Monday, February 27, 2012

Life Recently According to my iPhone

 A Beautiful Sunset in Manhattan Beach.

 Cafe Marmalade.

 Strawberry, Banana, and Blueberry French Toast @ Cafe Marmalade.

 Marilyn Monroe's Grave site. (Note the Lipstick, People Kiss It).

 A quick Starbuck's Run.

 One of the Last Paper's I Will Ever Write. (3 weeks till I get my Masters!)

My tutoring client's dog Chico. Usually he is sweet, but he recently bit the heck out of my wrist when I was leaving.

A bad case of finger tendentious I got by strenuously opening my car door? So random.

This post was linked up over at A {Little} Dash of Ash.

Song of the Day: Specks by Matt Pond PA

Thursday, February 23, 2012

New Recipe Every Month of 2012: Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo


In my quest to fulfill my New Year's Resolution of cooking one new recipe every month in 2012, I decided to make Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo based on this recipe from KevinandAmanda.com for February. I love her recipes because even when they are kind of complicated, they way she writes the steps, and her beautiful pictures simplify everything!  Especially since I'm just a novice cook!

This one definitely is one of the most complicated recipes I've ever made. First of all, umm I'm not sure if I've ever even eaten gumbo, I have never cooked anything but minute rice, never cooked any shrimp, and dealing with two skillets and one pot all at the same time? COMPLICATED.

I cooked this for my mother and stepfather while they were here on a business trip, and I got to cook in a kitchen that wouldn't be mistaken for a closet like mine! Oh, the luxury. Surprisingly, I pulled it off with no mishaps along the way! And my mom and stepfather enjoyed it a lot, so I guess I can call this a success.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with myself. Two recipes down, ten to go!

Song of the Day: To Be Surprised by Sandre Lerche

Monday, February 20, 2012

Weekend at the Museum




This weekend we took a little road trip down to the NAT (Natural History Museum) in San Diego to check out the Titanic Artifact Exhibit. I love history, and the Sinking of the Titanic is one of the things I've spent a lot of time reading about and researching on my own (I'm such a dweeb). 

Some of the best bits of the museum were seeing the recreations of the the first class and third class bedrooms, being able to feel a iceberg replica that is the same temperature of the waters the night the ship went down (miserably cold just to touch for a second), and all the stuff they were able to bring up from the ocean floor (how was that stuff even preserved)!

What was really cool is at the beginning of the exhibit, they give you a boarding pass with the name and information of a real passenger on the ship, and at the end of the tour you see if you survived or not. I was Mrs. Wilhelm Strom (Elna Matilda Persson) a third class passenger traveling with my daughter and brother. I did not survive. Adam was Mr. Frank Thomas Andrew, a second class passenger, who didn't survive either.

I couldn't take pictures inside the exhibit (sadness), but I did take some pictures of/around the museum with my shiny, new, fancy DSLR camera. Yay, for no longer having to depend on my little, dinky digital camera all the time (Thanks, Mom).

Song of the Day: Part of Me by Katy Perry

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Valentine's Day Via Instagram


We had the best Valentine's Day over here at the Manor, and I was completely spoiled. When I first woke up, I saw a chocolate rose in a Packer's glass (lol) and a really sweet card on the coffee table. Although I had to laugh because the front of the card said something about all the years of parenting we did together, and how our kids had moved on now and it was just the two of us again? Apparently, Adam had only skimmed the front of the card, and had read the inside, because that totally didn't apply. And maybe I should have been mad about that, but it was too funny to be mad about. I guess it really is the thought that counts?

I gave him a special Valentine's card that I had gotten off Etsy that was in the style of Dr. Who!! Which is a kind of geeky, British, Sci-fi series that Adam has gotten me addicted to this year. Of course, I wrote a really sweet message as well. And inside the card, I had hidden a Game Stop Gift Card.

After the exchange, Adam surprised me by making me pancakes. Which everyone knows is my favorite thing ever! Plus, he never cooks, and he has certainly never made pancakes. He even had bought me my favorite toppings: Strawberries, Chocolate Chips, and Macadamia Nuts.  I didn't even try to choose which ones to use, I just piled all those suckers on there together. They were delicious.

Later that day, I brought in some of the cutest cupcakes for the teenagers I work with and all around it was just a fantastic love day. I hope everyone felt the love from someone on Tuesday. Be it a husband, a child, a parent, lover, or friend!

Song of the Day: Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Scenes from Manhattan (Beach)










This Weekend We:

Stayed in a Beautiful Three Bedroom Beach House Mere Inches from the Beach (that my mother and stepfather rented for a two week visit)
Played Midnight Badminton on the Beach
Walked 1.7 miles to, and 1.7 miles back for the Best Pancakes I've Ever Had in My Life (Pancakes Just May Be My Favorite Thing Ever)
Got my Butt Handed to Me in a Game of Checkers
Jumped in the Frigid Ocean in All of Our Clothes (which seemingly scared some little girls)
Flew a Transformers Themed Kite
& Watched Some of the Most Beautiful Sunsets Ever
 
 
Yeah, it was a fabulous weekend.

Song of the Day: Smooth Criminal by Glee Cast