Dinner Parties & Doggie Playdates

Winter has finally arrived in San Antonio, with lows in the 30's and highs in the 70's...brrr! That's what happens after living here for a year or two...you need a sweater when the thermometer reads anything under 70 degrees Fahrenheit! Fortunately for us, our fireplace has just been inspected and we have had occasion to use it a few times with great success thanks to Alexandra's fire-making abilities. Grab some hot chocolate and come sit beside us and the crackling fire.


Now that we're all warm and toasty, I'll share a few pictures from a dinner party that Alexandra & I threw for our friends a week ago. Alexandra did all the cooking and I must say that her job was made easier by my fine sous-chef skills (although she may tell you otherwise that I was in the way and ate things that weren't meant for me!). She spent an entire week preparing the dinner for 8 with first-class results. Everyone loved the food and we all ate too much. Here is the menu:

• Hors d'oeuvres:
• Roasted Chashews with thyme and rosemary
• Thinly sliced smoked tuna, drizzled with a cream sauce and lemon zest
• Crudités with "Green Goddess" dip
• Champagne punch with an ice ring made of cranberry juice and fresh fruit
• First Course:
• Squash soup with candied walnuts (thanks mom!).
• Second Course:
• Chicken Mirabella with olives and prunes
• Cous-cous with dried cherries and apricots
  
• Roasted beets and brussel sprouts
  
• Third Course:
• Grapefruit and Avocado salad with dijon dressing
• Dessert:
• Fresh strawberry short cake with strawberry jam & homemade whipped cream!

Here is what the dining room table looked like:






And of course everyone had a little take home gift prepared by Alexandra:

Now that you've heard about our successful dinner party, how about a few pictures of our little guy Bruno? (PS - at 11 months, he tips the scales at 124.9 lbs!!!). He's THE GREATEST dog and everyone who meets him loves him. As you'll see in the pictures below, he's got quite a good group of doggie friends :)













Here is a picture of Summit, a Shiba Inu that we are watching this week for our friends Mark & Elisa. He weighs all of 25 lbs I would imagine, yet he and Bruno get along really well - too well actually, as they have taken to racing around our house with predictable results. Summit looks like a fox, doesn't he?



Finally, my favorite picture: Bruno's favorite game in the whole world is...well, it's sleeping. But his second favorite game is to play tug of war with his leash. Here he is, victorious and care free:


Cheers to all.

Thanksgiving in Atlanta...

This year, we were very fortunate to have practically an entire week off of work during the Thanksgiving Holiday. We decided to drive the 1,028 miles from San Antonio all the way to the very drought-stricken Atlanta so that we could introduce Sir Bruno to the Atlanta family. We left our quiet little street at 2440 Brighton at 4:15 AM Sunday morning and had pretty slow going due to the densest fog one could imagine. After an hour or two the fog began to lift...and we promptly found ourselves in the midst of torrential downpours that made us glad to have just put on new windscreen wipers! The rain lasted for the majority of the trip, letting up just before our arrival in ATL. We passed through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama before reaching Georgia, and it was most reassuring to have a 130 lb dog in our midst to protect us from some very interesting characters along the way. The funny thing is, Bruno is such a gentle dog that I was very surprised each time he growled at anyone who even dared look at our car while stopped at the local gas stations.


While at home it was great to see all the family: me mum & dad, Robs, Y+M, the twins, DJ, Karly, my bro and aunts/uncles/cousins. You're all special in your very own unique ways, but alas the twins are by far the cutest! See for yourself...













And in case you think it's all fun & games...here's a what it looks like when your mom & dad realize you've probably picked up dog poop!!!.....



Sheeshhh....a mother's job is never done....