Over the last few days

Hey hey!

Nights like last night make me want to dive head first in my freshly stocked wine fridge.  It wasn’t anything terrible, just a little hectic.  I think Zach got the flu (thank goodness we got Bean his flu shot at his appt last Friday), which meant that I was  taking care of Bean solo, as well as the other beasts (aka pets).  Bean and I ran to the mall, did some damage at Target, then I attempted to get everyone fed.  It took some convincing but Bean eventually liked the lentil mozzarella quesadillas (I personally love the combo, especially topped with marinara) and only managed to make a small disaster in the kitchen.  Then came the usual Sunday chores: vacuum, take out trash, walk Naava, pick out Bean’s clothes, pick out my work clothes for the week…yada yada yada.  You know a lot of nothing that somehow takes the whole day.

But hey, speaking of that freshly stocked wine fridge, Zach and I joined Zagat Wine Club.  They had a faboosh introductory offer right before Christmas for 15 wines for $70 and then subsequent wine shipments every 3 months for $150 (12 bottles of wine — we’re doing all red).  We’ve tried 2 (or 3? err…) already and both were great.  In future shipments, I can make swaps in advance if I know there is a wine I particularly like or would not like (read: Zinfandels..ick).

I squeezed in a nail appt on Saturday and am in love with this tawny taupe-y color:

Is it acceptable to continuously shellac your nails the same color time after time?  Because I think I just may.

Last week our good friends had their baby (nearly 3 weeks early!), so we met him on Saturday.  He is perfect in every way and is just the cutest, tiniest, little peanut.  Makes me almost want a newborn…almost  And nothing helps new parents in survival mode than brownies, right?

That would be the last of the Pumpkin Butterscotch Brownies I made from Picky Palate.  These are insanely moist and incredibly tasty.  And I’m not even a brownie person!

I also made it to Spin class this weekend after a longer than 2 week hiatus.  If only I could motivate myself for early AM workouts, because I really think I’d benefit from hitting up the 6am Spin class daily.  But sleep will always win!

Try any good wines lately?  Part of a wine club?

Easy to please

Hey there,

How was your weekend (and your Monday for that matter)?  My Monday night was fabulous — why?  It included the RHONJ reunion and vino.   See, easy to please.

Actually the whole weekend was pretty darn good.  Thursday evening I made some ginger shortbread cookies with maple frosting and, well, they were sort of blah in my opinion (Zach’s too).  Then, oddly enough, they started to taste better after each passing day.  They are very reminscent of those sugar cookies with the huge layer of frosting you can get at the grocery store/Target.  I decided to hang on to the recipe and play around with it.

My mommy friends tested them on our Friday meet up and enjoyed them though.  We met up at a cute park in Los Altos and watched the babies crawl in the grass and throw crackers around.  And we may have “snuck” some wine in as well — hey there were no signs telling us *not* too.

Saturday I hit up Spin class despite the fac that my lower back  was and is screaming at me (I blame the guy below).

But Saturday night was truly fab.  We had a date night with some friends we haven’t seen in quite some time and were able to indulge in several glass of vino, cheeses, dinner, and froyo at the end.  We dined at Gravity in Palo Alto followed by Fraiche.  A good time indeed.  And I was able to wear my new Frye boots.  More simple pleasures.

Speaking of old friends, we also had a lovely coffee date on Sunday morning with our LA friends who were in town for a college reunion.  It’s making me desparately want to take a trip down south and visit all of them!

Oh and my new green jeans?  Love them.  Total random purchase on Saturday, but they were a good deal and I’m pretty pleased with them.

Given all that and the start of some cooler weather, I’m quite pleased

Tell me how you’re easy to please.  Other things for me include: pedis, pumpkin spice lattes, smelling a seasonal candle, going for a walk with bean and noodle, cuddling with the cats, dinner out….

Nails, training, solids, and off-Fridays

Hey there!

Welcome back from the weekend!

Working backwards, here is my weekend in review:

Sunday night I had baking plans, but they were thwarted by lack of ingredients.  As a result, Zach will have to experience the silence treatment from one of his coworkers until I can provide the goods (Sandra, I’m talking to you! )

I got my typical Sunday mani/pedi.  Usually I try to go 3 weeks between, but meh, I was feeling like some nail-pampering:

I’m pretty sure I did this exact nail combo only 2 mani/pedis ago.  Clearly I need to branch out.  I also think I’m addicted to gel nail polish.  Nearly 3 weeks chip free?  Yes please. 

Sunday morning I had my personal training session.  I love that someone is pushing me beyond my limits and also expanding my repertoire of exercises I can do on my own once my sessions end.  And fyi, I hate burpees, but can fully understand their effectiveness. 

Saturday, Zach and I gave Bean solids for the first time.  The pictures below tell a pretty good story of how it went:

Judging by the amount of rice cereal on Bean, I can’t be certain how much he actually swallowed.  Our plan is to try again today (since Sunday got away from us) and hopefully introduce some more flavor (vegetables) later this week.

Saturday morning, we did our typical trek to the coffee shop and grocery store with baby and dog in tow.  Odd how such simple things can bring so much joy

Other than those fun filled events, I spent my Friday taking care of errands and meeting a friend for drinks at Joya – nothing says an enjoyable afternoon like a glass (or 2) of champy!

What simple things are bringing you joy?

What’s a good second food for Bean (after rice cereal)?