Weekend Bliss

Good morning lovely friends! I hope your weekend treated you wonderfully!

I am so very thankful for a long weekend followed by a two day week! The past few days were very full, but with delightful things!

It began with Harvest Festival fun with my mom, mother-in-law, and Chris' step-grandma, Lupe. I found several Christmas gifts and even a few things for myself. An afternoon of shopping followed by Cheesecake Factory for lunch is my idea of a great day off!

If I have not already indulged the fact that my husband spoils me, you will know once I tell you how our date night began. Around 6pm I heard a knock on the door and found Chris holding a bunch of flowers, a skinny latte and Norah Jones' new CD!! Never underestimate the joy that comes from sweet surprises for no reason at all!



Saturday evening we attended a wedding. Chris works with both the bride and groom and he's been saying how he thinks I will really like them. Finally getting to meet them I would have to agree they are a very sweet couple! I am such a sap for weddings, and this was only enhanced as they played the song I walked down the isle to at our wedding (Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo Ole'). I may have shed a few happy tears!

There was a slight change of plans Sunday. Originally, Chris and I were going to the Raiders game with his Dad and Uncle, but realizing that I need to take my certification exam before the holidays hit, I decided to stay home and make sure I'm well prepared. I really would have enjoyed being at the game, but time is slipping away from me and I want to get this test out of the way! I am trying to schedule the exam for this Wednesday so it won't be a distraction during Thanksgiving. You should be proud, despite the temptation from our mothers to join them at the Mandarin Festival yesterday, I opted to get my workout out of the way and study, study, study. Although I still ended up with a 5lb bag of mandarines:) They take such good care of us!

And on a VERY exciting note, after a year of researching, planning for and finding the very best deal, Chris and I purchased this...


Our new Samsung 50in plasma will be at our door next Monday! I have to admit, I am more excited than I expected to be! Of course, Chris' excitement was no surprise at all!

And finally, last night I purchased Silk Nog! I buy one carton every season and savor it all month! Not being a fan of regular egg nog, I was delighted to find this lighter, less sweet substitute and now find myself looking forward to it every year!



Hope you have a very merry Monday!

Productive with a Twist of Fun

Well happy Monday dear friends! And most unusually, I am feeling very good and rested today! Don't hate me yet, the day has only begun:)

I hope your weekend had you hoping it might last a few more days. Mine definitely did, but don't they always?!

Allow me to divulge a few highlights~

*Several hours of our Saturday were spent wine tasting in Amador Couty. The very best thing about wine tasting there is the tastings are complimentary. I know it seems ALL wine tastings should be free, after all, they are wanting you to buy their wine so they should let you taste it. However, many wineries in well known places like Napa usually charge between $10-$40 a tasting. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Maybe too much as we came home with five bottles of wine...Our motto is: when you find a wine you like, you should buy it! At least we have a good stock going into the holiday season:)


The first winery we stopped at had picnic grounds so we enjoyed our Whole Foods lunch at a pretty little spot with a pretty little view!


Enjoying his almond filled cannoli:)


Our view!



What we came home with:)


*Chris decided to go to the Raiders game on Sunday because it was blacked out. I was more than happy to have him go as I had a lot of studying to catch up on and he has been known to be a very good distraction to me:) I knew if he was home I wouldn't get it all done.

*My Sunday was very productive. And not just a little productive, but the kind where you actually check everything off your to-do list! It went a little something like this:

workout: check
pumpkin pancakes: check (YUM!)
grocery store: check
fold laundry: check
vaccuum: check
clean pantry and fridge: check
study 4 chapters: CHECK!!
pack lunches: check

Remember the Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes I talked about Friday? They were so yummy!!



And I still managed to make this INCREDIBLE Grilled Corn and Potato Chowder while I watched a few episodes of Friends!


By the time Chris got home from the game I was feeling so relaxed and accomplished! We had a wonderful night and enjoyed dinner and a bottle of wine we bought Saturday. Might I add, it was fabulous!

I feel ready to take on this week!

Much Love!

