dijous, de març 30, 2006

March Showers

So I'm back to the grind after a much-needed spring break. I was so stressed with work, had a cold, and just needed a little time to relax. I got just that, even though I did a ton of correcting and school work but at least it was on my own schedule. Although not everything got done, a satisfying amount did.

Austin's stepmom threw his cousin and me our first (joint) shower. It was a lot of fun and made me feel more bride-like but I almost felt guilty getting a lot of stuff. Austin and I tried to register for things that we either needed, wanted to replace, or that were a fun treat that we wouldn't buy ourselves. It was hard because we both love cooking and already have tons of kitcheny items but when I started going through the old things, it was clearly time to upgrade. I gave away a huge box of the old items on freecycle to make room for our gifts. We have a policy of clearing out old items when we get something new to try to avoid becoming pack-rats.

Now we're coming up on a weekend with no plans. This never happens for us and we're really looking forward to laying around, sipping wine, and doing some trip planning. Though we've been accused of being "lame," we both just feel so much more recharged after a weekend at home and dammit, May through June are going to be a huge blur so why not? Enjoying the small things is so good.

divendres, de març 24, 2006

Last Official Day of Spring Break

For Spring Break, I've been home and loving it. I had ideas of getting lots of things done and I did in a way, but not all the stuff I had planned on. For example, I was going to address all the invitations but that just didnt happen. I did, however, grade 40 compositions on Wednesday. Normally that is the kind of thing I am starting on a Sunday night. In addition to the comps, I also did some general wedding planning and errand running. There is still a lot I haven't done but to list it here would be depressing.

Today I'm going to do a bit more grading and then I'm going shopping with my brother's girlfriend to help her look for a dress for the wedding. I'm also going to shop for some hostess gifts since I have my first shower tomorrow and there are four women hosting it!

This afternoon and much of tomorrow will be busy which leaves me with the dreaded Sunday Night. I always hate Sundays because there is so much to get ready for the week and even though it isn't technically a workday, it feels worky. As a kid, I remember my mom always saying how she hated Sundays and I couldn't figure out why, it was still the weekend. But now I know. Even my brother suffers from a case of The Sundays; he sleeps badly without fail every Sunday night but is fine the rest of the week. This is my motivation for wrapping up as many loose ends as possible today because the Sunday after a vacation is even worse than a normal Sunday.

On a better note, this week off has been great and I feel so much better about a lot of small things that were troubling me (mostly wedding details, surprise). I feel relaxed and calm. And excited, we bought our honeymoon tickets and are going to Europe for a few weeks. Probably doing Paris-Bourdeaux-Barcelona, now that is something to look forward to!

dissabte, de març 11, 2006

Louisianne's, Etc.

While in Madison visiting my sister and her husband, Austin and I had to get back to Louisianne's. Louisianne's is located downtown Middleton, WI and at this point, is our all-time favorite restaurant in the whole world. How nice that it's located in Wisconsin! Anyway, every time we go there, conversation is practically non-existent because all we do is take a bite then ooooh and ahhh. I took a few pictures of our food although by the time dessert came around (white chocolate torte), we completely forgot about the camera and just dove in.

The first appetizer we had were some little crab puffs that were to die for. The picture didn't turn out but I did get one of the crawfish cheesecake which we spread on perfectly crisp-chewy baguette slices.



After the appetizers, we were given a choice of soup or salad and all opted for the shrimp-corn chowder that had just the right amount of zingyness. It also had a spice that I associated with Ethiopian food but unfortunately neither I nor the waiter could place it.



When we finally made our way to the entrees, they arrived in all their glory. I had swordfish topped with crawfish meat and glazed with a ginger-something reduction. On the side were the best garlic-basil mashed potatoes I've ever had. I wanted to avoid them because they were "filler" but it was impossible. I can't remember the rest of the long, poetic description the waiter gave me so I'll just let the photo speak for itself:



Austin had a surf and turn combo that included a lobster tail and a pork tenderloin on a bed of vegetable slaw and dressed with a flavorful sauce with hints of apples. Austin reported that the tenderloin was like butter and could be cut with a fork.



By the end of the entrees, we were all beyond full and the idea of dessert seemed out of the question but Austin urged the four of us to share. The white chocolate torte was indeed outstanding, so much so that it escaped being photographed. Having the appetizers, chowder, entrees, wine, and dessert was an exercise in hedonism but we only do it once or twice a year and it is so, so worth it.