Alli and I went for an afternoon outing today at Jonathan Adler in Uptown. It opened on Friday last week. We ended up circling the perimeter twice before deciding what we would want in our future homes. Since we couldn’t buy everything… Alli left with a set of orange and white polka dotted salt and pepper shakers. I got a set of 4 coasters that say Peace and Love. Here are a couple of snaps I took of the place.

What are your favorite decorating tips?

Last week…. A blur… I had to look back through the photos to realize all that happened. I took a break from writing because I like to write only when I feel I have something worth sharing. So… here goes!

1. My friend, Alli just got back from a road trip. They blogged while on the road trip. Click here! The site is Eat Better America (I have gotten some great recipes from here.) We all were pretty excited to check out the car she drove on her road trip.

2. My pride and joy, Leo hurt his back leg last week. Justin and I have watched him like a hawk and are happy that on Sunday he finally started acting like his old self. I had to buy him a new friend because… We all know how much he loves his toys. We have nicknamed this one affectionately… Janice.

3. We celebrated Justin’s birthday on Friday night. he begged me for no big gift and no party. I followed directions and we simply went to dinner at Brasa and then home where I surprised him with his favorite chocolate cake from Wuollet’s
.

4. I could keep going with a couple more highlights but I’ll save some for lata so I will end with seeing The Hunger Games with friends on Saturday night. People have asked me what I thought and I can’t give a clear cut answer. Even though I have read all three books and know the ending I was still squeezing Justin’s arm and whispering to Galina throughout the whole film (I’m a great person to bring to a movie!) I probably won’t see it again until it comes out on DVD. what were your thoughts?
However, I can tell you I was quite impressed by Louis Vutton’s window display I saw Saturday afternoon.

How was your weekend?

Sending lots of smiles,
Erica

Green is my favorite color. Also it’s my dad’s favorite. Yesterday I was happy to support St Patrick’s Day and my favorite color, green!

Bagel- Brueggars
Mocha- Caribou
Nail polish- OPI

How did you celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

Justin and I attended our first cooking class/dinner at Cooks of Crocus Hill (in St Paul) this past Sunday. We weren’t sure what to expect when we signed up 2 months prior… But regardless if we were cooking or simply just eating we knew the menu looked dynamite. It started at 5:00 p.m. and we were told the latest it would end was 7 p.m. We got there early because… If you know me you know I wanted to scope out the best possible seats. The upstairs of the kitchen store is what I would invision my dream kitchen to be. (granite counter tops, double oven, huge range that could hold 8 pots comfortably, and did I mention Le Creuset pots and all clad pans scattered all around.) Justin knew I was in heaven. There were three huge dining room table set with white table cloths, candle light, white plates… I love it.

Now the menu… We found out that for Sunday Suppers they don’t cook in front of you but instead present each dish and give you some feedback on how it was prepared. Before the class started we were given a packet of the recipes that we could look at while eating dinner. Also attached to the packet was a 15%off coupon to Cooks of Crocus Hill. (nope… I haven’t used mine yet.) ok sorry… I have gone on too long the menu

Romaine with Roasted Pears, Goat Cheese, and Candied Pecans: Sooo yummy… I am not a huge fan of pears by these were great.

Fried (Sweet Tea Brined) Chicken- This recipe I want to make ASAP… You finish it off in the oven and I found it reminded me a bit of Chickfila.

Truffled Grit with White Cheddar- I don’t have the most sophisticated palate. I love grit and thought these were okay but I couldn’t tell you if I tasted the white truffle oil or not.

Cider Braised Cabbage- LOVED these- I was taken back to Bama to a restaurant called Nikki’s. (this was as close as I think I will get to collards or turnip greens in Minnesota)

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie with Sweet Bourbon Cream- I’m a chocoholic and you would think I would be telling you about how I fell in love with this… But that was not the case. I would like to try tweaking the recipe.

All in all I had a great night out with my husband and I would recommend you check it out. It is a bit more affordable than the cooking classes their too.

Sending smiles from a bit warmer Minne (66 today)

Erica

M&M cookies are a classic. I didn’t think I could reinvent the wheel with this one until a friend told me TARGET was carrying white chocolate M&M’S. I knew I had to make a cookie with these so I decided to mix the classic milk chocolate M&M’S with the new white chocolate ones. The final product will surely make you smile and remind you that M&M’S still melt in your mouth and not in your hand.

Ingredient

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 12-ounce package White Chocolate M&M’S
1/2 package Milk Chocolate M&M’S

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; blend into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in M&M’S. Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and centers are still soft.

Enjoy

Erica

I ran to Trader Joe’s this morning and came back with a couple of yummy snacks. These two together taste like a falafel. It might be my new favorite snack… Well next to carrots and ranch.