ketchup

Phew, it's been a while since my last confession, oops, I mean blog! Truth is, I have been swamped. Between a trip to Iowa last weekend, being swamped at work and some hush hush circumstances I have been having a hard time, well, finding time! It appears as though things are not slowing down either but I decided to take a break tonight and spend some time with my blog.

As I mentioned Mike and I spent Easter weekend in Iowa. We finally made it to the neighborhood wine bar, it was great! I can't believe we never went the year we lived there. I really enjoyed the flight I had. My favorite was the syrah and not the malbec this time, big shocker as I am a malbec lover!






On Sunday we celebrated the start of spring and easter at The Lodge. I am also a lover of The Lodge, I believe I said "I just love the Lodge, no matter what you come for you know you are going to have a good time" The brunch was good, and so was my mimosa. We ate in the banquet area rather than the restaurant which was kind of a bummer as the ambiance wasn't as great but good times were had by all, and man do they do an unbelievable amount of business on easter!

After brunch the easter bunny made a visit to the casa. We all found our gifts, including my parents this time, we turned the tables and hid something for them too!







And last but not least, Easter Doodle!

From the Midwest to the East Coast and Back Again

Most of you know Mike and I were out East last week, but with two dogs and a cat the planning has to start much sooner. Needless to say the past two weeks have been a little cray cray. Our fun kicked off two weekends ago. Friday night we ordered one of my staples, Pockets, it's a salad fast food joint if you will. My favorite is the Berry Blue salad, mixed greens, dried cranberries, cucumbers, edamame, sliced almonds and blue cheese with fat free raspberry dressing. I went for the large and enjoyed every bite!



The next morning we got up around 6am to head to Iowa. We had to get there early to take Finn to his old vet. He'd been having several problems with his ear, eyes and skin. We had to make it before they closed at 11, so we hit up Starbucks first! After a relaxing afternoon and Finn got his meds we headed to Dubuque, Iowa, another hour and a half drive, to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? 60 years, that is a LONG ASS TIME! We had dinner at an interesting restaurant called Morocco. To my disappointment it was not Moroccan food, but the family picked it because it's been around forever, so long that my Dad even went there when he was a kid!

My Dad and his parents aka my gram and gramps! The gorgeous and delicious cake was made by my aunt Renee.


The non Moroccan Morocco


Mike's din



After dinner we celebrated with cake and puppy chow(yum alexis!) and headed back to Davenport. The next morning we got dropped Finn off at the boarder, left Dixie with her grandparents and headed back to Chicago. I also received a blingin text that happened to be my cousin Alysia's engagment ring. Her boyf popped the question Sunday morning, we are so happy and excited for them!

Phew, and then it was Monday!

Feliz Navidad Dos

After Mike's family head back to the East Coast, Mike and I headed to Iowa for another Christmas. My Mom had her annual day after party two days after Christmas this year so we were able to see the entire family, minus Brad and clan.

We arrived Sunday for another gorge fest of cookies and pizza. There was lots of family, food, presents and fun times. We also ate at Thunder Bay Grill. This used to be one of my favorite restaurants in the QC for years, but it went downhill for a while. I'm happy to say they revamped a bit and now have a full tapas menu. I tried a mahi mahi taco, caprese martini and old bay style shrimp cocktail. It was all very tasty!

I snapped a couple of great pictures, but unfortunately missed out on the men in the family. I swear, they do exist on the Wilbricht side!

and before the tree

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!! I spent time with family and ate plenty of delicious treats and figured I'd share my favorites.

The hubs and I, along with our dogs headed off to Iowa Wednesday evening. We waited until 7 to beat, or wait out, the traffic. We managed to get there in just under 3 and 1/2 hours. Not bad!! We spent Wednesday night at my parents and then headed further into Iowa Thursday morning for a traditional Thanksgiving feast at my Grandparents. I was able to finally eat Tofurkey, it was so good, along with mashed potatos, corn, salad and good ol' green bean casserole. Mike was the opposite of me and my tofurkey. I believe he had ham, turkey and pork! What a carnivore!

