Love & holidays

I'll admit, I've been behind on my blog for a while. Posting Ten on Tuesday is pretty much all I had time for, and by the time I've caught up with my Google Reader there's not a lot of time to actually post.  But I'd like to work on this a little, so let's start slowly with a little bit of a list.

+ Biggest & brightest reason I've been absent? I got engaged!  Back in October M & I headed out to Kansas for a KU football game (my first trip out there).  He wanted to show me the town where he spent his college years since in our home it's Jayhawks all the time.  Well, toward the end of the campus tour he started acting a little weird.  We made it to the campanile which overlooks the stadium and he pulled out the most beautiful ring.

We spent the rest of our trip celebrating it up and cheering on the football team even though they lost.

+ Because of the engagement it's been a bit of a whirlwind around here.  As per usual, everyone we come in contact with wants to know details.  Have you set a date? September-ish.  Where is it? Not sure yet. Etc. etc.  Add in the fact that almost every other friend I have is engaged or married right now that's all they want to talk about.  But we have appointments on Sunday to look at some venues...so stay tuned.

+ Thanksgiving came and went with a lot of drama.  My grandparents usually do dinner at their house, but my mom called me the Tuesday before saying my grandfather had a really bad cold.  Because of this my grandmother didn't want to get the rest of the family sick.  My mom offered to host the event, but I reminded her that her oven was out of commission and in turn Thanksgiving was at our place.  Almost 20 people over and a 25 lb turkey?  That would make most people's head spin...let alone two days before the event.  Add in I've never even roasted a chicken before, let's just say I was a little anxious.  But it went off w/o a hitch...no burnt turkey and everyone had a great time.

+ As for now?  I'm hopelessly trying to get my holiday shopping done in time.  I managed to get my cards out, but I have another 250 to do at work so I just keep remembering to breathe.  Anyone else running behind schedule???

Over it

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Over the last few months (aka since January) I've been suffering from chronic ear infections. Now the last time I had one of these things I was in elementary school, so to say I'm not amused is an understatement.

Because of these ear infections the doctors are always quick to give you antibiotics and send you on your way. This is all fine and dandy, until you've gone through 2-3 different antibiotics with your primary care person and then they throw their hands up and say "I don't know!" and send you to a specialist.

• So I've been seeing the specialist for a few months (probably April). After a few more types of antibiotics (and supplementing with probiotics so my body doesn't freak out) I've learned a few things.



• Probiotics only get you so far. Your body will do what it wants....period.



• You will learn very quickly if you are allergic to something. Found out the hard way that I'm allergic to sulfa and then proceeded to freak out when someone told me they had the same allergy and also couldn't drink red wine because of it.

There is a horrible bacteria you can get if you take to many antibiotics.

That last bullet point? SUCKS SO FREAKING MUCH. I started having problems last weekend (thank me because I will not do the TMI thing here) and by Wednesday I called the dr. thinking "hey, this probably isn't good and let's chat". The long and the short of it is they told me to get my butt to the emergency room as soon as I could...and by the way you can't drive yourself on the off chance you pass out. Woot.

Luckily M came home a little early so we headed out...and sat waiting for about 45 mins because people kept coming in with more important things than mine. Despite the annoyance I guess a heart attack is a little more important. :-) 4 hours later I'm full of fluids and finishing off the finale of The Voice in a hospital bed, but I got to go home, so that's the most important part. Well, that and I was told I was highly contagious.

So here I am, thankfully with a company that will let me work from home for a few days. Well, and alternating with cleaning the house from top to bottom because you don't want anyone else getting the stuff. But the weirdest thing of all? Using too many antibiotics gives you a horrible strain of bacteria that's cure is what? ANOTHER ANTIBIOTIC.

What's worse, an antibiotic that doesn't let you have even a sip of alcohol. That's right, no wine, cough syrup or even certain mouthwashes because it could make your heart do crazy things. Thanks so much world, for giving me this for 4th of July weekend. Fan freakin' tastic. Well, that and the super bland diet I'm on right now. The only "spice" I'm allowed is salt, and salt is nasty. I've cheated a little, a tiny bit of salsa on my eggs & a little cheese on some pasta.

