Monday Blues

Happy Monday... (said in my most monotone voice possible). Today is not happy. I am tired, cranky and ready to crawl back in bed. I woke up late, forgot my badge to get in my building, and realized I am on call tonight at the hospital. I really hope I don't get called in!

I would love to remain in my bad mood, but, that sucks. So, I might as well get positive!

This past weekend was so busy, but so fun. On Friday night, Mike had his holiday party for work and they are not allowed to bring spouses. Silly, if you ask me, but it gave me a chance to go to dinner with a dear friend. We ate some amazing food, drank some delicious wine, and caught up on life. It was magnificent. Later, the boys (her boyfriend and Mike are close friends and work together) met us for a drink before we all headed home.

We ate dinner at a great place downtown called Zely and Ritz. I had eaten there before, but Lindsay hadn't and it is totally food that is up both of our alleys. Most of their food is fresh and local and they have quite an impressive wine list.

We started with some bruschetta and wine. The bruschetta came with 3 topping options, a goat cheese spread, arugula pate, and a pear butter. I loved mixing the goat cheese and pear butter, it was so delicious.

This is the wine that we chose. It was a malbec blend and it was some of the best wine I have ever had. We were joking about how we could enjoy a $3 bottle of wine any day of the week, but then you put an actual nice bottle in front of me and I feel like I can't drink anything else. The difference is truly amazing. Unfortunately, my wallet does not agree with me, so I am sure I will be back to my $3 bottles in no time. :)

Next, we each ordered our entrees. Lindsay had the pork tenderloin stuffed with blue cheese and on top of a cherry glaze. The pork came from the restaurant's local, grass fed farm and it was amazing. I am not even a huge fan of blue cheese, but the flavors were so good.

I ordered the sweet potato gnocchi, butternut squash, and broccoli. I was really in the mood for meat, but those are some of my favorite vegetables. I just couldn't pass it up. It was made in a maple sauce and it almost could have been dessert, it was so good.

We decided to share some creamy risotto with pork. It was awesome. The pork flavor was really strong, but it was so wonderful. I was stuffed, but kept dipping my fork in the bowl for another taste. :)

We were too full for dessert, but their menu looked yummy. I will have to try to limit my bread intake next time so I can enjoy some dessert. It is really nice to get out to a nice dinner with friend's every once in a while. We are usually really good about not eating out or choosing relatively inexpensive places, but every once in a while, it is worth it to spend the extra money and enjoy a well made meal with great company.

The rest of our weekend included a lot of driving and spending time with family. Mike had tickets to go to the Redskins - Patriots game yesterday. So, we drove up on Saturday morning to see my sister and her family for the day. My sister and I did a lot of shopping around and playing with kids. I am really loving that we have seen them so often during this holiday season. They are also going to come to our house for New Years, which will be really fun. I just wish we could see them this often all year round.

Yesterday, Jaime (my sister), made a crock pot veggie lasagna. It was delicious. I am so glad I was able to stay and have dinner with them. I will definitely be making this meal at some point. I love crock pot meals and am always looking for new recipes to try. We had the lasagna with a side salad and garlic bread. So good!

Jaime - the cook and her little side kick.

I finished up my dinner right as Mike was walking in the door from the football game. We headed out pretty quickly after he arrived since we had a long drive ahead and had to get up for work this morning.

Along the way, we stopped at Caribou for a coffee for the boys, and a hot chocolate for me. Let me just tell you, I will be returning for their dark hot chocolate with peppermint. It was to die for! I love dark chocolate and this really tasted like dark chocolate. I had them add in a little peppermint and it was like the holidays having a party in my mouth. I really like Caribou. I feel like they have really great non-coffee options and a really cute gift shop. I even picked up a few things there as gifts for my friends. I am not sure why I haven't gone there in the past (probably because there is another coffee shop that is much more present in the area), but I will be seeking this one out a lot more. Plus, look how adorable their cups are?

I just got a call from the hospital and they are going to need me tonight. Whaaaa! I think I am going to get back into my bad mood now. :(

I hope everyone else has a great day!