Happy Birthday Daddy!

I’m a little late on my posts now… someone had to get the FLU. All this time I thought it was a cold, but on Tuesday night on the way home from work I got the worst body aches and pain that I have had in a ver long time. Not having had the flu since 2004 (yes, i remember the last time i had the flu) I laid in my bed tuesday night and felt discomfort from the feeling of my clothes on my skin and an insane discomfort from the breeze touching my skin. I wish I would have taken my temperature…. but judging by the hallucinations I had during the few hours that I managed to fall asleep, Im guessing my temperature was somewhere in the 100′s. I slept virtually ALL day yesterday and all night last night thanks in part to Theraflu and codeine.
I sit here just a little stuffy and coughing here and there but feeling a lot better than i did tuesday night.
My entire family was hit with a shit storm, between hospital visits, weird ailments, and surgeries… my poor mother made me swear to all that is holy on this Good Friday that next year i will get the flu shot. I am saying it here for the sake of my mothers sanity, I swear I will get the Flu shot next year, OKAY??? People. Dont let me get away with not getting it next year, ya dig?

Back to our regularly scheduled blog…
LAST week was dads birthday. It totally snuck up on me this year and ironically, dad’s birthday turned ended up being on our designated lunch date! Easy Peasy! I told dad he can go wherever he wanted for lunch (as long as it was within lunch hour time limits) and he chose his favorite place: Spaghetti Western. AS long as it was his choice and it made him happy- then Im happy too.

Birthday poppa! This dude is 57 years old. God Bless him!
He chose his favorite too. The margherita Pizza. Shaking My Head. BORING. I was sure he was gonna order something insane and extravagent but my pop kept it simple. I, on the other hand…

wanted something fancy. I ordered the grilled atlantic salmon with herbed potatoes and roasted veggies. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the chef left the skin on for a delightful crunch to go with the tenderness of the fish. It was speckled with capers and olives and yes, i ate everything. it was awesome!

I offered to get dessert but he was stuffed from the pizza (and I was too after that large lunch) so we said our goodbyes while I conjured up a plan for after work.

At the time I picked up the goods… i was feeling really really tired (signs of illness!) but i pressed on and headed to the three S’s for some birthday cake. Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery was on the way to my parents house so i stopped by after work and picked up some goodies.

A chocolate bomb for myself! thank ya!

A honkin’ slice of red velvet for papa dukes…

A slice of ooey gooey for mama snob… and 2 sexy red velvets for later…

When i got to my parents house i unpacked all the goodies and started a pot of coffee. I realized while unpacking that my sexy red velvets were no where to be found. I left them at the bakery or rather, they left them out of my shopping bag I called them and they were nice about issuing a refund. But dammit- i wanted my sexy red velvets!

The slab of red velvet, for dad was good… but he said it was even better when he had some with his coffee.

The ooey gooey was really rich and mama snob had a few bites and couldnt finish the rest. it was a rich devils food cake and had an almond frosting on top. I really wanted to get her a yellow cake with chocolate frosting but they were out. boo!

My chocolate bomb was sinful and lasted me a few days. (sign #2 of illness: loss of appetite).

Any way kiddos, I hope you have a great Easter weekend and Check back in next week for a great GIVEAWAY! yay!!!

Weekend ReCap, Part One

ACHOO!
Bless me.
Constant Sneezing, Itchy eyes, runny/stuffy noses, and itchy throats.
It can only mean one thing…
Spring is blooming. I am lucky to be allergic to every kind of pollen there is and the pollen count this weekend was enough to make me cranky. And enough to make me have to take a break from my eye makeup (which I have a hard time living without)…so I look a lil plan and frumpy- but i make it work for me.

I took my Mickey for a long walk in Forest Park on Friday afternoon in an effort to jumpstart her Spring Fever and to get her nice and tired for the rest of the day. When i adopted Mickey, she was emaciated and it was tough to get her weight up. But Now my mickey girl has No problem at all gaining weight… some even say shes getting fat (i dont know how thats possible) But to keep my pup healthy- we go for long walks and run sometimes (and eat normal portions!)

