Adding to the Wishlist

With the holiday season and someone's birthday coming up, I've been filling my wishlist to the brim {and purging it of a few items I must have added after a cocktail or three}.

An item that won't fit on that wishlist {as it's not offered through anyone but Williams-Sonoma} is this beauty:

via Williams-Sonoma

Now, I'm not one for overindulgence, but how can you say no to something that can make Thomas Keller's cassoulet? You can sear/brown meat or toast breadcrumbs in the metal insert, slow cook the dish, then finish it in the oven {bubbling, crusty cheese, anyone?}. It's such a multi-tasker in comparison to my current version. With a model with a timer I could make dishes on my own schedule, and not have to worry about rushing home {or having Husband rush home} to turn something to 'warm'.

via

It was love at first sight.  I've told Husband about it, but neither one of us can stomach the $250 price tag {which is reduced from the shelf price of $400!}.  I wish it could be mine.  I am, however, on the lookout for something similar within the sane price category.

What are you wishing for this holiday season?  Tag me in a Pin or tweet it to me!

The True Story of Rally Monday

The beginning of this week has been one to remember. Yes, we potentially have an elected leader, and I've been assured once more that my views and hopes for this country will be taken into consideration in the White House.

We have two items to discuss.

One, is a veeeeery good thing.  The other is quite terrible.

First thing's first.

Over The Weekend: Starting November

My weekend went a little like this:

{1. Friday Evening: Imperfect Health exhibit at the Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University; 2. Friday Night: Bun Cari Ga or curried chicken noodle soup for a cold and rainy dinner date; 3. Saturday: Texas Tech football game watching in the Northside; 4. Sunday: A Better Nutter, baked by Husband from the Bouchon Bakery cook book.}

Today is a busy one at work, full of meetings and deadlines. Then, tonight we're off to Youngstown, OH for that rally. See you soon, and don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Football Game!

Wreck 'Em Tech!

It's game day here in southwestern PA, but not for any local teams - we're heading downtown with several fellow Texas Tech University graduates out to watch the Tech vs. UT game this afternoon. 

Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

 Hopefully, I won't come home in a terrible mood because we have Trick-or-Treaters coming tonight.

Get Your Guns Up! 

{Metaphorically, of course.}

 - - -

So, we lost.  But, I got to meet some fun people, and reminisce over my college days. And, I got some material for a PGH Dining post! Soon to follow.

A Pennsylvania Dem in a Rep's Court

I've said, "Good Morning," to Friday with some big news {well, relatively big news to some} - Husband begged on his hands and knees asked me to attend a political rally with him on Monday night in Youngstown, Ohio. A Republican rally, mind you.  He cited the fact that these are truly historical events, and that he's never gotten to attend a rally before.  Insert sad puppy-dog face.  Of course, he prefaced all of this with, "I know you'll probably say no, but I wanted to ask anyway."  What's a good wife supposed to say to that?
I conceded.

{Only after he promised to buy me dinner first.}

With that being said, I have a lot to think about this weekend prior to the rally.
 1. What am I going to wear?  If I show up wearing my team's colors {BLUE}, I'll surely be mobbed. Maybe compromise with a purple cardigan?
2. Where should we eat dinner?  This is certainly the most important question to cogitate.

If you can't read between the lines, I'll shout it out to you - Our house is a divided house on many issues, which directly relates to the political candidates we choose.  Case in point: our views on health care delivery in this country.  Paul Ryan's ticket will not be getting my vote, but I do want to hear what he has to say.

I jokingly said to Husband that if I were pulled out of the crowd to ask Mr. Ryan a question, I'd just remark at how happy I was that my husband let me out of the house and I didn't have to rush home to cook dinner for my family.  Burn.

In all honesty, I do want to attend the rally to hear from this Vice Presidential candidate. It's especially exciting because we're attending a rally in a true swing state, Ohio.  I've only been to one other rally {in Durant, Oklahoma}, for VP hopeful John Edwards, during my senior year of high school.  I'm not going to lie - I was dazzled as an eighteen-year-old girl by his attractive smile and the prospect of shaking his hand. His speech inspired, and I was ready to go cast my vote.  Too bad that backfired, and maybe this is karma.  I won't say that Paul Ryan's speech will instill the same feelings {even though he reportedly has spent many hours with Tony Horton}, but I think it'll be interesting to sidle my views up to his answers for comparison.

If anything, I hope this post makes you laugh go cast your vote.  This election will be close, so every vote {Republican or Democratic} counts!

Happy Halloween!

Source: johannaparkerdesign.blogspot.com via Lori on Pinterest

Source: hawaiikawaii.net via Karin on Pinterest

{Over The Weekend} Games, Scones & Hurricanes

Well, people, we're still here and we haven't floated away...yet. The rain is coming down, and has kept coming down since yesterday late afternoon.
This weekend was mostly a lazy one.  We started things out with a college football game at Heinz field, which thankfully wasn't rainy {however, the threat was there!}. Then, my wonderful baker of a Husband decided to crack open his new cookbook, Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery,  and bring out his new food scale. He's subscribed to the notion that everything in baking needs to be measured by weight, or it won't come out right. Psssh, fine, leave that to him! {I prefer cooking, where I can just play things by ear and throw things in as I please.}

He flipped to the section on scones and announced that he was planning to make cinnamon honey scones. I about died. His first choice on what to bake happened to be one of my all-time favorite baked goods. And, these did not disappoint.

{Travel} NYC Part 3

Day three of our anniversary trip started with a 'breakfast' at Laduree, which specializes in French macaroons. This was a must-stop on our Upper East Side list.

{Dining} Finger Lakes Food

Per usual, our recent travels to the Finger Lakes in upstate New York centered around nature and the local food that results from those surroundings.  Both were gorgeous.  

Our weekend trip started in Northwest PA, but that evening we made it to our destination.  We started the night off with drinks and small bites at Dorothy's Music Room in Trumansburg, NY. {T-burg to the locals.} We sat down at the bar and was greeted by Dorothy herself.  As our first stop in the NY wine country, Dorothy did a fantastic job of setting the stage for the wines of the region.  After pouring us what seemed like our own local wine tasting, we chose glasses of Hosmer's Estate Red and one of Lamoreaux Landing's reislings {easily my favorite winery of the trip}. We listened to a truly unique band, Technicolor Trailer Park, a duo who sang everything from Alanis Morrissette to their own songs about squirrels. Loved them.

Patisserie Show & Tell

It's Friday!  How did it get here so fast?  I'm not complaining, because this is going to be an excellent weekend. We're planning to go to a college football game, make soup, and generally be lazy.
This morning we treated ourselves to a breakfast at La Gourmandine Bakery.

The love affair continues.

For those in the area, you should know that La G is making pumpkin tarts for the holidays. 

And, they've made smaller, dainty versions for those that won't allow themselves to eat a whole tart. Bless them.

If pumpkin doesn't float your boat, they still have these other lovelies:

No, this is not a sponsored post. I just truly love La G.

We each bought croissants: almond for him and chocolate for me. Such is love.

I gave a parting glance to the raspberry-filled cookies, and sighed. Can I have one? 

Of course!

You guys, I don't know what I'd do if I actually made it to France.  I would probably spend all of my time in tiny patisseries, admiring the delicacies.