Visiting Verona

Well, it wasn't Verona Italy -- but Verona, New Jersey was quite nice!  We took the subway, train, and bus to visit Scout's brother!


Here is the first meeting - 

Scout's brother Bosco is like 3 times the size of Scout !!!  We definitely do not think she is a Mini-Pin mix with Chihuahua ..... now my sister thinks she may have some Manchester Terrier in her since her brother is huge!  

It was pretty overwhelming at the adoption event so they were both distracted - yet, I don't think that they remembered each other :(  He is like a larger liver-colored Scout!  Here are some pictures of the reunion - 

Bosco - Scout's brother!

See the size difference!

There was even a family Christmas portrait!

I love this picture of Scout -- she is totally a loner like her sister and aunt!  And I use that word in the best possible way - I actually like to spend time alone :)

When we got home from our LOOOOOONG journey - 4 hours roundtrip travel time!

 - we had our Christmas tree decorating party!

We decided to string popcorn this year - something we never did at home!  We made sure to put it on the tree high enough that little Scoutie couldn't reach it!

Here is the finished product - a little sparse - but we only had my ornaments - I definitely need to collect more!  

For the party we played Mariah's new Christmas CD and drank mulled wine and ate coconut date rolls from Trader Joe's.  The mulled wine was made with Trader Joe's mulling spices and some sugar - my sister and I love sweet wine!

Wine out of my Bordeaux mug = Heaven :)

Finally --- I am working on my first original baking recipe for the blog -- I am trying to copy a cookie that I love from our local vegan bakery -- here is a preview -- I think I may have come close!

Phew - I'm tired!  Time for Bed!

Love, Allison 

P.S. Staying in the points was HARD today with cookie baking -- I always want to eat the ingredients!  Also - went to Subway to get a veggie delight sub - however it doesn't come with avocado in NJ -- in fact they didn't have avocado AT ALL!!!  Where the heck am I?  Where are all the avocados.... therefore, my day food-wise was a little disappointing, but I hope to make up for it tomorrow!

Keeping on Track

Happy Saturday!

Had a wonderful bowl of oatmeal this morning - thanks to Kath for inspiring me to eat oatmeal!  (If you haven't checked out her blog - you should - its amazing and addicting!)

Inside:

- 1/3 c. oats (2 pts)

- 1/3 c. water

- 1/2 cup almond milk (0 pts)

- 1 tbsp. flax meal (1 pt)

- 1/2 a banana (0 pts)

Toppings:

- 1 tbsp. walnuts (1 pt)

- 1 tbsp raisins (1 pt)

- 1/2 tbsp. brown sugar (1 pt)

- 1/2 a banana (0 pts)

That is a wonderfully cozy, satisfying breakfast for 6 PointsPlus points (sounds a little redundant huh?)  

Well, I have to go shower now - Kendall and I are off to Verona, NJ to visit Scout's brother!  This is the first time they will see each other since they were adopted over 2.5 months ago!  Do you think they will recognize/remember each other?

Love, Allison 

The Holiday Spirit!

Scout is happy its Friday and that the Christmas Season is in full swing!

Kendall is super excited too!

They are excited because we have a tree! 

Carrying a tree around the streets of New York is pretty comical!  But I love the smell of the tree sellers on the streets - It is my favorite thing about NYC right now!

We are also excited because of the Christmasy things we have been doing - like going to the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center!

However - during the countdown to the lighting all we saw was a blank screen - thanks NBC -- due to the letdown there was alot of cursing and and everyone started rushing to get a look at the tree causing panic and an almost-mob-crush-panic scenario :/  But it was pretty :)

While all this is very cool - Guess what I am really excited about this week!

The NEW Weight Watchers Program!  Yay!  Its all revamped and do you know what the best part is

    FRUIT IS ZERO POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since I've been doing the program - I lost weight at first but gained it back when i got bored of tracking and the food of NYC became too tempting!

But - I feel like this new program is what I have been needing - I seriously have eaten so much food the past few days and have been sticking to my points!  

So here are some of my creations and their PointsPlus values!

