As if Saturday wasn’t fun-filled enough already…
…we got a surprise on Sunday that Bailey was really excited about – an impromptu visit by my parents to help us with our house, namely the yard.
But first, I headed out for Caitlin’s bebe shower.
Caitlin’s shower was at FABO, which was a gorgeous venue – so colorful!
The shower was put together so well – from the cool straws to the great refreshments. I really liked the game they played where Caitlin had to pull random baby-items from a bag and guess what they’re used for. I had fun guessing what they were used for, too, since I hadn’t seen most of the objects before. Hey, maybe if I attend enough baby showers, I won’t be quite so baby-clueless.
And do you see that hat on Caitlin’s head? Her mom made that baby-shower-themed-hat for her! I talked to her about how she made it, and she was so proud of her creation. It was really sweet and a fun touch to the shower.
After the shower, I headed back to the Chic house to help out in the yard. We pulled weeds and did basic clean-up. You know…stuff most people know but our house-clueless selves need guidance doing.
I treated my parents to dinner to thank them for their help. We went to Mama Ricotta’s.
The rolls were hard to resist. I definitely had a couple, dipped into their red pepper olive oil.
And for eats, we got 2 family-style entrees – this penne with chicken, broccoli and a lemon cream sauce. It came out piping hot with al dente penne. It was mouth-wateringly good (as in, my mouth is watering thinking about it while I blog…yum!).
The family favorite was angel hair with meatballs, which i really enjoyed, too.
My parents really loved the meal, which made me happy. It was the least I could do before they had to head back home for the night.
Reader question: What did you do this weekend? Anything fun?
Since my 3 year project at work ended last Friday, hubby and I decided to take a long vacation. Since I get a good number of vacation days, but not an enormous one, a one week vacay is pretty long for us.
But first…in very exciting news, I FINALLY upgraded my camera!! I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous Nikon D7000. If anyone’s interested, I can do a post about my research process and why I chose the camera I did. I’ve wanted to get this camera since about December 2010, but I’ve just wanted to wait till I was sure in my decision and had the money saved up.
I decided my very first photo with the camera should be of (you probably guessed it) Bailey!
Anywho, hubby and I took off Sunday Asheville-bound with visions of relaxation and other mountain-vacation visions in our head. The drive was pretty short, and I decided to make the trip productive by reading through the D7000 guide. The book is pretty large, but I tried to focus on the sections on where all the buttons were since they’re very similar to my Canon. It’s more a matter of figuring out where everything is! I’m not looking forward to the learning curve, but I am looking forward to enjoying my new camera.
Once we got to the bed and breakfast, we were greeted by the assistant manager…and cake…and wine.
We decided to enjoy a quick snack on the porch and then take Bailey on a walk through the gardens.
I researched the restaurants of Asheville in the last couple weeks using yelp.com and your recommendations on my blog’s Facebook wall. I made a list of the places I really wanted to visit, but I also like local expertise. So, I asked the assistant manager for recommendations, and we decided to visit one of this.
We hit up Vicenzo’s – a Northern Italian restaurant. They had an upstairs and downstairs and let us choose. We wanted a place that was casual and relaxed, so the downstairs fit the bill.
I shot all the photos on this post with my new camera. Taking photos during the day was pretty straightforward, but working the new camera in extremely low lighting was a bit more of a challenge. I couldn’t quite get it to focus the way I wanted.
Anywho, we were greeted with fresh-baked bread, and olive oil with parmesan.
I once saw Giada make a delicious looking dish on Food TV – arancini. Balls of risotto stuffed with cheese. Yum. I knew we had to order them when I saw them on the menu. They had sundried tomatoes and provolone – tasty!
For the main event – Chicken Marsala, which was great…and I even ate the mushrooms!
And for dessert – tiramisu – made on site. It was fantastic!
But one of the best parts of the dinner – enjoying the music of the piano man – Steve Whiddon.
Steve, without my even requesting it, played several of my favorite songs:
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Let It Be
- Music of the Night
And Steve even gave me a CD of his original songs! I can’t wait to listen to them.
After dinner, we headed back to the bed and breakfast to relax. Ahhhh….
I made one of the easiest and tastiest things recently – garlic knots. I’ve been enjoying these things for years, but I never really thought to try to make them at home before. I don’t even have a good excuse, I just never tried it for some reason. Good thing I have Eat in Month to inspire me to try new things at home.
