A Good Meal

Miss me? I know it's been almost a week since I've posted.  Adam came back from Hawaii, so we spent this week doing our most favorite things...drinking and eating (and a little crafting was thrown in too).

This post should probably be called, Steak Tuesdays, by the way.  

Bargain alert (I'll be highlighting tips and bargains from now on!): Did you know Tom Leonard's Farmer's Market in Short Pump has reduced priced meat?  I know what you're thinking...e. coli, salmonella...but a wise person told me it's just the cuts that might have oxidized a little, or were from the day before.  We decided to get steak from Tom Leonard's anyways because they (in my opinion) have the best meat in the area (no lie!).  They also do Boar's Head deli meat for $6.99/lb.  At any other grocery store, a pound would run you about  $8.99, so it's definitely a place worth checking especially if you're a sandwich person.  It's sad though, because a lot of this places business has gone to the Whole Foods and Trader Joe's across the street.  I like these stores too, but Short Pump just has too many gourmet grocery stores, in my opinion!  Anyways, we found the discount meat section and said "Why not?"  I mean, they can't poison you, it's not like it's bad, it's just not the premium cut.  We left with a great deal!  Four large Ribeye steaks for $9.  Yes, $9.  Compared with similar steaks in the store, we saved over 50% and it turned out great.  What do you think of discounted foods?

Hello beautiful. You were delicious. 

So here's how we did them: Marinated in soy sauce (teriyaki would work too), salt, pepper, shaved ginger and garlic, and a little garlic powder.  Broiled in the oven until they were done (can't tell you how long because Adam did this part...Paula and hot ovens are not friends).  Sauteed some mushrooms and onions in a little olive oil.

We also had a citrus vinaigrette citrus salad! Yay greens!

The citrus vinaigrette recipe came from the salad bad.  Do you ever use those recipes that can be found on food boxes and bags?  Have they been yummy?!  The dressing was actually really great! It consisted of a little orange juice, red wine vinegar (called for cider vinegar that we didn't have, so we improvised), salt, pepper, garlic, and olive oil (which was added slowly as all the ingredients were whisked together to emulsify).  To all this I added the spinach and tossed it in the dressing, and on top I put grapefruit pieces, dried cranberries, and some cheese I thought was funky tasting.  Apparently blue cheese would have been perfecto with this type of salad, but, since I don't like blue cheese, we didn't have any.

Adam also cracked open a bottle of Gypsy Dancer, Pinot Noir.  It's an acclaimed wine from Oregon.  (Wine Fact: Did you know Pinot Noir grapes like cooler climates!?)  Apparently he thought it might have been corked.  I know what this means, but it's kind of technical (and this isn't a wine blog people!) but either he, or the link can explain more if you're interested.  But then he though it might not be.  Wine is so bipolar sometimes!

Anyways, here's the entire ensemble.  Yay!  Steak Tuesdays!

As much as I like a home cooked meal, it's nice to get out and have someone else clean up the mess.  Wednesday we went to Legend Brewing Co. which is just over the Manchester Bridge.  Like the name suggests, they do make their own beer!  They also make awesome beer dog nuggets.  I highly suggest getting these if you go. While we were there we enjoyed a festive Irish fiddle music club (I felt like I was Rose in the lower decks of the Titanic).

But the best thing about Legend is the spectacular patio view of Richmond.  I didn't get a nigh picture, but it's absolutely stunning in the evening when the city is all lit up. 

Do you have a favorite spot to sit back, have a drink, and relax in Richmond, or elsewhere?

Seeing the Light

This weekend was very busy...filled with great food, good drinks, and we even managed to fit a 4 am free pizza delivery in.  After everything that went on, I think a lazy Sunday afternoon is appropriate.

Did you know that Fridays from 5-6 pm Sticky Rice in the Fan does a half price sushi menu?  (They also do a similar deal on Mondays from 10:30 pm to 12:30 am).  They don't include all their sushi in this deal, but they do have a pretty good selection.  Adam and I ended up going there after I got off work and got a huge plate of sushi and some Sake.  

The sticky balls in the upper left corner of the photo (basically fried rice, crabmeat, tempura battered, and fried with a aioli sauce) were to die for.  We also tried the eel, octopus (too chewy for me), a spicy salmon roll, crunchy shrimp roll, and a yellowfin roll.  Oh!  I almost forgot, the house hot Sake is also half off during this time!  

Can you guess how much all this sushi and two large hot Sakes were? $27 + tip.  At any other time, this would have been double.  Such a great deal and so yummy!  

