Nine Years and a Good Meal

D and I celebrated nine years of marriage this week. Hard to believe we've been married that long (seriously, where does the time go?) Of course, we have two beautiful boys and a solid partnership to show for those nine years. The boys alone are pretty darn amazing proof of why signing on the line nine years ago was the best decision we ever made. But of course, the wedding anniversary is about us, and our bond ... it's when we take time to appreciate each other. We can talk about the boys, but we give ourselves permission to go out and enjoy each other as a couple and celebrate each other. (I'll get to the meal in a minute.)

Eight years ago, we decided to follow the traditional wedding gifts ritual. I must say, it's been quite fun and I highly recommend it to any new couples. It's nice to have a challenge finding a gift that falls into a specific category (and there are some interesting categories) and D and I sometimes allow creative liberties. This year was the year of pottery. I started on D's gift back in September ... commissioning a custom cookie jar with our last name inscribed. The piece surpassed my expectations. D presented me with a lovely sculptural hand to hold some of my jewelry ... super excellent since now I will have it readily available and easy-to-remember so I can better accessorize. As per our usual, the gifting element was fun and rewarding to see each other's joy upon receipt of the gifts.

Now ... on to dinner. Back in July, I went to The Corner Table with wine club, and I mentioned how I wanted to get D to go their and do the tasting menu. So, that's where we went ... but alas, D was so enticed with the menu that he wanted to go ala carte versus the tasting menu. Which, was fine, as the menu offered plenty of treats.

I won't go into a long diatribe of my meal, but let's just say I was a very content, happy and full woman. First course: pork belly, and D and I shared a charcuterie platter:

This was followed by a lovely duck breast (yes, I know ... I had duck last time, too ... but I can't help myself!) D had beef brisket ... and it was absolutely amazing, so I am glad he gave me a bite. The two purees on my duck were scrumptious, and they did substitute the croquettes for me with potatoes ... so loved the accommodation.

We capped it off with an unbelievable sweet potato pots de creme that was topped with what I can only call caramel utopia. Fortunately D had ordered an additional side with his dinner, so he only had room for a little dessert and I was able to indulge a little more.

Of course, dinner paled in comparison to my company for the evening. D and I laughed (as we always do) and reminisced over the past nine years. We talked about the future and our wishes. And, most importantly, we just relished each other and our time together. It's pretty awesome to still feel very fortunate to have such an amazing partner after nine years (and add the three dating years before that.)

I can only hope that everyone finds someone special to relish and enjoy life with side-by-side.

A Feast

Thanksgiving graced us with it's lovely presence. D and I had another victory of teamwork in the kitchen. Our plan was to keep it simple with a few new culinary treats. Splitting duties about 50/50, everything came out as well as or better than expected. It started Wednesday evening, as I prepared the cranberry sauce:

It was a pomegranate cranberry sauce, and so it added a different flavor layer with the pomegranate juice. And while I could make the base of it Wednesday, it wasn't until Thursday that I was able to finish it by adding the pomegranate arils - which provided a nice pop of surprise. 

My other duty for dinner was a two-tone mashed potato dish. Blending Yukon gold potatoes with sweet potatoes and mashing them with leeks. Than they were topped with a buttermilk and sour cream sauce and a few chives (I kept the sauce and the chives on the side so that people could add to their taste preference. The sauce was definitely the perfect finishing touch, and I was glad to see the majority of guests tried it on their potatoes. 

D had responsibility for the bird. We decided since we were only serving nine that a simple turkey breast would be more than enough bird. D decided to just prepare it simply with olive oil, salt and pepper. It turned out very well, and we had enough for many to have seconds and for us to still be able to parse out some leftovers and keep some for ourselves, too. 

D also took on the roasted vegetables. Something he's been practicing for the last few weeks, which has been a sweet treat ... as I am a huge fan of roasted vegetables. And even though he's found a few other spice combinations, he stuck to the simple olive oil, salt, pepper combination for a delicious, caramelized bounty. 

To round out the meal, D's mom brought stuffing and wild rice. The stuffing smelled absolutely amazing (alas, this gluten-free lady didn't have any, but I did get to enjoy the aroma.) 

As you can see, it was a nice spread. Not too much food, but plenty to get an additional meal or two for everyone. To end the meal we had two desserts. We purchased a banana cream pie (I think because D was frightened the dessert I had planned on creating would be a failure.) However, my dessert turned out fabulous. It was a pumpkin chocolate torte with pumpkin whipped cream from Eating Well magazine and it was a piece of chocolate perfection (and let's be honest, the whipped cream was pumpkin delight!)

