Life as a Dill

France

Had the extreme fortune of spending 8 days in France at the end of September.  Spent 6 nights in idyllic Honfleur, then a whirlwind 2 nights in Paris before heading back west.  Missed Denver and Finn like crazy.

Met awesome people, spent time with a friend I hadn't seen in way too long, and ate crazy-good food, including lots of cheese, bread, and macarons ;-)

More pics can be found in my Flickr album.

au revoir

 

Summer Vacay

Had a dreamy time on our short little summer vacation which included stops in Newport, RI; Cape Cod; and Boston. We didn’t have a plan, just drifted from one place to the next. Even left home on a whim, throwing a few things together before taking off the following morning.

We struck the small-town lottery on Cape Cod, spinning the roulette wheel to end up in the idyllic town of Chatham. Amazing beaches + fresh seafood + quaint little shops + abundant hydrangeas = perfect lazy beach town. We all want to move there.

After strolling around Newport and cruising along the seashore, we serendipitously stumbled upon a kite festival at Brenton Point. This place was amazingly beautiful, with the rocky coast and sailboats peppering the ocean.

Denver even took Finnian out for a little stroll:

That evening, we shared a fresh lobster roll and homemade clam chowder, purchased right next to the beautiful ocean in Chatham.

Finnian’s toes then met the ocean:

"Brrrrrrrr!"

Getting down to business with the bucket and shovel, on the “elbow” of Cape Cod in beautiful Chatham:

Strolling around the Cape Cod Inflatable Park, a crazy place we happened upon. We actually found it the night before, but about 15 minutes before they closed. Finnian cried when we drove away, shouting, “play!” over and over again. :(

Saying “hi” to and petting the ocean creatures at the New England Aquarium in Boston Harbor:

More photos of our excursion can be found in my Flickr stream here. Still relishing in our family outing, which we can easily repeat in a weekend since everything is relatively close by :)

Christmas 2009

Ohio!

I am late on blogging because we got back late Sunday afternoon, unpacked, crashed, then each had a busy work week. Now it is the weekend and time to relax—wrong! We had to take the Equinox in to the dealership to get a few problems checked out, then we had to clean our messy place that we had neglected all week. Pretty soon we’re off to a little cookout, and then tomorrow is the first of our 2 birthing classes. Not complaining, especially after having a whole week off from work, but I prefer resting on my weekends :) On Tuesday of last week, we embarked on the 8 hour drive to Mansfield, Ohio. We visited with relatives on both sides of the family for 5 days, and had 2 baby showers (in the same day)! Of course, it rained for the cookout/shower held at my parents’ house. I always manage to pull a rainy day off when I want nice weather. But we still had fun! Highlights of the trip included eating at Schmidt’s in Columbus (it has been 8 years since my last giant cream puff!), getting photos taken with the family, a tapas feast, dinner with Denver’s family at a yummy Italian place in Mansfield, and seeing my niece and nephews: Natalie, James, Gary, and Aiden. I’ve included some pictures below. I never manage to take enough, and need to change that… The baby quit my mom made: The lovely cake my friend Angie made: Dill-side shower: Aiden: Gary: James: Natalie:

July 4th weekend trip to NC/SC

I'm a little late on this post because I caught what seems like the plague on my flight back to NY. I haven't had a cold since December 2007 and have been feeling terrific though my pregnancy up until now. This cold is really kicking my butt! After 4 days, I think things are finally starting to look up. Still feel pretty awful, but I'll take what I can get. Well, the trip was fun, since I didn't get sick until after I got back. I got into CLT late Thursday. Heidi and a very excited Gary met me at the airport after a delayed flight, then we met up with Joel and their friend Kurt at a tapas bar. On Friday, we slept in and then went shopping for fresh ingredients for our own tapas feast that evening. It was amazing! We made chickpeas & chorizo (my favorite), homemade salsa, lemon chicken with garlic, potatoes with aoili, garlic mushrooms, and a chorizo tortilla. It was way to much food for so few people, but so worth it. For dessert we had vanilla bean ice cream with sugared strawberries & whipped cream and a batch of Butterfinger blondies (see one of my previous posts for the recipe). On Saturday, the 4th, we woke up, still full from the previous night (eesh). We visited a couple of stores, then got ready to go to the Charlotte Knights game. We got to the stadium 2 hours before the game so we could tailgate. That was fun, but fire ants spoiled our fun (ouch!) so we had to move our chairs to the steamy parking lot to avoid being ambushed. The game was fun! The Knights won 11-2, and had an 8-run inning that was very exciting. My only complaint was that it was sold out and the funnel cake line must have been an hour wait; needless to say Heidi and I did not get one. The fireworks show after the game was great, and I got some fun pictures. I didn't have a tripod, so I decided to have fun with my camera and take some abstract photos! Sunday came and it was time to go already. Denver got back into Newark airport from Texas less than an hour after I did, so we met up and drove back home together. That was nice. Now, I'm concentrating on getting healthy since we're going to Ohio on the 21st. Baby Dill is getting tired of my constant nose blowing and coughing and has been kicking up a storm for the past several days! Tapas feast: Charlotte Knights Vs. Durham Bulls: Silly Gary: Fireworks fun:

