An Evening In The Wine Cellar

Yesterday evening Brian surprised me by making reservations at one of our favorite restaurants,
The Wine Cellar & Bistro.

This was our fourth visit and it was like going over to your best friends house.
We felt welcomed and comfortable.

We love the fact that the executive chef, Craig Cyr, uses local farms to create a unique and ever changing menu.

You walk into an ambient, warmly lit room where artistic wine crate lids line the walls.
There are a thousand bottles of wine just begging to be sipped.

I always tend to find a new favorite wine, this night was no exception.

This is a No Co Pinot Noir.
Smooth and fresh, I could drink this all night long!

Lu was our fantastic waitress.
She let us take our time and seemed to have an understanding that we wanted to spend the evening relaxed.
Some restaurants leave you feeling hurried. Rushed so they can replace you with other customers.
Not here.

We started with a choice of Dungeness Crab Cakes.
These were served with a sweet and spicy mango & roasted red pepper relish along with an avocado, boursin whipped cream.
Creamy and delicate, we enjoyed trying something new.
I absolutely loved the relish with the fresh crab.

<;/a

Next up, my all time favorite salad,
the orange mozzarella salad.
This is a mix of greens peppered with fresh mozzarella, strawberries, candied pecans and an orange balsamic vinaigrette.

Lu made sure we had plenty of wine, (which I was happy she recommended) and kept the food coming.

Next up, the entrees.

Brian chose the free-range chicken and pancetta ravioli.
Homemade pasta with the saltiness of the pancetta and creamy basil pesto sauce.
What’s not to like?

And for the lady?

The grass-fed rib-eye.
Basted in a port wine butter, it was served with potato & cheddar gratin, carrots and a wine reduction.
The flavor of the sauce was perfect!

Each bite a delicate blend of flavors,
The meal was delicious.

A fine dining experience is never complete without dessert.
I don’t care what kind of diet I am on, dessert was happening.

A chocolate cake with raspberry and caramel sauces.
Exquisitely rich, yet light.
The perfect way to end my meal, accompanied by coffee of course.

Brian chose another favorite of ours, the creme brûlée.

One bite of the crunchy caramelized top with the creamy goodness along with strawberry and chocolate and you are transported to heaven.

We had such an enjoyable evening.
Thanks to Lu for her suggestions and great service,
Along with all of the staff.

The Wine Cellar is a must in my eyes.

Check them out here:
The Wine Cellar & Bistro

Miles of Thanks

 

I have so much to be thankful for, 

 here is just a few.

97.  Brian got me the best gift ever!  A Nike Fuel Band.

This thing is so great!  We both have one so that we can not only support each other, 

but probably more realistically compete.

Yes, we both have a competitive nature.

You set goals for how active you would like to be and it measures your activity.

There is a chip that is in the band that syncs to the app on our phones.

We can see how many steps we have walked, 

how many calories burned and how many points toward our activity goal.

It is awesome!!

Check it out at nike.com.

Hopefully this will lead us to the best fitness of our lives.

98.  We are going on a date tonight

So excited.  It’s actually a surprise where, but so fantastic that Brian took the time and energy to set something up for us.

He works very hard and is so busy, so I appreciate the effort to make room for “us” time.

99.  My Vet Loves My Dogs

I love Dr. Popp!  He makes sure to answer my questions and calm my fears.

He remembers them when they come in and gives them treats happily.

He loves Cooper’s cute face and had him “talking” while he laughingly grabbed some treats.

It makes me feel so good that I have a vet and the assistants who I can trust.

I have been somewhere that was not warm.

The doctor never seemed thrilled to see Coogee, it was actually upsetting to go there.

So…my advice is to switch if you aren’t happy.

There are vets that really love animals and their job.

100.  I had a fun trivia event last night.

There are a lot of different charities that will host a trivia night to raise money.

You get a group of 8 – 10 per table and there are 10 different themes with 10 questions per theme.

There are games in between where you pay a couple of dollars and guess true or false or

heads or tails…  Silent auctions and food accompany the activities.

