The Sweet Life

Pizza and Cupcakes

Tiffany — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:58:57 +0000

We are loving the Spring weather here in the DC area! I feel like we’ve just woken up from a long hibernation. It’s warm (for now) and with the time change, it feels like we have longer days. So, Friday after work, we decided to make the most of it and head to 2 Amys and Something Sweet bakery. As expected, the wait was super long at 2 Amys so we headed to Something Sweet for cupcakes as our appetizer! Life is short, eat dessert first, right?

We had the specials of the day and they were delicious.

::Banana chocolate chip w/chocolate frosting::

::Vanilla with lemon curd and meringue frosting::

I rate these much higher than Georgetown Cupcake in case anyone was wondering. This place is also super cute with a pretty mural on the wall and benches outside to sit and eat your sweets.

Finally, after over an hour wait, we sat down to eat at 2 Amys. In case you didn’t know, they are known for their authentic Neopolitan pizza. The Italian government even granted them D.O.C. status which basically says they use the appropriate ingredients and methods for the pizza.

We indulged in the margherita pizza:

Do you see the fresh mozzarella? Soo good.

Chris had a stuffed pizza with ricotta, grana, salami, prosciutto, pancetta, and tomato.

He was not as thrilled with the stuffed pizza. Next time, he’ll definitely get a classic pizza.

After finishing dinner, we headed back home driving past my alma mater – AU! We need to check out the arts center there at some point. It was under construction when I was in school and I never made it when it opened. It looks really cool.

The rest of the weekend, we tried to stay out in the nice weather as much as possible. We got some outlet shopping done, a nice run outside, and some wine tasting while sitting outside. Hope everyone else’s weekends were as good as ours!

Sweet things

Tiffany — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:33:50 +0000

I’m long overdue for a new post, but sorry because this one is going to be super short. It’s been a challenging day complete with two (yes, two!) trips to the dentist. That brings my total to 4 in the last 3 weeks all for one tooth. If I needed any motivation to floss regularly, this will be it!

Anyway, I am not letting the day get me down. So, here are a few “sweet things” about life right now:

- Warm weather and sunny, blue skies

- The first flower blooming in our front yard.

- The brownies I just ate too many of….it was a hard day, ok?

- People all around in good spirits because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. Wish I could have taken a picture of the office staff at my dentist. They were decked out in crowns, green beads, shirts etc.

Hope there are some sweet things in your life right now as well!

Date Night: Co Co. Sala

Tiffany — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:22:01 +0000

Here’s a little secret. We did not celebrate Valentine’s Day until yesterday. With all the snow that kept us at home, we did zero planning before the actual day so we decided to postpone until the following weekend and get the weekend to ourselves to celebrate….without the special menus and crowded restaurants.

I had a Living Social deal to Co Co. Sala for $25 for $50 worth of food and drinks and it seemed like the perfect thing for our date night/Valentine’s Day.

Co Co. Sala is the only Chocolate Lounge in the world – as your “guide” (i.e. their word for waiter) reminds you when you sit down. The menu offers both savory and sweet small bites. The savory bites have hints of chocolate. So, being the chocolate lover that I am, I was in heaven!

We started with some of the savory “Coco Bites.” Here is what we ended up with:

- Crabcake Lollipops with chipotle chocolate tomato glaze
- Tuna Tartar without the Tartar sauce…just kidding!
- Tandoori Chicken Slider with cardamom carrots and greens
- Portobello Flatbread with portobello mushrooms, goat cheese (my fave!), roasted peppers, kalamata olives, sweet and sour fig marmalade

Everything was so good! My favorite of these surprised me, the flatbread, which was the last thing we decided to get.

Finally, before getting on to the real reason we were there, we had one of their cheese plates on recommendation of our “guide.” We got the Aztec Cheese Experience that included pepperjack cheese and a pepper cheese enchilada with guava sauce. Again, I would have never guessed, but this was by far one of my favorite dishes we got! The pepper cheese enchildada with the sweet sauce was unbelievably good.

Then, we got on to the issue at hand – dessert! They have chocolate “experiences” that consist of three courses. Of course, we couldn’t share just one so we each got one. I got the Aztec Experience and Chris got the Childhood Favorites.

Chris started with a mini Boston cream donut with cappuccino panna cotta while I started with churros with cinnamon cream and dulce de leche dip. Mmmm…

We made a huge effort and waited to eat the main dessert course after taking some photos with my iPhone (sorry for the quality!). I fully intended to take photos of everything, but we were too quick to devour everything else!

