Beer Experimentation

Chimay Ale from Whole Foods was awesome!

More chilled glasses (note Blue Point Pumpkin Ale in background)

Long Trail was a nice basic beer...

And Blue Point Pumpkin Ale was a spicy pumpkin beer —pretty standard, but good!!

Essie Mademoiselle Manicure

I painted my nails a subtle, pale pink tonight.

My manicure station has a decent selection of colors.

I chose Essie Mademoiselle with an Essie base coat and a Sally Hansen top coat.

My manicure is almost too subtle, but should hold up pretty well.

Pumpkiny Autumn Breakfast

We went pumpkin crazy when we were at Trader Joe's and bought Pumpkin Croissants, Pumpkin Spice Coffee, and Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix (I'll post about this at a later date — once I've made some pumpkin muffins).  Today's breakfast was pumpkin croissants and pumpkin spice coffee.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Croissants

Pumpkin Croissants after night of being left out to rise - ready to go in the oven.

I think 20 minutes was too long, maybe 18 minutes would be better.
I added powdered sugar.

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Coffee in honor of National Coffee Day.  Happy Coffee Day!!

My pumpkiny breakfast.

I don't usually drink pumpkin spice coffee; actively dislike the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but this Trader Joe's coffee was pretty good — it was very spicy.  The pumpkin croissants were decent, but not as good as their almond or chocolate ones.  My critique: I would lose the pumpkin seeds on top, because they don't add anything and distract from the pumpkin pie filling.  I would add more pumpkin pie filling and make it more evenly dispersed, because right now it's mostly flaky pastry and barely any pumpkin filling in only one small area of the croissant.  Overall, it was a pleasant, autumn breakfast that confirmed my love of Trader Joe's products.

Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding

One of the impulse buys from our Trader Joe's trip was Belgian Chocolate pudding.

Belgian Chocolate Pudding in our beer-laden fridge.

We put whipped cream on the pudding...

and it tasted like Bakers Square French Silk Pie minus the crust and chocolate shavings. 
I like it!

Saturday Beer Experimentation

We went to Trader Joe's tonight to stock up on essentials and beer. The line at Union Square was enormous.  We went overboard as usual, but why not right?

Shopping list as I stood in line, my husband ran interference and I picked up everything on the perimeter — our usual strategy.

We stopped at Fishs Eddy and picked up a couple of "dimple beer mugs."  Available here.

When we got home, we followed a trick we learned from my dad and covered the beer mugs in water and then stuck them in the freezer to get a chilled beer glass.

The first beer of the beers we bought that we tried was Hitachino Nest Beer - White Ale.
It's possibly my favorite beer that I've ever tried; not just because of the adorable owl logo.

Owl on the cap

Perfection

We made homemade mushroom pizza with mozzarella, Gouda, white cheddar, and Parmesan.  Delicious.

Dinner - I doused the pizza with Frank's

The Bronx Pale Ale that we tried after the Hitachino was not good.

Some of the beers that we'll try next...

I'm enjoying a cozy Saturday night at home watching "The Wire" in my p.j.'s and drinking beer with my husband.

Fossil Stella Watch

I finally got a couple links taken out of my new Fossil Stella watch.  It fits great now and goes really well with most of my clothes.

I really like the tortoise pattern of the band, and it has a nice heavy, chunky quality to it.

Note that my manicure is holding up from Sunday.

How to spend $100 at Bed, Bath, & Beyond

I ventured out to get my annual Yankee Harvest Candle this morning and ended up spending $100 at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

How did this happen?

I found the shampoo that I used to use in high school... maybe I'll feel 16 again when I use it?  Looking forward to a very Proustian moment.

I can always rationalize buying nail polish by telling myself it's cheaper than a manicure/pedicure at a nail salon.  I chose the Essie color Master Plan.

Pretty good for an at-home manicure.

TMI: Nad's Facial Wax Strips are the best for some DIY maintenance.  Again, cheaper than going to a beauticean.  It also makes me feel like my own Steel Magnolia's Truvy.

We have a communal Keurig machine at my office, and when I don't have time to make coffee at home, it's cheap and fast. Disclaimer: Keurig coffee is bad, but gets the job done.

The majority of the bill went toward candles.  I went candle crazy.

The lighting of the Yankee Harvest Candle ushers in autumn.

Hello, Autumn!  You smell great!

Friday Night Panera Dinner

I was too lazy after a long week to make dinner tonight; so I picked up some Panera on the way home from work.

My husband's chicken Cobb with avocado salad and my chicken Caesar salad

We both got broccoli cheddar soup

My chicken Caesar salad

Chocolate chipper cookie to split- we're too full to eat it though

HOP STOOPER ALE

Nice golden color and good flavor - Happy weekend to you!

Homemade Sushi Pt. 2

The last time I made homemade sushi, I didn't show how I made it.  Tonight when I made sushi for dinner, I tried to document it.

Ingredients: cut Japanese cucumber, avocado, and salmon.

Sushi rice - rice, vinegar, and salt is added to it.

Seaweed with some cling wrap

Rice spread out on seaweed and sprinkled with sesame seeds

Ready to roll

I keep the rolls in cling wrap until ready to cut the rolls

Platters of sushi

 

Dinner