An Unexpected Benefit of Using Pinterest

I haven't been "pinning" much lately, but with our anniversary and Christmas fast approaching, I may just start up again...here's why.

On my home board:

Source: store.willowhouse.com via Whitney on Pinterest

Now in my home:

Monday was my birthday (hence no Menu Monday), and Andrew surprised me with these Willow House mirrors that I pinned awhile back (and may have talked about a few times)!

It makes things much easier for everyone when you say, "I like this very much, and here is a link to where you can find it." I guess you could actually just say that, but using Pinterest feels more polite. ;)

So listen up, pinning ladies: Teach your significant other how to view your pin boards! It's an added benefit I hadn't even thought of.

And on that note, I want to give a "thank you" shoutout to my sweet hubby who made sure I had a very happy birthday! Our weekend was spent shopping, eating and relaxing, and on Monday, he took me out to lunch, then brought home takeout and a cupcake for dinner. My favorite kind of cupcake, actually:

In addition to the mirrors, he also got me two other perfect gifts, which was exactly two more gifts than I got him, but he says no one is counting.

Did I mention he used coordinating wrapping paper?

Thanks for a great birthday, AJL!

Somewhat unrelated:

A new pumpkin to add to the fall decor!
(Pier 1 - surprisingly cheap.)
When I was done checking out, the cashier said, "Here's your receipt, and here's your punkin!" He would so get me.

I was also quite taken with this guy: a pilgrim turkey with a pumpkin body and fall leaves for a tail! (I admit that I called him a witch turkey and had to be corrected.)

Happy Humpday, everybody!

The Tale of the Mini Pump

This here is what I lovingly refer to as "the mini pump."

We bought him last fall at a pumpkin patch near our apartment. You'd think maybe I took this picture last fall, too. But no. I took it today.

Yes, the mini pump is still on our counter close to a year later! He's not mushy or discolored (he was always white) or smelly or anything. And, how can I throw him away when he sits there looking so cute all day?

(The only thing cuter was a small round pumpkin we got the same day. It was in a cardboard bin labeled "Lil Spookies." I love saying "lil spooky.")

All this is to say...he reminds me every day that
I am so ready for FALL!
Anyone else?

Cool air, scarves, crunchy leaves to step on, mulled wine, Spiced Cider candles (or try Leaves!), the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair, a little known pastime called Georgia Football, and hopefully a whole new crop of mini pumps!

I know better than to wish life away, and really, it's not like I actually could speed up time to get to fall quicker. So, it'll be here when it's here.

But I will be so excited when it is!

Menu Monday

Hope you had a good weekend! We spent ours on "maintenance" - cleaning, linen laundry, regular laundry, food stocking, getting a few things for the apartment, putting away weeks' worth of stacked up clothes...etc. You know, really fun stuff. ;)

But, it felt good to catch up and be ready to start this week with everything in place!

Grilled Hoisin Steak with Cucumber Salad & Roasted Cauliflower
Since we had pretty average dinners last week, this is an old picture. This was a Real Simple recipe that was indeed real simple (and real delicious). It was a great summer meal.

And, here's what will be on our plates this week!

• Baked Pecorino Chicken with Swiss Chard & Rice Pilaf
• Pappardelle with Corn & Salad
• California BLTs (a.k.a. BLATs) with Grilled Zucchini Salad & Fruit
• Apple-Sausage Mac & Cheese & Salad [Risky....we'll see.]

Menu Monday

Buffalo Chicken Salad
(For the dressing, I mixed sour cream, Good Seasonings Garlic & Herb Mix and cider vinegar until it tasted good and was the right consistency. YUM. The contents of the salad with a little dressing also made an awesome wrap for lunch the next day!)

Nothing too exciting this week, but posting these still keeps me honest. If our planned dinners are published for all to see, then I have to actually make them and resist the urge to go out. ;)

• Spaghetti with Italian Chicken Meatballs (Variation of these)
• BBQ Pork Tenderloin with Corn, Roasted Broccoli & Garlic Toast
• Smoked Sausage with Mustard Sauce over Rice with Roasted Green Beans
• Spinach, Potato & Ham Frittata with Salad & Yeast Rolls

Boro Birthdays

We spent the weekend in the good ole Boro for another joint birthday celebration!

Among other fun things like shopping at the S'Mall, dinner at Chops, playing with Toby & Rocco, etc., we had the Pioneer Woman's pig cake.

(This was my request, which I have been wanting for months! It did not disappoint.)

The birthday boy had a mini key lime pie, because he doesn't like mandarin oranges...which are the star of the pig cake.

Don't worry, the baby pie had a mommy pie that we all got to enjoy!

We were also gifted with some fun things including a new bowtie and Polo Ts for he and a new camera memory card and super cute monogrammed scarf for she. (And a little "'pending money" from Meema, as she calls it!)

I've been a little bummed that my married initials are vowel-less (not sure why...feels sort of like all odd numbers or something). But it's easier to like them when they look this pretty. :)

We also got to meet this sweet puppy girl Koda!

She's our niece, and her whole name is Takoda, which means "friend to all." Can you see what color eyes she has?

Her brother Jerry also made sure that we paid him some attention.

