Pinky Blog

So I need to provide another update.

Every few days I get this idea to update my blog, but I find that I either, do not have a picture to go with it or I just don’t have time to post.  I really need to get better at this.

Since my Prague trip:

• I was laid-off again [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]. Trust me, I hate that company now.  They did it when I was sick after my trip back.  Luckily they gave me 2 weeks severance even though I had only been working there for a month.  I deserved it.
• My sister turned 16!!!!  I remember her being a baby like it was just yesterday….
• I found a job [that paid even more than the place that just laid me off, which is...$10k more than what I was making in February!!] before I needed to claim unemployment!  [A HUGE Thank You to my references!]
• I usually reward myself when I get a new job, but instead I used that non-existent money to have Truffles’ teeth deep-cleaned.  His breath was god-awful before, but now there’s no smell at all!  I plan on doing a blog post about the transformation.
• My parents MOVED.  Yes, MOVED.  They’ve been living at the condo  for what, 15+ years now?  They finally jumped on a great deal on a townhouse in Chantilly.  They’ve updated a few things, such as the kitchen [I love their granite], changed the carpet, changed a few fixtures and added recessed lighting.
• I finally went to the Jersey shore [specifically, Wildwood] and had the famous, Mack’s pizza.  I rode the rides and got sunburned….
• I watched Lady GaGa in concert in Atlantic City, NJ!  She was awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeee! ♥
• I may have found beloved Christian Louboutin Bianca in Nude!!!!  More details on that later…

I think that’s about it in terms of excitement.  I’ll try to get posts up on some of the more eventful things in the list later. :]

I’m so sad to see it go.  What will I do to fill my time from 9-10pm on Tuesday nights? 

The finale last night was great.  I had Miss Christine and her lovely boyfriend, Leo over for dinner.  Jon cooked a delicious grilled chicken with lemon/basil sauce and topped it off with goat cheese.  Along with the chicken we had 2 sides, stir-fry spinach w/ minced garlic and rice wine and potatoes with rosemary.  Jared, the roomie, made baked scallops which was tasty.  Everything was delish.  Prior to dinner I made a fruit salad with papaya, pineapple, gala apples, mango, grapes, pears and kiwi.  We tried to keep it island-themed for the show.  We had the recap on while we ate dinner.  After cleaning up and with 15 minutes to spare, Jon started up the popcorn and we all settled into our seats downstairs in the home theater.  The 2 and ½ hours were intense at times but everyone enjoyed the ending.

I will miss you, LOST. ♥

On Thursday, the 22nd of April, I went to an Owl City concert with Paper Route and Lights opening up for him [Owl City = Adam Young].

My younger sister [15] and I were supposed to go to the concert together.  Unfortunately her grades have been slipping, so she was forbidden to go to the concert and my husband came instead.

The tickets said doors open at 6pm so I assumed that the concert would start shortly after……I was so wrong.  Owl City didn’t start until way later and Paper Route didn’t start until at least 7pm, if not later.  When Jon and I got to DAR Constitution Hall there were soooooooo many teens.  [DUH!]  My breakdown of the people at the concert would be 90% were kids under 16, 5% parents and 5% people over 20 [does not include parents].

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I’ve been back from Prague for 2 weeks now and I definitely miss it.  Walking around the city was great.  I don’t think I’ve done that much walking [literally walking across from one corner of our map to the other] since Japan. ♥

Here’s a blog post that Jon wrote about one of our experiences in Prague.

Traveling in Prague recently, visited a wonderful restaurant there, called V Zatisi.

The food and decor were both quite amazing.  The room we were seated in featured a wall constructed entirely of books (below left).  The lamps were placed on books that stuck out halfway from the pile.

One thing we particularly loved were the oil and vinegar cruets, one of which we ended up bringing home for a small  fee (above right).  The restaurant offers tasting courses which are very artfully presented.  The seared foie gras was particularly heavenly and we would definitely go back for more.  Among the things we tried at V Zatisi were small courses of duck, beef, veal, fish and a heck of a good tiramisu for dessert.

Dining in Prague, as we learned during our 10 day stay, is a very unusual experience.  Our walking tour guide explained “most of the time, you won’t get good service.”  This is apparently a remnant of communist thought where everyone gets the same pay no matter what kind of job they do.  Another unfortunate thing is that many restaurants put a “service” or a “couvert” charge on the bill, up to 10%, without so much as a warning or explanation.  The wait staff also hovered at the table when payment was due and asked if we were going to leave a tip.  This happens especially to tourists, we later learned.  Oh well.  (Not to say the food wasn’t good in Prague… indeed the food and the beer were fantastic almost everywhere we tried.)

V Zatisi did not suffer from any of this.  Service, food and everything was fantastic.  The establishment was clearly built for an international audience who expect good service.

After dinner, a walk around the surrounding area at night.  Prague is a bit of a photographer’s wonderland at night and there are so many little treasures…

Isn’t the oil and vinegar cruets the cutest thing ever?  I’ve seen typical ones in kitchen gadget shops, but nothing this adorable.  We might have paid a 100% markup but the glass shop that sold this was across the bridge [maybe a 20 mins walk from where we were], it was already 7pm on a Saturday [nothing is open except restaurants and tourist souvenir shops past 6pm on a Saturday] AND it was our last night and our flight was at 8am!  In the end, I’m extremely happy that I bought it.

Or maybe a lot of Cherry Blossoms!

This is inside Les Halles in Washington, DC. The food was great and I was so glad to be finally eating there.

Near the front were Anthony Bourdain’s books propped up with champagne bottles. It was the cutest thing. Speaking of Anthony Bourdain, I still need to finish A Cook’s Tour. Jon says it’s a great read.

I had the signature onion soup and steak frites. Jon had the soup with blood sausage. Jared had the porc mignon. Jon and I shared a creme brulee. Personally, Jon’s creme brulee is much tastier (especially when I get a pile of strawberries atop my own brulee!!!). It was sad to see that they don’t use ‘real’ vanilla beans as that’s what Bourdain calls for in the recipe.

The cherry blossoms were so pretty. That’s for a later post though!

*The new wordpress is great!

*This is a previous post from my old blog – edited time stamp to reflect original date.

I know I haven’t blogged in awhile, but I thought…Today is the day to blog!

So isn’t my picture nifty? It’s not necessarily my picture; my boyfriend actually took it and I’m actually the one eating it (in the picture).

The picture is of the infamous dish – Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps at P.F. Changs! It is so delish, it’s insane. I LOVE IT! Oh, and if you like seafood, I recommend trying the Crispy Walnut Shrimp (or something of that variation).

I gotta say, I love it there – not only for their food, but for their service. Now, I’m not talking about their waiters and waitresses. I’m talking about the HOSTESS!

Yes, the hostess my friend (name not to be revealed) that works at Changs. She’s amazing, I swear! I love her to death also, and she’s hott hott hott!

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