#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

I am Stuffed!!

April 15, 2005 · Narrative

And I don’t know why really. I was starving, starving, starving right before dinner. The Husband and I went to Bensi (no web site – can you believe it?) for dinner. I ordered the Potato Croquettes for us to share, and then the Portobello Salad for me for an entree. The Husband ordered a Grilled Chicken and Mozzarella sandwich. When he heard about my choice in entree, he asked why I chose that. I said I was looking for something healthy for dinner, which he laughed at when he saw that I ordered dessert – Creme Brulee Cheesecake! But I ordered it for both of us!!

The first time I went to Bensi’s, it was very soon after they opened, about a year and a half ago. The service was painfully slow… and it hasn’t changed. Tonight, we sat at the bar and waited a good 15 minutes without being acknowledged. There were only 5 other people at the bar, all having been served already. I didn’t feel like waiting any more, or tipping this kind of service, so I went to their take-out spot and ordered our dinner to go. We sat in the parking lot and ate there instead. We had some errands to run, so didn’t have a lot of time for a lingering dinner anyway.

Now back to the meal. The Potato Croquettes were delicious! Well, not too unexpected for something fried, right? The Portobello Salad was ok. A bit steep at $8.95, it was four mushrooms with a balsamic dressing, topped with too soft red pepper pieces. Nine bucks for 4 mushrooms caps? Not terribly impressed. The Creme Brulee Cheesecake was good, but I think what made it good was the raspberry sauce drizzled over it. When I see the phrase Creme Brulee, I think of that nice, golden, slightly crunchy topping, which this didn’t have. The top was golden, but no crunch. Of course, The Husband, being picky about his taste for cheesecake, had one bite and left the rest for me … so much for a healthy meal, eh?

Now to back up the day a bit … a few of us in the office are taking a stab at Weight Watchers (I’m doing WW for lunch at least). For something different, we decided to order from Applebees, since they have a Weight Watchers section now. I ordered the French Onion Soup Au Gratin (3 points) and the Shrimp Skewer Salad (4 points). The soup was good, although it is pretty hard to ruin onion soup. The salad — very disappointing. For starters, it’s $10!!! The shrimp was good, but it tops a bed of iceberg lettuce. Now for a $10 salad, I don’t want to see iceberg lettuce. How about a little spring mix? Or spinach leaves? But iceberg? Puhleeze! Even Wendy’s, in their Garden Sensation Salad line, uses spring mixes for the lettuce, as opposed to just iceberg. Geesh!

My feeling is this … I work hard for my money. Sometimes at the end of the day, I just want to have someone else cook for me, but when I’m forking over the money for the meal, I want it to be worth it. Ten dollars for a salad that is made up largely of cheap, common, iceberg lettuce (about 80% lettuce to 20% shrimp) is ridiculous … make me feel good about the money I spent. Is that too much to ask?

This being our “date night,” Nicholas was home with the babysitter. He had but one request, and it’s the same one every week … an Icee from 7-11, a blue one for him and a pink one for his babysitter. A bargain at 89 cents, he does the happy dance as soon as we walk in with the Icees. Now there’s money I can live with spending.

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Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    April 15, 2005 at 4:33 am

    Aren’t kids the best? The simple things make them so darn happy…

    Reply

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#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛

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#flowertherapy might be right up there with #water #flowertherapy might be right up there with #watertherapy.  Love passing the time in secret wildflower patches. As you do. 🌸
I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon I remarked how pretty that tiny sliver of the moon was on the way home tonight, and my friend pulled over right away so I could grab a photo. That’s when someone really knows you! It was just too beautiful to resist. 🌙
Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ C Weekend photos in review, old school style. ✨ 
Context: 1/ picture perfect weekend, 2/ threw together a quick meal w udon noodles, steak and broccoli, so good, 3/ the sun reflections on this painting struck me today, looked like a cross 4/ it takes all afternoon but nothing like Sunday Gravy, 5/ six months old, 6/ when he wants some serious zzzz’s, he covers his eye with his ears, the cutest, 7/ breakfast pastries at @coniglios
I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New I have plenty of reusable shopping bags since New Jersey banned the plastic ones last year. But when I spied this beauty for a buck, how could I resist? It just is so darn happy, which makes me happy. The little things aren’t so little. 💛
Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged Cheers to the weekend! This may look like a staged photo, but Lola just has ZERO boundaries and Clifford is exceptionally patient. 😂
I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s I’ve been on a smoked salmon kick lately (it’s so good for you), so when I saw that a local patisserie has a smoked salmon croissant available (weekends only), I added it to my list of things to seek out. I popped into @chocolatinenj early on Mother’s Day and was rewarded with this deliciousness. Layers of soft flaky croissant dough, tender smoked salmon, light whipped cream, thinly sliced red and green onion slivers and dotted with capers… it was every bit as amazing as you’d imagine it would be. If you’re local, don’t sleep on this one. 😋
Weekend photos in review, the belated edition. 1/ Weekend photos in review, the belated edition.

1/ hit up a few yard sales and snagged this beautiful pasta dish from Italy with my favorite color for a buck, 2/ and one of these printer trays came home with me too, 3/ pre Mother’s Day celebrations with 30 local moms, 4/ finished the weekend supervising furniture assembly
Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd bir Today would have been my friend Cathy’s 53rd birthday. Unfortunately she’s not here to celebrate because she died suddenly at age 49. I think of her often … every Mother’s Day because we spent most of them together since her husband worked weekends … when I discover a new food adventure (we once did a day long donut crawl) … when I’m sharing a special time with my kids knowing that her then-11 year old is growing up without her. Before she passed, I always appreciated every day, but since then, even more so. You never know what the next day can bring, so relish in the sunshine, surprise rainstorms, making wishes over railroad tracks and all the wonderful randomness life can throw your way. Don’t waste a single second, say yes, live on the outskirts of your comfort zone, laugh often, tell people you love them, give eight second hugs, and squeeze every ounce of joy you can out of life. Do it for the people who can’t. ✨

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