40 Before 40 - Champagne and Caviar

Before the big 40th birthday celebration in LA, there was the early birthday celebration with family. And with that celebration came Dom Perignon and caviar! All of that took place right before a big birthday dinner of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cooked apples with a three layer homemade chocolate cake to follow. It was an amazing evening!!

 

Let's start with the champagne. My mom purchased the bottle earlier in the week and the story is crazy! As she browsed the selection of champagnes, looking specifically for Dom Perignon, one of the guys at the store asked if he could help. She stated which bottle she wanted and they said, "It's behind lock and key. We'll be right back." As they came back with the bottle, my mom was told that they would just carry it for her to the front. "We get it to the front. After you pay for it, it's up to you get it out of here in one piece." Can you imagine? Asking for assistance with a bottle of champagne, having it be in the back behind lock and key, and then to have it carried for you to the front of the store? This stuff better have been worth it, right? Well, it totally was!!

 

It was a smooth sip with very little bubbles. We normally drink Moet & Chandon or Perrier Jouet, which is just a lovely, but it does have a little more fizz. And I realize that number 37 was to drink a glass, but I think I had about three! Hey, it was my birthday celebration!!

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers to being 40....almost!

 

Then came number 35, the caviar. I was much more nervous about eating this than drinking! But, I was going to try something new. This is a new chapter in my life and I am going to try and do things differently. Conquer fears and try new things. This was definitely something new that I feared!

 

I just couldn't imagine eating fish eggs. That's when my dad said, "You eat the ones that come from a chicken." So true! But these were different. They were tiny, and black, and they just looked disgusting! But I was going to do this!

 

My mom purchased the caviar at Dean & Deluca and worked with George, their expert on caviar. My mom followed his instructions to the letter, and I would assume we did it correctly. You place shaved ice (we didn't have any so we used small cubed ice) in a small bowl and then place the caviar inside the ice. 

 

In another small bowl, add Creme Fraiche. Creme Fraiche is a very mild form of sour cream so it won't over power the taste of the caviar. 

 

George told mom to serve the caviar on little Blini's. So she did! They are basically little pancakes.

 

Now it was time! My dad took a Blini, added a thin layer of Creme Fraiche, a tiny spoonful of caviar and passed it over. (Note: do not use metal to serve caviar. All you will taste is the metal. The best way to serve is traditionally on a mother of pearl spoon, but George said a porcelain version was fine.)

 

Here we go!  Joel said I probably wasn't supposed to fold it like a taco, but I thought it was better to hide the evidence!

 

 

First bite....

 

I'm not sure what I thought it would taste like, but it didn't taste like what I thought it would taste like. I think I thought it would roll around on my tongue, since it's a small, round egg. But it didn't. My dad thought they tasted saltier than he expected. I just ate it!





I will tell you this. I wouldn't order it at a restaurant, but if someone served it a party, I wouldn't pass it up. Make sense? I would, however order the champagne again, but I'm not going to spend the kind of money! Can you imagine how they would present it in a restaurant though? Could be pretty impressive!

 

So, numbers 35 and 37 are now complete! I'm making headway, even if I had less than a week left! Still one more to blog about with a few little ones to talk about!

40 Before 40 - Learn to Use My Sewing Machine

 

 

So this is my sewing machine that my mom got me for Christmas a couple of years ago and this is the first time it's been out of the box! I have desperately wanted to use it, but hadn't a clue how to use it! Neither did my mom! So, it sat in the box, I had a baby, and had no time whatsoever to sew. I am going to make that last part change. And that started with a drivers ed sewing class I took a couple of weeks ago!

 

I have huge aspirations in the sewing world. I would really like to start making clothing, using patterns that my mom and I have purchased over the last several years instead of letting them collect dust in the sewing closet at her house. And, I would love to be able to make Halloween costumes for McKinley instead of spending a fortune on something he will wear only once. And, there is always Project Runway in a couple of years....

 

As you can see below, I am apparently terrified of my machine....

 

 

This is me and my lovely teacher Elaine Johnson. She owns Harper's Fabrics, where I took the class, and was absolutely wonderful!! She was so patient, kind, thorough and above all, my first step in getting this machine up and running!

 

Here I am learning how to thread my machine.

 

Now that we have the machine threaded, I am learning to sew a straight line. I need to clarify that I actually do know how to sew. I took sewing in middle school and I've used my mom's machines off and on over the years. But there is so much more I need to know than just sewing a straight line. Like, learning how to change each foot that came with the machine, how to change the needle and how to wind a bobbin.



  

I'm starting to get the hang of it!





 

Now I'm learning how to sew in a zipper. That was a little difficult!

 

Here are the notes I took. There are three things to remember: Quality of Thread, Using the Right Needle, and Proper Threading of the Machine.

