Weekend With Dad

This past weekend my dad came to visit me while Dave was up in Boston for what I like to call a "Nerd Convention."  I assumed work would have slowed down a little bit after the 3/15 deadline so I thought this would be the perfect weekend for my dad to visit, but that was not the case.  This busy season has been crazy and it's just going to get crazier; I haven't even done my own taxes!  I cannot wait for a nice celebration on April 16th, which just happens to be my birthday...what a glorious day it will be!

Luckily my boss let me work from home this past weekend so I could spend time with my dad.  We enjoyed a nice dinner out on Friday night, worked out together on Saturday (I did 13.1 miles...getting ready for April 28th), did some errands and relaxed.  It was nice not to having a schedule and to just being able to hang out together and get some things done that I hadn't been able to do during the week.  That night we decided to make homemade pasta.  I thought my dad would enjoy it since he really enjoys to cook.  We had a great time making dinner together and enjoyed a relaxing night in.

Dad with the dough 

Kneading the dough 

Dough! 

The trusty Kitchen Aid  

And the fun starts! 

Getting the hang of it!

Our delicious dinner! 

Sunday consisted of church, kickboxing, work and errands.  The weekend went by so fast - I really enjoyed having some one on one time with my dad.  I'm looking forward to when he and my mom come up at the end of April for my race.  And of course I couldn't wait to pick up my handsome nerd at the airport on Sunday night!  ;)

Pretty tulips for our apartment!  I'm SO ready for Spring!

Thanks dad for such a wonderful weekend!  You are welcomed here anytime!

On a Scone Kick

I know my last post was about scones, but since I've been busy with training for my half-marathon, going to yoga and working, it leaves very little time for other things.

I don't know about you, but baking is a big stress reliever for me.  Last Thursday I was having a rough day at work, so that night I decided to do some baking.  I've been on a scone kick ever since I made the cherry almond scones from this post.  About a week prior, I was thinking about other flavor scones I could make and I stumbled upon this cinnamon chip scone recipe.  I was planning to make them that weekend, but cinnamon chips were nowhere to be found!  I searched several grocery stores and could not find them so I ended up buying  them off of Amazon.  Thank goodness for Amazon Prime!  :)  I ordered the Hershey's brand cinnamon chips which came with 6 10oz bags, so I should be stocked for awhile.

Cinnamon Chips!

That Thursday after work I decided to make a batch of the cherry scones and a batch of the cinnamon scones to bring into work on Friday.  Since I've made the cherry scones a few times I felt comfortable bringing them into work, but the cinnamon scones were a first for me so I was a little apprehensive to share them with co-workers.  Dave tested them out and of course loved them.  I had a little piece and thought they were pretty good.  I think next time I won't use the whole 10oz bag of cinnamon chips it called for because it was hard to keep the dough together with so many chips.  So, Friday morning I brought the scones into work, being a little skeptical of what people were going to think.  I love to bake but I'm a tough critic on myself so I get very nervous sharing things with other people because I'm afraid they might not like my baking.  I got nothing but positive responses and people asking for my recipes.  I don't know if they were just being nice or if they truly liked them; I like to think it is the latter.

Description cards to bring into work

Cherry Almond Scones

Cinnamon Chip Scones

 

The final product!

My father-in-law made the cherry almond scones and said they were the best scones he has ever had!  That meant a lot to me since he is an excellent baker.  I'm hoping to do some baking this weekend - maybe try out some treats that would be great for Valentine's Day.  If anyone has some great recipes they would like to share, I would love to try them!

Cherry Almond Scones

Dave and I have been visiting Northside Social quite frequently and I must say, I'm in love with their cherry almond scones.  The other night I decided to find a recipe online and try to re-create them.  This was my first time making scones and I'm so happy with the way they turned out.  I used this recipe, but decided to brush the tops with butter and top with a little sugar like one of the readers suggested.  I highly suggest trying this recipe - they were easy, tasty and fun to make with your loved one! :)

Delicious!!

Buh-Bye 2012, Hello 2013

2012 ended up to be a pretty great year that ended on a very high note.  During the last few weeks of 2012, I completed my last class that I need in order to sit for the CPA exam, we bought a brand new car (our first big purchase together!), moved into a BRAND NEW apartment that we absolutely LOVE and we got to spend Christmas with my wonderful family!

