Hydro-Spiking It

On a recent (of many) trips to Lowe’s, we picked up some herb plants.  These little guys’ new home is now one big blue planter sitting on a table in the corner of our balcony/deck. 

A few days ago, I ordered some HydroSpikes in the hopes that they would keep our herbs alive while we’re gone for 6 days.  They arrived yesterday and I filled them up and stuck them into the pot last night to try them our before we leave this weekend.  One night and one morning later and it looks like it might work.  Only problem might be finding a water reservoir big enough for those little suckers (pun intended). 

Stay tuned for updates once we return on how the plants do!

One more fitting card!

Ahhhh.  Summer.  Memorial Day.  Temps back in the 90s.  It can only mean more time outside, shorts, tank tops, bathing suits and the pool.  Along with the bathing suit...more time working out.  I can't just say that its the bathing suit season motivating me to get my butt in shape...but a wedding in 5 months from today kinda helps too ;) 

Separately though, during an afternoon visit to Lowes to pick up some wedding supplies today, Ryan and I wandered to the garden section to get some plant food for our rose bushes that we planted last week.  Then I wandered into the Herbs section.  We ended up leaving with 4 different herb plants, a planter, a huge bag of potting mix, and an additional watering can.  Oh and some spray paint to repaint the planter...they only had black, but I wanted blue :)

I can't wait for my porch herb garden.  I've tried this before.  Many times actually.  But the difference here is that these will be outside instead of inside.  I'm hoping this will be the key to my gardening success!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  

I kid, I kid

There were just too many hysterical cards to pick from.  This one seemed fitting since we’ve finalized flowers and lighting recently.

Go Big or Go Home (Broke)

Of course, I tend to take things to the extreme so when it came to eating in Vegas – I had picked Joël Robuchon’s for Wednesday night and then Guy Savoy for Thursday night.  After some thinking, I swapped out Guy’s for é by José Andrés…that was assuming we could get a reservation.

é has 2 seatings per night with 8 seats at each.  It’s José Andrés’ restaurant within a restaurant concept like he does at minibar in DC and Saam in LA. 

For é, you make reservations via email one month before the night you’d like to dine there.  I’ve heard they’ve changed it now to where they accept reservations up to 3 months in advance now.  Once you’re set, you get a reservation form to confirm your spots and they even mail you golden tickets (a la Willy Wonka) to set the stage for your ‘dining experience’.

I was able to snag two spots for Thursday night’s 5:30pm seating.  I have to say, while Robuchon was definitely a great dinner, é was an amazing experience.  Experience really says it all.  Sure, there were some downers – the price, the lack of cooking, more just plating the dishes by the chefs, and lack of communication about the menu (even though the chefs told us that upfront), but overall…it was for me, one of the greatest meals ever.  I understand why they have to do it the way that they do and I’d really be nitpicking to come up with those downers.

It made me want to order some liquid nitrogen, buy syringes to make spheres, and go to culinary school.  And the fact that Ryan really loved it and had a great time too…that just goes to show it was really cool.

Our Seating Arrangements for the Night

They offer alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings with dinner – We opted for one of each.

There were 11 ‘small bite’ dishes that came fast and furious.  People were even told that they shouldn’t go to the restroom during these courses since they’d probably miss 3 courses while they were gone.

I honestly couldn’t pick a favorite.  It’d be super close between the chicken oyster, the rice cracker and cheese macaroon, the chicharrones, or that weird apple blue cheese meringue thing.  Or maybe the cod sandwich.  Fun tidbit: Ryan thought the spherical cava was the best ‘jello shot’ that he has even had.  He even wrote that in the guest book for Jose to read :)

Then came the entrees.  At first, Ryan and I had doubts that we’d be full after our dinner here.  Clearly, we were wrong. 6 entrees later, I was almost ready to throw in the towel.  Again, tough to pick a favorite, but I definitely enjoyed the ham and chickpea soup, the turbot with fried bone marrow (that Ryan called Tater Tots), and the squid.  The mushroom soup was pretty tasty too.

I was so ready to wrap up for the night, but we still had 7 or 8 dessert items left.  The flan was good, but my favorite had to be the Pan con Chocolate.  It was frozen cocoa powder with some frozen bread pieces and olive oil along with some frozen cream as well (I think!).  Regardless, it was so good I almost wanted to eat Ryan’s.  The bozcocho was great too…and it was make in the microwave!

Here is a copy of the night’s meal that they give you as you’re about to call it a night.  Overall, what a great night.  After dinner, we left the Cosmopolitan and headed to the Mirage to catch Cirque’s Beatles’ Love show.

All You Need is Love…and some yummy food!

My Dream (A 3 Tiered Bread Trolley) Comes True

Since Ryan and I aren’t planning on taking an official honeymoon immediately after our wedding in October, we decided we’d take a mini-moon in May.

After some thought on where to go, we settled on Vegas.  Ryan and I always have a great time when we go and since it’s been a few years since our last trip out there, it was an easy choice.

Once that was settled, I knew my goal was to get Ryan to partake in some of Foodie Vegas.  With such a selection of outstanding restaurants in Vegas, I figured it wouldn’t be too hard of a sell to get Ryan to visit one…or two ;)

Since the moment I heard about the bread cart at Joël Robuchon’s, I knew that I needed to go to Joël Robuchon at the Mansion in the MGM Grand.  Winner of Michelin's Three Star, Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five Diamond, and Wine Spectator's Grand Award.  And on top of that, he was named France's Chef of the Century.