There were several pies for desert. Apple rhubarb, pumpkin, caramel apple, and my gma's infamous chocolate pie. I also brought an oatmeal pecan pie from cookinglight.com. The pie was delicious and healthier than a regular pie. I am already planning on making another one this week!

The other eating highlight of my weekend was getting my parents to go to Le Mekong. I blogged about Le Mekong a while back. Everything was as good as ever on Friday. We got a little crazy after dinner and headed to Jumers Casino and then to the Lodge for my fav lounge singer.

Which leads me to the pizza I ate Saturday evening while I laid on my couch and veg-ed. We ordered from Chicago Pizza, before Mike and I moved in together Chi Pie was my neighbor for years. I ordered half light on the cheese, this is a little trick I have to save some calories. It was delicious.

Despite all my eating, when I stepped on the scale this morning, I lost two pounds. I managed to squeeze in two workouts over the long weekend but honestly, my body confuses the hell out of me. For the past week and a half I'd been eating low carb and been miserable without the scale budging! I'm not complaining but it makes me wonder why I bother!!

Chucky Cheese

Lucky for me my lil sis had a old digital camera she is no longer using thus, I inherited a lovely Cannon PowerShot A510. This will hold me over until I have some steady income again, other than my unemployment. Although I am still sad for the lost pictures, this helps soften the blow a little.


This past week my sis-in-law Brooke, and my niece and nephew Reese and Eli were visiting from Arizona. It was a funfilled week that led us to Chucky Cheese last night for some pizza and games. It's been years since I have been to a Chucky Cheese, in fact, when I was a kid it was Showbiz, way cooler if you ask me but Chucky was still a lot of fun.

day tripper

Today I woke up at 6:30 am after getting about 4 hours of sleep. It was another torturous night of laying awake talking to the hubs until 3am trying to figure out our possible, pending move. Anyways, this is the third night in a row I have not really slept and I was really feeling it this morning. I knew that I needed to do something to distract myself. So, around 11:30 my sis and I took a little roadtrip up to Galena, IL.

We'd both been there before but I still did a quick search before leaving and found a few lunch options along with a winery to check out.

Upon arriving we decided to stop for lunch right away. We walked past a couple places to One Eleven Main, one of my online pics.

We started off by ordering a couple sangrias, although this was a tough choice because they had an amazing drink selection including blackberry or raspberry mojitos.



Next I died and went to heaven when I saw they had a cheese board. It was a combination of three types of cheese from another local shop, Galena River Wine and Cheese, along side of some almonds, dried cherries from Door County, a few accent sauces an some apple. My favorite was the brie with apple and the brie with the dried cherries. Seriously, I died.



Next up, we debated on salads which sounded great but we REALLY want to try this amazing looking sandwich, the Croque Madame.



Shaved Usinger's smoked ham on toasted bread with melted Swiss and Dijon mustard topped with white sauce and a local farm fresh egg.

This was by far the best sandwich I have ever had, even beating out the turkey Reuben from The Bier Stube. Even the fries were phenomenal. I only wish I could have eaten the whole damn thing, but this is what I left.



After we were done we had a lot to walk off. I was hoping I would be able squeeze in some ice cream, but I was just too full, so next time.

My sis and I did a little shopping and even made our own soy candles. We both made beachy scented mixes from the Galena Candle and Bath Company.

This day was exactly what I needed to take my mind off all the stress and the xanax I stole from Finn, our dog, helped too ;)

let's get our taco on!

Tonight Mike, Mel and I headed over to El Mariachi Restaurant at 1317 15th St, Moline, IL. A former co-worker of mine had suggested this place for authentic Mexican food. After months of searching, since we moved to Iowa, I am happy to say I found a place that serves avocado tostadas!! I also ordered and avocado taco and beans and rice. My dinner was delicious, fresh and REALLY hit the spot. Mel liked her dinner too and my Mike had the taco bar!