 

This is me after the class with my sewing machine that I can't wait to use! I am going to start with a pair of shorts. My mom and I bought a pattern almost 12 years ago, or more, and she made me this skirt. From that pattern, you can also make pants and shorts. We purchased fabric from Harper's earlier this summer for the shorts, but haven't gotten around to cutting it out. It's the easiest pattern we have and I think it's the perfect start!

 

Number 11 is officially complete and one I'm super excited that I finally tackled!



40 Before 40 - Drink a Martini in a Fancy Bar

I love beer! I also love champagne. But really, I love beer!  If we go out to dinner with friends to a nice restaurant, I usually order a glass of Pinot Grigio or Moet Chandon, but what I prefer to drink on any occasion is beer! If we're going for an easy, laid back beer, I prefer Bud Light. A no fuss, no muss beer! However, I do love a Blue Moon with a slice of orange. Either one will do me just fine. I drink white wine to feel fancy. I drink champagne because I can!

I've never been a mixed drink girl. I do love fruity drinks. A strawberry margarita, a pina coloda, and a Jamican-Me-Smile that we had on our honeymoon, but that's about it in the mixed drink world. My dad makes a vodka Gimlet that I like, but that's where the love stops. So, because I am getting ready to turn 40, I thought I needed to step up my drinking game and give a martini a try. You read about celebrities and how they love a dry martini or a dirty martini. Giada De Laurentiis is all about the mixed drinks. As is Sandra Lee. I mean, she does tell you that cocktail time is the best time of the day. If these women can do it, so can I!

I felt like, in the case of all of these high powered women, I needed to experience said martini at a fancy restaurant, dressed in fancy clothes and seated at an expansive, dark wood bar. My husband pointed out that I would more than likely take one sip of said martini, grimace, and never have another sip. We decided to have my dad make a gin martini with a lemon twist, in the comfort of my parents kitchen, where he could finish it for me! And that's exactly what took place! My husband knows me so well!

Here are some photos from the evening. Keep in mind still no makeup from the facial that morning. Boy, makeup sure does amplify the pretty!

Making a martini is a very serious process! Just look at the expression on my dad's face!

He even chilled my glasses!

 

 

Okay, here we go.....

 

So far so good!

Nope! Don't like it!

 

But, I'm going to give it another shot!

 

Yep, nope, still don't like it!

But, with a smile on my face, I can say that number 36 is officially complete!

 

CHEERS!

40 Before 40 - Get a Facial

 

I've always wanted to get a facial. It just sounded so glamorous. Having someone pick out all the right ingredients to make your skin youthful, glowing and rejuvenated sounded like something someone turning 40 might need! My mom, knowing that I had this on my list, gave me a facassage for Christmas last year and I finally took the time to redeem the gift card. Unbeknownist to me, in addition to the facial, I received a full body massage. When they said a facassage, I just assumed it was a message of the face and neck during the facial. The actually body massage was an unbelievable, unexpected joy!!

 

So, what can one expect during a facial? I guess it depends on the salon and the esthetician. From past experiences, my mom's facials consisted of an all over astringent, steam, mask and moisturizing massage. It also included a massage of the head, neck and shoulders. I was so excited! My esthetician asked me about my skin care regimen, what type of skin I thought I had and if I had allergies. I explained that I used Clinique as my skin care line, that I had combination/oily skin and that I do have sensitive skin that tends to breakout with the use of perfumes and dyes. Upon that information, she started explaining the best products for my skin type and what methods she planned to use.

 

We started with a steam and astringent combination that felt refreshing. Not at all harsh. She asked me how it felt, if I had experienced any burning. I had not. So, she decided that I could handle a stronger formula and re-applied. That I felt! Between the steam and the astringent, I could feel the burn. To a point that it brought tears to my eyes! Once that was complete, we moved on to the peel. We chatted all the while and I mentioned that I worked with a woman years ago who was constantly experimenting with facials and chemical methods that usually involved chemical peels. I told my esthetician that I was pretty sure I would never get a chemical peel after seeing what they did to her skin. That's when she informed me that I as currently getting a chemical peel. I was startled and taken a back. It didn't feel like it was something harsh on my face, but I was so worried about the outcome. Remember what Samantha looked like after hers on Sex and the City!?!

 

After the chemical peel came a facial mask. That was super cool and soothing. Probably because my skin had been on fire earlier in the process! After the mask came several different layers of moisturizers that left my skin feeling hydrated and a little heavy. But at the same time, it felt so luxurious! I then received the most amazing head, shoulder and arm massage (all before the body massage) and was left with a lavender therapy that was simply heavenly!

