High Five for Friday

This Friday I'm up early.  The dog woke me up to go outside at 4:30 am and I could not go back to sleep since I usually wake up around 4:30 am during the work week.  I'm hoping for a nap later today.  Hope everyone had a good week, now onto High Five for Friday

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1.  Danny and I had a nice brunch on Sunday at one of our favorite resturants, Manhatten Bar and Grille.  Since I had the day off, it was a good opportunity to sit and enjoy a nice meal with Danny.  He even let me sit outside for once, he usually doesn't like to sit outside because he gets too hot. We are complete opposites in that respect.  Plus, I need to take advantage of each nice day in Cleveland before it starts to snow again.
2.  I dusted off my GMAT prep book this week.  I have a big decision in my future as far as career goals and where I want to be with my career, so grad school has been on the brain.  I've always wanted to get my masters which is why I bought this book back in 2011.  I need to evaluate my options and see what's best for me before I decide on my next step.
3.  I snapped this shot of Danny and Rosie cuddling this week.  Rosie is usually anywhere that the computer is (as she stares at me while I type this).  Danny says he enjoys football season with Rosie because he will always have the computer on to keep track to fantasy football scores and she will sit with him all day while he is on the computer.
4. Yesterday, I went shopping with a friend and we stopped by Moochie & Co.  I, of course had to spoil my puppy with some new toys, but I also came across this car magnet and had to have it.  I came home with it and Danny was jealous that I didn't get him one.
5.  Danny and I went to the famous Melt Bar and Grilled last night.  It's one of our favorite Cleveland resturants and it's most famous for being on Man vs. Food.  They have amazing grilled cheese sandwiches with anything and everything you can imagine on it.  Some things you wouldn't think go together, but they turn out very good.  I get the same thing pretty much everytime, Big Popper.  Its jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar cheese and then deep fried with mixed berry preservatives for dipping.  I didn't say anything about it being healthy, but it is very delicious!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Pool and Puppy day

I had a nice, relaxing day off yesterday.  I stayed home with the puppy and took advantage of the nice day.  Since we had friends over last weekend, we heated the pool.  Today the pool was an amazing 86 degrees.  It felt awesome with the 90 degree day outside.

Floatin in the pool.

Yogi and I went for a walk to try out his new harness.  After puppy class last night, we decided to try a harness during walks since Yogi has a problem with pulling and I worry about the strain on his neck. He did great with the harness and I really like how it was easier for me to handle him with.

After spending lots of time outside, I decided to relax in the man cave for a bit.  I came across Sleepless in Seattle on TV because it's the 20th anniversary of the movie release.  This is one of my old time favorite movies to watch.  I love how it makes fun of all the sappy, romantic movies that women watch and then it turns into one of those movies.  Such a classic!

After Danny got home, we headed to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  We used to lived right next to it and used to go all the time.  We've only been back one other time since and we miss it!

Manhattan Deli- Such a great place to eat outside,
unfortunately it was too hot out this time.

Nutty Irishmen

Danny and I had a great few days together this weekend.  It was filled with old friends, good food, and a variety of activities to keep us busy.  I love spending my weekends at home and I know I have to enjoy them before I won't be home every weekend due to wedding showers and such.  The weekends fly by, but I feel like I get so much more done on my weekends when I spend it at home with my future hubby and my kitties.

Thursday night, Danny and I met our friends, Doug and Melissa for dinner in downtown Willoughby.  Doug and Melissa used to live in downtown Willoughby, so Melissa and I always wanted to try Nickelby's when we got together, but it just never happened.  So this time, we decided to check it out.  It was very cold that night and there was still a good couple of inches of snow on the ground, but it turned out to be a fun evening catching up with the newly engaged couple.  Doug and Melissa are planning a September wedding.  It was exciting to hear all of the details that Melissa had been working on.  It brought back good memories of my first couple of months of planning.  Its hard to believe that our Big Day will be here before we know it (48 days, but who's counting).  Nickelby's was good food, just not too much to eat for a vegetarian like myself.  Danny had a healthy salmon entree with brown rice and broccoli, it looked enticing. 