And it turns out…if you use store-bought pizza dough, garlic knots are so easy a caveman? no, a husband? anyone can do it.
But first, I’d like to share a couple random Bailey photos. Here’s Bailey modeling the new Duke shirt his grandmother bought him.
And here he is just after carrying the newspaper in. Yup, he fetches our paper and the mail!
But, enough about Bailey, back to the garlic knots. Hubby and I had another pizza night at the Chic house recently, and the ball of dough hubby got from the store was gigantic. I decided it was too large to fit on the pizza stone, so I tore off a couple pieces of dough to experiment with these garlic knots. Plus, I figured we could snack on these while the pizza baked.
These things were so simplistic, there’s really no need for a full-on recipe, especially since I used store-bought pizza dough, so I’ll just share some of the basics. I’m betting a lot of you already know how to make these, so for those who do, feel free to chime in (with a comment) with your tips.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- store-bought pizza dough
- butter, I used about 1 teaspoon for 4 garlic knots – try to sit it out for a bit so it softens
- 1 teaspoon chopped parsley (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- a sprinkle of salt, to taste
- feel free to add other toppings of choice – maybe oregano, red pepper flakes, or rosemary
To make the garlic knots, I basically tore off four small pieces of the dough, roughly 1/4-1/3 cup each. I took each piece, rolled it into a long log and tied it into a knot. I baked them in a pre-heated 350 oven (on a cornmeal dusted pizza stone) for about 20-25 minutes, until nice and golden brown on top. Bake time will probably vary from dough to dough, and you may want to check your dough for suggested baking temperature, too.
I placed the butter, parsley, garlic, and salt in a bowl and topped it with the hot garlic knots. I used the heat of the freshly-baked knots to help melt the butter. I tossed the garlic knots in the bowl until they were evenly coated.
And that’s it.
I think I actually liked the garlic knots better than the pizza we made with the rest of the dough. Anywho, I think these would be fun to make the next time we’re entertaining. I bet kids would like helping the adults form the knots, too.
Ooh…just had another good idea – cinnamon-sugar knots! Maybe I’ll try those next time.
Reader question: What are your favorite garlic knot toppings?
Since we spent Thanksgiving with my family, we planned to spend Christmas with hubby’s. Luckily, we had enough vacation days left for 2011 to mostly work out our plans. I was hoping to take the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, but the numbers didn’t quite line up for me, though, I won’t have to work, too much (yay!). That’s the downside. The upside? We had enough to squeeze in a quick trip to see my family before Christmas!
{Mom, dad, sis}
{Christmas tree bokeh}
Mom was really proud of the garland she put together this year, so I’m sure she’ll love me sharing some photos with you guys. You won’t see this featured in a magazine or anything, but she’s only recently gotten into doing crafty things. I think it looks fantastic!
{Bailey Claus & the Christmas tree; Dad carving the turkey}
My parents opted for a turkey breast this year. I don’t really like the wings or legs, so it worked for me!
We had a good family effort for the dinner. Mom made the turkey and gravy…
…dad made the mashed potatoes (and stuffing)…
…sis made the cranberry sauce and sweet potato fries with 2 dipping sauces (maple syrup & nuts and herbed sour cream – inspired by Emeril}…
….and I made something my family reluctantly agreed to try – brussels sprouts! Even my health-freak dad was hesitant to try the brussels sprouts. My sister told me later that they were the only vegetable he didn’t like (and all this time I didn’t think there was a vegetable he didn’t like). Apparently, he hadn’t had them since he was a youngster at the boys school where they likely served over-cooked, mushy sprouts. Ew! I was hoping to convert him (and the rest of my fam) with my Simple Brussels Sprouts recipe (shredded and sauteed and not mushy at all). And convert them I did. Even Sis (who is opposite of my dad and pretty much hates all vegetables) liked them.
{My plate}
And I had to save room for one of the oatmeal, butterscotch, chocolate chip bars my sis loves baking. They’re a Pampered Chef recipe and deeeeeeeelish. I enjoyed mine with some milk in one of Sis’ s cool Asian mugs.
***
And along with some Christmas gifts, my parents sent us home with some of their old furniture they don’t want any more. Woohoo! Our empty living room is going to be looking much better after this! I’ll have to share some updated living room photos once we get things set up.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! 
