This past weekend was Elliot’s 2nd birthday party and he had a blast. We got an incredible cake from Columbus Corner Bakery. It was delicious and they went above and beyond the call of duty on the decoration.
We had a great turn-out as you can see. Thanks everyone!
Somebody must think Elliot’s ready for potty training.
Look at that look of fear.
I started a bad, bad thing. See, our coffee at work sucks…well, used to suck. I never drank it. I would walk down the block to Fountain City Coffee, the best coffee I’ve ever had, seriously. I’d get a big ol’ cup of Guatemala Antigua or Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and I’d be set. My boss would drink a Coke. Then he found out that Coke has 12 tsp of sugar. Then he got grossed out. Then he started drinking coffee. Then he found out that our coffee was essentially ashtray drippings. Then he got converted. Now, I walk down the street once a month and buy a month’s worth of coffee for our office. Now we can all enjoy the warm nuttiness of Guatemala Antigua. Oh and the perk? Yeah, you get free coffees whenever you spend a certain amount with them. Needless to say, I end up with about 12 free coffees each month. That’s three large lattes a week if I want ‘em. Niiiiiiiiiiicccccceeeee.
I don’t need temptation; temptation finds me. As if I need one more temptation cluttering up my closet full. I have this.
This is a White Chocolate dipped Cranberry Walnut Macaroon from Au bon Pain. It is a concrete representation of sin. Forgive me Father…
No that’s not pig-latin or baby speak. It’s Afrikaans for Happy Birthday, since Saturday was Sunette’s B-day. Unfortunately Saturday didn’t feel like much of a birthday for her since we spent the day in the hospital with Elliot. He’s doing pretty well, we’re just trying to get the feeding thing worked out. He’s going in for his G-tube on Tuesday and a Nissin procedure which should help with his reflux. Hopefully those procedures will clear up the nagging little issues that have been hanging around. I’m hoping we can be home in about a week after his G-tube procedure. We’re in our 8th week up here in Philly so it can’t come soon enough.
Anyway, Saturday wasn’t much of a birthday but I made reservations at a phenomenal restaurant for Sunday night. It’s a Tapas restaurant in downtown Philly called Amada. I had to call 5 days in advance to get reservations at a decent time, it’s that rockin. We got there last night at 9pm and had one of our top dining experiences ever, seriously.
The selection was amazing, the presentation was impeccable and the flavors were out of this world. If you’re not familiar with tapas, they are kind of "mini-meals" that are traditional spanish fare. Typically you combine several and share them to create a full meal, but made up of lots of smaller dishes. Here’s what I love about tapas; the chef’s full attention goes into that one dish, then the next, then the next. It’s not this big heaping thing of pasta that you fill up on or get tired of halfway through. Every bite you take has been meticulously crafted to be the best bite it can be.
We had about 6 dishes in all and a dessert. I wish that I could describe them for you, but this post would get gargantuan, as you prolly know how much I love food, I could wax poetic. Needless to say, we both agreed that it was close to, if not, our top dining experience ever. I also surprised her with a special "dish" I ordered just for her. I conspired with the waitress to bring out a couple pieces of jewelry that I was giving Sunette on a plate as if it were another dish. Oh I know, stop it…. stop it. She was surprised to say the least, since we’ve been spending all waking hours at the hospital. I stole away for a couple hours and hunted down a couple special gifts for my special woman. Love you hon!! Happy Birthday!!
When Sunette and I are back home we make breakfast for dinner about once a week. It’s a big comfort food for us. I’m talking eggs, cheese grits, turkey bacon and biscuits; that kinda breakfast. It struck me the other day that we haven’t had a breakfast like that since we’ve been in Philly, going on 2 months now. Holy cow. I’m a breakfast guy, it’s my favorite meal, and I haven’t had a good ole down home grits and eggs since I’ve been here. Time to rectify.
On our way home from the hospital yesterday evening before supper we decided to swing into the Philly Diner on Walnut Street. We’ve been passing it at least a couple times every day as we walk to and from the hospital. Although it was a little earlier than we normally eat, 5:30pm, we were down for some breakfast. I settled on the Grand Country Breakfast and Sunette ordered up the 2 Egg Special. Of course I wasn’t expecting grits, being in Philly, but there they were! You could substitute grits for hashbrowns. Unfortunately when the waitress came around I got so caught up that I forgot to make the switch. DOH! Oh well, the hashbrowns were good too. I chowed down on biscuits and sausage gravy, eggs, hashbrowns and sausage links. Topped off with about 3 cups of joe. Mmmmmmmm. There’s nothing like some comfort food to make it all better. What do you turn to when you need the love?
Our garden has been rockin’ lately and I’m loving it. There’s nothing that says summer like fresh homegrown Jawja ‘maters. No wonder it’s actually a fruit, when you let it grow to ripen they are so sweet and delicious. We’ve been eating them like gangbusters here lately.
Picture it if you will…a hot, humid Georgia Saturday in the middle of July. You’re trying to stay inside as much as possible, with the A/C kickin’. It’s lunch time and nothing heavy or hot is sounding good. But then you see the basket of ‘maters. Oh joy of red delicious goodness that inhabits my soul. Slice a couple of those puppies up nice and thin, or thick if you prefer, slap ‘em on some wheat bread with a little Kraft light Mayo, some salt and pepper, and you have just entered heaven. St. Pete wishes he could have a ‘mater sandwich.
For the past few weeks we could see our nine or ten tomatoe bushes getting heavy with a bunch of green ones. We knew the day would come for a bumper crop, and oh our arrival home from Florida was greeted with about 25 juicy red ripe little bundles of joy. Ok so I’m gushing. Tell me this doesn’t look divine though.
Choking on Air