SLAM Film Series

This Friday we had a wonderful evening with great friends at the Outdoor Film Series hosted by the St. Louis Art Museum.   It was also James' half-birthday!!

Every Friday the Art Museum stays open late.  But in July there's a really fun opportunity to see the museum, go to a Food Truck festival & watch an outdoor move in a gorgeous setting!  How fun!

Art Hill  

Left:  LULU's Local Eatery  I had the sweet potato falafel & their specialty 

lavender lemonade! I was wonderful!!! 

Right:  Seoul Taco  James had tacos but the beef was korean seasoned.  

Very delicious.  I'll always be true to Tex-Mex but he loved them! 

You can't pass up dessert!  I for one disbelieve anyone who says that cupcakes are last season.  I hope they're around forever!  Please read the description for "Drunken Pig" above!  

Our cupcakes!  I got Vanilla Caramel Toffee :)  On right ~ the brave soul who tried Drunken Pig! 

Due to the weather looking like it could rain any moment (and the movie was Roman Holiday not Princess Bride like we thought) we decided to skip out early & head to the rooftop bar at the Moonrise!  So fun I hope we go back soon!  And if you're in STL looking for a very eclectic boutique hotel with an awesome bar check them out! 

Back to School

Today I spent all day in Continuing Education for my Insurance license.

OMG how time crawls when an 8 hour lecture is not relevant to your life.

I was quite surprised at how quickly my behavior today reverted back to college-esque.  What time did CE start? 8 am.  What time did I wake up? 7:30 am.  :)  I also wore super comfortable clothes... I did have a 30 second argument with my self about yoga pants vs. jeans.  I was totally prepared to rock the yoga pants but my left brain kept reminding me, "Every time you're at CE there are usually a handful of people from The Firm there.  Do you want them to see you in yoga pants?  Last time one of your Partners was there!"  "But I don't think she recognized me!"  Oh, that crazy internal dialogue.  I'm pretty sure a good 15 of my morning routine was packing my tote full of food & things to keep me occupied during the day.

Pretty much the only saving grace of the day (besides the iPad, who am I kidding?) was the instructor.  He is OLD and says CRAZY stuff :)

"If your pager goes off, please step outside to handle it." (I'm sorry, is it 1995?)

"Did I make all this crap up, carrot breath?"

"Medicare don't care about you!"

When he was taking role he asked, "Why are you sitting on the back row by yourself?" and I said, "So my iPad can stay plugged in to this outlet" and he said, "I don't even know what that means, but ok."

The morning session was titled "Medicare" and the afternoon "Annuity Suitability" but it was really a lot of people complaining & then getting the instructor rilled up so he would go on a long tangent/rant about Obama-care or market crashes or government spying or a random socio-policial topic.

However, I did get all my fav blogs added to bloglovin', figure out what I'm going to use my ULTA coupon for, added a lot of things to my Nordstrom wish list, read every article possible about the royal baby & grabbed lunch from one of my favorite places Pastries of Denmark.  They give you a small cheese cake with every order!  All in all I was happy with the outcome of my day :)

New Summer Recipes

For some reason late spring / summer puts me in the mood to try new recipes!  I love cooking & experimenting in the kitchen! Maybe it's all the new fun looking seasonal produce or the fact it's not dark when I get off work anymore & my body isn't telling me to go to sleep :)  James enjoys cooking too, and although we are working through the "two chefs in the kitchen," it is great activity for us to enjoy together!

~Salmon Packets En Papillote~

I love cooking in packets!  So easy to prepare & clean up :)  I improvised from several websites using what we had on hand.  I also learned that this technique is called "en papillote" ~ how fancy! I am never saying packets again!

1) Coat foil (or parchment paper) packet with olive oil
2) Season salmon filets with salt, pepper & spice mix from Trader Joe's Dukkah
3) Layer lemon slices, salmon, lemon slices, chopped garlic & scallions
4) Drizzle olive oil & white wine on top
5) Seal up the packets like little tents with room for steam
6) Bake at 425 for 15 minutes

The seasonings made all the difference!  Lemon & pepper is perfect for summer :) 

 The side dish ~ Roasted Asparagus

The finished product!

~Grapefruit Cocktails~

I used a margarita recipe as my starting point.  In Texas many places will have grapefruit margaritas and I was craving one!  I could not find ruby red juice in the store :(  that would be my preference... but in the mental debate of best flavor & squeezing juice by hand vs. less flavor & drink sooner, the latter won out :)  If you do have fresh ruby red juice nearby, please use it!  Without the ruby red the drink was good but tart!  I enjoy a more tart beverage over sugary in the summer.

2 oz Grapefruit Juice
2 oz Tequila
2 oz Lemon Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Tbsp Lime Juice

My sweet cousin got us a party glassware set with wine, martini, beer & shot glasses!  It also included a fancy shaker/strainer with recipes on the side!  It was perfect for making the cocktails :)  Thanks Kara!

~Simple Syrup~

I wish this was a food group.  Or socially acceptable to drink on it's own :)  There are 1000 variations of a simple syrup recipe, I wanted to make lime for my tequila cocktail, but in MO it's hard to find produce sometimes and the lemons looked considerably more ripe.  I plan on making a batch of tea to use the rest of it with (if there is some left over!).  Simple syrup seriously takes 10 minutes & is the best 10 minutes you'll ever spend!  Not only do you get to lick the spoon :) but putting it in drinks vs. sweetener or sugar is INCREDIBLE!

Recipe credit:  Martha always knows best!

1 part water
1 part sugar
1 lemon zested & the juice

It's pretty simple, heat to boiling, stir often, cool down, strain & enjoy!

 I don't have a teeny strainer... this is my MacGyver approach!

Ready to make cocktails & tea ! 

Dinnertime

One of my "Daily Goals for a Fabulous 2013" is to eat more dinners at the table.

I looooooooooooove eating proper dinners :)  And I got James to use a placemat!  Baby steps.  Maybe someday we'll get to use the aubergine cloth napkins we got for our wedding.

Spaghetti, homemade red sauce, Italian sausage.  James' signature French Bred.  Red wine :)

What's to Become of Me?

Monday night:
Ate a smoothie from my NutriBullet!
Watched the E! red carpet special from the SAG awards - while doing a Pilates workout from Pinterest.
Followed by a grapefruit pellegrino & a bite of cheesecake.

I'm almost back in my single gal routine!
What is going to happen to me when basketball season is over & my husband isn't working 4 nights a week??????


-- Posted From Le iPhone

James is 28!

 Happy Birthday to my sweet husband!!!!!

1)  I woke up EARLY y'all to make James breakfast!  If you've ever lived with me you know what an enormous present that was! :)   German chocolate waffles & bacon!

2)  The fire department will come change the smoke detector batteries for you.  James was so excited!  Oh, and this was scheduled... not a result of my breakfast :)

3)  We are going out for Sushi tonight!  So excited to celebrate with my best friend :)

P.S.  Thank you Amanda for the sweet birthday present! I love the earrings!!!! 

P.P.S.  Wait, this post is about James?  Oh well :)