i miss ‘us’

That phrase was uttered by our good friend, Dave Diercks, this past weekend during our recent trip to Ohio.

And then it was seconded. And thirded. (Is that even a word?)

Anyway… Here are some highlights from the trip! (As usual, I didn’t take enough pictures…so I’ll do my best to describe how we used a door as a table, and my two-scoop ‘small’ sundae.

-We brought cupcakes! I’m a huge fan of Firefly, the new artisan cupcake shop on Main Street here, and we wanted to gift Emily and Dan with goodies. Since Emily and I are trying to be good and watch our calories, we decided we’d save our splurges for Graeter’s and Rita’s. But, Dan and Andrew can indulge! We brought a ‘chocolate-covered strawberry’ for Dan and a Vanilla Bean for Andrew. The picture doesn’t do them justice…they’re packaged in their own little cellophane bags with the cute Firefly card on the front.

-As usual, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A in Erie for a late lunch. I really had been craving CFA…I got a 2-strip kid’s meal with fries….

…and a small cookies and cream milkshake to drink! I love them 🙂 Andrew actually did a decent number on the shake, so I probably ended up having only 3/4 or less of it anyway.

-While I was “setting up” my food in the car (I have a method), I realized it would make a perfect blog post. “On how I eat in the car” coming soon.

-OK, here’s where the pictures begin to fail me…

-We made another stop near Dublin (skipping Jeni’s! A travesty!) for a Starbucks run for me. Using the blessed iPhone, we found not one but TWO in grocery stores just feet away from where we were after taking the wrong exit off the highway… thank you, Jesus! AND, the nice lady behind the counter was offering samples of their vanilla scones. LOVE samples.

-We got into the Wilhelms’ around 8 p.m. and bounded into welcoming arms. Within moments we were perched on the couch, debating the age-old question, “To where will we go for dinner?” Silly us, we thought maybe we could quickly come up with a place with little conversation… One thing we’ve realized is, the six of us (particularly the four Wilhelms and Layers) are PARTICULAR about our food. And not necessarily in a bad way; we just really want to enjoy our meals, especially those together.

-The Wilhelms had been anxiously awaiting our arrival so we could go out for a nice, long, drawn-out dinner, which they’ve dubbed a “Layer dinner,” in honor of yours’ truly. A “Layer dinner” is one in which you order drinks, then appetizers…and then shoo your waiter away and don’t order dinner until you’ve eaten said appetizer, and then you might even stay for dessert or coffee afterward. They are infamous and can last upwards of two hours if you do it right. Truthfully, these dinners started for us on or first trip to Europe, where people have long dinners all the time (in fact, often you have to flag your waiter down to even order your food, and they wouldn’t dream of rushing you out the door). Now, if we have the time, we make it a point to stretch out our meals as often as we can.

-We almost unanimously voted for Thai 9, one of our favorite places to eat downtown, and got as gussied-up as our packed-clothes would allow. We started with drinks (Belgian wheat for me, hard cider for Dan, cocktail for Emily and I can’t remember what Andrew had….) and appetizers. Andrew and Dan split the chicken spring rolls and Emily and I split the crab rangoon–my mouth is watering just recounting the details!

-I LOVE going out to eat with Emily. Our tastes are so similar, so we typical end up splitting one or more dishes. This is something I can RARELY (if ever) do with Andrew, and it makes it so nice for me so I can enjoy multiple things on the menu. I hate having to choose! Emily and I wanted exactly the same things–pad thai and sushi–and that’s exactly what we got.

-Unfortunately, we were all too full by the end of dinner to splurge on Thai 9’s homemade coconut ice cream topped with fried banana pieces and honey (if you live in Dayton, you must order that as soon as possible), but it felt great to say “no, thanks” and leave without being over-stuffed.

-Emily and I are also early birds and exercisers, so we enjoyed a light breakfast the next morning while doing the first DVD session of our Bible study, before hitting up the workout room at their apartment complex. Thirty minutes on the treadmill flies by when you have someone to whom to talk! (Ain’t that the truth, Susy?!)

-The primary reason for the trip to Dayton (although who needs a ‘reason’ to visit friends?), was to meet little Aiden, Dave and Jen’s little boy who was born in January. We arranged to meet them at Panera for brunch. Isn’t he a cutie??

