Easter Festivities

Tonight, Julie and I colored and decorated some Easter eggs, and shared a bottle of wine too! Jim thought the whole process was cheesy, but we eventually convinced him to dye an egg. Of course, he had no problem devouring them.

I Spy

...a science project.  This afternoon, I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the 7th and 8th grade science symposium at Albany Academy.  As most of you know, Julie is a teacher at the boys' school and she asked me to help out because my undergraduate degree was in science. I was more than willing to help Little Sis out!  After a long, tedious day of researching how the NYS Constitution applies to a case I'm working on, spending a couple of hours in a gymnasium listening to kids talk about their projects sounded fantastic.

Once I arrived, albeit 10 minutes late (stupid traffic and Deitz genes), Julie was kind enough to go over the grading rubric with me before I headed off to review the projects.  A few of the projects and students I talked with really stood out.  One girl learned that modern dancers are more flexible than ballet dancers.  Another duo determined that blueberry stains are virtually impossible to wash out of fabric (as compared to beets and spinach). They thought this could have future applications should a fashion designer ever wish to create an organic fashion line.  Another project struck me, not because of its merit, but because the team members reminded me so much of the "Plastics" in the movie Mean Girls.

Overall, I was really impressed with the quality of the students' presentations and posters.  I never had to develop a project to this scale until freshman year of college. It makes me think that there's something to be said for the education at AA, although it's hard to justify doling out $15,000+/year for middle school when you live in a suburban school district.  I look forward to judging again next year if they'll have me ;)

Our Miis

After setting up the Wii, Jim and I decided to create individualized caricatures of ourselves called Miis. It was so much fun trying to figure out exactly how far our eyes are spaced apart, what our eyebrows look like and finding the best hairstyles, etc.  To be honest, we probably spent way too much time playing with this feature. I love my little digital Avatar, especially when she's playing golf in a cute purple outfit!  (Unfortunately, when you take a picture of the TV it comes out backlit, but you get the idea).

We enjoyed it so much in fact that we also made Julie a Mii!  I hope we did a good job and that she isn't too angry with us ;)  In case you're wondering, you use your Mii in Mii-oriented games, e.g . Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, Wii Play, Mario Kart Wii and certain Guitar Hero titles.  It's so cool to see Julie cheering in the background while Jim and I are bowling against each other or duking it out over table tennis.

What do you think of our Miis? Do they really resemble us? Did you ever create one?

Birthday Celebration (Part I)!

Today, I woke up to heavy snow and wind. I was  instantly worried that our pre-birthday dinner plans for the night with Julie and Sean would be ruined. Things didn't really improve at all during the day as I watched the blizzard conditions from my office window.  I'm not going to lie; I was pretty devastated. Fortunately, there was a slight break in the storm around 5:00 and Julie and Sean decided it was safe enough to make the trek to our house.

From our house, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants, Mexican Radio. Despite the terrible weather, Jim and the "Exploder" (nickname for the Explorer coined by Sean) braved the trip to Hudson with all of us mindlessly chattering away in the background. I know if it hadn't been my birthday he wouldn't have taken on that Herculean task, so, if you're reading, thanks again Sweetie!

With the exception of a lunch Jim and I shared in Cozumel during our Western Caribbean cruise, I've never had better margaritas or enchiladas in my life! However, having been to Mexico twice now, I'm not such a fan of the country, so thankfully I don't have to travel there to eat authentic food!

Interior of the restaurant

Once we arrived, I excitedly began pointing out all of the decor to Julie.  Then, we delved into a basket of homemade chips and salsa and began perusing the menu.  I ordered chicken enchiladas and opted to go for the healthy side salad instead of the rice and pinto beans. I was psyched to learn that you can swap fillings and sauces, so I had one enchilada with red sauce and the other with suiza sauce. Jim had the seafood chimichanga. We both agreed  that our meals even better than the ones we had the night before Halloween. Julie and Sean both loved it too and  were excited to hear that Mexican Radio is expanding beyond NYC and Hudson to Schenectady this fall.

My enchiladas

The new addition to my kitchen gear!

When we got home, Julie insisted that I immediately open my present and I'm so glad I did. She bought me an awesome Cuisinart fondue pot with all of the accessories. I can't wait to use it! A girls night in is definitely in order (sorry Melting Pot)!

Now, all that's left to do is look forward to the BIG day tomorrow!