Needless to say, the winter break has made Mickey a sedentary dog and as gorgeous as the scenery was, my poor baby was huffin and puffin trying to keep up with momma. But she slept like a rock that night.

I wanted to tire her out because I had dinner plans with Carol who was in NY on business! its our annual tradition!

Carol, using her new YELP app, came across this awesome Bondi Find in Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bondi Road is a small hip little joint in Lower East side that looks like the ideal afterwork spot for the thirsty peeps. I am enticed to go back for their $20 drink special… cuz I get thirsty sometimes.

Having had quite an exhausting day I snatched the drink menu and asked the waitress to recommend a drink. She said margarita and i was sold. She had the sexiest Austrailian accent I have ever heard. i was tempted to ask her to read the entire menu to me just so i can hear her speak. Dont you wish you had a sexy accent? I am from brooklyn- nothing sexy ’bout that, Fughettaboutit. My friend Rebecca grabbed a “To Killa Sunrise”. Anything Tequila in my book is a winner. hands down this is probably one of the best Straight Up Margaritas I have ever had. (5 Burro makes the best FROZEN margs) this was nicely mixed and wasnt bitter or had a weird aftertaste- it was perfect and I guzzled this baby down.

the menu is small and affordable. When i see small menus that are small I feel good about almost anything I get… the restaurant knows how to make this limited number of items and im almost certain they make ‘em well!

I was torn between several dishes. Pesto Shark pasta, Mutton Stew, and the mussels hot pot.

I opted for the shark pesto pasta. The dish was $10 which is pretty cheap but I would have been excited about more food. In reality, this is probably the portion recommended on the box… and i was happy for a real portion but I wanted a big girl plate… with bigger servings of pasta. The Shark, was delish. Reminded me of scallops only more fishy tasting (in a good way).

I took a mussel from Carols dish and a spoonful of her seafood chowder which she thought was delish! Now this dish is a nice portion. I should note for next time I will be getting stew… since that is where the volume is.

I also had my very first raw oyster in shooter form. I got a bloody mary raw oyster shooter. Cant explain it but i loved it. will be ordering that again soon!

After any great dinner, one needs a great dessert and Yelp Came to our rescue again.

With reviews like “better than Crumbs” and Five star ratings across the board we walked a few feet over to the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery. And when someone says a cupcake is better than my “CHOICE” cupcake… thats a challenge bitch!

there were slim pickin’s at this place. But the decor was simple and COMFY with plush seating all over the place. I was eyeing some treats that the other patrons were eating and I had a hard time choosing. the cakes look simple and homemade- which is a really nice touch.

I saw this goodness being piled into a cup and was sucked into it like a magnetic force. I thought at first it was tiramisu and then recalled that the bakery sold pudding… PUDDING! OMG! PUDDING.

After some debating on Cupcake vs. Pudding, my friend Rebecca (a lawyer) made a compelling argument taht we should make a healthful decision. Pudding has milk in it. a lot more milk than cupcakes. and milk has calcium…

So we got a cup of calcium. How healthY! Pudding flavor of choice: CHOCOLATE BOMB. Serving sizes available: 12 oz and 16 oz or as I like to say XLARGE and Double XLarge.

we both got the “small”. Its rich. Its delicious. Chocolate pudding with chocolate cake crumbles and even some bits of frosting. I was in Piggy heaven. I totally needed some agua to go with this (and they sell milk by the cup too! how cute!)

I only managed to eat half of this. It was wonderfully chocolately and totally satisfied the crying child in me that wanted chocolate dessert. Rebecca and I will probably have to share it next time because we each threw away half of our dessert. Had I not run out of water, i would have TOTALLY finished it and not even consider the BAJILLION calories that are in it. but at $2.50 a pop- this is NOT bad AT ALL!

Carol, who is a cupcake afficionado, went for the Sexy Red Velvet cupcake. Red velvet cake topped with ALMOND Cream Cheese Frosting. I had a bite and may I say: HOLY SHIT. that was a good freakin cupcake, esp for $1.50. Sorry Crumbs. They got you on that one!

Tomorrow we move onto Part 2 of the weekend ReCAp!