Weekend re-cap: Tino's, Moose & Goose, Dancing Bee, Bent Oak, Growler Room

It was the end of a week where I spent a lot of time feeling down in the dumps...so I really looked forward to our exploring last Saturday!  We made plans to meet my sister and BIL at Moose & Goose Winery in Temple.  We enjoyed some Greek food at Tino's for lunch, then headed about an hour north of Austin to the winery.

We got there early, so we grabbed a spot by a window just in time to see car loads of folks drive up - apparently a wine trail was happening!  It was a dreary day, but inside the tasting cottage it was cozy and cheerful.

We were almost done with our tastings when they arrived, so we stayed awhile longer and waited for them to finish up while we enjoyed the rest of some really unique and delish fruit wines.  We loved the Dry Red in particular - the taste was similar to smokey Sotol!  The owner told us that you either love it, or you hate it.  {the trailgoers seated next to us said it tasted like burnt firewood}  More for me.

The owners {nice couple} were super friendly and spent loads of time chatting with the four of us.  I hung around when we finished and got a photo of them to include in an article about their winery and they invited us to come back and enjoy a couple of bottles with them.  We are looking forward to visiting again - we may have to do that wine trail next January, too!

Next stop was close by: Dancing Bee Winery in Rogers.

It is a honey farm, and they make mead, melomel, metheglin, and wine.  We enjoyed a tasting, then bought some mead {Stay Awhile, Winter Spice - both very good!} to have alongside some ridiculously delish fries from their food trailer, drizzled with honey salt.

Stay Awhile had flavors of apple, cherry and cinnamon.  Winter Spice was like Christmas in a can!  Sorry - no pics of the fries as we were too busy scarfing them down...We sat in the tasting room for a bit, socializing.  

Then we took silly pics outside and looking at them later made me laugh so hard!  It was getting close to closing time, and dark outside, so we said our goodbyes.

 But not before we saw amazing giant swaths of birds flying overhead.  Thousands of birds!  Now that is a Winter sky!

We headed home to make a pork chop with mushrooms, and a side salad.  And I have to say, I am really loving my cast iron grill pan that I can use right on my cooktop.

  On Sunday, we had a pick-up to attend at Bent Oak, which was fun as usual!

It had a Super Bowl theme this time.  They always do up the outside patio to reflect the theme and are super fun folks.  The winemaker usually does the pouring.  He was throwing flags and calling fouls on people who were taking too long to pick what wine they wanted - so funny.  With our wine we enjoyed a nacho bowl with Chicken Tinga and black beans - really good!  I might also have enjoyed a slice of Italian Cream cake...

We were there about an hour, listening to live music and eating lunch.  Then headed home to: cut Hubby's hair, walk and wash Teddy, and clean out the truck.  Afterwards, we headed to The Growler Room with Firstborn and LA to drink a beer and play darts and cards.  {and of course I got no pics of that!} After I made us some turkey pasta soup for dinner, we CRASHED on the couch and watched a silly Scottish comedy until we could no longer keep our eyes open.  Ha!  High life of the Empty Nesters, right?

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #23

Monday - Char-grilled pork rib chop, steamed carrots, zucchini {customize my veggie box and finish a giant pile of laundry...}
Tuesday - Dinner Salads with grilled Honey Mustard chicken, orange bell pepper, sugar snap peas, and kimchi {work on my filing basket}
Wednesday - Tuna Salad  Sammies with a baked sweet potato {picking up my mother from Brenham and taking her to my sister's house in Georgetown, then heading to work at 3 p.m.}
Thursday - Red Lentil Soup with cheesy garlic toast {sleep late!}
Friday - Eating out for Hubby's birthday! {pick up Mother from sister's house, take her to follow-up appointment then back to Brenham, home to Austin}
Saturday - Turkey Pot Pie for two {spending the day in Blanco at this event}
Sunday - Thin crust cheese pizza with sliced pears, prosciutto, arugula, carmelized onions, and goat cheese crumbles {wine club pick-up for lunch}

Gina

5 thing Friday - Teddy, paint plans, cheat food, my space, beer

I saw this tee at Target and I may get it for myself for when Teddy is back in Houston:

I will miss having him around, as I usually do when he leaves.  Its nice to have him greet you at the baby gate with tail wagging, following you around the house, giving you dog smooches.

 He's been a sweet house guest, as usual.  The Girl will be back at the end of February and I am taking some much needed time off from work to paint the house with her help!  I've been noticing that several walls in the house need touching up, and since its been a while (and the paint is too old to use for touch ups anymore) we're going to just basically "start over".  Instead of this French vanilla color we will go with creamy white.  And while I'm at it, I will spiff up the baseboards, too.

I really really really am eating healthier during the week.  LOTS of fresh veg and fruit, no coffee creamer, no red meat, more fish, oatmeal for breakfast...but the cheat meals on Saturday give me much to look forward to.  And the wine with them never hurts.

My bulletin board above my desk

With my new computer, and the Lounge cleaned up post-Christmas, my desk once again feels like a  place I can get stuff done.  Hubby and I have a plan to visit a new winery for me to write about this weekend and I have a nice place to sit and do that.  {The second half of the bulletin board that does not have artsy fartsy stuff has lists, and calendars, and notes to myself.  A bit of creative mixed in with my work.}

This brewery finally opened!  We met the owner months ago and he was so frustrated with City of Austin red tape and delays.  He's a nice guy, though, and his beer is pretty decent and we love the taproom with its wide open spaces.  They also have a Japanese food truck we would love to try.  

Maybe on Sunday?

Gina

Blueberry Cake

Within the space of a month (more or less) we have three family birthdays:  Bubbie, Firstborn, and Hubby.  It always makes me want to dive into my recipe archives and find one of the oldie but goodies I inherited from my late MIL, the quintessential 50's housewife.  Case in point is this icebox pie called "Blueberry Cake".  Firstborn requested something with blueberries so I immediately thought of it:

A piece of it makes for a delightful breakfast on a Monday morning, b t dubs...

The card is old and yellowed and may have food splatters on it, but I treasure it!  Here is the readable version:

Blueberry Cake
Preheat the oven to 350.
Crust:  2 c. graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 c. powdered sugar, 1/2 c. nuts, 1 stick melted butter.  Blend all ingredients up in your food processor and press into a 13x9 glass baking dish.  Rinse out the food processor bowl.
Filling:  8 oz package cream cheese, 1 cup regular sugar, 2 eggs, 2 t. fresh lemon juice.  Blend all of that up in the food processor and pour over the crust.  Place in oven and bake 20 minutes.
Let cool, then top with one can of blueberry pie filling and 1 tub of Cool Whip.  (my late MIL used Dream Whip which you can totally do, but Cool Whip is so much easier)  Chill a couple of hours in the fridge.

 You can add more butter if you want the crust to be less crumbly.  I used two sleeves of graham crackers, which might have made a tad more than 2 cups of crumbs.

Cooling from the oven it smells so good!

It was hard not to dive in at this point!  Now we are ready to celebrate Firstborn's birthday!  Hubby grilled pork ribs and jalapeno poppers, I made a huge crockpot of chili beans and some homemade potato salad.  Everything was so good and we sent plenty of leftovers home with our peeps.

I added extra blueberries to my Blueberry Cake (because why not) and a thought occurred to me - I bet you could make this with just about any canned pie filling.  Cherry would be so good!  If you try it, tell me what you think!  I'm hoping Firstborn will visit this week and eat the rest of it to keep me from temptation!

Gina

Empy Nest Menu #22

I ordered one pound of carrots from Imperfect Produce and got ONE carrot that probably weighs one pound.  Ha!

Monday - (freezer) Roast Turkey, roasted pumpkin, chopped salad (steam clean the carpets, customize the produce box)
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Breast, squash with bell pepper and onions
Wednesday - Turkey Koftas on whole wheat tortillas with cucumber, tomato, romaine (mom to doc appt)
Thursday - Salmon, Tomato Chickpea Salad (oil change on Subie)
Friday - Saucy Chicken Breast, kale, brown rice
Saturday - Pork Rib Chops, baked potato, sauteed mushrooms (beer release at Save the World)
Sunday - Turkey Noodle Soup (pick-up at Bent Oak Winery for lunch)

Gina

5 thing Friday - thrifting, old times, spices, crafting, beer

I've been busy trying to set up my new computer - transferring all of the files..adjusting and tweaking the settings, clearing old stuff out.  I remember hating that last time, too.  Which is probably why I waited so long to get the new one.  But I think I'm almost done.

 I took a break from my desk and did some thrifting at Hope Family Thrift Store, where I found some faux ivy greenery {I don't care if its an outdated decor trend, I like it}, some books {The Canterbury Tales!} and a burlap banner for the mantel {cheaper and easier than making my own}. 

A former co-worker sent me this - me pretending to light a fake fireplace at work.  Good times.  I have been struggling with not feeling happy at work.  I remember having fun with co-workers and it kind of makes it worse.

Hubby bought me this spice cabinet organizer thing and The Girl helped me set it up.  No more spices falling off the lazy Susan and ending up in the back of the cabinet where I have to remove everything to retrieve them!  I also added a small basket for packages of salt, peppercorns, bay leaves, etc.  Its adjustable and we kept all of the extra pieces for us to move it to Highlands someday.

 I didn't make as many homemades as I would have liked to this year.  I just couldn't seem to get finished on them.  It was, after all, a very short month from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I did finish this cross stitch and maybe I will give it to my mother.  I'm always thinking of her when I hear this phrase as she seems to have misplaced her thought filter...

Took Hubby for a beer last Sunday after he came to a stopping point on the barn build-out.  I enjoyed a spiced saison that was wonderful.  Tasted like the holidays on tap! 

He had something a little more high-powered and one was all it took...  Afterwards, we headed home to enjoy pan fried trout and some brussels sprouts for dinner.  Are we not the most exciting folks you ever met?  Ha! 

Onward to the weekend,

Gina

Less Empty Nest Menu #21

This week my oldest turns 30.  I remember my 30th birthday clearly - I had him on my lap at a surprise birthday dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse with college friends.  I need to find those pics to show him!  We will invite he and siblings and significant others to our house for great BBQ, game and card playing, and maybe some photo album gazing...

Monday - Chicken breast fajita strips with jalapeno, orange bell pepper, and onions on while wheat tortillas.  Possibly grated cheddar. {taking my mother home to Brenham from Austin}
Tuesday - Shrimp and grits with sauteed spinach (Heat and Eat bowls)
Wednesday - Turkey Pesto Meatballs with low salt tomato sauce over brown rice, carrots
Thursday - Lemony Chicken and artichoke orzo, kale {finish up Firstborn's birthday plans}
Friday - Crispy Baked Fish, stewed eggplant and tomatoes {taking my JA jewelry to be cleaned}
Saturday - FIRSTBORN'S 3Oth BIRTHDAY BBQ EXTRAVAGANZA
Sunday - Albacore Tuna Salad on whole wheat toast with low salt chips {Bubbie headed back to San Marcos - take him for a beer}

Gina

5 thing Friday - Teddy, weather, poinsettia, healthy foods, home

Teddy is here.

 During a rough week for me he has been a sweet friend.  I know The Girl misses him, and I can't wait for busy season to be over for her, but I am happy to help her, and having him be such a good doggie is just bonus. {dogs on beds - yes or no?}

The weather here can't decide if it is winter or spring, and we haven't used our Mexican blankets around the firepit nearly as much as I'd like.  But we have burned a LOT of wood since we bought a load of firewood and enjoyed the firepit for both Thanksgiving and Christmas with our peeps.  In fact, last weekend Firstborn made a run to the store so we could enjoy S'mores.  That was fun!

My $1 poinsettia from HEB.  I am going to see how long I can keep it going.  Last year, we had two huge ones in the breakroom window at work that did well for the better part of the year.  I think someone finally took them and gave them a permanent home.

My healthy eating plan to help me with my cholesterol involves foods that I love anyway - sweet potatoes, tuna, bananas, blueberries, lentils, pistachios, dark chocolate, leafy greens, oatmeal.  Out of laziness I got out of the habit of buying fresh veggies and have eaten more eggs, butter, red meat, salt, sugar, and bacon than I intended to.  But, the holidays are over and I am back on track.

My doctor tasked me with taking my BP three times a week.  I am still getting the hang of it, and am dismayed by my numbers, but there's really only one alternative, right?  I bought myself an arm  monitor that has Bluetooth connectivity to an app on my phone.  I can download the results to MyChart for my doc.  I haven't added in any extra exercise since I walk all day long on the job.  Baby steps.

The house is back to pre-holiday simple.  I put the fiddle leaf in the den because I like how big it makes this space seem.  Once The Girl collects Teddy it will be time to focus a little on the inside of the house - floors in the bathrooms, carpet, getting some reno done.  This weekend is all about getting my yards cleaned up - the Wandering Jew needs to be cleaned up and the yards could use a rake pulled through them.  If the weather is mild, we may as well be outside.  Happy Weekend!

Gina

Weekend re-cap: movin' on

Hubby has been burning through some PTO that he either has to use, or lose.  So, he's been working on finishing out the inside of the barn (probably we should rename it).  I went up there last Saturday to see the progress and take him for lunch and a beer at Save The World.  I don't have a set of befores, but here's the progress:

*insulated all of the interior and did some electrical repair
*cleared a nice open space for camp cots and brought in a footlocker for blanket storage

*re-arranged the kitchen {but we will likely move that table out from underneath the TV, and store that camp kitchen (large green and tan box) and I think I want to move the microwave, too}

 *installed a ceiling fan and lights system, mounted the TV and an outside antenna

 *added a few hooks for jackets, repaired screen doors so that they will snap back
{you can see Mabel out of the back door}

Now we move on to installing a floor, sheet rocking the walls, and adding ceiling panels.  We will add pegboard to the kitchen wall, and get a new window unit for A/C.  So this is definitely a work in progress!  There are a lot of small home storage features we want to add like hooks to hang things, a way to disguise the pee potty, and open wire shelving.

On Sunday I had a list as long as my arm of things to get accomplished at Camp Rustown since I was on call.  The Girl was getting ready to head back to Houston, packing, playing with Teddy and giving him a bath.  So I busied my self with getting all of Christmas put away and getting the front room cleaned up.

I still have (almost) all of Christmas fitting nicely into four boxes since some of it lives on high shelves in the laundry room.  Mischief managed!  After The Girl headed out, we cleaned up the guest room and bathroom, worked on laundry, vacuumed the house, and made a couple of sandwiches out of the freezer leftover Buffalo Chicken. It wasn't an exciting weekend, but we got a lot done!

Gina

Less Empty Nest Menu #20

Once I get the freezer cleaned out, my Imperfect Produce deliveries started back up, and Bubbie back to college,  Hubby and I will be back to healthy eating.* 

Monday - Turkey and dressing, steamed carrots (customize my IP box)
Tuesday - Stir Fry Veggie Bowls with grilled Sriracha chicken (cancel my prime account, take a load of donations to Goodwill)
Wednesday - Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes with chopped bell pepper and onions (Christmas tree out to curb!, mail box to my sister)
Thursday - Sliced Turkey, sweet potatoes, zucchini
Friday - Take Hubby dinner at Highlands and stay overnight (schedule my car for oil change and A/C maintenance, replace house air filters)
Saturday - TBD
Sunday - Pan Trout, couscous, fresh veggie (from the IP delivery on Friday)

*I got in a little trouble with my doc over my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar...

Gina

What New Year's looks like to me...

I invited all of the "kids" to come to our house for pizza and martini's last night...only two showed and those were the two currently staying with us...oh well.  I don't begrudge grown peeps having fun while they can.  But maybe in the coming year I will task them with remembering their manners and let us know they aren't coming.  Annnyhooo...

Yes we had pizza and martinis and both were delightful.  Yes, The Girl had plans to meet up with friends later in the evening and Bubbie was back being a hermit in his room.  Yes, Hubby was in front of the TV and I was at the computer paying bills and typing a blog post and checking email. (some things don't really change just because its a new year!)  And yes, there is a turkey that I need to roast first thing this morning before I fix our New Year's feast.  And later I will take down all of Christmas and move forward into January!

I have high hopes for 2020 as I do most years, but I am fairly practical about it.  I hope to affect change in my life without losing my mind.  I want to focus on my health and well-being.  I want to make headway on a couple of big projects at Camp Rustown.  And I want, more that anything, to feel happy and content.

So.

I have a lot of words to put in that book of Opportunity.

Happy New Year, ya'll.  Go get started on your book.

Gina