It’s a great time, not that I am a huge help.

I have found that everyone has an area where they feel confident about knowing some answers.

101. Our new piece of furniture works great in the space.

I was so worried we wouldn’t love it, but we do!

It’s great that we can sit together and hold hands if we want to.

Awwww.

102.  The scale has not gone up.

Yeah!  I am focusing on that rather than how quickly it should be moving down.

How easy it is to find the negative in your success.

And really there is no negative.

I am working on a goal.

I am moving forward.

Mile by mile.

It’s happening.

103.  I am reaching my goal of fitness and health.

I am feeling stronger in mind and body.

Last night I looked at the nutrition guide while going out to make wise choices.

And I was happy with it and didn’t feel the need to cry for not getting something very fattening.

I even turned down some pizza that I used to love because it turned my stomach just looking at the grease.

104.  I am loving the Yoplait frozen smoothies.

You just add a cup of apple juice and blend away.

Love the strawberry banana! 

 

More thanks to come…

Miles and miles of thanks!

 

To The Beauty Seen When Opening Our Eyes

Coogee and Cooper Cuddle Up

I have found my challenge to myself (1,000 thanks by Dec. 31) revealing and a bit more difficult than I thought.
It has made me aware of just how fortunate I am and I hope to continue into deeper gratitude.

I am into the second month and have not even provided 100 things to be thankful for yet.
So, I will try to be more vigilant in sharing.

The past several days I have so much to be thankful for!
The things I share are what -in this very moment –
I am so grateful for.

It has to pass through my thoughts and reach my heart.
These are not taken lightly or just items to come up with,
But each is truly important to me.

74. Coogee and Cooper’s friendship is such a fun relationship to be part of!
Coogee has helped Cooper feel safe and like part of the pack.
Cooper has come from such little socialization (before we adopted him) to now the ability to meet other dogs and people cheerfully.
They play together and support each other (backing the other one up with barks and standing right beside him/her) and even cuddle.
I just love them !

75. For my flatiron!

If you have never used one you may not appreciate this,
But let me tell you my hair needed it today to stop the frizzies.
My husband surprised me with this for my bday by getting with our hairdresser to buy me this awesome hair tool!
He had to be sneaky and didn’t let out one clue- what a good man!
I have had a few different flat irons.
My first very good quality one blew up in Australia. (My fault .) After that a few cheap ones.
This one tops them all!
The titanium plates beat the “Chi” any day of the week.

76. My comfy Cardinals tee.

Sometimes this is exactly what I need.
Nothing left to add to that.

77. The scale- today.
I kind of laugh at this one.
I was happy to see a small amount of progress today.
This changes though and I need to not rely on it.
It felt great though after weeks of working out and trying to make healthy food choices.

78. The delicious oatmeal and dark chocolate chip cookies I made. They are a healthier version made with applesauce and 4 cups of oats.
I tell you dark chocolate has become my friend! These “Special Dark” chocolate chips by Hershey are yummy!

Without a sweet snack I will feel as if I am depriving myself and that’s when problems happen.
So by making a healthy cookie,
I not only know exactly goes in it but can feel good about what goes in my body.

I must caution-
I am making sure to be aware of how many I eat.
Always in moderation.

79. For that fun and exciting Wednesday night art class!
I need to be creative and it just provides me with a peace and joy.

80. For a great date night with my husband on Tuesday.
We try to make time to connect and spend quality time together.
Some weeks more so than others.
It is always reassuring of how deep our love goes and how God has grown it to expansive grounds.
How lucky I am!

Just a side note – for those who fear the commitment and “bondage” of marriage- I feel bad that you are missing out on the beauty that lies within these walls. There is so much freedom in loving another unconditionally and having it returned.

81. For my fellow bloggers and readers and supporters!
Comments can be so uplifting and fuel me to keep posting.
As you know, blogging is a great way to journal ” out loud” and share with so many people you would never have met otherwise.
Thanks for the love!!

(Raising my wine glass)-
Here’s to a great weekend,
To loving those around us as if it was our last day,
And to the beauty seen when opening our eyes!