each other, but his schedule is so crazy, I can count on one hand how many times we've seen each other for lunch. He picked me up, we dropped his car off to be washed at his building and then headed off to get big deli sandwiches and chips. So great!
* After work, we headed down to the ILs house to hang out for a bit and check to see how his mom was doing after surgery. She looks good, but really tired. Jim couldn't stop saying how sad he was for her :( The first doctor she saw said she'd be in a cast for 6 months, the second doctor (who did the surgery) said 6 weeks, so she is thinking that 3 months is probably more likely. Poor thing!
* For dinner, we met up with our Peru travel companions, MoP and T-dogg, for some peruvian food and to discuss the trip a bit more. We all tried ceviche for the first time (spicy but tasty), enjoyed our saltados (lomo and camarones) and T-dogg attempted to make Pisco Sours for us. They are pretty strong (almost like a bourbon margarita) and we think a somewhat acquired taste. However, we're all on board though for giving them another try once we get to Peru.

Saturday
* Since Jim wasn't working, I ditched the gym and we headed to John O'Groats for some grub. The wait was suprisingly short and the food -- huevos rancheros for both of us -- tasty as always.
* Next stop, REI to try and purchase the last of our travel supplies. Notable purchases include headlamps (I snagged the last pink one!), rain jackets, sunscreen with deet and permethrin to make our clothes insect repellent. [Can I just say that reading the back of the permetrin bottle is a little scary?! That stuff appears to be crazy toxic. Yikes! Although, if it'll help us not get eaten alive by mosquitos while we're in the jungle, I guess I'm game...]
* Finding shoes for Jim for this trip is proving a bit difficult. After finally convincing him to get his foot measured, it confirmed what I have suspected for awhile now -- he has a wide foot. Add to the mix that we're looking for a lightweight trail shoe with gore-tex (that comes in a wide width) and things get even more complicated. Between the two of us, shopping for shoes is just hellacious. He thinks he found a pair that will sort of work, but we're still looking for other options. Good times.
* Lunch was In N Out. Need I say more? :)
* We had to make a quick stop at his office to pick up some notes he needed for the next day. Downtown was buzzing with all the folks there for the marathon. It was actually pretty cool to see downtown so active and vibrant. Kinda sad that it's not that way all the time.
* Dinner was a simple salad since we were still stuffed from lunch. While munching away, we caught up on another episode of Lost. So good this season!

Sunday
* I was up bright and early to meet up with some LA and OC ladies to support of a group of the OC nesties (Diane, Andrea, Cat, Kim, Jess and Aline) that were running the LA Marathon.
* After gathering everyone at Union Station, we made our way over to Phillipe's for some french dipped sandwiches and assorted side dishes. I seriously never get tired of this place!
* Once we all had full bellies, it was time to make our way to the 26 mile marker to wait for our 6 ladies to run by. Thanks to WeeMo, we were in a prime spot to see them round to the corner and start the last 0.2 miles. They all ran by like champs and we were so very proud of all of them! Better recaps with pictures have been written by WeeMo, Kate and Wan.
* I finally got home around 5pm and what did I find? Why, my very sweet husband cleaning the entire apartment, top to bottom. I was shocked and so happy. I usually take care of all the household chores because of his work schedule, but every so often, he'll get in a cleaning mood and go crazy. He is such a keeper!
* After the apartment was sparkling, we capped off the evening with dinner at Loteria. I had the usual nachos with shredded beef while Jim tried the tacos (roast pork, shredded beef and stewed chicken). Everything we've tried here is just fantastic and that night was no exception. If you haven't tried this place, it's a must the next time you're at the Farmer's Market.

Yeah, I guess we squeezed quite a bit into our little weekend. :)

Ho-hum

I've had a bit of writer's block the past week or so. Lots of fun things going on, just no motivation to write about it that night or the next day (or the day after...) I blame this on trying to get prepped for our trip next month and tying up loose ends before we leave.

Bullets are all I can muster right now. Sorry.

