On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 4

What a busy weekend, feel like it just flew by! Friday we were able to catch an early movie, Hunger Game - Catching Fire, we also tried a new (to us) restaurant. Look for a review later this week!   Saturday was a spa day with my girlfriend C. It was fabulous. I had a full body exfoliation, and with the dry cold winter we have had, it was just what my skin needed. I cannot believe how smooth and soft my skin feels. Really makes me think about taking better care of my skin and making sure that I am using lots of lotion on a regular basis. That was followed up by an hour massage that left me feeling like a wet noodle. I sat in the steam room for a good bit, opening up my pores which after the exfoliation and body treatment, was just what I needed.  Saturday evening we joined friends out for dinner at Capital Grille. Love that place. We have a favorite server there and the GM is wonderful and always happy to see us. We brought some great wines and just had a fabulous dinner and conversation. 

Sunday was our big day with a jam packed day. We started with brunch at a little cafe not far from our house. It was wonderful and I knew it would stick with me most of the day. After brunch we turned in some old phones for bill credit, we had some OLD phones, but nice that they gave us credit for them. The boys cousin and his wife had a baby last Monday, Mallory Grey (love that name) and we could not wait to go and visit. She is just beautiful!

After, we headed to the bowling alley to celebrate my niece and nephew, G & G's birthdays! Pizza, soda, chicken wings and bowling, who could ask for more? We had a really good time, even though we did not bowl very well, it was a ton of fun! Sister selfies too!

Even  sibling photo bomb!   Here is what we have going on this week! There were a couple of recipes from last week that I will be carrying over to this week that we didn't get to make or changed up.  

 

Monday

Plans - Target, Gym

Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, berries, salad

Dinner -Turkey taco meat (for salad and leftovers this week), I am also going to make a cauliflower soup to have for lunches as well. I will probably post the soup, I am excited to see how it turns out.

Tuesday

Plans - Gym, Home

Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, berries, salad

Dinner - Chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and feta (from last week, we switched things up)

Wednesday

Plans - HH with former co-workers, Ahi Tuna Crisps, NUM!

Breakfast and Lunch - Cottage Cheese, Berries, Salad

Dinner - Out for HH

Thursday

Plans - Out to dinner, maybe a movie

Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, Berries, Salad

Dinner - Out with the boys parents for dinner.

Friday

Plans - Taking a the day off and heading up to the lake with friends L & J, I cannot wait for a weekend of cooking (cannot wait to find fun things to cook - need a good egg bake for sure, so if you have one, please send it or post it), hanging out and just spending time with good friends!

Breakfast and Lunch - Yogurt, berries, lunch on the road

Dinner - Not sure yet, so far the food plan for the weekend is turkey chili, an egg bake, fruit and other snack goodies.

Saturday and Sunday

Plans - The lake.

For more meal plans and links to recipes, check out the orgjunkie!

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 37

We have a very busy week. And if you would have asked me an hour ago what we are doing tonight, I would have told you one thing, now I may be telling you another, and it is just going to be one of those weeks I am afraid.

We had a wonderful weekend, busy, but fun and packed! More to come on that later this week.

We have a lot going on this week. . .

Monday
Plans - Sister J is in town, so hopefully she is coming for dinner. We wanted to go to this new thing that a friend of ours is doing at Midtown Global Market, but the boy is off all week, and he is in the middle of painting and changing the hardware on the front doors. He has to stop in the middle to go to a dentist appointment already, so better for him to just keep the momentum going.
Dinner - Poached tilapia with leeks, rice and a veggie, but I haven't decided on a veggie yet!

Tuesday
Plans - Neighborhood Bunco at our house! My month is not supposed to be until April, but one of the girls had an emergency.
Dinner - I am making a bunch of appetizers to put out for the girls Mushroom Phyllo Bundles, Sausage Bean Spinach Dip, Pumpkin Fluff Dip and maybe Cranberry Feta Pinwheels. I am also making a couple of different snack mixes to have on each of the tables and some of the girls are bringing stuff so I don't want to over do it too much.

