Monday, February 28, 2011

this is how we roll (bad sushi pun).

Saturday night's forecast was cold and rainy so we decided it was the perfect night to stay in and try making sushi for the first time. A few "how-to" YouTube videos later, we were off to the store for all our supplies... bamboo mat roller, seaweed, sushi grade fish and super sticky rice. Surprisingly we already had most of the ingredients at home. We weren't quite sure what to expect but felt confident and were excited to give it a go.

We've heard mixed reviews about homemade sushi but we found it to be pretty easy, so much fun and it tasted awesome. I have to give serious props to Sushi Master Dan since I pretty much sat at the sushi bar and watched. He made awesome salmon and tuna nigiri, homemade crab mix for California rolls, a Philly roll, a rainbow roll and some other creations using salmon, tuna, crab, avocado, cucumbers and seaweed. Yum. My contribution was homemade turkey & veggie lettuce wrap appetizers and beer refills.

We both agree that sushi making would be a really fun at-home date night with other couples. Who's in?



{making my turkey and veggie lettuce wraps appetizers}

{enjoying our lettuce wraps at the "sushi bar"}


{his first creation}

{danny's little sous chef helping with clean-up aka scrap catching}

{the first piece of salmon nigiri. looks just like the restaurants, huh? tastes like it too}

{a real sushi chef always wears a headband}

{the first maki sushi - delicious and picture perfect}

{danny's first "inside out" roll topped with toasted sesame seeds}

{he's so proud of himself. this is the "come on, this is really good huh?" look}

{my date at the sushi bar. yes, he just sits there.... and cries like a baby if you put him down}

{the chef taking a break for some tuna nigiri and wasabi - my favorite}


{a very precise rolling technique}

{the chef's final and original creation the "Dansai" inside: crab mix, avo, cucumber, rice and outside: avo, tuna and salmon topped with spicy Sriracha sauce}

{doitashimashite... "thank you very much" in Japanese}

Sunday, February 27, 2011

and the oscar goes to...

I love the Academy Awards. I love awards shows in general but the Oscars take the cake for me with the Grammys a close second. I that these shows are always on a Sunday... it's the perfect day to make snacks, lounge on the couch, watch E!'s red carpet special and battle with Ting as we guess in each category. It should be extra fun this year since we've seen a lot of the movies - 8/10 for Best Picture along with a handful of other nominees (we added Exit Through The Gift Shop to our list last night). We def have our favorites (King's Speech, True Grit, Social Network, Black Swan & The Kids Are All Right) and least favorite (Animal Kingdom - sorry Aussie friends).

This year, I organized my company's Oscar Pool. Here's the nifty guessing sheet... I have everyone's guesses and will be scoring throughout the show to see who will take home the $50 pot. An extra bit of fun for tonight.


happy sunday & happy academy awards watching.


Saturday, February 26, 2011

royal cocktails.

Friday always calls for a happy hour. Last night I met Danny and Alex for a few drinks at The Royal Palms, one of my favorite boutique hotels. It's beyond gorgeous. The beer buddies wanted to try the Royal Palms Pale Ale and I was ready for a glass (or two) of Layer Cake Primitivo. We snagged a private little room with a fireplace and talked sex, drugs and rock & roll. Always good times with Alejandro. 


back to the future.

I recently bumped into this photography project and I'm obsessed. Photographer Irina Werning is inviting people to reenact their childhood photos for her "Back to the Future" collection. How fun are these?






Friday, February 25, 2011

the last supper.

Well, kinda. Last night was probably the last supper we'll have with Tricia before she's a mama. Yup, less than a week and we should have a baby niece. To say we're excited would be a major understatement.

It's crazy how fast it's gone by. Remember this little bump? And then her shower? She's 9+ months pregnant, looks fabulous and is totally glowing. In hopes of jumpstarting labor, we told her she had to pick something spicy for dinner so we went for Mexican food at one of Tricia's favorite spots... the countdown is officially on!

{margarita for the man and a virgin pina colada for the mama}


{sheesh, danny looks totally drunk (he's not) but we got all four of us in the photo}

{brother & sister. don't you just love their dark hair and bright blue eyes? i do.}

Thursday, February 24, 2011

playing house.

I've recently told a few people that sometimes I still feel like I'm playing house. Do you ever feel like that?

Sure, D and I are pretty grown up by certain standards - married, jobs, dog, house - but I still get those waves of excitement when I realize Danny and I can do anything we want and there really isn't anyone who can stop us. If we want to lock ourselves in the house and eat pizza in our bed all weekend - we totally can. And unless we told people about it, it would forever be our little secret. Such a fun chapter of life.

Last night I went to happy hour with a group of sorority sisters who represent another chapter of my life. I was an Alpha Phi at UofA and it was the best college experience ever. Although none of us girls were super close in college, it doesn't really matter - we have a UA, Alpha Phi connection - which makes it easy to hang out. Sounds cheesy but it's true. It's always fun to get together with these Phoenix Phis.

I guess in some ways growing up isn't so bad.... The girls get less catty. You have a tad bit more money to spend on fun things like vacations. And after a wine night with girlfriends you get to come home to your live-in boyfriend, eat dinner on the couch and watch Modern Family.


{my view last night}

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

wedding DIY weekend.

This past weekend's extra rainy weather was the perfect backdrop for working on wedding projects with Colby. A few months ago she booked a flight to come out for the long holiday weekend so we could get started on a bunch of her wedding DIY projects. It was pouring rain in Phoenix but we didn't mind - we had the fireplace going, the champagne popped, pajamas on (matching but totally unintentional), 45 glue sticks (no joke), 100+ yards of fabric, lace & ribbon, and enough projects to keep us busy for days. Ashton, Colby's lil sis and my co-moh, drove up from UofA on Sunday to entertain us and lend a helping hand - thank goodness.

Our backs were killing us but it was worth it - we got a lot accomplished. All the guest welcome bags are done, the favor boxes are wrapped, all the black lace is cut, candles are glitter sprayed, we put Vicky's Cricut to good use, discussed bachelorette plans and even added a new pop of color to the scheme after seeing the mock table setting (which I'm obsessed with). Although Colbs said she wouldn't care if I posted photos of our work, I don't want to spoil the surprises. Let's just say it's going to be stunning.

Here are some behind the scenes photos of the crafty weekend. Hardly our most glamorous photos - but such a fun weekend. Sadly, the two nights we actually got dressed and left the house - once for Modern Steak with Stephanie and the other for Postino with Ting and Ashton - we didn't take pictures. We did however, celebrate a successful weekend with lots of wine. 


{the bride to be hard at work}

{ribbon and lace and gold paper, oh my!}

{part one of this project}

{unintentional twins - swear}


{hunter kept an eye on the trail mix for us. great helper}

{a new pop of color in the scheme is absolutely worth celebrating}

{day two - Ashton has arrived. phew}

{I love Colby's look - keeping an eye on Ashton's work}

{see hunter? told you he's keeping an eye on the trail mix}

{can you all Cricut, can you Cricut?}

{pretty much delirious at this point}

{Ashton had no idea what a DIY weekend meant... she has a new appreciation for weddings}

{swapping back massages}

{our one photo from a night out}

Stephanie & Kelsey stopped by for a bit on Sunday. Hunter was very curious about Kelsey who thankfully didn't mind his kisses and flirted right back. We didn't let Steph sit long before putting her to work on crafts.





{that face says it all}