Birthday Lunch with Becca
Posted on December 1, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink.
We finally got a chance to catch up with our buys pals, the Dills, last week. We met Jay, Becca, Addi, and Mama Dill for a late lunch at Red Robin.
It was a real treat seeing Addi. We played a few rounds of Go Fish.
She is such a cutie. Oh, and we are both hooked on the freckled lemonade. LOL.
It’s been a few years since Brian and I have eaten at Red Robbin. It’s just not conducive to dieting. I mean, how can you resist the bottomless fries and the free refills on freckled lemonade. I can never get out of there without consuming at least a few thousand calories.
We were finally able to give Jay and Becca their housewarming present which we’d had for several weeks but hadn’t been able to give to them because we couldn’t find a good time to get together. Anyway, it ended up doubling as a birthday present. I joked that if we waited just a few more weeks it could be their Christmas present as well. LOL. Yup. Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a cheapskate. Not quite as bad as bad as the people on the Extreme Cheapskates TV show on TLC but I do have some miserly ways.
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It’s Officially Christmas Over Here
Posted on November 30, 2013 by Ching under Shopping, Tips.
My super awesome husband helped me assemble and decorate our new Christmas tree. That’s after I registered my new tree on the NationalTree.com of course. 😉
Here’s what the new tree looked like before we added trimmings. Brian and I agreed that this is the most beautiful Christmas tree we have ever owned. I searched everywhere for a 9-foot tall, slim tree that’s got character. I finally found one that I liked at HomeDecorators.com. I never knew about that store until my search for the perfect Christmas tree began. Now I’m hooked.
Anyway, I love that my new tree already has pinecones and berries and has a snowy look to it because then I don’t have to buy as many ornaments.
This is a photo of Brian trying to figure out if there’s enough room between the top of the tree and the ceiling for my new Kurt Adler 20-Light gold rattan star tree topper
This is our tree after we added some ornaments. I found rattan stars that match my tree topper perfectly at Pier 1. I only got 10 of them and now wish that I would have gotten some more. Brian and I decided that it’s probably for the best as we wanted to keep this tree minimalistic.
Here’s a closer look at our tree.
The balls are not really ornaments. They are rattan vine glitter sphere decorations (also from Pier 1). Most people put them in a bowl or basket. The burlap eucalyptus leaf branches are another one of my improvisations. I think most of the time you’ll see these in tall vases. I had a vision of a natural-looking, woodsy, minimalist Christmas tree and I thought these decorations, though not really sold as Christmas tree ornaments, would look great in my tree.
The rest of my vision involved a burlap Christmas tree skirt and burlap ribbon. The tree skirt was perfect except for a small gash. I can’t tell if I got a defective item or if Brian damaged it while he was trying to open the package. He has this thing about using his knife to open packages and he’s not always the most gentle with it. I don’t ever return stuff so I guess I’m keeping it. I’m not happy about the tear, though.
As far as the ribbon, well, I miscalculated and ran out. I thought 10 yards would be enough. Wrong. I ordered some more ribbon, which should arrive in a couple of days because I caved and signed up for Amazon Prime. As much as I order from Amazon, you’d think I’d have a Prime membership already. I’m too cheap for that, though. I usually just take advantage of the free super saver shipping. However, running out of burlap ribbon in the middle of trimming the tree constituted an emergency. LOL.
Anyway, stay tuned because I’ll be taking a picture of the completed tree as soon as the additional burlap arrives. Check back soon.
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Birthday Scrabble
Posted on November 29, 2013 by Ching under Family, Games.
Jenni celebrated her birthday at John Barleycorn’s last week. It was a subdued birthday party. We just hung out and played some Scrabble. It was the first time I’d ever played Scrabble at a bar before. I don’t generally hang out at bars, but if they offered Scrabble I’d probably visit more frequently. LOL.
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Farewell Dinner at Longhorn
Posted on November 27, 2013 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink.
Brian’s parents treated us to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse on Sunday night. It actually should have been the other way around but they insisted.
Brian and I had never been to Longhorn before. This was our first trip. They were off to a rocky start when they asked us to wait to be seated when there were several vacant tables throughout the restaurant. I’m not sure what was going on there.
We had some of their pretzels with the beer infused cheese dip while we waited for our entrees. It was pretty good. What I liked most about them is that they were super salty so I didn’t need to salt them.
I can’t remember what this salad is called. It had apple chips and bacon and a tangy dressing. It was decent, but I don’t think Brian liked it.
I took a picture of the bread because I take pictures of everything, specially if it’s a restaurant that I’ve never tried before.
We should have stopped at the salads. Alas, eating healthy was not meant to be.
Brian and I decided to keep the calories and cost down by sharing an entree.
He had the filet and the baked potato while I had the lobster and shrimp mac and cheese portion of the entree. I had a bite Brian’s steak which I thought was good, but he was unimpressed.
The food was just okay over all. If we’d been there before, I don’t think I would have picked it. It’s just not the kind of restaurant that I would go out of my way to dine at. I do think it’s better than Outback, but I wouldn’t eat at Outback either. LOL.
At least our server Damian was great. He was friendly and attentive. His service elevated our dining experience. If we ever go back, I’m asking for his section.
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Leftover Stew
Posted on November 27, 2013 by Ching under Food and Drink.
One of the dinners Donna made while she and David were staying with us was beef stew. She made a ton so we had plenty of leftovers. I was starving after I got home from my Sunday morning workout with Val so I rummaged through the fridge and decided to heat up some of the left over beef stew. While I was rummaging through the fridge I also found our leftover shrimp so I went ahead and tossed it in there. Voila! Leftover stew. It was actually really good. I wouldn’t mind having it again.
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