My dearest princess.

A million smooches and hugs and pooches to my gal Rachel. How do I love thee... oh let me count the ways! ;) Can't wait to show you in person! xoxoxoxo

PS Can we share some more pie this year? :) Mmm.

Evealicious.

Wednesday night, Brad and I hit Eve to celebrate our third anniversary. I've been curious about Eve since last summer when I picked up Eve's cookbook at the library... and even more so since Lisa Z. and I met her in person (foodarazzi!) this summer at the local food fest. And now finally an event worthy of a fancy schmancy meal. It would not be an exaggeration to say I loved it from the second we walked in the door.

It's cute, small, dark, and the people are friendly. We had some space for the first little while, then a slightly annoying group, including a real-life pirate, sat down a little too close... but we were mostly too wrapped up in our food to be bitter about their presence. Mostly. ;) Anyway, the meal started off delicious with a board of infused butters and bread. Obviously I wasn't going near the garlic herb butter, but I was ALL over the smoked salmon butter. I'm really not a butter person, and I use it pretty sparingly. But I would have licked this butter off my plate. Seriously. We were both a little freaked out by the guava honey butter, though.

Next up, drinks. I'm not supposed to be drinking right now, but I figured one wouldn't kill me, right? I knew before arriving that I'd be ordering Eve's special jamtini, made from vodka and Eve's mom's homemade apricot ginger jam. If I could never drink another drink but this for the rest of my life, I would be happy. It sounds weird, but it makes total mouth sense. Sweet, but not too sweet... Just perfect. I'm in love. (Yeah, I had a second one. I didn't die. [Phew.])

Time for appetizers! Normally we don't order appetizers... but it's a special night! So damn straight we're ordering the "cutting board." And I'm so glad we did. OMG. Heaven on a slab o' wood.

Baguette, raisin bread, olives, three different cheeses, two different cream spreads, three different meats... including the AMAZING duck prosciutto. I know... it does sound gross. But seriously. Butter. In. My. Mouth.

Killed it.

Now it was time to wait for the main courses. Obviously, this was a lot of food. But we took our time, enjoyed the atmosphere, and it really never felt like too much. We were still happy to see our dinners when they came. Brad ordered the beef tenderloin and accoutrements (it was really called that!). Admittedly I was too wrapped up in my food to pay full attention to Brad's... But he seemed pleased. I ordered the simple fish special, which happened to be a wild striped bass. I followed Eve's recommendation for preparation, and because I was ready to just trust her, I didn't pay full attention to what it was. Lime something? I dunno. BUT. It was THE BEST piece of fish I've ever eaten. Fishy, meaty, flavorful -- I was totally satisfied. And, honestly, how often does a piece of fish REALLY satisfy you? As a side I got the sweet potato gratin, and I was equally beside myself over that, too. Oh, and pea pods? I hate pea pods. But Eve's pea pods? Yum. I ate almost all of them!

Think we were too full for dessert? HA! We even each got our OWN! he he he Mmmm. Brad ordered the lemon bread pudding and I snagged the cold weather crumble (oats, pears, apples, cranberries)... Mine was super tasty but I honestly had a little order envy over Brad's. I heart lemon. Luckily he let me steal a few bites.

Crumbly.

I just can't rave enough. Clearly, not an every day place. But if anyone has a special occasion coming up soon, I would highly recommend checking Eve out. It makes me happy to have a place like this in Ann Arbor. They treat you well, feed you well, and we totally didn't get carded for once. We may go to TGI Fridays all the time, but they're never going to do anything special for you. I am visibly giddy about my jamtini and what happens? A giant to-go tub of Eve's mom's apricot jam appears in front of me. I'm hooked for life.

Boo!

Happy Halloween!
Hope you all have a fantastic evening.
Full of spooky, of course!

Once, twice, three times a laday...

Three years, my friends, it's been three years! Happy Anniversary to my dear dear hubby! It's hard to believe three years have already flown by, but it's hard to believe it's only been three years. So much awesomeness to reflect on, and so much to look forward to in the future. Here's to my Bradford! Happy anniversary, babe!

Now, if we were to be specific, I would guess that at this exact moment three years ago, I was smack dab in the middle of makeup orgy at our condo!

