It IS the Oscars

So this was a great low key weekend in VA. Mike and I went out with some good friends on Friday night and it was our last hurrah before they move back to TX. I met Alice last year and our friendship blossomed. I always wanted to meet a best friend in my neighborhood and I did!! Sadly, Alice is moving back to TX to be closer to family. I will miss her SO much and so thankful I met a great friend.

On Sunday Mike and I went to an Oscar party (my first one ever), and boy was I excited. It was going to be a night of classy food and wine with casual wear. My kind of party. So I was in charge of dessert and wanted to make something special.....it is the Oscars! So I scoured my cooking blogs and found a perfect cake for the event. A Tuxedo Cake. Let me tell you this was one serious cake. With 4 cups of sugar, 2 sticks of butter, a whole cup of coco powder I knew it was going to be good. The cake has the name from the black and white theme throughout the cake. The cake was chocolate and it had a cool whip type icing and then a chocolate glaze. So it was a beautiful cake and classy enough for our party.

After I spent the day making the cake we headed out to the party. Louie even came too! We had some good wine, a champagne toast, and LOTS of good food. You can see from the picture we had home made sushi, great cheeses, and lots of other fun finger food. Mike and I each filled out a ballot in hopes to win the prize for the evening. I started out leading the pack and held this lead most of the way through the night. Unfortunately, I could not keep my lead and did not end up winning. But it was fun keeping score throughout the night. Here are a few pics of the ladies with our wine (notice our red teeth) and the boys with Louie. Thanks Val for a nice night!

Happy Whoppie Day

Hello virtural world out there. Happy Valentines Day...or Whoppie day. I have a bunch of things to share from this past weekend and today. So lets start with the weekend. Mike and I headed home to see Emma and visit with my parents. As I mentioned before she had ACL surgery. Before she went into surgery she could barely walk, so this was a much needed surgery. We picked her up on Saturday morning and she came roaring out of the office like a new gal. She is already able to put some weight on her leg and she was in great spirits. Here are a few pics of the patient.

Emma and her momma and giving us a big smile.

On Saturday I had an urge to bake and I had found the perfect recipie for the upcoming "holiday". They are red velvet whoppie pies. Now mind you I have never made whoppie pies so this was a first. Luckily mom was there to help and she helped me conquer the dreaded pastry bag. ( I am not the best using them and mom was a big help). These turned out ok not sure I liked the texture but they were still good. Here are a few pics from the baking adventure.



While we were at home we had a belated bday celebration for Mike. We all went out to a nice dinner and enjoyed the evening. So it was a great weekend at home visiting with family and taking care of my baby Emma. We all had to smoosh to fit in the pic!

And last but not least Happy Valentines Day. I still think this is a hallmark holiday so I don't go overboard celebrating. Love should be shared and expressed everyday not just today. But no matter how you decide to spend the day I hope it is with someone you love. Thanks to my Valentine for my beautiful flowers and our surprise dinner later tonight. Love you.

PS. Thanks Mom for the Valentines day gift card!! Mike and I can't wait to use it.

Special Thoughts

Thinking about my baby girl Emma today. She will be in surgery this morning to fix her torn ACL. I had no idea this was even an issue with dogs, but apparently it is common with bigger dogs. She has been in pain for a while so I hope this helps her out and gets her back to spunky Emma. I know her cousin Louie will be sad that they can not play for a while but she will be back to normal in no time. So thinking about you baby girl!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday to everyone out there. Although for some (my husband included) today was not a happy Monday. The Steelers did not win the superbowl last night so it was somber in our household last night. We had some friends over to watch the game and we all had a great time...minus the loss.

Although I am a bit tired today I am very excited at the same time, for many reasons.
1. It is a short week for me. Meaning this is my Friday off
2. We have booked a trip with some friends to Mexico!!! (yeah for some sun)
3. My parents are visiting this weekend. (we will be having a belated bday celebration for Mike).
4. The days are getting closer as to when I can see my sister. ( I talked to her today and can't wait to give her a big hug)

So yes it is Monday but I am very happy. Did you all have a good weekend?