Happy Legally Thanksgiving Blonde Day

A few days ago Tom and I were driving in the car together, as we often do, when Tom turned to me and asked, “do you want to go see Legally Blonde at Proctor’s Theater?” That came out of no where. So I asked if he had won tickets or something. Why else would he want to go to the theater? Come to find out, he just thought it would be a nice thing to do together.

Since our plans were to stay home this year finding tickets for Thanksgiving evening was perfect. What made it even better? They were half price.

So after dinner we headed out to the show. And it was so much fun…definitely got a round of snaps from us. And for a charitable donation I had my picture taken with this little nugget…the UPS guy*!

In the morning Tom is back to work and I am headed to see my parents and do a little a lot of shopping at Lord & Taylor (in that order of course).

*Ven Daniel

Happy Halloween!

I wouldn’t typically make a big deal out of Halloween. But with a picture this cute I couldn’t resist.

Here we go again.

Tom is looking to get a new car this weekend. I have barely recovered from my recent new car buying experience. But he just won’t stop talking about it and this could just go ahead and shut him up. And really, with it getting close to 80 degrees today, is it fair to send him to work in our non-airconditioned, no-radio, rusted out car? Nope not really.

Tom is going to a dealership tonight on his own to talk numbers with a guy. I just gave him a pep talk. Tell them you want X over invoice Y for the trade and then walk away. Do not negotiate today. Do not give them any money or sign anything. The dealerships ad says make us a reasonable offer and that’s exatly what you are going there to do.

The thrill of negotiating? I love it.

Makes you wonder.

This weekend something clicked. I suddenly went from Princess Liz to Domestic Liz, poof. Saturday after a pedicure I prepared hard boiled eggs so that Tom and I could enjoy egg salad sandwiches for lunch during the weekend (first egg salad I ever made). On Sunday I did the weekly meal plan and then went grocery shopping, alone. I got the groceries away and tended to the laundry while roasting a turkey breast for a later date. But it didn’t stop there…

Monday night roles around and while taking care of Tommy who came home early with a bad belly I cooked dinner, unassisted, with a new recipe. Mini meatloafs. Later in the evening Tom was feeling better and said dinner was awesome. Awesome. Tuesday night arrives, I take each dog on a one mile walk and come back home to once again take control of the kitchen. I made baked Cajun sweet potatoes fries and buttered cabbage to go with the prepared turkey breast from Sunday night. Wednesday night sneaks up on us and when I got home from the gym I threw some chicken breasts in the oven while I prepared white beans and escarole in a sherry broth. Thursday night needed to be a quick bite as we had to take the dogs to Camp Grandma’s and pack for Florida so I whipped together whole wheat tortellini with steamed broccoli in a spicy garlic sauce.

Seriously people, my husband is scared. Because not only have I been preparing the meals, doing the dishes, walking the dogs, grocery shopping, taking care of him, and making breakfast all week, I have been pleasant the whole time. And it’s this good mood that scares him the most.

We both hopes it sticks around. He sees me getting bored with the cooking thing but is hoping the pleasantries stick around. A long weekend in Florida can do nothing but help his cause.

How do you take your coffee?

We take it one cup at a time. That’s because for our 3 year wedding anniversary Tom and I bought a Keurig Single Cup Brewing System. And we love it! We tried so hard to be good coffee making people with the lovely Cuisinart Coffeemaker we got for our wedding. We premeasured the coffee, added water the night before, set the timer, etc. etc. But it just didn’t stick. Brewing coffee never became part of our routine. Not even on the weekends.

But all that has changed. Now with the Keurig not only do we make hot, fresh coffee in the blink of an eye, but I have become a better wife. That’s because I make Tom’s coffee every morning so it’s the perfect sipping temperature when he leaves for work. I wonder if my one push of a button every morning makes up for all of the dinners he cooks or all of the times he has let the dogs out in the middle of the night or all of the Saturday mornings I kicked him out of bed to get me coffee from Dunkin Donuts. Umm, yup. We’re square.

Once we get through the 88 K-Cups that came with our system we will purchase a reusable coffee filter for both economical and environmental reasons. Tom may be on his own when that happens.

Pink and Lavender - a dozen of each

That’s how many roses Tom bought me today because he was promoted.

We had the great fortune of experiencing our first snow storm of the season during rush hour today. So when I picked Tom up at work I made him cut through a bus stop and cross live lanes of traffic to get to the car and when he got in with a bouquet of roses I started driving away before both of his feet cleared the road because I was NOT losing my spot in the slush covered lane. While I cursed at the slick road I asked Tom what the flowers were for and that’s when he told me he was promoted. With much joy and excitement I congratulated him and then asked, “Shouldn’t I be the one buying you flowers?”.

