A Week in Our Lives-January 28, 2013

It was so nice to have a three-day work week. We had off for Martin Luther King Jr Day and Bartek and I both took off on Friday to get some skiing and snowboarding in! 

I haven't been snowboarding since 2010! In 2011, I was pregnant and for some reason was shocked when my doctor told me "absolutely no snowboarding"... I don't know why I thought I could! And last year, it never snowed so we never went! We've been having some extremely cold days in the Northeast. On top of the few times that it actually did snow this year, it seemed like a perfect time to finally hit the slopes. We went to Mountain Creek, which is just 20 minutes from my parents' house, and figured that since it was Friday afternoon, it wouldn't be too packed. 

My first time down the mountain was pretty rusty. I kept falling and wouldn't let myself ease up. On the second run, I finally got it down but stupidly took the turn down the bunny slope and ran into some big patches of ice. I fell HARD on my butt and now I have a huge blue bruise on my bum the size of a softball! I was so pissed that it happened on my second run. After that, I was so nervous about falling on the bruise, that I actually fell even more. My legs got really sore and stiff after just a few runs. I wish I could've stayed out longer, but my body just couldn't work. I can't wait to get back out on the slopes (after my bruise goes away)!

Sweet Tooth Sunday-Milky Way Puppy Chow

I remember my dad would always get "Puppy Chow" from customers around Christmas time. It was chocolate-covered Chex topped with powdered sugar. I was always weirded out by it for some reason. Maybe I was just intimidated by this dessert that was out-of-the-norm for us. When I saw this recipe come across my Pinterest feed, I decided to give it a go. It's for Puppy Chow made with Milky Way bars. I halved the recipe because we didn't need so much of this sweet treat in our apartment!

Wanderlust Wednesday-Elysian Cafe

On Saturday night, before we headed off to see Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway, Bartek and I wanted to take advantage of our baby-free night and grab a delicious dinner. We went over to Elysian Cafe and miraculously they had a free table for us. Just like seating at many restaurants in the city are like, we were seated only inches from another table which turned out to be hilarious! It was a couple on a first date and the guy was a total tool...talking about growing up poor and now he's rich. He has a house in Spain (yeah, right!). He asked the girl what nationalities she likes in guys but refused to tell her what he was. Apparently Bartek saw him give her a wad of cash, rolled up with a rubber band and asked her to hold on to it for him (WHAT?!). It was cringe-worthy, but very entertaining at the same time. 

Anyway, back to the food! So I ordered a beer cocktail. I've never had one before, but it was awesome!  It was a Raspberry Gaarden--Hoegaarden and Raspberry liquor! I want that to be my signature drink. Yum!

For my entree, I ordered pan roasted salmon with a potato leek cake on a bed of spinach. The salmon was nice and crunchy on the outside. It was incredibly delicious, but just a tad too salty. The highlight of the dish was the spinach. It was cooked and dressed with an apple bacon vinaigrette. It was to die for! If I could make that vinaigrette, Bartek would each spinach every day!

TV Review- The Carrie Diaries

I was really skeptical about The Carrie Diaries when I first heard about it. I gave it a go for the pilot....DVR'ing it a the last minute. After I watched it a few days later, I was hoping that the following Monday would hurry up and get here so I could watch the next episode. 

A Week in Our Lives-January 22, 2013

It's been a lovely week for us. Having a long weekend to look forward is always good. Here are some pictures from our week!

Landon wanted to be on the couch all by himself. Such a big boy!

Sweet Tooth Sunday-Triple Layer Brownie Cake

Today was a very special day for us for two reasons. First, it was the Niners playoff game (Bartek is a hugeeee Niners fan). And second, and more importantly, we celebrated my Dad's 59th birthday! Everyone came over to our apartment to celebrate, watch football and indulge in lots and lots of junk food. The most sinful of all food was this Triple Layer Brownie Cake. I made it from scratch using a recipe from The Taste of Home Baking Book. I think we all could agree, it was the most chocolatey cake any of us ever had. It came out sooooo delicious!

babyGap Peter Rabbit Collection

Gap just launched their adorable Peter Rabbit collection for babies and it something special! In collaboration with the Beatrix Potter estate they have some really cute clothes featuring Peter Rabbit and some of his other friends. 

They have this adorable bunny-eared sweater...

Peter Rabbit garter-stitch cardigan, $34.95

Movie Review-Les Miserables

I am so lucky to work in an industry that basically shuts down between Christmas and New Years. Every year since I've started working, I've had that week off and its such a welcome bonus! So over the break, I put Landon in daycare and went to go see Les Mis! 

IMDB.com

The Past Few Weeks in Our Lives-January 14th, 2013

Since I've been MIA for the past three weeks, we have lots of catching up to do! So many things happened over those few weeks! Get ready for a photo bomb!

We had such a perfect Christmas. Landon is slowly starting to get it and by "get it" I mean he's interested in all of the Christmas decorations and loves opening presents. I'm sure next year will be filled with even more fun as he understands Christmas more and looks forward to Santa coming.

Checking out the Konopka's tree...looking for a good ornament to steal

Sweet Tooth Sunday-Dutch Bankets

I'm backkkkkk!

After a long hiatus to celebrate the holidays, veg out a little and get some work done, I'm finally back to the blog. It was a much needed break but I'm well-rested and now done with a business presentation!

This week's Sweet Tooth Sunday is actually a guest-baker...my dad! He said that he recently had these Bankets while hanging out with his buddies, who all happen to be Dutch. This is an easy version of it using puff pastry instead of creating your own dough. Bankets are almond paste wrapped in a flaky, pastry crust.