I have to say, this is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Never felt so sick in many many years. But I'm on the mend, and headed to Seaside, OR for a few days. I've missed a good day at the beach.

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Ten on Tuesday

Hi everyone. I know I have problems blogging on the regular so I'm hoping this will help me get back into the swing of things. Today I'm doing Ten on Tuesday from over at Roots & Rings which is all about food this week. Couldn't resist. :-)

1. What is a food that you never thought you would try, but then tried and liked?
Brussel sprouts hands down. They came w/my meal at a restaurant one day and on a whim I tried them. They were amazing! From then on I've been on a kick to try things I've never had or foods I previously didn't like & now do. Broccoli & parsnips are other examples of it.

2. Do you subscribe to any foodie publications? If so, which ones?
Does the Pioneer Woman count? I always knew about her site but never subscribed until recently. I get most my cooking related info from blogs I subscribe to and on occasion the Cooking Light website/magazine.

3. What ingredient do you find yourself reaching for the most when you cook?
I'd probably say garlic or lemon pepper. Garlic gets put in most everything to give it a little punch up even though M's taste buds are pretty basic. Last weekend I made an amazing shallot lemon butter sauce and I found out later he's not big on lemon. Oops.

4. Are there any foods that you hated as a child, but then learned to like as an adult?
See #1. Broccoli I hated when I was little, same with asparagus. Now I eat both and asparagus is one of my fav veggies. Our taste buds change as we age, so it's important to retry foods you never liked.

5. What do you like to eat that others may consider weird?
I have a lot of eating habits that people find weird, but I don't think they're that big of a deal. Ranch as my goto condiment, blotting my tater tots/mexifries from Taco Time and half & half on my cereal are the main ones.

6. What is the weirdest ingredient you’ve ever cooked with?
I'm still working on being an adventurous cook so I'd say lemon zest.

7. Do you have any major food allergies?
Not like some people do. Nothing like strawberries, peanuts or shellfish. I have issues with anything with a lot of fat (fried foods) or green peppers but it's not like they're life threatening.

8. Is there an ingredient that you would like to cook with, but are intimidated to try?
Maybe risotto or fish sauce? Or a couple different spices, cumin for example.

9. Do you bake?
I am an excellent baker. Baking comes naturally to me since I love exact measurements and following recipes. I make a killer pie crust basically in my sleep even though most people think it's difficult.

10. If you could go on any “foodie” show to compete, which one would it be, and why?
I am so not ready for a competition food show it's not even funny. I love shows like Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef or Iron Chef but I am light years away.

"If a June night could talk, it would probably boast it invented romance." -Bern Williams

Summertime is...

Corn on the cob

Floating in the lake / Sitting by the pool

Strawberries & blueberries

BBQs

Vacations

Iced tea

and most of all....BIRTHDAYS.

I don't know about you and your family/friends, but summer is called "the season of going broke" in our family because of the sheer number of birthdays. It starts in June and doesn't end until September, and until the last few years we used to have a party pretty much every weekend. It's a little exhausting.

But my birthday in particular, is very significant. July 23rd, is home to birthdays for two different great uncles, a step-grandmother, M's new niece and myself. I welcome M's niece w/open arms because this is a pretty special day to be born. :-)

This year the day was pretty packed. I made the executive decision to work that Friday and we had a BBQ at the office. In addition one of my coworkers made me angel food cake with berries & whipped cream because she knew how much I enjoy it. I was able to cut out a little early and head to the hospital with M to see the new addition to his family. She's beautiful and healthy and absolutely perfect.

Of course we needed to cut our visit a little short because we had plans to go to dinner that night at John Howie Steakhouse. If you live in the Seattle-area you've probably heard of the new mall area called the Bravern, it's home to such famous stores as Hermes, Anthropologie, Jimmy Choo as well as many other high end stores. But what's special about chef John Howie is that he already has an awesome restaurant called Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar. I have been to the steakhouse once for happy hour and their happy hour food is tops.

