Thursday, March 31, 2011

No "Poo" Experiment - How to Get Thick and Stronger Hair

Ever since I read "No More Dirty Looks" about two months ago, I have been slowly transitioning into using all natural beauty products. So far I have completely changed my beauty regimen and slowly seeing the results (will have to post later). Hopefully by summertime, I will start using cleaner and environmentally friendly cleaning products for my household as well. 

No More Dirty Looks has become my beauty bible and my go to for referrence if i am in the mood of making my own body scrub, home made shampoo, home made mani and pedi or home made make-up. While I have tried majority of it, I have yet to dabble my hands on home made make-up. Well let me take that back because I did buy beets to put a little color on my already rosy cheeks:-). You think beets are only good for salads? Think again, it's rich in phytonutrients and has some anti oxidant properties,which are beneficial to our skin. Next time when you buy beets, try setting aside a small slice and think about your cheeks and lips. Such an environmentally friendly chic to do..lol

By now you are probably wondering is what is the "no poo" experiment? If you get to know me, you'll know that I go extreme once I get obsessed about something. I guess you'll probably consider not shampooing and getting rid of all my shampooos is extreme. Laugh and cringe if you like. Going the no poo method is totally up to you.  You  can ditch using your shampoo for a day or as many days as you want. Think about the number of chemicals in shampoo that our skin absorbs on a regular basis. The purpose of eating healthy becomes futile when the things we let our skin absorb are toxic. Did you know that shampooing regularly strips away all the natural and necessary oils we need for a healthier scalp. Using the opposite will actually benefit the hair. It can finally be able to breathe on its own and be free from all that chemicals it absorbs.

Because I care so much about my hair and I know that using a bunch of synthetic made shampoo will not do me any good (doesn't work any way for what it's claiming to do), I gave this experiment a try. The method recommends using a home made shampoo of pure baking soda and organic (if you prefer) apple cider vinegar. Sounds gross, right? At first, I was a little hesitant and the thought of smelling like ripe didn't sound attractive. I was actually wrong. 

Baking soda is not only used for baking but also for cleaning. Remember putting a cup of baking soda in the fridge to keep it from smelling bad? I know when I was in the Philippines we did.  Baking soda helps strips all the build up from using shampoo and conditioner. 

Apple cider vinegar or ACV has a lot of benifits as well. Our hair is on the mildly acidic side of the pH scale and has an ideal pH of 4.5 to 5.5, which is close to that of an apple cider vinegar rinse (pH 2.9). (Taken from http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/natural-hair-care-product.html). On the other hand, many of the hair care products we use, such as soap-based shampoos, bleaches, hair colors, and permanents are strongly alkaline. Rinsing with apple cider vinegar will help balance the pH of your hair and remove the buildup that can result from the use of these styling products and inexpensive shampoos. Rinsing will also close the numerous cuticle scales which cover and protect the surface of each hair shaft. This imparts a smoother surface which reflects more light and as a result leaves your hair shinier, smoother and easier to manage.

In other words Baking Soda will act as the shampoo and ACV will act as the conditioner. Get it? I usually do this method once a week and wash my hair two or three times a week. And when I am not using baking soda and acv, I will do a hot coconut oil (that will be another post) therapy for my hair followed with an all natural shampoo and conditioner(will have to post later).
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I haven't also colored my hair in so long....
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Happy Thursday!
I dissolve one table spoon of baking soda in a cup of warm water. I put it in a small squirt bottle and spray the mixture to my hair starting from the crown of my head. I will massage it a little and leave it on for 5 minutes. Rinse with water and rinse the ends of your hair with ACV. Rinse with water again and your done! Make sure you keep a big comb to detangle at the end. Your hair will be amazing to blow dry afterwards. It can be styled however you want. I have been using this for the last month and my hair is growing out so fast and it has become a lot thicker too:-). I am happy......let me know if you try it as well:-).

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

All Natural Pork Tenderloin Roast

Pork tenderloin. My favorite type of cut. Lean. Tender. Juicy. Can I tell you that I have a long lasting love affair with it? It gives me all the juice I need. LOL! I serve it at least once a week and prepare it in different ways. But my most favorite way is roasting it. It saves me time in the kitchen to prepare other meals while it's roasting in the oven. And the secret to a juicy roast is to pan sear the outside first and let it roast in the oven until it reaches the desired internal temperature. Pink. Medium. Well Done. I love mine cooked Medium. IMG_8022

The roast above is about 2 and half pounds, which I rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic powder, herbes de provence, rosemary and dijon mustard (it makes a difference to the flavor!!!). I let it marinade for half an hour or overnight if you have time.

Preheat oven in 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in dutch oven and pan sear pork and let it brown on each side. Put the dutch oven with the tenderloin and let it roast for about half an hour. Usually they say that the time to roast the pork tenderloin depends on the weight. But I generally just stick my meat thermometer on the pork and take it out once it reaches  165 (this is cooked medium). 

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I had all kinds of vegetables in the fridge and pantry but all I kept thinking was to combine artichoke, garbanzo and string beans together. A combination one would think will not work. I was a bit surprise that the flavors just blended together. Suffice to say, it turned out to be delicious.  When my pork was done, I took it out and put on the cutting board and let it rest for ten minutes. I used the oil from the dutch oven to saute shallots and added the string beans, garbanzo, and chopped artichokes. I added a little bit of white wine vinegar and some dijon mustard. Seasoned a little bit with salt and pepper.

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This whole dinner took less than 40 minutes to cook. Healthy and delicious!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Around the World with Contessa - Austria

The hills are alive with the sound of music.  La di da di da!!!! Ah, first thing that pops into my mind about Austria besides Wolfgang Puck (well maybe vienna sausages, too? lol). If you don't know, he is an Austrian born celebrity chef and restaurateur and the dishes that I prepared was inspired from the "last supper" episode of Top Chef.  Wolfgang Puck wanted one of the contestant (go Richard Blaise!) to make goulash and apple strudel that his mother used to make when he was little.  B and I watched this episode with "oooohh's," "aaaahhhh's," and "hmmmmm yum." Funny that as soon as B saw what Richard Blaise prepared for Mr. Puck, he immediately thought of how his mommy used to make him goulash as well.  Being a good wifey that I am, I offered to make it for him too. LOL!

Here is my version of an Austrian Goulash and Apple Strudel. This is probably the closest thing of being in Austria (unless B decides to take me there on a whim ;-). What would have been a two hour of cooking was reduced to half an hour. Thank God for my pressure cooker. I was finally able to put it to use.  


If you ask me, this is a just a typical beef stew, which is similar to what my mom would always make. What sets this goulash apart is the combination of sweet Hungarian Paprika, carraway seeds and sour cream. Can you say yum? Carraway seeds are usually used in italian sausage and using these seeds are very traditional in European cooking. It has a sweet and slightly peppery aroma.  Traditionally, it's served with potato dumplings or what they call a Spaetzel (a type of egg noodle). I just substituted it with elbow macaroni instead.  


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I served mine on a bed of Spinach.

Contessa's Goulash
two and half pounds of grass fed chuck roast
chopped onions

minced garlic
2 parnips minced
2 carrots chopped
2 medium potatoes chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
carraway seeds
hungarian sweet paprika
salt and pepper
sour cream
worcester sauce
green pepper sliced lengthwise
2 beef cubes
If you have a pressure cooker, I suggest you use it. It will cut your time in an hour. But you can just easily use a dutch oven.  Season the beef with salt and pepper and brown them first.  Make sure you do it in batches.  Saute onions (in butter if you prefer, I used EEVO) and season with paprika until golden brown. Add 2 beef cubes and let them melt. Add the browned meat and stir together. Add minced garlic, parsnips, chopped tomatoes, carraway seeds and continue stirring together. You may add beef broth or water at this time. Usually the beef has a lot of juices too that you don't need the extra liquid. Let it simmer until beef is tender. When you are half way there, add carrots, potatoes, and green peppers. Let it simmer until vegetables are cooked. Mix a littie bit of the goulash sauce with two tablespoon of sour cream and add it to the pot for a thicker consistenency. Add a dash of worcester sauce at the end. Season to taste.

Meanwhile cook your elbow macaroni in a salted boiling water for 7 minutes. Let it drain and arrange it in the bottom of the pan. Top the macaroni with some parmesan cheese and pour the goulash on top. Put a dollop of sour cream if you like. 
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While B is served on a bed of elbow macaroni. 

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So much easier with the pressure cooker. The meat was so tender juicy. LOL!

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Apple Strudel
Recipe was taken from Pepperidge Farm's website. Not sure if that an authentic Austrian strudel but close enough. HEHE! Just click the link.  Although the picture doesnt look as soon as mine. It was still good and B and I finished the whole log of strudel lol. I almost have to lick the ice cream off my plate. It was that good. So easy and simple to make too!
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Freshl out of the oven.


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Served with vanilla bean ice cream...yum!
You think if Mr. Puck would taste my versiof of goulash and strudel, he would have preferred mine over Richard Blaise's? Dream on! lol

I am off to Belgium on my next post with Around the World with Contessa . Focusing on Western Europe right now:-)

Have a great Monday!
Bisous, Contessa

Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Trip to the Animal Shelter

Yesterday B and I went to visit our local Animal Shelter in hopes of finding a mix black lab. Not sure if B is really serious about adopting one or this is just a temporary obsession he's having. Apparently he had a dream that we had a black lab and her name was "Collette" and all I could think of was Collette in Paris (look it up if you are curious but it's far from animals lol). Well at least if we had a dog, her name will be after a luxury retailer store in Paris. Tres Bien! And it's very fitting coz her last name is French. HAHAHA! 
And since he was feeling under the weather this past week and a little depressed, I agreed to go to the shelter to cheer him up a bit. Boy, I didn't know that it was going to have an impact on me as well! Ugh, the softy in me comes out...lol 
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I was so sad seeing these dogs all caged up. Most of them were either stray or their owners had to give them up. Some were rowdy and some couldn't careless. One thing we noticed that there were a lot of pit bulls. They are probably not the easiest dog to take of and most owners just had to give them up:-(. I fell in love with the white golden retriever on the top right and the siberian husky on the bottom right. Her name was Hershey and she had right blue eyes and left brown eyes. Cool, huh? I don't think either of them can fit in our small condo. And they didn't have any medium size dog. However, we found B's black lab and I don't think I took a photo of her. Unfortunately, there were already 6 applications ahead of us. I guess it wasn't meant to be. And I don't think I am ready for a baby yet...ahahaha!

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Who wears clothes like this to the Animal Shelter? lol

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I hope spring weather will come soon:-)
Have a great Sunday mes amis!

Bisous, Contessa

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Around The World with Contessa - A Whole New Challenge

If Julie Powell challenged herself in cooking one recipe per day from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was thinking of taking on the challenge myself too.  While I own the recipe book, it will not revolve around that.  Please join and cheer me as I take on the challenge of exploring different cuisines from different countries.  will be cooking dishes from countries in all seven continents as part of my "Around the World with Contessa" challenge. I am still deciding how many countries to do! Maybe you guys can submit a suggestion?  Any particular dish from a specific country you would like me to feature, please let me know. 


If you think that I will be slaving myself everyday like Julie Powell, think again! LOL! I will do it on my cheat day instead. Saturday is my day to eat and indulge in whatever I want and that's when I have the most time to cook something elaborate. HE!HE! 
image was taken from the net, forgot which website:(
Stay tuned friends. On my first challenge, I will be taking you to Austria...any guess what I will be making? heheheheh


Bisous, Contessa

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Not Your Ordinary Chicken Kabobs

It's not ordinary because it's home made. HAHA! We all know that in most kabobs recipe, yogurt is usually the number ingredient on the list.  What sets my kabob apart for your typical kabob recipe is that it doesn't use yogurt at all and it still came out great. My secret? Cottage and Feta Cheese!

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I use chopsticks as my bamboo skewers.

 Contessa's Chicken Kabobs
3 all natural chicken breast
one cup fat free cottage cheese
one half cup fat free feta cheese
salt
pepper
paprika
garlic powder
dried oregano
dried thyme
dried rosemary
turmeric
ground cumin
lemon juice

Soak your bamboo skewers in water for half an hour (I used chopsticks).  Cut chicken breast into cubes. Season with salt and pepper. In a big bowl, combine all ingredients together (just eyeball the herbs please). Mix in the chicken with your marinade and put in a ziploc and let it sit for a few hours or over night to get more flavor.  I used my panini grill as I don't have an outdoor grill and I didn't want to use my broiler. It came out perfect.

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Served on a bed of spinach and lettuce salad.
 



















I served mine with salad, while B had his with pita bread. I'm sure it's just as good with rice:-).  Tasty and healthy!