*Went to the Clips game last Wednesday. Jim scored tickets in the company box, which he never passes up... even if the game did feature 2 really bad teams. We had a few friends there as well as some of fun colleagues. We actually spent most of the game watching the Lakers game on TV instead of the game actually being featured at Staples Center that night. Oh well.

*Finally got around to getting the eyebrows waxed. It had been weeks. Even the tech remarked "Wow, it's really grown in, hasn't it?" Why, yes it has, thanks so much for noticing. :/

* My poor sweet mother-in-law broke her elbow :( She had surgery yesterday and everything went well, but still. I feel so bad for her. And I totally wished I lived closer so I could run food over when I go on my marathon cooking sessions. Instead, we sent her fancy chocolate strawberries until I can get down there with something more substantial.

* I'm finally getting back to my regular gym routine. Did back to back classes on Saturday and it sucked for the first 30 minutes or so, but after that I felt great. Yay!

*Went to a going-away food and fun 'fest for Winnie on Sunday. Sad reason for getting together, but I had a great time hanging out with everyone. We'll miss you Winnie! :(

*I'm currently obsessing about a pair of dark brown leather heels from Cole Haan for work. I have a couple different sizes on order because no one actually has narrow widths in stock. They are exactly what I've been looking for, but now I'm just worried that they might now fit right. Stupid think to be stressing over, but yeah. I still am.

And that is about it in a nutshell. The next few weeks before our trip are jam-packed with stuff and I'm in full list-making mode to make sure I don't forget to do anything. All good things, of course, but still a lot of get done.

vegas... baby... vegas...?

As I've mentioned here several times, hubs has been working crazy hours since October. So crazy, in fact, that he has been talking about needing a weekend away for several weeks now. But really, his schedule has been so insane that I was sure it was all talk. Until he called me on his way home from work on Tuesday night and asked "Hey, wanna go to Vegas this weekend?" Within an hour we had a hotel, dinner reservations made and spa appointments . What can I say, once I get the go ahead, I can plan a trip in the blink of an eye!

Friday we left work at 1pm and got on the road. Traffic was a nightmare until we reached the I-15, but then, thankfully, it opened up and was smooth sailing the rest of the way out.

In an effort to try something different, we booked a room suite at the new Palazzo hotel. While the hotel itself is just okay (nice enough, but nothing spectacular), our room was amazing! The main room had a king-sized bed with a flat screen tv and a recessed living area complete with a sectional couch, entertainment unit, desk and dining table. The entire room was done in shades of browns, taupes and whites with the ocassional splash of red or pastel blue.

The bathroom was huge and was a great space where we could easily get ready at the same time. The vanity area made doing my hair and make-up quite fun while the flat screen tv perched above the sinks allowed us to watch the latest sporting news while getting ready. It would be a great place for a bachelorette party or a girl's weekend (just book the room with 2 queens for better sleeping arrangements).

Friday night we had reservations at Aureole at Mandalay Bay. Another upscale restaurant by Charlie Palmer (who is already high on our list due to a wonderful meal we had at his other Vegas outpost CP Steak), we had heard great things about the restaurant from several people. We decided to be daring and opted for the 7-course Celebration Tasting Menu with wine pairings. Now, we figured that both the courses and wine selections would be smaller versions of the a la carte items seeing as it was a tasting menu. And for the food, that held true. There was enough of each entree so that you got a great idea of what the full dish would be, but not so much to leave you stuffed. The wine, on the other hand... let's just say that by course 5, I was sloshed. And no, this was not because I am a lightweight, as my husband was right behind me on the drunkard scale. Not only was the quantity high, the quality of each wine was right up there as well. Wheee!

