Orange Hearts

For Eric's birthday salad, I cut the carrots into hearts.



I'll have to do that again; it was so simple!

Dyed Eggs

We dyed 24 eggs on Saturday, and we tried marbleizing.We had sort of a rocky start, but we figured it out by the end. And now our eggs are so much more exciting!

I think that we should dye eggs more than once a year. You know the saying: A colorful fridge is a happy fridge. Okay, I just made that up, but it's totally true!

Blue Eggs

A while back, we picked up an info sheet about the eggs sold at our local Whole Foods. It was pretty interesting, but we were both really excited about the fact that they occasionally have blue eggs. When Eric went to pick up a few things the other day, he saw that there were some local Azuluna blue eggs in stock, and he brought them home to surprise me! 

They're really pretty, that's for sure. They also tasted really good -- rich and creamy. According to the company website,"Azuluna hens are descended from the Araucana chicken which originated in the mountainous regions of Chile in South America. These hens have been imported and raised in the US since the 1930’s." 


Did you ever have a blue egg (Easter doesn't count)?

HBS Clambake

On Labor Day, the HBS Partners Club held a Clambake for partners and their students.

These are the Partners Club committee members; they organized the big event! I'm glad they were able to enjoy themselves, because I know they worked hard to put this all together.

We missed most of the appetizers, because we were late, but we were in time for the clam chowder. Then they served full lobsters, grilled chicken, corn and coleslaw! There was watermelon for dessert, and it was absolutely perfect.

I guess we needed more dessert though, because after the clambake we got ice cream! While we were in line we saw this gorgeous English Mastif. She was pretty shy, and very soft!

Brunch In The South End

You guys, I had a busy, busy weekend! As you know, I spent Saturday at a wedding. And Sunday I went to the South End to meet my friend, Justin, and his girlfriend. They were in town for the weekend, visiting from NYC.

I've known Justin since elementary school, but I haven't seen him since 2001 when we graduated high school. We weren't really friends in school, but last year we reconnected via Twitter. Seriously. The internet's pretty amazing, huh? Turns out, we actually have many common interests.

Anyway, the real life meet-up was fun! I was introduced to his girlfriend and the three of us had brunch at Masa. It was cool to catch up in person. Afterwards, I gave them a quick tour of the public garden and the common downtown.

*The picture was a little blurry so I Polaroid-ized it. I think it's definitely an improvement. I felt self-conscious photographing them while they were trying to eat and accidentally focused on their arms instead of their faces. And only took 1 picture. Haha.

The Future Of Menus?

On Friday night we joined some friends for dinner at Da Vinici Ristorante (yay for restaurant week!). The food was excellent, and the company was even better. Our waiter was a pill, but all of the other staff seemed great (after our meal the chef came out to ask us how everything was; I felt like a VIP). You guys, this place had glowing menus. Glowing!

Some guy who works there told us they cost $200 each (maybe that's why there weren't enough to go around - we only got 3 for a table of 6). It seems a little excessive, but it was so dark in there we probably wouldn't have been able to see the menu otherwise. It was a fun novelty, that's for sure!

I took this picture with my blackberry, but you can clearly see that the menu is lighting up Eric and Joe.

Dinner Time

It was absolutely gorgeous on Sunday, so Eric and I took a loooong walk in the afternoon. We spotted this squirrel grabbing some dinner in the park.

It's official, I have a thing for squirrels. They're so darn cute!

★ Check out the Everything Little Miss blog to see the birthday cards I made for Google. Yeah, I said Google.

Cup Of Tea

Now that spring is getting closer, the sun streams in our living room window and floods our couch with light in the early afternoon. I like to sit in the warm, bright, cozy spots while I eat my lunch. I'm lucky enough to work at home, so I get to do this on a daily basis - weather permitting of course.

Today, after I ate my lunch (and waaaaaay too many Valentine's Day sweets), I made myself a cup of tea and enjoyed the sunbeams for a few minutes. Sometimes it's nice to just sit for moment.

Happy Friday + happy weekend.

My First Stromboli

On Sunday Sara made stromboli with pepperoni and cheese. It smelled so good that I had some, even though I don't eat pork (I gave Eric my perpperoni). Um, YUM! I was inspired to try to make it myself last night. I added red sauce and used shredded chicken instead of pepperoni.

It was okay. It was a little bland; it could have used some salt and spices. It will be better next time! Anyway, use the recipe above as a starting point if you feel like giving it a go. Have fun with it -- I did!

