LakeHouse Trip

We had a really great weekend at the Huebel family lake house with friends Scott & Paige Mayhew. The weather was perfect and we got in several boat rides. Ross recently purchased a wakeboard and had a fun time breaking it in. Personally, I was feeling pretty content on the boat. I am going to try my hand at wakeboarding the next go round :)

Roma has had some difficulty with swimming. She would slap the water with her paws rather than paddling under water. She loves the water, but her crazy swimming is rather embarrassing at the dog park. Anyhow, after quite a few swim lessons with Ross, I'm happy to report that she finally got it down!! We were chunking balls pretty far off the dock and she would belly flop and go get the ball every time...

On Saturday we went to lunch at Coopers BBQ, which is pretty famous out in hill country. After grubbing we went to a nearby winery in Llano, Fall Creek Vineyards. By coincidence they were having a big festival, including grape stomping and wine tasting.

At Cooper's: Half a chicken, 2 ribs, and some pork.

Scotty, Paige, & Ross doing some grape stomp'in!

Paige & I: Cheers between tastings

What a great weekend!!

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Salam wa aleikum

We had a very special dinner guest last night! Mohammed, Ross's friend from Egypt, was in Houston for a training class and was able join us for dinner at the house. I met Mohammed a year or so ago on a BP geology field trip in Utah. He is such a considerate, genuine person... quite a pleasure to entertain. I was impressed that he was able to navigate to our house, which is kinda off the beaten trail. For Muslims, it is Ramadan, the 9th month of the Islamic lunar calendar. It is a time to practice self-restraint, which includes fasting from sunrise to sunset. It was Ross's turn to cook and he did not disappoint. He made some great surf and turf: Filet Mignon with roasted red peppers, topped with goat cheese and a side of shrimp. Ross also made some lemon, Parmesan asparagus. I prepared a Mediterranean couscous and Reese's pieces cookie bar with ice cream. It was a two thumbs up kinda meal.

Steak Topper- Roasted Red Pepper-Ancho Salsa.

The DIVINE couscous: cherry tomato, basil, chickpeas, feta cucumber, lemon/lime.

What a meal!

We are heading to the lakehouse for a long weekend. Bon appetit! Here's some of the recipes we made!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/black-pepper-crusted-filet-mignon-with-goat-cheese-and-roasted-red-pepper-ancho-salsa-recipe/index.html

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/cherry-tomato-couscous-recipe.html

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There are hits AND misses

We took Roma to the dog park after work, a special birthday treat. She also got to eat some chicken with her Eukanuba for dinner. That brings us to our dinner. I made "Tricolore Penne with Chicken." This dish looked so appetizing, with red sun-dried tomatoes, green endive, and purple radicchio, but sadly it was a flop. The endive was entirely too bitter for a pasta with no sauce to speak of, just olive oil. The chicken was nice, but I wished it had more flavor throughout. This will not be a "keeper." What can I say, you win some and you lose some... on to the next! Ross is the chef tomorrow :)

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2 years old!

It's Roma's Birthday!!

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Chef BoyarLIZ

I ordered a new cookbook, "The Food You Crave" by Ellie Kreiger, a couple weeks ago and I'm just now starting to work my way through some of the recipes. It may not be as complex and sophisticated as Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", but it's WAY healthier... The author encourages you to "eat with color", to use fresh ingredients, and to avoid foods with lots of additives & preservatives. Ross is my (surprisingly willing) test subject. Do you know what endive is? Good luck trying to find it for the first time in the grocery store! Growing up I really didn't eat vegetables that much and now I find myself craving them. It's strange how that happens. Maybe my taste buds are maturing? Maybe? Sunday night I made Miso-Glazed Cod, with Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy, and Smashed potatoes. Very yum. Once again, trying to find white miso at the store was an adventure in and of itself.

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Baseball and Ceiling Fans?

Where oooh where to begin??!

It was one of those work weeks that never seems to end, so when Friday came we were ready for some fun. Ross & I went to Sushi Hana with our neighbor buddies, Clay and Andrea Mack. During dinner a big storm rolled in and the power was flickering on and off at the restaurant. We made the executive decision to postpone bowling for another night because the power was out at a lot of places AND Roma was in the backyard during the monsoon of a rain storm. Oops. We get home and quietly peek out into the backyard/crazy rain storm to see what Roma is doing. She wasn't even in her house! She was running around the backyard playing in the rain!! What dog does that? Needless to say she was one soaked pup when we let her in. We dried her off and took her over to the Mack's for playtime with their dogs/movie night. Anyone seen "Revolutionary Road" with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio? It is not exactly what you would call an uplifting movie, nonetheless it was very well done and I was glad we watched it.

