Superbowl Sunday

Last year we had a Superbowl party. I served crab legs with drawn butter, cheese and crackers and fettucini alfredo with chicken, bacon and peas. We drank white wine.

This was fun too. Seriously, it was fun.

Eating chicken wings out of a tailgate with a dead Christmas tree

Frying chicken wings in an ally

Serving chicken wings on an 80s tv tray

Watching Bruce in 3D

A patriotic garage

And we're back!

Technical difficulties behind us, at least temporarily. Glad to be able to post about our awesome weekend! I got majorly lucky with my schedule at work... Sunday, Monday & Tuesday off!

Sunday we chose to celebrate our "anniversary" (year three down, onto year four) with a special date downtown. Dad & Robin sent us a gift card to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for Christmas, so that's where we went. Thanks, again, it was excellent! We headed to Austin in the afternoon. First we stopped at Joseph's favorite brewhouse, Live Oak Hefeweisen with a lemon for me, Gulden Draak and Duvel for him, a cheese platter (that didn't even try to compete with one I'd serve at our house) and the sickest (that's a very good thing) hot pretzel covered with melted swiss cheese and sliced bratwurst. After a few hours on a leather couch at the Flying Saucer and a disappointing Philly/AZ game we headed to dinner.


It was awesome. We shared a bottle of Paul Hobbs Russian River Chardonnay while we enjoyed a Crab-tini and Ruth's Chopped Salad. With our steaks, petite Filet for me and Cowboy Ribeye for him, we had another bottle from the Russian River, Belle Gloss Pinot Noir. We toasted twice, naturally, once to a good three years and once to actually taking the trip we've been planning to wine country, to finally see the Russian River Valley with our own eyes and tour the vineyards we love most. The service was impeccable, which makes a major difference to us. For dessert we had a molten chocolate cake. Mmm. I slept the whole way home, thanks to Joseph for always getting us home safely.

Today we are going to try to get some housework done and finish up rearranging our living room. Tonight I'm making pork Orloff (basically stroganoff) for dinner, a request from JHig. He even asked me to include the mushrooms, if I cut them really small. No problem, I'm so impressed with his expanding palate. When I met him he wouldn't even allow a mushroom in the kitchen and he hated onions. He's come a really long way! After dinner we've got lots of new dvr'd tv to watch!! What a peaceful day. Our life is pretty sweet, I love it.

Except for two things... first, you see that pretty scarf I'm wearing. I got it for Christmas and was super excited to wear it for the first time. I got a few compliments on it too. Anyone who wants it can have it, it gave me an itchy rash all over my chest and chin. You've got to be kidding me!
Second, as Kate mentioned, our oven is broken. The stovetop still works but the heating element inside the oven is shot. This sucks very much because the oven in our kitchen is not a standard oven and the kitchen was built around it. Yes, in order to replace the oven there has to be construction done to the counter and cabinets. With our landlords in Colorado, things like this tend to take a w h i l e.

Tomorrow I'm getting a mani/pedi and then meeting my friend Susan for lunch, a little bangs trim and some OBAMA celebration! That should make me feel better.

Happy New Year!

Last night I watched Mama Mia in bed and was asleep before midnight. Joseph worked.

Today we celebrated the beginning of an excellent year! We declared another tradition, a feast of king crab legs on New Years Day. We had them last year on the first for a fantasy football championship party. We never discussed before hand that we wanted to eat crab legs today, be we saw them at Costco on Tuesday it was a done deal. A tradition it is. :)

For lunch we had a staple cheese platter with nuts and fruit, today grapes and blackberries. Joseph had a Chimay and I drank some sparkling Pinot Noir. Notice the new board and cheese knife? It's a gift from Chris & Mandy, which makes me grin because I served them a massive cheese display when they were here in July and they ate the whole thing and loved it so much!!



Now we're watching USC kick Penn State's ass in the Rose Bowl. Joseph says: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After the game, USC won 38-24!, it was time for dinner. We had caesar salad with croutons made from leftover cloverleaf rolls and this delicious grilled Ribeye. We drank another bottle from Mama Lisa, a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir from Rodney Strong Vineyards.