Chocolate Bar

Yesterday we went to the Chocolate Bar at the Langham Hotel. We got tickets at a discount through the HBS Partners' Club. We've been there before, so we knew what to expect and expertly paced ourselves.

It's really decadent and indulgent and fun. My strategy was to eat as much fruit and non-chocolate as possible. That meant that 1) I didn't overload on sugar and 2) I could eat a whole lot more! I mostly had little tastes of this and that. I started with a chocolate crepe with berries inside. The crepes are definitely the best thing there; I should have had a second one! I ended with a chocolate chip cookie + vanilla ice cream sandwich.

How'd you spend your weekend?

Teeny Tiny Gingerbread Houses

Yesterday I made the most adorable little gingerbread houses. But these are not your ordinary houses, these little guys sit on the edge of your mug of hot chocolate, just to make it super special. My mom found the tutorial over at Not Martha, and she wanted to give them as gifts. Since my mom had to work until 6 last night, I was in charge.

It was my first time making gingerbread houses without my mom. Luckily, she'd already made the dough, so she was able to help me bake & build the first one before leaving for work. But then I was on my own. I made 9 total.

My favorite part was decorating, of course!

It was a lot of fun and not too hard, so check out the tutorial if you're interested!

P.S. We had dinner at a friend's last night and brought these for the hosts. They were very well received!

Waking Up In Newport, RI

Friday night we went to Newport, RI to visit friends from college. It was great! They cooked a delicious meal for us, we lit the menorah for the first night of Hanukkah, and we talked and laughed late into the night. We brought pajamas and pillows and camped out on the surprisingly comfortable fold-out couch.

In the morning we all headed to breakfast and then went for a drive along the ocean.

Newport is really beautiful, and filled with history; we really need to spend more time there and really walk around and see the town.

Happy Hanukkah!

Tree Trimming Party

On November 29th we were invited to a tree trimming party. It was the first I've ever attended, and it was adorable. It was hosted by one of Eric's analytics learning team members. (Analytics was held before the real school year started to give non-finance people a bit of a crash course and prepare them for the regular curriculum coursework.) I think it's great that he's still in touch with his 4 original team members.

Everybody brought something to share. There was a delicious cake with a melted butter topping (heaven), cheese curds (a Wisconsin delicacy), apples and caramel sauce, cookies, a traditional Indian dessert, egg nog, and mulled cider. There may have been more, but that's all I remember. It was so festive! Oh yeah, the hostess was also playing Christmas music and It's A Wonderful Life was on mute in the background.

We brought clementines and I made 2 paper crane ornaments for the tree (do you seem them?). Everybody helped decorate while we all chatted. It was really fun!

Are you getting into the holiday spirit? Have you checked out the Everything Little Miss 2009 Holiday Gift Guide?

*As always, click the pictures to enlarge!

Bar Mitzvah In Amherst

On Saturday we went to a Bar Mitzvah in Amherst. It was a lot of fun. The service was really lovely, and I was happy to discover how many of the songs and prayers I remember.

I was excited to attend because I hadn't seen the Bar Mitzvah boy or his family for far too long. His parents and my parents have been friends since before I was born, so I've known them my entire life! You've probably guessed that the rest of my family was also invited, so I also got to spend the day with my parents and brother (unfortunately my sister was studying for exams & working, so she couldn't make it).

The party was held at a local bowling alley. It as so awesome! They rented the whole place out, got a DJ, and set us all up with our own lanes. Can you believe it was my mom's very first time bowling? I thought she did a great job! I think Eric won both games, but my dad wasn't far behind.

There was a delicious Southern BBQ buffet and a station set up to make our own sundaes. Can't get much better than that!

Pink Snack

Most days I need a snack 'round about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. Yesterday, my snack was so pretty I couldn't resist grabbing the camera before diving in.

Mmmm. Sweet & delicious pink grapefruit!

I also bought a pomegranate yesterday. Pretty exciting, I know. I put some of it in my salad tonight; umm, yum! Have you been eating any interesting snacks lately?

Halloween 2009

I hope everybody had a wonderful Halloween! Mine was pretty grand. (But can somebody tell me why it was hot yesterday? It was in the low 70s; geez Louise!)

I was so excited to finally wear my awesome costume in public! Eric looked great, too! I've been thinking about these costumes since last year when I saw this on Martha Stewart.