Okay, back to the food. Neither of us had ever done a tasting menu so we were really excited to see what all the fuss is about. First off, the service was great. We had a variety of servers and everyone was very nice without being over the top. In particular, the girl serving the wine was a delight. The full menu was as follows:
*Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Trio
*Braised Beef Shank Ravioli with Wild Mushroom sauce
*Olive Oil Poached Petrale Sole with polenta and baby bok choy
*Pan Seared Rabbit with fois-gras rabbit links and fricasse of wild mushrooms
*Duo of Beef Tenderloin and Flat Iron with potato cake and fava beans
*Tasting of Cheese
*Meyer Lemon Parfait with lemoncello sorbet

With the exception of the cheese plate (which was truly awful), each dish that came out was better than the last. And that is saying something, as the first course set the bar very high. It is easily one of the top 3 meals I've ever had. It was so fun to try a bunch of different tastes and quite cool to see how the right wine with a dish can really enhance already wonderful flavors.

Along with the dessert course, they also brought us a small platter of petite fours. Hubs looked at them and said "Hey, look, party favors!" OMG, I almost fell out of my chair laughing.

They practically had to roll us out at the end of the night seeing as how we were completely stuffed and beyond tipsy, but the meal was really a dream. I'd highly recommend the tasting menu, but if that is not in the budget, our favorite courses were the tuna for an appetizer and the sole as the entree.

The rest of the evening was spent milling around the casion floor at The Palazzo and enjoying one last beverage at Dos Caminos, the hotel's version of a restaurant/ultra lounge. It wasn't very crowded seeing as it had just opened a week before and there wasn't a lot of buzz about the place yet, but the music was good and the sangria even better.

Saturday morning was rough, for obvious reasons. We opted for a quick breakfast at Grand Luxe Cafe in the hotel before our spa appointments. And we must have looked awful as the waiter came up to us immediately and offered us bread and water while we perused the menu. Wine hangovers are just wicked people. Wicked.

After a plate of buttery hasbrowns, toast, bacon and copious amounts of coffee and water, we felt somewhat human again. Time for a brisk walk over to Qua Baths and Spa at Ceasar's Palace for some much needed pampering. The theme for the spa is water, which isevident immediately --- lots of stonework, soft blue tiles and paintings and mini waterfalls as you enter the main spa area. Then it was a quick kiss before we went to the separate men and women only areas.

A quick guided tour of the place revealed lots of fun amenities -- 3 roman mineral baths (one warm and 2 plunge pools, hot and cold), another hot whirlpool spa, steam room, wood sauna, inhalation room (kinda like a steam room with aromatherapy), artic ice room and lots of places to sit and enjoy it all. The roman baths were relaxing whether you were in them or just enjoying them from nearby lounges. The arctic room, however, was severely overrated. I liked the cold after being in the spa, but the "snow" was nothing more than that crappy stuff they have at Disneyland that hubs and I make fun of everytime we're there during the winter season. Lame!

For treatments, I opted for the hot stone massage while hubs went for the deep tissue in an effort to work out all the kinks and stress of the past few months. While I enjoyed the hot stone massage (definitely more relaxing that a traditional swedish massage due to the heat from the stones) I may have to switch to deep tissue next time. I think I need something that will actually work out the knots and the relaxation style massages just don't do that very well. Hubs couldn't say enough wonderful things about his massage. When we finally met back up after a few hours he looked like a completely different person. Said it's the best he has felt in months. Well, in that case, mission accomplished!

We spent the rest of the afternoon bumming around the Forum Shops and while I tried several times to make a fun designer purchase, it just never panned out. Ah well, it was fun window shopping anyways.

Dinner was another late night affair, this time at DB Brassierie at the Wynn hotel. We've become huge Daniel fans after becoming addicted to his show After Hours on the Mojo network. We were thrilled when we heard he had opened a Vegas restaurant (thanks for the tip Weemo!), seeing as how getting out to Vegas is much easier for us than flying out to NY.