This is going on my normal rotation of places to dine out at, and if we move we will be coming back here on our visits for sure!! They also have a bar, next time I'll try a margarita!

If you can't grow it, don't eat it!

This morning my Dixie baby and I headed to the farmers market downtown. I've been trying to adopt the mantra, "If you can't grow it, don't eat it." I know processed foods are horrible for me so I try to stick to veggies, fruits, whole grains ect. So, this morning Dixie and I picked up some locally grown tomatoes, potatoes, pop corn and of course some organic dog treats! The lady at the Tailz Are Waggin booth didn't even look twice at me when I told her I promised Dixie she could get a treat on the way over..hahah...

When we got home I whipped up an egg white omelet in the microwave, ever since I found out I could nuke my eggs it's been wonderful! So I heated up some egg whites, mushrooms (bought already chopped and washed) some green, red and yellow peppers I had already chopped and keep in the freezer.

Once the omelet was done I sprinkled a little cheese on top and chopped up one of my fresh tomatoes from the market and some avocado I had in the fridge! This was delicious! I also toasted a piece of 100% Whole Wheat bread that I bought at the grocery store. The bread is made locally by Nature's Bread Basket Bakery and is so tasty! I picked it up because there are only a handful of ingredients that go into making the bread which means less or no preservatives!

That's been my morning so far! O, and at the market I saw a booth that serves Iced New Orleans Style Coffee, this is on my list to try next week!! Yum!

Another Year Bites the Dust

Last Thursday I celebrated my b-day with the hubs and the fam. After coming home to a beautiful flowers from my sweetie, we had a wonderful dinner at Osaka! My first 3 courses looked something like this:






Then the p's and my sis showed up and we were seated. This was the first time the p's had sushi! We ordered a few apps and a variety of maki. I, of course, had to have my hot sake. YUM!







After dinner we headed back to the p's for presents and cake! I was lucky enough to get some great gifts this year! An awesome tent from my Dad! Mike and I are both excited about this because we plan to do some camping this summer at Scott County Park and can't wait to take Finn!

My Mom gave me some great smelling stuff from one of my favorite shops here, The Soap Box, and all Iowa made! Can't wait to try it all! My sis gave me a really cool starfish necklace and my mother and father in law sent me a cool owl necklace which you might notice in some of the pics!



After we ate a slice of suzy q cake my Mom made, Mike and I headed back home where we had another cake that my sweetie picked up. Mike went to Old Towne Bakery and had them make an almond cake with a raspberry filling... ummm AMAZING! I managed to force down a piece lol!






All in all is was a great birthday! Can't wait for next year! O, wait, yes I can!! I forgot, once you are in your 30's you don't mind if the year drags on!! So, Cheers to a long year!!

Holy Yummy Sandwich!

Yesterday Mike and I hit a deli that's been on our list since we moved to Iowa. The Village Corner Deli is within walking distance of our house which is awesome since we miss all the walking we did in Chicago.

The deli is very quaint inside, the charm comes from the friendly staff and creative menu! Mike decided to try the Mad Irishman, go figure, which was smoked ham, sharp cheddar, bbq horseradish on marble rye served hot. This sandwich was AWESOME! I tried a bite so I can attest!

I opted for a build your own sandwich. I went with honey turkey, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, pickles and light mayo on marble rye. Again, great sandwich! Many other clever names filled the menu board: The Ranch Head, The Ivory, The New Yorker...just to name a few.

What I also really enjoyed was the great side selection. Mike tried the olive salad which I stole many bites of, I was trying to spare some calories and opted not to order my own but they also had various types of pasta salads and chips.

I snapped a picture of my sandwich with my cell about half way threw. Not the best, but you get the idea! I have a feeling we will be going back again soon!

54 aint no more

Tonight the lovely woman who brought me into this world, my mom, celebrated the big 55.

The fam had a nice dinner at Symposium and headed home for gifts and cake!