When I found out that Brooke and Mike didn't have costumes, I put my thinking cap on. Yesterday afternoon Brooke and I set out on a mission while Eric and Mike were at school taking a class (9 - 5). Curious about the results of our shopping trip?

They were really good sports and played along with my Little Red Riding Hood theme.

We all piled into Eric's car and headed to a friend's for a little party (and a lot of candy). It was a great night, and I totally loved my cape. I just might wear it around the house year-round - it's that cool!

Costume break-down:

Little Red Riding Hood

1. cape: my mom made it from curtains she salvaged from a restaurant that went out of business
2. dress: $4.00 at Good Will (children's section = better deal!)
3. tights: $0.25 at Good Will (un-used in original packaging)
4. shoes & basket: I already owned these

Big Bad Wolf

1. sweatshirt: $20.00 at Label Shopper
2. ears & tail: my mom made them out of sheepskin we already had (how ironic!), a wire hanger (to give the ears structure), and some $0.20 felt from WalMart
3. whiskers: I made them from pipe cleaners from variety pack that was $3.00 at Michael's
4. fangs: $12.99 at some Halloween store
5. claws: $11.99 at some Halloween store
6. pants & boots: Eric already owned these

Gramma

1. curlers (taken out before photos, but awesome): I already owned them
2. nightgown: $15.00 at Marshalls
3. slippers: Brooke's

Wood Chopper

1. plaid shirt: $15.00 (I think) at Target
2. ax: $4.00 at some Halloween store (it was a grim reaper thingy, so I shortened it at home)
3. pants, belt, shoes: Mike's

I think we did a pretty good job reusing things we already own and making things work. Thanks mom, for ALL of your help with our costumes!

Good Night

It's late. I should get to bed. Before I head to slumber land, here's a picture of a cucumber from my mom's garden.

Sweet dreams (of veggies).

An Afternoon In Greenfield, MA

When we left Plymouth, VT on Sunday, we headed to Greenfield, MA. From there, Eric headed back to Boston and I spent the afternoon in Greenfield, MA with my dad. We walked around the town and had bite at The People's Pint (which was awesome; I highly recommend this place). I had a homemade raspberry-lime soda. Can you say delicious?

We saw a really, really small cafe. It was closed, so we didn't get to try it out. I don't know that we could both fit in it! Look at it compared to the car parked outside. Haha.

At 2-ish we headed over to Hope & Olive for a small party that my dad was invited to. I tagged along and spoke with some very nice folks. There were some hors d'oeuvres and one lady brought yummy chocolate mocha cupcakes. I generally don't like chocolate, coffee, or cake, so that's how good they were.

It was beautiful day, and I had a great time with my dad. After that we drove to North Adams; I'm working from home allllll week!

Apple-Honey Challah

Today I finally made Apple-Honey Challah. I've been looking forward to it since mid-August, when I got my September issue of Martha Stewart Living.

YUM! The recipe calls for green apples, but since we have so many red ones I just used those. We also only had a glass pie dish, so I used that instead of a cake pan. It worked just fine. My first time making bread went so well that I feel like a pro. It's time consuming, but worth it.

This week I'm participating in Poppytalk's Autumn Color Week on flickr. Today's the theme was green, and I submitted these pictures:

If you're on flickr, join the group and play along! Tomorrow is orange. Click here to see my flickr photostream.

Yearly Inspection?

Over the weekend, this notice appeared on the door to our building.

Yearly inspection? We've lived in this apartment for 2 years and 23 days, and this is the first time we've ever had an inspection. Must have something to do with that mouse I saw a few weeks ago. We haven't had a problem since, but somebody must be having an issue.

Anyway, Monday night I had to empty out all of our kitchen cabinets. I put all of the food into old grocery bags, and piled all of the plates, bowls, glasses, etc. on the counter. What a pain.

The notice said the exterminator would be coming between 9 and 10. Well I work from home, so I know that he showed up at 10:45. He was pretty old and he was probably only here for 15 minutes. I have no idea why I had to empty all of the cabinets (I worked while he was in the kitchen, so I didn't see what he was doing), but it seems like all he did was put a mouse trap in the back of the cabinet under the sink and another one in the crevice between the cabinets and the stove.

Then he went and poked around in the bathroom. He had something with him, but I don't see it anywhere, so I have no idea what he did in there.

After he left I had to put everything back.

I sorta hope this "yearly" inspection really only happens once every 3 years.