Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Sunny with a chance of showers! October 12, 2010

Filed under: Food,Friends,Happy — Kelocity @ 9:14 pm
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My oldest friend, Linsay, is getting married in February and this weekend was her surprise bridal shower near Boston. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world so I booked a quick trip back home for Columbus Day weekend so I could celebrate with her and see some family.

It was a GORGEOUS weekend in Boston… warm breeze and sunny skies, the perfect New England fall weather everyone always hopes for. It was just beautiful. I always wonder why people in New England put up with the cold winters… but it was weekends like this that definitely make it worth it.

First thing’s first… Linsay’s shower! There was more food than I’ve ever seen at a single party. And it was all prepared by Linsay’s aunt and mom. It was just amazing. The morning of the big party, everyone pitched in to get everything ready.

Here’s just a sampling of some of the food we had. The theme was “autumn” and everything fell right into place. It was just lovely.

 

A variety of homemade muffins
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Scones
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A Cheese Ball that was made to look like “logs” and a “pumpkin”. It was GORGEOUS.

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Her colors are aqua and brown… so these cake bites were PERFECT! (And delicious!)
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My mom made these. They were frosted sugar cookies made to look like bacon and eggs! SO CUTE!

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Tuna Salad stuffed pastries

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Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits in cute bride and groom shot glasses!

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Mimosas
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Cream Cheese Cups
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Shrimp Cocktail in Shot Glasses

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The highlight (in my opinion) These are Nilla Wafers and chocolate chips that looked like Acorns!!! How AMAZING is this?!
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A cheese block that looked like a pinecone. (They thought of EVERYTHING!)
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Chocolate dipped spoons (for coffee) with autumn sprinkles. (Funny story, Linsay found one of these TINY sprinkles on the floor a few days before the shower and asked what they were. I think her mom made something up, but close call!)

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You guys, there was SO much more than this. There were sandwiches, bacon, omlettes, spiral ham, potatoes, casseroles, fruit, desserts, breads, cookies, egg salad sandwiches on crackers…. you name it…it was there!

But enough about the (impressive) food spread… What about the Bride to Be!?

She was incredibly surprised, she really had NO idea!
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She thought that her brother, his wife, she and her fiance were all going to ‘take couples pictures’ together. And she INSISTED they all wear matching black shirts and tan pants. HAHA luckily they’re  all great sports and did what she asked. It was really funny when they all showed up wearing the same thing though.

They are just adorable (Note: Nolan, her fiance, said he “forgot” his tan pants at his sister’s house, where the shower was) which was ‘why they had to stop there first’. Nice work!
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My mom and Linsay’s mom have been friends for over 20 years!
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Me and my mom!
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The beautiful bride to be and I!

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Boy did she get a lot of gifts!
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She is one lucky girl!
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Jess did a great job with the ”Rehearsal Boquet’ with all those ribbons!
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Linsay’s amazing friend Tricia (who just got engaged!)

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With me too!
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We played a few fun games including ‘dress up the bride with toilet paper, ribbon and tape.

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Look at these beauties!
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It was an incredible shower, they really outdid themselves. Linsay, I can’t wait for your wedding!

Cheers!

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The Fall Festival of Love October 3, 2010

Irving and I started a tradition a few years back that we appropriately deemed The Fall Festival of Love. 🙂 It’s a day to forget we live in Los Angeles, go out, find some pumpkins and enjoy some fall themed festivities.

A quick history:

2005 – Faulkner Farms
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2006 – Riley’s Farm
It rained that year and we didn’t feel like trucking through the mud to get a pumpkin. We tried!
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2007 – Underwood Farm
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….we skipped a few years after that…

2010 – Underwood Farm (Again!)

This time, we went with our friends Erika and Timmy = built in photographers. 🙂

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It’s a huge farm up in Simi Valley (with lots of pumpkins).
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It was “Public Safety Weekend” there, so they had tons of firetrucks and cop cars and fun stuff for the husbands kids.
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One of the highlights was the giant ‘pumpkin drop’! They had two firemen climb a HUGE ladder and then they dropped pumpkins filled with candy to the ground! (Kind of like a Fall Themed Pinata?)
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There they go!
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1…2….3…
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GO!
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And then all the kids ran over to get their candy!
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Including that big kid in Orange!
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They have a big farm too, for all the adults kids to enjoy.
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Next up was the Corn Maze!
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Seems easy, but it was quite confusing!
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How do we get out?
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But finally (with the help of some little kids), we made it to the end!
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Nice job, babe!
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And then… it was pumpkin time!
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And some pics in the patch!
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Farmer Irving wanted to drive the tractor!
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Random Fact: Irving knows how to juggle!