On Friday night, I met one of my bridesmaids at the mall to do some wedding shopping.  I was looking for a wedding necklace.  I have earrings to wear on the day of the wedding that were given to me by my future in laws.  It was their "Welcome to the Family" gift.  It was so sweet and thoughtful and I loved the earrings!  They actually look very similar to my engagement ring which makes them the perfect accessory to my outfit and they also serve as my "Something New" on my wedding day.  I literally haven't taken them off since they gave them to me at Thanksgiving.  When looking for a necklace for the wedding, I wanted something simple, but yet beautiful.  I had purchased a necklace from Charming Charlies which is a store known for their costume jewelry, but I took it back realizing that I wanted something that didn't look as cheap.  I knew I didn't want to spend the money on real diamonds so I looked for the next best thing, crystals.  Ashleigh and I met at the mall after Ashleigh got off of work and we went straight for Swarovski Crystals.  There I found the most perfect necklace for my big day.  Also, it is not too fancy meaning I can wear it for special occasions after the wedding.  After purchasing the necklace, Ashleigh and I went into a store I had never been to before, Arden B.  They have a lot of short, clubbing dresses and Ashleigh was hoping we could find me a Bachelorette Party dress.  She was right, we found this amazing dress that was perfect for my party.  It made me more excited for my Bachelorette Party in March. 

After my shopping trip with Ashleigh, I met Danny and we headed over to the west side to meet up with Danny's former co-worker and her boyfriend.  Danny and Erin had been through everything when they worked with the Indians and they had a lot of catching up since they had both recently accepted other job opportunities outside of the Indians.  Erin and her boyfriend, Marc will be coming to our wedding.  We were so excited when we got their response since we weren't sure how many people from Cleveland would be able to make it since they have to travel.  We ended up going to a restaurant/bar called the Lava Lounge.  I loved this place! It was so artsy and fantastic.  The cocktails were all different concoctions and their menu was almost all vegetarian.  Danny wasn't as excited as I was when I saw most of the items were made without meat, but he settled for an appetizer of fried calamari.  All in all, it was a great night catching up with Erin and Marc and trying some place new!

On Saturday, Danny and I ran a few errands.  We went to the mall to finish up ordering the last of the wedding gifts and then went to Joann's to get supplies for our unity candle.  I spent the afternoon crafting while Danny napped and then at 6 o'clock we decided to head to our favorite restaurant, Manhattan Bar and Grille for dinner and drinks.  I ended up having my usual drink called the Nutty Irishman.  Its coffee mixed with Bailey's Irish cream, Frangelica hazelnut liqueur (which is amazing!!), and whipped cream.  After having three of those, I was good to go!  Danny and I spent the evening hanging out and talking that night which turn out to be my favorite of our nights together!


Nutty Irishman

Sun Dried Tomato Penne

Danny and I continued our Weight Watchers Lifestyle for dinner tonight. Last week on Pinterest, I stumbled across a blog called Eat Yourself Skinny. This is an amazing blog for Weight Watchers recipes. The blogger, Kelly creates delicious-sounding recipes and she tracks old and new Weight Watchers points while including colorful pictures of each dish. Since tonight is my weekend and I am home, I chose one of her recipes listed on her site for Danny and I to try. Originally she cooked this recipe with tuna, but since I'm vegetarian and Danny doesn't eat tuna, I made Danny's plate with chicken and mine just straight vegetarian. I love sun dried tomatoes, but I had never tried cooking with them, but it turned out delicious. This dish is something that we will definitely try again. To check out the original recipe click here.

Danny and I finished the night with a happy hour drink at our favorite local restaurant/bar and came home to a relaxing night with the kitties. I cherish these comfortable nights at home with our little family. It lets me de-stress from the troubles of the "big day" in our future.