Christmas Day in Photos

I made this blog and then decided it was too stupid to post. I have since changed my mind, because I will never have the time to do a proper Christmas blog. I may as well post it, since I made it, so here it is.

"Santa Came!"
Just the two of us, year after year, and we've gotten creative with the gift labeling




Ponys and Pumas!

Mimosas with Veuve and Eggnog Coffee Cake for Breakfast

Don't forget to check your stocking for Abba Zabbas and Big Hunks
Merry Christmas from Cooper and Marshall

Two Smoked Chickens! 2004 Taylor Lane Belle Glos, thanks Amaliya & Mike, it was Delicious!

Christmas Eve Wishes from JHig

Seems to be a thing with him. I gave him fair warning that this blog was going up today when I teased him about always falling asleep early on the couch on Christmas Eve. He blamed it on all the food and wine. I suppose he's right, although I'm still awake...

Christmas Eve 2007

Christmas Eve 2008Somewhere on this computer are photographs of Joseph on Christmas Eve 2006 in an even better couch-sleeping pose. I need to find it.

All the food and wine responsible for Joseph's half consious state:

New wine opener Joseph broke out today, it has a needle instead of a corkscrew and it uses air pressure instead of force to remove the cork.
Merryvale 2001 Sauvignon Blanc
Cheese Board
More of those fat-dream cloverleaf rolls
Romaine salad with almonds, grapes, tomatoes, green onion, bleu cheese, mushrooms & artichoke with honey dijon cream dressing
Simi 2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Scalloped russet and sweet potatoes
Parmesan Crusted Corn Souffle
I have been accused dozens of times of serving way too big portions. This is why, this is a normal Joseph-sized plate.

Day Trip to San Antonio

We took a day trip to San Antonio on Sunday. The trip was pretty unremarkable, just your typical shopping, waiting in Christmas shopper-traffic and eating filled our day. We stopped at a gas station in the lovely, thriving community of Blanco, Texas. We were so tempted by the attention grabbing message board to go enjoy some Chicken... That's Fried, especially considering the napkins for free, but we did not. We got a hearty laugh though and the opportunity to post these photos on our blog.

On the way home we stopped to look at some really awesome lights set up in Johnson City. Every year the power company puts up this crazy lights display. Although it was REALLY FREAKING COLD, we got out a took some good pictures.



We had had some debate about whether or not to have photo cards made this year. We ended up not, mostly because Joseph runs screaming from any request to pose for photos. When Joseph saw this picture he said, "What a great picture. Next year we should use it for our Christmas card!" Okay, that's progress. Unfortunately, despite being really darling of the two of us I do not think this photo will work for our Christmas card. I am unwillling to send this picture, as it includes a horses ass coming out of my head!
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, from the Marshigleys

Scroll down to the bottom and turn the volume on the music down so you can hear the music in the video. Very silly, kinda cute. Happy Holidays!!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Drum roll, please

We put the Christmas lights up on our fence today. It looks AWESOME! I'm a huge fan!

Our yard backs up to the highway (which sounds really ghetto, but somehow is not), so rather than decorate the front of the house, which has very little traffic, we prefer to decorate the back fence so everyone can see it. The dogs like the lights too, twinkling all the way around their big wooded yard. This year I put a wreath on each of the three stone pillars, which looks so great too!
I'm opening the Christmas candy factory tonight in my kitchen. I'm not going to mention what I'm making, it's a surprise after all!

It's officially Christmastime at our house! Wish we got to share it.

Here we are hard at work. It got quite warm this afternoon and we got a laugh about putting up our Christmas lights in a tank top and t-shirt. Joseph loves the staple gun.

The final result

And us in front of it :)
From across the street

The wreath I made from the scraps Joseph sawed off the bottom of our tree. We were both impressed with my craftiness!
Pretty lights around the front door