On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 12

Most of our weekend re-cap can be found in my last post, since I just posted it!

I am really looking forward to posting the master bedroom updates. We still have so many little touches to finish though, it feels like it will never be done. We literally are touching every single inch of that room. Between the paint, including the trim work and all of the doors, having wiring done to install a ceiling fan, new lamps, new bedding, there is just a lot to do. We did find new lamps this weekend, as well as some bedding, but we still need an area rug as well as switch plate covers, new pulls for the dresser and one or two new chairs for by the window. Thinking the bed will be here in the next week or so. I am thinking the full reveal won't happen for about another month, which is kinda driving me crazy . . .

Monday
Plans - Home - work - house stuff
Dinner - Pork Chop Parmesan, Spaghetti, Broccoli (I was craving this)

Tuesday
Plans - Out with Co-workers
Dinner - Borough, good excuse to go back here!

Wednesday
Plans - Movie Screening Southdale "Olympus has Fallen". Can't wait to see this!
Dinner - Out

Thursday
Plans - My niece Miss Grace is in a play, we are going to see it!
Dinner - Sammy's pizza with my mom and dad before the play

Friday
Plans - We have a good friend who just had neck surgery, so we are going to take dinner out to her and her husband
Dinner - I thought I would make a soup and salad and bring some good crusty bread.I am going to make a White Bean with Lamb and Rosemary soup, num!

Saturday
Plans - We are hoping our new bed will be in, but if not, more work on the house, organizing projects and the second floor hallway.
Dinner - Out most likely

Sunday
Plans - Errands, possibly some more Parade of Homes
Dinner - Corned Beef, Cabbage, Potatoes and Carrots. Since we didn't have it last weekend and the boy is craving it.

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the Orgjunkie and Stone Gable.

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 11

Starting to get caught up, this will be my last post for the past, then I can focus on staying caught up going forward.

Monday
Plans - Home
Dinner - Chicken Pot Pie - Fail, Scott went to McDonalds for quick take out. We had a chicken pot pie from Trader Joe's that may have been in the fridge too long

Tuesday
Plans - Bunco, I sub hosted for a neighbor that had water damage to her house. Went with a St. Patrick's day theme, so much fun!
Dinner - I made a Creme de Menthe trifle, a platter of green veggies, my favorite cranberry dip and had lots of fun green and fun treats out. Skittles and rolos to represent the rainbow and pot of gold were one of my favorites.

Wednesday
Plans - Look at lamps - we wound up purchasing our comforter, liked a couple of sets of lamps, but didn't love anything. Here are some looks that we liked though. Home Goods is by far my favorite place to look for lamps and such. Best prices. I am not sure if I want to go with a brushed nickel or a bluish teal yet. My favorites are the ones on the bottom, but the boy doesn't like the shape of the shades, grrrrrrr. I don't know why I let him vote.
Dinner - Bacio

Thursday
Plans - Movie - West End - Identity Thief - We came home to a cop blocking our street, so we went one strret down and tried to get through and couldn't, there were fire trucks everywhere. A girl whose parents live one down from us said we are better off just parking and walking. I saw a fireman and asked what was going on, he said there was a fire at the blue house on the corner. My heart just sank. Our lovely neighbors Al and Jane had an electrical fire in their attic, there were fire trucks everywhere. I called our neighbors, who are also good friends and they said everyone was in their driveway to walk down. Oh the feeling and thought of a house fire, so scary. Luckily they were okay as well as their beagle Emma. But the damage to their house is just too much to comprehend. We spent most of the evening at the neighbors having cocktails as the firetrucks didn't leave until after 10 and we could not get to our house. SO scary, but thank goodness everyone is okay. It also happens to be one of our favorite houses on the street.
Dinner - Popcorn at the movies, cocktails at the neighbors.

Friday
Plans - Home
Dinner - Cheese and crackers - more of a HH dinner

Saturday
Plans - Look at Parade of Homes with neighbors. We saw some great homes and got some good ideas. Of course my favorite room, at my favorite house, I did not take pictures of, so I might have to go back to it.
Dinner - Golden Nugget - Burgers

I love this sectional, I am thinking this might be nice for the downstairs or our media room. Such classic styling.

I like the way the lamps looked on the nightstands. Wanted to get an idea for shapes. Love the headboard too.

Getting ideas for dining room light fixtures, I liked this, the boy not so much.

Loved the look of the hanging and the chandelier over the table. 

Nice looking kitchen.

This is what we have in mind for our walk up bar for downstairs.Only white. 

Nice pendant lighting, possible kitchen idea. 

Sunday
Plans - Errands, Mom and Dad for dinner
Dinner - Ribs, Scalloped potatoes, steamed broccoli, acorn squash

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the orgjunkie and Stone Gable.

