Back Together Again

One of the major pluses of our Ikea Karlstad sectional is its remove able and washable cover.  After a few years of every day use, a spilled pitcher of mojitos this past New Years, and our little wonder dog who decided to relieve herself on it this past Saturday (came out of nowhere, no messes for months, and never before on any furniture), there was no better time to try out this nifty feature.

Off the cushion covers came and into the washer they went.  Once washed, they were hung up to dry for a couple days.  They washed great and look just like new.  We could have put an iron to them, but who has time?

We picked the color (sivik dark gray) because we liked it, but also because the fabric is tough as nails.  Zoey runs in circles on it at full speed with her eagle talons and it hasn't snagged or shown any wear whatsoever.  

And, we are convinced this whole exercise let the cushions decompress and now the couch looks and feels much cushier now that it is back together:

Although we're not pumped about why we had to wash our couch, we are glad it worked out so well and it's nice to have a squeaky clean and rejuvenated sectional.  We still highly recommend the Karlstad.

Yonanas

We love ice cream and eat way more than we should.  For Christmas, Chris got a Yonanas machine.  If you are not familiar (we weren't until recently) you feed frozen over ripe bananas into a counter top contraption and out comes creamy banana ice cream!

We learned the hard way what not to do (totally avoidable if we would have read the directions):

1. Don't use under ripe bananas.  You will get green banana flavored ice cream.  Blech.

2. Do not freeze your bananas with the peel on.  Doh!

This time we did it right, and it was delicious.  Erica mixed some Nutella into her naner ice cream - totally defeats the purpose of all fruit healthiness.  Baby steps, people!

And, a blurry picture to top it all off:

Springtime Stroll

What a beautiful weekend!  It was sunny and warm.  We took Zoey for a spin around the park and neighborhood both days.

All of the windows in the house were open.  This is a new thing for us - the old windows didn't open very well, if at all. It felt great to air the house out after so many months of being cooped up.

And, the tulips are coming up!  I am worried they will get damaged/frost bitten again this year.  There is still snow in the forecast, so we will have to keep an eye out and put them under cover.

Have a great week everybody!

Neighborhood Survey

Our neighborhood, Berkeley, is going to be surveyed this spring.  The purpose of the survey is "to identify the places that matter to Denver’s history and share the value of these historic properties to build public pride and awareness. A hoped-for outcome is that the surveys will encourage neighborhood rehabilitation and reinvestment."  You can read our local paper write up about it here.

The entire city will be surveyed over the next 10 years, and they are using Berkeley as a pilot project.  Our house is a 1939 Tudor and we don't think it has any special historical significance.  We have the Abstract of Title for our property.  The first record dates back to 1869 when a certificate for a parcel of land containing our lot was issued to a William J Lewis from the United States.  The final Trust Deed in the Abstract is dated June 1938 for $5000 payable with interest 6% per annum with monthly payments of $42.20 and $15 per month paid for taxes.  Taxes on our property were assessed for the Moffat Tunnel.

This is a flyer about the pilot:

Sugarmill

Last night we met our friend Alison out for dinner at Sugarmill.  We are both still talking about it today.  

It is a dessert bar and cafe that just opened in December.  We each had the beef Wellington and it was delicious.  It was served with a simple radish salad and was a perfect portion size that left room for dessert.  

Oh the desserts!  We had:

Noahsphere:  Hollow Chocolate shell filled with candied walnuts, flourless chocolate cake, marshmallows and vanilla marscapone cream, with hot caramel served table side.

Picture from The Examiner

Here is a link to the local Fox station segment on the Sugarmill & Noahsphere:  http://link.kdvr.com/LPk8BA (second video).  It is one of the more horrifying pieces we have seen - they were not listening to the Chef and kept going back to the studio for commentary, and the reporter likened the dessert to the nazi heads melting in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Train wreck, but it stills gives you an idea of the restaurant and this dessert!

We also tried Shades of Red: Raspberry macaron, vanilla macerated raspberries, red velvet cake, rose champagne sorbet, raspberry mousse.

This was the surprise favorite of the night.  The Noahsphere was amazing, but this was good in a whole different way.  The raspberry macaron was about 3" in diameter and was so chewy and delicious, it made the dessert.  We even took a dozen macarons home.  

Erica would go back today, and Chris would gladly go along.  

Anyone have a good macaron recipe?

Doggie School Drop Out

Look at that face!  Now look at that face not passing intermediate obedience class.  Our PetSmart trainer, Emily pulled us aside this past Wednesday to talk about Zoey.  We have one class left this coming week.  It would be graduation, but it is highly unlikely Zoey will graduate, unless she puts on a miracle performance. 

