The Academy Awards

 

 My favorite Red Carpet moments last night.  The Calvin Klein on Sarah Lawrence is so effortlessly sexy and Mila is looking like the prima ballerina she played in Black Swan.  Celine is looking amazing for having just had twins!

Felipe and I watched the Red Carpet and Awards Ceremony together and played some Oscar Bingo (which he won, twice.)

Happy Map

After the usual amount of drama required with a Rosso DIY project, a can of spray adhesive, and some straight pins we now have our own "Oh, the Places You'll Go" map.  Can't wait to add new pins as we travel!

Hutch - Vacation Days #5/6/7

Felipe & I both had a wonderful time visiting the family.  We slept so good, 10+ hours each night, which is just what the doctors ordered.  I introduced Felipe to Bogeys 101 milkshake flavors on Wednesday.  Grandma had a little dinner party on Thursday night..  And then, Dutch Kitchen on Friday - yummo! 

Even better than the food, was the family.  We got to see gma, gpa, aunt weeze, emily, stacy, jaelynn, addie, and aubrie.  Everyone seemed to be doing well, and it was great to tell old jokes (and win at Uno!) 

Can't wait until next time.

Vacation Day #5

Wednesday we loaded up Daphne and headed down the highway to Lawrence to meet with our taxman.  After signing off and anticipating a nice return, we hit up Mass street.  Fel was feeling under the weather so we both ordered some spicy noodle soup at Zen Zero that filled us up.   

• For myself -Thukpa: Nepalese-Tibetan egg noodle soup with onions, garlic, ginger, curry, cilantro & scallions. Topped with tomato chutney.
• For the hubby - Thai Glass Noodle Soup: cellophane noodle soup with garlic, chicken stock, bean sprouts, napa cabbage, scallions & cilantro.  Of course, he ordered his with beef.

I think those bowls had a false bottom, because we must have been slurping it down for at least an hour and I never did hit the bottom of mine.

 

We wandered around Mass Street, tried on Birkenstocks, sampled some local-made wine (and picked up a bottle of sweet blackberry to take home to grandma), and then climbed back into Daphne to hit the road to Hutchinson.

Penne alla Vodka

Huge thanks to "the way the cookie crumbles", a delicious food-blog, for introducing me to this delightful and simple recipe.  Please do not be afraid of the vodka, you really can't taste it at the end.  And I promise you will not get drunk.  Felipe and I both ate 2 huge bowls apiece and are still walking in straight lines.

Penne alla Vodka (from Cooks Illustrated)

1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

½ small onion, minced (about ¼ cup)

 

1 tablespoon tomato paste

 

2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)

 

½ teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

 

table salt

 

⅓ cup vodka

 

½ heavy cream

 

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves

 

fresh parmesan cheese, for serving

 

1. Stick a pair of kitchen shears in the tomato can and snip away, until tomato chunks are bite-sized. 
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are light golden around the edges, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in the tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vodka. Return the pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until the alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes; stir frequently and lower the heat to medium if the simmering becomes too vigorous.
5. Stir in the cream and cook until hot, about 1 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook until just shy of al dente, then drain the pasta, and transfer back to pot.
7. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss over medium heat until the pasta absorbs some of the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the basil and adjust the seasoning with salt.
8. Divide among pasta bowls and serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.

Lucky mag, Lucky me

This month's Lucky magazine featured "the $500 wardrobe" which consists of enough pieces for 90 different outfits, enough to get your through a season of fashion. 

Of course, the fashionista in me immediately wanted to buy every single piece.  I get a little fashion crazy like that.  Instead, after looking at the outfits a little closer, I'm going to try to make it work with pieces already in my closet.  I couldn't imagine giving up all of my colorful clothes (that I love) for an entire season of neutrals (even if they are featured in my fave magazine ever.)

I did treat myself to these sold-out, crazy-awesome heels at Payless.  I went to the "least fashionable" Payless in town, and lucky me, they had one pair left in my size!  Can you believe these are going for $80+ on Ebay???

Vacation Day #2/#3

Its been a blur of getting stuff done - laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, closet cleaning, and running (literally.)  Whew!  Don't know where the past 2 days have gone, but I do know I've now got Kansas license plates and some fabulous slippers that advertise, "Slip them on and they'll do the cleaning for you."   We'll see how well they work;)

2 highlights of today - my morning massage (thank you massage envy!) and a late lunch at dog nuvo.

Behold - the delicious ChiTown Dog.

"Dragged through the garden! Our dog with that Crazy Neon Green Relish - a la Nuvo, Hot Peppers, Sweet Onions, Grape Tomatoes, Pickle Ribbons, Stone Ground Mustard and, of course, Celery Salt. Served on a Poppy Seed Challah."

Photo

Photo: "

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Vacation Day #1

After a long and brutal overnight ER shift, Felipe was my hero.  He woke up (on his first day of vacation), started the dishes, ran a load of laundry, and then came and picked me up b/c I was much too exhausted to drive home.  He really can be such a charmer sometimes.

I took a LONG nap all cuddled up snug with the kitties.  Its amazing how it is always naptime for them.  After waking up I lingered over a cup of coffee, munching on toast with homemade elderberry jam, and perusing the internets.

