Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  It seems kind of natural that this holiday comes in the middle of such a surreal week.  I have eaten my fair share of candy corn and did manage to carve a pumpkin, but I'll admit that this holiday kind of snuck up on me (despite the huge orange and black displays in CVS and Safeway) and we did not do anything exciting from a costume perspective.  Hopefully we will get our act together next year on that front!

Cutest Halloween card ever from Rifle Paper Co. - Purchased last year, which was similarly disorganized 

DC seems to be getting back to business today, so I hope to see plenty of adorable trick-or-treaters this evening.  Enjoy the last day of October -  no matter how you celebrate it!

Sandy - one day later

By some small miracle, we made it through the night without losing power.  Our parents (in Northern VA and CT) were unfortunately not so lucky in that regard, but everyone is safe this morning, thank goodness.  My thoughts are with all those further up the coast and in NYC that woke up this morning to unbelievable devastation. It must be incredibly surreal.

suddenly brave little cat

The storm was definitely powerful here, and some nearby neighborhoods did lose power.  The only problem we encountered was that our bedroom window (which broke during the July windstorm but had been repaired) was not properly sealed and water was leaking in.  Luckily we had a working dryer, so we were cycling towels between the window sill and the dryer at two-hour intervals throughout the night.  Around 1:30 am, Leo finally emerged from under the guest room bed (where he had been hiding since 10 am) to inspect our set up.  He was rather suspicious, so I can't say I'm sure it met with his approval.

Sending good wishes up north and to everyone continuing to deal with the effects of Sandy.

Hunkering down

The weekend was kind was oddly quiet and mainly spent preparing our apartment for the coming storm.  Saturday was even quite sunny, so it was odd to be running out to buy things like peanut butter, bread, candles (heaven help me, I can't find our flashlights), and pallets of bottled water.  Anticipating days without power, I did load upon load of laundry, ran the dishwasher, and vacuumed the apartment.  I also cleared our balcony of all furniture and plants.  So far it is just very rainy here this morning and the lights are on but it sounds like it will be a different story by this time tomorrow.

view from our bedroom this morning

I did manage to sneak out for a few hours to Lindsey's for a pumpkin carving party.  It was great to get out of the apartment for a brief window before the storm and enjoy fantastic mac & cheese, fun friends and a little seasonal tradition.  As an added bonus, we now have a festive source of light when the power goes out!

happy little pumpkin

Happy Monday and please stay safe in the face of this crazy storm everyone!

Happy hour(s)

I popped over the Key Bridge for an impromptu happy hour at Bandolero with Russ yesterday evening. That easy walk is one of my favorite things about where we live, especially on beautiful nights like last night.

As always, it was wonderful to find a window of time to catch up with Russ.  He had dinner plans at 8, but we managed to squeeze in a good talk, two appetizers and two of Bandolero's signature margaritas a piece in that time.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love having him close by (and we miss you Kaur & Chad).

A quick cab ride whisked me back to Arlington to meet up with Greg and a few friends for a longer than expected night out that I was definitely feeling a little bit as I walked to grab coffee this morning. All in all, it was a very fun, unplanned night...happy hour extended.  The main event this weekend is a pumpkin carving party at Lindsey's, so there is yet-to-be determined baking project in my future as well. Other than that, Greg is studying for a midterm and I am writing b-school essays - par-tay!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Hot & Sour Soup

As soon as I saw this recipe in a round up of soups on The Kitchn last week it immediately went into my "to-make" queue.  In fact, I only waited 2 days before grabbing the ingredients to whip up a pot and I am so glad that I did. Hot and sour soups from Chinese takeout places certainly have their virtues, but this homemade one definitely changes the game for me.

Hard to capture in a photo, but trust me, you will love this

The spicy, tangy broth, laced with ginger, lime and just the right amount of jalapeño heat, is sublime.  The mushrooms add wonderful earthiness, the cabbage adds a slight crunch, and the rice rounds out the texture and substance of the soup to make it a real meal.  This will definitely be a go-to for clearing sinuses and warming the soul throughout the late fall and coming winter.