Have a great Wednesday.
Bisous, Contessa

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Sunday Brunch - Our left over salmon had a make over

Don't feel like typing much today but want to share this meal make over I did this morning for our Sunday brunch.  Sometimes left over needs a make over too, especially when you've had enough eating them. I've had this baked Salmon since Friday and my spoiled brat (jk) of a husband asked if I could make something out of it before it goes bad. (And all I wanted was to rest and not cook anything today). 
I remember a few weeks ago while watching Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten prepared smoked salmon frittata and it looked mouthwatering. I thought to myself that I will make that eventually.  I guess that opportunity came this morning. Thanks to B! lol! I had to improvise, however, since I did not have all the ingredients she used and I added more veggies to my frittata. 

Salmon and Asparagus Frittata

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6 eggs slightly beaten in a big bowl
chopped shallots
chopped spinach
chopped asparagus
heavy cream
grated parmesan

Salmon Frittata

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Saute the chopped shallots in and olive oil (you can use butter too) in an iron skillet pan (any oven proof regular pan will do). Cook until translucent, add the vegetables, salmon and stir together. Meanwhile, beat your eggs in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper and heavy cream (I only have half a cup left) to the egg mixture. Slowly pour the mixture over the vegetables and salmon. Sprinkle some grated parmesan on top. Bake the frittata for about 30 minutes until golden brown. 
(If you prefer you frittata to be cheesy, you can add cheddar cheese or cream cheese to the mixture. I didn't have any of these available so I just made use of what's in my fridge).

Have a great Sunday. 

Bisous, Contessa 


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Steak and Potatoes - B's Kind of Dinner

Even though we already celebrated B's birthday two days in advance of his actual birthday, I still wanted to cook something for his special day. In all honesty B did not want to make a big deal out of it since his birthday fell on a Monday. We were just going to treat it like a any other day and go about our usual Monday schedule. He has afternoon meetings and tae kwon do and I have work and gym:-). Just when I thought I was going to the gym and him to tae kwon do, we both (or I did) convinced each other to just stay home. Not that I am irresistible, I think it's because I bribed him with steak and potato. What man would say no to that, right?


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Pan Seared Grassfed Top Sirloin with Creamed Spinach and Mushrooms


Steak is seasoned with salt, pepper, herbes de provence and rosemary. Seared for 5 minutes on each side (depending on your preference). After searing the steak, use the same pan to saute shallots and mushrooms, for a few minutes. Slowly add balsamic vinegar and heavy cream (you can eye ball depending on how much sauce you want). Let it simmer and reduce until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach at the end and stir together. Serve on top of steak! 

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Sorry the picture is kind of grainy
Loaded Baked Potato with Sour Cream and Bacon


Bake russet potato covered with foil for about 45 minutes until cook. Cut in half and put a dollop of sour cream and top with crumbled bacon and fresh chives. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. 

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Unfortunately I did not make this one. Store bought from Whole Foods. Mudslide fudge brownie. How sinful does that sound? I only had a small bite and it was so rich. I think B liked it....lol......



Friday, March 18, 2011

Seafood Friday - Shrimp and Scallop Lentil Risotto

In honor of this lenten season, I am going to be switching my "Seafood Wednesday" to Friday and "Fitness Friday" to Wednesday. Get the drift, right? LOL! 


This recipe was inspired from the Scallops Risotto that I had from B's bday dinner at Cava. I liked it so much that I wanted to recreate it without using arborio rice. Yes, I know arborio rice is an important component of making risotto. But who said you have to follow the rules? Certainly not in my kitchen. Lentils will do and yes I am still in my lentils cooking craze. LOL! It turned out great in my opinion. Vegetarians can easily use this recipe without the scallops and shrimp. 

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Contessa's Shrimp and Scallop Lentil Risotto
one cup of French green lentils 
one half cup of heavy cream
half a cup of tomato paste
two chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan cheese
herbes de provence
chopped shallots

Let three cups of water coming into a boil and add your lentils to the boiling water and let it simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until cooked and tender. Drain and let it cool. Saute chopped shallots for a few minutes and add tomatoes and stir together. Stir in your lentils, tomato paste and heavy cream. Let it simmer and add your parmesan cheese. Season to taste. Plate and add your seared shrimp and scallops (both seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika) of top. Don't forget to sprinkle more cheese as well. 