And then the miracle occurred. . . . .felipe agreed to go with me on my run!  (Granted, I did paint a rather scary picture of how he would feel running that 5k with me in april if he did not train at all.)  Of course, as soon as we set foot outside the house, the light refreshing mist turned into a rain.  Drats!  The consolation prize was a dance-workout video I had tivo'd off the Fitness channel.

Right now, I'm all dolled up in my new sweater dress I scored at Loft last weekend and ready for a double date with the inlaws at J Gilberts.  My biggest stress this evening will be deciding what to order off their delicious menu.

Orange you Cute

For the longest time I've hestitated to post my shopping adventures here on the blog.  The 15-year old girl in me is still cringing from when my mother found the receipt from my very first pair of Lucky Brand jeans (or did she call the bank to check the balance in my account. . . .)  Either way, I was busted big-time for that shopping adventure and have made it through these next 14 years without a single reprimand (that I can remember.)  I figure I am an adult, and I love to shop, and that is okay.  So here goes - - - -

Is this not the cutest dress you have ever seen?  Plus it was featured in Lucky Magazine, one of my all time fave maggies, plus I could an amazing deal on Ebay.  One of my very special blog readers, who will remain nameless, is also obsessed with Ebay and good deals and hopefully is cheering me on from in front of her computer.  Its the perfect transition piece for spring.  I can wear it with boots and a scarf now, strappy sandals later, and its just long enough to be work appropriate.  Score!

Where in the World?

How cool is this?  Loving the idea, and promptly ordered my own.  I'm planning on hanging it on the near wall in the office above the 2 chairs and lamp.  Slowly but surely Felipe and I are traveling to new destinations. . . .

UPDATE: the map just arrived and is awesome!  even better, the hubby approves!

Lovin' some Steve Madden

 I've been looking for a new pair of blank ankle boots to replace my suede ones that have worn out trudging through all the winter sludge.  Lucky me, all Steve Madden clearance is an extra 50% off online!  (Use code SALE50.)  I managed to score  2 pairs for a mere $40.

This first pair looks so cozy.  Perfect to wear lounging around the house, or with some leggings to run errands.

This second pair is going to be my go-to boot for work.  The chunky heel will keep me from tottering over and the distressed suede will hide signs of wear.  Though goodness knows I've learned my lesson and will waterproof these girls before wearing them out.

A few outfit ideas I found online. . . . . .

Hot Trailer: 'X-Men: First Class'

Can't wait! James McAvoy is a hottie (of course, not near as hot as my hubby.)

Hot Trailer: 'X-Men: First Class': "

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BBQ Brunch

Ma & Pa are making the journey up from Arkansas this weekend (if they can make it through the snow) and I have found the perfect Brunch to treat them to when they arrive.  Nothing like a big slab of meat in the morning.

http://www.rjsbbq.com/

My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

The Real Breathless CPR

The Real Breathless CPR

--- this is a link to a blog written by a FM Resident. Heartfelt, funny, and very accurate.

una frijolada

translation: "delicious!"

HUGE thanks to the mil & fil for an amazing dinner.

Ladies who Lunch

Having some girlfriends from college over this afternoon to gossip and munch on yummies.  Decided to try my hand at baking up some Rum & Coke Whoopie pies.  (Which took FOREVER, can't wait until my oven is fixed!)

Worst Fortune Ever

Yesterday, Felipe & I both had a long and exhausting day at the Med Center.  After finally making it home we decided to treat ourselves to some comfort food at Fan's Tea and Dumplings.  Beef noodle soup for myself, which was divine and totally hit the spot.  Felipe tried an old fave from his Topeka days - shredded pork with garlic sauce and was quite impressed.  Dinner was all fine and dandy until at the end of the meal we were given our fortune cookies.  I opened mine up, and look what it said -

Snow Cream

Mom, this one's for you! I remember having this as a kid. Or, even easier, just topping snow with maple syrup.

Snow Cream: "

Yesterday while perusing Facebook I saw that my friend Kelsi mentioned she’d just made some Snow Cream. Since I’m snowbound in my house and have approximately 800 three foot tall snowdrifts in my yard, I thought FREE SNOW!, then what the hell and asked for the recipe she used. I probably should have added a little more of that free snow in retrospect, but it turned out to be a nice little perk of not being able to leave the house.

Snow Cream

• 1 cup milk

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla (but you could really use any extract flavor)

• 4-5 cups fresh, clean snow

Mix together milk, sugar, and vanilla until dissolved. (I used a metal bowl to keep things extra chilly.) Then stir in snow and chow down immediately.

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Snow Day

Enjoying a glorious snow day here at home all wrapped up like a little blanket burrito.  I stayed up incredibly late last night absorbed with reading Breaking Dawn to see what would become of Bella.  Woke up this morning at an hour too late to mention and was greeted with a winter wonderland and 2 snuggly kitties.  Thought I would earn some wife points (and perhaps a foot massage) so I got all bundled up and shoveled the drive.  It's already starting to reaccumulate but I'm leaving round 2 to the hubby.  I've been catching up on my DVR - so far I've watched the Office (which I adore) and am starting the new season of Gossip Girl.  Also have some Modern Family, Fashion Police, and the Bachelor for my viewing pleasure.  Hope everyone is staying warm!