It's time to eat!

Wooooo!! It's back. My fav week(s) of the year!! And this time it starts on my birthday. What better way when the start the big 3-0 then eating great foods for cheap? By the way, I should add that I have officially started my last 30 days of being in my 20s. Not that I'm counting...

Restaurant Week Spring 2010 | Promotions + Events | Mpls.St.Paul Magazine + mspmag.com

Cooking Club II

I've been a bad blogger lately but hope to make up for it soon! Work has been crazy and then I was too depressed after Sunday nights game. :(...

We had round 2 of Cooking Club last weekend. Again it was a success but still learned a few things this time.
1. The cook should always taste the dish to confirm the right ingredients were added (yes this was an issue and a funny story but would lose too much in translation to type out. Ask me and I will tell you!)
2. We need to work on plating as you will soon see.
3. Still not a huge fan of lamb but I was glad to try it again

Here's the dishes we made and all the pics have been uploaded.

Crab cakes with a lemon dill sauce


Chilled avocado and cucumber bisque


Roasted Rack of Lamb
Butternut Squash Risotto
Steamed asparagus with vinaigrette


Brioche and Berry Bread Pudding with Lemon Fondant

So Cute

Thanks to Abbie for sharing that the puppy cam is back!!! They are so tiny and so cute. How can you ever get tired of watching them? :)

Renovation Realities

There's a show on DIY called Renovation Realities. It's about real life (not very skilled) people who take on a home projects. There's always tons of things that go wrong, usually going way over budget, and many end up hiring a professional at some point to come in and help. Justin and I love it. It's always great for a laugh, even though sometimes it hits too close to home.

Justin, being Mr. Handy, has taken on a great deal of renovations at this house and our last one. I think the worst renovation reality we had was when Justin nailed his 2 fingers together w/a nail gun...and then of course wouldn't go to the doctor until half a day later. I'm hoping with the latest project nothing like that will happen. We have started finishing our basement. A big and daunting task but one that I am quite excited for. So far no real problems. I'm sure that will soon change! Here's a couple of the best pics but I have posted the complete tour as well.

The fireplace in the main area.


My new favorite room on the house - CRAFT ROOM! I finally get a permanent place for all of my stuff with lots of organization to come. Can't wait. Neither can my sis.


Guest Bedroom

Go Vikings!

Jersey on? Check!
Wings in the oven? Check!
Fire warming up my couch? Check!

Perfect setting for cheering on my boys. Let's go Vikings!

You know you pay your vet too much when...

the reminder checkup card has a picture of YOUR dog on it. Super cute but wow really?

15 minutes (nanoseconds) of fame

If anyone attempted to watch Extreme Home Makeover the other night to see Justin there was a chance you spotted him...a very slight chance. :) We had to watch it in slow motion a couple times until I saw him. If you look at the picture you can see he's the 3rd one from the left. They only got the nose down, but he did a great job of clapping and cheering for Gonzo. I'm sure he'll have agents calling him soon!

Happy 2010!!

Happy New Year to all! I hope this year treats everyone as good or better than 2009. I have been trying hard to come up with a good resolution for this year but I'm really at a loss. Maybe it'll come just a little late. I was looking back at my resolution from last year - I had forgotten what it was - and I actually did quite a good job at it. It's nice to makes ones you can actually keep. Anyone have suggestions?

Also if you want to see my New Years Eve pics here they are. We spent another fun night with the neighbors. It started with dinner at Sul Lago in Prior Lake and the party continued at Rocky & Lori's house. Fun times as always!