It also comes together quite easily, though I do have a few notes to help you on your way:

• I definitely recommend using Shiitake mushrooms if you can find them.  They have them dried in our grocery store, which I had never used before, and ended up being very pleased with.  I don't know why, but I had always been intimidated by dried mushrooms.  However, after seeing how well these rehydrated (just a touch of warm water) and how heavenly they smelled when they hit the warm pan, that fear is a thing of the past.
• Buy rubber gloves for chopping up the jalapeños! Please! Particularly if you are contact lens wearer, but also generally if you don't enjoy having your hands and nail beds burning for days.  Can you tell I have made this mistake before?  More than once? Learn from mine.  Also, I used 2 good sized jalapeños (the recipe says 1-3) and thought it provided just the right kick.
• Rather than buying a head of cabbage as the recipe suggests, I got a bag of pre-shredded cabbage (regular size, not the large one) and just used that and it worked very well as a short cut.
• I definitely recommend going with 3 limes (again the recipe says 1-3).  That zingy flavor is really important and I recommend buying an extra to cut into wedges for serving as well.
• The chili garlic sauce referred to as a garnish is this stuff from the makers of Sriracha, which you can now usually find along side it in the grocery store.  I discovered it last year when I was home for Thanksgiving and it is good enough to deserve a post of its own one of these days.  I will say though that a little goes a loooong way, so keep that in mind.

One final thought is that this makes a lot of soup, but it actually re-heats extremely well, maintaining its great texture, and made for a couple great lunches last week.  I hope you enjoy it too!

The Weepies

I fell in love with The Weepies the same year I fell in love with Greg.  I discovered the band first but the two are nonetheless very tied in my mind.

via

They were one of those happy Pandora discoveries where one song lead to albums of songs just as good and even better.  The song that started things was Hideaway, which is the title song over their third album.  While it will always have a special place in my heart, my favorite of their albums is actually Say I Am You, and more specifically, the song Gotta Have You.

via

I have this very specific memory of listening to that song.  It's funny how that happens, isn't it?  It wasn't the first nor certainly the last time I heard it and yet it was the time that stuck.  I was in my little studio apartment, drinking a cold glass of white wine with my feet up on the sill of an open window watching an early evening rain over my fire escape and the rooftops of Dupont beyond it.  I just remember feeling so happy and hopeful in that moment and it still makes me smile to think of it.  That song really captured how I felt over those first few months that Greg and I were together and still does nearly three years later.

I even love the story behind the band.  The Weepies are a two person band made up  of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, who first admired each others' music, then started working together, and then fell in love. They have a mellow, quirky, folk-indie pop sound that I just adore and definitely recommend to you. 

Notes from the weekend

The weekend was a very laid back one, so laid back that I barely took any pictures!  As I mentioned on Friday, we had a few friends over for brunch and football, which did give me the excuse to try something that had been in the back of my mind for awhile:


Originally spotted here

I can now attest that taking store-bought Pillsbury crescent rolls and adding Nutella before rolling and baking them up is a really good idea, as if there were any doubt.  They are best when warm, so definitely pop them quickly in the toaster oven if they cool down too much before serving to get them all crunchy and oozy again.

This little guy surprised me with a flower

Sunday was a very relaxed and cozy day.  We read in bed for a few hours, snuggled up under quilts, which is definitely something we need to do more often. I also made a pot of Marcella Hazan's famous tomato sauce, which is spectacular and can be made from ingredients that I normally have around the house.  I was originally introduced to it by Molly, but I know it is rather famous around the web.  Three ingredients (not including the salt) lead to a burbling pot of sauce the perfumes the house with a homey, wonderful smell. The recipe follows below.


Deceptively simple but so delicious - Greg licked his bowl!

Adapted from Orangette
What you need:

• 1 28-oz can of whole, peeled plum tomatoes with their juices (San Marzano if you can find them - no herbs or anything else added.  I used a can of chopped tomatoes since that was all  I had on hand and it worked out great!)
• 5 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
• Salt, to taste

How to make it:
 

Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt and bring to a simmer over medium high heat.  Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat and continue to cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float to the surface. Stir occasionally, breaking up the large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon as you go. Taste and salt as needed.

 

Remove the onion halves and toss with pasta.  This makes enough for about 1 pound of pasta.  One quick note I want to add is that it always pains me to discard the onion because it is so lovely and stewy after simmering in this sauce, but I have not yet figured out a good use for it after this process.

I hope you all had wonderful weekends and happy Monday!

Foggy little Friday

It's feeling like a grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of day today. I woke up to gray skies, rains droplets on the window pane and and fog over the treetops in the distance. It is definitely a day that I am happy to be working at home and taking my initial conference calls in pajamas.  I am still getting used to this half-time work-from-home deal, but as I ease into the weekend today, it is feeling pretty good.


