the berry suaret

 Matt and I thought we would be spending the forth all by our lonesome this year, but just in the nick of time, one of our good friends had us over for their family fourth celebration. Matt had gone last year, and had told me all about the fun things that they had done the previous year. I was a bit nervous to meet so many new people at once, but at the end of the evening, I had had a great time with everyone; watching pool volleyball, playing silly wine tasting games and of course watching the firework spectacular at the end of the night!

Hope everyone enjoyed their celebration of our Independence!

Mom's famous mole (mo-lay) sauce.

First, stretch and get ready for some serious cooking!

Get those chillies heated-up.

Grade some cheese.

Blend the chillies.

Combine with onion, garlic and tomato mixture.

Add some dark chocolate, peanut butter, and syrup.

Simmer and sit.

Then put everything together, cook...

and enjoy!

oishii desu ne

  Today, Matt and I shied away from all the bbq pits and grills to get some peace and quiet in the great indoors. We decided to have a sushi night. Let me tell you, I love being married to a man that's half Japanese. Not only does Matt love sushi, but he loves to help cook as well. What a guy! We spend a lot of time together in the kitchen. I find cooking a great way to bond and it has become one of my favorite things to do. Especially after a long day like today. We went on a bike ride to the beach in almost 100 degree weather. But it was nothing that a little dip in the freezing river water couldn't fix.

Presentation is key!

We tackled the dishes earlier on so we could enjoy our evening after our meal. I'm ready to relax and cool off after a long day.

The almost zoo trip...

 Today Matt and I decided to go to our local zoo. We had made a trip to the zoo before only to find that it was about to close in 15 minutes. So this time around, I was determined to make it on time! We pulled our way into the parking lot and walked towards the entrance. Finally! On time. I was ready to look at some caged wild critters! $4 dollar admission too. It was going to be a perfect (and cheap) day. As we approached the entrance though, we noticed many people leaving, and we also noticed the cars leaving, AND we also noticed the entrance gate closing..... Turns out, the zoo was closing early due to the over priced rodeo next door... So we turned to plan B: return library books and check more out. Which was fine with me since the library is literally right next to the zoo. After stocking up on 13 or 14 books and a couple of dvds (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was one of them, a favorite classic of mine) we headed downtown to look at some shops. Despite the zoo closing up on us again, a good time was had elsewhere.

As you can see, I usually check-out cook books and anything craft related. Particularly at the moment, I'm going to try and pick up wood burning. I have a great teacher to boot too! My husband, wood burning extraordinaire! Here's something that he recently did for my mom's birthday:

He wood burned a picture of my family's dog, Ben, and made it into a clock. My mom went crazy over it!

Well now it's time to get some grub, cuddle up on the couch and watch a good old black and white film.