Easta Weekend

Tony and I headed to Hutch America last Thursday for a long weekend.  It was a well overdue long weekend.  Tony had Friday off without knowing it.  I found this funny b/c he is the boss and I asked him 'don't you make those decisions?'  Apparently the employees have always had Good Friday off and scheduled it that way.  He was happy about it and even though I had to use a vaca day, I was happy too.  I think everyone needs Good Friday off.  Or every Friday for that matter. 

On Friday morning we went to the Cosmosphere.  I hadn't been to the Cosmosphere since a High School fieldtrip about 10 years ago.  Tornado Alley was the IMAX presentation and the real reason for us wanting to go.  Anyone watch Storm Chasers??  Tornado Alley is the film that Sean Casey was making during the episodes of Storm Chasers.  While I think Sean is total d-bag, we thought seeing the completed film would be fun since we were avid watchers of the show.  We were a little disappointed in the lack of actual tornado footage, but I still liked it. And I didn't have to 'close my eyes and put my head in between my legs' like they tell you to do if you feel nausous, which was a plus.

This is the thing that landed on the moon.  I don't know the name, but I'm pretty sure it's called 'the thing that landed on the moon'  (Tony will be embarrassed of this comment.)

After the show, we all headed to The Anchor.  Hutch's famous mexican joint.  It is pretty delish, but I still hold my ground that it's not as good as Delgado's (you GB peeps know what I mean). 

Then we did some shopping at the little boutiques around Hutch.  They have some adorable ones! 

Saturday we headed to Wichita for an Easter party at Kerri's.  I've never seen someone celebrate Easter with such a big stylish celebration.  There were probably 30-40 people there, gobs of food, a huge egg hunt, and a keg.  Holllaaaa!  I have no pictures, I was eating the entire time I was there. 

Saturday night in Hutch was the biggest event (besides Jesus rising from the dead of coarse).  Tony's dad is turning 60 next weekend and him and Valerie are off to Hawaii for a week.  Since we don't get to celebrate with him on the day, we threw a surprise party.  Hawaiian themed. 

Surprised.  For sure.

I have no idea how, but Jeannie had enough hawaiian shirts for everyone.

Family pic

Tony made up a trivia game that was called 'You Don't Know Dick'.  For those who may not know... Tony's dad's name is Richard.  Otherwise known as Rich... and Dick.  Except no one calls him Dick.

We all learned lots of stuff.  Things like when Rich is bored he likes to sleep, he'd want to be stuck in an elevator with Frank, and Valerie is in control of the remote.

Game time!

Shot time?

 Ahh yes, shot time.  Kim and I talked about bringing something fun to drink.  I grabbed a couple of bottles of Bethenny Frankel's Skinny Girl margaritas (they weren't all they're hyped up to be), and Kim brought a Family Tequila Shot.  And that's why I love her. :)



Blech.

Birthday Boy and Son

And a couple of group pics in closing.  One with me and one with Kim.  We were the rotating photogs.



I'm so glad we could celebrate the big 6-0 with Rich!  Errr um Dick! :)

Got Crabs?

The title might not make sense to you now, but hold your horses.

Yesterday was Administrative Professional's Day in case anyone didn't get the memo.  Every year my boss takes me and our receptionist out for a nice lunch to somewhere new that we haven't been.  This year we went to Avenues Bistro.  The new branch in Leawood at Mission Farms.  I guess there's one in Brookside, but I've never been.  I've had a little bone to pick with Avenues b/c they came in and replaced my beloved Zest.  However, after seeing their menu, I totally forgive them.  It is an AMAZING menu.  I told Tony that I need to go back at least 6 more times to try other things. 

I had kind of a hard time deciding what I should get, but a crabcake sandwich was listed and it made up my mind for me.  I would hand over my first born child for a good crabcake.  Well, probably not, but I like them a lot.  There was also a Crab & Avacado BLT that caught my eye.  Let me tell you something, that crab cake sandwich was heaven.  It was huge, but I probably could have eaten 2.  I also ordered a side salad with creamy balsamic vinegerette.  Glorious.  The Crab, Shrimp, Lobster salad with avacado and the BBQ Salmon Salad also got rave reviews.  I will defienitly be coming back to this place.  Give it a try!

Now for the second part of this post.  Last night I made crab cakes for dinner.  Yes, I already had it planned when I ordered one for lunch.  I just made the executive decision that I would eat the same thing for lunch and dinner.  Normal, right?  The thought did cross my mind that my crab cakes would probably not compare to the one I ate at lunch, but actually they turned out really good too! 

Soooo, here's the recipe.  Easy peasy!