Specific-use dishware makes me very happy - if only we had the space!

We're having a few friends over tomorrow for kegs & eggs (and college football) but the weekend looks like it will be pretty quiet beyond that.  Unfortunately I think that means it is time to stop procrastinating and start drafting my business school applications. I finally admit that the post-GMAT "I deserve a break" grace period has come to an end. At least combining the work with some play softens the blow a bit.
 
Have a wonderful, cozy weekend everyone!

Tortilla Española

As I have mentioned before, I was blessed with the most amazing host family when I studied abroad in Valencia in the fall of 2005. José and Elena Mansilla, a retired couple in their mid-sixties, completely adopted me as their second daughter...they will always be "mis otros padres."

A thing of beauty

We had a Monday night routine that actually made me look forward to Mondays: watching Mira Quién Baila, the Spanish version of Dancing with the Stars, and eating tortilla española for dinner. I loved Elena's tortilla so much that three weeks in I asked her to teach me how to make it and she happily obliged.

Crowded pan as described in Step 3

The first week I helped out as Elena prepared the dish. I will never forget how fast she could peel a potato with a paring knife (I cheat and use a vegetable peeler now). I watched as a seemingly over crowded saute pan filled to the brim with potatoes and onions slowly softened as the onions melted into the potatoes to form a golden mixture under her patient hand. When the potatoes and onions reached the right point, I reached for a wisk to beat the eggs and Elena stopped me and showed me how to properly beat the eggs "a la española," otherwise known as whirring them around horizontally with a fork.

Finished potato and onion mixture

We slowly incorporated the potatoes and onions into the eggs, seasoned the mixture with salt (Elena always adding a pinch more salt than I thought and always proving to be right) and a couple flips in the pan later, "¡ya está!" which loosely translates to "there you have it!"  The next week I flew solo, with José jokingly reassuring me that he was ready to place a take out order just in case, and I made my first of many tortillas españolas.  After that, it became my job to make it every Monday, with the exception of the one Monday that I taught them how to make my dad's pancakes.

a la española

The recipe and method follow below. Tortilla makes fabulous leftovers, both cut up and stuffed into crusty bread for a "bocadillo" or served with a light salad and topped with aioli or spicy mayo. It has a permanent place in my comfort food rotation and I hope you love it as much as I do.

Leftovers with Sriracha mayo and arugula salad

What you need:

• Potatoes - one large potato per person. I  went for 2.5 for Greg and I in this case
• Eggs - the number of people/potatoes plus one; round up to 4 if you use 2.5 potatoes
• Onion - this I don't have a rule for.  I always use a whole onion, smaller or larger depending on the number of potatoes
• Salt to taste
• Olive oil - start with a few tablespoons and then eyeball per instructions below
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

How to make it:

1. Prepare your ingredients by finely chopping the onion and peeling and chopping the potatoes.  It is important to chop the potatoes into uniformly-sized pieces so that they will cook at the same rate.
2. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add onions.  Cook onions for a few minutes until they start to get soft.
3. Add potatoes to the pan and toss to coat in oil.  At first the pan will seem very crowded, but I promise it will cook down.  I still get stressed in that initial minute that the potatoes hit the pan, but it is not necessary, so don't!
4. Cook the potatoes and onions down until they become a golden color, like in 3rd photo above.  This takes some patience and tending...about 25-30 minutes, though sometimes more.  Be patient - it's worth the wait! Over that time, continue to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan and toss the potatoes to make sure they are evenly cooked.  Add more olive oil as needed if the pan starts to get dry or the onions and potatoes are sticking.  You don't want to lose the tasty browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
5. As the potatoes soften, break them up a bit.  You will see that the onions almost melt away into the soft potatoes at this point and that is what you are looking for.
6. When the potato/onion mixture is ready, beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Take a spoonful of the mixture and stir into the eggs to bring them up to temperature.  If you added everything at once, it would scramble the eggs in the bowl, which you obviously don't want.
7. Once the eggs, potatoes and onions are incorporated, season with salt to taste.  As I mentioned above, Elena always added a pinch more after I thought it was ready, so just trust your palate and then maybe add an extra, teeny pinch.  I also love adding a sprinkling of red pepper flakes for a bit of color and kick at this point.
8. Add the mixture back into the hot pan and cook for a few minutes until you see the edges are cooked up and golden.
9. Now for the "hard" part...flipping the tortilla.  Take a flat plate and place it over the pan.  In one swift motion, flip the pan over so the cooked side of the tortilla is facing up on the plate. Then carefully slide it back into the pan to cook the other side.  I actually have Greg do this if he is home since I have pathetic wrist strength, but if I'm in a pinch I just say a little prayer and do it myself. If tortilla breaks a little as you slide it back in, just mush it back together...it will be fine! 
10. Cook the other side for about 2 minutes and then remove from the pan using the method described in Step 9.
11. Cut into thick slices and enjoy.

