Happenings (vii)

1. Breaking news: I finally tried a new recipe last week! Though I am certain you aren’t sitting at the edge of your seat anticipating recipe posts these days, it was refreshing to change things up. Mama Bender had once made this Pistachio-Crusted Chicken, and it was so good that I had to try it out for myself. I followed the recipe exactly – using panko bread crumbs – and was pleasantly surprised by how well the crust held together. Bobby claims he is not a Dijon mustard fan, but he loved this dish.

2. On Valentine’s Day, Bobby planned a surprise meal that included…a candy appetizer. Yes! This demonstrates that he knows me well in two ways – the first being the candy, of course, and the second being that only the promise of a secret dinner would prevent me from polishing off the entire bag of candy by myself, so there was plenty left for him to enjoy as dessert, too. 🙂

He really pulled out all the stops, and I was amazed when I sat down to this yummy dinner of bone-in pork chops (that link was the recipe he used) and perfect mashed potatoes with a bit of the skins mixed in, which was a delicious idea. Kudos to my hubby on a really great surprise!

My card choice for Bobby this year was much less of a surprise…but it was pun-tastic.

3. I made it a goal this past weekend to clean out my office, which admittedly had become a bit of a disaster area. I won’t even try to justify these piles with an “organized chaos” excuse because I had no idea what all was in them. What began as a way to remove clutter from the rest of the house during the holiday season snowballed into a five-minute search every time I needed a pen.

Yikes. Fortunately, I took after pictures to show that order has been restored. Though there is still one stubborn box left in the corner to go through (all in good time), everything now has a place. Side note: Can you spot the typewriter pictures and paperweight, as well as the 1930s antique my friend Lauren gave me? And that’s not even all of the typewriter-themed stuff I own…

4. Despite all the drama surrounding the Winter Olympic games in Sochi, Bobby and I have really enjoyed watching this year’s athletes. We were bummed for Shaun White, but excited for Kaitlyn Farrington and Kelly Clark in the snowboard halfpipe events. Watching Meryl Davis and Charlie White when the first ice dancing gold medal for the United States was awesome after 17 years of training together. Noelle Pikus-Pace winning silver in the women’s skeleton was very cool.

The U.S. vs. Russia men’s hockey was thrilling, and the U.S. women’s final against Canada promises to be equally so. Obviously I’m biased for my home team, but every event has been so exciting to watch, whether the U.S. is a top competitor or not. Have you been watching the Olympics? If so, what are some of your favorite moments so far?

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5. A couple of weeks ago I attended my first ever “Canvas and Wine” event. There are a lot of other names I’ve heard for these, like “Bottles and Brushes” or “Sips and Splatters.” Ours was far less alliterative but no less fun in concept: you bring a bottle of wine, they bring the canvas and paint to show you how to create a masterpiece. And I say that with confidence because once you’ve indulged in the BYOB aspect of the class, everything looks like it could belong in a museum. 😉

I am about as artistic as I am good at staying organized (see desk “before” photo above for reference), and was therefore very happy with our model to work from. The instructor said they had done Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night” a few weeks back, which wouldn’t have turned out well. But these circles, I could handle. You can see her version in the background, and mine in the foreground.

Not too bad, right?

Bobby said he liked it, which was a nice way of saying it had turned out better than expected. We set it aside for a week before I asked where he thought we should put it. Suddenly he said, “I know exactly where it should go!” He took the painting from my hands and raced up the stairs. I followed him, unsure of where he was going with it until he got to our bathroom, and it all clicked.

You can imagine that in between fits of laughter, I gave him a pretty hard time about his location choice. To be fair, though, there had been a nail in the wall since we moved in just waiting for something to be hung on it – we just hadn’t decided what yet. And, as Bobby pointed out, the painting fits perfectly and brightens the room. Plus, we’ll get to look at it every day. He’s good. 🙂

6. Last but not least, they released the final Divergent trailer recently. Did you see?

I am so pumped for this movie to come out in a little more than a month!

What’s been happening in your life lately?

Abrazos,