TGIF - Seriously

Another difficult week at work.  I won't even get into it except to say that it is amazing how one person can consistently make your life miserable.

Anyhoo, it is Friday and I am so looking forward to this weekend.  What's on the agenda?

1.  Dinner at Abacus tonight for Restaurant Week!  I love Abacus but we don't get very often because it's so damn pricey.  However, it's Restaurant Week which means they have a set menu for $45 for 3 courses (probably about half the price you would normally spend for the same food).


2.  Weekend Home Projects.  We really don't have much else going on so I think I may use the weekend to do some home projects.  We need to repaint our front porch steps as the paint is peeling off, we need to clean and reseal the limestone countertops of our outdoor kitchen and fireplace and we need to go by Target for a new dustbuster and whatever else I decide to buy b/c we all know you can't go to Target and not come out with $100 worth of crap you did not go there to buy.

3.  Grilling and chilling.  Since it's supposed to be nice weather here in Dallas this weekend ("nice" in August means anything under 100 degrees), we will likely be spending time on our back porch.  I might even try to get Steve to break out the smoker tomorrow.

4.  A stop by Jimmy's Food Store if I have time.  I love Jimmy's.  They are a great little Italian food store in East Dallas.  You can get homemade sausage, pizza dough, marinara sauce, etc... and they have a great Italian wine selection.



5.  Cooking it up.  My new thing has been to prepare new foods over the weekend.  Last weekend I made my own hummus...it actually isn't all that great and store bought is so much better.  This weekend I am thinking about making chicken enchiladas with a hatch chile green sauce b/c hatch peppers are finally here.



Anyway, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Too busy lately...but time for Bruno

Work has been all-consuming lately.  It's been so stressful that I even broke out in hives twice this week, which I think has only happened once before in my life.  At any rate, I did make some time to venture out Monday night with some girlfriends to see the Bruno Mars concerts in Dallas.

I have to say, I was NOT a Bruno Mars fan before this concert.  I got invited through a work-related friend who invited me to their company's suite.  However, he ROCKED it.  It was a fantastic show and I had no idea what an amazing singer and dancer he is - not to mention that he played the guitar, drums and keyboard. Also, the opening act was Ellie Goulding who was also amazing.  I love her music.

Bruno Mars

Glitter explosion at the end of the show

Five on Friday

Wow.  Definitely another TGIF.  I have to admit that I have been feeling very unmotivated this week in just about every way - exercising, working, showering, etc...  I'm blaming it on the 106 degree heat everyday here in Dallas.  I think it makes me sluggish.  However, there are a few things I am looking forward to this weekend and the 100 degree temperatures are finally supposed to break on Saturday.  Okay, it's going to be 98 or 99 but still....

1.  New Jewelry Box and Cleaning out the Old Stuff

My jewelry collection has gotten out of control. When I say jewelry, I mean all my cheap costume stuff.  I actually don't own a single piece of expensive "real" jewelry.  "What about your wedding ring?" you ask. Um, yea, I actually lost it about 3 weeks ago when it fell out of the side pocket of my gym bag, which had developed a hole in it that I had not noticed.  Yes, I was upset but I'm not dead, he's not dead and we're still married so I am over it now and will just save up and buy a new ring.  To be honest, I had been thinking about doing it anyway as the old one was really beat up from 12 years of use and it wasn't a super fancy, nice one anyway (we were poor 12 years ago). Anyway, my plan this weekend is to cull out some old crummy pieces I never wear anymore or have lost stones or just have a lot of wear and tear but I think I am still going to need a new box.  I'm looking at this Pottery Barn one

I have this one now in brown but a white one for my bathroom will be a life saver

2.  Tax Free Weekend!

Save $10!  Woo-hoo!

In Texas, we don't have a state income tax but we do have a lovely 8.5% percent sales tax on everything we buy, except Bibles.  Once a year we have a tax free weekend, which means no sales tax on anything you buy that isn't considered a "luxury" item, like jewelry or is clothing or shoes that are less than $100 per item.

