Trick or Treat!

Give me something good to eat!

Few of the festive menu items I put together at my Halloween gathering:

SpiderWeb Dip
-Mix 8 oz of cream cheese with a can of chunky salsa, top it with guacamole, fill a ziploc bag w/ sour cream & create web. Refrigerate for 1 hour, serve with tortilla chips.

Mummy Dogs (these lil guys have so much character)
-Slice Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough into small strips and wrap around Lil Smokies. Set oven to 375F & heat til dough is golden brown (about 15 min). Use mustard for eyes.

Bug Juice Cocktail
-Mix lemonade, ginger ale & vodka. Add gummy worms. You can also add gummy worms to your ice trays for added fun.

All of these exciting treats and not one kid under 25! I love getting festive, even when it's just for the adults.

I really got in touch with the Martha Stewart side of me this past weekend.

Can't Read My P-P-Poker Face

Introducing this year's costume pick, Lady GaGa!

P.S. I'm apologizing in advance for Allison's non-PC costume - it was just for kicks!

Halloween Love

[AMY WINEHOUSE]

[HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS]

[80's PROM QUEENS]

[GOGO YUBARI from KILL BILL]

There's nothing like being creative and putting a costume together for this fun holiday. You'll never catch me buying a ready-made costume because I truly enjoy getting hands on. Creating your own costume also saves the embarassment of running into someone in the exact same get-up.

I'm still trying to pull together tomorrow's costume. Hopefully it's a success - check back in a few days!

The Great Camera Challenge

I woke up last Sunday only to find that my digicam was somehow misplaced the prior night (not surprising considering the inebriated festivities for Craig's bday), with less than 2 weeks before my Australia departure!

Since then, I've spent countless hours researching cameras to make sure I find the best bang for my buck. I was toggling between a Canon Powershot SD980, 740 and 1200 and finally decided on the 1200. It was a tough decision, but after learning that a 2mp difference only mattered if you're printing out larger images I concluded that saving $50-75 was more in my best interest (correct me if I'm wrong). I was even able to find a great bundle on Walmart that comes with a free 4GB memory card. Though they offer vibrant shades, I opted for something easier on the eyes - dark grey.

I've always been happy with Canon - great capabilities, size, image quality & customer service. Can't wait to share my thoughts and better yet, show you my photos!

Sushi, Sneakers & Sacramento

This past weekend, a few of our closest friends headed out to Sacramento to help Craig celebrate his birthday. We started the night off with dinner at Mikuni Sushi, a favorite of the Sac locals. People filled the restaurant from top to bottom (it's 2 floors!), music was blasting at a good level (you can still have conversations) & the decor was very modern.

We had 15 guests and not one person complained about the food, instead, everyone gave their meals rave reviews which left me happy considering I helped in the planning process. The last thing an event planner wants is an unhappy guest! When I inquired about birthday extras, I was excited to find out that our special celebrant gets to spin a prize wheel in addition to free dessert. Though the wheel didn't have amazing prizes, we appreciated the comic relief when Craig landed on "glow stick". Our amazing server even snuck in a free shot glass!

After dinner, we headed to Parlare, a restaurant turned Euro lounge where the security guards aka bouncers left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Clearly, the site does not list "no sneakers" on their dresscode rules (see for yourself), but the bouncer gave my friends a hard time anyway. Mind you, we saw a few people get in just fine with sneakers on. Luckily, the owner came down, said it was no problem and let us in - plus, we promised we'd buy 2 bottles.

Luckily, we had a fantastic time. Why must some bouncers have these power trips?

Happy Birthday Craig!

Orzo Pasta with Bacon & Aspargus

This recipe was found in a booklet/magazine entitled Easy Recipes (or was it Easy Pasta Recipes). You know, the ones you see when you're in line at the grocery store. Anyhow, after making this for the 2nd time in one week I can assure you that it is, in fact, easy and good.

My apologies for the photo - it doesn't do the dish justice and we were thinking more about solving our hunger problem than we were about presentation.

RECIPE:

2 oz (1/2 cup) shredded fresh asiago or parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced roasted red bell peppers (from jar)
8 oz fresh aspargus spears, trimmed into 1" pieces
6 1/2 oz (1 cup) uncooked orzo pasta
6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 (14oz) can fat-free chicken broth w/ 1/3 less sodium

1. Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Reserve bacon & 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings in skillet - add broth. Bring to a boil, add orzo & reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
2. Add aspargus & roasted peppers. Cover & cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until orzo & aspargus are tender, stirring occasionally. Spring individual servings with cheese.

Yields 4 servings
Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

*You can serve it with anything. I served it with baked salmon (courtesy of the bf) the first time & the second time we had it by itself. Enjoy!

SF Nike Women's Full & Half Marathon

More than 20,000 women (and a few hundred men) raced to complete a full/half marathon in San Francisco on Sunday, October 18. It was my 2nd year in a row and I had a great time running for my life to beat last year's time & to benefit Leukemia & Lymphoma.

The course was scenic but extremely hilly - beautiful yet very tough.

"The race kicks off in Downtown San Francisco at Union Square and heads through the financial district past the famous TransAmerica building. It then proceeds along the San Francisco Bay past Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, Ghirardelli Square, Fort Mason and Marina Green while revealing breathtaking views of Alcatraz and The Golden Gate Bridge. The course then weaves through the Presidio and Sea Cliff districts, out to the Great Highway, through Golden Gate Park and south around Lake Merced, finishing just north of the Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean."

Along the route were stations for gatorade, water, Luna bars, Luna Moons, bananas, oranges, first-aid and entertainment spots that featured choirs, cheerleaders, bands & bagpipe players.
Some runners stopped for a photo op at each location/ entertainment area, but I decided to keep on trucking straight through to the finish to achieve my goal - and I did! I ran through the finish line beating last year's time by 20+ minutes. Then, I proceeded to pick up my Tiffany's necklace from one of the firemen dressed in Tuxes in addition to the finisher food & Nike DriFit Tee. Oh the lovely perks!

To reward ourselves, we headed over to Hard Knox Cafe to indulge in a southern homestyle meal. Mine consisted of fried chicken, collard greens, potato salad & corn bread. What a great way to end a 13.1 mile run!

This week, I'm focusing on vegetating, eating lots of ANYTHING & spending LOTS of time indoors :)

Run Like A Girl 2009

The Nike Women's Run is happening this Sunday and tonight was a special night for all the ladies (and a few hundred great men) who are running. To start off the first of 3 expotiques, the organization teamed up with a few sponsors to bring the runners "Ladies Night" which took place in the center of San Francisco's Union Square.


Instead of getting in line just to pick up our race packets, we were able to look forward to indulging in food/snacks, margaritas/smoothies, the oxygen bar, manicures, ipod engraving, shoe/shirt designing, raffling, running shoe-type measuring, ipod playlist making and more! The great part is, most (if not all) of these were free.



In addition, there were several very inspiring motivational guest speakers who got everyone pumped to do a great job. One of them was Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion.


It was an eventful night - what a way to pamper yourself before a big race day! Wish me luck! My goal is to beat last year's time by at least 15 minutes.