Friday, October 7, 2011

New Blog!

This year while roasting our green chile, with a few glasses of wine...or more, who's counting? Corrin (my friend/neighbor/junior league co-advisor/dog sitter/ and now co-blogger!) and I came up with a new blog idea...what to cook with your green chile! I have not abandoned this blog, but we have been so busy cooking up a storm. Check out our cooking adventures here!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

All-American Party

Our dear friend Tara is leaving us for Abu Dhabi to teach for two years. We will miss her terribly, but what a great excuse for a fun party...with a theme of course! My favorite party co-planner Nichole and I planned an All-American party in honor of Tara and it was a huge hit! We had a lemonade bar, grilled burgers, Apple pies in a jar for dessert and played "pin the Tara on the Abu Dhabi".


Lemonade Bar!


Thank you Chelsea for doing the flower arrangements!


Hostesses with the mostesses!


Homemade Apple Pies in a jar!


Great find...napkin rings


Thank you all for the themed attire!




Pin the Tara on the Abu Dhabi!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Friends in high places

We recently celebrated my friend Chelsea's birthday. Chelsea recently moved here and we wanted to show her the best view in ABQ. We started at Sandiago's, which is at the base of Sandia Peak (elevation 6,559 feet!). We enjoyed great margaritas with a spectacular view of the whole city at sunset! Sandiago's definitely belongs in the "Best" of Burque!


We love it up here!


Beautiful Sunset


The Birthday Girl!

We then moved the party to Bien Shur, a lounge at the top of Sandia Casino for another great view of the city. We had so much fun, I forgot to take any photos...you'll have to come visit and see for yourself!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Mudd Volleyball

This weekend I participated in the 17th annual Mudd volleyball tournament benefitting the Carrie Tingley Hospital Foundation. I know what you are thinking...Morgan? in a volleyball tournament? I thought the same thing when my co-workers asked me to be on the team, but trust me, skills are not important when you are standing in a knee deep mud pit. Our team started off well, winning our first 2 games! Then...the beer tent opened and that's where it all went down hill! We didn't make it past our 5 pool play games, but we had a great time none the less.


Only in ABQ can you do the national anthem like this!


Our team before...


the mud was deep!




Duct taped shoes so you dont lose them into the mud!


After...

Monday, June 6, 2011

Calabacitas

With my new found love/addiction to New Mexican food, I want to share my latest fave...Calabacitas! Calabacitas ("little squash" in Spanish) is a squash casserole type dish that is on every New Mexican restaurant's menu around here and, because I don't prefer Spanish rice as a side, this is heaven! I also feel a tiny bit healthier ordering "veggies" alongside whatever fried, cheesy, green chile laden item I am way to often indulging in. In a hunt for the best Calabacitas recipe, I decided to make up my own....enjoy!



Calabacitas
4-5 Zucchini (you can also mix in yellow squash), sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup green chile diced
1 can corn, drained
1 can sliced stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 cup Mexican blend cheese
canola oil
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute zucchini, onion and garlic in olive oil until almost tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add green chile, corn and tomatoes just to heat through. Transfer zucchini mixture to a glass baking dish, add cheese and mix. Bake for 20 minutes.


Monday, May 30, 2011

Wine Fest

Every Memorial Day weekend in ABQ hosts a Wine Festival where you can listen to live music and taste wine from 30 local wineries. Here's a fun fact: Did you know New Mexico was the first wine producing region in the US? Yep, that's right, before California! Some of our favorite wineries were: Gruet, Casa Rodena, St. Clair, Matheson and Vivac.


Cheers!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, and especially to my Mom...the best Mom ever! I am often told I look, act and even talk like my Mother, and to that I say "Thank you, because my Mom is truly fabulous!"



In honor of my wonderful Mom, here are the top ten things I have learned/picked up from her.

10. How to make a gift bow, a skill every one needs so see my instructions below
9. Never pluck above your eyebrows
8. I save stupid containers/boxes/scraps because "I might use it one day" (never happens)
7. Hot tea or cranberry juice can cure just about anything
6. Clothing without lining is not worth buying
5. It never hurts to ask for a discount
4. I take on too much at one time, because I can, right?
3. I think that I can make anything cheaper than buying it... (doesn't always work out that way)
2. They key to a successful marriage...but you only get to know this when you are married, so I wont spoil this for my sister
1. Be yourself

How to make a gift bow:
Step 1: Wrap ribbon into a circle about 5-8 times (depending on desired fullness), this will be the width of your bow so make it as large or small as you want.


Step 2: Fold the circle of wrapped ribbon together and cut a diagonal out of each of the four corners, leaving connected ribbon in between your cuts

Step 3: It should look like this...


Step 4: Bring the top and bottom together to look like this...


Step 5: Tie a skinny piece of ribbon tightly in the middle


Step 6: Pull apart the individual loops twisting and moving as you go


Step 7: Your bow should look like this! You will never buy a pre-made bow again!


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Weekend

I love holidays. Mostly because they are prescheduled days you will definitely eat good food, wear new clothes, and spend time with family and friends...what's not to love? Although we could not be with our family for Easter this year, we spent the weekend with some great new friends and enjoy spring (because we have all the seasons here) in ABQ.

Saturday we went to the Botanical Garden and Aquarium so I could test out my Nikon D3100 camera. Here are a few good ones...





We decorated Easter eggs...


And made Italian Cream Cake Balls....mmmm!


On Sunday we went to church and then we enjoyed a fabulous brunch at Savoy with our new friends Keri and Michael!

Thanks for the great dress and necklace Mother-in-law and Sister-in-law!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Blues and Brews

Last weekend we went to Blues and Brews, a micro brewery tasting event here in ABQ. However, the day started out with a little more blues then brews for us. The week prior we kept thinking..."maybe we should get advanced tickets", but of course I put it off and they sold out! We were so bummed, but decided to go up to Sandia Casino where the event was held to see if anyone was selling their tickets and if not we would just go to the pool bar and enjoy our afternoon either way. So, we go up to the Blues and Brews entrance and they tell us that they are sold out, but you can still get "designated driver" tickets that get you into the event and you can still buy beer and listen to the bands, just not taste. So we bought DD tickets, had a great time and...even tasted a little =) Lesson Learned: If you are ever going to a festival in Big Burque, buy tickets early! There are not many events like this around town and therefore tickets are a hot commodity.


We made it in!


The beer was flowing!


I thought this photo was too funny not to post.

Cheers!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

March Madness

March was a very busy month for us! We celebrated our 3 year anniversary at Vernon's Hidden Steakhouse which is by far the best meal I have ever had in ABQ! This steakhouse is only by reservation only (you must have a secret password when you knock on the unmarked door) and brings you back into the prohibition era with it's speakeasy atmosphere. The food was wonderful and the service was great. Vernon's is a must go and we will be back soon! We also had fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day, and a few birthdays....including mine! We also took a quick trip to Las Vegas, NV and for the first time when I was telling someone in New Mexico that I was going to Vegas and they thought I meant Las Vegas, NM...Haha! quite a different trip. We watched plenty basketball, saw Celine Dion in concert, shopped, drank and ate to much...I love Vegas!


Celine Dion (or "Dijon" if you have had too much champagne) is back in Vegas...best concert ever!


Dinner at Hofbrauhaus in Vegas, my new favorite place...yum!


Anyways, it is warming up here in the Duke City. The Isotopes kick off their season on Friday, concert season at Hard Rock Pavillion begins Saturday and the generally (minus wind storms) wonderful weather has come so we have much to look forward to!