After dinner I peeked in the DT2 thrift store across the street.  It was closed, but I wanted to see if there were any neat things displayed in the window.  I saw a really neat lamp and an unfinished, all-wood short bookshelf for $10 that could have made a really great wine rack.  

I had all intentions of going to grab up these two neat items when the store opened, but we ended up going out to Shockoe Slip that night, and well, it didn't happen.  When I finally got out of the apartment and over to DT2, the bookshelf was gone, but the lamp was still there!  (This goes to show that if you see something you want while thrifting you should get it as it might not be there even an hour later!) Anyways, the lamp was originally $25, but with the 25% off coupon I referred to in an earlier post, it was $19.  The metal part of the lamp where the shade connects had some structural issues that made the lamp shade wobble, but I was able to fix it with a heavy application of Krazy Glue.  It's worked thus far, so hopefully it stays!  I also think using an extra washer would solve the problem too, so if the glue doesn't hold, the washer will be another simple fix!

I love how the lamp also doubles as shelves.  I plan on finding some really cute picture frames to put in each!   

We also celebrated Mom's birthday last night at award-winning Avalon in the Fan.  Adam and I went once before and I fell in love with this place! Soon after we went, I bought a Living Social coupon deal ($15 for $30 to spend), which we used last night.  I am a Groupon and Living Social junkie!  These websites are great because they allow you to try new places without paying full price.  They are also dangerous because the deals are only available for a day, so you end up buying them for fear of missing out.

Anyways, Avalon is a small plates/tapas-inspired restaurant, so the idea is to order a lot of plates and share.  I would have taken a picture of all the food we got, but I was so excited about eating that I forgot (I also had 3 glasses of wine at this point).  The standout dishes were smoked seafood chowder, grilled caesar, buttered brussel sprouts (signature dish...you must get these if you go), arctic char, and the cheese plate.  Avalon is great because there's so many different flavors in each of the small dishes!

So two questions: Do you like websites like Groupon and Living Social and have you purchased any amazing deals from them?  And what's your favorite restaurant in Richmond?  Maybe I'll go try it out!

Coupons Aren't Just for Food

Spent a good amount of time editing the blog layout today.  What do you think?  By the way, I have no idea how to format blogs beyond the presets in Blogger, so I got creative!  To add the title heading (picture of the cool yellow chairs that I found online), I used Microsoft Publisher, created my image and text, saved it as a .jpg, then went into Windows Live Photo Gallery, cropped the .jpg image, saved it as picture file, and uploaded it where Blogger gives you the option to upload a picture in the title.

Will someone tell me if there is an easier way to do this for future reference? I see so many cute blogs out there with a ton of personal ad-ins and this took forever!

In other news, I'm a pretty big "saver" when it comes to shopping.  I've even started couponing at the grocery store.  Would you believe it's actually a little exhilarating when the cashier rings you up and you've saved $10!  I'm not trying to be one of those crazy-get-everything-for-free (everything that's chocked full of preservatives) people, but I do like saving if I can. 

And you can too! 

Look at this cool offer I found from Diversity Thrift (near the Diamond) and their second store DT2 (in the Fan across from Sticky Rice).  Also, all proceeds go to benefit the Gay Community Center of Richmond, and the other non-profits that support them!  Additionally, they take donations (see website for donation days)!

Here's the Deal:
If you are a college student (or still have some form of college ID), go to this link for coupons or print them off from my blog, and you can get 25% off any regularly priced items until 9.30.11 (there's a coupon for Diversity Thrift and DT2).  I believe this includes your entire purchase, and not just one item, so it's a great deal!  Additionally, Diversity Thrift was voted best place to buy second-hand furniture in Richmond by Richmond Magazine (tried to find the link but couldn't, sorry).

If you aren't a student, they have senior (50+) Thursdays, where anyone over 50 gets 10% off a regularly priced item.  My idea is to take your parent with you and have them pay...just justify they pay so you can get the discount!

Diversity Thrift is also offering limited time specials that you can read more about on their website.  I have yet to visit this thrift store, but I've heard great things about it and will be stopping by soon!

Yellow is the New Black.

I did this tonight. 

Remember all that fabric I got at Class and Trash for $2? Thanks to Target's little "mistake" of sending me 3 packs of frames instead of 2, I was able to add some decor to the bathroom!  I like to call it shabby, urban chic.  I got the 12.5 in. x 12.5 in. frames (they are supposed to be record frames) in a pack of 4 for $39.99.  I only put 3 up in the bathroom.  The fabric, which I showed in the post before, was $2, and I have a little left over (another project perhaps!?).  Was able to do this project for under $35!