Tortilla will keep in the fridge for a few days, though I doubt it will last that long!  Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I will be more than happy to answer them. ¡Buen provecho!

Birchbox

My cousin Megan got me a very cool birthday gift this year and I just had to share it here - a 3 month subscription to Birchbox.  I had never heard of this site before, but it has been a really great find. When you sign up, you fill out a beauty/lifestyle profile and then every month you get a box filled with a variety of samples based on that profile.  I am usually a drug store makeup girl and have a pretty regular routine, but this has been a really fun way to mix things up.

October's box

Many of the companies are on the smaller end (though there are several established ones too) and the sample sizes are often very generous, like this one for this face wash, which I have been using on a daily basis since it came in the September box.  I also love the pomegranate and fig lip butter from Mox Botanicals, pictured below, which is perfect for soothing chapped lips as the cold weather sets in.

Clockwise from the top left: Mary-Lou Manizer, Harvey Prince Eau Flirt - Lavender Pumpkin, Mighty Leaf Tea, LiqWd SiLK, Mox Botanicals Lip Butter, and LiqWd The Perfect Wave

 It is safe to say that I am hooked!  It is such a fun thing to get a surprise package in the mail and be a little bit pampered.  Beyond the monthly subscription, the site has great products that you can shop for regularly.  Whether you are a makeup person or just looking to try some new things, I definitely encourage you to check it out!

Philadelphia

We had a fantastic trip to Philadelphia this weekend.  We got to our friend Carolyn's house a little before 8 pm on Saturday night and headed out for dinner at brewery in her neighborhood.  Delicious food, several pitchers of great local beer and fun group of friends definitely made for a great start to our trip.


View of the field and the Philadelphia skyline from our seats

We got up around 7:30 am the next day to finish getting organized for the main event of the weekend: the Eagles-Lions game. Carolyn had organized a big group of friends to go to the game so we all met up at WaWa (gas station/PA institution) to caravan to the stadium.  Tailgaiting at a professional game definitely takes it to the the next level.  I failed to capture it in pictures, but let's just say that Eagles fans don't mess around when it come to the pre-game.  Probably the biggest hit of our tailgate was a tray of "rivets" (basically bites) from the Philly Pretzel Factory, which is certainly something I will remember for future Ealges games.

We always have fun, win or lose

The game itself was really exciting and the atmosphere inside the stadium was rowdy to match it.  Eagles fans are famous for their attitude and that was definitely on full display in Section 206 of Lincoln Financial Field as they alternately praised and booed their own team...especially the coaching staff.  Greg has been a fan for awhile now and I know he especially enjoyed finally getting to be a part of authentic Eagles fan experience.  The Eagles lost in overtime, which was a major bummer, but it was still a great way to spend one of the most beautiful Fall days so far this year.

 

Thank you to Carolyn and eveyone else who made our trip such a blast. I hope you all had wonderful weekends as well and that the week is off to excellent start!

Friday

For some reason this week seemed very long despite the fact that it was only 4 days.  I am so happy Friday is here.  Though the week dragged a bit, I will say that it is hard to believe that we are almost half way through October.  I realized how quickly the holidays are approaching and that I need to get my travel booked, which kind of blew my mind. I can't wait to spend some time at home over the next couple of months...it's been forever. 

In other news, I bought my first bag of candy corn this week, which also means my first candy corn induced stomach ache is probably right around the corner.  I have always loved this little seasonal delight and I don't care how artificial or tooth-achingly sweet it may be.  It reminds me of chilly evenings and the smell of pipesmoke, both of which I love.


Mmm...Harvest Mix

Tonight I am kicking off the weekend with drinks with one of my favorite ladies and then tomorrow we are heading up to Philly to stay with a friend and get pumped up for the Eagles v. Lions game on Sunday.  I've never spent much time in the Philadelphia area, which is kind of a crime given how close it is, so I'm excited to get a little taste of what it's all about.
 
Have a great weekend everyone!

