labor day weekend

Ryan and I have been so busy these last couple of weeks, so I apologize to the neglected emails, phone calls, and our absence on our blog. This last weekend my parents came in town for labor day. It was great to have them here and to get some one on one time with them. Friday my mom and I had a girls day shopping (dad was very thankful we got the shopping done before he flew in). Saturday afternoon we spent out on the lake with my dad's twin brother and his family. I was so proud of my mom, she got up on the surf board for her first time and did really well. I hope I can do that at 51! Sunday we took a drive to Canton Texas to meet up with my sister who happen to be in town too. Canton is a TEXAS SIZE swap meet in a nut shell. It was a sight to see. Monday we took it easy with a relaxing pedicure, and a movie.

Thanks mom and dad for a great weekend.

Roadside homemade peach ice cream

Mom's new boyfriend

cupcakes

There has been a lot of hype in recent years with cupcakes: they are mini cakes, personalized; an individual cake for someone to enjoy all to themselves, whats there not to like? I have heard of sprinkles cupcakes a few years back and was curious to know what was so special. Since I was living in Utah at the time there was no way for me to try one fresh from the bakery, so I settled for the sprinkles cake mix sold at Williams and Sonoma. I made them, tasted them and didn't see the big deal. I realize I should not leave it up to my cooking to determine the true taste of these cupcakes. A few years later, and a move to Dallas; Ryan brought me home some sprinkles cupcakes. I was excited to give them another chance. The first one I tried was a white cake with chocolate icing. It was horrible. The cake was so dense with no flavor. I moved on to the chocolate cake with a marshmallow filling. The cake improved, it was fluffy, the flavor was OK. I tried a few other variations of chocolate and that was enough for my verdict. Sprinkles cupcakes are just another cupcake. Which is something that died in the 1980s with children's birthdays.

you've had a birthday...

Last Thursday was my birthday, and it was a great day! I love birthdays so much, I never want them to end. I was so sad to go to bed that night because I knew my Birthday was over but, Ryan made it a day to remember. Ryan worked from home in the afternoon, and I slipped out for a manicure/ pedicure. My favorite activity. When I got back we were ready to play. Ryan surprised me with a new camera! I got a new Canon Rebel xsi. I was so excited. I have always loved photos and recently have been wanting to take up photography as a hobby. I am going to enroll in some photography classes at the local college for fun. With my new camera in hand I was ready to start shooting. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Dallas Aquarium. I probably would save your 40 dollars

and find something else to do. It just doesn't come close to the Denver or Monterey Bay aquarium. For dinner we went to the stock yards to a restaurant called Lonesome Dove a western bistro. It was fantastic! If you ever watch Iron Chef, in may 2007 he beat iron chef Morimoto in a head to head challenge with "chili" as the ingredient. Chef Tim Love has been a nominee for the James Beard award, a very prestigious food award. Anyway, the food was delicious! To start we choose three appetizers to sample, Blue Corn Lobster “Hushpuppies” with Watercress Butter, Braised Wild Boar Ribs with Lonesome Dove BBQ Sauce and House Pickles, Rare Kangaroo Loin Nachos with Boursin Cheese, Avocado-Corn Salad, and Huckleberry-Habanero Demi. No, I didn't type that wrong, I ate kangaroo. I was a little freaked out because I knew what I was eating, but the flavor was actually really good. Second course we both enjoyed a salad, and for the main course I got a Roasted Garlic Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Western Plaid Hash, Grilled Asparagus, and Syrah Demi-Glace. To finish it all off we shared a piece of chocolate cake. If all that wasn't enough, we had to stop by Maggie Moos for some chocolate better batter ice cream. Hip Hurray for Birthdays!!!

I had fun taking pictures around downtown ft worth with my new camera, here are a few of my favorites. (I really liked the colors)

danskin womens tri

I just figured out how to get the pictures from the race so I wanted to post them. In June, Lindsay and I did our first triathlon! We did the Danskin Womens Tri in Austin Texas. It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. It was so much fun. I was so proud of us, Lindsay finished FIRST in our division, and I finished fourth.

late nights

This past week was a busy week for me. The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale started on Friday, which means no days off and working long hours. In between work I had to find time to spend with Ryan and relax. Ryan was really sweet and brought home a box of gourmet chocolates that were really tasty. He also did some research and found out about this new thing they are doing at the Dallas Art Museum where they stay open till midnight on Friday nights. I was so excited because the museums usually close around 5 or 6 and we can never make it there in time. Our good friends Henry and Nana joined us. Some of the highlights - They had a Frank Gehry Easy Edges chair on display, designed 1970. What was even better is they had a replica of the Frank Gehry Wiggle chair and you actually could sit in it! I have always wanted to touch one of his pieces, and now I could. Another piece I thought was neat was done by Janine Antoni, tittled lick and lather. It was two self sculptures, one was made of chocolate and the other made from soap. She licked and washed away details on the face signifying ones perception of beauty in women. I had never heard of this artist before, I researched her later and she is an interesting character. The next night we went and saw Batman: The Dark Night. It was so good. Both Ryan and I really enjoyed it. I am a huge fan of Heath Ledger, he was such an amazing actor with so much talent. I enjoyed his phenomenal performance in Brokeback Mountain as well as his Joker role in Batman. It was an award winning performance. We highly recommend seeing it.

you scream i scream, we all scream for ice cream

Ryan and I got a new toy to help us get through the summer, an Ice Cream Maker! We have had our eye on this contraption for quite sometime and finally caved in and got it. We had to order it, so it just got delivered today. We are so excited that we had to break it in. The flavor I choose to make is one of my favorites, cake batter. I am sad to report it doesn't come close to the Chocolate Better Batter from Maggie Moos (the ice cream we served at the wedding) but it was pretty good. Here is the recipe:

1 cup half & half

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup cake mix

Directions

Whisk the half & half and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and then stir in cake mix (to avoid lumps sift in). Pour mixture into the freezer bowl and churn as directed by your machine.

weekend in Monterey

Although I have not traveled much, Monterey California is definitely at the top of my list for greatest places in the world. Ryan and I got to go for the fourth of July weekend, and we had so much fun. We flew in late Thursday night, and first stop on the list was In n Out, luckily they don't close tell 1:30am. I had not one but TWO burgers, fries and a strawberry shake! The next day we visited with family, and it was off to the golf course. My first time to golf all 18 holes! It was a bit long but we were right on the beach, so despite the fact that I played a horrible game of golf it was absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed every minute of it. The next day we drove down to Carmel Valley to this tasty bistro Ryan found called Wickets it was inside Bernardus Lodge and Winery. The food was delicious, I had a crab cake to start, best I have ever had, and for my main course a piece of salmon on grilled asparagus with a caesar salad. It was my favorite meal the whole trip. After that we went to the beach and flew a kite or should I say we attempted to fly a kite. Ryan's Dad, Tom, brought this kite that was pretty high tech. It had two strings and you controlled which direction it flew by pulling the right or the left. Neither Ryan or I could get the hang of it, but Tom, he flew it beautifully. That night we stumbled across a Rite Aid. But this was no ordinary Rite Aid, it was a prior Thrifty's! Which means they carry Thrifty's Ice Cream. I LOVE Thrifty's ice cream. I got two scoops of the chocolate malt ball crunch. The next day was our last, we tried to cram as much as we could before our flight. We went for a bike ride along the coast down to Canary row and Monterey Pier. We enjoyed a cup of clam chowder, the best caramel corn, and a ghirardelli ice cream sunday. That was our trip in a nut shell, can't wait to go back! Thanks Tom and Annette for a wonderful weekend.