In a pink mood...

*Image from Bloomacious.com

I'm so excited.  One of my best friends is coming into town in a few days from New England.  You know the friends who make you smile at the mere mention of their name?  That's J.  Lighthearted fun always ensues when she is around.

The weather is looking like it will be great on Saturday, so I think we'll dress up the patio and I'll set Mr. M loose on the grill with a chicken or a big fish.  I've been working on our new garden all week and am currently addicted to pink rather than my normal red (don't worry dear red, you will always be first in my heart of colors).  

Maybe it's this weather that is displaying some major personality disorders this week that has me craving craving big and bold colors, but I'm ready to go 

all out.  Between the pink flowers (please, please let them survive tonight's frost!) and this fabulous website that I discovered yesterday, I'm really excited about dressing the

 patio. I came across Bloomacious.com through the site's founder, Carolyn Leber.  Recently she covered the DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) Dining by Design event at the Architectural Digest Home Show in New York.  The table settings were inspiring, 

my favorite being the hot pink room with the cherry blossoms overhead, shown in the above image.  I'm looking forward to using elements from the photo on my patio this weekend!  I'm thinking table coverings, fruits, and adding to the overall feel of a bold spring with some Principessa served with my marinated strawberries to begin with.  Stay tuned for photos as I build upon the idea!

What are y'all doing this weekend?  Any fun entertaining going on?  Please share!

Friday was a dog's day

Both of our dogs are rescues.  Our prissy, high maintenance Pomeranian was literally rescued out of the street in the middle of rush hour traffic one day when I was driving home from work.  I found her owners the next day, who claimed that hadn't realized that she had gotten out of the apartment.  They said I could keep her if I wanted, and there was no way I was going to subject her to a smoke-filled, overcrowded (5 roommates, 2 bedrooms) apartment, so I obliged.  Our other dog, Cosmo, is our best friend.  Not that Nina isn't fabulous... she earns her keep well by keeping my feet warm at night and by being a pleasure to look at in her cute little bows and sweaters while perched on the sofa.  But Cosmo has been with us through it all.  He was our first "joint purchase" in college and then stayed with me while Mr. Maurice spent time studying in Europe.  We got him from one of those slightly icky nonprofit rescue organizations who have all of the best intentions but little organizational skills to back it up. It has since closed, and our German Shepherd/golden retriever mix has gone from being a clone of the Tazmanian Devil (tornado and all) to the lovely, laid back watcher of the house that he is today. 

Well, yesterday morning we woke up and realized that it was somewhere around Cosmo's tenth birthday.  We aren't entirely sure when his birthday is, but we've been able to guesstimate because we know he was around 12 weeks old when we brought him home.  Of course we had to throw a party for him!  We called Dr. and Mrs. R (my parents) and our good friend H, who is always ready for some fab wine as long is there is fab (and often unfiltered) conversation to go along with it.  Everyone needs someone like H in their lives.  If you don't have an H, go find her right now.  She will make your life infinitely more interesting.

We decided that all of the meat served would have the bone in, in honor of Cosmo.  Of course he didn't get to have any of the bones because we would like him to stick around for a while.  So, Mr. M whipped up one of his famous grilled feasts, which included a bbq chicken recipe that was completely new to me and I can't begin to tell you what was in it, but the table was completely silent while we ate, if that is any indication of the quality.

I set to work on my first ever doggie birthday cake.  After doing a little research, I combined:

1 cup of flour

1/3 cup of honey

1 peeled and shredded carrot

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup vegetable oil

I put it in a round cake pan, baked it at 350 for 30 minutes, and "frosted" it with sour cream and dog food sprinkles.  Cosmo was in heaven (poor Nina couldn't have any because she has a very sensitive digestive system and can only eat a very specific brand of holistic dog food.  Like I said, high maintenance).  Yes, I may have lost my mind.  And no, it didn't look very professional.  And yes, it gave us a great excuse to have a toast with friends and spend the evening catching up on what's new in town!

Bringing my diet to my party

In my own imagination I am still the svelte 110-pound Energizer bunny that I was ten years ago.  The truth is, reality hit after having a child and entering my thirties... the dreaded metabolism slowdown has ensued.  My personal trainer and yoga teacher both have Job-like patience with me, but I had to do away with the nutritionist.  She was the strangest combination of crazy and boring, as if she couldn't decide if she wanted to be antisocial or a glamazon, at once scoffing and gleaning when I informed her that I needed to mindful of the dinner party I would be throwing that weekend.  So I've taken nutrition matters into my own hands.  Risky, I know.

This weekend we are hosting a little soirée just for fun.  At the beginning of the week Mr. Maurice attended a reception celebrating the completion (after 2 years of construction) of a new headquarters for bank.  He said that it was the most depressing celebration he'd ever been to in his life.  Smiles were tense, greetings were mumbled, and everyone was quick to hightail it out of there.  If there was ever a time to have a small, spirit-lifting gathering, it is now.  

Normally for a soirée such as this I would serve rich foods and gallons of bubbly, but we are now economy-conscious AND I'm watching my own intake of calories.  How to keep things light, happy, and healthful?  Why, salmon, of course!  This weekend we will be feasting on salmon fillets. We'll be using one of Mr. Maurice's recipes.  He dreamed it up on his own, so forgive the lack of "official recipe" formatting here:

Drizzle white truffle oil into a large pan and set to medium heat.  Add minced garlic, and cook until it begins to turn a bit translucent. Coat salmon with Baron's Savoury Secrets Sesame Ginger Blend Secret #25 and cook skin side up until meat is opaque.  The smell will have you floating.  

Serve on a bed of steamed spinach and serve a delicious fruit dish and a cheese plate for dessert.  I plan on drizzling honey over manchego cheese and oranges coated with cinnamon sugar.  Sure, it's a little spring-y, but we could all use a little air and light right now.  Add a little ice wine to the dessert menu and mmm...mmm....mmmm!

It is sure to be a fun and lighthearted evening that will please the senses without taking me down an absolute detour from my diet!

Enjoy!