The (Not-So) Ordinary Life and Times...

Happy Fall Ya'll!

It's the first day of Fall (my favorite season) and it's potluck day at the museum. It's weird, I don't like pumpkin pie, but I like pumpkin cupcakes (and would probably give a digit or limb for Christina Kahler's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies) and so I made an Ina Garten recipe that my stepmother-in-law Susan made for Labor Day weekend at the lake. She had them out at breakfast and I thought I had died and gone to heaven - pumpkin muffins with frosting!? - but only after I had eaten (more than) one she told me they were actually cupcakes. Oh well. Have a good weekend!

 

It's Greek to Me

I've been experimenting with some simple Greek food this past week. I baked some chicken breasts and made a really quick and easy Tzatziki-type sauce and served them with some frozen Spanakopita from Whole Foods (yum!).  I think I've definitely found a winner in Cooking Light's Quick Pastitsio. We had it last night and will be making it again!

This weekend I get to cross #16 off my list! We're heading to Indianola to Summerset Winery for their grape harvest! This will be me:

Taste Test: Newtons Fruit Thins

I'm a bit persnickety when it comes to dessert. If it's chocolate, I will probably eat it. Not a big fan of fruit in my dessert. When it comes to cookies, I'm a soft-and-chewy person, not really crunchy.

I love Fig Newtons (the original!), so when I heard about the new Newtons Fruit Thins, I was a bit skeptical, seeing as how I like my cookies soft. Decided to give them a go, and as it turns out, I may have a new favorite "not-so-bad-for-you" cookie!

I love these cookies. I chose the cranberry flavor because the others (Fig and Honey or Blueberry Brown Sugar) didn't sound as good. They taste like a lemon-y animal craker with some dried cranberries mixed in. And for 140 calories for 3 cookies and whole grains, I don't feel bad having some as a snack!

 

#5: Completed!

The fifth thing on my list of 25 things to do in my 25th year was to host a dinner party at our place. While it wasn't a dinner party necessarily, Dan and I did host a little cocktail event that we called a Sangria party! Me being a party planner, of course I decorated and made hors 'doeuvres - latin style!

We made two kinds of sangria - a red and a sparkling white. My dear friend SueAnn came over and help me make cheesy ranch chicken cups, quesadillas, quacamole, sweet corn salsa and berry sangria cupcakes! I didn't get much time to take pictures during the party, but I took one of the table on my phone!!

We had a great time and darn it if that sangria didn't go down super easy. Happy summer!

 

Danger

Dangers of working in an establishment with a popcorn machine:

1. Popcorn
2. Wafting smells
3. Disappearance of money in $1 increments
4. Popcorn
5. Clothes shrinking
6. Constantly thinking about popcorn
7. Front desk staff start to wonder if you're not eating anything but popcorn
8. Popcorn

If you know me at all, you know that popcorn is my favorite food. We have a lovely popcorn machine in our lobby. I wish my desk was right next to it so I could just eat out of the bottom of the popper. Who needs a bag? It smells so good all day long. My balanced meals suffer because of said popcorn machine.

WARNING: Don't put a popcorn machine in your office. I will show up at some point if you do.

 

 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! A day to celebrate dads is important. My dad was able to come to Omaha tonight for dinner at Johnny's Italian Steakhouse. I also spent much of my afternoon baking a father's day treat for him: Coconut Cake.

 

Love you, dad! 

Happy Father's Day to all dads out there. Thanks for all you do!

You can find this Paula Deen recipe at FoodNetwork.com.

Hoppy Easter

Of course I baked Easter treats!

 
 
 

Dreaming in Piña Colada

This photoblog is brought to you by Dan's sister Erin's wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico!

EDIT 4/18: I added some of the wedding photographer's photos that Erin sent me!

 Bienvenidos a Mexico!

 Looking out at Los Arcos, in the Sea of Cortes

 Dinner at Mi Casa

 
Hola Margarita!

 

 
Tacos de camarones (shrimp tacos). Delish!

 
The lovely bride and her "bridesmaids" Rene and Meredith.

 
Our resort. Yes, that is a whale. It is a slide. A very fast slide!

 
Evidence of the fast whale slide: Dan is invisible going into the water.

 
The men of the Cabo trip with the groom in the center.

 
Lovely view to wake up to in the morning.

 
The lovely bride Erin and her mom, Leigh.

 
Maid of Honor Megan (sister), Erin, Leigh.

 
The colorful ladies of the Cabo trip

 

 
The groom sees his bride.

 

 

 
The new Mr. and Mrs.

 

 

 

 


 
A little pool time at a neighboring resort....

 
Adios a Los Cabos!

Sensory Heaven!

I'm very excited to announce three things.  First, this is my 200th blog post! There are maybe ten people who actually ever read this, but hey, we're a small and mighty crowd. I just feel lucky that ya'll care about me :)

Second, I'm super into an Irish band called Two Door Cinema Club. They've been around for a while, but sort of recently are releasing music in the US. The are signed to the French label Kitsune and their songs are so catchy, you wont be able to stop tapping your foot and humming. My two favorites right now are "Something Good Can Work" and "What You Know." Enjoy, your ears are thanking you! 

  

,

And last but certainly not least, Magnum Ice Cream has finally launched in the US! I first had a Magnum bar when I was in Mexico when I was 16. I continued to enjoy them on various Mexican and European vacations, raving about how good this ice cream was, and would eagerly seek them when I was abroad. While grabbing milk at the store last night, I passed the frozen section and lo and behold, Magnum bars stared back at me through the frosty glass.

Magnum officially launches 6 flavors of their delicious treats today. Go eat one!

Going Gaga, Bachelorette fun and Mexico horizon

A lot has gone one since last post (duh, winning)!

I got Dan James Taylor tickets for his birthday, so we went to see James Taylor play with his son Ben Taylor on the 1st. It was a great show, and the 7th row seats didn't hurt :)

We went to Des Moines for a weekend to see some friends. Our original plans fell through, but I still got to see Bonnie and Lani and we had a really fun time.

After grabbing some pizza at Goodnights on St. Patrick's Day, Christina and I went to see Lady Gaga at the Qwest Center and it was an amazing show! Every move was so calculated. The costumes and sets were larger-than-life, of course, and I was pleasantly surprised that she sounds amazing in concert, just as good if not better than her stuio albums. Other than the fact that we were in the highest section, honest-to-God last row of the entire building, we had a blast! The people watching is always entertaining as well :)

 

 

 
Erin is getting married in three weeks, so Megan hosted her bachelorette party at Urban Wine Company on Saturday. Good wine, good food and we had fun with all the ladies that attended. Megan asked if I would make some cake pops as a favor for guests, so I made some vases to hold them in as centerpieces.

 

 

 

I'm getting really excited to head to Cabo San Lucas in a few weeks! Must get to the gym...if I could only kick this cold....

Also, if your recipe calls to puree something in a blender, make sure you know how to remove the canister from the base before you start. Or else you end up with pureed potato soup all over your kitchen and a very watery soup base. Just a little nugget of knowledge for later.