Quick Dinners

So, last week I started a new job and I realized that it is going to be difficult to make dinner each night. On some nights Husband and I will both be coming home late and we won't have a lot of time to cook. So I will have to figure out some short cuts and learn some quick dinner menus. The other night we tried Trader Joe's Braised Short Ribs that is already made and all you do is heat it up. I know this sounds terrible to serve my Husband for dinner, (don't judge me!), but in a pinch it worked out great! It was very tasty and the best part about it, was that it was quick. I served it with a side of healthy veggies to make up for the "instant" dinner. I will definitely keep this in my freezer for those nights we both come home late.

Hollywood Bowl 2010

I was so excited to see the Hollywood Bowl calendar for this summer in the mail. I love summers in LA and the Hollywood Bowl is a big part of why. It will still be dark for a few more months, but here are a few performances that I'm looking forward to: Regulars: Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, Mozart nights, Carmen, Tchaikovsky Spectacular, John Williams New: Planet Earth Live, Rent

1st Day of Spring

Spring is officially here and I'm determined to develop a green thumb. I have a few plants on my balcony and a few mini plants that I keep indoors. My Mother often brings me mini rose plants which are sweet for a few weeks, but shortly thereafter wither and die. I'm determined not to let this happen to these. I will keep you updated. I've also planted a few Calla Lily bulbs on my balcony and will take pictures once something breaks through the soil.

Birthday Dinner

This is the last birthday post. I'm trying to squeeze it all in before it turns midnight. Tonight my parents came over for dinner to celebrate with me and J. My mom wanted me to take it easy today and relax so she prepared dinner at her house and shuttled it over at dinner time. I was just in charge of the decorations. I love these Martha Stewart paper lanterns. They take a second to put up and take down, but they add a lot of zest. I just hung them from the ceiling with varying lengths of twine, but they are really cute when clustered around the chandelier.

 

My mom had a really fun idea for dinner tonight. She created a make-your-own sushi party. We had a main platter of different types of sashimi, shrimp, squid, eel, cucumber and avocado. Each person had their own rice bowl and strips of seaweed and also a bowl of a soy sauce, wasabi mixture. It is so fun and you can experiment with different creations. It is great for when people come over and you can put out whatever fillings you like. I bet a vegetarian one with tofu and different veggies would be fun and a meat-lovers could be good too. It really is up to you. Have fun with it!

Birthday Flowers

You all know how much I love flowers. Birthdays are always extra exciting because I know I'm going to get extra special flowers than my everyday Trader Joe's flowers. J never disappoints. Pretty tulips huh? Thank you honey!

Birthday Pancakes

I love my Husband so much. He always knows how to make my birthday special. Growing up birthdays were a huge deal in my home. No matter who's birthday it was, we all got presents. My parents always knew how to make our day so special. So naturally, I like to do a lot of celebrating for not just my birthday but all my friends' too. J knows how to make getting older actually delightful. Look at these adorable blueberry jungle safari pancakes he made me for my birthday! Courtesy of molds and pancake pen from Williams-Sonoma.

Birthday Promos

How cute is this card? It came in the mail last week, one week before my birthday, from Anthropologie. It's a little difficult to see in the picture, but it is a card offering me 15% off on my purchase. But it's not just a simple card. It has an adorable cupcake embossed on it with a candle necklace looped through the card. It is so sweet and it was a delight to get it in the mail. Sign up on the website and they'll send you one too!

Alternate Use for Household Items

In a post last year, I mentioned that I love scented candles and my all time favorite is the Fresh Sake candle. The jars are so pretty and they come with a lid so I thought it would be such a waste to throw them out when the candle had finished burning. It is amazing how easy they are to clean out. I burn them so completely, that when the flame finally dies, there really is no excess wax to clean up. All I do is pop out the wick and wash out the glass with soap and water. I now use them for my cotton face pads and swabs in the bathroom.

Spring is Here!

Spring is my favorite season and March is finally here! When I think of spring, I usually think of tulips, strawberries, my birthday and now my wedding anniversary. I know spring is near when I start to see tulips everywhere. It is my favorite flower (it's actually a family favorite) and Jason always gets them for me for Valentine's Day and my birthday which is also in the spring. These pink tulips are so sweet and it's fun to look at them in a fish bowl vase. $5 at Trader Joe's!