Bolsa

Sweet. Baby. Jesus.

Those were my exact words after I took my first few bites at Bolsa.   My eyes are just now returning to their normal place in their sockets after having rolled so far back in my skull.

O Bolsa!  How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:
1.  Monday night hours when every other place in the Bishop Arts District is closed.
2.  Great service.  Our waiter was so cool and helpful.  Totally unpretentious and he knew his stuff.
3.  Bruschetta to the likes you've never known.  Bolsa takes boring bruschetta and transforms it into a flite of four yummy surprises.  Our waiter instructed us to start with the chevre and butternut squash slice and progress to the smoked salmon slice.
4.  Duck confit.  It's like the best pot roast (but not beef) I've ever had with that lovely crispy duck fat treat in every other bite.
5. Pork chops.  Seriously the best porks chops on the face of the planet.  They were tender...and by tender, I mean they were almost melt in your mouth tender.
6. Cocktails.  When we stayed in the Roosevelt in NOLA, we were charmed with the Sazerac's cocktails.  The cocktail menu at Bolsa is as equally as impressive as the Sazerac's.   I can't wait to go to happy hour!  Who's in?

You need to go to Bolsa ASAP, and here's why...it ended up on Maxim's list of Superbowl dining hot spots.  I can't imagine what insanity that will bring.  Go now.  We went on a Monday night on a whim and were seated right away, and I think I had the best meal of my life that night.

Smoke

Smoke boasts one of Dallas's best chefs and got a nod in Food and Wine, so Joe and I had to try it out.  Apparently, brunch is our new thing because we've been to Smoke twice...for brunch.  Smoke is situated at the Belmont Hotel overlooking downtown Dallas.  It's quite nice.  I didn't realize such scenic views of Dallas existed.  The chef uses local ingredients, which is always a bonus.

Let me start out by telling you what was great about Smoke:

1. No wait+ hungry Joe= Happy Joe--->Happy Sarah

2. Fun and funky decor...various reclaimed items and staff childhood photos straight outta the 70s & 80s, but not in a Applebee's/TGIFridays 50 pieces of flair-ish kinda way.  More like 2 pieces of flair.

3. Thick cut pork belly bacon...dear Lord.

4. Ricotta blueberry pancakes and vanilla poached apricots with a dollop of heavenly cream.  Liked it so much I ordered it both times.  I should branch out.

5.  The bottomless mimosa...two will do the trick.  The cocktail menu looked impressive as well.  Lots of fresh ingredients.

6. Hominy grits with a hint of something spicy and pickled. Yum.

7. Entertainment:  a chihuahua bolted through the dining room bobbing and weaving under tables, and the staff looked like they were after a greased pig.  They finally captured her when she jumped up in a booth with a family.  It made the dining experience all the more enjoyable.

8. Friendly and attentive service.  Most of the staff are in skinny jeans.  Impressive.  If I worked at Smoke, I couldn't fit into skinny jeans.

9.  Happy families with well-behaved children.  No one likes to eat with heathen children acting a fool or throwing fits.  These families actually talked to their kids and seemed to enjoy their meals, too.  It makes me feel better about the prospect of still enjoying nice meals as a family in public if I ever have kids.  I just hope that I can afford them!
 

Here's what was meh:

1.  Joe ordered the Full Monte (of course).  The steak was overcooked and the biscuits were dry and they were stingy with the gravy. It looked like it sat for too long.  He should have sent it back.

2. Bottomless mimosas are $11.  They are only $5 at Brownstone and no more tasty.

I haven't been to dinner or lunch at Smoke, but if brunch is any indication of the experience, then it will be worth the drive to Oak Cliff.

Close Call

 Joe and I went out for brunch and did some grocery shopping this morning and came home to this:

The transformer blew, catching our yard on fire.

7,000 volts+ squirrel= crispy critter

Our neighbors happened to be driving by and stopped to alert us. When we didn't answer, they grabbed the garden hose and tried to put out the fire.  Someone called the fire department, and they got the fire under control.  That little squirrel knocked out the power for the whole neighborhood and almost burned down our house.  Needless to say, we are very thankful to have watchful neighbors. Sadly, I don't know exactly who to thank for being a Good Samaritan.  Roasted squirrel, anyone?

Taking Pet Names to a Whole New Level

My poor dogs.  They don't even know their real names.  We have so many ridiculous nicknames for them that they respond to just about anything.

This is Phoebe.

A.K.A.....
-Pheebs
-Weebie
-Little Girl
-Wittle Goo
-Princess P
-Sweet Pea
-Peeps












-Angel Face
-Sweet baby girl
-Goo Goo
-Skeebie beebie

And this squirrely looking guy is Oscar.



















