Sushi & Sunshine

Just a little of this and a little of that... Isaac eating Sushi:

Piano at the Bus terminal

He's told Eric he wants to drive an excavator when he grows up

Ready to Paddle Board on the Jordonelle

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!  

We celebrated with a standard fare:

Menu:

Turkey with Allagash Tripel Tangerine Brine for Turkey & gravy
Martha Stewart's Savory Bread Pudding (From the Dec. 2011 issue)
Scalloped potato gratin
Franziskaner beer

While I was busy chasing Isaac around, Eric was the super-star in the kitchen this year.  And, per usual, preparing this feast was an all-day affair. We filled in the time with a lot of play, and a quick trip to the park for some sledding.

Coloring is a big-hit this week

More sledding! (this was before his wipeout)

A quick post-turkey nap.  He's had a nasty cold and was a sleepy guy... 

Post-dinner visit with the Spicers (Michelle & Andy)

Dadda

This year, I am especially thankful for:

• An incredible husband and son; both of whom make me laugh, and amaze me, every day
• Skype: so we can still feel close to family and friends who are hundreds of miles away
• The new friends we're making in Park City, and that we're starting to feel at home here.
• Fulfilling jobs; that everything has worked out so well during this time of big transition!

What was on your menu this year?

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

Bananas

Just a photo. Nothing more.  It made me smile.

30+ for my 30th

To celebrate my 30th birthday last weekend, we decided to have friends and family over to our house for a nice sit-down dinner, followed by a night out at a bar.  I called it "Dine and Dive for Christina's 30th".  Eric cooked a fabulous meal, including Chicken Marbella and Beer-Baked 5-Cheese Mac N' Cheese, with salad and appetizers galore.

We had no idea that nearly everyone we invited would RSVP yes, so we SQUEEZED in 38 people for dinner in our small living area. Despite the stress of figuring out how everyone was going to fit (we rented 3 large tables and 30 chairs), everyone settled in and enjoyed a fabulous meal together.  What more could you ask for, really?  Some photos of the dinner, courtesy of my Dad and friends:

The tables all set

A full house!

Ready for the party?

Thanking people for coming

Christina & Mom/Barbara

Always a lady killer. Isaac with Marebeth & Renee

After dinner, Grandma & Grandpa Jabbusch graciously took Isaac for the night so we could go out on the town.  We went to a dive bar called Sweet Lou's, and they were very accommodating to our group when we showed up with 30 people!  The even had a live jazz band that played me happy birthday.  We were a little tired the next morning, but it was a grand celebration and an awesome 30th birthday!  So long 20's!

Enjoying the night out!

It's my party and I'll dance if i want to!

Watching Football (& Eating Well)

Go Seahawks!  The football season has started!  Here's Eric & Isaac watching the game last Sunday.  Isaac's look of skepticism was well-deserved... they lost. 

Isaac's wearing his Hasselbeck 'onesie' jersey, a gift from Tony & Amanda

Speaking of clothes, I just love this outfit (especially the pants) that Grandma Merhar gave to Isaac:

And, what's a football game without some tasty eats? Tony & Amanda came over to watch the game so I whipped up a couple of homemade pizzas for the occasion; a white pie with potato and sage and a red pie with peperoni, onion, garlic and moz (Eric's favorite).

And, last but not least.... on Friday we got over to Bellevue for a lunchtime visit.  I just love this picture of Isaac and my mom (photo courtesy of my Dad). What great smiles!!

Plum Harvest

Ready for harvesting!

We picked lots and lots of plums... at least 3-4 big grocery bags full.  We gave a lot away, but kept some to eat and cook with.  Here are the two concoctions we whipped up this year:

Plum Muffins = delicious! (who knew?)

And Plum Jam.  It turned out pretty well and it was my first time canning (I'd prefer the jam to be a thicker consistency, but it tastes great. it would be fabulous over baked brie).

A Weekend at Home

After much travel the last couple of weekends, it was wonderful to stay in town this weekend.

Friday: Farmers market and dinner with my parents:

We went to the Phinney Ridge Farmers Market to shop for dinner and made grilled porterhouse (local, grass fed beef), a roasted beet salad, sauteed beet greens and fresh olive bread with sheeps milk blue cheese.  And, we cracked open a good bottle of Zin---yum!

Saturday: we had a whole laundry list of chores to work on around the house.  Then we went for an early dinner at Wedgwood alehouse and did some shopping at U-Village.

As you can see from the photo of Eric and Isaac, Isaac is really starting to grab for anything in sight!

Sunday:  We finished up more chores around the house, went for a long walk with the dog, ran errands and enjoyed being all together!  I'm looking forward to making pumpkin ravioli tonight for dinner - another find at the market.  Here's Isaac just being cute, and working on sitting: