Kitchen Backsplash

So we finally had a chance this weekend to do the backsplash in the kitchen.. here are a few pics. From when we first bought the house, to my bright idea of my metallic paint (which we hated so bad).. definatly a lapse in judgement... to the new glass tiles. It looks awesome now and I'm satisfied.. FINALLY!!! It was a little bit of hard work.. but it was worth it and for first time tilers... we did a good job, or so we think :)

Green Chili Burger

Best Burger Chris and I have ever had at home.. besides the usual Cheese Burger.. they were very yummy!!!!

Green Chili Burgers ( seen on Bobby Flay's show "Boy Meets Grill )

Green Chili Sauce

2 poblano chilies, grilled, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium red onion, grilled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano or cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup water
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Burgers
2 lbs ground chuck or Medium Ground Beef
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 slices Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese
Romaine lettuce
Pickled Jalapenos
Sliced beefsteak tomatoes
4 hamburger buns

Method: Heat grill to high. Form meat into four 8-ounce burgers and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill until charred on both sides and cooked to desired doneness. Place 2 slices of the cheese on each burger; close the lid or tent with foil and cook until the cheese has just melted, about 1 minute. Place burgers on bun and top with green chili sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and pickled jalapeno, if desired. Note: Use high heat. A great tasting burger needs only to be on the grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side to arrive at a perfect medium doneness.

The Chili Sauce is so awesome... spicy but not HOT.. you'll love it!!! Give it a try.

Water

Cocoa is so addicted to drinking water all the time... she now is obsessed with drinking it from the hose...lol. She's too cute!!!! Chris took a good shot of the action.

New Garden

So I finally have a front lawn and flower beds :) I'm so excited. We've been in the house since before Christmas and the front garden is starting to come together.. here are a few pics from this weekends project. Now I just need to Mulch and maybe add some Annuals to give time for the perenials to grow and fill in.

Before and After

Here's a pic from the backyard.. after I cleaned it up a little, it will be next years project.

Red Sox

Only a few weeks and we'll be in Boston at the Red Sox game :) We are so excited, we've been there before.. but this time we have front row tickets next to the dugout on the 3rd base line. We will be just so close.. it's gonna be fun. I'll be able to see all the players close up, and yes it cost $$$ a small fortune, but it's a once in a lifetime thing.. these tickets are hardly ever available.. we call them the Jen and Ben seats ( Jennifer Gardner and Ben Affleck has season tickets nearby), big Red Sox Fans would understand how special and cool this is gonna be. Lots of shopping will also be done as well... :) The countdown is on.

Cocoa at the Lake

Here's a pic from Cocoa @ the Lake.. she loves to fetch sticks.. over and over again!!!! I guess that's why she's a retriever....lol.

Finally

So we finally got the Tile for the backsplash.. the last box came this weekend past. I can't wait to finally put it up, but it will definatly be a while before we get the chance... too many things going on and working too many opposite weekends. I know I haven't been updating the blog lately.. but I've been too involved in facebook to do anything else..lol. Things are good and we are booking things for the next trip.. going to Boston Canada day weekend to see the Red Sox and do some shopping, should be really nice. Anyway that's about it.. the tile is here and waiting to be put up.. I'll put a pic up when it's finally done!!

Update

So there's not much going on right now.. things are just work, sleep, eat and workout. Pretty boring!!! We did however order the glass tile for our backsplash in the kitchen :) it's Slate/Charcoal colour 1" x 2" little subway tiles, which should look pretty sharp with the dark counter top. The project is sloted for the long weekend so it should be interesting and frustrating..lol. The weather has been amazing... over 20 degrees everyday this week but unfortunatly it's not gonna stick around, it takes a dip again next week :( the good weather has been nice for the lawn as well.. Cocoa has ruined about half with her ever need to go to the bathroom, it's now seeded and waiting to re-grow again. Hope everyone is enjoying the sun and don't forget sunday is Mother's Day!!!!! ( the grey block is the tile )

CRAZY dog

Here is Cocoa's newest sleeping place, on top of the ottoman in the entry way.. what a crazy dog!!!!

Pictures are up

Just wanted to say that all the pics from Vegas are up on Facebook for anyone who would like to see. If U want to see them and your not on facebook... lol, I guess you'll have to join now!!!!!! www.facebook.com

A trip to remember !!!

So Chris and I got back last night @ 10pm. The trip started out with our flight being cancelled on monday due to the weather ... all flights to and from New York were either cancelled or delayed. After finding out we booked on the next flight out which was tuesday morning. So we finally got into Vegas on tuesday afternoon, went to the hotel and got ready for Cirque du soleil "Mystere" ... it was an amazing show, we loved it. We were very tired after the show ... had been up for almost 24 hours with the time change and all. The next day was lots of great resturants and the " Five for Fighting" concert... which was also a really good time. We took the next day to relax, walk the strip and again eat at some good resturants ... yummy food. The last day we went to Red Rock Canyon which was unbelievable, last time we were in Vegas we went to the Grand Canyon which of course of amazing.... but driving 13 miles through the red rock canyon was also insane. I have lots of pics, but I'll post post of them on Facebook. So the best part of the trip is yesterday...lol, NOT. The return home, we got up early of course 4am to catch the 7:30am flight from Vegas to Denver... the Las Vegas airport was crazy, it was extremly busy and we were over 2 1/2 hours early. We waited in line and finally had our bags and tickets all checked in. Were rushing to the gates... because at this point we were almost late for the flight. Got ready to board and noticed that one of the bag tags on our tickets was for someone else.... HOLY crap they mixed up our tags. We reported it as soon as we realized, but by this time there was nothing that could be done. We boarded the flight... and off we went from Vegas to Denver and then Toronto. In toronto we waited for our luggage because we had to connect... NO LUGGAGE, it was lost... this has happended before, but it didn't make it any better. So we boarded the last plane home with no luggage. Got home in Halifax and went straight to the counter.. reported the luggage LOST and today we finally got 2 out of 3 pieces back.. thank god. I'm very excited because I bought a lot of stuff when I was away :) Anyway, it was one hell of a week.. UP'S and Down's but overall a good vacation. Viva Las Vegas!!!!!

My New Favorite Thing

So my new Favorite thing is the Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizer, it's a really good moisturizer and gives just a little bit of colour. I just got back from the dermatologist and she advised strongly that I stay out of the sun, I have these moles on my back and stomach that have the potential to turn into melanoma. So no more sun for me... the Moisturizer gives U just a little colour so you look like your kissed by the sun, I love it!!!!! Give it a try you'll like it too, oh and there are different shades for 3 different skin types.

Vegas CountDown is ON!!!

I'm very excited Monday afternoon we are leaving for Vegas and I can't wait.. it seems like it's been booked forever and now we're almost there. I'm so excited, we have a lot of great stuff planned and many excellent resturants picked out. I'll take tons of pictures!!! 5 more sleeps.....

Easter SnowFall

I guess I was wrong on saturday when I said maybe spring weather would be right around the corner!!! We were in the valley for the easter weekend and spent it with Chris's parents and family, it was very hectic.. but fun. Had bbq on sat night and I finished 2 bottles of wine...lol, slept like a baby while the snow was coming down. We got home ok yesterday.. the roads were clear and the drive was fine. I think this was the most snow we had this year... it's crazy to think that easter weekend was the biggest snowfall. I'll update with some pics from the weekend later. Here's a pic from the Herald... it's up on the commons, a snowbunny!!!

Happy Easter

Hope everyone has a good Easter weekend, maybe spring weather will be right around the corner!!!

T-I-R-E-D

Here are a couple of pics from Cocoa's play date on Saturday with Ellie, they were in the woods and swimming. It was a quiet night she was pretty sleepy, she never even had enough energy to come up stairs...lol.

Before & After

Here is a pic of our Kitchen before and after the painting of the backsplash.. we used a Ralph Lauren Metallics paint in Turquoise Blue. We're not sure if we really like it yet????

On ORDER

So we ordered our new BBQ this weekend, I can't wait it's Natural gas and has a rotisserie... yum. It will be great for PARTY TIME!!!!!!

Louisiana Chicken Spice Rub

Here is a spice blend I used the other night for Chicken, a louisiana inspired recipe it's a creole seasoning that can be used for blackened chicken (Emeril Lagasse's Recipe). I took a whole chicken and removed the backbone and flatened the chicken out. I took the spice blend and rubbed the chicken with it, layed it skin side down in a hot cast iron skillet and cooked it until nice and black, flipped it over and finished it off in a 400 degree oven. Cooked it for about 35 min or until the thermometer was about 170 degrees. Let it rest for 10 min and then served with Rice and a Salad. Very yummy. Would also be good for BBQ as well.

Spice Blend

2-1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne (I used about 1/2 .. depends on how HOT U like it)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Makes about 2/3 of a cup of spice, may not need it all at once... it can store in an airtight container.