30 Day Challenge, and Where the Hell I've Been For the Last Month

Hello friends.  Yes, it's me.  I'm still alive.  Lots and lots of things have happened to me recently, which obviously I could have blogged about, but I was fighting something I'd like to call "Unemployment Depression" (more on that another time) and I just Didn't Feel Like Doing Anything.  But I got a job (hoo-ray!) and I'm in my last few days of freedom, so I thought now would be a good time to update my peeps on what's been going on in ECM land.

So, I got a job.  I'm the new Parlor Manager for Julep Nail Parlor in University Village.  Yup, from managing people scooping food to managing people doing nails- big leap, I know.  Originally, I was aiming to get a job doing something that was a little more task-focused, rather than managing people, but (as my mother kindly pointed out) I'm good at managing people, so I might as well stick to what I do well.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm getting more and more excited about this job.  Things about this job that are Way More Awesome than my last job.
1. Female dominated environment- my boss is a woman, the CEO of the company is a women; heck, all of my employees except for one are all women.  Coming from my last job, where women were patted on the head and never taken seriously, this is a breath of fresh air.
2. PERKS!  Free services!  Discounts on products!  Free products!  My nails and toes will always look fantastic!
3. NO SAFETY SHOES!!!!!!!!!!  I can wear high heels, boots, sandals, and even flip flops (as long as they have a heel).  If you know me, you know how excited I am about this.  I'm that shallow that all I wanted was a job that would allow me to once again wear pretty high heels.  Pants and dresses just don't look the same with flats when you're a towering 5'3.  They just don't.
4. My boss is super awesome.  I have a vacation coming up but no vacation time accrued, so she's letting me take the days unpaid and then still have 10 days of vacation left for the rest of the year.  And she's working on Christmas Eve for me so that I can go home.  She clearly has her priorities in order and cares about her employees. Hmmph.  What a concept.  Do you hear that, Dick Devine??  You could use a little more work in that department. 

Speaking of vacations, in approximately 6 weeks I will be here:


Holland America Oosterdam

En route to here:

More specifically: Puero Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.  I have the Most Awesome Parents Ever who are taking Hubsters and I on a week long Mexican cruise to celebrate the fact that we both are 30, even though we haven't blessed them with grandchildren yet.  I am SO excited- however, being as I have recently gained what I am affectionatly calling my "Winter Weight", I am now in damage control for having to be in a bikini when I am used to burying my pasty, unfit, Ho-Ho-Holiday self under comfy sweaters. 
SO:  I have devised what I am calling the 30 Day Challenge.  Starting December 1st, for 30 days Hubs and I have committed to working out at least 30 minutes a day, every day, for 30 days.  Also, we are making a concious effort to eat healthy and not drink during the week.  AND, I myself have made a personal pact that I'm going to severely limit my Holiday Drinking.  This means no more than 2 cocktails at a party.  I'll let you know how THAT goes- I am not exactly known for my will power- but I know that if I can lose the 10 pounds before the cruise that I want to lose, I will be SO happy.

Speaking of working out, I recently discovered Hot Yoga, and I think I'm in love.  I bought the introductory 10 class special at I Love Hot Yoga and I LOVE it.  Not only does it burn boucoup calories in a short time, but most of the time I leave class feeling super relaxed and all bendy and flexible.  I haven't been this stretchy since my days as a ballerina. 

There you have it, folks.  As you can see, I'm still alive.  I hope my two readers haven't lost interest in me and you're still out there stalking me.  It makes me feel important :)

Tur-what?

One thing that Hubs has always wanted to do is take on the culinary masterpiece known as Turducken.  For those of you who are somewhat less familiar with this delightful dish, it's a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey.  Yes, it's ba-na-nas.  A little cray-cray even.  And thanks to Whole Foods, you too can take classes in learning the art that is Turducken.

We arrived at the Roosevelt Whole Foods location, excited about our Turducken adventure.  Now, I highly recommend the Whole Foods cooking classes.  We have taken a class at Sur la Table previously, which wasn't nearly as interactive, which I feel is imparative if you're taking a cooking class.  Whole Foods is the shiz-nit.  And they give you wine, and highly encourage the consumption of it throughout the class, which automatically qualifies you as Tres Cool in my book.

But I am getting off track.  The class was being taught by this guy:

Source



This guy is Gabriel Claycamp and he is kind of awesome.  After my years in the food service industry, I've met many a saucy, sassy-pants cook/chef, and he is definitely all of those things.  Katie likey.  This guy knows his way around a piece of meat for sure.  After a quicky demo on how to remove the bones from our various poultry friends, we were set loose to try for ourselves.

I'll spare you the details, but I will say that this is definitely not something to try at home if this is your first time cutting open an animal.  On a scale of 1 to 10, this has an ick factor of about a 15.  You get raw meat under your nails, all up your arms... it's gross.  Yet strangely fun.  Perhaps it was all the wine I drank, or maybe it's the satisfaction that you get from cutting out the bones of a bird, leaving all of the skin and meat intact, but I had a blast. 

Anyhoo... once you're done deboning your creatures, it's time to assemble your new friend.  Take your chicken, season with salt and pepper, fill with a layer of stuffing, fold over and set aside.  Do the same thing with Mr. Duck, laying Mr. Chicken inside of him, folding over, and set aside.  You then stuff Mr. Turkey, put Mr. Duck/Chicken inside, and now you're ready to seal him up and cook him.  Tie him up with kitchen twine, or you can apparently seal him up with Caul, which will make a nice seal around your bird and keep all the delicious juices inside. 

At this point in the class, they did a drawing for the five Turkduckens that the class had assembled.  We did not win, making us both Very Sad Pandas.  However, we noticed that one of the couples that "won" didn't want their Turkducken.  Being Very Sneaky, we decided to hang around the class and wait until everyone left, when we then hijacked the Turkducken and took it home.

Score!

But what does one do with a 3 lb chicken stuffed inside of an 8 lb duck stuffed inside of a 10 lb turkey? 

You call up your friends and host Turducken Thanksgiving, that's what.

*First, cook your new friend Turducken in the oven at 200 degrees for 8 hours, or until the internal temp reaches 155 degrees.  He is then ready to enjoy, and is really juicy and tasty*



Yummy yummy Turducken...sorry about the blurry picture :(

Turducken Thanksgiving was a great success!  However, I personally think that it all kind of tasted like turkey.  It was a lot of work, and we probably won't ever do this again, but it was definitely fun and a great excuse to have both Date Night and a fun get together with friends.

Photo Friday

I decided to try to implement a few "regular" type posts in order to motivate myself to blog more and give my readers more excuses for wasting time at work (I love you, my 2 followers. Now, go tell your friends to follow me too.) And so, my friends, I give you a little something to end your work week with a smile.







Hello, Casual Friday Attired Gym Goer. I really, really hope that you're not headed to work after sweatin' it out in your workday finery.
XOXO,
ECH

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Meer-Disappointment

Hubsters and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous October sun yesterday and take a little trip to Woodland Park Zoo.  I have been DYING to go here ever since they put in the Meerkat exhibit.  Meer-cute?  Yes, please.  I've seen Meerkat Manor.  I had high expectations.  I mean, I knew that there probably wouldn't be an active drama going on, complete with commentary and cutely named creatures, but I thought after all the hype and advertisements that would at least be COOL.
It wasn't.  Poor little Meerkats.  All 16 of them were encased in these weird glass cases, about the size of a department store window.  Hardly big enough for burrowing and acting out a daily drama segment.  Zoo = FAIL.  I would have taken a picture but I was far too distracted by what was directly outside the exhibit.


Look Mom, I'm a Meerkat!

J was probably SO embarassed by me.  But I was on a date.  At a zoo.  You really can't blame me for acting like a 5 year old.

On the plus side, we discovered that going to the zoo on a slightly cloudy afternoon in October is actually a really great idea.  No crowds, no field trip kiddies... it kind of felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.  Plus, if you're there around 3:30, it's feeding time so you get to see cute things like gorillas munching on celery and the elephant who does a little dance after he eats.  I'm serious.  You think I could make this stuff up?  Go see for yourselves.

XOXO,
ECH

Giving a new meaning to "In-Flight Entertainment"

I was watching my good friends, Kathie Lee & Hoda do their thing yesterday morning when they had a very interesting segment regarding airline safety.  So, chickadees, please sit back, relax, ensure that your tray tables and seatbacks are in their upright and locked positions, and ENJOY


XOXO,
ECH

Baking FAIL

A little reminder to all who like to bake:  if you don't add all the ingredients, weird stuff happens.  For example, not enough flour = flat little pancake cookies.

Unless, of course, you like flat pancake cookies.  In that case, rock on.

XOXO,
ECH

Wee Beers + RBO (Really Big Oysters) = Date Weekend!

Last weekend (ok, so really two weekends ago- I've been a very lazy blogger) Joel and I decided that since Seattle decided to stop blasting us with rain that it would be the time to head up to Taylor Shellfish Farm for a little sunshine, a little BBQ, and some fabulously fresh oysters.  We packed up the car, along with our friends Shirin and Bryan, and drove the hour and a half up to Bow, WA (where?  yeah, I didn't know either until this little adventure.  Almost in Canada, people.  Almost in Canada).

After driving down a beautiful road (albeit one lane, with a steep drop on one side...eek!) and across some railroad tracks (please remember to look both ways before crossing, they are operable tracks and that could really ruin your visit if you forget) we pulled up to the little farm with this amazing view.

We went in and purchased two dozen "medium" oysters for our BBQ.  We were hungry.  And we all really like oysters.  We had NO idea what we were in for.

First of all, these things were HUGE.  Like, the size of my whole hand.  And contrary to popular belief (and the people who sold us the oysters), BBQing these things for a few minutes does not make them "pop" open.  We needed help, and luckily for us, help was on the way.



Shirin getting a lesson in oyster shucking



R.B.O (Really big oyster).  And yes, I know what that looks like. I'm super mature like that



Now that we finally figured out how to get into these suckers, it was time for eating.  And boy, was I excited!

Soooo....here's the thing about oysters this size.  They are REALLY big.  As in, no possible way that you could eat them in one bite.  And let me tell you, as tasty as oysters are (and these were really good), you don't want to have to cut them open and look at what's inside.  It's icky.  We wished we had purchased the cute little Komomoto oysters that they had for sale instead of these giant wonders. 

Anyway, after dining (re: forcing ourselves to eat) on oysters, wine, yummy corn,  and S'mores (of course!), we decided we had had enough of gale force winds and headed back home.  All in all, it was a great way to spend the day, and we will definitely be back!



Thumbs up for a great date!



On to the next adventure: Fremont Oktoberfest! 

After a brief discussion about whether or not it would be appropriate to wear our Oktoberfest costumes (no), we headed down to Fremont around 6 pm.  I highly recommend going this early on the Friday, because it's less crowded and you don't have to wait.  Oh, and the people pouring beer will not take your beer tokens, turning your 10 beer tokens into 15 beer tokens (only if you're Joel.  Apparently, he's a lot cuter than I am).



We love Wee Beers!!!

Fun times were had by all.  We ended up closing the joint down at midnight- go figure.

That's all for now, sweetums.  I promise to try to be a better blogger.  I've been on a baking hiatus recently since Hubster and I were on a diet, but now that THAT nonsense is over, I have a few little projects up my sleeve that I'm dying to tackle and promise to properly document for you. 

XOXO, ECH

Picky, Picky

My husband is a really good eater (just ask his mom...hee hee...).  He will eat most anything, which makes cooking pretty easy most of the time because he will eat what I make.  However, recently we have made the decision to start eating healthier and made a few rules for ourselves.

1.  Cut back on the drinky-drink- Joel actually said I could have one glass of my beloved vino each night.  I decided it's probably better if I try to limit drinking to the weekends only, and the occasional happy hour.
2.  No bad carbs at dinner.  This means no bread, no pasta, etc.  We are trying really hard to make meals out of lean proteins and lots of veggies and fruit.

Sounds pretty easy right?  Well, one of the veggies that I really love is broccoli.  Steamed, a little lemon, salt & pepper... yummy!  Or even just raw, as a snack.  Joel happens to HATE broccoli.  Hates the taste, and hates the texture.  So I decided to trick him last night into eating broccoli with a little help from my friends at Black Bottle, who have an amazing recipe called Broccoli Blasted. 

Broccoli Blasted
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit
4-6 Servings

1 1/4 pounds broccoli, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
3 1/2 Tbl Olive Oil, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Toss broccoli and 3 Tbl olive oil in a bowl to coat.  Transfer to rimmed baking sheet lined with foil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for 15 minutes.  (It might be a little brown and crispy at this point- that's ok, it's supposed to be this way)  Stir remaining olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.  Drizzle over broccoli and return to oven for 8 minutes*.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

* I found that it was easier to transfer the broccoli back to its original bowl and toss it with the garlic and red pepper mixture to get all of my broccoli coated- this is where you get all the yummy flavor that makes your broccoli not taste like broccoli. 

The result?  Crispy, yummy broccoli that the hubs actually ate.  He said he liked it because it "didn't taste like broccoli and the texture wasn't like little spermies."

Yes, he actually said that.  I am One Lucky Girl, I am.

So, if you have a broccoli hater in your family, I highly recommend you steal this recipe immediately and make it.

XOXO,
ECH

I am by no means a wedding expert.....

....but I did pick up a few things during my planning process that recently let me help my dear new friend, the divine Lady M, work through a slight wedding vendor crisis.  Lady M emailed me yesterday, frantic because the quote that she had gotten from her florist was ridiculously high from the amount she had budgeted.  Like, we're talking $1000 over what she originally told the florist.  Ridiculous.  However, not surprising.  I had this happen to me when I was picking a florist- in fact, it was the one vendor of mine that was REALLY hard to find the "perfect vendor".  So, without further ado, here are my tips for navigating the waters when searching for your wedding vendors.

1.  Go into your first meeting prepared.  Pull inspiration photos from the internet, bridal magazines, photographer's blogs... anything that speaks to your vision of your day.  Your vendor can't help shape your dream until you give them an idea of what that dream is.


2.  Even if you know NOTHING about the particulars of your vendor's craft, do some research ahead of time.  I, as well as Lady M, made the mistake of telling our potential florist that we knew "nothing about flowers" and that we "trusted their judgement".  While they are the experts, even experts need a little "guidance" when it comes to our Big Day.  Florists, in particular, seem to always high-ball the budget that you give them, because let's face it- how many people really know a lot about flowers?  Do a quick internet search on what is seasonal for your wedding date.


3.  Be realistic about what you are asking for.  This means COMPROMISE becomes a very, very important vocabulary word during the planning process.  It means that if you spend more money than you expected because you HAD to have the kick-ass photographer, then you find someplace where you spend less.  For me, that meant I bought a sample wedding gown, because I paid more for my kick-ass photographer than I originally budgeted.  And she was kick-ass, and my dress was also gorgeous.  Win-win.  For other brides, this might mean that your beloved peonies are only in your bouquet instead of all over your wedding.  There are solutions, people, you just might need to get creative.

4.  Stand up for yourself.  This is because you are the bride, and while I am not a fan of Bridezilla moments, I think that there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't *politely* put your vendor in their place when they try to pull a fast one on you.  Whether it's telling them that they went way over your budget in their proposal, or that the plan isn't aligning with your vision, you need to do yourself a favor and speak up.  Because if you don't, then you will kick yourself on your wedding day because you were afraid to speak up and tell your stylist that you hate your hairstyle and that she needs to fix it RIGHTNOW.  (I love you, Natalie, but I still can't get over my wedding day hair.  Why I didn't just leave it down is still beyond me.)

That's it, dearies.  Hope it is helpful to my future brides-to-be!

Why you can't take us anywhere....

I love a wedding.  Give me an excuse to dress up and put on a pair of heels and I am happy as a clam.  Hubs and I got the chance to go to a "Black Tie" wedding this past weekend, and truly enjoyed ourselves.

Me and the hubs, circa beginning of dinner...

Joel and I think that we are Really Fun Wedding Guests.  Note that I said that WE think this.  Our poor friends probably would be mortified if they saw our behavior.  Sorry, Kelly and Dan.  Your wedding was beautiful, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Particularly the individual ice sculptures...

Mmmm...yummy yummy ice sculpture!

Thank you, clown. 

   Anyhoo....after we "cleansed our palates" with the contents of said individual ice sculptures, we did what any mature, well-behaved adult would do:  we took shots out them.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is probably not what the bride had in mind when she came up with this idea.

                                                                                         

Don't try this at home: vodka shot + straw = fast lane to drunk town

All in all, we had a great time. We stayed at the party until almost midnight, which for a Sunday night was a pretty awesome accomplishment, particularly considering the fact that I spent the first part of the weekend pretending I still had the liver of my college booze hound days in the Kappa Delta sorority.

*Note to friends whose weddings Joel and I have yet to attend- we really do know how to behave. Seriously. We don't start fights, inappropriately grope anyone except for each other, and we always make friends with the strangers at our table. And we're really cute and fun on the dance floor, especially after taking vodka shots out of ice sculptures. :)

We're off to see the wizard...

Image courtesy of Joey Nicole Photography, my uber-fabulouso wedding photographer

Hello!  Welcome friends!  Out of boredom, lunacy, and the notion that I have entirely too much to say, I have ventured into the blogging world to "put it all out there", for lack of a better phrase.  I'm an unemployed girl, recently married, who is exploring life as a newlywed with entirely too much time on her hands.  I'll blog about life as a housewife, including my ventures into the realm of cooking and baking and cleaning (oh my!), and about the times when I actually get out of the house because hubby has decided to reward my good behavior with an outing (otherwise known as a Date Night, very important in newlywed life).  I might entertain you with little anecdotes that I learn about from my new friends, Kathie Lee and Hoda, or share a story about one of the interesting people that I meet at the grocery store.  It's going to get pretty crazy up in here, so slap on those ruby slippers (or Glitter Peep-Toe Louboutins) and skip along with me.