My Kind of Weekend

Last weekend was the kind of weekend I love. If I could repeat last weekend every weekend, I would seriously consider it! :)

Let's take it play-by-play, shall we?

We rented a movie on Friday night. I'm always up for some relaxing and cuddling on the couch!

On Saturday, I woke up at 7:30am, made and ate pancakes for breakfast, and went back to bed. Now that's the way to do mornings!!

Finally!!!! It went from
to finally going to
in less than two and a half weeks. So I FINALLY got to ride my motorcycle on Saturday!!! YAY!!!! I feel like I've been waiting for so long! So of course this is a big reason why it was a good weekend!

Got a workout in on Saturday.

We went out to eat out at El Rodeo (a Mexican restaurant) and hang out with friends. I ordered the special - it was basically a pre-assembled fajita with shrimp, chicken, and steak with red & green peppers, onions, and cheese. Three days later and Brent said yet again how much he wished he had ordered what I did. :)

I was also able to get in the kitchen (always a good thing!) and with the awesome help of KAM, got two loafs of Oatmeal Honey Wheat bread baked. Brent loves it! And I thought it was pretty darn tasty myself!
So as you can see, it was a pretty good weekend indeed!

My Valentine, Part 3

Before the hours we had to spend in the car, we dropped by Paris Mountain State Park.
It was a beautiful day, and we wanted to be outside for a little while. The park was gorgeous
and we hiked around the large lake that was in the middle of the park.
It was funny since, when we finished, we both were like "That's it?" You see, usually when we go hiking, we hike all day - like for 5 or 6 hours. So when this 2 hour hike was over, it felt like we barely hiked at all!

Since you know just from looking at this blog how much I love to be outside and to go hiking, it was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

Editor's Note: Men, point #4: Make sure you include time for what she thought was going to happen anyway. :)

My Valentine, Part II

To read from the beginning, see post "My Valentine, Part 1" below.

You'd think Greenville, SC would be kinda warm. It wasn't. It was cold. Really cold. Freezing, in fact.
Yes, that's ice on the fountain. Ice, people! But we didn't let that get us down. We just wore 4 layers. And our excitement for the show kept us warm, too. A little.
The showtime finally neared, and we were all smiles...and to keep with the weekend's theme, Brent wore green. :) (You can't see it very well in this picture, but Brent has on the most awesome hat, too!!)
Brent got us front row balcony seats!
...
Afterward we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant - Soby's.
Me: What do you want for dessert?
Brent: I don't really want dessert.
Me: Really? Wow ...didn't see that coming. Well, okay, then.
...
Back at Pettigru Place B & B...
Brent, while unlocking the door: Man, I'm tired.
Me: Yeah...wait. I'm sure I turned out all the lights when we left. It's part of my OCD. Why is the light on in the sitting room?
Brent: It's chocolate covered strawberries and mint oreo cheesecake with a cookie crust. I know how much you love mint and chocolate. Happy Anniversary, honey...

Editor's note: Men, point #3: Make sure your woman knows she's loved, and loved well...even after 7 years of marriage.

My Valentine, Part 1

Ladies, get ready to swoon.

Men, get ready to take notes.




Last Sunday (yes, Valentine's Day) was our 7th year anniversary. My special Valentine planned a surprise for our anniversary - a trip!

My only clue: "The color green is an integral part of our trip."

Now, I initially I thought, "Awesome! Hiking & camping! I love doing that! Oh wait...it's literally below freezing...I'm literally going to freeze..." So henceforth I tried to keep an open mind (and very warm climate).

The day before we left it snowed.
So the drive there was a little stressful for us, but we made it.

Brent: Exit here.
Me: Okay.

5 minutes later
Brent: So where are we?
Me: Downtown Greenville, SC.
Brent: And...
Me: What?
Brent: Greenville.
Me: Oh! Cool! We're here! That's great! Ummm...where are we going, exactly?
Brent: Here. Stop here.
Me: In the middle of this road?
Brent: Yup. We're here.
Editor's note: I just love bed & breakfasts-es.

