Good game, but I was sitting in the wrong row...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I got sick the night before, so I didn't get to eat much. My Thanksgiving dinner consisted of water, Cliff drinks, and pretzels. Good stuff. Well, I was too sick to eat, but not too sick to go to the Texas vs Texas A&M football game.
It was so fun! I love football and so does the great state of Texas. The fans were crazy! It was a lot of fun watching everyone get into the game.
Every time A&M scored a guy in the row in front of us walked down the row kissing every women. I realized then and there that it was an error wearing UT gear instead of A&M. I totally would have slipped down to the row below. I will never make that mistake again!At half time, no one left the stadium. Everyone stayed to watched the bands. They were amazing. The UT band was good, but the A&M band was unbelievable!
I'm so glad Sarah was able to get tickets! We had Show alla blast!

DEAR SANTA,

How are you? How’s the misses? I hope you had a relaxing yet productive year this year. Thanks so much for all of my Christmas gifts last year. You know just what I want/need. You’re the perfect man! Well, I just want you to know that I have been particularly good this year (loads better then the past two years), so I hope you will award me “nice” on your list.

Here are a few things I would like this year.

A cute ornament stand: Something like this. I have some really heavy ornaments that I can’t put on my tree, but I would still like to display them. I would prefer something that’s back or silver, but I will take what I can get.Nalgene Wide-Mouth Loop-Top Round Bottle - 32 fl. Oz: I like the one below. I need this one so it will match the other one I have and you know I’m all about matching.A car: I really don’t care what kind of car, but I think it would be nice to have a set of wheels.

A nice parking spot in the city: I only need this if I get the car :)

Sea To Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack - 7 x 16: Gotta keeps things dry
World peace

New Furniture for my room: I’m tired of sleeping on a twin…I want a big girl bed.
The movie Up

Jewelry: I really want some cute earrings.

Cocoon Cotton Mummy LinerBooks from the Penguin Cloth-bound Classic Series (covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith): I only need Wuthering Heights, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and The Picture of Dorian Gray to complete my collection of all books available in the US.Tickets to the Opera: I keep saying I’m going to see an opera and never do. Maybe if you get me tickets I would actually go.

A knight in shining armor – armor is optional – A prince will do too: I know I have asked for this the past two years…third time’s a charm, Santa!

A cute recipe book

A lifetime supply of Rice to Riches.

Well, I think that will do for this year. Thanks again for everything! You’re the best. Don’t work too hard over the next few weeks. Remember to get your rest.

Merry Christmas!
-erika

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm in Texas with Sarah and her family. I'll make sure to give you a play by play when I get back. Have a great holiday weekend.

Day 2 with Sarah

Is it possible to top the amazing Friday we had? Yes! Sarah and I started off our Saturday with a walk in Central Park. It’s so beautiful in the fall. I really should spend more time in the park.We then caught the matinee of Hamlet. Wow! I’m not really a fan of Hamlet, but I’m a fan of Jude Law! Yes, Jude Law was playing Hamlet. It was really good. It was so funny! Yeah, I know…Funny? Jude played a very sarcastic, crazy, adorable, prince. It was so fun seeing him in action. His performance took Hamlet to a whole new level for me. There were scenes that I couldn’t remember from previous performances, but the way Jude performed them made them memorable. I’m glad we went.We then made our way over to Serendipity. We love Serendipity! It was a two hour wait, so Sarah and I got some needed shopping in while we waited. It actually worked out beautifully. We were seated seconds after we returned. The food was amazing! We ended up getting dessert (we didn’t do this the first time we went). We couldn’t decide on what was best so we had the waiter surprise us. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was peanut butter goodness. I really don’t know why I don’t go there more often.
Another great day!

SARAH! Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah...

Sarah came for a short visit this weekend. I have been looking forward to her coming for some time and I'm so excited that she's finally here.

I took Friday afternoon off work so we could go out and play. After lounging about the apartment for awhile we went out to eat at Mughlai. KZ recommended it and I'm sure glad she did, because it was amazing. Sarah and I both love Indian food, so this was the place for us.

We then headed down to Time Square to see A Steady Rain. It's a two man play about two Chicago cops. Oh, and who were the two men playing the cops? Well, that would be Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman (insert high pitch girly scream here). It was amazing! I wasn't so sure how I would like the two man show thing, but these guys pulled it off sooo well. I truly have a new found respect for Daniel Craig. He started talking in his Chicago accent and I couldn't believe that this man was James Bond. He truly is a talented actor. Hugh Jackman did a fabulous job as well. The two had great chemistry. I really enjoyed the play. It kind of jumps around a lot, but I thought it was written so well that you could follow. It had a lot of surprises. Good show!My favorite part was at the end when both actors came out to do a little blurb about donating money to Broadway Cares (most shows do this this time of year). This show was slightly different because instead of just donating money they had an auction for the two white beaters that Daniel and Hugh were wearing for the show. Sarah and I almost lost it when they started stripping down to the white beaters. Both shirts went for $10k! The people that won got to go back and meet the guys and have their pictures taken with them. They also offered for people to donate $2k to go back and get your picture taken with them. I was so tempted, but I was strong and restrained myself.

We finished off the night with a little pink berry! It was a great Friday night!

Cooking with Ashley: Part 5

Cooking Assignment: Roasted Chicken and Vegetables with Rosemary-Corn Muffins.

The Sister Missionaries and Karen joined us for dinner last Sunday. We decided it was the perfect opportunity to make the roasted chicken and vegetables.

Making roasted chicken and vegetables has been on our list of things do make since starting these little cooking lessons. Ashley is a big fan of the roasted vegetables and thought it was an essential dish to teach me. I couldn't believe how simple it was to make. I'm truly a fan of sweet potatoes.
The roasted chicken was also good and so easy to make. Who knew? I'm not sure why, but I really liked the fact that we put a whole lemon in the chicken. With the thyme and sage, the chicken tasted amazing. I really need to make this again soon.
Ashley decided to make Rosemary-Corn Muffins to go with the chicken and vegetables. Best move very. These muffins are really good. You can get the recipe here.

Pumpkin Picking with the Girls...

I found a recipe for pumpkin puree a couple of weeks ago on Our Best Bites. I thought it would be fun to actually go get pumpkins and make a nice little fall treat. Luckily the girls (Ashley, Karen, and Jen) were all for going on a little road trip through the countryside.

So...yesterday we rented a car and went to Silvermans Farm. I wanted to go to Silvermans because of the "Farm Market." I love me some pie! It was so much fun! We were worried about the rain (since it rained the whole way up), but luckily it stopped for just enough time for us to get our pumpkins. It was really a cute little farm and the market was amazing. They had some truly amazing pastries.

The first picture is of me trying to get out of the car. The girls didn't believe me, but my door wouldn't open from the inside. They just stood outside and laughed.I had my first Apple Dumpling! I'm officially a fan. We also had Apple Cider Donuts. Luckily Ashley and I had self control and just bought one to split, otherwise I think I would have eaten my weight in donuts.Since we had the car and there was a Target on the way home we stopped to pick up a few necessities. I actually think we spent more time (and money) at the target then at the farm.It was a fun little trip. The colors were beautiful and the company was perfect! I hope we get to go on another little adventure soon.PS. We saw this sign at a stop light near the farm. Jen jumped out of the car to take it. We then felt bad she ended up taking it back. So funny.