The cake was my own creation and I did get a few laughs out of it. Those are actually raspberries on the cake, and although the idea was good in theory, the final product looked a little silly. Regardless, it was good. I cheated a little as this was not a from scratch cake but I added my own twists with some shredded milk chocolate and some boiled, to get the right consistency, raspberry preserves to spread on the middle layer of the cake. All in all, a good piece of cake!

The Easter Bunny Left Me Two Suprises...

2 pounds! I can't blame it all on the Easter Bunny. I don't think I cooked once this weekend, which is never a good thing for me. I usually try and balance my eating a little bit more but hey, once in a while what can you do.

Friday night I started off ok with a veggie burger at my parents, I ate a few pretzels, a little bit of potato salad and a small piece of cake...it turned into a carb fest although I did squeeze in a workout after work.

Saturday morning Mike and I got starbucks and then bagels from Brueggers. My plan was to walk it off but it was cold so we ate our bagels in the car while we looked at the river and watched some seniors feed ducks.

Saturday night we went to a wedding, the food was great! I will say I controlled myself too. I did splurge on the cheese and some great apps...thai chicken with a yummy peanut sauce, crab cakes. Then I kicked into strategy mode. There was a mac and cheese bar, it was pretty amazing. Mike went up for a fix and I snacked off his, I don't think he was too happy about it, but it helped me out! O, and the cake, I fought the urge to get a second piece and won! A rarity.

Despite my indulgance Saturday night I woke up Sunday pretty hungry. Mike and I went to Symposium for a kick ass breakfast! I'd never been before and was excited to find out that they actually take the time to make food great...not just mediocre, which I find to be the case a lot in this area. I had a Mediterranean omelet with fried potatoes, whole wheat toast and their breakfasts come with a free gourmet coffee! SO I went for a cappuccino, and it was served in a big mug, not a paper cup. Yum yum... all together our tab was only 22$. SO CHEAP for the quality. However, next time, when I am in healthy eating mode, I will change my omelet to egg whites only and substitute my potatoes for fruit :) But hell, it was Easter. (O, and they serve breakfast until 5! remember my beef with getting breakfast one the weekends in these parts?) Kudos to Symposium!

Last night we started off good, an organic tomato basil pizza, really tasty and a salad. Around 9:30 I opened my mouth with a great idea...McFlurrys! I hadn't had one for over a year! So yep, I had a small reeses peanut butter cup McFlurry and made my way to bed.

The weekend wouldn't have been too bad had I managed to squeeze in a workout Saturday or Sunday, I just didn't make it a priority.

All that being said, my eating extravaganza could have been subconscious since I knew today was my day to kick my workouts and diet up a notch to prepare for our trip to NOLA mid May. If I go there not at my happy weight I will not enjoy myself as much... this is just how I am, crazy or not.

I started off my morning with Jillian Andersen's 30 Day Shred. This is a 20 minute workout that follows a 3..2..1 philosophy.

3 minutes of strength training
2 minutes of cardio
1 minute of abs

There are 3 circuits of this then a cool down. The workout was really tough, but fun and if I see the promised results after 30 days, I will be ecstatic! This workout is meant to replace all the hours at the gym but I want to double my results, haha, so I plan on still hitting the gym 4,5 nights a weeks. We'll see how this goes!

An Early Start This Saturday

This morning Mike and I woke up around 8:45. Not so early...but usually on Saturday we lay around until 12,1,2,3 and then force ourselves to go to the gym. This is different when the weather is nice, but in the winter, I have little motivation to get up on the weekends.

This morning we were up and out of bed by 9:30. We decided to go grab a coffee and some breakfast. We ended up at Cafe Fresh in Moline. When we walked in I thought ok, this place is cute, but polished and shiny looking. I know, you are probably sick of hearing me say "In Chicago" but I miss the worn in places with tattered wood floors and paint chipping off the walls. I miss the character, sigh...but Cafe Fresh was almost there.