 

I left the facial completely rejuvenated! I was just sure that my skin looked youthful and glowing, like I had imagined it would. That honestly wasn't the case! It was red from all the work and chemicals and a little sensitive to the touch. It felt like an overexposed sunburn. The next morning, I found that parts of my face had actually been "burned" leaving tiny red scars and some rough patches. I lathered on the moisturizer to help with the rough patches, and today (three days later), the red spots are gone and the peeling has stopped. I am so glad I was able to move the appointment to earlier in the month. I was actually scheduled for this up coming Saturday. I'm pretty sure that with our trip being five days post facial, I wouldn't feel my best and who wants that going into a major vacation on a pretty important birthday!

 

Would I get a facial again? Possibly. But, I would have to set my expectations up front. Nothing terribly harsh, no chemical peels and an extra massage or two on the neck! I'm sure over time, after multiple sessions, my skin would look amazing. For now, I will take the almost 40 skin that I've grown into (minus a layer now) and the Clinique three-step program I've used for over 20 years!

 

 

This is a photo of me post facial about four hours later. And now, with having had my facial, I can say that number 25 is complete!



40 Before 40 - Read Anna Karenina

 

So this is the cover of the book Anna Karenina, the book that took almost a year to read! And what a read it was....and not always in a good way. It took forever! I didn't get to read everyday or every week for that matter. But, when I did get a chance to read, I would read! And, read, and re-read and read again. I found that I would re-read a sentence three or four times in order to understand it. It wasn't that it was complicated, there just wasn't a ton of punctuation used, so I felt like I was reading a 33 word run-on sentence. Plus, there were so many footnotes! And, if it wasn't related to language interpretation (they spoke Russian and French off and on) then it was a reference to other works. I flipped back and forth a lot!

 

When I started the book, the movie was in theaters, and the commercials romanticed the story. I truly thought it was an epic love story between Anna and Vrosky. Sure, there was a "love" story there, but that was only about 10% of the book. The rest of the book was around politics, religion, the meaning of life, the meaning of death and lots of things that were/are of zero interest to me. And, it revolved around so many other families and very rarely Anna. But, I kept reading because I had a goal. I was going to finish this book!

 

 My dad and I talked about the book off and on, he read it in high school, and the thing that struck him was that in Russian literature, every character had a name. And let me know tell you, they did! Even if they were a minute character. And, half the time, they were either the same name or I couldn't pronounce it, so I made up a nickname! In the words of my friend Ingrid who has tried several times to read the book, keep in mind "that those writers wrote in almost a different language and for people who were used to imagining everything (no tvs), so they tend to be long winded." It wasn't that I couldn't imagine anything, I actually could and it wasn't the actors that portrayed the characters in the movie. I couldn't get past the wordiness! I feel like the book could have ended 400 pages earlier! What would have made the book a little more enjoyable was to have a reading buddy. Someone who I could talk to throughout the book or to discuss with upon conclusion.

 

 

All in all, it was worth reading and I'm glad I actually finished it. I may not have enjoyed every minute of the read, but there were aspects of the book that I really enjoyed. But what I love most of all is that number 34 is complete!



Cheese and Corn Chowder - Cooking with The Pioneer Woman

It's been a while, but I promise, I have been cooking. I just haven't been cooking a ton from Ree. I have a lot on the list to make, I've just been relying on old recipes lately. I am dying to make her Apple Dumplings. It looks and sounds amazing, but has the most interesting twist in incredients.

 

Now that it's turning cooler, I immediately start thinking of chowders and chili. I can't make as many as I would like, my hubby isn't one for any type of soup and he hates chili, but I've been able to get him to eat this Cheese and Corn Chowder. And, it's become a Christmas Eve tradition in our home. And when I say a Christmas Eve tradition, I mean that I made it last Christmas Eve in hopes of making it every year after that, which would make it a tradition.

 

This chowder is so easy! You cut a few things up, throw it in an enormous skillet and let it simmer. The cooking time might be a little long, but the ease is what I love. That, and the taste! Let's get started!

 

Chop up some onion and add it to butter. Can I just say that the smell alone is amazing! Once softened, add some chopped up bacon!

 

Add chopped red, yellow and green bell peppers to the amazing aroma of the bacon, onion and butter concoction. Then add the star of the show, corn! I use frozen corn, but Ree suggests five ears of fresh corn.

Add a tablespoon of flour....

 

And three cups of chicken broth. Add some half and half as well.

 

Grate Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheese. You add this to the end. Result = amazing!

 

Add the cheese, and green onions if you remember to purchase them, and you have an incredible meal! I added corn bread muffins as a side, which I crumble up and add to my chowder. So good!

 

I promise, this pot-o-goodness is totally worth making during this fabulous time of year! We had so much left, even after two dinners, that we passed left-overs onto my parents. Gotta love a meal that keeps on giving! Check out the recipe in full here!

 

Happy eating!