Due to weather our celebratory dinner was within walking distance of our house. We went to the pub at the top of the street (not the big boobs required to work here pub, but the other one) and had all sorts of yummy bar food. And when Tom picked up the tab I thought to myself, “seriously, what kind of congratulator am I?”

So he’s the big cheese now at work (not to be confused with the big cheese at home, that’s still me). Hmmm…what should I spend his paycheck on first?? Ha ha just kidding. I already spent it!

As a side note, I was going to write about the move in my PiYo (Pilates / Yoga) class I pulled off this week for the first time, but I think my hubs promotion gets top billing today. But somehow I am still managing to mention the side plank while threading the needle move that I rocked anyway.

Back to Tom…congrats babe!

Not the All You Can Eat kind.

Our Ethan Allen buffet has arrived. Now all of Tom’s whiskey, our wedding china and my chachkie have a home of their own. Let’s take a look…

On each end of our buffet we have lovely lamps that were Tom’s grandmothers. With this lamp I have a glittery pumpkin that was used as a place holder at my friend Janelle’s wedding, a pear candle that was a gift from my aunt in my college days, and one of those potpourri stick things from our friends Adam and Audrey. From this angle you can also see a book about whiskey, I have a no whiskey rule for the buffet, but somehow the book sneaked in.

With the other lamp I have a vase I bought in Venice on a family trip that is filled with dried flowers from a bridesmaid bouquet and a painted plate that I call “The Girl”. The plate was a birthday present from my grandma and she probably has no idea how much it means to me. I just love it.

In the center I have Wilton Armetale platters, a wedding gift from my grandma, there is one more piece to the set but it’s too large for the buffet, a little red eucalyptus keeps the platter full for now. There is also a McKenzie-Childs pitcher that was a gift from my parents and and a Nambe vase, a birthday present from…you guessed it…my grandma…filled with wooden tulips from the local Tulip Festival that I bought with my girlfriend Carrie many years ago. I think this spot is begging for Nambe salt and pepper shakers. Should have registered for those bad boys.

After almost three years of marriage our Denby White Trace dinnerware has settled into its new digs. In the second photo you can see our Crate and Barrel birthday plates for a splash of color and fun (um, yes, from grandma). The drawers keep our Kate Spade flatware tidy and our serving pieces in line, including a cake knife that we both admire, its handle is the silhouette of a nude woman, a very unique wedding gift.

So where does this lead us? Well to the liquor of course. Now that all of my stuff is out of the way Tom has room to spread his bottles out. In addition to whiskey he had a brief stint with Rum. He has since decided not to pursue it. Mojitos anyone? His four rum bottles can be found on top of our Ethan Allen wine rack (that was a nicely marked down floor model) along with a crystal bowl that was a wedding gift from my mom’s Aunt Annie. The store in San Fransisco it came from is fancier than any store I frequent so I kept the box and store all of my wedding ribbons in it. There is also a a crystal Celtic knot that my brother and his wife brought back for us from their trip to Ireland, a Whole Foods milk jug with dried flowers from my friend Carrie that she gave me because I admired them in her home, and a jewelry box Tom bought for me “just because”. Underneath our stemware hangs over empty spots that bottles of wine should be filling.

And here we are. The reason for this post. The reason for the buffet. The reason why my husband is so much more than a computer geek but rather a well rounded geek. The whiskey. A ridiculous amount of whiskey. Snuggled in with the bottles is a post card size painting we purchased from a co-workers struggling artist boyfriend. On the wall is a poem my grandfather wrote about cats when he was 10 years old in 1910 that my parents had framed for me and which I just adore. In the Barrister bookcase that Tom inherited from his grandmother are more serving and dining items including a set of eight Waterford double old fashioned glasses from my parents trip to Ireland.

And now I can’t help but think of all of our generous friends and family (with really great taste) that live in all the corners of our home.

Florida in August?

Take one part free lodging, a dash of airline vouchers and mix it with “use it or lose it” vacation days and you get a trip to Florida in August. Our weekend went pretty much like this…visit friends, beach, pool, beach, beach, movie, pool, pool, shopping, yard work, pool, replace vacuum belt. OK, so a couple of chores were thrown in the mix this visit. Yard work in 100 degree weather (in the shade) and a late night trip to get a new vacuum belt…totally worth it. We also tried two new restaurants and made daily trips to our most favorite breakfast nook on earth…a place on the beach called the Lighthouse…a place where donuts filled with frosting tickle your taste buds with delight…a place where the ice coffee is made exactly how I like it…a place worth visiting in August.