2 cans of crab
1/2 - 3/4 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 egg - beaten
1/3 c. fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. garlic mayo (I've used regular before)
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. stone ground mustard (optional)
S&P

Mix all together and make 4 small patties or 2 large patties.  Sprinkle onion powder and cayenne pepper on the top if you can handle the heat.  Refigerate for a little bit so the patties stick together.  Broil for 7-8 minutes per side until browned and firm.  Larger patties may take longer.
Serve plain or on a bun with lettuce, red onion, avacado and tarter sauce.  With a lemon for squeezing.

Snarf

Blog Award Winner

My friend Heather post this on her blog, and in honor of this award she has given me, I'm supposed to list seven random facts about myself.
Giddy up...


1. My dad is a big traveler so I have been a crazy amount of places including - 45 out of the 50 states, Canada, England, France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.  I'm dying to go back to Ireland or Greece. 

2. I am deathly afraid of sharks.  To the point I will not swim in the ocean.  Knee deep is fine for me.  Emily keeps telling me that there are certain sharks that don't have teeth.  Well, I'm not really going to take my chances that the 1 out of 7 million with teeth would be the one to eat me. 

3. I have always wanted to go to cosmetology school to do hair.  Considered leaving KSU my freshman year (probably due to Chemistry and College Algebra).  Glad I stuck it out, even if I did change my major 3 times...

4. If you read this blog regularly you know that I enjoy the occasional cocktails.  So it might surprise you that I absolutely hate taking shots.   

5. Tony and I didn't get married in a church.  My childhood pastor married us at a ceremony downtown at the Clubhouse on Baltimore in the same room that we used for the reception.  He also called Tony, Todd, during our vows.

6. My favorite food of all time might be fried okra.

7. Tony and I's honeymoon got cut short when Hurricane Dean decided to make an appearance in the Dominican.  We had to leave 4 days early and didn't have trip insurance.  Talk about a bummer.  I told Tony I would float back on a board, but he didn't let me try.  I cried the whole way home.  Yes, I'm still bitter, thanks for asking.

I believe I'm supposed to pass this award along to someone else, so my choice is...

Gina at Gina's Blog
and
Kala at Kala and Trent


Thanks for the award Heather!

Restaurant.com code is back!

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!  We're back from Hutch, and will post eventually on our busy weekend, but until then...

The 80% off code is back for Restaurant.com.    The promo code is BONUS and will be valid until 4/30.  This is an awesome way to get a giftcard to your favorite restaurants or to a new one you've been wanting to try.  Your total can be as low as $2 for a $25 giftcard.

I bought a few and also noticed that the ones I purchased do not expire which is another huge perk since I tend to be a procrastinator.  Make sure you read the exclusions as some require a minimum purchase and some can't be used towards alcohol.

Enjoy!!

Little Letters

Happy Friday Everyone!  This should make you smile.


Dear Ugly People,

You're welcome.

Sincerely,
Alcohol


Dear Noah,

We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.

Sincerely,
Unicorns


Dear Icebergs,


Sorry to hear about the global warming.


Karma's a bitch.


Sincerely,
The Titanic



Dear America,

You produced Miley Cyrus. Bieber is your punishment.

Sincerely,
Canada


Dear Yahoo,


I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..." just saying...


Sincerely,
Google


Dear 2010,

So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF happened?!

Sincerely,
1985


Dear Windshield Wipers,


Can't touch this.


Sincerely,
That Little Triangle



Dear girls who have been dumped,

There are plenty of fish in the sea... Just kidding! They're all dead.

Sincerely,
BP



Dear Nickleback,


That's enough.


Sincerely,
The World



Dear Skin-Colored Band Aids,

Please make one for every skin color.

Sincerely,
Black people



Dear Osama Bin Laden,


Marco....


Sincerely,
United States



Dear Customers,

Yes, we ARE making fun of you in Vietnamese.

Sincerely,
Nail Salon Ladies



Dear Mr. Gump


WTF are you talking about?


There's a little diagram on the lid that tells you EXACTLY what you're gonna get....


Sincerely,
 Jenny



Dear World,

Please stop freaking out about 2012. Our calendars ends there because some Spanish d-bags invaded our country and we got a little busy OK?

Sincerely,
The Mayans



Dear White People,


Don't you just hate immigrants?


Sincerely,
Native Americans



Dear iPhone,

Please stop spellchecking all of my rude words into nice words. You piece of shut.

Sincerely,
Every iPhone User



Dear Trash,


At least you get picked up...
Sincerely,
The Girls of Jersey Shore



Ahh- I love that last one!!

