I heart my friends

Tonight, we went out for dinner and drinks at the Ale House. One of my best friends, A, told me she was re-starting her blog and she decided to follow me. I won't lie, I was really happy. Having 3 followers is awesome, but having 4 is even better!

P.S. If I (as in my friend whose name starts with an I and not myself) follows me too, he'll be awesome too :) Good night!

Italia qui veniamo!

Possible great, fantastic news! I might be going to Italy come next March...woohoo!! I don't want to get crazy excited but its looking good. If it turns out, I'll be hitting Rome, Florence, Pisa, and Venice in 7 days and 6 nights. The trip is because my mom has never been to Italy and I figured before I get hitched, we should deifnately go. Thankfully I've found some amazing deals and I'm really hoping I can book this sucker pronto. Fingers crossed!

My own personal chef?

Last night D made some delicious fish tacos. I don't remember ever having tacos with fish but those suckers were good! He used tilapia, battered it in panko breadcrumbs and fried it. I helped layer the tortillas with sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce, then D placed the fish on top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

While it takes me hours to follow one recipe to a tee, Mr. D can make up a recipe on the fly. That boy knows how to create an amazing meal. I'm so lucky to have a personal chef...but hey, he at least has a personal baker - that's my one and only strength when it comes to cooking!

Epcot's Food & Wine Festival = YUMMILICIOUS

Two days later and at least five pounds heavier, the Food and Wine Festival was incredible!

During the day, we hit up Epcot for three hours of solid eating and drinking. Each country had about 2 to 3 entrees, a couple desserts, and drinks. I can't narrow down my favorite food but my favorite drink was by far the Green Tea Plum Wine Cooler from Shanghai, China. Some of my peeps said it was too sweet but let me tell you, that drink was perfect!

We left Epcot around 3, did some quick shopping, showered and chnaged for the Party for the Senses. Enter...amazing-ness!We waited about 30 minutes before they opened the curtains and made a mad dash to secure a table. With my wine glass and plate in hand, we took turns going to each station of Asian cuisine. My favorite, favorite dish was the Thai Braised Duck in a Crisp Wonton. That was incredible. I had two but I would've had more if my tummy could fit it.

There was so many good dishes, I could've eaten for a whole week. The desserts were amazing. The wine, I heard, was really good too. The last thing I had was a Green Tea Mint Iced Tea...soooooo good!

Last but not least...we met Chef Robert Irvine from Food Network's Dinner Impossible!! I won't lie, I didn't know his name but I definately recognized him. He was so nice and served us a delicious Miso and Honey Glazed Sea Bass. D wanted to take a pic with him and so did I (too chicken to ask myself) but we actually did. Of course, D ended up talking to the man for a good 15-20 minutes...he's such a social butterfly. I, on the other hand, was star struck (haha).

Yummy food, delicious wine, and H&M shopping spree!

I know, I know, I've been slacking. It's been over a week since my last post and I promised I would post the final invite. And I haven't...boo me. Everytime I remember to do it, I never have the invite on hand to take a pic. The good news is that everyone who has received has loved it. (Yay for me!)

This past week has been crazy. I'm going to Orlando for the Food and Wine Festival this weekend and I've been trying to catch up on homework. I can't wait for tomorrow...we're going to consume mass quantities of food...yummy food! And then Sunday, we're hitting up H&M. They never had one in Florida and they just opened up TWO in Orlando (what the flip?! Miami please!).

Anyways...hope you have a great weekend. I'll be coming back next week with more posts and more weight...hehehehe.

P.S. I'm working on a new design for the blog. Can't wait to show it!

Ya'll join us for a country celebration!

Let's just start this post with a :) !!!!!!!!!! I'm excited, can you tell? D's mom is turning the big 50 this year and her husband is throwing a surprise party for her. Naturally, D and I would be helping (she's a great mother-in-law) and I just finalized the invitations...woohoooo! The theme of the party is country/western and I definately wanted to incorporate that into the invites.

I created the invite using Photoshop CS3 and I downloaded the fonts Nashville and Edmund for free from Dafont. I love working with new fonts. I think it makes such a big difference. Moving on, after Google searching country/western invites, I found an invite that looked like a Wanted poster. I thought this would be a great and fun twist.

