Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Weekend in Austin

Mr. Snoop and I had a marvelous weekend.  Thursday afternoon, we left for Austin to spend the weekend celebrating my grandma's 80th birthday.  There was much consumption of Tex-Mex, beer, wine, and shopping.  After landing in Austin, we high-tailed it to Fonda San Miguel for mango margaritas and appetizers.  My mom and I really liked the cowhide chairs they had in their entry way:

She liked it so much that she gave the royal wave.

On Friday, I made a pigrimage to my very favorite place: Last Call.  Last Call is the Neiman Marcus outlet, where they sell all the stuff they didn't sell in their regular stores.  It is paradise.  I got 2 dresses and a pair of shoes, and Mr. Snoop got dress shoes for his rotations.  After that, we stopped by Russel Korman to get my rings cleaned, and InStep to get Mr. Snoop some crocs for surgery.  I made fun of all the ugly shoes in that store, which I don't think the salespeople appreciated.  But they just didn't compare to my new, bright red Delman flats.

Versus...

Right?

Then, Mr. Snoop, my red flats, and I went to Central Market for lunch and to get groceries for the weekend.  We marveled at how inexpensive groceries are compared to New York (and Central Market is not cheap, y'all).  Then we found this, and the heavens opened and choirs of angels sang.  At least for Mr. Snoop.  Then we ate lunch with all the grackles on CM's patio.  It was glorious.

Yep, that is a wall of Shiner. Every type imaginable.

Friday night, the extended family started to come in, and we all went to Matt's el Rancho and to the Broken Spoke, which is an awesome dance hall.  Mr. Snoop "officially" learned how to two-step, which is a skill required of any Texan.

Saturday, my mom and went shopping at another of my favorite places in Austin: Tuesday Morning.  I know that there are Tuesday Mornings all over the country, but the one in Austin is amazing.  We found some good stuff and then went home to watch football and admire my cousin's wife's baby bump with the whole family.  My aunt and uncle stayed with us and brought their dog, Gracie, who is the absolutely sweetest thing in the whole world.
 

Saturday night was the party for the lady of the weekend!


Nearly 50 people attended my grandma's birthday party.  Family flew in from Colorado, Florida, and New York (that'd be us :).  We just had the best time.  I horrified my cousins with my rendition of a New York accent, and Mr. Snoop nearly wet his pants from a youtube video they showed him.  There was a great slideshow of pictures of my grandma, and my brother even made it from Ecuador via skype:

My grandpa talking to Chris.  We all passed him around :)

It was such a great weekend!  So nice to be home for a few days to spend time with the family and enjoy the nice weather.  Of course we got back here and it is now in the 50s.  A far cry from in the 80s and sunny.  I'll have to talk about the experience of flying American there and JetBlue back, but thats's for another post. 

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend as well!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Randoms

- Mr. Snoop was gone for a family wedding this past weekend.  Unfortunately, I did not get to go because I had a huge work event.  But since I was working like a madwoman all weekend, I did not have much time to stew about the fact that I was missing all the fun.

- When the temperature in our house/outside drops below a certain degree, our cats begin to nest.  It is not uncommon to come into our bedroom to find something like this:


Or this:


Not natural feline behavior, I know.

- I ordered our Christmas cards.  Phew.  Feels good to get that done.

- My new favorite thing is baked potatoes in the crock pot.  So easy and convenient.  On nights like tonight when Mr. Snoop  is on call and I have Middle School youth group, it is a real life-saver.  All you do is wrap them in foil and set it.  Then you come home to perfect baked potatoes.  Last week I did sweet potatoes and this week I am doing the regular ones.  Try it.  You won't regret it!

- Mr. Snoop and I are leaving for Austin tomorrow for my grandma's 80th Birthday Weekend.  The weather forecast looks perfect, and I can't wait for good Tex-Mex and to sip a margarita while sitting outside.  The whole fam damily is going to The Broken Spoke Friday night.  It will be Mr. Snoop's maiden voyage to an authentic Texas dance hall.  Can't wait!