First things first, we ordered our coffees. I switched to green tea during the week, so coffee on the weekends is a special treat for me. I chose a skim latte and Mike a large coffee. I was a little dissappointed when our coffees came, I was looking forward a big comfy mug, but instead our drinks were served in white paper cups with a sleeve to keep from burning our hands. I removed the lid and thought, O well.

Next we ordered our breakfast. After looking over the menu of breakfast wraps, egg sandwiches, muffins, I chose a veggie breakfast wrap in a wheat tortilla and Mike a bagel sandwich with ham. Both of our selections were good, although Mike's bagel was pretty messy. The eggs were fried and when he bit down it squirted in his face. hahah. Mine was good, and I saved half my wrap for tomorrow.

Overall this place was cute and good. I don't know that I'll rush to go back anytime soon, but if you live in the area it's worth checking out.

O, then afterwards we shopped around a little and went to the gym. I got three miles and some weight lifting in!! Now, it's time for a nap!! How I love the weekend!!

we both gasped a little

Tonight, my sister Mel and I decided to try out Graze for dinner. Graze specializes in martinis and serves a variety of appetizers or small plates to share.

First things first, we selected our martinis. There were so many to choose from but I'd been craving a Pomegranate martini. The mix master used Three Olives Pomegranate Vodka, PAMA pomegranate liquor, sweet and sour and cranberry juice. Mel had to incorporate a little bit of Captain into hers so she order the Honeymoon in Vegas. Her concoction consisted of Captain Morgan, orange curacao, orange juice, sweet and sour with a Cinnamon sugar rim.

Mel and I browsed the menu for a bit and decided to keep things simple. We ordered the Grazing 101 option. All of our small plates were brought out to us about 15 minutes later. Grazing 101 looks like this:

Food Guru’s Chicken Lips
Grilled Pepperoni & Portobello Pizza
Mediterranean Salad
Big Island Burgers

Everything, except the pizza, was served on a stacked appetizer tower.

All the dishes were very good and then the waitress brought out dessert. I had to bust out the camera. They don't call it Big Ass Ice Cream Pie for nothing!

Food, yum!!

Last weekend I stopped into one of my favorite places in Davenport, Riverbend Antiques. If you have not been, it is worth it just to see Jazz alone (the dreadlocked giant poodle)! Riverbend Antiques has been around for 38 years at the 400block of Brady Street in downtown Davenport. The store occupies four buildings and you even walk through a cute little court yard to get to a section. Every era is under one roof! I could spend hours looking through all the cool old antiques and rumor has it, it's haunted. Scary!

At any rate, I spent some time chatting with the owner. While we were discussing restaurants and movies he mentioned that Le Mekong has the best springs rolls in the QC. This is all it took, Le Mekong has been on my list of places to try for a long time now.

Mike and I decided to go on Wednesday. Knowing that I was going to indulge, I paid my dues. After work I ran two miles and went to a pilates class before heading home and to the restaurant.

Ron, at the antique shop, mentioned the spring rolls so Mike and I both tried them. At only $1.95 a piece we thought this was a great deal! O, I have to mention the awesome peanut sauce with a hint of siracha.



We ordered a second appetizer that Ron recommended called Banh Xeo or Vietnamese pancake. It's a crepe like dish filled with all sorts of good stuff, shrimp, bean sprouts, onions(which I normally hate, but these were prepared in a way that left them with just a faint taste)cucumber and wonderful seasonings. Banh Xeo is served with a light sauce, lettuce leaves and is spooned and eaten inside the lettuce, like a lettuce wrap. I'll go back again just for this!






Next we ordered two entrees to share.



We chose the Emperor Seafood Rice cooked and served in a clay pot, it was one of my favorite dishes ever. Lot's of fresh veggies with sea scallops and shrimp!



Our other entree was the Ha Long Noodles. A combination of fresh veggies, shrimp, chicken and egg noodles. This was really good, but I'd try something different next time.



Overall we really enjoyed our dinner at Le Mekong, and will be returning again in the near future!