I Just Have to Say it

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. You know, the thing most of us feel but don't like to say for fear of sounding negative. But we're all friends here, right? Here goes...I really don't like Mondays! No really, they are like dentist appointments, inevitable and neccessary, but totally miserable until they are over. They are especially unpleasant after a good weekend. It's like they just can't help themselves by raining on the parade of rest and relaxation. Every week, there they are just waiting to make you grumpy.

Okay, it's out of my system! I hope your weekend was glorious and filled with yummy breakfasts, fun outings, flea markets and football! Don't tell me it was just me that did all of those lovely things!

I know you have just been dying to know all about the Antique Market on Sunday ;) In true Joan and Kate fashion, the very first vender my Mom and I came to, we found a piece of furniture we just had to have! Thankfully our car was close! Both of our eyes were drawn to this oh-so-chic, turquoise side table with scalloped edges just sitting there with a little price tag of $32! Seriously, we both did that fast, "hope I'm not being too obvious, that table is mine and nobody else better touch it" walk. When we asked the lady if the price tag was right she responded with a light laugh and, "Yeah, I'm wholesale.". I think we both felt like we had struck gold:) Anyway, my Mom ended up keeping it since it is exactly what she's been looking for in her living room! I can't wait to see how well it goes in her already lovely house! Among the rest of our time there we came across some other fun tchotchke stuff. I bought a super cute vintage apron, but nothing was quite as successful as that table. It was definitely our prize find of the day!

I was thinking, you generally only hear my side of things. And we all know Chris had nothing to do with the antique market, so here's a glimpse of what the other Hansen's in our household did this weekend...


You got it, football :) And yes, Abby is wearing her very own Raiders jersey...sick, but you gotta admit, they are two very cute Raider fans!

And just a pic of us on our date last Friday:)


Have a very Merry Monday! And remember what tomorrow is...the first official day of Fall!! I am fully equipped, with my house decorated for the season, pumpkin pie ingredients all ready for tomorrow and of course, I bought my favorite pumpkin spice candle yesterday!

"The stuff dreams are made of"

Football season is officially in full swing and you know what that means...it's almost Fall! The weather is even cooperating and staying nice and crisp:) All I wanted to do yesterday was ignore the laundry and enjoy a relaxing Sunday afternoon while Chris and Brad enjoyed football...ALL DAY:) I did get my wish, however, it came with a price. I was sick all night last night and it spilled over to this morning, forcing me to call in sick to work, which I don't like doing:(

Abby, showing her love for the Raiders:)



When I woke up, Chris was getting ready to leave for work and he told me it had rained last night!! I just had to get a glimpse of the wet ground so I took Abby outside and couldn't believe it when I needed a sweatshirt!. Oh Fall, you are almost here! Just one week from tomorrow! I was almost tempted to start my annual tradition early and make Chris a pumpkin pie today, but I decided to hold of until Fall is officially here.

When I was finally able to get up without feeling nauseous, I decided to go to the gym. It seems everyone else has the same idea at 9:30 in the morning! Of course it was mostly swarming with young moms! (Not gonna lie, I was a little envious:) I remembered how much I love working out at that time of day!!

Then I made my way to Whole Foods, which was basically deserted compared to a Saturday afternoon! As I usually do while I grocery shop, I treated myself to a latte. It tasted especially good and strong today! When the guy handed it to me he said, "This is the stuff dreams are made of!". It seems this crisp, Autumnesque weather has everyone in a good mood today!

And I'd just like to say that Jonagold apples are back! Can't wait to bite into one with some fresh almond butter later today!

And finally, I just pulled my Walnut Blueberry Banana Bread out of the oven, which smells amazing! The combination of that and my L'Occitane Crème Caramel Candle is enough to make me swoon!


Unfortunately, my tummy is feeling woosy again, so I think I'll rest a bit and hopefully get some studying in before Mom and I go to a knitting class this evening!

Walnut Blueberry Banana Bread ~
1 ripe banana, mashed
3/4 c. ground flax seed
2 egg whites
1/3 c. agave
1 c. nonfat buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. spelt flour
1 tsp orange rind, grated
1 c. blueberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine banana, flax seed, egg whites, agave and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, mix baking soda, salt, flours and orange rind.
3. Combine dry ingredients into banana mixture. Gently fold in blueberries and walnuts.
4. Pour mixture into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Happy Monday!