Gina's Bridal Shower

Emily and I threw Gina a bridal shower this past weekend.  It wasn't a typical bridal shower with bows, brunch, cake, games, and taffeta.  This was more 'our style' of a shower with booze, appetizers, and most importantly no games.  The day before I slightly panicked and sent Gin an email saying 'you don't want games, right?' to which she politely responded 'I don't care it's up to you' and then I said 'well, I don't want games for you so there will be no games' and she came back with 'Oh Thank God!!' 
Glad we were on the same page.  Did you all follow that?  Turns out when I told people that day there would be no games, everyone's response was about similar. 

So we had lots and lots of food.

Here's the run down.

Chicken Salad and BLT sliders

 

We had some Itailian Skewers with mozz cheese, salami, tomato, and olives drizzled with some balsalmic vinegrette, and then the shrimp cocktail.
Lindsay brought up Crab and Lobster Fondue -courtesy of Mr. K's.  YUM!!! 
Here's the sweets...

Gina's Bridal Shower lollies and wedding cake cookies from Connie's cookies.

Best damn cookies in the world.  Can you tell they are monogrammed wedding cakes?  Tony didn't know what they were and some people I heard referred to them as bells.  At least they tasted good.  I ate about 5.

We had beer, wine, and sangria for the bevs.

 ....and I found these gems which I thought were perfect for the occassion:

Gin confirmed that it was okay to put them out.  Normally I would not advertise the word 'shitfaced' at any type of shower, but it was Gina.

Sisters!  Obv.

After presents were opened and we had a few more cocktails, we decided to head to the Waldo area.  Random decision, but we wanted to go somewhere different and I'd never been to the raved about Well bar.

So to The Well we went.

Sheesh, I'm albino

Where's Kayla??

Christy was on fire.  She kept ordering new beers when her's looked like this:

 Hince her looking like this the whole night:

Lindsay did some of this:

Which led to this:

And being the wonderful friends we are, we then used her as a picture prop for awhile.

Until the door guy kicked us out.

Patrick our foreign cab driver, drove us home safe and sound, and even let us control the radio.  I'd say it was a successful event.  Happy Shower Gin!  We love you!

Tushy Tuesday

To tide you all over before I get to the post on Gina's shower, I thought I would leave you with this...

Here was Tony's view before he went to bed last night.

That's the cutest dog butt I've ever seen.

Friday Dog Date

In preparation for throwing Gina a shower this weekend, I hired a maid to come deep clean the house.  I talked to her at 11:00 and she said she would be going over to the house in a few minutes.  I made the executive decision to take Margo to daycare for the day so the lady could actually get some cleaning done.  Not a new fact, but Margo hearts attention.... and eating the cleaning attachments to vacuums. 
 
So at 4:00 I got off work, picked Marg up and we headed home.  As I pulled up to my house I realize that Janet's car is still in my driveway.  What?!  She has been there FOREVER!  I know my house wasn't that dirty!  At that exact time, Emily called to see if she can bring over the booze she bought for the shower.  I told her I'd just come and get it since I didn't want to unleash the white dog onto our new cleaning lady... just yet.  Unfortunately (for me not Dave) Em had to go pick up Dave from the airport so I couldn't pass time with her and Rev. Gina was at happy hour, and oh ya, it was raining out so I wasn't about to put Margo outside in the mud anywhere.  So I decided just to go home and see how much longer she would be. It couldn't be that long right?  I left Marg in the garage and walked in to her in the kitchen with all of my spices out of my spice rack and cleaning each one individually.  I about died!  I was laughing so hard and saying things like 'oh wow! I didn't realize you were going to clean all of that!'  And other things like 'I don't think I've ever cleaned that/those.'  Including, but not limited to my candle sconces on the wall, on top of the refrigerator, the closet floors, and even the fireplace.  Then I understood why she had been there so freaking long... every piece of anything in my house had been thoroughly cleaned.  I apologized to her about underneath the couches b/c I'm sure that wasn't a pretty site.  She said she found about 17 tennisballs.
I could hear Marg in the garage scratching on the door.  I'm sure she was super confused as to why I just left her in there.  So I told Janet I would leave so she could finish.  She said it would be another hour.  What?!  Seriously, what am I going to do with a dog, while it's raining, for another hour?

Well, we went on a date to McDonalds.

Cheesebooger, Cheesebooger, Cheesebooger.

And sat in the parking lot and had deep meaningful conversations about life (and squirrels).  For an hour.  I'm now her new favorite parent. 

More to come on the shower... I need pictures.  Friends?  I need pictures.  Thanks.