We decided to check out their full menu this time and they definitely did not disappoint. But the best part? M totally surprised me! We had planned to go (just the two of us) and when we checked in they told us some of our party were waiting in the bar. Turns out he invited a bunch of our friends! He can never keep secrets from me so I was so thrilled.

The following weekend was my grandfather's & brother's birthdays, so we celebrated with brunch on Sunday for my grandfather and dinner the next night at this tiny Mexican joint that my little brother loves. Thankfully this weekend will be a little quieter, we have a pass until the next one. Instead we're headed to a Mariner's game on Saturday and out to Seafair on Sunday. Please wish us luck that it doesn't rain like it's supposed to this weekend, Seafair is much more fun when it's not raining.

So tell me...what are your big plans this weekend? And most importantly, what signals to you that it's summer?

Viva!....Las Vegas!

I keep hearing about people in Vegas, or people in San Francisco and it boggles my mind because I'm going to be in both THIS WEEK/END and how on Earth does that happen? Right now I'm sitting on the bed in a San Francisco hotel cursing this ethernet cable that should be WAY longer than the little cord provided so that you can only use your laptop while sitting at the desk. Tell me, who in this world who owns a laptop actually sits at a desk to use it? Laptops are all about the couch or the bed.

But like I said, I am here in San Francisco for the first time ever for a business function. I've wandered the streets a little and found out that there are some great shops around this area (Anthropologie, French Connection, CB2) that I'll have to hit tomorrow. I have a meeting in the evening to go to and that's about it, so shopping might be on the horizon.

Even better, I head out Saturday...early AM to fly to Vegas. I've never tried Virgin Air before but it's a hop skip & a jump over to Vegas. The BF has been holed up in a hotel there since Monday so I'm trying to visit him (which btw is another first..Vegas that is) but in the meantime I feel a little Up in the Air with him in one hotel and me in the other. We have oodles of plans while we're there, most importantly seeing O on Sunday. I hear so many great things about that show.

But the surprise tonight is First Crush. If you're in the SF area we had some seriously amazing food there tonight. They were able to accomodate our large party and some of this food was the best I've ever tasted.

Happy Friday (tomorrow) to everyone, I hope your weekend is as fantastic as I hope mine will be.

I love...

Let's get back on track with the blogging thing, forget this posting once a week or less. I've been in a sea of changes of the last couple of weeks which has a tendency to make me pessimistic. I love change, but when it's not on my dime my life tends to go all chaotic and I don't always know how to process effectively. This is why I'm going to try and bombard this post with positivity...things I love.

I LOVE...catching an incredible sunset like this one at the Edmonds-Kingston ferry.

I LOVE...a good farmer's market because I can get incredible flowers for cheap (among other things).

I LOVE...Seafair in Seattle. The Blue Angels are amazing the hydros are not so bad when they're up close and personal.

I LOVE...hearing that despite all my little brother's attempts to not be interested in Harry Potter he can't put down the first book (I bought for his birthday).

I LOVE...that I know where to find a great crab cake benedict on the weekends.

What are some things that you love today?

Birthday...seriously belated.

Sorry it's taken so long to get an update posted, in my quest to move I didn't plan setting the new place up with TV or Internet. The only reason I got my power turned on was because the apartment complex did that for me. I think this might be what you call lazy, but it's given me plenty of time to do repeat viewings of The West Wing while sitting in my bed or unpacking the 234435 boxes still left over. Sam Seaborn & Josh Lyman please report to my apartment office immediately.

Things started off with a BANG! in the form of my birthday dinner. As I mentioned before we headed to Elliott's Oyster House. Despite my dislike for oysters and the insane wait time (LOVE reservations) we made it in and gorged ourselves on crab, prawns, lobster, squid...you name it. There were a variety of dishes chosen around the table, but most importantly I had the crab cakes. My mouth salivates just thinking about the little cakes of pure awesomeness. We stuffed ourselves silly (copious amounts of wine, burnt cream) and chatted for a few hours. Some friends gave me lucky bamboo for the new place and all and all I had great time.