3.  Planning a Xmas Surprise for my Husband

He is the hardest man on the planet to shop for.  You know, the typical guy who always responds "Nothing" or "I don't need anything" when you ask him what he wants for Christmas or his birthday.  So, I am planning on surprising him with a little weekend staycation here in Dallas for Xmas (don't worry, he never reads this blog).  I am thinking about staying at a nice hotel here in Dallas, massages at the spa and then a really nice dinner that evening with brunch the next day.  Maybe the Mansion on Turtle Creek, Hotel ZaZa or the Ritz Carlton.

Mansion on Turtle Creek

Ritz Carlton - Dallas

4.  Date Night at Driftwood Restaurant

Trying out a new restaurant tonight.  The Driftwood in Bishop Arts.  Supposed to be great food with a focus on sustainable seafood.

Driftwood Dallas

5.  Trying out some new recipes

I plan to cook a few new things this weekend.  I'm thinking I might do something French/Provencal.  

This tomato and egg quiche

Ratatouille

Pissaladiere (I can buy dough from my local Italian grocer)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Things to Cook This Weekend

Watermelon Margarita Popsicles

Lately I've been inspired to do some more cooking and to try out some new recipes.  Of course, where does one go for ideas?  Pinterest, naturally.  Here are a few that I am considering for this weekend since we don't have any plans or obligations...a good time to experiment.

Salmon Dill Mousse - sounds good for summer. Light and cool.

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Peach Upside Down Cake - a nice alternative to Pineapple

I've noticed that I tend to mostly pin desserts, side dishes and cocktails but very few entrees.  Hmmm...something I need to rectify.  I do think this item could be good as an entree or a side depending on the size of the sweet potato:

Chipotle Chicken stuffed sweet potatoes

Okay, one last dessert, though...

Key Lime Poke Cake

What to make, what to make??

Online Shopping Fails

I've been doing a little more online shopping lately and have had several successes but have also had quite a few fails in the past two week.  Last night I got home from work to find a new RueLaLa box on my doorstep (yeah!) only to be totally let down by the Trina Turk dresses I bought when I tried them on.  I have several Trina Turk dresses and I find that a size 6 is usually just right though I can occasionally go to a size 4 if it's a looser cut.





Both of these were epic fails.  I bought the size 6 in each and they were both waaaaaaaaaaay to tight across the bust and waist.  It made me feel like this, which is NOT an ego booster:

Oddly enough, I wore an old Trina Turk dress to work that day which is also a size 6 and is actually loose so I guess these were much more slim fitting.  Naturally, I got kind of depressed about them being too tight and did the whole girlie "I'm fat" thing for about 30 minutes afterwards.   Anyway, they are going back today.  I also bought these shorts from Tuckernuck and they were a horrible fit.  Much more high-waisted than I expected.  High-waisted shorts on petite women is not a good look.  At least not for me.



They look so cute online...so why are they so hideous on me???

I do like online shopping but it's still no replacement for a day at the mall.  I will say that the dresses being too tight was a good motivator for me.  I put myself on a diet a week ago as the scale had tipped up to 129 thanks to my ankle injury and me eating like a pig lately.  Tomorrow will be a juice cleanse day, which I'm not looking forward to at all.  I have been awesome about sticking to my diet and exercise routine the past week and this morning I weighed in at 127.2 so I am down almost 2 lbs.  Have another 7 to go.

Yankee Stadium, Here We Come!

New Yankee Stadium

Okay, let me preface this by saying I am not a Yankees fan.  Sorry but not sorry.  Being from Dallas I am a Rangers fan but I can appreciate the fact that the Yankees are the winningest team in baseball (and they certainly like to remind everyone of that fact but I guess that's why they call it "bragging rights").

Can't wait for a game!

At any rate, we are spending a weekend in NYC later this month.  We normally take in a play as neither me nor Stephen are huge on musicals but the plays this summer are dismal looking.  Nothing grabbed us so we were thinking of what else we could do in NYC w/o being too touristy or cheesy like a dinner cruise or something.  We then remembered that it's baseball season and, yes, the Yankees are playing at home so we will be attending our first Yankees game in Yankee Stadium soon.  I'm actually looking forward to it - taking the subway, eating ballpark food and doing it up like New Yorkers.

Will definitely have one of these at the game

We plan to get there a little early because (1) we have no clue where the hell we are going and (2) Steve wants to check out all the memorabilia and stuff around the stadium.

 

Should be a blast!