Definitely what I would consider a success, and what K would call a great feast. 

Thanksgiving Eve

It's the night before Thanksgiving. The cranberry pomegranate sauce is made. One pie is reserved, I'll make the gluten-free torte in the morning. The rest of the food is planned for ... and dinner isn't until 4 or 5, so I should have time to start my day off with a run before going into full prep mode. It should be a fantastic kick-off to the holiday season.

And now, I'm just relaxing sipping my first Beaujolais Nouveau of the Thanksgiving feast, doing a little pre-Black Friday browsing and planning, catching up on the DVR and finish Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (it's a kick-arse book.) Yes, it's definitely moments like this that I realize how grateful I am for the many blessings in my life. I am so fortunate to have an amazing husband and two fabulous sons. They bring me so much joy and happiness. I am also lucky to have a job that keeps me challenged and usually gets me laughing at least once a day. I have great friends and a good family. I feel so blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

A Twist on Midwestern Cuisine

It's another adventure with the wine club! Tonight we went to Haute Dish. Their known for taking unexpected twists to what are considered standard Midwestern fare. The atmosphere of the restaurant was surprisingly dark, but definitely energetic and "happening."

Our meal started out with a parsnip soup shooter:

It was a yummy warm sip of comfort. I love parsnips, but only discovered them in the last year ... and I have to say it was one of those things where I wondered where they were all my life. Yum.

Next up was the salad course. I had the poached egg salad, served over watercress and accompanied by bacon-wrapped chicken livers. The savory flavor of the livers were balanced with the bacon and the creaminess of the egg helped pull out the herbaciousness of the watercress. It was a more filling salad than I anticipated - and delicious to the last salty bite.

For the main course, I went a bit surprising for fine cuisine. I ordered the burger and fries. I know, I know, not my typical choice, but I have been craving a good burger lately ... and let's just say this didn't disappoint. The cheese, the bacon, the amazing mushrooms, sweet pickle ... and the sauces. A lovely spicy, horseradish mustard and garlic aioli. It was really one of the best burgers I have ever had. I was so full that I didn't even finish all the fries. 

But that doesn't stop one from ordering dessert ... and when I saw a pumpkin creme brulee with salted caramel on the menu ... I couldn't not order it.

I ate every last drop of that bit of loveliness. It was so good. And a perfect way to end the meal. (By the way, I had a nice mild Malbec.) It was really a great meal overall, we had excellent service and of course, as always, great conversation and company. Which, frankly, always makes the meal even better.

Is It Friday Already?

Where did this week go? I mean that in both a good and bad way. On the work front, it was a pretty grueling adventure - it had it's ups and downs, but as in all adventures ended with a fairly rewarding outcome.  On the home front, O is fighting bedtime like it's the world's longest timeout. K is just persevering as a very serious, but fun-loving first grader. D, well, he's a saint who keeps everything going.

Yesterday was Beaujolais Nouveau day and I didn't even realize it until the wine shop was closed. Fortunately, they are having their big Thanksgiving Sale tomorrow, so if I can squeeze in a quick stop I'll be able to get my bottle for Thanksgiving (and on sale ... splendid.) D and I need to finalize the menu for the big Feast Day of Thanks. I want to try my hand at a scrumptious soup ... but not sure how my honey feels about that, I could tell he was a bit hesitant at the suggestion.

Would love to know what your favorite side dish is on Thanksgiving (or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving any festive meal. So, what is it?

Thrilling Murder Mysteries

I never thought I would enjoy thrillers or murder mystery novels. It just was never my genre. Then, again, fantasy wasn't my genre either. In my old age, I am starting to love thrilling mysteries and am a huge fan of the Song of Fire and Ice series (That's Game of Thrones to those not familiar.)

I spent the last week reading Tana French's newest little gem Broken Harbour. It gripped me, pulled me a long and made my head spin. So delightful. And today was the perfect day to cuddle up in a blanket and finish it. I love yummy books. If I could just escape for a week and catch up on the books I want to read, that would be a dream vacation. That ... or catch up on my dvr or Netflix queue. Of course, just cuddling up with my boys would also be a pretty sweet vacation, too.

Alas, tomorrow's Monday and it's back to the working world I go.

The Journey for Shoes

Boys are rough on their shoes. Especially boys who like to run around and play rough. And they also grow constantly, which means we are almost constantly in the market for new shoes for K and O. Now, buying shoes for our sons tends to create a moment of severe tension between D and I. We both have strong opinions of what style we want our sons to where ... and of course, now K is old enough to have an opinion, too. Ultimately, we are now learning that K gets the final say ... so it's helping with the debates between the two parents. Unfortunately for me, K's style is tending to lean toward D's tastes. So after a good 45 minutes, we were finally able to walk out of the store (because, not only did K have to try on multiple pairs of shoes ... and run in each pair ...) we were able to walk out with these snazzy kicks:

Then we went off to see if I could find a pair of winter boots. First to REI and then to DSW. Both stores were crazy busy (hmm ... economy picking up? At least in the Grove it is.) Alas, there was nothing that quite suited my needs ... and with an impending 30 degree drop in the temperature this week, I needed to get some boots. So I took to the might internet and hope to have this fancies at my doorstep by the end of the week (because, I don't like to pay for shipping unless it is an absolute necessity.)

Looking forward to waiting at the bus stop with those fancies keeping my feet warm. 

Is it Beginning to Look Like Christmas?

Halloween has past, the scary ghouls and leftover treats are on clearance at the store (we scored a pair of awesome black feather wings for next year ... can't wait to convince one of the boys to wear them.) Yesterday, when the boys and I were out and about, there were just a few flurries dancing in the wind. All the magazines have tips and tricks for perfecting a Thanksgiving feast.

Music and Movies
I haven't braved it enough to turn it to the stations that play Christmas music 24-7 ... not quite there yet ... but I did look at ABC Family's countdown to Christmas schedule. And then there is their countdown to the countdown. It's a lot of Christmas, but there is something oddly pleasing about cheesy Christmas movies and cuddling with your loved ones.

Trimming the Tree
I commit to not bringing out the Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving (especially, since this year we will be hosting Thanksgiving here (eek!) but it doesn't stop my eyes from taking in all the snowflake and sparkling accouterments that I could sprinkle throughout my house. I've really been considering the large outdoor ornaments ... but haven't committed. Thing is the trees that they'd look the best in are the farthest from my house physically. And the tree closest to the house ... well it's the smallest tree, so I am afraid that it might be dwarfed by large ornaments.

Santa's Helper
And there's the gift-giving. I love to be on the search for the perfect gift, but that is hard to balance when you have two rambunctious boys who definitely don't want to go shopping ... and I feel guilty taking a day to myself when my husband hasn't gotten any alone time from them all week ... maybe this will be the year of all online gifting? Not a bad idea. But then will I miss out on the Christmas spirit? Or maybe it will be like gift-giving twice - once when it arrives on my doorstep and then a second time when I give it as a gift. Okay ... that might be pushing it a bit.

Let the festive season begin!

Peace and Quiet

Right now, D and K are playing Monopoly and O is quietly "reading" one of his big brother's books. It's fairly quiet and peaceful. It's moments like this that I just need to savor for all they are worth ... and what they are worth is a lot.

The Monopoly game is definitely being played as a teaching experience, but there's no complaints ... and not even sure if K realizes it.

O is so intently reading and looks more like his big brother that I just want to swallow him up in my arms.

Here's to a weekend cuddling up with my boys!

Leadership Qualities

Most of this week I am spending my time in a leadership development class. Now, I should properly set up that this is a big deal ... it's a class that only a very small group of "future leaders" ad the big Co. get to attend. In fact, you are told numerous times throughout the course what an honor it is to be there, that you are there because your have been identified as a leader with great potential. And it's true, people make a big deal out of it if they find out you are going ... and it's pretty secretive ... like flight club ... what happens at LEAD stays at LEAD and you aren't supposed to talk about the specifics of the experience.

What you are supposed to talk about is what you learn about yourself as a leader. There's a lot of role playing and group activities. For an introvert like me ... the role playing is an amazing energy suck. You have a coach guide you throughout the experience and then each day you have a new assessor who critical examines how you handled yourself during the role play and then gives you feedback. You get a lot of feedback. You also get a lot of ideas on different ways to lead your team differently and you get to hear from different leaders across the big Co.

It's pretty cool. I've learned that some things I thought I was decent at, I should take a whole different approach and I will be even better. Other things are just affirmation (guess you can't change who you are at the core :)) and it's funny how there are themes, even though your assessors are different and your coach is different. I also love that you get 360 feedback from a bunch of folks and I feel very honored that everyone I asked completed the survey. Of course my super-analytical self wants to know who says what ... but I'll just have to leave that be for now.

I can't wait until Friday at 4:30 though ... because for this introvert ... being "on" for three days straight with no break (and did I mention the abundance of role-playing???)  is seriously taking it's toll and I can only hope I make it through tomorrow as unscathed as possible.