Our host: Let me show you to your room.
Editor's note: Men, point #1: Small details make a huge impact.
Brent: Now that we've checked in, let's go walk around downtown.
Me: Okay.
...
Me: Wow! Look! They have a park in the middle of downtown!
Brent: Check out that building over there! I wonder what building that is. Let's go check it out.
Me: Okay.
...
Me: Looks like it's called Peace Center. Huh. I think it's a concert hall or theater.
Brent: I think you're right.
Me: Look at this sign. Oh look - Wicked is showing here...only if we could go today or tomorrow. Ha ha.
Brent: You mean with these tickets?!
Editor's note: Men, point #2: Surprises make a huge impact.

to be continued...

KAM!!

So, as we learned in my last post, my sister Amy insisted on paying me for the cake I made for her. At the end of the party, she pulled me aside.

"Let's make a deal," she said.

"Huh?" I said. "You mean like the 70's game show?"

"Yup," she said, totally nonplussed. (She must be used to my random thoughts.) "I can either write you a check now...or you can wait a few days..."

"Oh, either one's fine, it doesn't matter," I interrupted.

"...until the Kitchenaid Mixer I order you will come in," she finished.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Okay, maybe a little ringing in the ears.

Editor's note: Truthfully, at this point in time, I'm not sure what happened for the following 15 minutes. I think Amy said a few more somethings, but I was literally in shock so I couldn't speak or comprehend what was going on. Seriously, my mind just froze. I think I may have made some grunting noises at some point toward my sister who was patiently awaiting my response (and possibly trying not to stare at the crazy-looking, shocked woman in front of her). Thankfully my sister interpreted the grunting noises correctly. Must be the sister connection. I think anyone else might have tried to rush me to the emergency room.

I'm not sure if you understand the magnitude of what I just said. My sister bought me a Kitchenaid Mixer for baking a cake for her. I think I'm still in shock.

I've decided it's a girl and that I'm going to call her KAM. Get it? Kitchenaid Mixer?

I shall call her Kam and she shall be mine and she shall be my Kam. (Said like Dory the fish. Don't you just love the movie Finding Nemo?)

I just love it!! Can't you tell?

A Cake to Remember

The reason we were home last weekend was for a surprise party for my brother-in-law, Todd. My sister, knowing I'd taken a cake decorating class, asked me to make the cake for his party. Even though I told her I'd do it for free (hello - she's my sister!) and would have settled for a "payment" of being able to put her down as a future reference if the need comes about, she insisted on paying me. She's just generous like that. So, this was my first real gig at trying my hand as a freelance baker. Needless to say, I was more than a little nervous.

I baked the cakes and made the buttercream icings here, drove home, and made the fillings and assembled the layers and tiers the night before the party (thanks for the help, mom, dad, and Ju!!). The bottom tier was a 12 inch chocolate cake, filled with cookies and cream filling, and iced in chocolate buttercream. The middle tier was a 9 inch white cake, filled with raspberry buttercream and a layer of raspberry jam, iced in vanilla buttercream. The top tier was a 6 inch chocolate chip pound cake with chocolate mousse filling, iced in chocolate buttercream. I wish I would've taken a picture of the tiers when they were cut into, but I forgot.

The morning of the party, I was decorating...
See that look of pure concentration?
Of course, there's always time for a photo op!
Still hard at work:
Don't you just love commercial kitchens? I do. That's weird, huh? But I always find they're much more roomier and have lots more counter, refrigerator, and freezer space than the kitchen at my apartment. Wonder why that is...

And finally, the finished product (click on the picture to see it bigger):
As the baker, I can always see the little imperfections in every cake I make. It drives the perfectionist part of me crazy, but the other part of me says it needs a few imperfections!

So, this is my first "hired" cake! I learned a few things during this adventure, and am pretty pleased with the result. :) Thanks so much, Aim, for the opportunity!!! And happy 40th birthday, Todd!!

A Story of Snow and Ice

Did I suddenly move up North??

Last Friday night some snow and ice came in. I don't think I've ever seen this much snow at one time.
The snow was definitely over 6 inches.
Almost all the restaurants in the area were closed. It was so bad, even on Sunday church was canceled (because of ice...it would heat up and melt during the day and then everything would refreeze during the low temps at night). But Brent decided that this was the weekend I needed to learn how to drive on ice. And, we had to return a rented movie. Yeah, I didn't really enjoy not having control over the car:
Don't worry, Brent drove back. :)

Oh, and the quote of the week:
Brent, 9:38am this morning while driving me to work:
"Well, one good thing came out of this snow storm. The icy, snowy Durham roads are smoother than usual!"

And just for a laugh: