Thursday, July 30, 2009

Lazy Days

What a lazy, lazy vacation! But a much needed lazy vacation.

VacationGirl and dear husband haven't really done much but it's restaurant week so we've been trying out some new places. One was a keeper, one was a bust! On Monday, we tried a little restaurant called 'The Melting Pot'. It's a fondue restaurant and something very different. Now, VacationGirl was never a big fondue fan back when it was popular. But, it sounded different and since each 3-course meal was only $20.09, we decided to try it.

Our first surprise came when we walked in and found that we needed reservations - on a Monday! Wow - restaurant week definately has an impact! But, there was room at the bar and they have the fondue pots there so we opted to give it a try. We started out with the first course - a typical cheese fondue. There were six choices so we chose the fiesta cheese - laced with jalepeno's. You get to dip bread, chips, apples, and veggies. It was GREAT - we were scrapping the bottom of the pot.

Then came the 2nd course - a salad of your choice. Of course, VacationGirl chose good old Ceasar - and it was wonderful. The dressing was classic Ceasar but with a sweetness that you usually don't get - Yummy!

On to the main couse - shrimp, chicken, and beef. You cook it yourself in a pot with your choice of cooking method. We chose hot oil and then we dipped our food into 2 different coatings and cooked it.

Overall, we really enjoyed it and will come back - but it was also too much work! :)

On Tuesday, we tried another new restaurant - Barbie's Bistro. Hmmm, food was ok, atmosphere/service - awful. Our first clue should have been the fact that we sat for at least 5 minutes staring at the place trying to decide if we should chance it or not. Should have gone with our first instincts!

Wednesday was a fun day for me - went up to Laura's house and BS'd with her for a few hours and then met Sheli for dinner. It was do nice to see them again - I really miss talking to them. We can all talk about anything - and we do!

Today (Thursday) was a stay at home day. It was rainy so staying home was appropriate! Picked up my car after getting it detailed and buffed and it looks wonderful - almost new again. Fixed Fettucine Alfredo with shrimp! Yummy.

Don't know what all tomorrow will bring - I think we're going to go watch my friend, Raj, play soccer. But not sure yet!

Of course, I've forgotten to take my camera everywhere so maybe tomorrow will be driving around to all of the places we've gone and taking pictures. HA!

until then...

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Hanging At Home

VacationGirl and dear family decided to hang at home this year....

Definitely missing the fun of planning the yearly vacation and seeing new things but probably a good choice this year. The Silverado decided that it didn't like its current transmission so a new one was purchased last week and last night, the dishwasher decided to die a painful death. So Monday's vacation plans will include the purchase of a new dishwasher. What could be more fun than that - certainly not seeing the sights across the country?

But fun will be had - somehow, someway. This is restaurant week in Dayton so we'll try a bunch of new restaurants - something we enjoy doing!

Friday night we enjoyed an old favorite - Carrabba's! They have the BEST fried zuchinni ever.

Saturday night we ventured down to West Chester to try Jag's - highly recommended by a friend. They have Kobe beef and since VacationGirl is on a quest to find the best steak ever, she and Dear Husband decided to drive down and give it a try. Well.....

Although VacationGirl doesn't mind paying top dollar for a great steak, she just couldn't justify the $67.99 price tag on the 8-oz Kobe filet. Just too much ~ so Kobe beef will have to wait awhile longer. She did, however, have a good New York strip. But not good enough to pass Carver's or Paragon as the top so far. So the quest goes on.

Sunday vacation day was fun - it was an incredible weather day with the most beautiful clouds - the kind that you can stare at for hours and find different things in them. We rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof and headed down to see a good friend play cricket.













VacationGirl thinks she may bring bad cricket karma with her - they lost!

After cricket we tried a mexican restaurant - Abuelo's. It was good. But the best fun was yet to come - NOT! Home to pull weeds. VacationGirl absolutely HATES to pull weeds - more than almost anything. But weeds got pulled and mulch will go down on Monday after almost-20-year old signs up to be a personal trainer. (Don't ask!) We finished the day with a quick meal at Roosters - nothing like getting the cholesterol levels up just before blood work, huh?

Monday needs to be a day of cleaning but probably won't be - lots of things to do - all boring but all needed.

Looks like VacationGirl and family will need a vacation from the vacation...

till tomorrow ~