Wednesday
Plans - The Boys Birthday! Helping my mom with Junk Bonanza and then dinner out!
Dinner - Murrays is the restaurant that the boy has picked to go to. Should be good and I am excited to see it as they just reopened last week after a remodel and being closed for 6 weeks!

Thursday
Plans - Cooking class with friends
Dinner - At the cooking class, should be delicious as it is a tour through Tuscany with food and wine!

Friday
Plans - Dinner Party for 8 to celebrate the boys birthday!
Dinner - He picked the menu, and we are revisiting a dish from the past, but it is one of his favorites and he gets to pick! Appetizers include a chili dip with corn chips and sausage wontons, Mixed green salad with a light vinaigrette, Red Wine Braised Short Ribs, Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes (I don't use a recipe but just kind of wing it), Roasted green beans with mushrooms and blueberry pie which our friend J is making special for him!

Here is the table we decided to go with, still need to come up with water glasses but it will come together.

Saturday
Plan - Grillfest 2012. We are doing a tailgating theme again, so I just need to find a couple of recipes to make. It is going to be a busy week.

I will have to update Sunday later in the week. Too much to even think about at this point :)!

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

Meal Plan Monday - Birthday Week - Week 13

We had an okay weekend. Good and bad. Friday sister J came over for dinner and drinks. She had been out of town all week like I was, so it was nice to just kick back and catch up with her. We had some appetizers from Trader Joe's and then I made a mac and cheese with some leftover cheese as well as salmon and asparagus.

Saturday I had Summit duty, ran some errands with the boy and then we met sister J and our friend T out for dinner. It was a beautiful night, and we were looking forward to a nice dinner along the water. We had a nice leisurely meal, some great wine and then when we went out to my car after lingering over dinner, my truck which was parked in a public ramp for all of the restaurants in the area, the passengers window had been smashed and glass was everywhere. I had brought my regular pocket book as well as an evening bag which went with my dress. Most of the important stuff wasn't in it anymore, but my passport and the boys keys were in my regular pocketbook. UGH! What a mess! At least it was nice out so the ride home wasn't that bad. But I hate criminals.

Sunday my parents came over and we went to brunch with them. Thank goodness they came over though, we had to wait until today to get the glass replaced and the boy is still looking for the title of his car to get a key made, since the only key he had was in my pocketbook, ugh.

This week is my birthday week. We have a lot of fun things planned, I am looking forward to it.

Monday
Plans - Home, laundry
Dinner - Bacon Chicken Alfredo (it was cold out today, after having weeks of beautiful weather, I was in the mood for some comfort food)

Tuesday
Plans - Movie Screening The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Dinner - We are going with friends C & S so we are grabbing a bite to eat at Coopers before

Wednesday
Plans - We have screening tickets to both Mirror, Mirror and The Cabin in the Woods, not sure which one we will see
Dinner - We have all kinds of free birthday meals, so we will probably use one of those

Thursday
Plans - JLM shift
Dinner - Probably out somewhere

Friday
Plans - Celebrating with friends.
Dinner - We have reservations for 18 in a private room at one of my favorite restaurants. The boy and I are doing wine, appetizers and desserts. Fire Lake is the name the restaurant. I am really looking forward to it, we are going to do fresh flowers on the table and goodie bags for our guests.

Saturday
Plans - My actual birthday
Dinner - The boy and I are going to dinner at Osteria Il Nonni for their tasting menu. I can't wait. We had an incredible meal there last fall, and I have been telling the boy since then that I want to go back for my birthday. Can't wait!

Sunday
Plans - Brunch at my parents with my sister and her family, meeting with the kitchen designer to start working on plans for the kitchen remodel, can't wait!
Dinner - No idea, but maybe something low key.

Should be a busy but fun week!

Mystery Murder Party!

I mentioned a few posts back (a few weeks ago) that for my birthday, we had a few friends over to celebrate my birthday by hosting a murder mystery dinner party. It was a ton of fun, and I am really glad that our friend J was here to help guide us through it. She had participated in a couple before, so she had a good idea of how it flowed.