Anyway, tonight we are off to celebrate at Eve! Woot! But to precelebrate, last night I made yum preaversary dinner, Brad's choice. "I want meatloaf!" So, I give you sausage meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting. :)

Who knew that it would be difficult to find foil cupcake liners? I bring you my in-a-pinch solution:

All class here.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I didn't use cream w/ the potatoes, and I wasn't in the mood to dirty up my hand mixer. I just smooshed. I also didn't worry about making it look like real frosting, so I just scooped the potatoes on top (instead of using a pastry bag that I don't have).

I had to put my hands in. Ick.

Cooked!

Voila!

I've never made meatloaf with sausage, but I really enjoyed the different flavor. They didn't come out of the tins perfectly, so in the end they were just a plate of potatoes and meat, but who cares, right? They were yummy! A little on the dry side, but all in all, we both enjoyed and I would make this again.

To add a little green to the meal, I picked up some Chelsea-grown collard greens and dried cranberries and sauted us up a little side dish. Mmm. I tend to get impatient and undercook greens, though -- need to work on that. haha

Finally... Dessert. Mmm.

Mini wedding cakes!

Gonna wash that green right outta my hair.

Update: Despite another all-nighter (literally [thanks, stupid steroids]), I didn't make it through all four movies Friday night. Brad and I watched Basket Case, which was ok. (Brad: "Did you seriously just make me watch that? Really?") I watched Lost Boys 2 on my own, and I cannot recommend it on any level. Terrible acting, obvious ripoffs from the original, stupid storylines (extreme sports-loving vamps? barf), and Corey Feldman... I fast forwarded most of the 2nd half. Two more nights to finish the rest up!

I had grand plans for Saturday afternoon. Football day, so I had the house to myself. Well, thanks, all-nighter, for totally ruining my whole day. Luckily the dogs were sleepy, so they let me be a slug on the couch all day. I spent the whole day in what felt like a drunken, foggy haze -- still unable to sleep but absolutely incapable of doing anything requiring thought. I share this only because it was such a disappointment to lose my entire crafty day, and because I somehow managed to pull my brain out of my butt and not only survive but thoroughly enjoy this year's Halloween Bang! Seriously... Halloween, costumes, dance remix Halloween theme song, Night Breed and Evil Dead video clips... I wish it was the Halloween Bang every night. :) Flanked by my trusty Brads and the lovely ladies (and yeah for Jason and Brad&Alison -- you guys are all too cute!), I had a wonderful night. AND Halloween isn't even here yet!!

Is that your costume or your normal outfit?

Last night I was finally able to sleep, and thanks, Brad, for letting me sleep until 11 am. I feel a million times better today, and I spent the day fiddling away in "my room." Now, we all know my craft space has been through a multitude of redos... But if I haven't mentioned it yet, we finally just deemed the office my work room (which I also share with the dogs -- their cages are up there), and I was able to move out of the basement. Hooray! Not only do I not feel totally isolated from the rest of the house up there, it's warm and cozy, and I can still spread all out, too.

Yeah! ME room!

Just a quick side note for fellow REM fans -- I FINALLY picked up some frames at Ikea last week for a framing project that's been in the works since 1991.

The top magazine cover is from 1991, during the REM "Losing My Religion" era. This is when we jumped on the bandwagon, and I am so happy I held on to at least one full, intact issue of this Rolling Stone (I bought three of course!). The second cover comes full circle, from this spring, just in time for mine and Sara's road trip, and REM's new album and tour.

Back to the goods... In addition to some secret birthday surprise finagling (yeah, I'm talkin to you, Rachel and Kristal!! One more week! One more week!), I finally got started on a project I've been planning for ages. I love cookbooks, but I also love cooking magazines and rely heavily on internet recipes. So I've got scraps all over the place. I organized these somewhat a few years ago, but my folder was limited to just a few categories. Plus, it totally wasn't pretty. So today I ran over to Target, picked up a three-ring binder (oh how I love school supplies), some page protectors, and some tabbed separators, and I got to work!

I only got through the very beginning today... But I think I made a pretty hefty start! I can't wait to have everything all laid out, nice and neat... Ahhh.....

If don't get a chance to say so before Friday, spooks spiders and love from yours truly. Happy Halloween!

xoxoxo

My lucky day.