Christmas Eve Dinner

Christmas Day

Visiting the church where we got married

This past week (New Year's Day through this past Saturday), Dave and I spent a lot of our time watching Homeland.  My sister was talking about it over break so we thought we would give it a shot.  We instantly got HOOKED!  We completed seasons 1 & 2 in less than a week (not that I'm proud of it).  It's so nice when we have a show that we both really enjoy together.  Now that we are done with that show for now, I guess we will have to wait for Mad Men and Breaking Bad to come back!

This weekend was pretty much perfect.  I really wanted to enjoy it because I start loosing my weekends very soon due to tax season.  Saturday I started the morning by going to a yoga class.  It was so nice getting back into it, something that I've really missed.  I'm looking forward to getting back to my old schedule of yoga about 3 days a week.  After yoga and a run, I got ready to go do some errands while Dave was at his soccer game.  Later that afternoon, we headed out to District Taco for a late lunch/early dinner.  After we ate we headed to the Sculpture Garden for some ice staking.  It was so romantic skating under the stars and with all the sparkling lights around us.  I had such a wonderful time and neither one of us fell down once! ;)  After ice skating we picked up some hot chocolate, a sweet treat and headed home for the evening to finish Homeland.

Ice Skating with my LOVE!!

Sunday consisted of an early morning kickboxing class, a run with Dave to our favorite local coffee shop, Northside Social, errands, watching football and using one of Dave's Christmas presents:  a pasta maker!  We had so much fun making linguine together and it tasted AMAZING!  We are looking forward to trying out raviolis this next weekend.

Coffee at Northside Social

Pasta making

This was the perfect weekend with the perfect husband.  We had so much fun together which makes it hard to think about this upcoming tax season.  For now, I'm going to try to enjoy every free minute I have.

A Busy and Productive Weekend

This weekend was a very busy and productive one!  We are moving this weekend so most of the weekend was spent packing.  Dave has done most of the packing while I have been doing schoolwork and finishing up our Christmas cards.  I did go through all of my clothes, shoes and bags and am donating a TON!  Since we are downsizing a bit, we thought it would be a great idea to get rid of things we don't use or need anymore.  As if we didn't need anything else on our plate, our car decided to die on Saturday.  Luckily it's being fixed now (and I got to take good 'ol public transportation to work today), but it looks like we will be buying a new car pretty soon.  This will be our first big purchase together, which is kind of exciting! 

Hopefully, the rest of the week is less eventful and our move goes smoothly.  Luckily my mom is coming up on Thursday to help us finish packing and help us organize our new place!  We have tickets to the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center on Saturday and I am really looking forward to it.  This was my anniversary gift from Dave and I've been counting down the days - it will be my first time visiting the Kennedy Center!

Image courtesy of Ballet West:  The Nutcracker

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Hard to believe it's December.  Does this mean I can mail out our Christmas cards now?!?! :)

Thanksgiving Recap

So, my Thanksgiving break didn't go as planned but there were some definite goods times.

First...THE BAD

 1.  Horrendous traffic into the city on Wednesday...NEVER traveling the Wednesday before Thanksgiving EVER again.
2.  Did not go to the parade due to how stressed out I got because of Wednesday's trip.
3.  Got food poisioning which was AWFUL!  (stupid deli wrap! :(  )
4.  Missed my parents and sister

Me at the High Line!

The GOOOOD

1.  I have a wonderful brother-in-law who got us a car, through Uber, to get us out of the city on Wednesday night.
2. Drinks and girl talk on Wednesday night
3.  Soccer game on Thursday morning (even if I was horrible)
4.  Errands and pie making with Casey
5.  Fantastic Thanksgiving dinner with family!
6.  A game of Celebrity
7.  A trip into NYC!
8.  Being surrounded by family who genuinely care about me
9.  Food poisoning = not gaining an ounce over break!

