Confession

i have a confession to make . . .

when i am out running errands, cooking, working out, going out with friends, really anytime, i look forward to getting home, putting on my flannel pajama bottoms, slippers, and snuggly robe.

this is not me, but this is the robe. i don't manage to look nearly as sexy as she does in it

the robe started with my sister-in-law, A. her sister gave her one and she loved it. she liked it so much she gave one to my mom. my mom loved it so much she has given it to a bunch of people, including me! poor E, i live in this thing from fall to early spring. it is the most comfortable thing ever. seriously. it brings out the couch potato in me which isn't really a good thing so i have a rule. i can't put it on unless i have already showered and don't really need to get much else done the rest of the evening. once i get in this thing, i don't want to take it off. it is incredibly soft. i can even describe the feeling of it. but, if you love to be comfy, i highly recommend you buy one of these. you will not regret it. promise.

imagine my excitement when i discovered north face makes a pullover with the same snuggly, soft feeling fabric. i just had to get one. now i can be snuggly and warm yet still look acceptable in public. i am going to be snug as a bug all winter long. it's even on sale right now at rei.com. again, if you love being comfortable and warm and still look acceptable to the rest of the population, i recommend this pullover. while you are at it, send one to me. i'll take thank you donations, size medium:)

Fall Football and Local Eats

we had a busy but super-fun day yesterday. but first, i am happy to report that on friday i had 3 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruit! yay! and, let's see, yesterday i had 3 veggies and 2 fruits. let's just say, i'm getting there but still a work in progess (and always will be).

so, back to saturday. E and i played two-hand touch football with some of his co-workers on the mall in DC. we had so much fun and got a nice cardiovascular workout in too:) E was clearly the star of the game. he made lots of touch downs as well as two interceptions. he was the hands-down mvp. the bad news is that we were on opposite teams. that unfortunatey means that i was on the losing team. oh well, it was still fun. (side note: i forgot my camera (dang it!) so no pics of the game)

after football, we headed over to M's apartment to go to dinner with M and R at harry's tap room in arlington, va. M was nice enough to let E and i shower and change at her place first. we were sweaty and E was muddy (it go quite muddy on the mall from all the recent rain). along with her wonderful hospitality, yummy snacks (rosemary crackers and spicy hummus), pre-dinner drinks, M was kind enough to take pictures too.

we made it to harry's and had another pre-dinner drink. M had a pim's #1 (very interesting, kind of like iced tea and lemonade with pim's - some sort of alcohol i have never heard of), i had a lemon drop martini and the boys had beer.

M's pim's and my lemon drop

M and R

E and me

dinner was excellent! harry's prides itself on using local, in-season produce and meats. according to their website:

"We buy organic or naturally-raised products.  We draw seasonally from the local farms of the rich countryside of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania."

everything on the menu looked delicious but i gravitated towards the vegetable tray which consisted of your choice of 3 veggies (all currently in season). so, M and i shard some baked brie with apple slices to start - so good! - and i chose fingerling potatoes with garlic aioli, acorn squash with quinoa risotto, and mushrooms with sherry.

everything was delicious! i am hoping we get back there soon. not only was the food good but i love supporting restaurants that strive to support local farmers and change their menu seasonally to make the most of fruits and vegetables that are fresh and in their prime.

Mrs. Dec's Apple Pie

a long time ago (10 years ago) in a land far, far away (harrisonburg, va) i lived with 3 wonderful girls. if you read my blog, you already know them because we have regular roommate get-togethers. every year, we would host a thanksgiving dinner for our college friends. every year, L would make her mom's apple pie. this quickly became my favorite thanksgiving dessert (i even used to request she make it for me on my birthday). now that i am all grown up (seriously it was shocking to me to realize it has been 10 years since my sophomore year in college) and having thanksgiving without my roomies (but with my fabulous in-laws:), i still make mrs. dec's apple pie.

i can't believe i actually found these pictures in my messy box of college photos. wow, memories . . .

L, holding her magnificent apple pies (circa 1999)

M dishing out mashed potatoes and me carving the turkey (again, 1999)

the wonderful thing about this pie is it's really a cross between a pie and a crumble/crisp. it has the traditional flaky pie crust on the bottom with a wonderful, sugary crumble topping on top.

this year i am taking it to K's for the wasti thanksgiving dinner. today, i tried to "clean it up a bit". i hesitate to even do that 1) because it's so good and 2) i only have it once a year, but i just thought i'd try. i made two individual ramekins so as not to make (and then proceed to eat) a whole pie. the only thing i really changed was i used whole wheat pastry flour instead of white all purpose flour and i tried some sugar substitutes.

i couldn't taste the difference with the whole wheat pastry flour substitute so i will do that, but the topping is too important and just wasn't as good with the changes. it changed the texture of the topping, so i'll stick with the original wonderful recipe.

thanks mrs. dec!