-After we ate (I splurged and got a cinnamon crunch bagel with honey walnut cream cheese–haven’t had one of those in YEARS–and smartly ate the top half and forced the bottom on Dan to prevent myself from eating it), Dave headed to his track meet and Andrew and Dan took Aiden home while Jen joined us for some shopping.

-We MADE OUT at TJMaxx! M philosophy is that a true workout-aholic can never have too many items of workout clothes, and that is the place to go for a bargain. I scored tons of awesome stuff, although the terrible overhead lighting washes everything out. All of those colors are so vibrant–I couldn’t resist any of them!

-After bagging our finds at TJMaxx, us girls headed home to pick up the ‘two men and a baby’ we left behind and raced over to Dave’s track meet at Cedarville University. Dave throws the javelin and is competing for a chance to go to the Olympic trials this summer. He ended up scoring a 68-meter throw at this meet, which is just 10 meters shy of qualifying for a spot at the trials, and the most he’s even thrown in a season-opening meet. Go Dave! Check out his facebook page for more information; he’s also involved with Athletes in Action (a Christian organization geared toward outreach in the field of athletics) and is partially sponsored by PowerBar!

-It was pretty chilly, so we scooted out of there as soon as he was finished and headed back to chez Diercks, or as it’s affectionately called in our circle, ‘the cave.’ Seriously, between their huge comfy couches and lack of natural light in the living room, it’s very ‘cave-like’ in the coziest way possible.

-Yet again, we foolishly thought we could pick our dinner option from a hat…literally. We all threw in names of various local establishments from which we could get take-out, and after turning our nose up at Chinese (what were you thinking, Dan??), a small contingent of us strong-armed the others into City BBQ. Dave did what he does best and placed our order online while I arranged who was going where to pick up food; Emily and me to City BBQ (don’t forget the sweet tea!) and Andrew and Dave to Kroger for a rotisserie chicken and Cadbury mini-eggs.

-Upon arriving back to the Diercks’ lair, we found a door (yes, a DOOR) being placed on their oversized ottoman and topped with a shower curtain/tablecloth. Don’t mind the handle, Emily… If only I’d snapped a photo…

-We were all enjoying our food family-style with Ghostbusters on the in background, when it hit me. These people are FAMILY to me. Like, seriously family. I mean, with whom else can you just sit and do nothing for hours on end, and it be totally fine? (Especially if you’re in the cave.) The six (now seven) of us have formed a bond like I’ve never had with anyone before, in particular in couples. There are others with whom Andrew and I share this relationship (Heather and Silas, for sure) and I think that’s why God brought us to Ohio. To make these lifelong friends. (And to be near Andrew’s grandparents, but that’s another story.)

-By 8 p.m. Emily and I were getting a little stir-crazy and ready to walk around after dinner, so we convinced Jen to join us on another shopping trip–this one to Goodwill! Beavercreek has the best Goodwill…there are NO good Goodwills here in NY…sad. So, we left ‘three men and a baby’ to go stretch our legs. I scored a pair of Gap trouser-jeans!

-We ended our night on a sweet note with a trip to Graeter’s, where I convinced the manager to give me two SMALL scoops (instead of only one) in my small sundae so I could have two different flavors. LOVE. THEIR. WHIPPED. CREAM.

-The next morning, we all met at First Watch (one of my absolute favorite places!) for breakfast before church. Again, Emily and I did our usual and split an omelet with pancakes on the side.

-Upon walking to our cars, Andrew and I realized we’d been fished! I know I’ve blogged about it before, but haven’t the slightest clue as to when or under what title… The short story: Dave and Jen own a giant stuffed fish and they (along with Emily and Dan) once hid it in our bed while we lived in Ohio. It’s been traded back and forth between us three couples ever since. The orange shirt it’s wearing? It says “East Aurora” and was how I dressed it when I shipped it back to the Diercks after we moved here. Gotta brainstorm its next trip to Ohio…this time to surprise the Wilhelms!

-Trader Joe’s is just across from First Watch… $86 later, we were stocked-up on goodies! Favorites? LOVE their chocolate-covered almonds, sunflower seed butter and a new find, chocolate-ship brownie bars with oats.

-Before heading out of town, Andrew and I stopped into the nearest Graeter’s to redeem our ‘Sweet Rewards’ points for a t-shirt. He always lets me choose. What a sweetie. Outside the doors, we met an Easter bunny!