He also answers to:
-Oscar Wilde (When we're feeling bookish & British)
-Wild Man
-Oscar Meyer (When we're feeling all-American)
-Wiener
-Wiener head
-Wiener Schnitzel (When we're feeling German)
-Schnitzel











-Little Boo
-Li'l Bois (When we're feeling French)
-Boo Boo
-Oskee Boskee
-Oskee Boskee Boo Boo

Um, yeah...so I think that about covers it.  Who knows where all of that insanity comes from, it just does and it sticks.  We're either strange people or painfully average.  If I had to guess, it's the former.  Did you see the chicken disguise?

Why I Love My Brother

My younger brother is a rebel.  I am a rule follower, and he is the rebel.  Even at my most rebellious, I pale in comparison to the risks my brother has taken. Despite our innate differences, we do have at least one thing in common.

Will and I share a passion for tacos.  Not tacos from a fast food joint, but tacos from a legit taco stand.  When we get together, we try to recreate the delectable taco recipes we love so much.  Our grocery list includes things like pork shoulder, oranges, garlic, cilantro, onion, limes, and corn tortillas.  The first time we made tacos, I was fresh out one ingredient--- oregano, a pantry staple. Will ran to the grocery store and picked up some of the Mexi-brand.  It comes in a non-resealable cellophane bag, so he just dumped it into a Ziploc baggie when he was finished using it. 

When I was rummaging through my spice drawer after he went back to North Carolina, this is what I found:

Yes, my mischievous brother thought it would be funny to label the oregano "MARIJUANA." Now every time my recipes call for oregano, I can't help but smile.  I'm just going to leave it like that because it makes me feel a little rebellious.

Note:  I have never smoked nor possessed marijuana in my life.  Sometimes I wish I could say that I had, but alas, I am a square through and through.  My mislabeled bag of Mexi-oregano is probably as close as I'll ever come...and I still get a good laugh.

Last One

Ruffles are a good way to end my baby-gear-making-bonanza, especially ruffles on the hind end of a onesie for Maia.  I'm getting ready to ship off one last package to Japan.  This will probably be the last time I post crafty pictures for a while.  I think mycousinamanda is being polite in not telling me to stop making crap for her kid.  One day she'll have a boy, and I'll be the crazy auntie giving pink bunny suits for Christmas. Poor kid.

Ruffle butt onesie with handmade reverse applique.

It's not perfect, but not too bad for the first attempt at ruffles.

Delicious ruffles (and true fabric color).

A little chocolate and raspberry number for Valentine's Day!  

One thing I've noticed in my adventures in sewing onesies is that the super soft Carter brand are the hardest to work with.  The organic cotton Faded Glory or Gerber brands are a little more substantial and don't stretch out as much.  You can tell the difference in the pictures.

A week or two ago, I purchased some reverse appliques to try out.  The first attempt didn't go too well, and I ended up making one by hand by following the tutorial on Lil Boo Blue.  Warning:  She's ridiculously talented and beautiful.  Yeah, I'm jealous.  The good thing about her reverse applique tutorials is that you don't need an embroidery machine!  Even though I have one, it's nice not to have to change out all the equipment if I need to sew.

I messed up my first attempt at reverse appliqueing, but I was able to salvage the onesie with a larger  reverse design.

Pusher

My husband is a pusher.  He's contributing to my increasingly unhealthy absorption with sewing and embroidery.  Ok, so maybe I dropped a couple of hints.  And maybe he grew weary from my constant craft store runs for embroidery thread, runs which result in me buying a lot more than just embroidery thread.  He's still an enabler!

Well, I'm set on embroidery thread now.  In fact, I'm pretty sure I could run a fairly decent sized sweat shop with all this thread.

The spools are not chromatically arranged to perfection.  It bothers me, so I'll eventually fix it.

The large spools on the end are metallics.  Joe took it upon himself to add those.  This is why I love him.

Pretty!  Each spool is individually wrapped. :-/

I also put in a request for a serger foot for my machine.  Many of the patterns I found call for serging hems, and this immediately gave me flashbacks of my grandmother's multi-spooled serging machine.  She never let me mess with it, and it remained an enigma.  The serging attachment will enable me to at least do some basic serging without buying a separate machine.  Now I have something else I have to conquer....that and sewing in a straight line.

Brownstone

As a diehard Top Chef fan, I felt it was my duty to try out Chef Casey Thompson's new Ft.Worth restaurant, Brownstone.  Chef Thompson has always been a favorite of mine, as we are about the same age and from the same area.  

Joe and I headed to Ft. Worth's So7 District after New Year's for brunch and again today.

Joe had the Brownstone Special (a brisket and potato hash), and we ordered a side of Homestead grits.  I opted for the bread pudding french toast with eggs and house-cured maple bacon.  The french toast was lightly battered and fried crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Remember Bennigan's Monte Cristo?   That's what it reminded me of a little (minus all the meat and cheese and powdered sugar).  I probably wouldn't order it again, but I'm glad I tried it. Now, let me tell you what was slapyomama good.  The $5 bottomless mimosas!  They are tasty, and I didn't get a headache...bonus!   The bacon is to-die-for! It is crispy and melty and I could eat a whole plateful.  Joe's brisket hash was also tasty, but it's pretty heavy fare.  I'd have to be very hungry to order it.  My only complaint is that my eggs were undercooked (very runny whites), however, Joe's were perfect.