- I'm sad Carson went home on Dancing with the Stars.  While his "skills" might not have been on par, he was just so enthusiastic, entertaining, and fun to watch.  Boo.

- I guess that's all, folks!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Spiced Carrot Chocolate Chip Muffins


We've been getting tons of carrots lately in our CSA.  I guess I could do something healthy like carrot sticks, but of course I decided to bake with them instead.  This recipe went over really well in our house.  Mr. Snoop does not typically like carrot cake, but he loves these.  The fact that I added chocolate chips might have something to do with it.  Here's the original recipe, which is from Martha.  Here's what I did, below:

Spiced Carrot Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
  • 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a box grater)
  • 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Line 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add yogurt mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in carrots and chocolate chips.
  3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.
Mine were not nearly as beautiful as Martha's, of course.  So if you make these, don't be surprised if they look a bit lumpy:
Yes, this is a great treat for at work.  And yes, that is a baby doll in the background.  She was left on Sunday, poor thing.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Pumpkin Spice


After two trips to Oktoberfest and a apple-picking weekend coming up, I have finally accepted that it is fall.  My fall decorations are up and my summer clothes are packed away.  While I haven't been able to bring myself to unpack sweaters, the air is clean and crisp.  After an unbelievable rainy several weeks, the sun is finally out!  When Mr. Snoop got into med school up here, he attempted to lure me away from the south by repeatedly talking about how this area has "the most beautiful falls."  Let's hope that the leaves this year prove that to be true!

This morning I brewed  up a cup of my favorite thing about fall: Pumpkin Spice coffee!  My sister-in-law introduced me to the addiction that is Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice coffee over four years ago and I have been hooked ever since.  So once fall rolls around, I break out my Pumpkin Spice.  Mr. Snoop is not a coffee drinker (freak) but he does love the smell of my Pumpkin Spice. 


I know my brother, who worked at this coffee company this past summer, will mock me for my plebian tastes -- flavored coffee, how quaint-- but I love it any way and I don't care.  So take that, coffee snobs!  Green Mountain Coffee is not cheap ($8.49 a bag), but it is my special morning indulgence.  I only drink one cup a day and I savor every second.  However, if you are inclined to give Pumpkin Spice a try, I just got an email that they have a discount code right now (E2302-4759).  Of course, I bought my hoard a month ago so I missed the deal.  Boo.

Do you have a special fall coffee that you love?  I'm sure that there are other equally delicious Pumpkin Spices out there... what do you recommend?

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Missoni for Target

I'm sure everyone remembers all the hype around Missoni coming to Tar-jay (I prefer the French pronunciation, obviously).  Personally, though I do like Missoni,  I chose not to engage in the madness.  Apparently that was wise since our store sold out in two hours.  Yikes! 

I am at Tar-jay fairly frequently for work.  Last week, I stopped by in my search for a flame lamp, like this...


... to turn into a "burning bush" for work. 

[ Side Note: I found it at Strauss and hot-glued fake greenery on it.  It was awesome. ]

Anyway, while in Tar-jay searching for my flame lamp / burning bush, I noticed that some Missoni had come back in.  The girl working there told me that returns have been steadily trickling back in.  I tried some on, but let's be honest, horizontal stripes can be tricky when you are 5 feet tall.  So, I decided to satisfy my need for Missoni on the cheap with a toiletries kit:



This October, the Snoops have been invited to FOUR weddings.  Count 'em.  Between Mr. Snoop's rotations, the fact that we live so far away in the Great White North, and the fact that I work on Sundays, our weekends are limited at best.  So Mr. Snoop will be able to make it to two weddings and I'll go to one.  We also have my grandmother's 80th Birthday Weekend this month.  So I will be doing lots of traveling and felt that this little number was justified. 

Check out all the pockets and comparments.  You know my crazy organization loving heart is all a-flutter.  And it hangs up!


What about you?  Did you engage in the Missoni for Target madness?