Ironic, a week before my third anniversary as a Church (and nearly three years after moving to this house), I get a "Welcome to the neighborhood, Somerville Family!" care package in the mail from, I dunno, the city? Anyway, most of it was crap, but buried in there was a coupon from Hollywood Video for three free videos. Wtf? Sign me up! I figured there would be a catch, but I sure as heck was going to at least try it out. Off I went to Hollywood. Husband-that-doesn't-like-to-watch-movies-be-damned! It's almost Halloween, so, of course, I decided I would have a little horror movie marathon and selected four movies. Up I shuffle to the counter, unsure of my sure-to-be black market coupon... Low and behold, not only was my coupon legit, I had a FREE rental credit. WHAT? Where did that come from? "Do you want to use your credit today?" Heck yeah! I grabbed my movies and scurried out of there before I could be busted for what was clearly some hinky movie mojo. So tonight is the night... It's unlikely I'll get through all these tonight, but I darn well better get through them in the next five days.

Yo, check us out!

Lost Boys 2. How can I resist? Takes me back to the days of my Corey Haim shrine. Sigh.


Teeth. Literally. Teeth. In the crotchal area. Sweet.


The Happening. Will probably suck. But we are suckers for M. Night Shamalamadingdong.


Basket Case. Absolutely will be outrageous and ridiculous. I can't wait.

Have a haunting weekend, my friends! xoxo

For my jessy poo.

For Jess. And 'cause I am ASS bored. I have known Jess my entire life. Since, you know, DAY 1. Let's see if I can say anything that would ever surprise her.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship? i guess. haha jk :) Three years next week!
02) What was your dream growing up? to be Stephen King
03) What talent do you wish you had? drawerer and/or multi-linguist
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be? are we at a bar? I'll take a red bull and vodka, stat!
05) Favorite vegetable? cucumber. I could munch on you all day! mmm
06) What was the last book you read? Lullaby by Chuck Palahahhahaniuuuuk
07) What zodiac sign are you? Leo
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where. Ouch ear cartiledge earring (...I'm this close to giving in and taking it out. Thing STILL hurts), buttish area tattoo.
09) Worst Habit? Impatience?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride? For you Jess? But of course!! (I would also piss myself in excitement if I saw you walking down my street!)
11) What is your favorite sport? So You Think You Can Dance
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? I think I manage both in moderation.
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? OMG that would be so fun!!!!! I'm giddy at the mere thought.
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you? Probs dad + hospital + near death....
15) Tell me one weird fact about you. I absolutely CANNOT spell resturaunt. See?
16) Do you have any pets? The beasts.
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly? DUDE. DO IT!!!!!!!
18) What was your first impression of me? ga ga goo goo
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary? creep ass
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? I will not give away my girlish secrets in public! Tee hee!
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience? Hello? Partner!
22) What color eyes do you have? Hazel.
23) Ever been arrested? ha ha ha ha omg can you imagine? NO
24) Bottle or can soda? Currently on a can kick.
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it? Hmmmm... buy some more work comfy pants! Ha! Save most. Take a trip!
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at? Vinology
28) Do you believe in ghosts? Enough that they scare me.
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Watch TV. I admit it.
30) Do you swear a lot? of the ass sort
31) Biggest pet peeve? Too many to narrow down.
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself? Normal.
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance? Sure.
34) Favourite and least favourite food? OMG. This is like choosing between children. Ok, mac and cheese. Least favorite? Damn! Cooked carrots?
35) Do you believe in God? Yes.
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? Come on peeps. You know you wanna.

Haunted muffaletta.

Ahh... I can't believe Halloween season is almost over already. HA! Is it wrong that I'm already sad for something to be over before it's even technically started? :) Oh well.... It's getting close, and I'm getting excited. And, of course, I can never resist the Halloween aisle at any store, and I've found a few last-minute Halloween goodies.

Haven't tried it yet, but bound to be delish.

I had one of these yesterday, and it was tasty!

I was SO excited to not only find this IN the store (had only seen it online), BUT it was ALSO on sale. Sigh.

Speaking of shopping, last night Lisa Z. and I hit Ikea... finally... after months of talking about it! I had a gift card from my bday (thanks, Melissa and Doug!), so I was ready to buy some loot! We decided to go on a weeknight, and it was the perfect decision. Take my advice friends: Ikea during the week is THE way to go. Here are a few of my favoritest finds:

Retro tins, just $2.99!