Today, Joe had a burger and waffle fries.  I didn't try it, but he seemed to enjoy it.  I was going to be good and order an egg white fritata, but the waitress talked me into something sweet, promising me that the flapjacks were the best ever.  I swear, she twisted my arm behind my back and forced them on me  Ok, so I have no self-control when it comes to sweets.  They were light and fluffy and came with a side of honey maple syrup....oh...and bacon and eggs (perfectly cooked this time).  I'd order them again, and recommend them, too.

Both times Joe and I ate bunch at Brownstone, the dining room was only about 30% full.  We were seated right away, and the service was friendly and helpful.  I will be back for dinner!

And here's what I did for the rest of the afternoon.

We have a two hour delay tomorrow...my fav!

Saturday's Creations

Minky blankie for Maia.  It's sooo soft.  I want one for myself.

Maia's daddy is a firefighter. I used a little red heart material and silver thread to make it girly.

Diaper Cover for Maia

Miss Maia will be set on burp cloths and now diaper covers, too. 

 (Note to self: be a little more stingy with the seam allowance.  They look more like bikini briefs than bloomers!)

I decided I needed to expand my repertoire a bit and try something new. Branching out is a good thing, right?   Perhaps on the next try I can applique the booty or add some ruffles.  This website gave a wonderful tutorial.

Goals for 2011

• Get in shape and stay in shape!  That should be a lifetime resolution.  I'm turning 30 this year and want to look and feel fabulous.  The recent photos alone are enough to motivate me.

• Continue to pay off debts.  We are now much, much healthier financially than at this time last year.  It hasn't been difficult, but we need to buckle down and keep climbing.  We've plateaued a bit lately with the holidays and need to refocus.

• Write more.  I'm taking another Creative Writing course this semester, and I'm anxious to jump in.  A class forces me to write, but I'd like to update my blog more regularly, too. Luckily, the second class I'm enrolled in won't involve writing supermassive papers.  I'm hoping to maintain my sanity this time around and delight you with my wonderful blog posts. ;)

• Travel to Cali and abroad.  Come April/May my cousin and her little family will be back stateside and living in California. Need I say more?  There were recent talks of Spain (again) with my brother.  Joe wants to do a European cruise.  I love cruises, but I'd prefer to explore Europe using other modes of transportation.  The euro is down a bit and I think I'd better take advantage. ;)

• Force Persuade my husband to attend his graduation ceremony in May.  Contrary to Joe's attitude that "It's not that big of a deal," NEWS FLASH... it's a big freaking deal!  Who wants to see Joe beaming in a cap and gown?  Me! Me! Me! It seems like it's taken him forever, but minus the 18 months he spent in Iraq, he is making decent progress.  Now he's applying for the MBA programs at TCU and UTA.  Which he attends will depend on what kind of perks they offer.  It seems that TCU may be more supportive of veterans, and that's okay with me.

• Cook more and dine out and take out less often.  This will require planning, but it will serve to reinforce my weight loss goals. 

2010 was good to us.  We had our share of heartbreak, but I feel that we've ended the year in a much better place than where we started.  The uncertainties and "suffering" of our twenties are mostly behind us now, and we're getting pretty comfortable.  Things keep getting better, and I'm thinking my thirties are not to be dreaded, but welcomed with open arms.

How I Roll...

Look what I found at Michael's for 40% off today! It's a handy-dandy ribbon organizer!  I love that I can see everything I have.  Now I am compelled to buy more ribbon...definitely need some blue, orange, yellow...and, of course, purple! Perhaps I should have purchased an additional ribbon organizer.  It's definitely a step up from the box (sitting on top) that I used before.  Things were a little crowded.

Mycousinamanda's sweet girl is due in a month. I hate that I can't be there to meet her and I'm slightly insanely jealous that some of Matt's family will make the trip. Mycousinamanda has ALWAYS been there for me when I needed her, and I really wish I could be there for her. Giving birth to one's first child half a world away from a majority of family and friends must be terrifying. But, if anyone on this planet can do it, it's her. :)

So...I can't help myself, I keep making these stinkin' burp cloths. They are pretty quick and painless to make, and it gives me instant gratification, and that is why I do it. I promise I'm not baby crazy or anything. After much head scratching and gnashing of the teeth, I figured out how to a) use cute fonts and b) how to make words in one go.

How friggin' cute is this? (The pinks are more pastel in person.)

When I get ready to ship them Okinawa way, I'll take more pictures of the others.  Amanda, you are set on burp cloths. You can never have to many burp cloths, right? Apparently they can double as changing pads, diapers, household cleaning rags, and car washing cloths.  So I figure these will last Maia for the rest of her life. haha