Holiday Baking

     Last weekend, Mom, Julie and I gave my new kitchen a work out baking Christmas cookies. Even though most of the dough was made the night before, we were on our feet for five hours straight! It was a really fun day with good conversation and lots of delicious treats. My mom and little sis, who are both much more domestic divas than I am, taught me about the amazing qualities of parchment paper, among other things, no more scrubbing cookie pans in between batches! 

     My mom also gave me one of her spritz machines -- she had acquired three over the years. It appears to be from the 1960s based on the packaging and has lots of great recipe ideas inside. I'm hoping to test it out for my favorite holiday, Valentine's Day. At the end of the day, we split the cookies three ways...thank goodness because our batch was gone by Tuesday night! There's a reason I didn't label this post with a health moniker. 

Clockwise L to R: Hershey peanut butter blossoms, chocolate crinkles, spritz, and Swedish heirlooms

 

     Even after our baking extravaganza, I still had the desire to bake more and I decided on candy cane cookies.  They are extremely easy to make once you have sugar cookie dough prepared.  All you have to do is split the dough in half and stir two or three drops of food coloring into one half.  For each candy cane, you shape 1 tsp of dough from each half and form it into a four inch rope.  Press the two ropes together lightly and twist, remembering to gently curve the top of the cookie down to form the handle of the cane.  Bake 7-8 minutes at 375 degrees to set. Let cool for a few minutes before lightly brushing with egg white wash and adding sprinkles of your choice. (I used crystallized red sugar.) Next time, I might add a couple drops of peppermint extract to the mix to make them taste more authentic!

     The recipe for the Hershey's peanut butter blossoms can be found here.  To cut down on calories, I used baking Splenda instead of granulated sugar, brown sugar Splenda in lieu of light brown sugar, light butter instead of shortening and 1% milk.  

     My mom also gave me the recipe for her amazing Swedish Heirloom Cookies. They are so tasty and only have a subtle almond flavor. They've been one of my favorites since I was a kid and, for that reason, I feel the need to share it with my readers!

Ingredients

• 1 c butter
• 1 c unsifted confectioner's sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c finely ground almonds
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 c unsifted flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cream butter, confectioner's sugar and salt.
3. Add almonds and vanilla to the mixture. 
4. Gradually blend in flour.
5. Shape dough into balls or crescents using a rounded teaspoon for each. (Save crescents for last batch as they require less baking time than balls.)
6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes. (The cookies will not be brown when done.) 
8. Decorate with nonpareils, colored sugars or frosting.

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

   

Christmas Time in New York

     Last Saturday, Julie and I woke up at 4AM and headed to the city for a 9AM show at Radio City Music Hall, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (or as I used to call it "the Rockettes").  We arrived at the bus departure point about 15 minutes early, yet we were the second to last group to board. This meant that Julie and I had to sit separately and several rows apart...definitely a bummer! We managed to keep in touch via text most of the trip :)

     We arrived at Bryant Park at about 8:30 and headed a few short blocks up to Radio City Music Hall to wait in line and pass through security for our show. I'd never been inside the building and it was absolutely gorgeous. I love old time theaters like these, including the Palace in Albany. There was such glitz and glamour during that era.

Gorgeous interior!

     We quickly found our seats and were in store for an amazing show. My favorite scenes were the Sleigh Ride, Nutcracker, and Living Nativity. The costumes during the Living Nativity were so bright and vibrant. I also kept wondering where the camel and donkey are kept off stage! 

Sleigh Ride scene

Living Nativity scene

Nutcracker scene

Julie and I at the Plaza Hotel

    At the end of the show, doors on all sides of the music hall rushed open and we were hurried out because people were already trickling in for the 11AM performance. Julie and I still had about six more hours to see the sights and shop before we had to head to the bus. After a brief stop at a street vendor to buy me a scarf (it was freezing),  we headed toward the southern end of Central Park in hopes of avoiding a line at FAO Schwartz...no such luck. Even at 10AM, the line wrapped all the way around the building. We quickly regrouped and decided it was time for a capuccino and the Plaza Hotel was beckoning. We found a cute cafe adjacent to a koi pond and warmed up a bit.

Koi pond at the Plaza Hotel

    After leaving the Plaza Hotel, we decided that Fifth Ave was already too busy with tourists, so we went one street over to Madison Ave and instantly felt like we were in the city on a typical day. We spent a lot of time Christmas shopping in Crate and Barrel...if the corporate execs would only build one in Albany? I like it SO much more than Pottery Barn or Pier 1. We also spent a bunch of time trying on silly $400 hats at Barney's. Somehow Julie managed to rock the look, whereas the pics of me are too pitiful to post on the blog:

Doesn't she look like a Russian diva?

