August means...my birthday!!!!

I love my birthday!  In fact, I love my entire birthday month!!!  I love that growing up, birthdays always meant it was your day!  We woke up to a decorated bedroom door, any breakfast cereal of our choice, a card and confetti in our lunch box if it was a school day, balloons and streamers hanging from the mantle, dinner of our choice, we got to eat off the "You are Special Today" plate, we got the most thoughtful gifts wrapped in fun paper, and of course our birthday cake was always homemade!  My parents always made birthdays a big deal, and such a fun day!  I look forward to doing the same thing for my kids!

For all of you who know Todd -- No worries, I have already dealt with the fact that I know Todd will most likely NOT purchase confetti and balloons to decorate the house, bake me a cake, and wrap my gifts in cute matching paper and ribbon!  However, I am sure he will make it a special day in his own way!

So, what is on my wish list, you ask?

*Emilie Sloan Seattle Stasha Carry All in Silver Stone ($68) -- these bags are my new obsession (as you can see from my previous post)!  I love their cute patterns, their durability, that they are a Seattle based company, and maybe the fact that they are a new company and I haven't seen one person carrying one of their bags yet!  Their website does not do these bags justice, you have to see them in person!  http://www.emiliesloan.com/

*Eclipse and Breaking Dawn in paperback -- I was given the first two books for my birthday last year, and I am just now finishing New Moon (yes, I know I am VERY behind the times on this)...which means I am almost out of reading material! 

*Brighton "E" charm in silver, on the matching Brighton thick 36" silver chain -- because I think it's cute, why not?

*Coach Sutton Signature Wristlet in Black ($48)-- to use as a camera case, but it also has a little strap and plenty of room to throw in a credit card, ID and cell for a night out! 

                                 

*Williams-Sonoma Commercial Quality Half Sheet Pan ($19) -- I am ready to make my mom's pumpkin roll recipe at Thanksgiving....except I don't have a jelly roll pan!  Considering I have a 16" round cake pan (a must-have for any kitchen - HA!!), 3 spring form pans, a cabinet with about 20 different shapes and sizes of pans, and countless other baking must-haves, I have no idea how this happened!! 

Well, that's it!  Other than more place settings of our china -- only so that they can sit in their box in our laundry room until we actually have a formal dining room!  Happy Birthday month to me!!!!  :o)

Summer is for Grilling!

Since we have moved into our new condo, we have gotten the best gift ever - a grill! We were not allowed to have a grill on our balcony at our old place, so we would grill things in a Le Creuset grill pan on the stove. It was very desperate, I know! But, it held us over for a short time! Now, we have a built in stainless steel gas grill with a little countertop area on one of our balconies! I never thought Todd would be excited about anything cooking, but I found out he loves to grill! And, I must say he is great at it! Apparently, the only cooking he did as a bachelor was via the microwave and the grill! I knew about the microwave, I just had no idea he was such a grillmaster!

In the last month or two we have cooked part of almost every meal at home on the grill. Which is great, because it helps me out with cooking. And, our gas is charged to the building and paid by the HOA, so it is economical too! The more we grill, the cheaper our power bill - if you know Todd's frugalness, you know this is what his dreams are made of! :)

We bought Todd's dad a grill basket made with wire mesh for fish, shrimp, scallops, and veggies for Fathers Day. His parents' have a second house on the gulf, and they love to go get shrimp straight off the boat and grill (although, not anymore I'm sure!). So, we thought this would be perfect for their beach house meals! Todd loved my find, and continually asked his Dad if they had tried it out when he would call. However, they still have not used it. So, after much self control, Todd finally gave in and used some Williams Sonoma gift cards to go get one of his own!

Todd also picked up a Wilton Armetale grill platter. We are already huge fans of Wilton Armetale platters because they can go in the oven, on the grill, and in the freezer - and they look great for serving straight to the table! So, they were a large part of our wedding registries, and we now have a complete set of the "flutes and pearls" design, thanks to friends and family. So, when Todd saw this no frills platter with handles designed specifically for the grill, he knew I would also be a fan!

If we weren't prepared for summer grilling already, we are now! I will be sure to follow up with product reviews for any of you who are intrigued! Todd is very anxious to use our new grilling toys, so I am sure it will be soon!