Aaron and i went to the Eastman House Oscars Party. It's fun to see everyone dressed up. Even the servers dress up. The bar tenders were Black Swan ballerinas.
Each of the food tables was a theme for a nominated movie. Like True Grit pulled pork and baked beans. I couldn't figure out why the coffee table was The King's Speech though. Each pot had a picture of Colin Firth on it. Hmmmm.
We had to pose with Oscar too... not our Oscar. The other Oscar.
We got more snow again. One of the things you have to do when you live somewhere with long winters, is learn how to embrace the snow. I love these ideas for winter parties like this winter picnic.
And how great does a skating party sound?
I have more wintery inspiration on my Winter Pinterest Board.
I got a text from Aaron asking if I wanted to go to The Melting Pot in Buffalo. I excitedly agreed until I realized there must be a catch. He needed me to help bring a loaner car back to Rochester. It was totally worth it for Melting Pot though. Right now they have a French inspired Big Night Out menu which includes Fondue à la France - a cheese fondue with baby Brie, Fontina, Gruyère and Raclette cheeses along with bacon, onions, white truffle cream and chives. BACON!
At first I was disapointed that they didn't have their strawberry basil lemonade anymore but now they have a raspberry sage lemonade - even better!
Amazingly, the same night I was lured to Buffalo with the promise of cheese, it was announced on the news that The Melting Pot is finally coming to Rochester! Yay!
More on the real reason we were in Buffalo. Aaron's Smart car still isn't fixed - not thrilled with our insurance company & their body shop of choice right now (ever hear of totaling a car for less than $2K worth of damage?). Smart Car jumped in and said to get it to their garage to get fixed right and even gave us the use of a loaner car since we have had the rental for so long. I don't think I can say enough good things about how amazing the customer service is at Smart Car.
The loaner Smart Car is white and thanks to today's snow storm, looks like a snowball sitting in our driveway.
And Sasha"s favorite color is pink!
Meet Sasha, a 10-year-old female Pit Bull mix with a beautiful grey and brown brindle coat. She’s lived with one family her entire life, but due to a new landlord, was brought to Lollypop Farm in December. Sasha is a bit confused by shelter life and is patiently waiting for someone to come and give her a new forever home. This sweet girl has lots of love to give. Show her a collar and leash and you’ll be her new best friend! Sasha weighs 50 pounds and needs to go to a home with children six or older. She is eligible for our Seniors-for-Seniors program, so approved adopters 60 and older can bring Sasha home free of charge! Come out and meet this wonderful girl, and consider giving her a comfortable retirement home!
Angel, the cat from last week, was adopted!
In January I made a list of things i wanted to do in 2011 and #1 on the list was "roast a chicken". I was torn between Martha's Crisp-Skinned Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes and Garlic-Butter Rubbed Chicken with Roasted Oranges and Red Onions. I liked the idea of crispy skin but also BUTTER. I have fresh rosemary growing on my counter and oranges didn't appeal. So I combined the two recipes.
I mixed butter, cornstarch, garlic, salt and rosemary and (here is the key part) rubbed it not only on the chicken skin but UNDER the skin. I scattered potatoes with olive oil around the chicken and popped it in the oven for 450 degrees for an hour.
It turned out delicious. Yay for first roast chicken. Next time I want to try Martha's Paprika-Rubbed Chickens with Roasted Garlic.
Colorful, funny window clings can help get you through the 17th snow storm of the season.
I love to find new interesting spots when we travel. On our way home to PA for the weekend, I was on my iPhone looking for a spot for breakfast when I stumbled upon Mr.Stickys. The name caught my attention and their tagline reeled me in... "Warning: Extremely Addictive"
We stopped for some extrememely addcitive sticky buns and coffee and then got a half dozen to take home so our family could be addicted too.
Angel sounds like a cuddle kitty!
Angel is a 10-year-old orange and white female cat. She came to Lollypop Farm because her owner moved and didn’t bring her along. Angel has a lot of kitten left in her. She loves playtime, especially with her purple mouse! This little lover also enjoys quiet time, and will make an excellent lap cat. Angel is eligible for our Seniors-for-Seniors program, so approved adopters 60 and older can bring her home free of charge! If you’re in search of a cat that thinks she will always be a kitten, loves play and cuddle time, look no further! Come meet Angel today…she can’t wait to become a part of your family!
Pepper, the dog from last week, is still waiting to be adopted.
Balloons
Flowers
Chocolate filled strawberries
A surprise!
Ooooooh
Dinner
Dessert
I think I have a Valentine's hangover.
Aaron got me the Cake Pops book recently and I thought Valentine's Day was the perfect occasion to try making my own.
I wanted to make pug pops in honor of our little "sweethearts" Oscar and Hugo. Aaron helped me with the design.
Their ears are half an M&M. The pug mask is chocolate with candy eyes and bit of pink sprinkle for a tongue.
These cake pops are vanilla with a white chocolate coating.
We also made some pink sugar cake pops.
And pink sprinkles cake pops.
It wasn't too hard making the cake balls - it just takes time.
Pug cake pops waiting for faces.
Lotso pugs! The perfect Valentine's Day treat!
I used random number generator to pick three winners of the ljcfyi Valentine's Day Little Sweet Thing giveaway - congratulations Linda, samsmom and Shannon!
I thought it was hard getting picture of two critters. Three is impossible. There aren't enough treats in the world to get them all to look at the camera at once with a giant paper heart on each head. I had to take each furball's photo separately and put them together in photoshop.
But they are really wearing big paper hearts on their heads. That is not photoshopped, although they look fake! What troopers.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
If there are tuxedo cats, then Pepper is a tuxedo dog! All dressed up and ready to go!
Pepper is a 1-year-old Pit Bull mix who weighs 44 pounds. She was found and brought to Lollypop Farm in December in the hopes she’d find a new forever home. Pepper is a total sweetheart! She’s fun-loving and playful! This girl has energy to spare, and would love to find an active family who will spend time with her doing fun stuff inside and out. Pepper enjoys playing with other dogs, but we don't know how she feels about cats. If you’re interested in meeting Pepper, bring the whole family out Lollypop Farm, including any dogs in the household to make sure everyone gets along. Please come meet this sweet, deserving girl…She just might steal your heart right in time for Valentines Day!
Here are some suggestions for a media themed Valentine's Day gift!
There aren't many albums where I like every song, but Florence and the Machine's Lungs is one.
Young Victoria is an excellent love story for Valentines. The costumes! *sigh*
This is a great book for a Valentine's gift not just because it has cute short stories from real life NY Times food writer Amanda Hesser but it has recipes from Amanda that you can try out yourself!
Here is a unique gift for Valentine's Day. Shanna Murray's wall and window decals would be great for a friend that loves to decorate. Or you could surprise your Valentine... apply it to a wall while they are out of the house and add photos and sweet nothings to accompany it for them to discover when they return.
There are several garlands, tidings and critters to choose from. Start with one or mix and match.
You can adhere them to a wall or a window. Easy to apply and removeable if you ever change your mind.
There are three matte shades and two metallic to choose from.
If you have a special message you would like Shanna also does custom decals. They are so charming bcause they look handpainted. So many opportunities for a delightful Valentine's surprise!