We had a fun weekend, even though the Saturday-Sunday trips always feel too short. Now here's to another week of "birthday month"... :)

One of These Things Is Just Like the Other

(I apologize in advance for the photo quality in this post. Blackberry zoom.)

Heading up towards Buckhead, there is a GameStop.

As you can see, they have a basic, yet somewhat-stylized red and white logo and awnings.

Recently, we also got a Smash Burger.

Look familiar?

Good thing they aren't close together.

Happy Friday! Hope you have a good weekend!

Just As

Happy 27th birthday to my precious hubby,
who appears to have always been
just as


cute

sweet

and funny

as he is today!

I sure do love you. :)

Menu Monday

Caprese Sandwiches & Zucchini Fries - yum!

Here's what we're cookin' up this week:

• "Secretly Simple" Gazpacho and Grilled Mozzarella Sandwiches
• Buffalo Chicken Salads
• Andrew's Choice/Birthday Dinner: Steaks with Roasted Asparagus  & Tomatoes and Loaded Mashed Potatoes
• Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup (I made the full recipe last time and froze half.)
• Chick-fil-A - We're going to claim our free half-gallon of sweet tea! If we're going to go all the way there, I figure we can at least return the kind gesture by dining with them. :)

Birthday Brunch

So after months and months of blogging without making an appearance, W and I (okay, mainly W) decided that the Birthday Brunch post would be a perfect one for me to author. And off we go!

We were fortunate enough to be joined by my mom and brother today for brunch at the Sundial at the Westin Peachtree Plaza -- first time for them, but we've always enjoyed the food and the view.

And aside from some clouds blocking the real far-off views (i.e., Stone Mountain), this visit didn't disappoint. (And yes, the 73-story scenic elevator ride is fully opened and operational since the tornadoes that swept through Atlanta a few years ago -- which added an element that I hadn't yet gotten to, er, enjoy...)

I had a peach and pecan salad followed by the FGT (Fried Green Tomato) burger, and W had some mountainous flights of french toast with a side of bacon -- hoo-wee, they were delicious!

The bro had a southwestern steak chimi -- deep-fried, for the win. And Mom had the pecan-crusted chicken salad. Positive reviews all around -- and we even learned what the big building next to the Westin is (and who's in it!). (Answers: 191 Peachtree, and Deloitte.)

After that, it was back to the apartment for some cake-eating and gift-opening -- because really, what would a birthday be without those? And even though Publix ran short on birthday cakes and we were forced to go with one that looked a bit more like a baby shower cake, well -- we made it work. Mmmm.

As for gifts, both W and I got great gift certificates from my brother, and my mom got us some of the finer wares from the Montreal boutiques -- a shirt for me, and a purse for her.

It was great to see both of them for our collective birthdays, and an outstanding start to our collective birthday month!

(Edited to Add: One of us gets to enjoy being a youthful 26 for a few more weeks. The other hits the big 2-7 on Tuesday! ~W)

Saturday Scene

Hello, Saturday morning! (Remember how I said if you send Andrew to the grocery store for one thing, he comes back with at least three? Today, he went for coffee and came back with a hot half-dozen and the new People mag!)

On tap for the rest of the day - cleaning, laundry, shopping, preparing for tomorrow's birthday brunch and a couples baby shower! Sounds like a fun one to me.

Happy Saturday to you. :)

On the Side

We've had some tasty new side dishes with dinner lately. That's something that I think can get a little boring/repetitive, so I thought I'd share!

Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Herbed Sour Cream
Recipe: Food Network

These were really cute (if you can call a potato "cute"), and they tasted great. The herbed sour cream was a nice addition, too! We had ours with BBQ Pork Burgers, but I think they'd go well with just about anything.

Baked Zucchini "Fries"
Recipe: Two Peas and Their Pod

I was really excited to try these, and they were even better than we expected! A few changes: used one whole egg (instead of two egg whites) for the wash, used regular Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs, didn't bother flipping them during baking. We had them with Caprese sandwiches -- a dinner that I loved.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
(Not really a recipe - just a method.)

These aren't new to our menu, but we don't have them that often. For one, they seem to be more expensive than other veggies? Maybe they're out of season? If you think Brussels sprouts are gross, try them this way!

Trim off the stem ends and cut in half. Discard any dark green leaves on the outside. (They're tough, and dirt is sometimes hiding in there.) Wash thoroughly and pat dry. Drizzle with olive oil, season to your liking, and toss to coat. Roast at 400 degrees until tender and starting to brown.

(Side note: The first time I saw Brussels sprouts on the stalk, I was amazed. And then I started singing Jingle Bells.)

Really, I guess this whole post was a side note. ;)

Menu Monday

Pasta Salad - a great summer dish to make and leave in the fridge for lunches!

Happy August 1st! Yikes.

We ended up going out last Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, so we have one recipe left from last week to use up. We'll also be going out to dinner with friends one night this week, so our menu is a little slimmer than usual.

But, here it is!

• Taco Night! with Rice, Black Beans & Guac on the side
• Chicken Marsala with Smashed Red Potatoes & Roasted Broccoli (I make this a little different each time, but this recipe is a good place to start - minus the Essence. And I use white mushrooms.)
• Pasta Ponza with Roasted Brussels Sprouts