::Chris’s main dessert::

From left to right, bananas foster, milk chocolate peanut butter ice cream, mini co. co. cupcake, and malted shooter.

::My main dessert::

From left to right, hot chocolate souffle with fiery chocolate center, expresso gelato, chipotle truffle, and kahlua soother.

I could not believe that we still had another course! We finished with chocolate infused horchata and a Mexican wedding cookie for me and a mint chocolate chip cup and strawberry cheesecake lolly with pop rocks. Yes, those little candy rocks that burst in your mouth! The cheescake was such a fun ending.

In summary, I highly recommend Co Co. Sala. It was one of the best meals out we’ve had in a long time and we hope to go back soon!

Goals Revised

Tiffany — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:13:33 +0000

So, remember when I said that I would be checking in on my goals throughout the year? I’m already doing that and revising.

- Start a blog. Done. Let’s add “Learn how to use WordPress and update it regularly.”

- Work on cake decorating. Bake cake/cupcakes at least once a month. Revising to “Bake something at least once a month.” For now, I’m enjoying focusing on a variety of baking so not limiting myself to cake decorating.

- Do yoga once a week. Fail already. “Regularly workout (at least 3x per week) in whatever way I like.”

- Read a book once a month. Love this one. Success so far. I’m keeping it!

How is everyone else doing on their goals/resolutions? Is it time to check in on them and revise as needed? I should have put more thought into mine in the first place. Next year I might wait until Feb. 1 instead to give time after the holidays to reflect more.

Snowpocalypse DC

Tiffany — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:08:04 +0000

We’re in the middle of “Snowpocalypse DC” where there is “paralyzing” snow and last night we had “thundersnow.” Scared yet? Here’s the thing, we are not used to snow. We freak out when we get 2 inches of snow. So this? NOT OK.

Those lumps behind the husband shoveling? Our cars. We’ve got about 22 inches and we still have a ways to go with the snow continuing through midnight tonight. Let’s just hope that the power stays on. I’m happy to stay warm inside and bake.

Looking back at the last decade – Part II

Tiffany — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:00:41 +0000

Where did we leave off? Oh right… in 2005, I worked my butt off at work, got a promotion, and visited one of my favorite places on Earth – Colorado!

In January 2006, we closed on our first house!

The spring of 2006, I ran my first 5k. Later that summer, I got engaged! Here’s one of my favorite engagement pictures:

2007 was the year of the wedding. In March 2007, my sister got married.

And in December, I got married!

After the wedding, we jetted off to Australia for 2 weeks.

::Sydney::

::Barrier Reef::

::Daintree Rainforest::

In 2008, I ran my first 10K, got promoted for the 4th time, and went to Colorado again!

And finally, in 2009, I completed a 20 week intensive pastry course and ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler.

Visited Colorado twice (Summer and Christmas)

And traveled around Northern California.

::Lombard Street, San Fran::

::Monterey::

::Napa::

Whew! What a decade. I sure hope I can top it in the next one!

Looking back at the last decade – Part I

Tiffany — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:09:40 +0000

Given that this is the first full week of the new year and decade, I’ve been thinking about what happened in the last. So many big milestones and changes! I wonder if the next decade will bring as many or if that’s just the case when you’re young.

In 2000, I graduated from high school and then started college in the Fall.

In 2001 and 2002, I completed my first and second years of college. And in 2003, I studied in Madrid for a semester. I added many pins to my virtual map traveling during those 4 months- France, Portugal, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Tunisia, Switzerland, and the Canary Islands.

::Northern Spain::

::Lugano, Switzerland::

::Nice, France::

::Madrid, Spain::

At the end of 2003, the husband (then boyfriend) and I moved in together and finished our senior years. In 2004, I graduated college, started my first job, and we adopted Elmo and Zoe. Weren’t they adorable as kittens?

Stay tuned for the second half of the decade…

It has to begin somewhere

Tiffany — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:46:37 +0000

So let’s begin with a fresh start in 2010. I hope to find my voice as I go along.

For now, let’s jump in with some of my personal goals for the year. I don’t do resolutions because those usually fall by the wayside by the end of January, but these I will review throughout the year. Here are some of mine:

- Start a blog. (whew, check that one off the list!)

- Work on cake decorating. Bake cake/cupcakes at least once a month.

- Do yoga once a week.

- Read a book once a month.

Those sound pretty fun, right? What are your goals or resolutions for the year?