-After meticulously choosing my shirt–I even made the young man behind the counter climb up and check the size of the one tacked to the wall–I settled for a child’s extra large (which was surprisingly big) hoping it would shrink.

-We resisted the urge for more ice cream (well, I had to resist; I think Andrew has willpower of steel!) in favor of a stop at Rita’s on our way out of town. I made the mistake of trying their new chocolate peanut butter flavor… (Back story: I grew up with Rita’s in PA and LOVE IT. Mango is my ultimate favorite. I try different flavors all the time, but mango is where it’s at.) Anyway, I LOVED chocolate peanut butter and all of a sudden couldn’t choose! It’s not like I could get one, knowing I could come back any time for mango. Thankfully, Andrew opted for a large mango, which allowed me to order a chocolate peanut butter gelati–which features their vanilla custard. I was in sugar heaven.

-We got on the road and had an enjoyable trip back to NY, filled with menu-planning and grocery-list making for me, (no Jeni’s AGAIN–we were too full of Rita’s!), a Wendy’s stop (apple slices for me, nuggets for him and a tiny Frosty to share) and then things went downhill. Emily HAD to remind me I’d forgotten to take some of the dark chocolate-covered raisins off her hands…which led to a crazy craving! We stopped at a gas station and ended up stocking up on Doritos, Swedish Fish (my favorite) and Hot Fries and an energy drink for Andrew. And I might have gotten into the cookies Susy sent home with me…

-We drove straight to Wegmans since I knew our house was devoid of food. Well, at least the fridge was. As in, EMPTY. No fruit. No yogurt. No bread. No nothing. If we didn’t shop now, we’d have nothing for breakfast the next morning, and since I had to pick up the dog IN ADDITION to my normal routine, there wasn’t going to be any ‘going out for breakfast’ for us.

-$123 dollars later…

-We’re all settled back in at home now (we should be, it’s THURSDAY) and I can’t believe this post took me so long… Notes to self:

-take more pictures!

-post along the way!

Here’s to next time 🙂

the answer to everything is Pasquale’s

Well, the Elm Street Bakery turned out to be a bust last night. Not through any fault of their own; we didn’t arrive until after 8:15 due to Andrew’s basketball game and they had sold out of all their dinner items. So, in true Layer fashion, Andrew suggested Pasquale’s…

Let me just pause here for a minute. For the Layers, Pasquale’s really is the answer to everything. Get home late from being out of town? Order pizza. Abigail home from college for the weekend? Order pizza and wings. Bored around lunchtime on Saturday? Go to Pasquale’s. Seriously. We had it four times in three days once. Don’t get me wrong, I love their pizza and wings… I just try not to eat it all the time.

Anyway, back to last night. Normally, we don’t even go out to eat for Valentine’s Day because of the crowds; I usually make a nice dinner at home, but with my busy schedule lately, I didn’t plan anything. Elm Street was really only supposed to be dessert, but Andrew wanted real food.

So, we head over to Pasquale’s (after I bought a pink and purple M & M cookie at Elm Street, you know, in case Pasquale’s didn’t have any desserts I wanted.)

We exchanged gifts, and in true V-day tradition, Andrew got me an assortment of Fowler’s chocolates:

I was so incredibly proud of myself; I cut a piece of andrew’s pizza in half and did the same to my dessert and put it in to-go box and out of sight right away. I even had a glass of Lambrusco as well!

BTW, Andrew LOVED his bag of junk food. But you what he said when we got home? That he was glad I got the small bags of chips and things so he wouldn’t eat too much. Awww, music to my ears.

how we spent our saturday

There was baking. There was snow. And gym-going. And car-repairing. And cake-tasting. And, finally, a little ice skating.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Andrew’s truck had been on the fritz since Monday morning, and in the course of the week, Andrew and his friend Bart (featured here at Waldfest and here at the ‘beach’), diagnosed the problem as being the fuel pump. (Bart used to work on race cars in college–like, REAL race cars–and is an engineer at Moog and one of those super-brainy-but-cool types, so I felt like we were in good hands.)

So, after lots of research and You Tube “how to replace a fuel pump” video-watching, Andrew and Bart made plans to replace the part Saturday morning.

Company on Saturday morning = BIG BREAKFAST!