One of our projects this weekend was to replace some ceiling fans. We went to Home Depot and Lowe's and got some pretty good looking fans ,if I do say so myself. I can't say that we hadn't been warned that ceiling fans are ALWAYS a pain to install. After the 6' downrod (special order) came in, we thought we were set. Ok rewind, after renting a 14' step ladder we thought we were set. Let's try this all together: After special ordering a 6' downrod (our family room ceiling is 2 stories), renting a 14' ladder, installing the fan 4 different times over a 2-day 6+ hour span, and lot's of arm muscle....drumroll... WE GOT A WORKING FAN! Words just don't do this project justice. Let's just say, Ross has much more patience than the Aldrich family genes...

We went to a Sat night Astros game with my friend Laura and her boyfriend, Ryan. We met at Goode Co. Burgers for a bit to eat. Their burger was ranked in Texas Monthly's 50 best burgers, so naturally we had to check it out. The burgers were good, but the fries were amazing :) Far superior to anything we saw at the game- cheaper too. The Astros beat the Diamondbacks!! Woo!

I do need to spend a minute and brag about Ross. He has been such a trooper/handyman around the house. Ross has done quite a few pretty significant projects considering we are relatively new homeowners with little experience. The arbor is now 99% complete and it looks so much better than I ever imagined!!

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Early Night

Just lying in bed with Roma pup trying to help me type. She is feeling a little neglected because Ross and I went over to Robbie and Steph's for dinner. We had Au Jus dip sandwiches and Vegetable Tian. Delish! We also got a chance to catch up on all the Daystrom Lane/BP gossip. Can't get much better than that on a Tuesday night...

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Movie Review: Julie & Julia

Ross & I grabbed some pizza before going to see the movie "Julie & Julia" on Saturday night. We BOTH enjoyed the movie... 2 thumbs up! It is creative and funny. Meryl Streep does an excellent job playing Julia Childs. You should go see it if you haven't already!

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Mom & Brother Visit

Mom flew into Houston on Tuesday night. Though we had to work W & Th, Ross & I put her to work- she had a To-Do list and everything! It is quite nice having someone around that knows how to make curtains in a couple hours... :)

Thursday was the last day of Jeffrey's co-op with DOW in Victoria, TX. He moved out of his apartment and made the 1.5 hr drive to Houston. The Huebel's also joined us for a fajita dinner on Thursday night. Quite the dinner party... Mom and Jeff plan to drive back to Charleston together early Sat morning. I don't like goodbye's much :(

Thursday night dinner.

Friday Hang Out.

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1 Year!!

Ross & I celebrated our 1 year anniversary this weekend-- August 9!! We made a gourmet meal for 2 on Sat night. The menu:

* Black Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper-Ancho Salsa

* Asparagus Risotto

* Steamed Lobster Tails with Clarified Lemon Butter

* Key Lime Pie Sorbert

We also shared a bottle of Shiraz I brought back from my trip to Sonoma last weekend. It was a very special dinner date for sure!

Ross & I met Mom & Dad Huebel and cousin Emily for drinks at The Grove before heading to dinner this evening. It was nice catching up with them :)

We defrosted the top layer of our wedding cake, which has been in the deep freeze for a year, and were surprised at how good it was. We both agreed it tasted better than we remembered...

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California Dream'in!

The California weekend getaway was absolutely perfect! Natalie and I flew into San Francisco Friday morning. We successfully navigated our way around the city, mostly in part to the Garmin we got with the rental car. We found a great shopping area downtown called Union Square and where we spent most of the day before heading North to Sonoma Valley. We took Route 101 and stopped at a scenic overlook after going over the Golden Gate bridge. It was a cloudy day, but breathtaking views nonetheless.

The drive to Sonoma was beautiful. The weather cleared up just for us. Our hotel was in a great location with a patio that opened to a little courtyard and a jacuzi. We had a nice dinner at a highly recommended restuarant, starting with a surprisingly good strawberry-cilantro margarita. Who would've thought?

On Sat, we took an all-day wine tour (Platypus Tours) with a group of 8 other people. We went to 4 wineries and an olive oil producer.

Benziger Winery.

There was not a cloud in the sky, it was bright and sunny, in the low 70's. We learned quite a bit about wine making and the different factors that affect the wine, flavors, aging, etc. Natalie and I had a really great time, nothing could have made it better.

Last Winery of the Day.

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