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 10

I have not been very good about staying on top of things and getting these published in a timely manner. Between work, working on the house and organization projects and just getting out and about, it doesn't seem as though I have a moment to breath lately. I guess when I am on my laptop, I am usually surfing for house ideas and trying to get through email. We have been making a lot of progress at home. Right now I am looking for paint color inspirations for our main level, I am SO sick of the blah, blah walls. The master bedroom is just about done, just some of the finishing touches, new lamps, a new rug and finishing things off, can't wait for you to see it, I really like the way it is coming together. So here is what week 10 looked like for us, since this is basically a review!

Monday
Plans - Home, laundry, catch up at home
Dinner - Steaks, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli

Tuesday
Plans - Snow day, worked from home
Dinner - Ribs, Rice, Cauliflower

Wednesday
Plans - Picked up new chairs for eat in kitchen area
Dinner - Captain Jack's on Prior Lake for burgers

Thursday
Plans - Movie screening Dead Man Down @ MOA
Dinner - Crave - really needed a Sushi fix

Friday
Plans - Out to dinner with the neighbors
Dinner - Pizza - Joey Nova's, best pizza I have had in MN

Saturday
Plans - Karaoke Party at friends S & J, they really did it up!
Dinner - Appetizers

Sunday
Plans - Errands, stuff for the master bedroom - ceiling fan shopping, groceries
Dinner - Red Robin for lunch, light dinner of popcorn

What do you think of this one?

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 9

Last week my meal plan never really came together and I didn't get it published until, well, yesterday. My goal for this week is to work on my work/life balance, lets see how that goes.

We had an awesome weekend. Starting on Thursday actually. We tried a wonderful new restaurant in the Warehouse district. We started with cocktails downstairs, which has kind of that speakeasy feeling. They have a wonderful list of their own cocktail creations and they are delicious! I started with a delicious cocktail, nice and light and refreshing. We had great conversation and then moved upstairs for our dinner reservation.

Dinner was small plates. There were four of us, celebrating M & M's engagement and just catching up. Dinner was sensational, I love this place and cannot wait to go back. We ordered 10 different small plates to share between the four of us, my favorites, the french fries with a fried egg on top and spicy ketchup and the burger, SO good! This was one of the desserts.

Need to get another date for this place on the calendar. Num!

Friday night we went out with friends to another new place to celebrate a birthday, delicious, and one of my all time favorite cocktails ever!

Saturday was our Oscar Party which I already posted about and Sunday we vegged, but it was an awesome weekend.

This week is looking like this. . .

Monday
Plans - Happy Hour with the boy after a long day!
Dinner - Bacio, one of our favorites

Tuesday
Plans - Capital Grille with friends J & S for Restaurant Week, num!
Dinner - Capital Grille

Wednesday
Plans - Home
Dinner - Leftovers

Thursday
Plans - Super Secret Underground Mystery Dinner Party
Dinner - Whatever they make!

Friday
Plans - Out with the neighbors for one more Restaurant Week menu!
Dinner - Eat, Shop, Plymouth

Saturday
Plans - Food and Wine Show - Volunteer
Dinner - Mission with sister J and her new BF

Sunday
Plans - Food and Wine Show - Attend
Dinner - Food and Wine Show fare

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the Orgjunkie and Stone Gable.

Oscar Party Re-Cap

We hosted our 2nd Annual Pre Oscar Party last night, we had such a good time, and so much fun planning out the decorations and food. Everyone came decked to the nines and had a ton of fun.

Of course, lessons learned for next year, you can never be too prepared. I wish I would have taken the time to stuff the swag bags in advance, we were scrambling at the last minute, but it got done. I wish I would have had more of the food made in advance, but realistically, hot food needs to be hot. I could have done more of the decorations before that day, I will definitely do more of that next year.

As far as planning went, I did spend a lot of time on Pinterest, planning out the party, what an awesome resource. So many good ideas, and I used a lot of them!

Our entrance set the mood as our guests arrived, balloons and candles in glasses (from the thrift store) lining the walkway, and then of course paparazzi greeting them.

We paired the food we served with the movies. Of course I didn't take great pictures throughout the night, but the food went over big time, luckily we didn't have much clean-up because everyone ate and we didn't have much for leftovers.

Life of Pi - Thai Lettuce Wraps - I will post the recipe later for these, everyone loved them.
Les Miserables and Amour - Baguette and Brie as well as other French cheeses.
Django Unchained - White Cupcakes (white cake).
Silver Linings Playbook - Philly Cheesesteak Sliders (I am allergic to crab, so we couldn't do the crabby snacks, but we did also have a box of raisin bran on the buffet).
Argo - Wine and Canadian Beer (it seemed like they were always drinking while they were waiting for more information at the Canadian Consulate house).
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Chicken Skewars and dipping sauce
Lincoln - Apple Fritters and turnovers
Zero Dark Thirty - Tabouli, hummus, figs and pita, water (that was probably not in the best taste, but we did serve water!)