What I did: Bought square frames and picked out a fabric.  Cut fabric to fit frame.  Place in frame and put the back of the frame on.  SUPER SIMPLE!  The only difficult part is measuring and leveling them to line up (mine still aren't perfect).  Also, because it was a design, I had to cut the fabric so the same design would appear in all 3 frames.

What is great about using frames and fabric or some other cheap material is that I will always be able to use the frames if I decide to change the design or color scheme in the future.  If I purchased pre-fab art (although they're some really neat pieces out there), I wouldn't be able to do this!  Here's where I got my inspiration: DYI Wall-Art Projects.  This link also has a lot of other neat wall art ideas that won't cost you a fortune!

Same concept. The picture doesn't do it justice. 

I also did this in my living area with the same type frame, and some fabric from table runners I found on sale at Crate & Barrel (I believe 5 feet was $3.95) The pillows (silk, down filling) were $20/each from Crate & Barrel's summer online sale.  I got a C&B gift card for graduation, so used it to get these!  I've seen a lot of designs this summer/fall where yellow and grey are the "in" colors.  I usually wouldn't pay this much for pillows, but when I got them, the quality was really great!!

Side note: Did I mention I have 15-foot ceilings in the living and bedroom area? Do you think I should do a duplicate layer of the same pictures on top of the existing ones to fill more space?

I also got a set of 6 white dinner plates from C&B at the request of the boyfriend who's culinary skills are on par with my creative skills! Now he has pretty plates to take pictures of his yummy food!  I'm pretty happy about that!

Re (Purpose)

Last work week did not go by so smoothly. Although my job isn't incredibly challenging, it can be super stressful at times!  I also work in a very small office (as in, me and my boss) so it gets really lonely.  Adam has been in paradise, better known as Hawaii, for the past 2 weeks, and it's been a difficult adjustment.  He's really been a great support system, especially when I need to decompress and leave work woes behind for the day.

Sometimes I wish I was still in college.  While no school means no homework, and free time after work and on the weekends, I kind of miss the excitement and challenges of being in college.  I really need to either really focus on finding a dream job for the future, or put my energy into something I enjoy.  I'm hoping to start Rosetta Stone (Spanish) soon, and maybe even teach English in Spain one day...wouldn't that be neat!

As for working out, I've been doing Body Pump like it's my job.  I've gone up on all my weights by 5 lbs, and I am really proud of myself! Also, I don't know if it's the new thing to do, but I've taken 2 BP classes where they didn't turn on the fans.  Of course, I could speak up and say turn on the fans, or turn them on myself, but who wants to be that person?  Still, BP is a whole lot easier when the fans are going. 

It's been difficult trying to balance work and working out though...at least trying to fit it all in.  When you like to fit the gym in for 2 + hours a day and then work 9 hours, and then try to fit time to eat and sleep, plus all the other errands you need to run you find your day is completely booked.  I just wish I had a little more free time.  Side note: This pregnant lady came to BP last Saturday (I've seen her in there before), and apparently she was due the next day! Is this safe? I mean if it is, that's some dedication!  I really think I need to start running more....possibly training for a race....not sure yet though!

Also on Sunday I went thrifting with the mom.  Some people know I love this, love crafting, love creating things.  I'd rather make it, or refurbish it than buy it brand new.  I do wish I had more expertise on refinishing furniture and sewing though, but I get by.  Anyways, we went to Class and Trash and I found a few things.  I think I could spend more time in there, but there's no air condition and I think we went on like the second hottest day of the summer.  I did find some really neat, good quality fabric I'm going to use as art (picture to come) for $2.






Then I got these Thalhiemer's Leather gloves for $4 that definitely need some TLC. They were made in France.  Hoping to get some leather polish and cleaner and fix them up at some point!















Lastly, we stopped in Hickory Creek Antiques in Ashland, VA. I've been looking for a storage trunk/ottoman type thing to store blankets in for our living area.  I've seen ones at Target, but they are so expensive and bulky looking, and the less expensive ones are not great quality. I'm really into retro-modern stuff.  I also like shabby chic, so it's a challenge decorating.  Our living area is retro-modern.  I found this hiding in a corner at Hickory Creek for $10!

With a little cleaning, it fit in perfect! I'm going to the dollar store to get some sticky drawer liners for the inside too.

I love thrifting/antiquing.  Some people hate the notion of using other people's things, but I think it's great and economical.  A lot of pieces I have now have come from thrift stores!  I also have found two J. Crew Cashmere cardigan/sweaters at Goodwill (I don't get my clothes there, but sometimes they have really great finds!) and paid $5 for each.  A trip to the dry cleaner, and you have a $200 sweater for $10.  It's really amazing!