Thankful

As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm reminded of how lucky I am for what I have and the wonderful life I have been blessed with.  Here is a list of things I am thankful for:

1.  My health
2.  My husband, who loves me with his whole heart and is ALWAYS there for me.  He makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.
3.  My parents - they love me uncondtitionaly and support me with everything I do.  They are always there for me and I love them more than words can say.  I am truly lucky to have such amazing, selfless parents who would do anything for me and my sister..
4.  My sister - we might not always get along, but I love her and am so lucky to call her my sister.  I love you, Allie!
5.  My new family - I'm so happy to be a part of the O'Brien family - you guys have made me feel so welcomed and I am so lucky to have married into such a fun and loving family.  I love you guys!
6.  My friends, old and new; I am so lucky to call you my friends.  Thanks for always being there for me.
7.  The Dunns - who have taken Winnie into their home with open arms and are treating her like a princess.  She is one lucky pup!
8.  My dad's new job - hopefully one that will make him happy and enjoy what he is doing

This list could go on forever...I am so lucky for the life I have and sometimes need to stop and remind myself how lucky I truly am.  I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving spent with family and friends.  Hopefully you will see Dave and me on t.v. during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! ;)

Happiness Is...

Things that are making me happy these days:

<Sunday morning coffee dates with Dave>

<Boot weather>

<Baking with Dave!  Here is our yummy pumpkin granola!>

<Pumpkin EVERYTHING>

<A night of baking and drinking with my love>

<Picnicking >

<My new iPhone case!  Love being a Mrs!!!>

<Caramel apples>

<Our yearly apple pick!>

<Fun nail polish>

<Fro-yo with colored sprinkles is a MUST!!>

<Wine with a view with my better half!>

What makes you happy?  Are you enjoying all the festivities as much as I am?

The Sweetest Thing

This morning when I woke up for my run I kissed Dave goodbye and wished him safe travels since he was heading to Chicago for work. I wasn't going to be back in time to see him before he left so I gave him the biggest hug and kiss.

On my way home from my run I see Dave standing at the corner in his suit with his suitcase. He said he had to see me one more time before he left. This simply made my heart melt! He is always doing the sweetest things for me and this is exactly what I needed after a stressful few days!

Thank you Dave for making my morning and more importantly making my life so great! I love you with all of my heart!!

The love of my life!

Baking Extravaganza (Thanks Pinterest!)

Dave's good friend, Jared, moved to the area this past week.  He was coming over on Sunday to watch the Patriot's game with Dave so I decided I would make him some yummy treats to welcome him to the area.  I got most of my cookie ideas from my Pinterest board.

A little drinking & baking with my hunny! 

 

The best sous-chef!

First I made the dough for sand dollar cookies from the recipe I found here since it had to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours (I ended up refrigerating it over night.)  Next it was onto the pumpkin snicker-doodle cookies.  This dough needed to refrigerate for at least an hour so while the dough was cooling, I decided to whip up a batch of classic chocolate chip cookies.  Dave was a tremendous help throughout the whole process by measuring out ingredients, cleaning up after me and keeping me company.  It was such a fun night of baking together.  Once we were done with the chocolate chip cookies, it was time to bake the pumpkin snicker-doodle cookies.  Before I could put them in the oven, I had to roll the dough into little balls and dip the balls into a cinnamon sugar mixture.  After that, I took a small wine glass and rinsed the rim with water then dipped the rim into the sugar mixture.  I took the bottom of the glass and pressed down on the dough to form flat cookies.  Once I finished this process it was time to put the cookies in the oven.  The cookies made our home smell like fall...it was fabulous. 

Flattening the pumpkin cookies

Pre-bake

Delicious pumpkin snicker-doodle cookies

Sunday morning we finished making the sand dollar cookies.  These cookies were not the easiest cookies to make because it involved trying to find the perfect almond shapes and pressing them into the cookie deep enough that they would stay put but not hard enough that they would break.  The sand dollar cookies tasted ok, but I prefer my Martha Stewart snicker-doodles any day!

Sand dollar cookies - NOT worth the effort! :)

Jared's goodies! :)

The next task for the cookies was how was I going to give them to Jared.  I had seen on Pinterest a wrapped Pringles jar to put your baked cookies in.  I picked up some wrapping paper from The Container Store, along with some tins and gift tags.  I bought some Pringles, something we never have in the house, took out the Pringles and put them in a Ziploc bag and cleaned out the Pringles container.  After I dried it, I wrapped it with wrapping paper, made a gift tag and tied it onto the container.  I put the other cookies in separate tins that we also picked up at the Container Store.  It was such a fun project that I got to do with my husband.  I hope Jared enjoys his cookies and his new home!