And the man was said to serve some mean bread.

So there you have it, me + bread + a sixteen course degustation option on the menu…I was sold.  I just had to sell Ryan.

Luckily, I have been talking about wanting to go here for YEARS…no joke…YEARS.  And I had the “but its our honeymoon” card this time…and it worked!  Granted, I was told that I would NOT be partaking in the $425 per person 16 course extravaganza, but I was ok with that because luckily the bread cart comes with any menu selection…not just the bank breaking option!

So reservations were set for Wednesday, May 2 at 5:30pm (early, I know..but the man only has like 15 tables in ‘The Mansion’ and the only other available option was 9pm)

Side note to anyone else who plans on going – When you make your reservation, you’re entitled to a free ride to/from dinner in their gold limo.  We didn’t ask about hitching a ride until well after our reservation was booked and by then all the limos/spots were taken.

So on to dinner!

The restaurant is towards the back of MGM Grand situated between L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (its less formal twin restaurant) and the KA Theater.  As soon as you walk in, you forget you just walked off a casino floor.  It’s almost Alice in Wonderland-ish with the black and white checkered entryway floor, the plush purple couches/chairs, and lots of curtains and chandeliers.  We sat ‘outside’ in the indoor garden area with a window view looking into the Mansion.

After placing some drink orders and then our dinner orders, the bread trolley arrived.  There must have been close to 2 dozen types.  Did I mention it was 3 levels?!

Next up, the L'Amuse-bouche of cherry gazpacho with sheep ricotta and pistachios

Then our entrees of Duck and seared foie gras with sweet and sour cherries, fresh almonds and Spiny lobster grilled with mustard sprouts, herb sabayon

And then…dessert

And then another dessert

And then the mignardises trolley!  By this point, I was stuffed, but the waiter wouldn’t think of giving me my plate until I had picked enough to fill it up.

And for the ladies, you get a take home bag with some more dessert.  Sorry, fellas…hope your woman shares :)

In the end…it was definitely a fine dining experience.  I loved the bread and dessert carts, but this is definitely a once in a blue moon kind of dinner for us.  Loved the food and can now say we’ve dined at a three-star Michelin restaurant which will not happen again for probably a long while!

Newest Addition

A few weeks ago, we welcomed into our household a Nespresso Citiz coffee machine.

While I have really enjoyed having it around, Ryan has been the one who has really taken to it and has gotten a lot of use of it.  Our household milk intake has definitely skyrocketed.  It's been a fun addition and I'm looking forward to frothing up some soy and almond milk soon!

Things Worth Paying For

A while ago, I was talking to a friend about certain things that were just worth paying for.  You know when you go to the store and there is a can of pre-minced garlic or a tub of pre-made mashed potatoes.  At what point do you pay for the convenience instead of doing it yourself. 

(Now I should also mention that this just applied to store bought products.  I also recently had a similar conversation about services instead of goods.)

I’m someone that always says “I can make that myself” and I’d probably say my track record for successful outcomes is a good 50/50.  The other night though, I came across another item that falls into the ‘I’m just going to buy it next time’ category: Artichoke Hearts.

I don’t even really like artichoke hearts, but I’ll add them to my salad every now and then when I come across them at a salad bar or two.  But now I know if I ever want to make homemade artichoke dip, use the canned hearts. 

Steaming the thing wasn’t too bad (especially because Ryan did that part), but the pealing of it to get to that itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie-heart…not worth it.

Flower Update

I've been told that I haven't been posting enough wedding updates!



Well, here is one about flowers. While we don't officially have a florist yet (some potentials are in the mix), we have settled on some flowers. One of them being Garden Roses. I just love how they smell and I love how they look. There are so many varieties of garden roses and I have no idea what kinds will be used in our arrangements, but I'm excited to see and smell them.

Where is the time going?

Somehow this wedding is a little over 6 months away!  195 days to be exact.  (Eek...we're into the 100's)  Not sure where all this time disappeared to...

Up until now, Ryan and I have been very lackadaisical about this.  Sure we've done some things here and there, but we haven't used any of the wedding checklists or calendars yet.  BUT...I think it's about time we start putting our 'Project Management' skills to work from our work lives into our personal lives! 

Ok, people...so be on the look out for some Save the Dates soon.  And an up and running wedding website too.  Get excited.

Spring Cleaning Starting With Kitchen Organization

The Container Store is a dangerous place.  The past few times I've been there, the place has been packed with people.  That has probably been the only reason why I haven't walked out of there with carts of purchases.

For some reason, the place was pretty empty this past Sunday afternoon and we were able to walk around the entire store without having our personal space invaded.  Our visit all started when I said that I wanted some organization in our kitchen.  Specifically I wanted the storage space under our island as well as some other cabinets to not explode whenever I tried to move/find/remove/add something.

Ryan being the Get 'Er Done kinda person that he is immediately picked up some cabinet sliding drawer thingabobbers.  We even purchased one to specifically hold pot lids...the whole reason I was getting fed up to begin with.  Just purchasing that one lone piece would have been good enough for me, but I'm quite pleased with the others as well.

As for me, I picked up a cabinet organizer for some spices.  I'm still on the lookout for the perfect spice organizer...hoping to come across some nifty magnetic containers.

Other than that...I also purchased some home office stuff.  And some super colorful and fun filing folders  :)  I figured if I was going to be working from home, I might as well try to be clean and organized about it!