Finally Friday

Friday full of dreams. Except if it were an actual dream, it wouldn't be 100+ degrees outside. According to the very scientific and reputable source, Wikipedia, I owe my thanks Willis Haviland Carrier, who in 1911 invented and used the first large-scale electrical air conditioning system.
What am I dreaming of?
First, crawfish! I'm craving it. Something tells me that I might be at Courtyard 280 at some point this weekend. NOES - I should have known better, just called and crawfish season is over.
Second, Magic Mike. Need I say more?
Third, also craving Indian food - Jennifer needs to hurry up and come back to town.
Fourth (how convenient), we are having people over for the 4th: looking forward to fireworks, good food, and great people.
Fifth, the boss told us a couple of days ago that we would be off on the 5th and 6th. Unfortunately, that's too short of a notice to get a cheap vacay. BUT! I did figure that I could craft all day and get some DIY stuff out of the way => super stoked! Or I could just make mimosas and watch girly movies all day (Tom will be working).  In any case, winning :)

If you want to join in on all or any of it, let me know.

What we've been up to

This week flew by - but here's are the important parts (and some whining):
Our friend, Chris is visiting from Philadelphia. He was part of Tom's soccer team and this weekend is the Sports Festival, an annual soccer tournament.
Our friends, Brian and Anne are also in town for a wedding from Milwaukee. I had a great time seeing them last night at dinner and meeting their super-adorable one year old daughter, Ellie. It was fun to hang out with the group and we also discovered a new fun game that combines Pictionary and telephone.
I'm also trying a new beer, Shock Top Raspberry Wheat.

Here comes the whining:
Today started well, the men ate breakfast, pack their gear and left. I got ready to run errands (there are some good crafting deals at the stores today), packed my purse, and then saw this:

Bummer! No idea when it happened. My neighbor said it sadly looks fun, and I agree. I think there was probably a chip in the window that I wasn't aware of, and when the temperature got really high (we are forecast for a 95 degree high today, no idea how high the heat index is). It didn't break open, so nothing was taken out of the car.
The other sad thing, this happened on a Saturday when shops are all closed. But I did call it in and it will get fixed on Monday. Since it's below my deductible, this will be an out-of-pocket expense, which probably means I'll have to wait for a little longer before I can purchase my new tablet.
The next sad thing is that I don't have much crafting supplies (hence I was going to the craft store) and it is super hot outside, as in Kajal will be super cranky if she has to do yard work. And I'm not sure whether I should drive with this. So I'll probably stay in, turn the AC way down (okay, maybe only to 76 degrees), and drink my Shock Top. Yummy beer!

Wordless Wednesday came in the mail

Tasty Tuesday

At lab today, I called last night's meal a lazy dinner only to be corrected by my coworkers who thought it wasn't a lazy dinner.
I made a baked Tilapia - very simple, seasoned fish with lemon pepper, topped with lime slices, rosemary, and tabs of butter, baked at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Served with boxed mac and cheese, and thawed (frozen) veggies with a lemon vinaigrette.

An easy dinner option when you had to wake up early to go to the dentist for fillings and can't feel half your face until 2 pm(I had to ask for a fourth injection of lidocaine and septocaine).

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, not so wordless - my awesome gift from Jennifer; First item with (and a peak at) my new monogram (I love personalized stuff)! Absolutely love it! Craft night, potluck dinners, picnics, the bride's survival kit for next year, the possibilities are endless!

Tasty Tuesday

I've tried a few new(ish) recipes over the past few weeks.
First, we had fish sandwiches:
Coat fish in flour, then egg wash spiked with spicy mustard, then breadcrumbs. Cook in a pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. For the bread, we used beer batter bread (recipe from Laurie). Served with steamed asparagus. Inspiration, Sarah Moulton)

We also had a cauliflower broccoli gratin; I made it for Emily's send-off party on Friday night.
Cook the chopped veggies at 375 degrees for 25 mins until tender. Transfer to a baking dish and pour over white sauce (made from a roux). Top with shredded mild cheddar and seasoned breadcrumbs (breadcrumbs with Italian seasoning, grated Parmesan cheese, and olive oil). Inspiration: Jacques Pepin

On Saturday, I followed (somewhat) a recipe from Publix. I will call it creamy baked chicken breast. Top chicken breast with a mixture of mayonnaise, grated sharp cheddar, green tabasco, and chopped green onion (from the garden). Bake chicken at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes, then broil for 2-3 minutes until the top of the chicken is golden. I served it with leftover gratin. Inspiration: Publix

Inspired by a dish that we had at the party on Friday, I attempted my first orzo (rice-shaped pasta) salad. I was very disappointed in Publix, since they only had one brand of orzo (which was expensive) and I couldn't find pine nuts. But the dish was so worth it. Cook the orzo according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water. Make a marinade with lemon juice, olive oil, white vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, and dried oregano. Toss orzo with marinade and add chopped yellow and red peppers, garlic and herb feta, chopped herbs (cilantro, chives, and green onion from the garden), grape tomatoes cut in half. I substituted slivered almonds for pine nuts. While prepping the peppers, I realized that I didn't like them raw. So I tossed them in the pasta cooking water when the pasta had two minutes left cooking. This dish will become a staple in the house, since it was so easy to make and oh so tasty. Tom thought it was fine as a meal, but next time, I think I will make a poached salmon, lemon pepper white fish, or Greek grilled chicken. Inspiration: Stacy

Sunny Sunday and weekend recap

Saturday started with its usual batch of errands, Costo, Publix, Aldi, and CVS.  I was very happy about $7 of produce that will last us for a bit at Aldi. Tom and I haven't given up all of our brand loyalties, which makes it extra special when we get stuff we like (Neutrogena moisturizer) for 25 cents at CVS.

Saturday night, we started at Good People Brewing Company for coffee oatmeal stout and then proceeded to Railroad Park, a park in the middle of downtown Birmingham. This was my first visit and I was very surprised at how awesome it is. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra was doing a free outdoors concert, featuring the music of Wagner, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, and others. Our friends Chantelle and Colm brought their dogs, which made the evening even better.
  

Hazel, Chantelle's dog; Niamh (pronounced Neave), Colm's dog

Crafts: I have started a new scrapbook - one that summarizes all our trips since we started dating in 2009. I'm halfway through 2010.We have a summer wreath for June. I've been playing with centerpieces for the reception. The candle in the conical flask lasted for about an hour - we had the fan going on in the house, but Tom said it was more realistic in case it was windy at the reception.

Garden update: Our plants are doing great. We bought dying plants from Home Depot on Memorial Day weekend and they are now looking very healthy. It was worth the purchase. As long as we remember to water all the plants, we should have a beautiful garden all summer. I can't wait for the peppers and tomatoes to come up.

Oh June!

For June, I'm
Excited:  to see the professional pictures, our garden
Worried: about name change paperwork
Watching: Superhero flicks and the Aliens series (at least that what I'll plan on doing), the rain, summer thunderstorms :)
Reading: The newspaper, magazines, scientific papers
Listening to: NPR's Car Talk, Says You, Lady Antebellum's album, CCR
Creating:  wedding crafts and travel scrapbook
Cooking: diet food?
Loving:  our garden
Hoping: that just like we had a mild winter, we'll have a mild summer (a girl can dream)
Looking forward to: more live music, including the Alabama Symphony Orchestra