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Happy Fasting! Bisous, Contessa

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

White t-shirt and Denim jeans - how to make it work:-)

I don't consider myself a fashion expert ( I am so far from it) but I believe that having the right accessories will make an outfit work even if we are wearing the basics. Here is a simple outfit that I just accessorized. Originally, I was going to wear this outfit for B's birthday dinner, but since B is opposed to anything fancy and fabulous, I opted to wear t-shirt and jeans. Little did he know that I was going to go all out even with just shirt and jeans. Yes, I am naughty like that. Fur coat. Leopard shoes. Fancy necklace. Fancy bag.  We still have to think of ways to make the most simple clothes pop. So tell me, does it work?

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Notice how long and thick my hair has gotten? That's another secret I have yet to tell you. You will just have to wait for now:-). 

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Make it Rawr! 

White crew neck shirt: Target 
Denim Jeans: Banana Republic 
Leopard Shoes: forgot where I got it from
Fur Coat: Clearance from TJ Maxx
Necklace: Max Azria

Let me just leave you with Rachel Roy's quote, "Creativity is what matters. I never want to look like everyone else." 

Bisous, Contessa

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Cava - A Restaurant Review

Someone who is not familiar with the origin of the word "Cava," would automatically assume that this restaurant has a Spanish flare to it. Simply because when we hear of Cava, we often think of that yummy and sweet white/pink sparkling (my preferrence) wine produced in Catalonia, Spain. But did you know that Cava is actually a Greek term (per wikipedia) that was used to refer to a "high end" table wine cellar? Furthermore, it comes from the Latin word "cava" which means cave in English.  This restaurant, by no means, doesn't resemble a cave and Spanish tapas is not their forte. Their dishes, however, are served mezze style (similar to how tapas are served, which are in small dishes).  Mezze is what they usually refered to a selection of small dishes served in the Mediterranean and Middle East. 

This restaurant, located in the middle of suburbia, is probably one of the best Greek restaurant in the area (unfortunately, there are not that many), never lacks customers despite the never ending wait. And I don't know what it is with Greek restaurants keeping their space limited. It's either too crowded because of the lack of space or people just really love coming here.  And I usually dislike waiting for over 45 minutes.  But since Greek is one of B's favorite food, I decided to hold his surprise birthday dinner here despite the fact that they don't even accept reservations. Anything for my B, just for this one time though (lol), I was willing to wait for an hour or two as long as we were with company and the booze was flowing. LOL! Well at least the staff tried to apologize for the ridiculous amoun of time we had to wait. Not only that, they made a boo boo when they gave up our table to one of the groups who came after us. UGH! (A birthday discount would have been nice to compensate, hello?).

An hour and half later, we were finally seated and served a basket of home made pita bread with some olive and spicy tomato tapenade. Yum! Maybe that was just my hunger brain telling me that everything was good. The prices of each dish was not bad while others, I think were over priced.

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I just happened to take my camera (don't ask why) while I was in the girls room and they had a painting of this vintage gown and a series of shoes vignette (picture below) hanging on the wall. What do you guys think? Classy? Tacky? Appropriate? I guess something pretty to look at while you do your business. LOL!
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I ordered this for my first course. It was the rocket salad - feta cheese, baby arugula, spanish onion with balsamic dressing. $9.95? Nothing special and too over priced in my opinion. Hmmm, start of my meal wasn't impressive so not sure on what to expect for the rest of my meal.  

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This was B's order.  Crazy feta...we love feta and this wasn't bad. It went well with their fresh pita bread. It was priced at $5.95 if I recall.

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Calamari, which was one of table mate's order. It came with like a mayonaisse chipotle sauce. This was good. Perfectly crispy.

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Grilled Octupus is one of my all time favorite. You can usually tell if a restaurant is any good base on how great they cook their octupus. HAHA! It can either get too rubbery or under cooked. This however got my thumbs up. Yum yum yum!

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This method of pan searing cheese is called the Saganaki. Cheese Flambe for short:-). Most people in the restaurant were ordering this left and right. I guess it's more for the entertainment. So we put in an order also. $9.95 for fried cheese? I love fried cheese, don't get me wrong but this was over priced in my opinion. I think I can fry cheese better than this. Ha!  