Spiced Pear Muffins + Cake

Today I want to tell you about what I brought to Chapel Hill for breakfast on Saturday morning.  This recipe is so good that I have made it in two different formats since Friday.

The recipe comes from The Kitchn and in its original form it is for muffins, spiced pear ones to be exact.  They are one of the best things I can remember baking.  The blend of spices, the juicy, just-coming-into-season pears, a combination of whole wheat and regular flour, and a crispy cap of cinnamon sugar bake up into a muffin that is even better than it sounds. Apparently they can be made in advance and frozen for months to be reheated at will, which is a possibility I may just have to explore.

Seriously...make these

With the day off on Monday I had a little time on my hands and an idea kicking around my head to turn these muffins into a cake and so I did. I made the exact same recipe and added a half cup of pecans.  I then poured it into a buttered 9-inch round baking pan lined with parchment on the bottom and baked it according the same instructions as the muffins, keeping an eye on it every 10 minutes or so, until a toothpick came out clean.  I don't remember the exact baking time though I think it was in the ballpark of 25-30 minutes.

 

The rest went into work with Greg - I couldn't be trusted...

Once the cake had cooled completely, I flipped it out of the pan and frosted it with a simple cream cheese frosting, recipe courtesy of the indomitable Martha Stewart, and added pecans for garnish.  It was the ideal dessert for Monday's chilly weather.

Whatever format you choose, I hope you will try this recipe soon.  Twice is not enough for me!  Another suggested addition is crystallized ginger, which is one of my favorite baking ingredients, so I think another iteration is just around the corner...

Long weekend

The road trip got off to a bit of a rocky start on Friday when Greg's car was held hostage at Mr. Tire for a state inspection that lead to a new tire and two new brakepads.  The car was supposed to be ready at 3:00 pm and we finally rolled out of there at 7:30 pm.  Being trapped at Mr. Tire at 7:00 pm on a Friday night watching a Hoarders marathon was definitely the low point of the weekend and probably the month. Luckily, the rest of the weekend was wonderful once we finally made it to Chapel Hill.
 

We managed to snap a photo before we got too sweaty and sunburnt!

Saturday got off to a great start with mimosas and a breakfast tailgate ahead of the early kickoff.  It was great to finally meet Katie's grad school friends, all of whom were really friendly and fun.  We arrived at the stadium a few minutes after kickoff and it was boiling hot.  About 2 minutes into the first half, we decided that we would retreat to a bar at half time to watch the rest of the game with cold beers.

Blue Ridge Blueberry Wheat at Top of the Hill

The game didn't go so well for the Hokies, but everyone was graceful about it and the day was fun nonethless.  From the bar, we went home for a very necessary nap.  It is amazing how much a day in the sun takes it out of you. Once we had recharged a bit, we headed out to Katie's favorite bar in town, which is certainly worthy of the distinction.  It had just the right energy level, a cozily trendy atmosphere, and fantastic cocktails to boot.  Definitely one to remember.

Bowbarr

The trip back on Sunday was blessedly less eventful than the way down.  We had a low-key evening of catching up on laundry and other things around the house.  Having an extra day off yesterday made the weekend even better.  I spent most of the day in the kitchen cooking and baking, which is one of my favorite ways to spend a cold, gray day.  We had friends over for dinner last night and finished up with weekend with beef stew and a couple bottles of red wine. 

I hope your weekends were lovely and have a great short week everyone!

Hittin' the road!

As I was packing our suitcase last night I realized that it has really been awhile since we've been out of town.  I have loved stringing together so many weekends at home but I am very excited for a little road trip this weekend.  We are headed down to Chapel Hill, NC to visit one of our best friends who is in the second year of a master's program down there.  I have heard that it is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to spend the weekend with Katie.  Oh, and did a I mention there is a football game?  Are we sensing a theme here?


Being Greg's co-pilot is one of my favorite things

I'm trying out a new muffin recipe for the breakfast themed tailgate tomorrow morning so I'll sure to report back on that and the rest of our trip next week.  I also somehow forgot that Monday is Columbus Day so the three day weekend is an unexpected (and welcome) bonus.  Have a lovely long weekend everyone!

Fall ritual

I had a lovely little date with my brother Russ last night at Graffiato in Chinatown catching up about his first full week on the client site for his new job and debriefs from the weekend.  Everything was delicious, perhaps even more so because he treated, which kind of of blew my mind after years of dinners and drinks with the broke college student he so recently was.  I'm so proud of his transition to post-grad life and very happy to have him in DC for a couple more years.  Being able to spontaneously catch up over a meal or drinks is a luxury that I try to never take for granted.

