Weekend To-Do: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: the-girl-who-ate-everything.com via Charisse on Pinterest

I am SO GLAD it's the weekend. With a two-hour drive each weekday, the weekends are even more precious to me. So much time to sleep in and take walks and chill out and not be in the car. The only thing on my to-do list this weekend? Baking those beautiful chocolate chip cookies you see up there. (I've had homemade chocolate chip cookies on the brain all week, and my stomach cannot wait to be stuffed.) I hope you've got some good eats on your weekend agenda! Until Monday...

Week in the Life - Day 1

This week started out nicely. Not too much traffic, sunny skies (if still a little chilly), leftovers for lunch, a midday walk, loaded nachos for dinner and a bowl of Lucky Charms for dessert. (Aaaand NONE of these are Instagram photos - aren't you proud of me? #slightlyaddicted)

Festival Weekend

Happy Monday! This weekend was a super lazy one. The weather was terrible (rain + freezing cold), but we braved it for the Rivers & Spires Festival and stuffed ourselves with fried catfish, funnel cake and fried Oreos - and boy, was it all delish! Then we hurried back home to get cozy and warm and spent the rest of the weekend lounging around the house and catching up on some TV shows (one of my favorite ways to spend a weekend).

Starting tomorrow and for the rest of this week, I'll be participating in Week In The Life 2012, which I'm super excited about. I won't be making all of my photos into a scrapbook, though - just documenting on the blog with a few words as a way of getting back into the habit of taking photos daily. (I feel like I've been slacking on documenting the little details of my days.) So, wish me luck!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving - to me - is all about being with family, and we were so lucky this year to arrive in Texas (permanently!) two days before the holiday. After a quick day of unpacking, we hopped in the car (again) and drove to Beaumont for a day and night of fun with the crazy people you see above. Don't they all look fantastic?? (I love, love these guys - and not just for their nerd glasses and mad Pictionary skillz).

Nutella Pumpkin Bread

Last night was a nice night in the Adams' kitchen with country music on the radio, a bottle of our favorite Chardonnay and a couple loaves of Nutella Pumpkin Bread baking in the oven. We each had a slice after dinner, and it was d-lish. I'm so happy that I finally found a pumpkin recipe I like. (I tried these pumpkin muffins last weekend, and I wasn't a fan.) I have a sneaky suspicion this bread will be showing up in our kitchen a lot more this fall and winter...

(I stole the idea from Elise whose bread making always impresses me. You can find the recipe here.)

Spanish Tapas

These photos aren't from this weekend - they're from last weekend - but I'm still dreaming about Bar Pintxo. It's an authentic Spanish tapas spot in Santa Monica (and according to Mason, who studied in Spain for a while, it really is authentic), but I wasn't so caught up on the authentic part. It was mostly the delicious part that did me in. Because it is. Deeeee-liciousssssss.

(Think dates + bacon and sausage + honey. Combinations that will blow. your. mind.)

Deli Delish

I promise I'm not turning this into a food blog, but Umami Burger and Bay Cities Deli for the first time in one week deserves posting about. Just look how beautiful that sandwich is, wouldya? Perfection. Absolute perfection.

After a weekend of blog reading, movie watching, sandwich eating, sleeping in, coffee with Natasha (finally!) and the super fantastic 46th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, I'm more than ready to tackle my second week at the new job.

Wishing you (and me) a productive (and stress-free) Monday!

Burgers + Donuts

I don't know about you, but I like to spend my weekends eating. Burgers, donuts - you know, the healthy stuff. On Saturday night, Mason and I made our very first trip to Umami Burger, and it was pretty much life changing. Then, when we rose from our burger comas on Sunday morning, we decided a trip to Krispy Kreme would be a good idea. Today I started my new job in sweat pants because that's all that would fit. (Just kidding........sort of.)

Mardi Gras Fun

Down in the part of Texas where I'm from, this weekend is going to be ca-razy! Why? Because it's Mardi Gras! No, it's not in Louisiana, but it's only a few minutes from the border, and let me tell ya, those Southeast Texans sure know how to do Mardi Gras up right - beads, parades, cajun music and all!

My mom sent Mason and I a fun Mardi Gras package with the goodies above a couple days ago so we could take part in the festivities. The first thing I did after opening the box? Ate a gigantic piece of King Cake! (For those that don't know - the little plastic baby is part of the tradition. If you get it in your piece of cake, you're supposed to buy the cake the next year. You can read more about the baby and King Cakes here if you're interested.)

And, as it turns out, Los Angeles isn't completely lacking in the Mardi Gras department. After a little research, I found a celebration in Long Beach that looks promising. We're planning to head down and check it out tomorrow - if only so we can wear some of our new beads!

Have a great weekend, and "Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!"

Number 4

Can be crossed off the list. We waited in line for an hour - an hour - for a hot dog - but just when I was getting antsy, a TMZ camera crew showed up to interview the owner of Pink's. Getting to see Harvey Levin in person totally made up for the wait (well, that plus the onion rings on top of my "Lord of the Rings" Dog - yummmmm).









Check back tomorrow for more fun from the birthday list!

Sushi + Wine

Last night was sushi for dinner and a last-minute stop into a new (to us) wine bar. We talked about her last three days here and I told her I'm really trying to live the saying "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." I thought she'd think it was cheesy, but she liked it (even if it is easier said than done).

Just a few more dinners left now. It's a good thing I'm already planning a trip to Texas for this in March. We're reaaalllly going to need some sister time by then.

Fritto Misto

Rule #1 - Before you move away from a city, you must eat at every restaurant you've never eaten at but always wanted to.

Bread, ravioli and flourless chocolate cake at Fritto Misto - yuuummmmmm.

And the "last chance" fun continues...

Wine, Cheese & Fondue

Wine/Cheese/Fondue night has become a Charisse/Brianne tradition over the past couple of years. Sometimes we throw in meats and olives and pickles - sometimes it's strictly cheese and crackers. One time we did a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue (and most likely gained about 5 pounds). This weekend we threw in a little bit of everything. My favorite is the pound cake dipped in chocolate. Yummmmmmm.

(And before you go thinking I'm totally lame, I do actually have a cute little fondue pot - I promise. But when it's just you and your sis and you neeeed some chocolate right that second, the pot you melted everything in works just fine.)

P.S. - My very favorite (and very easy) chocolate fondue recipe

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 has come and gone, leaving us tired and full and tired and full. It was great having my parents here and getting to show them around the city a bit. They even helped me scratch something off the list (more on that tomorrow). It was also fun to host our very first guests in our very first guest bedroom - so "married-like" of us. But now that it's all over, boy are we tired. You now that whole "I need a vacation from my vacation" thing? That's totally me right now. Totally.

When all of the cooking was done, the turkey turned out fantastic, the sweet potatoes were extra sweet, the rolls were buttery and my flourless chocolate cake was sooo wonderfully chocolatey. The best part of it all? The leftovers, of course! (Which I'm happy that we still have plenty of because I can't wait to curl up with some sweet pototoes and bread pudding while I watch this tonight and this tomorrow.)

Photos above from my Thanksgiving day tablescape (and a few of Mason and I - what's a holiday without fun hats??)