Birthday Brunch

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beignets, birthday, breakfast, breakfast potatoes, brunch, crab benedict, creole bloody mary, ham benedict veal shallot pan sauce, queen anne, restaurants, seattle, toulouse hurricane, toulouse petit

Dan decided that we needed to celebrate my birthday by stuffing our faces. He took me to Toulouse Petit in Seattle for brunch. It was my first time there and won’t be the last. Here is the breakfast menu.

The photos aren’t as good as we’d like. We do not have iPhones, sorry people.

They were crazy busy when we got there and there was live music (of which i don’t know the name of) but as soon as we sat down we were served a plate of hot beignets covered in powdered sugar. I was craving a bloody mary so I was happy they had one on the menu, it was very tasty but Dan’s hurricane was just as good. It would be hard to choose between the two in the future.

We were lucky to get such a big table because we used quite a bit of it. Along with our drinks we got coffee which was strong and tasty. We ordered the large fruit plate and I think we would have done fine with the small plate. It had pineapple, mango, strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes, kiwi and banana. All of this came with condensed milk which only really tasted good with the strawberries. Normally in winter you ask for a fruit plate and get melon and grapes so I was so happy to see this variety. 

The benedicts! I don’t think either one of us wanted to leave anything on our plates because it all tasted so good. I ordered the crab benedict which had NOM pieces of Dungeness crab and Dan ordered the ham benedict with a veal shallot pan sauce which was seriously decadent and I don’t know how he finished it all. But the potatoes! I love breakfast potatoes and these were cooked perfectly, not too soggy or hard, I could eat these all the time.

I’m sure it’s obvious but I really loved the birthday brunch – I don’t think it could have been better.

Little Birthday Surprises

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2009 crawford viognier, alexandria nicole cellars, birthday, birthday presents, dark molasses chips, instyle march issue, sees candies

This is what I came home to on Friday. Dan knows how much I love InStyle but I’m surprised he let another magazine in the apartment. They’re everywhere. My favorite is the card which I posted a picture of below. This is my first card from Dan, supposedly he loves cards so I will keep that in mind for upcoming holidays. These See’s molasses chips are addicting and thankfully he doesn’t like them because otherwise he’d eat all of my present. The wine is from my old work Alexandria Nicole Cellars. They make a kick ass viognier…we finished it that night.

This card is perfect. Thank you Dan.

Rams Head Necklace

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belle noel, gold necklace, jewelry, kim kardashian, ram head, rams head monocle necklace, shopbop, valentine's day

Dan gave me this necklace for Valentine’s day and I absolutely love it. When I pinned this Belle Noel Rams head monocle necklace from shopbop I had no idea who was behind the Belle Noel name, I just loved that it was unique. It wasn’t until before writing this entry that I realized that Belle Noel is Kim Kardashian’s jewelry line. I’d like to say that I wouldn’t be influenced by this but, if I had known Belle Noel was her line I may have looked at the necklace differently. But I’m obsessed with the design and I want to wear it every day.

Jewelry needs to have meaning behind it for me to wear it. I rarely buy myself jewelry but adore pieces that I have received as gifts. My favorite necklace is an owl with blue eyes that my Aunt Nancy got in Greece. The blue eyes ward off evil and the owl represents wisdom and the goddess Athena. When I wear jewelry with symbols I feel empowered by that symbol. I know it’s silly but this ram head kinda makes me feel like I can take on anything.

A Laidback Valentine’s Day

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a philadelphia story, a philadelphia story gif, anthropologie, bringing up baby, bringing up baby gif, eventide formulation set, la marca prosecco, lingerie, nutella, spun gold set, valentine's day, victoire set

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’ve always been a fan of this day. It’s an excuse to splurge on food, chocolate, and the boyfriend. It’s also two days before my birthday and that turns the whole week into a party.

This year I am celebrating my first Valentine’s Day with Dan. Since we’re going out to celebrate my birthday later in the week we decided to stay in and have a romantic dinner…of what? We don’t know yet but I’ve been craving some cured meat and a few different types of cheese. Or maybe we’ll go back to our old staple of skirt steak salad with blue cheese, white wine, and crusty bread.

We do know what is for dessert though. On our first few stay-at-home-let-Dan-cook date nights, after filling up on dinner, we’d pop a bottle of prosecco (we love La Marca) and combo it with strawberries dipped in nutella. It’s delicious.

Then we’d relax and watch old movies like The Philadelphia Story or Bringing Up Baby. I think this sounds like a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, even though Dan has a crush on Katherine Hepburn… and Cary Grant. I guess I have competition? Ha.

Only in old movies

If I didn’t already have plans to chill in one of Dan’s Hanes white cotton t-shirts, my inner sexy lady (does she only exist in my head?) would want to wear some saucy lingerie. Lingerie can be sexy and fun, but only if you’re comfortable. Nothing is more unsexy than parading around half-naked worrying that whoever is watching would prefer you fully clothed. Being comfortable will help make you feel confident, and confidence is sexy. Here are a few of my lingerie choices from Anthropologie…for my secret sexy self.

Because in my mind I can pull off see-thru lace bra tops...

If you possess a big booty the lace will make it all the sexier

The quicker he takes off the corset top the sexier he becomes. Double points for one-handed.

Dear 2012

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beechers cheese, essie chinchilly, holidays, j. crew, j.crew bow headband, la marca prosecco, new years eve, style

I have high hopes for you. The apocalypse better not be looming because I have too much good food to try and new styles to explore. It’s a big year for me. I am applying to Grad School and Dan and I are hoping that we have jobs in the same city so that we can have lunch together regularly. Plus, my brother is getting married in Hawaii and having a February reception here in Washington. It will be a busy and hopefully fulfilling year.

Dan loves taking photos

Dan and I spent our New Years Eve stuck inside with nasty colds but tried to make the best of it by dressing up and filling our bellies with deliciousness. We snacked on salmon spread and Beecher’s smoked flagship cheese before moving to crab cakes with rosemary/thyme quinoa covered in pancetta and leeks in lemon butter. So yummy! To ring in the New Year we popped a bottle of La Marca Prosecco.

Due to sickness I didn’t have time to go buy a New Years frock so I went with a dress I had bought for a wedding a few months back. It has pockets! My headband is from J. Crew (Christmas gift from Dan) and not pictured are HUE tights and Essie nails in Chinchilly, which matched my dress perfectly. Dan looked handsome in a sweater from J. Crew.

After ditching our fancy pants we got silly and took some thug photos and tried to look “tough” for the New Year. Of course the best photos of Dan were the ones taken in sweatpants and basketball shorts.