Holiday Work "Party"

Yesterday was a lovely afternoon for our work party! Since there are just four of us in the office, we first went to Ozumo to fill up on sushi. We loooovvvveeee this place! We started with garlic soy edamame, vegetable dumplings, and Hanabi. Then, we shared a couple of roles which were delish.


After lunch, we went up to the marina to the California Wine Merchant.

We shared a bottle of Primitivo

We grabbed the table near the window to watch the rainy day & all of the last minute shoppers running around in the rain!

Me & my partner in crime, Sarah

Our boss ran across the street to an Italian deli to try to get canoli's for us but they were sold out. We settled for the cheddar dip instead. Soooo good.

It was soooo rainy & dreary out. I hopped in a cab around 4pm, got home, immediately changed clothes, and got on the couch with Evie. She refused to go out, of course. Once the rain let up, I was able to get her out with a couple of tries.

I think I had too much wine & sugar yesterday because last night, I was so tired. Off today to pick up some last minute gifts!

Last Friday!

Today is my LAST Friday at work for 2010! SO crazy to think about. So much has changed at work in a year. We went from having 2 of us to 4 of us. We are going to a big sushi lunch & then a wine bar for our 'holiday lunch' Last year, my boss & I were the only ones to go to lunch & then mani/pedis. It was fun so this year will be even more fun!

It was hard to wake up this AM. It was dark & rainy. It was warm in bed. Both Evie and I didn't want to wake up and go outside in the rain. Thankfully, it wasn't raining that hard so she went out & went the bathroom. She used to never set foot outside if it was sprinkling. She also knows that when I put my raincoat on, she doesn't want to go out. Can you believe I don't wear it out when its sprinkling so that this dog will go out? I sacrifice my dry head to get her out. hah.

Once we are out there, it's pretty funny. She stops every 2 seconds and wants to go home. I have to try some different tactics to get her to stay out & do her business. I iwll run behind her to get her to move, run with her to get her to go, dangle some string cheese in her face and say Potty about 500times...all to get her to go the bathroom. What a baby!!

Step Into Christmas

Last night was happy hour with the NOLA crew at Brickyard in SF. It was great to see everyone! I am so tired today though...one more day of the week. Is it just me or is this week going at a snails pace!? We are staying home tonight and just relaxing.

In other news, I am dying to see Black Swan and The Fighter. They both look great & I have heard great things. Hope to see one this weekend.

Funny Kids

I wanted to share something funny from gymnastics the other day. We were playing the Volume 4 Glee CD during the party & the song 'Billionaire' came on. The kids in this particular party were 8 and 9 years old and were singing the songs. I was dying. They have no idea what they are even saying, I don't think!



Here's some of the lyrics they were saying:

I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad
Buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

Then, there was California Dream -






Let’s go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I, we’ll be young forever


I’ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight


It reminded me of how when I was younger, a song came on & the lyrics were:
Bad Boys, Bad Boys,
You make me feel so good

In fact, here is the video--



I asked my Mom - If they are bad, how could they make her feel good?

I'm sure her answer was - Ill tell you when you're older!

Tis the Season

...for parties! This week is so busy but I love all of the holiday stuff.

On Monday, I had my last Bingo for the year. Last night, we went to the client holiday party. It was held at Americano, which is a great bar on the Embarcadero. We've been there many times. They have an outdoor patio that they tented for the party, appetizers, & of course, open bar. Funny to see the clients get a little tipsy and get on the dance floor! I left around around 830.


It was a fun party this year!

Tonight, is another happy hour with my Dickinson/NOLA pals. Hopefully we get to discuss the next New Orleans trip that we are planning for 2011. I can't wait to go back with an awesome group of people again.

Friday, is our team lunch/holiday event. Since we are such a small team, we are going to SUSHI for lunch & then a wine bar. SO fun!

Needless to say, I am pretty tired today!

Wedding 2012

Erik & I have decided that we will probably get married in 2012. We really want this time to enjoy our engagement and plus, we need to decide whether we get married in CT or CA. Big decision!

I have just been thinking of some things here & there and here are some photos that I just love that are inspiration for our wedding.

Gymnastics & Bagels

I cannot believe this is my last full week in the office. On 12/23, we leave for CT! Today, I did the gymnastics parties and it was fine. There were only three of them and another girl did the last one so I got to leave early. I was thinking back to why I started doing the parties. One of the reasons was I love gymnastics, obviously but also that Erik was working on Sundays. It gave me something to do on Sundays & a little extra money now & then.

Now that Erik is home, I don't want to leave our cozy little place with him & Evie relaxing all day! Gymnastics is fun but I think I will now do it on an as needed basis - if they are in a bind & need someone.

Anyway, Erik's bagels were done when I got home and they taste like legit bagels! hah. I think we might experiment with making other toppings like Everything bagels! Yum-0.

Cookie of the Week: Snickerdoodles

Today, I made the cookie of the week....Snickerdoodles. They.are.So.Good. They were super easy to make, too.

1 cup butter or shortening
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoons baking soda
cinnamon and sugar mixed to taste (about 1/4 cup sugar to 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon is a good mixture)


Preheat oven to 400F. Mix together butter and sugar until smooth, then add eggs, cream of tartar, and baking soda.

Stir in flour until well mixed.

Roll into balls about 1" in diameter and roll in cinnamon and sugar to coat.

Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes. Cookies are done when they are just barely browning.




These are soooo good. Moist & Full of Cinnamon & sugar!

Cesar Update

Well, I did not meet Cesar. Turns out his meet & greet was moved to Friday and of course, I was at work. Kira got to meet him though, which is awesome. She got like 20 min to ask him questions and get a photo with him!! Oh well...what would I really have said to him anyway? Erik & I were talking about meeting celebrities. I really don't know who I would LOVE to meet. Cesar is cool. I love Gwyneth Paltrow and Andy Roddick. But, what would I say if I got to sit down with them for 10 min? No idea.

Today, I have to go do gymanstics parties. I do NOT want to go. This used to be fun but now it's more of a hassle. I like gymnastics & it is pretty fun but also, I like my Sundays to myself. I don't like driving down there and being there all afternoon anymore. I really don't even do it that often - maybe once or twice a month and only from Oct - March. This is my last time for the year. After this, I think I might just be on an as-needed basis.

In search of New York

I guess we are craving some NYC food because we attempted NY bagels AND pizza yesterday. First up, Erik made bagels yesterday. He has a book called 'The Bread Baker's Apprentice' and has been making some awesome breads out of it. He is boiling the bagels today so we will get to try them later on.



The Apprentice




I also had a coupon to Pizzera Avellino which claims they are 'Brooklyn Pizza'. I am convinced there is no good pizza out here but I keep trying new places hoping to find that taste I am looking for. The pizza back east has a thin crust, sweet sauce, & creamy cheese. Out here, the pizza is so bland.

This pizza was NOT New York pizza, sad to say. The crust was pretty good, but there was not a lot of sauce on the pizza. It was just OK. I guess I will just get my fix when I am home in approximately 1.5 weeks!! Yippeeeee!

Holiday Movies

This year, there have been some "good" holiday movies on Lifetime. I know this is not saying a lot because we all know how Lifetime movies are. You can actually find some of these movies on Hulu. Here are some:

Sundays at Tiffany's

This movie was really strange but it was nice to see Alyssa Milano on TV again. This is based on a book by James Patterson. Jane had an imaginary friend named Michael from when she was 5-10 yrs old. When she is about to marry a big time movie star, Michael shows up again but in real life. Other people can see him, which turns out to be really weird for her. She suddenly has to explain who he is to her fiance but also has to figure out why he is showing up now. Michael is here to help her with a problem she hasn't quite identified yet....

Merry Daughter of the Bride

A Mom & Daughter are co-owners of a bridal shop which they purchased after the Dad died. The Mom goes to Paris for a bridal fashion show & meets the next love of her life. Turns out the new guy's son is LUKE PERRY. At first, the son & daughter don't agree with the new relationship which quickly turns into an engagement but then, they see the happiness in their parents new life together. This actress, Joanna Garcia, is in it. I think she is so pretty & love her hair!

You've seen her on a ton of TV shows including, Gossip Girl.

Recipe for a Perfect Christmas

Find it on Hulu, here.

Cute story about a food critic & a restaurant owner. The food critic tries to set up the restaurant owner with her Mom but it seems the critic & owner might be better suited for each other.

I have also watched some of my old favorites such as White Christmas, Home Alone, and Santa Clause. I love cheesy movies!

Guest Cookie of the Week

We have a guest baker for Cookie of the Week....Erik! He decided to make us Vegan Chocolate Chip/Butterscotch cookies. Ok, so they are like 98% vegan. haha.

The Ingredients

The always present Baking Assistant supervising the baking & hoping for something to drop in her mouth

Erik is a pro in the kitchen - multitasking!







The finished product! They were delicious. They were really fluffy & moist. They weren't super sweet like you get with cookies with a ton of sugar in them. You can find the recipe in the Veganomicon bookbook.

Black Bean & Zucchini Quesadillas

The other night, I made a pretty good dinner! Black bean & zucchini quesadillas. Here's how I did it:

Step One: Pour a home brew of Hefeweizen that Erik brewed for me! Delish.

Cut up some zucchini & cook in a pan until slightly browned. Remove zucchini & set aside.

Season the black beans with taco powder in the pan

Drop the zucchini back in the pan and mix with beans

Made a side of Mexican rice

The quesadillas had cheese, beans, and zucchini


Butter one side of each tortilla

Seasoned the beans with taco powder

Made a quick guacamole in the food processor(BEST KITCHEN GADGET EVER)

Just place the tortilla in the pan on the stove. Place the beans/zucchini/cheese on the tortilla. Then place another tortilla on top. Flip once or twice & DONE.

Finished product. Taken with an iPhone, so it doesn't look that great but it was yummy!

I am stalling out on reading Harry Potter. I am on the 4th book and just cannot really get settled into it. I've been reading it for a few weeks and just like 25% of the way through the book. I don't know....I might keep trying but maybe the first three books were it for me. I also cannot stay awake during the movies.

There are so many other books I want to read, too! I will see how I do but I might give Harry a break and try to pick up something else. Maybe that will excite me to finish book 4.

Cookie of the Week: Palmiers

I decided that during this December, I am going to make a Cookie of the Week! Last week was sugar cookies. This week was...Palmiers! Well, these shots are not very good but they actually did look like the pastry, which is great.


I used the Barefoot Contessa Recipe found HERE. It was super easy to make. I did play around with the oven times and they came out a little TOO carmelized but still yummy.


I think I might try these again since they were super easy. Man, I have been eating a lot during this month! I have to think of my Cookie for next week, too. I think I have something in mind...

I AM MEETING CESAR MILLAN

OH MY GOD. I am going to meet Cesar Millan on Saturday. I am SO excited. My friend Kira has passes to a private meet & greet and I get to attend! I am going to be the "videographer" and videotape her interview with him. I am DYING. After the meet & greet, he will be signing his new book for people. I will try to get a photo with him.

Too bad I can't bring Evie to get some advice!

Santa Came Early....

Santa came early & brought us a....new vacuum!! Santa Luna brought us a new Dyson DC14 vacuum and it is awesome. It came pretty well put together. I just had to attach a hose & click in the attachments. Erik was practically ripping it out of my hands while I was putting it together so he could use it.

It works SO WELL. We only have a vacuum in our living room and it didn't even look like it needed to be vacuumed. However, we used it and it picked up so much dog hair in seconds. It was awesome!!