Grocery Shopping

The weekly grocery shopping trip is a chore I dread. But, it must be done as we gotta eat. I usually put off this tiresome task until Sunday, the day before the work week begins. I find that if I don't do it on Sunday, then it never gets done and my Saturdays are strictly reserved for "fun." My sojourn begins with Trader Joe's, where I like to buy our meats and other novel items such as marinara sauce, canned sardines, nuts, rice, and the like. I do not, however, buy our produce there as it sucks!

I do the bulk of my grocery shopping at Winco, which is sooooooo cheap it's ridiculous. With the exception of meat and some gourmet items, Winco has everything you need. Unless you are shopping for a family of 10, Winco meats are enormous. The bad thing about Winco is that it is always crowded and there is really no good time to shop. If you go real early on Sunday morning, you run into employees with flat-bed trucks who are stocking items and blocking the aisle. If you go any other time of the week, you run into retirees and stay-at-home moms with their screaming kids. And if you go Sunday afternoon, well, be prepared to see everyone you know and their mothers there. So far, I've narrowed down a "decent" time to go and that is Sunday between 8:30-9:00am, for all of us sacrilegious folks. 

I occasionally do my shopping at Lamb's Thriftway (located conveniently across the street from our house but too pricey compared to Winco) for any last minute items I may have forgotten, or else New Seasons. I love New Seasons - it's like a gourmet foodie heaven there. But honestly, who in the world can afford to shop there regularly? Once I bought ingredients there for ONE meal for a party of four and it costed me $90 dollars. Ridiculous! However, having said that, I appreciate the wide variety of Brown Cow yogurt they sell there as well as their meats and breads. We also once ordered an enjoyable turkey dinner for two for Thanksgiving there and it worked out well.

NOLA - Day 4

We began our last day in N'Orleans with breakfast at the hotel and packing our luggage afterwards. Then we strolled along Canal street while stopping at Starbucks to get a cold drink (decaf for me). We were both surprised at how hot the weather had gotten and the streets were littered with Utah and Alabama fans here for the Sugar Bowl. I thought we'd give Central Grocery Co. a third try since the store was closed the two previous times we visited. This time, it was open. We stood in a long line in order get a large muffuletta sandwich (pictured). 

We then walked along Esplande avenue hoping to catch the bus to the City Park. No bus came, so we finally waved down a taxi. The taxi driver drove us to a nice shady spot in the park and we ate our sandwiches and chips there. The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) had free admission until Jan. 18 for a special exhibit they were doing, so we were able to take advantage of the nice strong air condition they had while enjoying some art too. ;-) The best part was the free museum shuttle, which dropped us off blocks away from our hotel. I should mention here that we had the best experience at our hotel - the Quality Inn. They extended our check-out time to 2:30pm and were always so friendly and helpful to us. It is fitting that our little vacation should end the same way it began - a bus ride back to the airport.

NOLA - Day 3

Happy New Year!  Tom and I spent our New Years watching The Terminator and Tom's first Law & Order. I congratulated myself for staying up past midnight. On New Years day, we had jazz brunch reservations at Court of Two Sisters (pictured), a restaurant a classmate of ours recommended. They had over 60 hot and cold dishes with live jazz music playing in the background. 

After breakfast, we headed back to our hotel and did some laundry (romantic, no?). Due to some circumstances not within our control, we did not take a cruise on the Steamboat Natchez like I had planned. Everyone, it seemed, is in town for the Sugar Bowl, which resulted in crowded streets and tortoise-like lines that formed everywhere. We didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon except nap and going to Cafe du Monde for the third time (!!!). 

NOLA - Day 2

We woke up early, had breakfast by 8am, but lazed around for a bit and did not leave the hotel until 10am this morning. We walked down to the corner of Canal and Carondelet to catch the street car, which is kind of like the San Francisco cable car ($1.25). It was a beautiful and sunny day as the street car hummed along St. Charles street and we got to see a many gorgeous Victorian homes in the Garden District. We hopped off at the Audubon Park (pictured) and had a nice picnic of crackers & cheese and apples. We walked along the edge of the park, which, incidentally, is also a golf course, and ended up at the zoo. We didn't have any plans to visit the zoo today, but it being such a wonderfully warm day, I couldn't resist the pink flamingos. I enjoyed the zoo, and I have to say that it was much better than the aquarium, even though there were twice as many kids running amok. 