Pouring from the Heart

Tony and I were invited to Pouring from the Heart, an event benefit for the Oncology Dental Support Clinic at UMKC.  We went last Thursday and it was pretty amazing.  It was the first time we have gone so we weren't sure what to expect, what to wear, etc.  I played it safe with a black cocktail dress and was glad I didn't wear anything more casual.  Some people were in full blown gowns - wowza! 
Here's the rundown...

We showed up to the Weston and a silent auction/cocktail hour where they were serving champagne & had a vodka bar.  The people we were with ordered dirty martini's and I was intrigued.  I've always wanted to like them and not sure why I don't b/c I love olives.  The bartender told me to order it 'extra dirty' (I feel dirty saying that), but I guess that means they add more olive juice.  That = less vodka for those of you keeping track.  So I pulled the trigger and ordered it adding extra juice and extra olives.  Apparently that night I really liked dirty martini's...and the next morning I hated them.

We all sat down and I took a look at the menu.  It listed a 5 course meal and wine pairings for each.  I casually slid my martini to the side knowing I'd better saddle up, it's going to be a long night.  More on the food later...

A speaker starting talking about a VIP table that you could bid on.  I'm still not sure what that included since we were all getting food and drinks anyways, but everyone had bid cards and she started the bid off at $4,000 for the table.  Wth?  Maybe they all got diamond earrings under their chairs.  Knowing I did not have $4,000 and if I did I sure as hell wasn't buying a table, I wasn't really paying attention to the bidding and my back was turned in that direction.  I was looking around for anyone I might know and I saw some people a couple of tables over.  You know where this is heading right??  I raised my hand in the air to wave and say hi and the speaker was like 'maam are you bidding?  Where's your bid card?'  Well, I don't hear her and I'm still waving and smiling, oblivious to the world.  The girl next to me grabs my arm and pulls it down.  My whole table was like in slow motion 'Noooooo!!!'  Then I realize what just happened.  I was completely embarrassed, not to mention our whole table almost killed me.  Later on, the people I was waving to came over and said 'that was almost the most expensive wave ever'. 

Back to the food.  I took pictures don't worry.  I was like the homeless girl at the table that had never seen nice food before.  I kept telling my table 'sorry, I have a blog.'  Blog friends, you understand right??
So here's the list of the coarses, wine, and my thoughts.  I actually stole the menu in my clutch so I could remember the courses in detail.

The Starter (or Amuse Bouche as they called it)
Cranberry poached shrimp and a bloody mary shooter
Wine: 2008 Shannon Ridge Sauvignon Blanc

-Insert picture here- 

oh I ate this one too fast to take a picture - sorry, the word shooter is in the description, what do you expect? Just know it was pretty.  And tasty.

Salad
Beet and goat cheese salad - hearts of palm, roasted red and yellow beets, candied walnuts, citrus champagne dressing
Wine: 2009 Windsor Vineyars Viognier Sonoma Valley

Remember how my camera sucks?  Well this salad did not suck.  It was outstanding!  I actually ate beets and liked them, that should tell you how good it was.

Entree
Pan-seared diver scallops.  English pea puree, red and yellow grap tomato confit and lemon oil
Wine: Dominique Cornin Macon-Chaintre
(are any of you even following these words?  I don't know what half of them mean)

It was alright.  I thought I liked scallops, but the more I have them I think I don't.  Tony's always said he thinks they have a funny texture and I agree with him now.  I kinda felt like these might have been under cooked, so that made me nervous.  I ate them anyways... duh.  Wouldn't want to be rude. 

Intermezza
Mango Sorbet

I don't know what Intermezza means, probably to clense the palate or something fancy like that, but I'm thinking it's like an early dessert. 

Main Coarse
Broiled beef tenderloin- horseradish and blue cheese gratin, artichoke ragout, broiled spring onion, bordelaise.
Wine: 2007 Youngberg Hill Jordan Block pinot noir

I guess I started eating before I remembered to take the picture.  I was on like my 4th glass of wine, give me a break.  This was really really good.  Tony and I both raved about it.

(sorry to any vegetarian's out there... you are probably vom'ing from this pic)

Dessert
Spumoni Bavarois with chocolate accent with hazelnut fuilertine, carmel and creme de banana.
Wine: 2007 Toscolo Dolce Moscato

It was pretty and delicious!  The wine was a port wine, which I am not a fan of.  I think I gave mine to Tony. 

Overall it was an amazing dinner and I learned a lot about wines.  Something other than drinking red with all food groups.

And now for some pictures of people.  Here's the girl that kept me from bidding on the VIP table.  Thank you.

And here are the people who brought us.  Had a lot of fun with them! 

Hopefully we will be invited back next year, I don't think I had that many dirty martini's to get the boot.  Had I won the VIP table, it might be a different story.