Three hours later, I had my first version. I showed it to D's stepdad and a week later and two versions down, I (finally!) finalized the invite. We're printing the invites on tan-colored paper and then burning the edges to create a rustic look. But since I'm naturally impatient, I'll show you the invite before I print it.

I'll post the complete invite (burned edges and all) by the end of the week. What do you think??

Feel good brownies

On Saturday D and I were going to a friend's surprise party and we had to bring something to eat. I wanted to make something quick and easy...and I did. I followed Paula Deen's recipe for Toffee Brownies and it was delish!

The only change I made was using two boxes of the brownie mix. Basically, I poured one batch of brownie mix, layered it with Symphony chocolate bars, and then poured the second batch over the bars. It was soooo good. And I got a lot of compliments from my friends...I'm glad they enjoyed it.

I hate chicken

Correction - I hate cooking chicken. Last night I attempted Emeril's Orange-Soy Glazed Grilled Chicken Breasts with Couscous. I adapted the recipe partially but it was relatively easy to pull off. The only exception was cooking the chicken. I'm definately not an expert and I burned quite a few pieces of chicken. But I some how managed to pull it of in the end with the help of my mom (yea!). Long story short, I need to practice cooking chicken. :)

Costa Rica, here I come?

Ever since I got engaged on Valentine's Day, I've done what any other girl like me would do...look online for everything wedding-related. Even though D and I haven't set a date yet, it doesn't mean I can't look. :-P

Taking a break from the actual wedding, today I went on a mission to find a honeymoon spot. I always look at those exotic honeymoon destinations in the South Pacific and wonder how awesome it would be to stay in one of the those over-the-water bungalows out in the middle of nowhere. Ahh, I need to wake up.

I think my ideal honeymoon would be an island with a gorgeous beach AND mountains. I don't want my days packed with excursions but I wouldn't mind a couple rainforest tours every once in a while. I've looked nearly everywhere and I'm amazed how $$$ things can get, until I found...
COSTA RICA! I've never been there but I know of people who have and it's supposebly a beautiful place that's cheaper than most locations. I went on TripAdvisor (love that site) and searched for Costa Rica. One hotel that really stuck out was the Arenal Nayara Hotel & Gardens. Let's just say this place looks AMAZING and I'm not the only one that thinks so. 200+ people have rated this placed 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

I love, love, love this place. The pics look so nice. Each suite has a view of a VOLCANO plus your own private hot tub and outdoor shower. The honeymoon package is even a great deal. For $1500, you get 5 nights, daily breakfast & lunch, and about 3 or 4 tours of the hot springs, volcano, rainforest, etc. And airfare? Only about $300 for the both of us!

I hope when the planning starts, that D will consider this. Fingers crossed!

(photo credit)

Y goes domestic! Part 2,015,867,321

It's been a while. Really. 8 days since my last post? Wow, I'm slacking.

Anyways, last night I made Lasagna Spinach Rolls. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say it was a 7. I'm starting to learn that I should not put salt and pepper on the back burner. I didn't pay attention to those essential ingredients and that's why my dish was a 7.

In terms of ease, I adapted an 'intermediate' version of Giada De Laurentiis' recipe. I added ground beef to the mix and used that in addition to the spinach and ricotta cheese filling. Long story short, cook the lasagna noodles, brown the beef, and mix the spinach, ricotta, and beef (plus a few more ingredients) in a bowl. Lay the noodles and apply a thin layer of the filling. Roll the noodles and then place on top of a thin layer of bechamel sauce (follow recipe). I usually love bechamel sauce but in this recipe it kind of got lost with the marinara/spaghetti sauce. After you're done making your rolls, line them up and pour marinara or spaghetti sauce over and top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake at 450 degree for 20 minutes and voila, all done!

Left to right: The beef browning, the bechamel sauce simmering, and the water boiling. Laying the filling on the noodles and rolling it up. The finished product baking in the oven.

Overall, I'd say it was a successful dinner. Bon appetit!