Presents, Presents Everywhere!

Usually I’m not one to care if I get anything for my b-day (on the 19th) or for X-mas….but this year has been pretty special so far and J and I have received some pretty nice gifts thus far and it’s not even Christmas yet or our birthdays.

I came home yesterday and received 3 UPS notices for packages that were left at our apartment’s leasing office for pick up. I was very excited. All in all, this is what we received:

 1. a Haier 18 Bottle Wine Cellar - we received this from our friends L, L2, S, and G. It was very kind of them to get us something so nice and useful. J belongs to an Ultra Reds wine club at our favorite wine shop and he hasn’t opened any of them, so it’ll be nice to put the bottles in the cellar.

2. J got a set of Laguiole by Sabatier Stainless Steel Steak Knives from my sister PC. These will be very useful, since we are in need of new knives anyway — plus, we’re having steak tonight, so we can test them out!

3. I received my gift from J yesterday as well. I got my new Creative Zen V Plus MP3 Player. It is so tiny and fits perfectly in my palm. It’s a great little player! It holds photos, videos, audiobooks, and music. I’m in love with my new little toy!

Then when I came home tonight, there was a big box sitting by my front door. When I opened it, I was so excited! My sister PC got me a Kitchen Aid Mixer and it’s a pretty red color.  I’m so excited to start using it!!!

So, there you have it. We’ve been pretty blessed thus far. Thanks to the kind people in our lives that got us these really wonderful gifts.

Belated Welcome

Since I’ve been so naughty about updating my blog, just wanted to make a little announcement. Our good friends M& N just welcomed their first child into the world on Dec. 4th. A beautiful healthy boy. We should be meeting him in a few days…I can’t wait!

 Welcome Little Guy.

Dane Cook is the SH*T!

Last Wed, J and I had the pleasure of attending Dane Cook’s show at the Pavilion. It was Hi-lar-i-ous!!! The thing that I loved about his comedy show was that it was all new material — not anything that I’ve seen before or heard on YouTube. He’s a great performer and very energetic.

 I got these tix for J’s birthday/X-mas gift. It was well worth it!

Kathy Griffin is a Hoot!

This past Saturday, J and I went to the city to catch a 10pm show for Miss Kathy Griffin (Life on the D List). It was a fun show…she was very funny, though most of her comedy is towards making fun of celebrities – she poked fun at a whole lot of them – Marie Osmond (ew.), Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise, Oprah, Britney, all the Osmonds and many more. She was very energetic and I can see why the crowd loves her. We had a good time in the city…it was a little weekend getaway for us. Fun times.

Back to My Blog…

MIA the past few weeks…

Create Your Own Recipe Book

I frequently get e-mails from Epicurious, a wonderful website that hosts Bon Appetitt and Gourmet magazine recipes. I’ve used quite a few recipes from these sites myself. I used to be a subscriber to both publications, but I decided if I needed a recipe, I’d just go online.

The other day I received an e-mail from Epicurious declaring I could make my own recipe book (they call it Tastebook) by following this link. One can create their own book by selecting 100 recipes of one’s choice. It allows you to create a cover for your recipe book, a title, description, and you get to browse around for recipes. You can even add your own personal recipes to the book. There’s even a preview book option so that you can take a look at what you’ve done so far and make changes if necessary. The recipes have all been divided into chapters titled “Appetizers & Drinks”, “Meat & Poultry”, etc. 

So far, I’ve added 24 recipes to my book….I still have a ways to go. I’ve already selected quite a few tasty dishes, such as: Goat Cheese Ravioli with Bell Peppers and Brown Butter, Roasted Salmon with Horseradish Creme Fraiche, Beef Braised in Barolo wine, and Sea Scallops Brochettes with Orange-Saffron Aioli, to name a few. I can’t wait to try these out!

After you select your recipes and your book is complete, you can purchase it for $34.95.

Not a bad deal at all…..I think this would make a great Christmas gift. Feel free to check it out and pass the word along.

Happy Halloween!

 My cat Bailey loves to dress up! Have a safe Halloween!

Welcome Baby K!

My dear friends B and A just welcomed their 2nd child at 8:15 yesterday morning.

The beautiful baby boy was 9 lbz. 14 oz. and at a length of 22 inches. Baby A joins his brother N, who just turned 2 last Friday. Congrats to them!

I couldn’t be more happier for this wonderful family.

 Also, I’m excited to be an “Auntie” again

Holy Earthquake!

Last night, J and I were at dinner with our uncle K. At around 8:00 when we were seated, we felt this shaking going on. My first thought was that the train was passing by, but when it lasted for about 15 more seconds, we realized we had just felt an earthquake — it wasn’t just a small earthquake, it was big enough that it was broadcast all over the news and CNN. It was a 5.6 on the Richter scale. Wow. At least there was no real damage done to anything. When we got home from dinner (yes, instead of leaving the restaurant like some other patrons, we decided to stay put), I noticed a few things had fallen off the shelf, but that was it — not much else.

This is the 2nd earthquake we’ve felt since we’ve been out here….I just hope we are elsewhere when a bigger one comes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.