I started with the french onion soup while hubs opted for the ceasar salad, claiming he felt like he hadn't had anything green in a long time and his body was craving something vegetable-y. I was told the salad was good. However, I didn't hear much during the appetizer portion because I couldn't stop muttering "omg, this is the best onion soup I've ever had", while slurping it down. No really, I've had onion soup at several places in France, this blew all of those out of the water! Granted, they did add beef shank to the soup, which is a change from the traditional recipe, but even without that addition, it was still unbelievable. UNBELIEVEABLE. Have I made it clear how much I loved this soup? Even if you don't want to do dinner here, the next time you're in Vegas, save room for a snack, go right when they open at 5:30pm and just order the soup. You can thank me later ;)

But yeah, we had a whole rest of the meal to go. The special that night was beef wellington, something I've wanted to try ever since watching multiple episodes of Hell's Kitchen. Hubs went with the DB Burger - a 9oz. burger stuffed with braised short ribs, black truffle and fois gras. Mmmm hmmm, you read that right. Decadence and then some. Even though it was huge, he loved it. Sadly, it was this point in the meal that my stomach started acting up. No, it wasn't the soup. I had been feeling off all day and after taking just a few bites of the wellington, my stomach held up a big red flag. :( The couple bites I had were tasty, but just too rich to stomach that night. The waiter was very gracious about it though and while only the hubs ordered dessert (sorbet trio, very tasty), he still brought out a small chocolate square with a mini scoop of espresso ice cream for me. This was after he let me try 2 different wines so I could pick the one I enjoyed most to pair with my entree --- you know, the one I wasn't able to eat.

Even with my stomach issues, it was still had a nice dinner and I'd definitely recommend the place, if for no other reason than for the soup!

We spent the rest of the night again at Dos Caminos, although Saturday night it was definitely more crowded than the previous night. Again, great music, tasty sangria and eager, sweet waitresses. The best part of the night though, was a mother in her 50's (dressed like a teenager) with her 20-something daughter and their husbands just rocking out like crazy folks to the music. This was entertainment for hours. We were very sad when they left.

Sunday morning we slept in, then it was back down to Grand Luxe for brunch. Afterwards, we tooled around the Palazzo and Venetian shops for a bit before heading back up to the room to take a nap before dinner. The original plan was to have dinner at Jay Z's 40/40 Club while watching the UCLA-USC basketball game. However, the place was packed with folks watching the NBA All-Star game so we went to Plan B. [Side Note: The club is quite cool and would be a great place for a bachelor party or for a co-ed group to watch a game. And it must be popular, as we tried to check it out on Saturday morning around 2:30am and the line was still ridiculous!]

So, instead of the club, we settled for Carnevino, the new steakhouse from Mario Batali at The Palazzo. [Yes, it wound up being a celebrity chef restaurant tour this weekend. :)] Service was great and the food was delicious. The brought out rosemary bread with regular butter and "bacon butter" (pork lard flavored with salt and fresh pepper) to start. Yes, you read that right - bacon butter. I was expecting it to blow me away, but it was a much more mellow flavor than I was expecting. Pretty good though. We split the black fettucine (made fresh daily) with crab, jalepeno and shallots for an appetizer. For dinner, I had the tenderloin while hubs had the NY strip steak and we split the spinach with garlic and hot peppers. My steak was fine, but hubs said it was the best NY steak he has ever had and we both agreed that the hot peppers took the spinach dish to a whole other level. The desserts were equally yummy; chocolate and carmel panna cotta for him and orange creme frittas with earl grey infused chocolate for me. Another great dinner with 2 happy and stuffed folks waddling out afterwards.

The night ended pretty early after that, seeing as how neither one of us could keep our eyes open. So, back to the room to watch a bit of tv and then lights out. The next morning we got on the road at a somewhat decent hour and thankfully the traffic was much better than it had been on the drive out.

It was a great, relaxing weekend, one that both of us really needed. Even though I miss him when he works crazy hours for months at a time, the upside to the hard work is that he also plays hard when he finally gets a break, which leads to whirlwind weekends like this one. For now though, it's back to the grind... for both of us.

* I had fully planned on taking many more pics, but the combination of alcohol, being tired and just wanting to enjoy the meals and some quality time with Jim led to the camera spending more time in my purse than on the table taking pictures.