St. Valentine's Day Weekend - 2016

Hiiii peoples!

Well look at that, it's still February and I'm posting my Valentine's Day post in the same month that it happened! Am I good or what? You should be nodding. Are you nodding? Good.

This may be one of our best heart days yet! Mainly because instead of venturing out into the mad crowds of crazy people, trying to book a reservation and all that hullabaloo, we stayed HOME. 

Introvert. Heaven. *cue angelic singing*

Home is nice. It's my favorite-est place to be. A place where after being peopled out after a long week (my poor little introverted self can only take so much), I can just relax and be myself and not say a thing, if I want to. And Robert is my introvert buddy, so he understands!

We started out Saturday morning with this lovely breakfast:

GF Chocolate Chip Waffles WITH Chocolate Syrup (Mmmhmm, I did that) and Orange Slices.

 
We spent Saturday catching up on suuuper fuuuun things like dishes, and tidying up the house after the work week. Friday evening we went grocery shopping early because we didn't want to get caught in the crowds of men storming the store for last minute Valentine gifts :P Robert picked out a bouquet of flowers for me while we were there! Lol, we're such an old married couple. IT WAS a surprise! I wasn't in that area when he picked them out, BUT I did know he was going to get some for me before we left the house, cuz I hinted that there would be a better selection to choose from if we went early.  :) I HAVE picked out my own flowers before, but not until recently. It's because I'm an artsy person! I like looking at  all the different flowers and seeing what I'm in the mood for, but this time I wanted him to pick. And chose well, he did.

Are they not lovely? He knew exactly what I wanted before I did.

The spread for the next day.

Pink Moscato Champagne (Birthday present from my mother-in-law), Juniper Berry and Bay Leaf infused Olive Oil (Aldi's), Almond and Hazelnut stuffed Green Olives (Aldi's), Turkish Figs (Aldi's), Herb and Pepper encrusted Salami (Aldi's), Hawaiian BBQ and Himalayan Sea Salt Kettle Brand chips with Avocado oil (Krogers), Chocolove brand chocolate, "Spicing Up Married Life" book by Father Leo Patalinghug, and "The Vow" movie, one of my faves.

Aldi's had a BUNCH of specialty items on sale after Christmas and we stocked up for this!

 Speaking of Father Leo Patalinghug, guess who came to our church? You betcha, the man himself. HE WAS AWESOME! He came for our annual Mission and spoke at our Church for 3 nights and boy were they memorable evenings. If you haven't heard of him before, he is a chef and has a cooking show on EWTN called Savoring the Faith; he is also kind of a celebrity now after beating Bobby Flay on Food Network in a fajita cooking competition about 6 years or so ago.
 BUT THE WAY HE SPEAKS. OH MY GOODNESS. He just ignites you with a blazing fire for your faith And he's hilarious. He has published three books, and we have them all now, including the marriage one pictured above. They have recipes in them :) Including the fajita recipe he beat Bobby Flay with! Before priesthood he used to teach martial arts and self defense, and is pretty awesome at breakdancing. I mean, HOW COOL IS THAT?! Including videos below so you can get to know him:

Of course we got a picture with him! He told us we looked like we got married when we were 12 XD

Selfies with the marriage book!

Heart Strawbs, something I started doing last year. Just cut a V in the top of the whole strawberry before cutting and you'll have cutesie little hearts!

Breakfast on Sunday morning. Almond flour pancakes with strawberries hearts, part of a Pumelo (The ancestor of the grapefruit, and much better I think. Less bitter.), and pork sausage patties.

It's not a Valentine's Day post without at least one picture of us.

Champagne and Roses.

Foccacia Bread! I used the recipe in Cybele Paschal's ' The Baker's Handbook'. I loooove her cookbooks. Here is the link if you are interested in the cookbook. I added the grapes and majoram on top and it was amazing. It was hard to refrain from eating the whole thing between the two of us!

Ze romantic dinner. Complete with candles.

Bubbly in the candlelight.

So we ate our finger food, sipped the bubbly, watched The Vow, gobbled up as much foccacia as we could get away with, and it was such a nice evening, just being home together. We're realizing how precious moments like these are, so for us this Valentine's Day was more about making uninterrupted time for each other (and good food) instead of extravagant gifts. Not that I don't like extravagant gifts *hint hint*. Buuuut time is priceless and we never know how much we have until we lose it.

So cherish the people you love!

How did you guys spend your Valentine's Day??? I hope it was amazing whether you're are in a relationship or not :)

Cheers!

Oh Pineapples, How I Love You.

Hiiiiii!

So yesterday Robert and I decided to make kebobs. First time we've made them together since we've been married! They were soooo easy to make. Every time I've thought about making kebobs I tend to think of them being more complicated than I want to deal with for dinner. So I've avoided them this whole time :P No longer! I'm going to be making these babies all the time now. Annnnd I took a lot of pictures, as usual, so prepare yourselves :D

I've been using pineapples for my table centerpiece lately. Simple, but cute :)

Pretty supplies.

All chopped up.

Kebob-ed.

Spices.

Spiced.

Chillin' with my pineapple.

All done and absolutely delicious!

Kebobs=Happy people 

 

 

 

 

 

Yum.

Easy Pineapple Kebobs:

2 chicken breasts, chunked
1 container of grape or cherry tomatoes
1 small pineapple, peeled and chunked
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped into chunks
1 orange bell pepper, chopped into chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
1 yellow onion, chopped into wedges

Slide all above ingredients onto your kebob skewers and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Season with pink Himalayan salt (or sea salt), black pepper, tarragon, dill, and garlic pepper on both sides of kebobs until sufficiently covered. Grill on both sides until done (I didn't do the grilling so I don't know how long it took per side!). Makes about 10-11 kebobs. Enjoy!

 

The past weekend I made some cakes for our church festival and I love how they turned out!

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer!

Curiouser and Curiouser

Well hello!

These past two months have been crazy and exhausting, which is why you haven't heard much from my little corner of the world :P
It seems that at least one part of every year (if not more) I let myself get overwhelmed with life, which leads to me neglecting things I like to do. Blogging being near the top of the list. *sigh*

In my last post I believe I mentioned being in an Alice in Wonderland mood at the beginning of April. Well, you finally get to find out why!

I have been wanting to host an Alice themed tea party for like, EVER and I finally told my family that I would be hosting our Easter. With a twist :D

So naturally, I went all out.

Here we have the 'Drink Me' bottle which made Alice shrink, the 'Eat Me' cake which made her grow, and the key that magically appeared only AFTER she drank from the shrinking potion. Ironic, huh?

I read the 'Splintered' series during my party planning. I have to say I had high expectations for these and I was rather disappointed. There were a lot of things I liked about them, being Alice in Wonderland inspired and all, but the sexual innuendos and behavior of some of the characters made me not want to finish them. But I did, and I was very happy with the ending. By the way, I liked Morpheus better than Jeb in the end :) (I knew you'd be dying to know, Cait!) It was actually pretty tough to decide between the two, which I can't say the same for in other love triangles.

My collection of Alice books and decks of cards I found at a thrift store that reminded me of Wonderland.

THE FOOD! I made too much as usual, but it was gooooood. Lots of little tea sandwiches that Mom helped me make :)



I just made them up with ingredients I had. Here are the recipes if anyone is interested:

Cucumber Goat Cheese Sandwiches

1 loaf Gluten free or Regular Bread ,cut into fourths
8 oz. Garlic and Herb Goat Cheese (add a bit of water or milk to make it spread easier)
1 Cucumber, cut into thin rounds
1 bunch of Chives, cut into thirds
1 bunch of Dill, broken off into 1 in. sprigs

Take one of the bread pieces and spread on the goat cheese. Place the chive sprig first, then the cucumber, and top with the dill sprig.

Turkey Bruschetta Sandwiches

1 loaf Gluten free or Regular Bread, cut into fourths
1 pack of Turkey or another kind of lunch meat, also cut into fourths
1 jar of Bruschetta Spread
1 bunch of Parsley, broken off into 1 in. sprigs

Spread the bruschetta on the bread. Put the lunch meat on and then top with the parsley sprig,

Enjoy!

This was my second attempt at making petite fours and I was so happy with how they turned out!!!!!! They tasted AMAZING. I was quite sad when the last one was eaten. Definitely making more soon. Here is the recipe I used. I added vanilla extract instead of orange.

 

I found these plates, brand new and still shrink wrapped, at a thrift store a few years ago. I was saving them specifically for this occasion :)

         

I had a heck of a time finding these :P I looked everywhere EXCEPT the sugar aisle. I know. I figured they would be in the tea and coffee section but nooooo, they had to be in a logical place.



That's right, you aren't seeing things. Those are mushroom cookies, baby. A fellow blogger made a TON of Alice in Wonderland delicacies for a friend's party and she found this mushroom cookie recipe.

 

The dining room table. I made quite a mess! Also, my 'talking' flowers.



I had fun throwing them on the table :D

 

The 'Mad' Tea Party. I was so happy the weather cooperated with me! It wouldn't have been the same had I had to have inside. It was so warm being in the sun during the afternoon, that my brother actually fell asleep. At the table. I thought it was quite fitting for a mad tea party, and now I have blackmail pictures :D

 

 

My sister's contributed some of their dust collectors to complete the look :)

 

 

One of them even had this little dormouse-y fellow!

 

 

I made name place cards for everybody and I used my sister's collection of old keys to make it look cool. Did I mention some of my family dressed up for the occasion? *sigh* A dream come true!

 

 

I was Alice, of course. My sister, brother-in-law, and brother were 'cards' made from poster board. My Dad was the Mad Hatter. Mom was the Red Queen. My aunt and her friend dressed up as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. My nephew and nieces had bunny and mouse ears on. Everyone looked awesome and I'm so happy they agreed to dress up!!!! It's more fun that way.

 

 

My sweet husband consented without (much) complaint to be the Cheshire Cat, his favorite character! He even climbed a tree so I could take pictures :) I told him to give me his biggest, toothiest smile.

 

 

"I'm afraid so.You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are."

 

 

I had a mirror and a clock leaning against a tree. The roses are actually from Picmonkey since some of my siblings were in the reflection who have requested to not have their pictures shared on my blog.

 

 

I found this awesome contraption at a local boutique. It was a tea cup attached to a distressed bed post. Adorbs.

 

My red and white 'rose' bushes. I just stuck some fake ones in for the party.

Me and Chessie :D

 

 

I love these socks!

 

We ate delicious food, played croquet, set up an Easter egg hunt, had fun being crazy at the mad tea party, and basically had a smashing good time :) It was a blast.