Las Vegas

Denver and I are back from our wonderful trip to the desert. It actually ended up being a little longer than we anticipated due to snow in VEGAS… not New York. Because LAS does not have deicing equipment, a little bit of snow meant a cancelled flight for us, and another 24 hours on the strip (please don’t feel sorry for us). We had so much wonderful food on our trip. We’re not big gamblers and only played the penny slots with loose change that we have been saving for the past several months. But boy did we eat well. On Sunday evening after checking into our remodeled room at Paris Las Vegas, we headed over to the Renaissance Hotel armed with a $75 Restaurant.com gift certificate for Envy Steakhouse. Denver indulged in a special 4-course menu, while I opted for the Spinach Salad with Fried Goat Cheese, Pancetta and Warm Bacon-Balsamic Vinaigrette (major yum) and the Envy Signature Tasting which consisted of Filet Mignon, Braised Beef Cheeks and a Seared Scallop. They also brought out 4 special salts to season our meals, one of them being green in color and very smoking-tasting. We were extremely impressed with the meal and service, which was a nice welcome to Las Vegas! On the cold, rainy Monday we headed over to Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Caesars for our next culinary adventure. Denver ended up ordering Japanese Kobe Beef Carpaccio for his appetizer, and wanted another one when he finished it. It was his favorite dish of the trip. As for me, I ordered a thin-sliced pink lady apple with some sort of soft cheese. This was topped with some crisp greens and ice wine vinegar, which all melded together into a very refreshing and delicious course. This was probably my favorite dish of the trip as well. For our entrees, we both choose something very unorthodox for a gourmet restaurant. Denver got a burger and fries while I got sausage and kraut (or more specifically, Choucroute Garnie Royale). Both were outstanding and made our tummies very happy. To finish, I ordered some Chocolate Monkey tea (which was chocolate and banana flavored!) and some crème brûlée. Denver almost had to roll me out of the place when we were finished. On Tuesday, we decided to take a breather and eat a less-fancy meal. It still ended up being great! We went to Jean Philippe Patisserie at the Bellagio, famous for their chocolates, elegant desserts, and huge chocolate fountain in the entryway. We each got a deli sandwich, while I couldn’t resist and also got a “Chocolate Imperial” along with some truffles. The dessert was decorated with edible gold leaf and was out-of-this world delicious. Wednesday was what we were planning on being our final night in Vegas, so we had a reservation booked for David Burke in the Venetian. In the cab on the way over (we didn’t want to walk because it was wet and SNOWING), we received a message that our flight was cancelled, and we were rebooked for one 24 hours later than the original one. Score! We went on to David Burke where I ordered the Crisp and Angry Lobster Cocktail for my appetizer, while Denver ordered some more Kobe Beef Carpaccio. The lobster was spicy and succulent—although very messy! I was pleased when they brought out some hot cloths to clean my hands with when I was finished. Both of us were feelin’ seafoody for our entrée. Denver ended up getting seared tuna (which was cooked perfectly), while I got seared salmon. Yum, yum, yum. When the dessert menu arrived, I thought I knew what I was getting (cheesecake lollipops with bubblegum whipped cream), but of course they all looked good so I changed my mind and got a chocolate egg filled with brownie, ice cream, and all sorts of other yummies. Denver ordered a peanut butter dessert that was surrounded by a pineapple-banana sauce. When the server brought the check out, he also brought over some strawberry cotton candy. Loved that final touch! I adored this restaurant. As our bodies were still trying to comprehend all of the culinary wonderfulness of the previous few days, we ended up back at Jean Philippe Patisserie at the Bellagio for dinner on our last night. Denver wasn’t all that hungry so he had a nice bowl of fruit, while I got some veggie quiche and another chocolate dessert: the Yule Log. It is a good thing that we don’t live near a place like this because I would be much larger in size if we did. We did a whole lot of other things rather than eat, although this post so far doesn’t suggest that! On Monday we took advantage of a sweet military discount and saw Cirque de Soleil’s Mystere at Treasure Island. It was so, so impressive, and I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did. It is amazing what some of these people can do with their bodies—some of it didn’t even seem real. Other than that our time was spent hotel-hopping and just taking in the sights. We ended up not going to Fremont Street just because it was cold the entire time we were there (highs in the 30s and 40s), so it seemed like we were still in New York. We were very glad that we kept our winter coats with us for the trip. There was one downer to the trip. On Tuesday morning, I got a phone call from my mom to learn that my Uncle Jim had died suddenly and unexpectedly. He was only 67 and healthy, and they don’t know what caused his death. I was sad not to be able to make it back to the funeral, and thought about my aunt and cousins a lot for the rest of the trip. It is hard that it is so close to Christmas, and also the second death on that side of the family in just 2.5 months. I’ll miss him a lot. And so ends our adventure in chilly Las Vegas. We’d like to go back, but we don’t know when. In the meantime, I need to lose the 5 or so pounds I put on during the trip :)

Army-Navy Game 2008

I'm back from a whirlwind 28 hours in frigid Philadelphia in more-frigid New York. Unfortunately, Army lost 34-0 in the 109th matchup. The game was a neat experience and I'll likely be back for more of them in the future! As I am still thawing out, a new soup recipe sounds good today. More on that later...

Almost Vegas, Baby!

Just ordered tickets for Mystere at Treasure Island (we got a sweet military discount) and Defending the Caveman at the Golden Nugget.  We didn't see any shows the last time we went to Vegas together, nor did we travel to Fremont Street.  Gonna do both this time around! Getting excited... :)

New hotel choice

Just changed our hotel reservation from the Monte Carlo to Paris, Las Vegas.  We've heard there's a lot of construction around the Monte Carlo right now, plus we want to try something new at a great place on the strip.  Less than two months until our trip!!