After spending (and walking for) 3 hours at the zoo, we headed back downtown. I had been thinking about the beignets and cafe au lait from Cafe du Monde all day so I wanted to go. Because we'd been walking all day, Tom wanted to go back to the hotel and relax but...we ended up eating at fried donuts. =) I wanted us to eat mufflettas at Central Grocery Co., but who wudda thought they closed at 5pm?!? So we ended up eating at Cafe Maspero, which is another restaurant on my list to try. We shared a cup of their jumbalaya and a huge muffletta sandwich. The portions are so big that I couldn't even finish my half. We got back to our hotel by 6:30pm to rest our poor feet and I think we are here to stay.

NOLA - Day 1

Our first full sight-seeing day in New Orleans started off with a complimentary breakfast at our hotel. I've had better breakfast, but it was free! Our first stop was the Aquarium of Americas, which opened at 10am and by 11am, I was done looking at penguins and jellies next to snotty kids. So, we had lunch at Ruth's Chris in the Harris Hotel thanks to the gift certificate we got for our wedding. I had wanted to go to the Hermann-Grima House, but when I called to make sure that they were still open, they weren't. So we visited the 1850 House at Jackson Square instead. Tom is not as impressed at old things as I am, but I thought it was kind of neat, if not creepy. Next we browsed through the French Market and the Flea Market while I looked for fresh produce among stalls of cheap tourist wares. 

In the afternoon, we (finally) got to enjoy some beignets and cafe au laits at Cafe du Monde. I enjoyed every single bite. We stopped by this pricey grocery store to pick up some fruit on our way back to the hotel for a nap. After a short rest, we headed out to Mother's, where the line is long, but worth the wait. This place is famous for their po' boy sandwiches and it was yummy! I'd definitely go back again. We ended the night with 1.5 Hagen Daaz ice-cream bars each and by watching Boston Legal.

Food

I am no Lynne Rossetto Kasper, but I love food. I love talking about food, thinking about food, shopping for food, cooking food, and more importantly, I love eating food. Because I spend a great deal of time thinking about what to eat and where to eat, in order to be my friend, you must enjoy talking about food with me - incessantly.

Some people obsess about food by reading. Others like to experiment with new recipes and cooking techniques. Some people like to try new restaurants while others like to collect fancy kitchen tools. My specialty is knowing where to find exactly what you're looking for. Wanna know where you can get an excellent PB&J on toasted sourdough bread? Ask me! Or where you can get a delicious Reuben sandwich that melts in your mouth? Look no further! Or how about a crab louie salad? Not a problem! Or how about a nice, hefty, juicy burgers with the best fries? I know where to go! As your neighborhood foodie, I relish in the fact that I know just where to go to satisfy your tastebuds.

A Tribute to Tom

I like to toot my own horn from time to time because as the domestic diva of our household, I do all of our weekly grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry, and bill-paying. But I would like to take this opportunity to give a "shout out" to my hubby, who definitely pulls his own weight around here too.

Tom is in charge of managing all of our computers and basically any appliance with a plug or that is battery-operated. And in our world of technological gadgets a-plenty, this is no small feat. Tom makes sure that our 3 computers are up and running with the latest and greatest software updates, AND he also makes sure that our computers are backed-up regularly to prevent a major crisis. Tom also maintains all of our 3 vehicles, and I have a feeling that if we had a garage, he would do more. Around the house, Tom also does the traditional manly tasks of changing the lightbulb, moving heavy furniture, and taking out the garbage.

But what I live for and what I truly appreciate about Tom is his sweet and romantic side. For example, on our first wedding anniversary, he made me a handstamped card that read, "One Year" on the outside, and on the inside, he wrote, "Many more to come! Happy First, Natasha! We are making our family one step at a time. Love, Thomas." 

Now, how can you not love a man who writes those words?