The boyfriend (aka M) and I at dinner.

The next evening M and I headed up to see my family and I got to introduce him to the experience that is my step dad's chicken parmesan. This stuff is so good that I refuse to order it in restaurants because it doesn't even compare. I hung out with my family while my little brother got
antsy (it wasn't time for cake yet) and opened some presents. So sweet, I picked up a hand mixer and a new pair of shoes!

Up next is an intro to my new apartment. I'm warning you, there's an unnatural amount of space in this place, I don't know what to do with myself. Stay tuned!

Chocolate starfish, and the hot dog flavored water

My name is Cass and I haven't had a hot dog in at least 18 years. No, not a vegetarian, I'm just one of those people where if I eat something and get sick from it - that food is off the possible eating list for the rest of my life. But because I love my boyfriend and hot dogs always smell so damn good I decide to agree when he suggested them for dinner. I mean, for all I know it could have been the potato salad at the BBQ that made me sick (and probably was).

So the boyfriend plans to head to the grocery store for the hot dogs and I tell him that if I'm eating one of these things I'm gonna do it right. Ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut, you name it. As usual, you can see everything going on in his head on his face. This girl is CRA-AAZY! Why? Because he will only put ketchup on his hot dog. But we compromise, no sauerkraut and I'll use the relish the next time we have hamburgers.

Once he gets home I ask him how long it takes to cook them since it's been forever since I remember eating one. He tells me 10 mins and I think nothing of it...at first. When I start asking him all about getting the coals ready for the BBQ he gives me the CRA-AAZY! look again. Apparently I AM the crazy person because I assumed we would be BBQing our hot dogs! Oh no, instead we're boiling them.

I posed this question to the people following me on Twitter and I guess this is a fairly common way to cook them. Where have I been? I know sometimes my family will put them on broil in the oven if it's too cold to BBQ and I've heard of microwaving if you're lazy but never this boiling thing.

So tell me people, how do YOU cook your hot dogs?

It only took about a month

Hey all! I bet you forget I even went to Mexico last month because I never did the post complete with photos. Oh no, I'm finally doing it and it's gonna be fun. So hold on to the person next to you, I hope it's not a bumpy ride!

When we first arrived in Puerto Vallarta it was right after the immediate threat of the swine flu. You know, it was all over the news, none of us knew what it was about and the media did it's job of scaring us senseless. But the wedding was still on and the 8 of us were determined to go. Thankfully enough PV wasn't really hit by this swine flu nonsense, but that didn't stop the security areas from asking all kinds of questions and special temperature sensitive cameras to check and make sure we didn't have a fever. But despite all this, we made it to our destination...Villa Suzannah. This photo? This is the view from the pool area. We were overlooking the Mismaloya beach area.

When we first arrived our hostess (ie: the bride to be) made sure that there was all kinds of treats waiting for us. Chips & fresh made salsa and guacamole, a stocked fridge full of beer and all kinds of tequila and mixed drinks at our disposal. We found out that one of the couples coming (from CA) had some sort of passport issue and would be there at the earliest of the next day so our job was to chill out and have all kinds of fun.

And fun...we definitely had.

Faces blurred/smudged to protect the not so innocent.

The next morning we decided to trek down to the beach below and see if it was as fun as it looked like. We were staying in this beautiful place but it was towards the top of a very steep hill and it wasn't until a few days later we realized we could walk down it just fine (but not up). So a taxi was taken and we decided to spend a good portion of the day down below.

This was a perfect day. I spent my time lounging in a chair, drinking strawberry daiquiris and wading in the water. Well, that and fending off all the people trying to sell me jewelry, blankets, dresses and every other thing you could think of every five seconds.

My view on the beach and my current desktop wallpaper.

Later on the missing couple showed up just in time and we had dinner at the villa. Seriously, the chef at this place is beyond AMAZING, everything he made I wanted to gobble up ten fold. That night we had crazy dance party at the villa (aka round 2) with the new couple.