I decided to make pancakes AND waffles (waffles keep better in the freezer) and maple-roasted bacon.

Bart and I like chocolate-chip pancakes, so I added mini-chocolate chips to ours. I even had whipped cream on hand, too–SCORE!

Waffles staying warm in the oven… Side note: I’ve been doing this for awhile now (using the oven to keep waiting waffles crisp and warm) and in just this past issue of Cuisine At Home, someone wrote in and offered this EXACT TECHNIQUE in the reader advice section, and got $100 for it!! Note to self: wrack brain for something to suggest.

I set the table with three kinds of nut butters, Kefir, plain yogurt, orange segments, pineapple, butter, maple syrup, ginger maple syrup, orange juice and bananas. And that’s not including the main courses…

We all enjoyed breakfast before the boys headed outside–did I mention it finally snowed–to start the car project while I tackled clean-up.

Look! They’re twins! Bart brought over some extra work clothes and gloves (he does this kind of thing a lot), which was nice since the cold weather necessitated multiple layers.

…and multiple trips inside to warm-up and read directions. (Not sure why Andrew looks pregnant here, but since it’s him and not me, I’m happy!)

Bart, complete with knee-pads…

…Andrew, who was probably wishing it were just a bit warmer. After our mild week, they certainly did not luck-out on weather for the project.

After I took a snow-filled walk with the dog and went to the gym for a run, I rushed home to shower and get lunch ready for everyone. Thankfully, I had a great assortment of leftovers (I felt a little guilty serving guests leftovers, but by now, I feel like Bart is almost family, and Andrew’s dad–who had come over to watch the snowy repair job–IS family, and the leftovers WERE pretty special) like homemade coleslaw and roasted potatoes, along with homemade rye bread and sandwich stuff.

I dashed out the door after my last bit to meet Abigail, Carolyn and Andrew’s mom at Butterwood’s, a local bakery for some wedding cake-tasting! This, of course, would have been a perfect opportunity to take some photos for the blog with all the beautiful cakes and desserts, but, alas, I did not. I really waver between wanting to be a hard-core food blogger and photo-ing EVERYTHING, and on the other hand, trying to not let it take over my life. So, no pretty cupcake photos here.

We stayed afterward and got desserts and drinks–I chose a red velvet cupcake that was just gorgeous and tasted completely divine–thankfully, I still have half to enjoy another time 🙂

With the sourdough starter that I left out from making the pancakes and wafflers earlier, I made this focaccia.

We didn’t end up eating any that night, because Bart talked us into going out with him to ice skate! I so tried to stay behind to do the myriad things on my to-do list (you know, like take a chem quiz, finish two labs, write an article, write two blogs, not to mention a million other things), but at the last minute I couldn’t say no. I threw on some long underwear and ran out the door with Andrew!

We headed downtown for some ice skating (there is a free rink on the main thoroughfare in the city) and to check out some of the snowboarding at WinterFest.

Don’t you just love my scarf? Andrew got it for me to go with my coat for Christmas–beautiful! I’m LOVING the J.Crew Stadium Jacket we scored on Black Friday… It cinches at the waist and is SO FLATTERING. And it has a hood. I have never wanted a hood more than I have since moving here.

After skating, we headed to Pearl Street for dinner, and to warm up! My fingers were just about frozen, despite the awesome glove liners I got recently. I enjoyed their Cherry Wheat beer, some onion rings (really hit the spot), a roasted veggie sandwich and their completely splurge-worthy fries. Seriously, I could really just have their fries for dinner and be happy.

Bart recently discovered a new bar downtown that has a trivia night, so he brought us to check it out. It’s called Founding Fathers and IT IS AWESOME. I mean, the proprietor was wearing a tie–is that my kind of place, or what?!

There are flags and U.S. presidential history everywhere–it’s a smart-people bar (I may be a little rusty on my history, but Andrew and Bart aren’t!). Andrew and I have never really felt “at home” (well, who does, really?) at a bar since we choose not to drink all that much, but we (well, really just me, probably) have always wanted to be a “regular” somewhere, and this is the kind of place I could see us going to often. I’m not saying we’re going to go every Friday, but we’d like to give their trivia a try (it’s the first Tuesday of the month), and it just felt like somewhere we’d fit in.

It’s pushing 10 p.m. and I still haven’t taken that Chem quiz…