Mama Bear is out of Hibernation

Hello dear friends and family! Do not worry, I did not fall off the edge of the earth :-) February is an odd month for me. It is by far my busiest month at work and the Oklahoma February weather has never agreed with me. As a result, I often hibernate a.k.a. watching lots of Bravo television (even reruns) in my pajamas in the evenings and on weekends, and enjoying the occasional glass of sangria. During February my brain is often like cottage cheese when I come home, so that the last thing I want to do is be on the computer. I usually just want to chat with the "hub" and cuddle with the puglets.

Good news is that I am out of the hibernation cave and ready for Spring to bring it on! Sunny and warm weather often energizes me and places an inexplicable smile on my face. In fun news, Michael and I are redoing our guest room/office! I will keep everyone posted on the great changes for the room (furniture is supposed to be arriving this week).

~Al

Champagne Wednesday's

Every Wednesday at the Bahrenburg household, Michael and I have "Champagne Wednesday's". Through my love of the movie 'Failure to Launch' and our mutual love of cheap Andre champagne, our version of Hump Day was born. At about 8:45 every Wednesday one of us takes the puglets out for their last walk and we then pop open a bottle of delicious bubbly and watch one of our favorite shows, Bravo's wonderful 'Top Chef'!!!

As we were watching this evening's episode of TC (so upset Jamie got eliminated by the way), I discovered I had a new dream. My new dream is that one day we will be able to dine at Le Bernardin in Manhattan. Not only is it my dream that we will dine there, but that Eric Ripert himself will come chat with us in his adorable French accent in all of his Silver Fox glory. As we watched his food on TC, I swear Michael and I were salivating at the thought of just having one bite of one of his dishes. If I had to choose, I would have chosen his Red Snapper.

Champagne wishes and red snapper dreams to you all!

Life's Simple Pleasures

It is definitely the simple, little things in life that often make my day. Good examples for me include taking that first hot sip of your latte or cappuccino, the smell of soft, clean sheets, or the satisfaction of finishing a great book or novel.

There are two other simple joys that I want to discuss in particular. First, the thrill of finding a fabulous sale item. The phenomenon of the fabulous sale item usually only happens to me about twice a year, if that. However, it happened to me today!!! All throughout the holidays I had noticed this adorable black sequin dress at one of my favorite stores. At full price this dress still would have been out of my price range even if it had not been the holidays. Well, while browsing at the mall today the sale gods decided to shine their light upon me and show me the dress on sale for only $22, which was over $200 less than it originally was! As fate would have it, I tried it on, it fit perfectly, and I went skipping out of the store like a little girl out of a candy shop.

The second simple joy is one that also helps me relax...BAKING. I made some delicious corn raspberry muffins this morning from the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook (thanks Mami!). The recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins, but I decided to make 6 jumbo muffins. The muffins are very moist and are said to be just as good without the raspberry preserves. I looked for the recipe online, but alas, it was not there. If anyone would like it, just let me know.

So happy that it is the weekend. Happy SuperBowl watching!

~Allison

Happy Birthday Michael!

Well, it seems that we have already been slacking off on our blogging responsibilities, but I wanted to wait and post for Michael's birthday as to deliver all of the fun details of his celebration. Michael's birthday was actually last Thursday, but we agreed since we were both working all week that we would have more fun celebrating on Saturday. However, I did not want there to be zero fun on his actual birthday, so I woke up at 5:00 a.m. (for those who know me well, this is a big deal) to decorate the kitchen and make Michael a big breakfast of Barefoot Contessa pancakes, eggs, OJ, and hot cocoa. I sent him off to work a very full man!

We decided to celebrate the b-day at Bolero, a tapas restaurant and bar in Bricktown. Michael and I had eaten there the weekend before and really enjoyed the atmosphere, food and drinks, so we decided it would be a fun venue. We were joined with some of our awesome family and friends for the occasion and had a fabulous time. First, the food...very tasty. They have a whole list of savory tapas to try and my personal favorite was the dates wrapped in bacon. If you like dates, this is the dish for you. Michael, Margo, Kyle and I decided to split a huge pan of paella for our entree. I will say that the paella had a little too much tomato base for my taste, but the fact that it was so loaded with mussels, clams, shrimp, and calamari made up for it. The drinks that I tasted were delicious as well and were very generously poured.

Last, but not least....CAKE!!! I ordered Michael's birthday cake from Ruth's Sweet Justice in OKC. As you can see from the photo up top, the cake was adorably decorated (I told them "modern and masculine") and hit the perfect sweet spot. The cake was a 2-layer chocolate cake with a hazelnut chocolate mousse filling, and buttercream icing....are you drooling yet? Ruth's Sweet Justice will now be my go-to bakery for all of those special occasions that demand a cake that I do not have the baking skills to make. If you live in the OKC area, I highly recommend it!

I am so relieved that Monday is over. Have a great week :)

~Lady Bahrenburg

Cheers to a New Year!

Happy New Year! One of my New Year's resolutions was to start a blog for Michael and I, so there is one thing marked off of the list. We are very new at this, so please bear with us. I have not kept a journal since high school so this should prove to be interesting.

This holiday season was very busy for us, but still very fun. Michael, Oscar, Leo and I drove down south to Texas to first visit with Michael's parents in Ft. Worth. Then on Christmas morning our brothers and sisters arrived to celebrate. We then proceeded to all chip in and cook the most decadent Christmas meal including a rib roast, sweet potato mash (courtesy of Michael), parmesean potato gratin, green bean casserole and numerous desserts.

Then it was off to the Woodlands to visit my parents and sister. This was very fun and relaxing with the exception of herding 2 pugs and 2 golden retrievers. However, it did bring many laughs. My parents got us what I consider to be my adult version of the Red Rider bb gun from 'The Christmas Story'...a chrome Kitchen Aid Mixer! I have been lusting after this kitchen appliance since I saw Ina Garten using it in every Barefoot Contessa show. This is dorky but true :)

I also wanted to share that on the holiday drive I read the book 'The Last Lecture' that Michael's mother gave to us a few months back. The book is beautiful, sad and inspirational all at the same time. It made me realize even more so in the midst of the holidays how blessed Michael and I are to have our health along with wonderful friends and family. We love you all and can't wait to spend 2009 with you.

Cheers!

Lord & Lady Bahrenburg