Cartier

Bergdorf Goodman

      

     We kept walking and enjoying the sights as we headed to lunch at Southern Hospitality (Justin Timberlake's restaurant and bar) between 76th and 77th Streets. Julie works with the restaurant manager's father and suggested we go there.  On the way we found this art gallery on Madison Ave:

     After a fantastic lunch, we headed down Park Avenue for a bit before going back to Central Park. After a couple more hours of shopping, we rushed to Macy's and wrapped the day up there. It was a really fun day and we're already planning another trip in March when it won't be as hectic!

View of Macy's from Herald Square

One Year Ago Today

...we celebrated my bridal shower at the Inn at Saratoga. I cannot believe that our wedding anniversary is only about two months away - time flies! Here's a look back at  some of the photos taken that wonderful day:

Mom, Julie & I

Carin & I

Katie & I

Nicole, Bekah & I

Linda, Jayna & I

Jim's arrival

Jim & I <3

Happy Birthday Julie!

The Birthday Girl proudly displaying
her "Another Fabulous Year" glass

     Last week, I organized Julie's 24th birthday party.  I was so happy that most of the invitees could make it on less than a week's notice! We immediately decided we had to celebrate in Saratoga, my favorite town /small city in the Capital District. It has everything a girl could ask for -- cobblestone streets, amazing shopping, restaurants, parks and beautiful homes. One day a LONG time from now, I hope to spend the cold months in South Carolina and the other half of the year in Saratoga.

Julie & Beth at dinner

     Back to Saturday night... we started with some lovely drinks and a fabulous dinner at Grey Gelding. Their cheesy artichoke dip is to die for.  And, to think, I had never even given artichokes a whirl until a friend's bachelorette party at Grey Gelding earlier this year. Our waitress was amazing all night! She even brought out a delectable birthday cake and all of the servers sang Happy Birthday.

Gia & Kayla at dinner

     On another note, I was SO happy that I could finally give Julie her gift as I've been bursting with excitement for the past two weeks. What is it you ask? A trip to NYC December 4 to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular! Julie and I have been talking about going to the city for a shopping trip for months now and I've always wanted to see the Rockettes, so the timing couldn't be better! I love the city at Christmas time and cannot wait (well...except for the 5AM departure...uggh).

Julie & I

     After dinner and dessert, we headed down Caroline Street to hit some of our favorite bars (Gaffney's and City Tavern).  After dancing for awhile, we decided to take a breather and head to the bathroom.  As I was waiting  in the ridiculously long line, Jim and Keith waltzed in. It was so thoughtful that Jim stopped by and bought her some Jager Bombs (haha)! All in all, it was a great night. Here's to many more birthdays little sis...love you!!!

I love how Keith is giving the eyeball to the weirdo
who jumped in our pic!

Halloween Festivities

Credit goes to the staff at Mexican Radio!

     I'm a little really behind with this blog seeing as it's already November, but better late than never, right? This year, Jim and I adhered to our normal Halloween traditions and added in a couple of new activities to make it one of the best ever! I must admit that we were both a little disappointed that we couldn't decorate like we have in years past, but we're already scheming about how we can make the front yard and porch of our new house positively frightful for the two or three trick-or-treaters who actually decide it's
worth it to venture down our long driveway
next year!

One of the corn maze creatures

     The weekend before Halloween we spent a Friday night at Liberty Ridge in Schaghticoke navigating the haunted corn maze,  Forest of Fear, drinking hot apple cider and checking out some new features, including Cinderella's carriage (as you can imagine, this was one of the highlights for me:-).

      Saturday night we met up with Julie and Beth before heading down the Thruway to the Headless Horseman in Ulster Park (a little over an hour south of Albany). This place is consistently ranked the #1 haunted attraction in the U.S. In addition to a mile long hayride, there's a haunted corn maze, five haunted houses, excellent gift shops and sideshow performers. It is definitely not an experience for the faint of heart! This year the hayride story was gruesome as ever, but we were fortunate to be sitting in the center of the tractor (much to Jim's
chagrin), so we often had  advance warning
when a ghoul was about to jump out at us.

The Cleopatras

   On October 29th, we attended a spooktacular Halloween party thrown by Julie and her roommates. As you can probably tell, I was Cleopatra (a nod to my love of HBO's Rome), Jim was Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde and Julie was Foxy Cleopatra from the Austin Powers movie. People were surprised to hear that Julie and I didn't plan our costumes in advance. In reality, I wanted to be a flapper all along, but couldn't find any suitable outfits at the local costume shops. Luckily, she was a really good sport about the whole thing! 