After dinner we wandered over to Bed Bath and Beyond with the mission of finding the perfect, fall-smelling candle.  I like doing these types of errands with my brother because he does not mind that I need to smell every candle (even ones that I'm not considering that day) and deliberate way too much over whether I buy the jar or the tumbler version of whatever Yankee Candle I finally select.  He even manages to be (or seem) amused by my silliness, which I greatly appreciate.  In the end, the winner was "Autumn Wreath," and I have to say that it was not much of a competition as Yankee Candle seems to have cut down the distribution of some my other favorite seasonals, like "Harvest" and "Farmer's Market" in favor of new, overly sweet smelling pumpkin-y varietals.  Yes, I am a person who takes scented candles seriously/personally, so there you have it.

After all that hemming and hawing, I have to say that I am very happy with the selection after burning it for a few hours last night.  It has a warm, spiced-cidery scent that makes our apartment feel very cozy, so I can check this ritual off of my seasonal to-do list.  I am very much looking forward to curling up on the couch tonight with some takeout to watch the Presidential Debate in my newly fall-scented apartment. What are some of your favorite fall rituals? Any other crazy candle ladies/gents in my camp?

Cheese Straws

This morning got off to a comically bad start.  I missed my normal alarm (and the back up one) so the first word out of my mouth was f*****ck as I leapt out of bed to frantically get ready and grab a cab to Union Station to catch the MARC to Baltimore.  It was raining, which meant 395 was backed up, so the cab took forever and was more expensive than usual.  This was made worse by the fact that the cabbie added $30 in tip rather than $3 on my credit card...thank God I checked the receipt.  He ended up paying me the difference in cash but the resulting delay meant that I had to sprint through Union like a maniac to hop on the 7:45 train, which is a full 25 minutes longer than my normal 7:20 (the joys of local vs. express). To add insult to injury, I tried to purchase my ticket home along with the one for this morning and the machine ate the second ticket and I had no time to straighten it out with Amtrak. UGH!

You are probably wondering what that has to do with cheese straws and the answer is: absolutely nothing.  I just had to get that off my chest before extolling the virtues of this wonderful party snack.  The good news is that that day can only get better from here and cheese straws certainly don't hurt.

Sorry for the lack of "after" picture - it was night time when I was baking and these went quickly the next day!

These are another homerun adapted from Deb of Smitten Kitchen and were one of my contributions to the tailgate this past Saturday. They require just 6 ingredients, most of which you probably have in your pantry and fridge, and bake up into something that tastes like a Cheezit with a kick, only 100 times better.  The only thing I tweaked was the amount of red pepper flakes (adding a little bit more) but otherwise her recipe is perfect. Definitely use good, extra sharp cheddar (there are so few ingredients that this does make a difference) and try to roll them as thin as you can because they do puff up as they bake.  Deb calls them her new favorite party trick and they are definitely one of mine.  I hope you love them too!

The weekend

Happy October!  I know that Fall technically starts in September, but once October rolls around, I really feel like we're in the thick of it.

The weekend was very full and fun.  We kicked it off with dinner around the corner with an old work friend and then spent the rest of the night gearing up for Saturday, cleaning, baking, etc. I have couple great new recipes to share later this week.


Kickoff!

We started our football Saturday early by hosting a large group for brunch and Bloody Mary's before heading up to FedEx for the the tailgate. I was reminded yet again how delicious Pillsbury biscuits are in a pinch for an easy brunch item...it had been far too long since I indulged that guilty pleasure.
  

Losing isn't so bad when you spend the day with some of your favorites

It was an absolutely perfect day for tailgate and we had a blast catching up with friends before the game and munching on a huge spread of food.  Sadly, the tailgate turned out to be the best part of the day since the Hokies (and my Hoos) had a bit of a rough day on the field.   All in all, it was still a great day.
  

Pumpkin cake and milky English Breakfast tea are the perfect start to October

Yesterday afternoon we popped out to Greg's parents to see his sister and her boyfriend one more time before they headed home to NJ.  His mother baked an amazing pumpkin cake with pecans and chocolate chips (need the recipe for this as well!) and sent us home with a couple of pieces, one of which I am happily enjoying for breakfast this morning.  The rest of the day was quiet, partly because I am feeling a cold coming on and felt the need to just lay low.  Still feeling sniffley this morning but ready for the week ahead.
 
Happy Monday!