Somewhere in between all the fun, we had lunch. There were so many great options to choose from. I started with the spiraled yams!
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YUM!
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I also got a fresh roasted corn on the cob!
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Irving got a French Dip with Chili Cheese fries! (I think he’s fist bumping the camera!)
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Unpictured was the fresh tomato (right off the vine) that I ate as a snack later. There is nothing like a fresh garden tomato, let me tell you.

And that, my friends, was the 5th Annual Fall Festival of Love!
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Dinner #7 September 24, 2010

Filed under: Cooking,Food,Happy — Kelocity @ 10:02 pm
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As part of tonight’s I hate cooking dinner challenge, I made another recipe from my archive that I’ve been DYING to make.

Introducing… Sweet Potato Shepard’s Pie. I found this recipe on Tina’s ‘Trading up Downtown’ blog.

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When I got home from work and started whipping ingredients out of the fridge, Irving said, “Are you sure you want to cook again tonight? You really don’t have to!” I said, “what, are you sick of my cooking already? It’s only day 7!” haha But I think he was just impressed that I am still going strong on the dinner cooking front.

Truthfully, I’ve been LOVING this cooking challenge. I’ve actually begun to enjoy it. Cooking is my time in the kitchen to unwind. Irving hooked our computer up to the tv in the kitchen, so he’ll come and hang out in there too and we have a blast spending an hour just catching up and getting some things done.

I found that when I have a recipe to follow and have all the ingredients I need, it’s actually pretty easy. I thought that cooking would kill my night and I’d have no time to get anything else done, but I’ve actually been MORE productive. I get the dishes done while things are in the oven, and a few other things here and there.

But I digress.. back to my pie!

Yesterday’s meal was meat-free, so I think Irving was happy to have a manly meal tonight. He really liked it.
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Even though this recipe has paprika, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper, we both agreed it could have used some Frank’s Red Hot sauce or something to kick it up a notch. Next time…
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And just for fun… I took Erika and Timmy’s dog out for a walk today. He’s so cute!
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Night!
PS… are you guys sick of my dinner challenge posts? 14 days is a long time, huh?

 

Dinner #6

Filed under: Cooking,Food — Kelocity @ 7:22 am
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I’ve been collecting recipes from blogs and websites for years and I keep them all in a folder in my gmail in case inspiration ever strikes. Well this week it did, and my of my recipes this week came from this collection.
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Tonight’s comes from Healthy Tipping Point. I made her Santa Fe Casserole.

I added some fresh Cilantro to the top as it baked.
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As it cooked, I made a fresh homemade guacamole.

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And rolled it all up into two burritos.
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Irving was more artistic with his.
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Irving missed the meat in this meal, but I was stuffed to the gills. Next time, we’ll make this again as a side dish and pair it with some steak tips or grilled chicken, but it was great.

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PS I love the library. Today I stopped and headed for the kids section to get some books on Egypt. We’re planning a trip and what better way to learn than with pictures! hahaha YESS!
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Cooking Challenge Day 4 September 21, 2010

Filed under: Cooking,Food — Kelocity @ 9:46 pm
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Tonight, I paired a simple meal with a somewhat harder side dish.

We had good old fashioned fettuccini! (This was the refrigerated kind, not the box kind, so that makes it more gourmet, no?)
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And hey, there’s a sprig of Parsley in there…gourmet indeed!
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On the side, a new soup from Harry & David. We bought a sampler pack when we were in Vegas a few weeks ago.
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Tonight’s was the Tuscan Bean.
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It was really thick and juicy. You have to add diced tomatoes, chicken and some other things to it. It was almost like a stew. Yum.

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And it was all paired with some Trader Joes Garlic bread… because we just love our carbs.
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Buon Appetito!