labor day

We dropped our house projects for the long weekend to host our dear friends Emily and Dan and Jen and Dave and their baby, Aiden!

They arrived Friday night and we (not-so-promptly, according to Emily) ordered Pasquale’s pizza and wings:

Early risers Hadrian and Aiden hangin’ out the next morning:

After a circuit-training workout (led by Emily!) at the park across the street, we walked to Charlie’s for brunch, then to Fisher Price (headquartered in my NEW hometown!):

Followed by refreshments at Taste!

(Aiden got ahold of my earring…)

Miss Emily posing while we walked FROM OUR HOUSE TO MAIN STREET (how awesome is that?!):

Dinner on Saturday was beef on weck and homemade salad, which we devoured before I got a chance to snap a photo:

I made a cocktail for the girls of cake-flavored vodka and chocolate coconut water, a recommendation from a cousin. It was amazing!

Andrew made a fire in the backyard and we roasted marshmallows:

(In the interest of journalistic integrity, I feel I have to divulge this: the fire department and police may have shown up. Well, there is no ‘may’ about it; they did. Turns out a neighbor called our fire in, but YES, we are allowed to have a fire in our backyard. The authorities wished us well and left almost as soon as they arrived, somewhat puzzled as to why they were called in the first place…)

The spread the next morning:

Homemade bagels and blueberry donuts!

We headed off to Niagara Falls (because what else do you do with visitors who’ve never been?!), then proceeded on to Crystal Beach (also in Canada) against our better judgement. It was a bust, Aiden was hot and fussy–heck! We were ALL hot and fussy–so we scrambled back across the border as fast as possible!

We were welcomed by the familiar sights and smells of Wegmans, where we ordered subs to-go and picked up Bar Bill wings on the way home. After some showers, some grub and puttin’ our feet up, I’d say we all fully recovered from the crowded Falls and beach trip. Emily and I made a second pilgrimage to the caboose (our local ice cream joint), where we waited for what seemed like an eternity while the post-college returnee staff was still learning the ropes…

Our company left this morning after feasting on leftover breakfast and loading up the car. We said an enthusiastic goodbye, knowing it wouldn’t be the last.

Andrew and I wasted no time in getting back to the grind; he worked tirelessly in the laundry room (ready for ceiling lights and drywall!), while I picked up, repotted some plants, did laundry at the Layers’, organized the pantry and prepped for school.

I think I need more sleep…

when in Buffalo…

…do as the Buffaloes do. Or, Buffalonians, rather.

And that would be to eat wings, of course.

It was a beautiful 81 degree day here yesterday and after a balmy walk with the dog, Mom, Josh and I met Andrew for lunch at the Bar Bill, a local watering hole and wing favorite. It gets pretty packed on weekend evenings (hey, it’s a small place), but summer lunches under the awning are just great.

Mom and I shared a beef on weck sandwich and we all enjoyed some of their wings. Josh is even more of a wuss than me when it comes to spice; I think he let a wing touch his lips and then announced he couldn’t go any further. (I will admit, my spice tolerance has gone WAY up since moving here–now I don’t have to ask the servers at Thai places to make my dishes milder–due to my wing consumption. I sure hope that’s the ONLY thing that’s gone up…)

After licking our fingers, I showed mom and Josh our new house–the owners were nice enough to let us come for a visit. I even did a little recon–finding out exact paint colors and eyeing sizes of things and such–and they’re even going to leave a couple pieces of furniture I’d had my eye on AND those cool house numbers Andrew and I had admired! SCORE (and what a blessing)! They are just the nicest people alive 🙂

We spent the afternoon in EA, walking the village. Mom popped into Vidler’s and was even able to find a couple things she needed (a single zipper pull, anyone?), as well as some things she “didn’t” (a pair of Birkenstocks from the place Andrew used to go as a kid). After refueling with some drinks from Taste, we headed home to await Andrew’s arrival after work.

We went back into the village a bit later to drop Andrew at a co-op meeting and I drove mom and Josh around a little to show them the high school and a little more of the village. After a quick visit at the Nye’s house, we popped into Fowler’s to see Abigail and so I could stock up on some chocolate (mostly as gifts, really) with my Groupon, before catching the 9 p.m. showing of the new Spiderman movie at the Aurora Theater. Andrew Garfield makes a great Spiderman–go check it out!

On the agenda today: Niagara Falls and Pasquale’s Pizza…what else?

almost! a pizza tragedy

So, I may not be quite the ‘gourmet’ chef Andrew makes me out to be ALL the time…

…if you think THAT’S bad, you should have seen the other guy! (a.k.a. the hunk of ORGANIC beef roast I bought for Pioneer Woman’s Carnitas Pizza.

(Actually, upon further inspection of the meat itself, it had only formed a nice ‘crust’ on the outside and was still quite edible on the inside–thankfully! Otherwise, Andrew might have killed me. In fact, I moistened the shredded meat with a little apple juice I had stashed in the freezer since our HOTEL STAY last year… Side note: I am my father (the pack rat)’s daughter.)

Apparently, leaving a roast in the oven while out of the house is too much for me to handle; not 10 minutes after we left for church I had a panic attack and tried to make Andrew turn around. I suppose I could have done the math on the cooking time a bit better, and certainly should have added some more liquid to the pot before departing…

Anyway, her carnitas pizza (the recipe for which must not be online), piqued my interest from the moment I saw it in the book. It’s a regular pizza crust–I used one I found in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (best one yet!)–with green tomatillo salsa, fresh mozzarella slices, sauteed red pepper and onion, then baked and topped with the warm meat and sliced green onions.

Let’s just say Andrew was on his 5th piece before either of us knew what was happening, but I suspect that had more to do with the crust than the toppings, unfortunately. Or fortunately, I suppose. I’m on the hunt for a go-to pizza crust recipe…could it be that the search is over?

I enjoyed the last two pieces for lunch today–YUM. While I may not make the exact recipe again, PW does have a bunch of neat pizza recipes on her website and in her newest cookbook, and we seem to be on a pizza kick lately! It’s the “best crust” hunt, I tell ya. My favorite pizza, you ask? HAWAIIAN, all the way.

And, just in case you were wondering about that pot….

…GOOD AS NEW! Nothing a little elbow grease and a brillo pad couldn’t handle.