Favorite Things Friday

Though Shay is no longer hosting, I'm thinking I want to post my favorite things on Friday again.  It's a positive spin to the end of the week ..

Anyway, my favorite this week is .. wait .. drum roll please .. Doctor Who.

Nevada got me into it two plus years ago and after much coaxing, I am hooked.  As you may or may not know, the series first began November 23, 1963. (Yes, that is the day after Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated.)  It ran until 1989 and was off the air until 2005.  I started watching in 2013, just before the 50th anniversary special. The special was the first episode I saw "live" (i.e., not in re-runs).

Nevada and I have been to two Doctor Who conventions, Gallifrey One (named after the Doctor's home planet), and we have a Doctor Who night most Fridays.  For Doctor Who night, we usually watch 2-6 episodes and drink a bottle of wine. We originally ran through the new series and after attending our first convention decided that we needed to learn about the original series, referred to as Classic Who.  We used to call it "Old Who" (which gives images of old B&W tv .. hmmmm), but Classic sounds better.

Here are our costumes for the first convention ...

 

I was the 11th Doctor and Nevada was Amy, one of the companions.

and then this year ...

 

we went as two classic companions, Tegan and Nyssa ..

  

and these are the costumes we are hoping to make for next year ... the convention is in February so we have time, but we do need to get started ...

So that's my favorite for this week.

Advice, please...

How can I make this quilt more baby-ish? I have the two fabrics below that I can use for the border, or I can get something else.

 

Thought I had a picture of the finished top (w/out border) but I don't.

 

 

Should I use one of these two for the border or get something else -- light grey with white polka dots? or stars?

Cocktail Wednesday - Boston Side Car

This week's drink was the Boston Side Car.  This was my SIL's dad's pick. Recipe from here.

This is the picture from Missouri .. my sister sent one from Pennsylvania too, but I couldn't figure out how to download it.

Ingredients:

Rum 3/4 oz
Brandy 3/4 oz
Triple Sec 3/4 oz
Lime juice 1/2 oz

I put ice in a shaker, added the alcohol and lime juice, shook it, poured it in the glasses, and garnished with lemon and lime.

We had had a side car before (see my earlier post). I don't remember liking that one at all.  This one was very citrus-y so I liked it better.  Comparing the recipes, the other one had lemon juice and no rum (but it doubled up on the brandy).  So a different twist on the same drink.

My YD takes the pictures and they are so very artsy ... Nevada didn't make it this week, though she did supply the brandy. 

Next week it'll probably be a mint julep.  I want to try a Singapore Sling too ...

Cheers!!

Cocktail Wednesday - Long Island Iced Tea

After a long hiatus of posting about our Cocktail Wednesday drinks, here it is.

The Long Island Iced Tea is a drink I've been wanting to try for a long time.  People warned me against it, but I really wanted to try it.  I had heard that it tasted like iced tea (not true).

So, I got the recipe from here.

Ingredients:

Tequila, 1 oz
Gin, 1 oz
Rum, 1 oz
Vodka, 1 oz
Triple sec, 1/2 oz
Lemon juice, 2 T
Cola, 1/2 cup

According to the recipe, you put the alcohol, and lemon juice, with ice in a shaker and then pour it in the glasses and top off with coke.  So that's what I did.

I added loads of ice, and a little extra triple sec.  It was okay, but I won't be ordering one of these when I go out.

Fun this time, we had some others joining us: my new SIL's parents in Missouri ...

and my sister, in Pennsylvania ...

So all in all, a great cocktail wednesday .. looking forward to next week.  Wondering what the drink will be.  For those who care, let me know and I'll include you on the pre-weds email where I let you know what drink and where to find the recipe.

Cheers!!

Bridal Showers and First Birthdays

So, on April 30th, there was a bridal shower for my YD who got married on June 11 (I'll post about the wedding next).  It was a lingerie shower (sorry no pics of the gifts).  There were about 20 people there, friends from middle school through graduate school, as well as work.

 

It was a beautiful day and everyone seemed to have fun.  

We played two games.  The first was bra pong, where you had to get a ping pong ball into the cups.  It was amusing.  The second was a "how much do you know about the bride game.  I didn't win.  Who knew that Lion King was her favorite Disney movie?

Then she had to answer questions about her future husband and for every answer she got wrong she had to put a marshmallow in her mouth.  She got about 8 wrong.  :(.

My two beautiful DILs.

Then, the following day, May 1, we had a first birthday party for my youngest grandson.

It was a very hot day.  My OS and his wife hosted it for my YS.

 

You can tell how hot it is by how this baby looks ...

 

I made pretzel bites for the party...

The Tree - 2016

A friend of mind is in the U.P. and I asked her to please take a picture of "the tree", so she did.  She promises that there are more, and I'm looking forward to seeing and posting those. 

I've never been there in May so this is an early season picture of this very old tree.  The lake looks high -- I wonder if lake levels are up or if it's just because it's early in the year.

Here's a picture of the same tree from the 1930s (i took a picture of a photograph in the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse several years ago).

Kirkwood - Wedding Food Tasting

So we left the house on Saturday morning, at 5 a.m. to go to Kirkwood to taste the food for the wedding ... at 8 a.m. it was 50 degrees at home ...

 

In Kirkwood ....

And the night before it had snowed, 12 inches.

The traffic was light and we got there in about 3 1/2 hours.  Went by the florist -- "Enchanted Florist" in south Lake Tahoe -- to check on things and drop off some vases for the reception.

We then drove over to Kirkwood.  They were having a tasting for about 10 couples, including my YD and her fiancee. The tables were set up with each couple's name on it.

We were there early, so we tasted some of the beer and wines, prior to the appetizers.

They had Deschutes in bottles, and I tried the Black Butte Porter.  It was pretty good.  Then I tried the house cabernet and the house chardonnay, then it was time for the cheese and appetizers.

the caprese skewer

Ceviche

bacon wrapped scallops

Seared ahi wonton

They were all excellent -- so hard to choose. 

Then on to the entrees ...

Salmon, tri tip, chicken (with a pesto and macadamia nut sauce), and pork with a mango salsa.

for sides: asparagus, red  potatoes, cauliflower.

 

No dessert (after all, we'll be having cake at the wedding), but they did give us s'mores to make on the fire pits.

Guess we overcooked the marshmallow .. and then it fell on the ground. 

And the view outside ..

and another shot of the centerpiece .. with a photo bomber.

oh, and btw, this is my 1,000 post.