Cinnamon Crumpet topped with Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Mashed Banana - 3 pts!

Parmesan Eggs with Ketchup and Wilted Spinach - 5 pts!

I will leave you all with how a SoCal girl gets to her yoga class in 42 degree weather - 

You mean I can't wear flip flops in December in NYC?  Sigh......

Hope you all had a great week and a great start to the weekend!

Love, Allison 

Blogging From the Skies! Part 2!

Well....................  this time blogging from the skies is NOT very comfortable!  I saw that an exit row seat was available when I checked in and snatched it!  Unfortunately, this is my seat 

What the heck is in front of me?!?!?  There is hardly room for my legs, the window next to me is so hot I burned myself on it (is it the sun, the engine, a volcano ?), and the guy next to me can't keep his elbows to himself AND is eating a leftover turkey sandwich that smells SOOOOO GOOD!!!!  


Well, now that my complaint about the flight is over -- on to happier stuff!  Like the fact that Sarah and Marko got married last night!  Still doesn't feel real!  But I am sooooo very happy for them and had such a good time getting to know Sarah's family more and seeing Milos's family (including the dog!) in one of my favorite cities - San Francisco!


Seeing each other outside of the restaurant - 

The beautiful table with tons of origami butterflies folded by Sarah's sister Andrea.

The GORGEOUS view!  And the GORGEOUS couple!

The intimate dining area - 

Best wedding food I've ever had - 

Sea Bass with Pesto, Roasted Carrots, and Wilted Spinach!

The first course was a delicious lobster bisque - It was my first time eating lobster and I loved it!

Cake time!

Who's this crazy guy?

The first dance!

Me and Marko - I loved my new dress from Anthro!

The day before and the day of the wedding included some of my favorite things about SF:

- The Ferry Building and yummy food! (finally tries Blue Bottle Coffee - soooooo good!  And finally tried a Frog Hollow Farms pear!)

- Shopping (especially at AE -- American Eagle was MY store for most of my teen years - the first one I went to was in SF after learning that they were the official clothing provider for Dawson's Creek!!!!!)

- Seeing my Sarah (even if it was for only a few hours!)

Back to reality and work on Monday :(  

I had a wonderful 45 hours in San Francisco......

Love, Allison 

Blogging From the Skies!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!  I am currently on a Delta flight to SF to see Marko and Sarah get married!  And I have free wifi!  Yeah!  So here is my Thanksgiving post!  

I had a perfect day with my sister and Scout!

The night before Thanksgiving we went to see the Macy's parade balloons being filled!  Crowded beyond belief but totally worth it!

Isn't Scout adorable?!  She is the ultimate NYC dog and enjoyed the balloons very much!

After previewing the balloons we were up bright and early on Thanksgiving morning to watch the parade!  The Spongebob balloon is always my favorite!

New York was beautiful this morning and we walked to Zabar's to get a few last minute touches for our feast!  Since my sister is vegan and it was just me and her this year - we decided to make a vegan Thanksgiving dinner!

Here is out appetizer platter - 

We enjoyed pickles/olives from Zabar's, pickled pumpkin from the Chelsea Market, and Kendall's Lentil-Walnut dip!  Everything was washed down with hard apple cider!

Here was out dinner spread:

- Amazing Raisin Pecan Bread from Zabar's 

- Orange Cranberry Sauce

- Corn and Millet Pudding from Peas and Thank You

- Roasted Cauliflower with Dates and Pine Nuts

- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Maple Syrup 

Dessert was a raw tart - the crust was date/rosemary and it was filled with vegan cashew cream and figs!  So delicious - but unfortunately no picture :(

Here is a shameless picture of the cranberry sauce in my Le Creuset pot -- I am obsessed with my Le Creuset set!

Last but not least - here are some pictures from Scout's graduation from obedience class!  She is so grown up!  Here is a picture of her 2 months ago - 

And now she is a graduate :)

She really enjoyed her graduation present!

Even though I was far away from most of my family - I had an amazing day with the best sister!  I will always remember this Thanksgiving in New York with Kendall, vegan food, and Scout!

Love, Allison