We had other food as well, lots of just boxed pre-made appetizers and then of course popcorn!

We also had two contests. One was guess the film and the year it won an Oscar. We had film posters on one side of the fridge, and people had paper to guess on. On the the other side of the fridge were movie synopsis from winning films, you had to guess the movie. It was fun to watch people get into it.

We also had ballots and an Oscar pool, results still to come there. But everyone bought a sheet for $5.

As guests departed for the evening, they were given swag bags. Of course a couple friends did mention that they hoped they wouldn't have to declare its value on their 2013 taxes! These were a lot of fun to make. Movie theater sized candy treats, a key chain flashlight for finding your seat at the movies, sunglasses to protect your eyes from the paparazzi, a clapper to cheer on your favorites during the show, diamond shaped ice cubes to chill your fancy drink while watching the show and a sheet to track your favorite fashionistas.

We had an awesome time, I am already looking forward to next years party! This is always one of my favorite parties we do every year!

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 8

Obviously I do not have my work/life balance worked out at the moment, which is making me a little beyond crazy. I am still doing my best to adjust to working out of an office, planning meals, outfits, planning my time, there is a lot to take into consideration.

We had a really good LONG weekend. Friday, the cooking class we took, at Saga Hill Cooking School, on Friday with six other couples was an absolute blast. The woman who ran the class, Marianne, was belly laugh hysterical and our group had an awesome time. The food was fantastic, the recipes were sent to us Sunday and I have already made the pulled pork which was delicious! The class was an absolute blast though.

Saturday we went to the St. Paul Home and Patio show. There is one next week in Minneapolis which is much bigger and I would really like to go to that one, especially since as it turns out, we missed the biggest room, and it was probably the room that would have benefited us the most. Really poor signage. I thought the whole show overall was pretty weak, the best thing that I saw there was some furniture for the deck, but I am not sure what I am going to do with the deck yet here this summer.

We ran some errands after and wound up at Romano's Macaroni Grill for dinner. I had never been there before, and it was right next to where we were running errands. Overall I thought it was okay for a chain, we thought it was going to be quick and easy, we were wrong. There was a 45 minute wait when we got there, luckily I snagged a spot for us at the bar, and we wound up eating there, the place was packed, I couldn't believe it.

Sunday we thought that we would have more time to work on the house, but we had tickets to the Metropolitan Ballet's production of Swan Lake at 3:00. I LOVED it, I think if I tried to get the boy to go again, it might have to be kicking and screaming, but hey, I go to a lot of car shows which really aren't my "thing". Its all about give and take. After the ballet, we decided to take advantage of D'amico and Partners and their Sunday night date night special. For $50 you get a bottle of wine, starter, entree and dessert for two. It is a wonderful deal, especially because their restaurants are all so fabulous and the food is excellent. We decided to try Campiello since it is the closest to our house. The atmosphere was perfect for a cold chilly MN winter night. It was so warm and inviting inside and the restaurant was packed so I am glad I had made reservations. Dinner was exceptional. We had wonderful service, the food was delicious and the whole thing just made for a very enjoyable evening. Since we both had Monday off for Presidents day, it was so nice to be out on a Sunday night for a nice long leisurely meal. Dessert was a butterscotch pana cotta with a brittle dipped in dark chocolate and sea salt for me, and a chocolate molten cake for the boy with peanut butter ice cream and brittles. We don't usually do dessert, so this was a special treat!

It was SOOOO nice to be home Monday. The boy started working on painting our bedroom, starting with the trim and doors. It will be so nice to get rid of all that ugly dark brown wood and lighten things up. This is the look we are going for (from Pinterest where I have a whole board for our Master Bedroom ideas)

I need to dig up some before pictures so that I can show you the progress.

Good thing I am finally getting this posted, only a week late, ugh!

Monday
Plans - Home, no work! Mani/Pedi, friend J came by for dinner and catch up
Dinner - Pulled spicy pork on tortillas with the fixings

Tuesday
Plans - Out with the boy for dinner
Dinner - Pizza out with the boy

Wednesday
Plans - Home
Dinner - Chicken Chili - leftovers from the fridge

Thursday
Plans - Out with friends M & M to celebrate their engagement
Dinner - Borough, so excited to try this new restaurant

Friday
Plans - a haircut, time for something fresher, out with friends to celebrate a birthday
Dinner - Union, another new restaurant for us

Saturday
Plans - Oscar Party!
Dinner - We have paired the food we will be serving with the movies, I will do a whole post on the party!

Sunday
Plans - Veg and clean-up from the party
Dinner - Leftovers

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the orgjunkie and Stone Gable. I really need to get this whole work/life balance thing back in check.