Cute as hell glasses. $6! Yes, that's a mushroom!

Mini bowl set. $3. Hello? Sold.

Finally, I leave you with a quick dinner tip! We went to New Orleans what seems like a million years ago now, and since then I have been mad craving a real muffaletta. They have it at Fishbones, and the Quarter, and neither even come close. So I'm always on the lookout for something, anything, muffalettay... Sometime over the summer, I found a little jar of actual-titled-muffaletta spread. I snagged it up. Now, obviously, it's not going to be the same, but I thought I'd give it a whirl. I finally got the inkling to test it out tonight, but I didn't want to kill myself (or Brad, who's getting over the flu) with 300 grams of fat in cheese and lunch meat, so I made a chicken muffaletta.

I sauteed up some stir fry chicken with a little salt, pepper, and oregano. I sliced two cibatta rolls in half and put some swiss on the bottom. I layered the chicken next, then topped with the m. spread. Now... this is nothing like a real muffaletta. BUT I thought it was pretty damn tasty (and easy), and it gave me enough of a hint of the flavor to continue to tide me over until we can make it back to Central Grocery again. And if you can't find "muffaletta" spread, try it just an assortment of olives. Would still be a yummy dinner!

I'm a pepper.

Last night we ate up all of Kristal's delicious booty (yeah, I said booty!), and, unsurprisingly, it was, well, delicious! Now, this is totally nerdy, but I LOVE to chop. I could chop veggies all night. (Ha! AND my grandma's name was Choppy... Maybe there's something to this....) So I'm already enjoying chopping up my peppers, but they were just SO beautiful. I love rainbow peppers. Consider my enjoyment tripled.

Even the insides are pretty!

Choppy lopy do.

I was originally going to use my wok, but, in addition to nerdy chopping love, I also love to saute (I know I know). Something about the heat and the oil and the smooshing everything around... So multiple pans and cook time and cleanup be damned. The stove it was. Meanwhile, of course, I was cookin' up a big pot of rice. I'm still not touching meat, so I'd bought a pound of stir fry chicken. Threw this in the skillet with some oil and a ton of basil and oregano. The other skillet got all the peppers with a little oil and some salt. Once everything was done, I threw it all together, dropped in a few cherry tomatoes for good measure, and it was time to eat.

The morning after... I woke up this morning, and the entire house still smelt of wonderful, delicious pepper goodness. Ahhhh.

Do the swim, do the monster swim.

This Saturday was the long-awaited trip to Halloweekends -- our first time back since 2004! As luck would have it, it was a beautiful day... kind of a curse when it comes to Cedar Point. The upside, we got to enjoy a lovely day outside. The downside, there were a milllllion people there. More people than I've ever seen there. We waited almost an hour for the Gemini, a half hour to get pizza, and still weren't able to ride the Top Thrill Dragster -- two hours is just not an option. But we had fun, everything was Halloweeny, and come dark, the spooky came out.

How can the nacho hut be out of cheese?

Waiting in line makes me crazeee.

The fright zone. Ooooeee!

CarnEVIL.

Takin' a tub.

Spooks.

It was so nice to get out of town for a day, ride some rides, do some good people watching. All in all, an excellent weekend trip.

Sunday I decided to make a big fall meal as a thank you and send off to the in-laws. I FINALLY busted out the real pumpkin. And it wasn't so bad. ;) I won't go into all the gory details -- I covered this in a blog last fall, but I reran this recipe, adding the sausage this time (I substituted Italian chicken sausage).

A gal's two best friends.

Goop.

I even made dessert -- an apple crisp with Michigan honey crisp apples (my new fave!). I wasn't thrilled with the results, so I'll skip the recipe. But with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt, it did the trick.

As for our own Halloweekends, I decided last year I was not to be outdone by the neighbors again regarding Halloween decorations. This was one battle I deserve to win. So Brad humored me and went shopping for supplies, and I've been slowly getting everything as I like it. I wish it were Halloween all year long.

Creepy spider pumpkin.

Frank-a-copia.

Yo. Check us out.

I stick my tongue out at your silly decorations.

And finally, since there is a creepy theme here.... An ode to the creepy mannequin in Aunt Sandy's dining room. Eek!