Another Weekend on the Books

Welcome to February, folks! And happy belated Groundhog Day. Looks like another six weeks of winter, huh? I'm actually excited, in hopes that maybe we'll get some much needed rain out here in California.

I guess I should acknowledge the Super Bowl, huh? Well...it happened.

The rest of the weekend turned out to be pretty wonderful. Terry and I both had Friday off, so we started the day with a three-mile jog. I've said since I got pregnant that I'd love to be able to run three miles as long as possible during the pregnancy. At times, I've felt like that won't happen (like when walking up a small hill gets me completely out of breath), but then other times I feel fantastic. And Friday was one of those fantastic days where I managed to keep a slow, steady pace and made it the full three miles! I am realizing that I may not be able to jog for that much longer, but I'm thrilled with Friday's mini-victory.

Friday also marked the end of Restaurant Week in LA, and--in true Terry and Julie fashion--we successfully waited until the last minute to visit a restaurant. We chose Second City Bistro in El Segundo, a small place that we'd likely revisit. We shared sweet potato fries (shocker, right?); Terry had a tomato bisque and a burger; I went with the roasted chicken salad. The burger stole the show!

Friday night we invited Jenn and Justin over for lasagna. I had made the sauce on Wednesday, so the flavors came together beautifully over two days. Jenn was a trooper and brought over some gluten-free pasta for herself (I set aside some sauce for her). The lasagna was a total hit. Terry raved that it was the best I've ever made!

Saturday morning Terry and I met up with our friends Nick and Jocelyn and their dog Cali for a super windy, fairly challenging hike followed by brunch at Blue Daisy Cafe. It was so great to catch up!

Terry and I also attended his cousin's baby's first birthday party on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed some time with family. The night was super mellow: leftover lasagna, a batch of peanut butter brownies (I made this recipe, but obviously peanut butter instead of almond), some TV, asleep by 10.

This morning we slept in a little, I got an upper body strength workout in, and we took a walk around the neighborhood. After some errands, we headed to Terry's coworker's house for some Super Bowl festivities. Mostly, I focused on the hosts' three adorable little girls and all the delicious food.

  

My contribution: Ina Garten's Blondies

Our Super Bowl game, provided by the host

Terry's Buffalo Hummus Dip

Terry's hummus was a huge highlight for me, and many guests commented on how great it was. He started with Gina's recipe, but made a few changes:

• Instead of BBQ sauce and hot sauce, he used 4 tablespoons of Frank's Hot Sauce (Buffalonians will tell you it's the only way to go)
• To make it creamy, he added a tablespoon of plain Greek yogurt
• To serve, we garnished with blue cheese crumbles (remember the shopping cart incident? It happened because I was searching for pasteurized blue cheese. Worth it)
• We also served with celery and carrot sticks. I always find that events like this one have plenty of chips and breads, so any opportunity to serve with vegetables is a win, right?

It rocked! Good job to my husband. :-) 

And now we're home, chilling on the couch, enjoying some post-Super Bowl TV. We're gearing up for a short work week because we have a wedding on Thursday night. Should be another fun one!

What was the highlight of your Super Bowl? Food? Fun with friends? Not watching the game?