Valentine's Day

Justin and I have never been one of those couples who goes crazy for Valentine's Day. I know it sounds cliche, but we have never felt like we need to have a special day to express our love with cards or nice things, we do that year round. But I was surprised with a beautiful card and a heart full of my favorite candy, Reese's Cups, on Friday night when I got home from work. We had already planned on making steaks for dinner either Saturday or Sunday night, but when we settled on Sunday, it quickly transitioned into a special Valentine's candlelight dinner. We recently purchased an indoor grill and were happy to put it to use with the delicious steak. Here is a picture of the indoor grillmaster.


The grill did a pretty nice job for our medium rare steaks. Here is a close up of the grill and grill lines. Justin had seasoned the steaks with Montreal Steak Seasoning earlier that morning for some added flavor.


The side dishes included some wedged red potatoes and brussel sprouts. We have recently discovered our like (love is a pretty strong word people!) of brussel sprouts. We cut them in half and then Justin sauteed them in about a tablespoon of EVOO. Then we baked them for about 20 minutes and added some toasted slivered almonds. Very tasty!

It was a very delicious and romantic meal, with some soft jazz Muzak in the background. Happy Valentine's Day Love. You are the love of my life and my best friend, looking forward to spending many more special days with you!

Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day and were sure to tell those you love how special they are to you.

Low Impact Snow Zone Update

Many of you may remember my earlier post about the snowfall in Philadelphia. As of January 18, the snowfall was 22.1", that is 5.9" above the normal. We have had a few big snowstorms which have made the commute quite stressful. I have figured out how to drive to work, where the best (read cheapest) parking can be found, schedules for a bus, train and subway. My wonderful husband gets up early to clean off and warm up my car. There has been a lot of weather anxiety going on over here. And I am not an anxious person!! To top it off, I work at a hospital and am considered essential staff. That means I am required to be there, no matter what the weather is or how hard it is to get into work, or its a day without pay.

About a week and a half ago, we got a huge storm. It had snowed all night and there was at least a foot. I got up extra early, like 4:45 AM, to check the situation. The train was delayed, but running. Justin got out nice and early to start digging my car out. I joined him once I was ready for work. After about an hour of shoveling, by both of us, and multiple attempts to get both cars out, we were stuck. We were tired, sweaty and defeated. I had to call in, which felt pretty bad. I didn't want to leave my co-workers hanging, but I couldn't get out of my parking lot. To top it all off, a car had gotten stuck in the exit driveway so the plow truck couldn't even get in/out. I will admit, I did enjoy a snow day home with my husband, and let's not forget Scout the Snow Dog (who had a blast by the way, bounding through 3 foot drifts), but it was kind of ridiculous. Justin spent about another hour helping neighbors shovel and push out their stuck cars. And then once people had spots shoveled, they began reserving them with lawn or camp chairs. And if you didn't, your assigned spot could be gone next time you came home. So we had to do the same, put out a chair in order to have a spot saved.

We haven't needed to use our chains yet, but at least we're ready, I guess. Hope you are staying safe and warm this winter season.