The next day was all about the soon to be happy couple. They had to head to the courthouse to do the "official ceremony" before the pretty one. You know, the one with witnesses and signing documents (*cough* remember that stuff Heidi & Spencer?) and the bride's parents came into town. M and I headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch (and to buy a PV bear for his mom) and we experienced our first water taxi ride.

Little ol' me

Friday was all about the fishing expedition, one of the few activities we booked before arriving in PV. We were on the most beautiful boat and we out all day long but didn't catch a single fish! On top of that this was also the day that I got seriously sunburned. I forgot to put sunscreen on my face AND accidentally fell asleep outside for an hour so my poor face was fried. It felt like I was attacked by the botox shot in my forehead. The good news though was we saw dolphins!

Can I take them home with me?

Now on Saturday...this was the big day. It was time to prep for the wedding with mani/pedi's overlooking the view, a little beach time and of course the wedding!

The ceremony (love the bouquet!)

The toast!

Afterwards there was of course the reception. Check out what the restaurant did for us! They brought the dining experience outdoors by the pool.

We were going to have a 7 course tasting menu. Sounds good in theory, right? Sure it is, if all the portions are small. But we started with a shot glass full of something and each course afterwards was a little bit bigger. By 5 and 6 we were dying, a full fish meal followed by filet mignon? Normally sign me up but my stomach didn't know what to make of it. We didn't even eat the wedding cake until 2 days later.

So once recooperated from the festivities on Sunday we went to the flea market...along with Monday. I could spend all kinds of time in those, I'm apparently a master barterer. I got deals that the rest of the group had their jaws dropping from, I don't know what it is. Later on we stopped in a restaurant for a "cocoloco". Basically it has all kinds of random alcohols in it, but the best part is it's in a real coconut!

But also on Monday we went to Tony's, this restaurant that unless you know about it you'll never find. It was actually close to the villa but an employee at this big chain hotel down the way told us about it. Apparently there was some big travel agent retreat going on in their restaurant for the night so they were closed. But we made the trek to this place.

Think of walking through this run down area, turning the corner and assuming you'll see it but all you see is this super run down house. You get anxious because if you ate there it would obviously kill you. But then you realize...you're not there yet and arrive at this cozy 3 story house with sand covering the floor. They bring out the menu, this big platter of steaks and seafood and you want absolutely everything. The food here was so good we ate there the final two nights of our trip. Even better, we met Tony!

Say hi to Tony! And my horrible sunburned face.

On the final day we basically just chilled waiting for everyone's plane's to take off. For some reason each of us had a completely different time to depart so until it was time we hung around the pool, read a little and prepared for the trip home.

Hanging out on our balcony.

I hope you made it through all this in one piece. If you ever get the chance to visit Puerto Vallarta I have to recommend you take it. For my first time in Mexico it definitely makes me want to go back.

Super Bowl *insertnumberhere* :-)

Today I attend my very first Super Bowl party. Yes, I'm approaching 30 (scary!) and I've never been to a Super Bowl party. But I've never been a big football person, mostly because despite being told and explained to over and over again the rules make no sense to me. They throw flags over the silliest things (flag! he celebrated too early!) and I know that college and pro rules are different. But I have a boyfriend who is a big football fan so I'm trying to get into the spirit of things and most of all, I provide food. :-)

Yes, I bake and make all kinds of snacky goodness so they put up with my endless questions in the middle of the game because without me there wouldn't be tasty treats. Today I'm making a concoction of pigs in the blanket with little smokies. Somewhere in there we're throwing in cheese etc. so it should be good. But because of this I have to start early with the prep, the party we're going to has 20+ people already RSVP'd.

In other news I've been craving crab cakes benedict for the last week or so like nobody's business. For one reason or another I haven't been able to have it and at this point my body is rebelling because I'm not feeding it what it wants. I've dreamt about these things and even too the point where I get to the restaurant and find out you can't get them if you sit in the bar and at that point in my dream I have a tantrum, it's not pretty. But as a pre-Super Bowl excursion we're going to get the car washed and then head over there for lunch/brunch.

Yummy food, here I come!