sad sack

dave and i were playing with moz on monday of this week. we have balloons all over the house left over from my surprise party (more to come on that later) and he LOVES to play with balloons. he would jump and try to bite it and hit it up into the air. well apparently he hadn't recovered enough from his surgery last november, because he woke up tuesday and didn't even use that leg. he's now back to being confined (no walks or anything) for 2 weeks and hopefully it was just a sprain and the whole surgery thing wasn't in vain. that would suck. oh and part of his back/ass that they shaved for the surgery, the hair isn't growing back! apparently dogs can get alopecia from shaving them. great, poor guy might have a bare butt for the rest of his life! we're going to have to get him some pants and a radio flyer to ride around in.
and the other thing that sucks is moz decided to chew up the little clutch i bought from madebyhank. so i am a sad sack too.

vintage mirror for our bedroom

i picked up this mirror at a thrift store the other week. i was going to spray paint it, but decided it looked fine as is. and it works perfectly in our bedroom in a spot that had been waiting to be filled.

oh and it was five bucks. i love thrift stores ;-)

new orleans trip-the rest

we were there the week before mardi gras so we were able to enjoy the festivities without all of the craziness. the parades were fun and i got a ton of beads, i didn't even have to show any skin.



we managed to be on bourbon street for the best day of the year, there were dogs everywhere! we missed the parade, but got to see lots of awesome dogs hanging out on the street and in bars.

this drummer was ah-mazing.

so was this donkey.

new orleans trip-the buildings

i love how every city has it's own unique combination of architecture. new orleans has the classic and unique, as well as the gritty. i'm not sure which i love best.








i especially loved the tile floor in fred rick's, the best po boy shop we went to.

new orleans trip-the food

dave and i took a nice, long weekend to celebrate my birthday down in new orleans. the location was hugely based on the great food you can get, and the fact that it is much warmer than here! my birthday trips are usually somehow ruined by snow and/or ice. not this time! we even dodged any flight delays.
no trip is complete without at least two visits to cafe du monde. they only really have two things, coffee and beignets, but they are both fantastic.


we had breakfast at mother's one morning, we got there before they even opened, so we were second in line, so there wasn't much of a wait. the breakfast was GIGANTIC. i felt bad because i only ate about 1/3 of it, if that.


we also ate amazing catfish po boys at Fred Rick's on st. james, had a great lunch at ignatius on magazine, which was a long wait and we had to eat outside on a chilly day, but the food was well worth the wait. for my birthday we went to restaurant august and had the 5 course tasting menu, which turned out to be 7 courses because they screwed one up and had to fix it, plus gave us (and everyone in the restaurant) a seafood-custard-with-foam-in-an-egg-shell thing. it was strange, but good. overall the dinner was really great, but really heavy, and i even subbed the sweetbreads with a salad.

happy valentines day to me

i bought myself a little something at a craft store last weekend. i've been coveting the madebyhank bags for months now, but they are hard to get! they always sell out on etsy before i can buy one. you can see why, they rule.

wax flower and ?

i bought some flowers at the grocery store this weekend. i love wax flowers (had them in my hair at my wedding) and also love this not-sure-what-it-is plant. it came packed with eucalyptus, so maybe it is some type of it?

chicken soup for the soul

i made some chicken soup last night for my sick husband. it was delicious.
the main recipe was this one by rachel ray, except i made some changes and it took way longer than 30 minutes. i used a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, it was only $5 and came with a free side, thanks to the lovely cashier that told me about the coupon special.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
Salt and pepper
2 cartons good quality chicken stock (about 8 cups or so)
1 rotisserie chicken
1/2 pound wide egg noodles
A handful fresh parsley, chopped
A handful fresh dill, chopped
Directions

Pick apart the rotisserie chicken and set aside the meat. Wrap all of the skin and bones in cheese cloth.

First chop all your vegetables, I usually forget this part. Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Add chopped veggies and saute.

Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper, to taste. Add stock and cheese cloth to the pot and raise flame to bring liquid to a boil.

Let simmer for about an hour. In the meantime, boil water and cook noodles until almost fully cooked. Remove the cheese cloth of bones and add cooked noodles, chicken meat and herbs until heated through (about 5 minutes.)

Remove bay leaves and serve.


i wish i could send some to you mom!