       

Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde

        Julie and Jim partnered up for beer pong (as usual), but this time they went 5-0 until their string of victories was broken. It was so fun to watch them and, thus, I have nicknamed them the Hall-O-Famers! Jim came in second place for scariest costume (I think the contest was rigged...the person who won had a pretty half-hearted werewolf costume...BOO). Later that night, another attendee confessed that he's had a crush on Julie for over a year...no he didn't tell her, he told me!!! Who says that to someone's older sister? Was he looking for my approval? It was even more strange because this was the first night I've ever really spoken to this kid and he wasn't even inebriated...how awkward!!!

What a great night!

   The night before Halloween, Jim and I decided to head to one of my favorite restaurants of all time, Mexican Radio. (They have the best margaritas I've had outside of Mexico because they don't use mixers...the base is always generated from fresh squeezed limes - delicious!) The plan was to travel along Route 9S where there are typically a lot of homes and yards decked out for Halloween. Unfortunately, my lack of navigational skills led us astray and before Jim realized it, we were halfway 

to Dutchess County (oops!). The map app 

on my precious IPhone got us back on track 

and we FINALLY arrived! 

Jim's chimichanga

     We chose a great night to eat there because all of the waiters, waitresses and bar staff were dressed in costumes and there were carved pumpkins everywhere, which surprisingly complimented the normal motif. Our meals and drinks were fantastic and I think Mexican Radio is now on Jim's list of one of the best restaurants in the area. I realize that for some of you Hudson is too much of a trek; however, the owners are opening another one in Schenectady in
                                                                          2011, plus there's always the original in NYC.
                                                             

My favorite boys on 10/31/10!

     Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, we didn't have much planned for the actual holiday. Buster agreed to dress up as a pumpkin for the second year in a row and Jim handled the trick-or-treaters. We only had 6 all night, but bought 2 bags of candy. As you can imagine, the candy was gone by mid-week, precisely why I usually refuse to have so many sweets in the house! Til next year...

A Historic Summer

     As many of you know, Jim and I are American history buffs! He enjoys reading about the French & Indian War and Revolution, whereas I have read quite a few books about the Civil War era.  This summer, we decided to take some short trips to places that we've been reading about for years.

     First, we visited the Saratoga Battlefield, which is really located in present day Schuylerville (about 10 miles east of Saratoga Springs).  Among other things, we  saw the exact spot where Benedict Arnold was shot and toured General Philip Schuyler's house. We also drove to the Saratoga Monument and reached the midway point to the top (about 12 flights of stairs) before we decided that it was WAY too hot that day to continue.

Saratoga Monument

John Neilson Farmhouse

    A couple of weeks later, Jim, Julie, and I headed to the southern end of Lake George to check out Ft. William Henry, which was  built and held by the British until a French siege during the French & Indian War. It is best known for the atrocities that the Indians committed against the surrendered British troops, which is the focus of Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper.

Julie and I in the stocks

    In late July, we spent two days in Philadelphia taking in the sights -- Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, Betsy Ross's house and Ben Franklin's grave. We also enjoyed some modern pleasures, such as Philly cheese steaks, the Rocky steps and the best sushi of all time at Haru (thanks to Julie for the recommendation). 

Jim standing in front of Independence Hall

   Originally, our Philly trip was to continue in Gettysburg, but then I experienced car trouble and we had to cut the trip short.  Fortunately, we were able to rebook for late August and tacked an additional day on at the end. There was so much to see and do there! We toured the battlefields with a certified guide, spent a couple of hours inside the national museum, toured the Shriver House Museum, did a wine tasting, took a nighttime ghost tour and ate at a fantastic restaurant called The Dobbin House. We were seated in one of their candelit historic, formal dining rooms. I had the most amazing deep sea scallops sauteed with bacon and herbs and then drowned in chalibis. It may have been my favorite meal of 2010!

View of Devil's Den from Little Roundtop

Dobbin House

     I usually treat Jim to a birthday dinner at a place he's never been, but this year I decided that we should both partake in the adventure of the unknown. I was familiar with the Tory Tavern in Schoharie (about 45 minutes west of Albany) because I used to babysit for a couple that sometimes went there for "date night." This was the site of numerous meetings between the Tories and the Indians during the Revolutionary War. All of the servers were dressed in 1770s garb and the interior was historically accurate.  Our meals and the service were excellent!

George Mann Tory Tavern