35th Birthday!

Hello, friends! Yesterday was my 35th birthday! Since this birthday was kind of a big deal, I decided to take the day off from work for the first time in my life. Yup, that is correct. I had never taken the day off for my birthday before. Is that crazy?

Gus surprised me this morning by making a huge mess in his crate, which I had to clean up. I finally got out of the house to enjoy my free birthday Starbucks. I got a venti iced latte and a chocolate croissant. I was all comfy with my iPad but the store was so cold that I left after I finished eating my croissant. Boohoo!

I headed back home and took a leisurely walk with my pups. Two happy guys!

Then it was time for some relaxation with a 90 minute Swedish massage at Massage Envy. 

I was starving at the end of the session so I headed to Nagomi for a seaweed salad and tuna, yellowtail and salmon donburi. Yum!

Then it was back home to let the puppies out and do some at-home yoga.

I made a run to Target and then to a newly opened boba tea cafe. Rustic Bubble Tea Cafe is so cute! Looks like a great place to relax and enjoy a drink and snack. It reminds me a lot of the boba tea cafes in California, which Albuquerque has been lacking.

Wednesday night is softball night for us, so we headed out to play. Unfortunately, we lost, but I did get a base hit. Woohoo!

After the game, our team captain surprised me and the rest of the team with birthday cupcakes! So sweet. A few of us also went out to dinner afterwards.

Mmmm...red velvet! Do you like my crazy Union Jack leggings?

I had a nice, relaxing day and cannot believe that I am now 35. So scary.

Weekend Update - July 4th, 2015

Hope your Independence Day was fantastic! Our long weekend was spent doing the same thing we did last year. Working on the house! I cannot wait until our house is finished and we can relax and just enjoy it.

The goal for the weekend was to demo the master bathroom. Here are some before photos of it in its original ugliness.

In the midst of our demo on Friday, Raisin Bread got struck in the leg by falling ceramic tile. This required a detour to the emergency room and four stitches later, we were back home. 

Neither of us wanting to keep working so we went out to dinner instead! We headed to Farina Alto, where we shared a Verde Salad (mixed baby greens, candied walnuts, apples, gorgonzola and champagne vinaigrette).

 

For my entree, I had the linguine and clams. It was yummy, but super buttery. 

We kept on working on the house on Saturday as well. We borrowed a friend's truck and made a trip to the city dump to dispose of parts of our bathroom. Guess where we were last July 4th! The same city dump. 

Raisin Bread finished laying the wood for the hallway. Looking good!

We just need to put the trim and the doors back on now. I helped by prepping the trim and priming it. Next step is to paint it. 

My back has been killing me all weekend, especially after the visit to the dump, so Raisin Bread continued the bathroom demo without me. Here is what it looks like now. 

Our weekend ended with watching the FIFA Women's World Cup Final. Go, USA! Congratulations on the big win! 

We also got some grilling in before the weekend was over. We had some delicious cheeseburgers with corn on the cob, baked beans, potato salad and shrimp cocktail. Do you think this is enough food for two people?

This certainly did not feel like a three-day weekend with all of the work we put in. Hopefully, next year, we won't be at the dump on the 4th of July, and instead, doing something fun! 

This Week's Eats + Another Trip to DC

Hello, friends. I am so excited for the three day weekend to celebrate the 4th of July! Stay safe out there this weekend!

This week was another busy one for me. On Monday night, Raisin Bread and I had dinner at The Artichoke Cafe. We originally were planning to eat here on Sunday night, but we wanted to keep on working on the house that night and stayed in.

We skipped the starters and went straight for the entrees. I ordered the half rack of lamb with fallafel, mashed sweet potatoes, chickpeas and tomato.

For dessert, I had the rosewater semifreddo with pistachio meringue and pomegranate pearls.

I thought the food was very inventive for Albuquerque and I was glad that we were finally able to try this restaurant out.

On Tuesday morning, I was up at 4;30 am to catch my flights to DC. I got upgraded to first class on my Dallas to DC leg! Woohoo. This was the third time in my life flying first class, and it was lovely as expected.

Warm nuts and a beverage served in an actual glass.

For lunch, I had a grilled beef salad with a pretzel roll.

But my favorite thing is by far the warm chocolate chip cookie. Yum!

I headed to the office for a few hours before checking into my hotel. I had some time to kill before dinner, so I visited the National Portrait Gallery. I think I mentioned before that this is the only Smithsonian that is open until 7 pm, so it is the only place I can visit after work. 