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I think the cheese use for this Saganaki was Kefalograviera. It's a hard sheep milk cheese. Similar to that of a mozzarella.

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Of all the meal I've had this was my number one favorite. Scallops risotto! The scallops were perfectly seared and the risotto was perfectly cooked.

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One of our table mate's order - lamb sliders. I think she said it was good.

We also ordered a few other stuff which I forgot to take pictures.  It was hard sitting in a very small table and having to keep taking my dslr out of my bag. And people were looking at me snapping pictures away. Next time, I'll just say that I am a professional food critique. HAHA! It was over all a great meal. The pricing was not bad. Service was great. It's just the wait time is so long. I wanted to order dessert but none of the group wanted any:-(.

I was able to experience the hype and I won't mind coming back to this place as there were so much we didn't order in the menu. Next time, I'll definitely go back during lunch time when it's less busy. The good company we had made our meal a lot better. Happy Happy Happy Belated Birthday B:-)
love you xoxo

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Fashion Dress Up - Even it's too sexy for my B:-p

B is turning __ this Monday and have been feeling depressed about getting a year older.  I thought that throwing him a surprise birthday dinner/party would cheer him up a little and forget about his petty depression. LOL! Mind you, he does not like surprises and he knows me too well not to sense anything sneaky. 


I thought I was doing pretty well in keeping it as a secret from him until the morning of the event. I must have been visualizing what I was going to wear for his birthday dinner in my dreams. That is usually the case when I start playing dress up the minute I wake up. I go into a frenzy that I forget to wash my face and brush my hair. Of course, I slipped when I asked him to take a picture of me. HA!HA! He asked what I was dressing up for and I said that it was for his birthday. He didn't even compliment and tell me how nice I look (well I guess since I just got out of bed). Instead, he immediately told me that it was "too sexy," "skirt is too tight," it will just be us and blah blah blah. No need to impress anyone. UGH! The rest of the story is history as I got upset...well just exaggerating:-)


I opted to wear t-shirt and jeans for his birthday dinner instead. You would have to wait for the post next time. Boring you might say. But I leave it up to you to judge......:-)


For the mean time, enjoy looking at my pictures that I only had the pleasure to wear around the house. HAHA! 


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He won't stop teasing me and I can't stop laughing. 

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My Sigerson Morrison deserves a picture lol. 

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Shirt: Gift from K.O. (thanks cousin)
Necklace: Allegra Bib by C.L. (thanks cousin)
Skirt: Herve Leger bandage skirt - still haven't worn this out
Shoes: Sigerson Morrison Wedge Gladiators. 


Thanks all mes amis!


Bisous, Contessa

Friday, March 11, 2011

Enjoying my new ride

It's not a brand new car if that's what you're thinking. I'm referring to my brand new Schwinn Hybrid. He! He! This was my "just because I love you" gift from B (now everybody say "awwwww"). I never asked for it but was hoping to own one since B has his own bike too. Besides, we need an alternative outlet for "bonding time" than going out to eat. With spring just right around the corner, I want to be outside as much as possible. You can only work out so much in the gym, ya know:-)

I've had my new toy for two weeks now and last Saturday, the weather was finally nice enough to take it out for a ride for the first time. B and I went to our local park. Their bike trail over looks the lake and the view made our ride even more enjoyable. I'll just let the pictures do the talking...enjoy!
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Excited!

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Regardless if the lake is manmade, the view is still beautiful.

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Let me play pictionary first. B was making comments around this time already. lol!

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Honey stop taking pictures!
 
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Can you take a picture of me first while I ride my bike? And don't you just love my fanny pack? Where else would I put my camera then if not for this beauty? lol!

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Takiing a break. Thank goodness he agreed to have his picture taken. :-)

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I would like to come back here and do a fashion shoot. LOL!
If you guys have a bike, don't just let it rust in your garage. Take it out for a ride from time to time. Not only it's a good form of leg excercise, but you get to bond and enjoy the company of your loved ones while doing so. Not to mention, choose regional parks that have bike trails. It's a stress free environment. The view is beautiful, the wind is refreshing and most importantly, the thought of getting fit is inspiring. We biked for about three hours and by the time we got home, my legs were on fire. It was definitely a good burn!

Hope you have a great weekend ahead..I plan to do more biking on Saturday!

Bisous, Contessa