We sent invitations out a few weeks in advance with everyone's character assignments and pertinent information. I found these great invitations on Traylor Papers.

We decided instead of doing a sit down dinner, this was more of a casual heavy apps and wine group, so I ran to Trader Joe's and picked up a few things, and then I also made pear with TJ's spreadable blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto, assorted cheese and crackers and a salad with strawberries, goat cheese arugula and candied walnuts with a champagne vinaigrette.

I didn't do much for decorations but I always have fresh flowers, which I love. I don't think I can go a week without fresh flowers. I think working from home so much, it gives me something bright and cheery to look at it in passing! Ranunculus are one of my favorite flowers. I just LOVE them, but unfortunately they do not grow well in my zone.

We had a wonderful group of friends, my sister and brother in law, T and sister J, our friend M and then J who was such a huge help. The boy even quit shaving for a few days to get into his character. My favorite though was our friend M who was Otto Van Schnapps and in the description of his character it said that he needed to wear Lederhosen so of course he had to find just the right costume.

We had to have cake of course. We have a wonderful bakery by our new place and they make the most beautiful and delicious cake I think I have ever had. This is their Grasshopper cake, it is an extremely moist chocolate cake with a wonderful minty filling and the most delicious light whipped topping frosting. I thoroughly enjoyed this cake, and then promptly sent the other half home with my sister for my niece and nephews. But I promise you, I am still thinking about it today. . Plus, its pink and green, how much better can you get?

A week later when we went up to our friends L & J's cabin for the weekend, we celebrated not only my birthday, but L & J's as well. Another great reason to get another cake from Wuollet. This one we had decorated though, I won't be doing that again as I don't like that super sweet frosting. But again, it was so cute and so delicious!

I would love to do another Murder Mystery Party, it was a ton of fun, and I cannot imagine spending my birthday any other way, with such wonderful friends.

Pink and Green Thursday - Birthday Edition

It's that day that happens once a year. I am looking forward to a nice dinner out with the boy and then a weekend away with friends, one of which has a birthday Tuesday, so we will have some birthday cupcakes!

Birthday Dinner

The boy and I had a fabulous night out celebrating my birthday. He was very good to me, and gave me some fabulous gifts as well.

We started our evening out with the Macy's Flower Show. Which smelled so good as we walked down the hallway and all of the flowers were SO pretty! The theme this year is "Spring is in the Air" and it certainly is here! Last night it was probably 76 degrees outside as we walked from Macy's to dinner.

For dinner we went to Mission, which was fantastic. A nice cozy half circle booth, a fabulous wine list and such wonderful dinner choices we had a hard time deciding. We started with bacon wrapped scallops, which were to die for, but I think we were a little too hungry and I didn't even snap a photo! For a salad we split (yes, this is half) a tomato, bacon, red onion salad with buttermilk dressing and fresh dill. This is definitely a salad that is going on my next dinner menu! So easy but so light, refreshing and delicious!

We each chose different entrees but we knew that we would both enjoy either of them. I went with the beef tenderloin, roasted garlic mashed potatoes and broccolini, SO good!

The boy went with the "pork" porterhouse, roasted potatoes and sauteed green beans. DELICIOUS! He said he thought he liked his better than mine, but I do think that both dishes were outstanding. I paired my meal with a nice petite syrah, the boy had a pilsner. 

We ended the meal with a recommendation from our waiter, Bill. I was trying to decide between the molten chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet, or the lavender creme brulee. Ultimately I went with the creme brulee as it is always a favorite. This was a really interesting take on it, where they put it into a bowl, surrounded by dried lavender, and then they pour hot water around it to make it more of an aromatherapy experience. It was wonderful!

The boy, along with my wonderful presents that he picked out, also bought me flowers, which I just love!

Our friends M & M, also sent me beautiful flowers yesterday as well, don't you just love the pink and brown basket????

Pictures of presents to come, but the boy did a fabulous job!