I saw one of the temporary exhibitions as well as some of the permanent galleries. Here is Bill by Chuck Close from the America's Presidents exhibition. 

Portrait of Elvis

 For dinner, I met up with my friend at Jose Andres's China Chilcano. This is the fifth Jose Andres restaurant I have dined at, and it was delicious as usual. China Chilcano specializes on a play on chifa (Chinese-Peruvian) cuisine. Peru has a large Chinese population and chifa restaurants can be found all over the country.

The menu is huge and since there were only two of us, we were only able to sample a few items.

I started with the ceviche classico.

We shared the tam tam: wheat noodles, spicy pork, peanuts and aji panca. I loved this dish. So spicy and flavorful.

Lastly, we had the ji song sillao: chicken, soy sauce, fried sweet potato, sweet drop pepper in a lettuce cup. This was also delicious. The sweet potatoes really made this dish.

The evening was calling for thunderstorms, but luckily, I made it back to my hotel in time. The next morning, I saw the effects of the overnight storms. Poor car

After a day at the office, I was headed back to Albuquerque. I got to catch the last part of the Women's World Cup semifinal game: Japan versus England. Wow, was the a doozy. Really tough loss for England! I am looking forward to cheering on Team USA this weekend.

Have a wonderful 4th!

Weekend Update: Home Renovations

What a crazy week this has been! Friday was such an exciting day. I could not contain myself when I read the news about the Supreme Court's decision that same-sex couples have the right to marry. Such a happy day!

Friday was also "Bring Your Dog to Work Day." Since I work from home, every day is bring your dog to work day for me! They are not amused that I have to go back to my office.

My weekend started off with watching the FIFA Women's World Cup - US versus China game with some of our softball teammates. USA! USA! Can't wait to see who wins the semi-final game on Tuesday. 

The rest of the weekend was spent doing home renovations and running around town getting things done.

One thing we got done was getting the pups trimmed up for the summer. Gus went to the groomer, and Raisin Bread and I did Carson's hair. Not bad, but it took us three days to finish it. He was so fluffy and knotted.

Our current home renovation project is redoing the hallway. The plan is to redo the floors and paint the trim and walls. Here's what it looked like before. 

Here's what it looked like after one day of work.

 And here's what it looks like currently. Still got some more work to do, but it is coming along!

Weekend Adventures: Time to Play Tourist

Hello, friends! Raisin Bread and I had a fun and busy weekend. His friend/ex-co-worker from Virginia came for a visit so we spent the weekend seeing some of the sights of Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

On Saturday, we drove the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe. We made stops in Sandia Park and Madrid.

I think I need to invest in a pair of cowboy boots. Thoughts?

After lunch, we went to Cerrillos to view Kevin Box's Origami in the Garden exhibition. I forgot to mention that this weekend was the hottest weekend we have had since moving to New Mexico. It was a high of 105 degrees! Being an outdoor sculpture exhibit, it was a toasty one. Carson had had it by the time we were half way through and we had to take turns carrying him.

Rock, Paper, Scissors

The artist working

We made it to Santa Fe in the afternoon and walked around The Plaza. There is so much to see in Santa Fe that we visit different shops each time we are in town.

In the late afternoon, we headed up to The Bell Tower Bar, which is located on the rooftop of La Fonda on the Plaza for some drinks and appetizers.

The pups love how dog-friendly New Mexico is!

On Sunday, we headed to an old favorite of mine: St. James Tearoom. This month's theme was "A Pirate's Life for Me."

In the afternoon, we visited The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. There was supposed to be an event going on, but we missed most of it. Instead, we decided to see the Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe exhibit, which is something I wanted to do anyway. 

Lady Gaga's shoes

Awesome men's boots

Neigh....

That evening we had dinner at Sandiago's at bottom of the Sandia Peak Tramway. I do not recommend, by the way. We barely made it on the tram for sunset because the service was so slow. 

This was my second time on the tram, but my first time during sunset. The mountains are so beautiful. I guess this is why they are called the Sandia (watermelon) Mountains! 

We stayed on the top until the sun fully set and waited to the city below us to light up.

Lights of the city

It took us an hour and a half of waiting to finally get down the mountain! We had to wait for three trams before we were able to make it on.

So that was the end to our weekend of playing tourist. It is always so great to have visitors!