A Nod to Marital Bliss and a Fabulous Meal

It's hard to believe that eight years ago (almost) to this day, there was snow on the ground and I publicly declared my love and commitment to one person. I say almost to this day, because technically our wedding anniversary is not until Tuesday, but we decided since our anniversary falls in the middle of the week, we could kick-off celebrating it tonight and carry it through the week. (We'll see if we have the endurance to celebrate on the actual day and again next weekend.)

We started our special evening by exchanging gifts. For those who've read about previous anniversary celebrations, you know that D and I do try to follow the traditional gift list as closely as possible (with some loose interpretation when needed.) The eighth year presented us with the theme of bronze. For the last month, we've been teasing each other about bronze statues and whatnot. Of course, I was really beginning to fret, because I was at a loss. However, I found a great watch that could loosely qualify as being "bronze-like" and I was able to get it in time for tonight.

D, I must say, went the extra mile when it came to selecting my gift. (Granted, he may have more "free" time for researching gifts when O is taking a nap.) He found a jeweler that makes beautiful handcrafted pieces from vintage and antiques. And proceeds from any purchase going to fund cancer research. So, not only do you get an amazing piece of jewelry, you do some good. He did amazingly well when he select this cobalt and bronze bracelet for me:

We then continued our evening at Heartland Restaurant. We ate here for our fifth wedding anniversary, but it the restaurant had relocated to a fabulous new spot and D had been wanting to go again.

The evening started with a lovely special amuse bouche that was a wild rice pastry with marscapone cream with a strawberry preserve. It was just a hint of what was in store for us the rest of the evening ...

I followed this delight with a great first course of grass fed beef liver served on a challah toast with onions and chanterelles in a Marsala sauce. I just wanted to lick my plate the sauce was so good and the chanterelles was such a good balance with the liver. (Yes, I as an adult chose to eat liver ... and it was wonderful.)



 Next up was the main course. This plate you see of red meat (yes, I love my meat) was a lovely spiced elk roast on top of a parsnip-potato puree in a roasted apple glace. And while all of the above was excellent ... it's those beautiful baby brussel sprouts that were absolutely divine. Even D agreed when I gave him a few bites ... I could have eaten a whole bowl of just those brussel sprouts!

To finish off the meal, I had a chocolate pot de creme with three sauces: curry caramel, passion fruit curd and a cranberry compote. It was just sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth (and paired very well with my lovely French pressed coffee.



The also surprised us with complimentary flutes of Moscato to finish our meal with an anniversary toast. (I only wish they had it listed on their wine list online, because even D liked it ... and it's rare to find a wine he enjoys.) It was just the perfect amount of sweetness.

Throughout the evening we had amazing conversation and reconnected as it is always nice to do. We chatted about our beautiful boys and shared laughs and looks of affection. It was how I hope everyone's anniversary can be celebrated ... because it was just so special. And I like to think that the evening foretells how the next year of marriage will go. If that is the case, we shall have a very good year. (Of course, D has decided he's already going to start researching next year's gift -- which is pottery.)




Being Thankful

Today is the annual day where people publicly profess all that they are thankful for. Of course, you also get the philosophical waxings of those who say that wouldn't it be nice if we would act like this every day. And yes, I agree, it would be nice, if we did it every day, would this particularly day lose some of it's specialness?

Of course, as I reflect over the past year, I realize that I am unbelievable thankful for all that I have in my life (well, everything except the depreciating home values ... I will be extra thankful the year I finally see the market value of our home at least stabilize instead of decline.)

My boys have been healthy most of the year, and continue to grow like weeds (seriously, K will be taller than me any day now ...) I've embraced the idea that my oldest baby is now a school kid, and while it makes me feel incredibly older, I enjoy hearing him explain the adventures of his day and impressing me with his intellect on a regular basis. O makes me laugh, because he's such a ham and is well aware of it. It's hard to believe that two years ago he hadn't quite made his debut yet.

D has done an exception job at his ... well ... job, being the best dad in the world to my boys and a pretty darn good husband to me. (Granted, I have accepted that when it comes to dinner, I have to be happy that it's being made and that I am not married to a Top Chef contestant, so I may not get something exciting, but I get nourishment.

I am also thankful that this year allowed me to visit four new places that I hadn't experienced: Playa del Carmen, Toronto, Montreal and New York. Each trip was delightful for it's own reason, and I don't foresee that much travel in one year again in the near future, so I count myself very grateful. (And let's be honest, the hotels in New York and Montreal ...seriously felt like a very luck girl!)

And now ... it's time to dive into the holiday season. As always I am looking to be inspired ... hoping to find special gifts for those I love, something sweet and unexpected and specifically them. Sometimes I do well ... sometimes I take the easy route and just grab things off the list. I'll just have to hope that the special gift faeries are with me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

A Day in Toronto

Today, I spent my hours learning about the city of Toronto and the culture of the Canadian consumer. It was a very enlightening trip, and I think it will really help me understand the things I need to to do my job better. It was a good day, full of lots of education, and I am completely grateful for the opportunity. But because this blog tends to be more focused on my general life experiences and food ... that's what I really want to talk about!

