Happy Birthday to Me!

Sunday was my birthday.  Yikes!  The weekend was spent with Mark and Winston.  It was a low key weekend but much needed after time with my mom (not in a bad way but busy way) and then immediately off to Chicago for 36 hours.  It was also nice to start a new routine with our little guy.

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Mark took me to dinner on Saturday night to a place called Dahlia Lounge in Seattle.  It was really nice to relax over a romantic meal.  The food was pretty tasty and the wine was delicious.  I started with a glass of Prosecco and we shared a half bottle of wine over dinner.  The service was decent too.  We probably won't go back for some time but only because there are soooo many other places to try here first! 

I didn't get any presents because Winston was my early and very fun birthday present - even though we share him! Mark did give me a very lovely and special birthday card.  I love my husband so much!

On Sunday we took a drive to the suburbs north of Seattle and found that while nice they just weren't really us.  There is one town just outside of Seattle that we didn't see so we'll have to do some more exploring.

Getting to know Seattle is a lot of fun and I know in the coming months we'll start to narrow in on which neighborhood we'll want to settle - either in the city or out.

Overall, I had a wonderful birthday with lots of lovely birthday wishes from friends and family around the globe.

When I turned 30 (several years ago), I was so excited because I knew that many of the "big" things in life would happen in my 30s - marriage, kids, etc.  I've knocked off marriage from that list...I can't wait to see what this next year of life brings me.

xo,

Gettin' Lucky

For Mark's birthday weekend extravaganza, we kicked the weekend off with dinner and some fun with friends on Friday night.  Mark's a pretty low-key guy and doesn't like a fuss made over him so we didn't tell our friends that it was his birthday.  We met for dinner at Foreign Cinema, which is in the Mission in San Francisco.  We sat outside under the heat lamps and ate some delicious food and drank some yummy cocktails.

On Saturday, I took Mark for dinner at 5A5 Steak Lounge for dinner.  We had an amazing dinner with a bottle of excellent wine.

For our birthdays, we decided that we would exchange experiences (i.e., concert tickets, trip, etc.) instead of gifts, which we would save for Christmas.  But, this year, there are no concerts of interest and we just took a 10-day vacation so we decided not to go away.  I didn't want my sweet husband to go empty handed for his birthday so I got him Apple TV.  He opened it and looked and the box and had NO idea what it was.  I explained it to him and he still didn't get it.  We'll see if he keeps it.  LOL.

On Sunday night, I made Mark his favorite Sunday night meal: taco night.  I pulled out all of the fixings: grated cheese, sliced avocado, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, sliced jalapeno peppers, etc.  We watched Arthur, which I thought was hysterical.  I love cheesy movies.  I never really had seen Russell Brand in action and he is quite funny and likable.

Well, Monday was Mark's actual birthday.  In spite of celebrating my husband all weekend long, I made him lasagna from scratch (except for the pasta noodles).  I used a recipe that I've made before from Paula Deen.  It is very meat heavy, which my meat eating husband loves!  It is super simple but a little time consuming.  And, I could use a lasagna baking dish to prevent the cheese and sauce from spilling over the sides.  It was a hit, once again!  I served it with a nice side salad with lettuces, cherry tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese.  You should definitely try this one.

In my mind, Mark's birthday weekend was a hit and we both were lucky to enjoy the wonderful weekend!

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Lots O'Meat Lasagna by Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
• 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmigianno-Reggiano
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 9 oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 2 (8-ounce) packages shredded mozzarella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saucepan, combine ground chuck, sausage onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until meat is browned and crumbled; drain.
Return meat to pan and add oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 to 45 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan, parsley, and eggs.
Spoon 1/4 of sauce into bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan. Place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles. Spread 1/3 of cottage cheese mixture over noodles, top with 1/4 of sauce and 1/3 mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce, reserving 1/3 of mozzarella cheese.
Bake 45 minutes. Top with remaining cheese and bake 15 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Happy Birthday to Mark!

Happy birthday to my sweet husband!  May the next year be filled with dreams come true and lots of adventure...All of my love.

One year ago, we celebrated M's birthday in Austria