We were not a bit surprised to be having this discussion.   Z has been beyond distracted at class time.  Zoey has been happier sniffing around the training ring and the store when we would be doing drills through the aisles than listening to us or anyone else.  She has been non-compliant Even when we had treats and even if we dangled said treats in front of her adorable little head which holds her adorable tiny brain.

Emily offered us a free retake of the intermediate class, which was extremely generous.  Right now we are planning to take her up on the offer.  Oh Zoey!  Not the smartest, but she is the cutest.

Erica Caught a Bug

Erica woke up in Kansas City on Sunday and was feeling under the weather.  Her friends were giving her a hard time about being hung over from the bachelorette party the night before (didn't help), but she was sick and at one point, worried about being able to get on a plane to fly home later in the day.  But after sleeping most of the day and a bunch of ibuprofen, was feeling on the up and up and was home just in time to watch the Walking Dead and True Detective.

Monday was much worse, and after sleeping most of the day and some more Ibuprofen, Erica had a temp of 104.   Luckily, Chris and helper dog were there to take care of her (Chris had off for Presidents Day).  Cori was called in for a consult too.

Chris worked from home today to keep an eye on his girl, and the fever was down this morning.  More resting and sleeping for E, she will probably work from home tomorrow.

Then and Now

Kansas City, Kelly's Westport Inn, 2014 and 2007.

Happy Valentines Day!

Erica flew into Kansas City this afternoon for a bachelorette party and time with her KC girls this weekend.  We celebrated Valentines all week long since we wouldn't be able to do anything Valentinesy today.  

Monday we went to Erica's favorite ice cream spot, Little Man Ice Cream.  Tuesday, we headed over to Hops & Pie for dinner and beers, which is Chris's favorite spot.  Wednesday, we took Zoey to obedience, so we took a break from our Valentine's week extravaganza, but we were back at it on Thursday night when we went out for dinner at the West End Tap House (best frites ever).

Chris picked up a bottle of this very popular Chocolate Ale from Boulevard Brewery tonight in Longmont at almost the same time Erica was enjoying it with friends here in Kansas City.  Parallel Valentine lives, we think.

Sunday Night Soup & Salad

**Update - we just ate and this soup is GOOD!  The ground mustard makes it, we think.  Instead of adding all of the cheese to the soup, we just stirred some into our individual bowls.  Mmmmmmmm.**

We've been buying bagged salad kits at the grocery store when they go on sale.  Here's the soup:

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium celery ribs, chopped

1 pound lean ground beef

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 1/2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce

1/2 tablespoon ground mustard

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

8 ounces shredded cheese

1.) Spray crock pot with non-stick spray.

2.) Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery to skillet and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet and place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.

3.) In the same pan, brown the hamburger meat. Drain, and add meat to the crock.

4.) In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk to combine, making sure it’s smooth and lump-free. Add the mixture to the skillet, and then slowly pour in the remaining 2 ½ cups of broth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and allow to cook until just thickened. Add to the crock.

5.) Stir in all remaining ingredients except the cheese.  Cook on high for 2 hours. Just before serving, add in the cheese and stir until melted.

Recipe adapted from Kitchen Meets Girl.

Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie

Chris threw this together for us last week while he was working from home.  He said it was easy and it turned out great.

1 1/2  pounds chicken breast, thawed & cubed

1/2 white onion

2 dried bay leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 can condensed mushroom soup

1/2 C. milk

1/4 C. sour cream

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 bag frozen stew vegetables

1.) Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray

2.) Place all ingredients except frozen vegetables in crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours*

3.) Remove bay leaves and place frozen vegetables in crock pot and cook for 30 additional minutes

4.) Serve with biscuits or puff pastry.

*our crock pot cooks really hot, adjust time as necessary.

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

Bar Fly

We met our friend Mark and his Golden Retriever, Buster, at the dog friendly Denver Beer Co. tonight.   There were about 5-6 other dogs there over the course of the night.  However, Denver Beer Co. does not like barking dogs as we learned when Buster was set off by a barking Beagle and he and Mark got a talking to.  The Beagle also got into trouble.  

Zoey did a good job and sat in our laps most of the time, and she was in heaven when the other bar patrons would give her some lovin'.

The favorite beers of the night were the Rye 70 IPA (Chris), Belgian Dubbel (Erica), and the Barley Wine (Chris & Zoey).