Lunch - it was really divine. We ate at Luma, a sophisticated lunch spot for downtown Toronto folks (or at least that was my new to Toronto impression.) Now, because this was a business trip, I didn't really feel like I could take out my phone and start taking pictures of my food, but I kind of wish I could have ... because it was really, really pretty. I had a seared albacore tuna w/green beans, on bib lettuce and chickpeas ... it was amazingly refreshing and light. I enjoyed every bite and wanted it to play on my tongue forever. There was this lovely citrus layer in each taste that danced on my tongue. The tuna was light and seared perfectly. I knew that if this was any indication of my day ... it was going to be a great day.

Then, after a long day of walking, learning and asking questions, we met up with our colleague who leaves in Toronto. She gave us a tour of our office buildings and advised me to work at the hotel if I can tomorrow (since there isn't really anything spectacular that I will gain from paying $70 for a taxi to bring me to the office space).

She then took us to a great restaurant called Pure Spirits. I appreciated a local taking us to a preferred restaurant. And while it was a seafood restaurant, I know my limits of seafood is one dish a day ... so I decided to try the pistachio-crusted pork tenderloin that came with a lovely port wine and morel mushroom jus and crispy truffled polenta "cakes." The polenta cakes were interesting, but I only ate one of the two (a little two crispy for me) but the pork was cooked perfectly ... and I could have eaten a plate full of the jus. To top off my meal, I enjoyed a Canadian wine - it was the 13th Street Winery Noirs. It was a delicate wine - not a lot of tannins or bit, so very smooth and the perfect accompaniment to my meal.

All in all, a very satisfying day of great company, excellent food and a fabulous experience that will help me better define and shape further decisions on our approach for providing the best service possible to our employees in Canada.

That Screaming Toddler - Yeah, He's Mine

Raising a spirited child takes a little extra patience. Raising a spirited child who is 22-months-old (because that is really when the terrible-two's occur) takes an act of God.

K is, and has always been, a relatively easy child. He listens, only occasionally has breakdowns, but they usually last two seconds, and he infuses the day with humor and smiles. O is a hilarious child, but he also has the fastest and most brutal temper I've ever seen. And right now he is very much in the "I'll scream until I get my way" phase. I don't know if this has something to do with making sure his voice is heard or what. The kid can turn his scream on and off, and he knows exactly what he's doing.

He knows that if he screams, he'll pretty much get what he wants because we try to stop the screaming terror. Take today's swimming lessons. He gets pretty bored by the fourth repetition of any activity, and so then he starts to scream. The teacher has gotten so accustom to this, that she prepares him by saying, "Just two more times, O." And, because I am pretty firm, and she follows my lead, we make him continue through the screams. Sometimes, I try to distract him, but sometimes it's not worth it, and by letting him know I am not going to let him get out of it, he'll stop on his own.

Swimming is one thing. The shoe store was another. I decided to give D a somewhat quiet house and take O with me to the shoe store (I am the kind of person that wears my shoes until I absolutely need to get a new pair ... and it was definitely that time ...) So, I plopped the stroller in the car, and took O with me. Leaving K to play at home. Now, granted, I realize that taking a toddler to a shoe store may have been asking for trouble (but K would go shopping with me all the time and was absolutely pleasant.)

The trip started out well, he was patient and chatting and just smiling. I was able to try on a few pairs of shoes. But after a bit, the meltdown came. The kid screamed (and I mean screamed at the top of his lungs) for a good five minutes. I just held him and let him get it out, asking him gently to please stop screaming. I took him to the window to distract him. I sang him a short song. Nothing worked ... until I gave up and took my purchase to the register ... then the bugger calmed down.

The cashier looked at me with pity. "Rough day?", I replied that he screams until he gets what he wants. She replied, "I guess he just wants to leave." Touche.

Lesson learned, I won't taking O on another shopping trip with me alone until he's at least three.

For the Love of Pumpkin

Those who know me well know that I love pumpkin ... absolutely everything pumpkin (pumpkin shakes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins ... the list goes on.) My love for pumpkin is not shared to the same degree by my husband or first-born son. They humor me and eat pumpkin pie once in a while, or surprise me with a pumpkin treat, acknowledging that they do know me well.

However, I finally have a pumpkin-loving fool soul mate in my house. O. When I answer to my weakness and order the pumpkin loaf at Starbucks ... he devours more than half (and let's be honest, it is probably much better that way, too.) I decided to try the pumpkin milk at the grocery store. Good thing I did not look at the ingredient list for ... hello, sugar! ... and when I poured the last of it today (vowing not to buy anymore even though it was absolutely delicious) the little bugger made sure he was able to enjoy half the glass with me.

Now, he's running around with an orange milk moustache, and all I can do is grin. Thank you for giving me at least one family member who enjoys the delicousness of fall to the same degree I do. Now, where is that pumpkin pie candy corn I just bought ...