Sunshine State.

Last Friday morning, Joe and I headed away from cold and dreary Cleveland to sunny and cheery Fort Myers. Joe's friend, Brian, and his girlfriend, Micah, joined us and Mr. and Mrs. Patrick for the long weekend vacation. Joe got to golf everyday and I went on long walks, got a massage, and enjoyed some relaxation.

Now, before you get too jealous, I should tell you that my shoulders did get a little burned on Monday... sigh. I'll stop here for you so you can process your sympathetic thoughts...

Is that you, Spring?

If you haven't heard already, Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow which means there is only two more weeks of winter! That is if you believe that stuff? I don't know how scientific the whole "groundhog see his shadow" approach is, but it has seemed to warm up the past few days! I have really enjoyed seeing the snow start to melt and my teeth not chattering, but Joe and I have found one downside: Bailey wants to go outside every 5 minutes.

Here is how it goes: She presses her "doggy doorbell" and we let her out. She stays outside for a while then must decide she needs to check on us. We let her back in, she looks at us, then within 5 minutes she presses the doorbell to go out again. This happens repeatedly until she takes a nap. Then it starts all over again.

I drew the following to help me cope with this annoyance. Art therapy is supposed to be a good way to deal with emotions...

One Red Door.

Joe and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night by going out to eat at One Red Door in Hudson. February 14th ... February 15th ... those dates are so close, what does it really matter? Anyway, this was a restaurant we had wanted to try.

It was very tasty! We went the tapas/small plate route so that we could taste a bit of everything. We tried the roasted date, crispy duck confit, warm spinach salad and the applewood smoked pork crust (aka Pizza). Even though it was a little pricey, we loved it and it made for a romantic day after Valentine's Day date.

Blackberry Cobbler.

This weekend's cooking creation was a blackberry cobbler. It was delicious straight out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. My inspiration for this dessert: blackberries were on sale at Giant Eagle!

Also, Happy Valentine's Day!

Chalkboard.

Joe and I adventurously bought the following this weekend:

We are painting a wall in chalkboard paint. Although you can buy this paint in different colors, we chose to go with the classic black. Bold! Here is just a taste of it...

I'll post the final product after we finish our numerous layers.

Knife Skills

We are proud to announce that all of our fingers are still intact after we took a knife skills class last night. Joe and I were both signed up for this 3 hour long class hosted by the Western Reserve School of Cooking in Hudson. The course was focused on the different uses for various knives, the proper way to hold the knife, and of course chopping, dicing and julienning.

We also made, and subsequently consumed, 4 meals: Chicken Coq au Vin, Thai Chicken and Vegetable Curry (our favorite one), Penne Pasta Primavera with Roasted Garlic Sauce, and Roasted Vegetable Pizza with Goat Cheese. It was a fun, informative and tasty class!

A good workout song.

Monday Mourn

We are all feeling a little down today after the Steeler loss last night. At least they made it that far...

Here we go!

We are all ready for the game!

So true!

I was at Pottery Barn the other day when I came across the following book:


I took a look at both my own and Joe's names. Mine wasn't anything exciting but Joe's was one I had to share!

Very apt in my opinion!

Celebration

My mom and dad brought over a chocolate ganache cake for Joe's birthday. Here is the birthday boy making his birthday wish.

Happy Birthday Joe!

Today, Joe has joined me at the quarter century mark! Happy Birthday to him!

For the big day, I bought Joe a brand new car!

It just so happened his lease was up and I therefore get to call this a birthday gift from me. Such a generous wife I am!