Brian is the KING of misheard lyrics

Exhibit A: Crazy Train
Correct: millions of people living as foes
Brian's version: millions of people have lived here before

Exhibit B: Rodeo or Mexico
Correct: Does anybody know the Spanish word for wife?
Brian's version: Does anybody know the Spanish word for why?

And I give you the grand exhibit of all: Go Your Own Way
Correct: You can go your own way, you can call it another lonely day
Brian's version: You can go your own way, you can call it thunder - but don't you dare!

Now I am single, because Brian says if I post this on the internet he will break up with me. So please send me many boxes of chocolates so I can ease the pain of loneliness and heartbreak.

Jennifer

Back from vacation...

...and hating it! It took 15 minutes for all the effects of that relaxation to wear off.

I have JURY DUTY this week. Does anyone enjoy this? I spend all day every day trying not to judge people - and then the frickin city of Los Angeles forces me to!

jjd

The best dessert of my life thus far

Tonight we dined at Elements in the Sanctuary resort and spa. The reviews on Yelp.com were glowing, and they had availability on Open Table, so we gave it a try.

Dinner was good. Very good, I guess. I had honey glazed five spice pork tenderloin. Brian had the usual, filet.

But dessert. Oh, my goodness. This might be one of the top two desserts I have ever had! It was called Chocolate Peanut Butter Decadence. It was a peanut butter mousse, frozen then unfrozen, surrounded by a chocolate shell and and and... I just can't explain it. I literally had to stop myself from licking the plate.

And the waiter said I can get the recipe from elementsrestaurant.com!!


By the way...
...this is where we got the world's most spectacular cookie, and that nostalgic brownie with the fudgy icing.





Check out the cake designs - they are incredible!

More Vacation Splurges

Today was a great vacation day. We tried getting some sun by the pool but it was pretty cold and windy. We managed to get one lap around the lazy river but by the end, I was shuddering.

I skipped lunch (breakfast was a non-issue, as we've been sleeping VERY late every day). Late afternoon, we hit the malls. I got some great things.
- At Nordstrom, a swingy red sleeveless top. Very "Laugh In"
- At some ridiculously priced boutique in Scottsdale, black leggings! Yeeks! But they will look good with the swingy red top and black flats. These leggings are on display in the photo of me, along with the red top from Nordstroms!
- At Retail Laboratory, a store we love, an Orla Kiely top. So great. And not on sale. Oops.



Then we went to La Grande Orange for dinner. We'd heard about this place and even visited once but the pizza parlor wasn't open yet, so we left. So tonight we got our pizza. Holy God it was delicious. Then dessert was a banana chocolate cupcake. A $2.50 tiny cupcake. And worth every penny. The chocolate topping tasted exactly like that awesome, fudgy, buttery frosting your mom would let you eat with a spoon right out of the cardboard carton, but only on really special occasions.

Jennifer

My PhD Dissertation on Desserts

Tonight I was awarded an honorary PhD, that is a "Permanent Heartburn Disorder" from Scottsdale University. As you may be able to infer, there was some serious eating, followed immediately by eater's remorse, and I am sure that indegestion is waiting in the near future. It was all worth it though, as I discovered something that I never knew.

Dessert is great, but always is fighting an uphill battle to satisfy us.

Not only is it great, but it has the hardest job of any course. Already satisfied from lunch, we scarfed a salad that took three times as long to make, twice as long to serve and for that? It was greatly appreciated, as it temporarily curbed my hunger until the main course, which was a pizza, the low man on the gourmet totem pole. Unlike most pizzas, this particular pie came recommended from 99.999% of Scottsdalians, except the one guy who has lived for years, heard everyone loves it, but has not tried it yet. Shame befall him and his entire family. It truly was spectacular, as they made their own cheese, and it was both fresh and delicious.

Before the thought of dessert crossed my mind, I called it quits after eating 1/2 of the pizza, only to force feed myself another half-slice. Then I ate the first round of dessert, a spectacular passionfruit-raspberry tart. It was then that I realized my taste buds kept saying eat more, but the rest of my body was fighting back and telling me to stop. Shortly following the realization of this newfound feeling, I started in on round two of desserts, and it was so wonderful. It was then that I realized how hard dessert has it. You are already full, you feel guilty for eating such bad food, and you are tired (that familiar food coma feeling). Yet dessert still tastes so good. So is the indegestion and heart burn worth it, I do not know if it always is, but if you are dining at La Grande Orange, it will be.

Cheers,
Goody

Vacationing in Arizon

I didn't ask him but I think it's fair to say Brian and I have a common goal, and that is to become professional vacationers.

We are on our first vacation of the year. There are quite a few more coming up, but this one was hard earned and well-deserved (of course I am biased).

I'll let Brian describe his notable food experiences on this vacation, but here's how it's gone so far.
- Saturday morning in the airport: Brian went to McDonald's, I bought two bags of Jelly Bellys
- Saturday lunch: Grilled Expedition. Looked like it was going to be pretty bland, as it was in a cookie cutter strip mall, but turned out to be great. I had tenderloin tips and peanut slaw.
- Saturday dinner: We drove over to the Hotel Valley Ho, which was much "deader" than I'd expected. Dinner was at Zuzu's, which is adorable and trendy now but looks like it could have been a Howard Johnson's coffee shop in a past life. I had good but unremarkable penne and chicken. Dessert ruled - espresso shake and butterscotch bread pudding.
- Sunday lunch: Nachos poolside! And frozen drinks.
- Sunday dinner: We went to Ippei Japanese Bistro, thinking it was a trendy, high end eatery but turned out to be another strip mall anchor! This place is full of big box stores and shiny new malls. But anyway the food was not all that authentic but really, really good. I had two skewers and kobe fried rice.
- Sunday snack: I spotted a Buffalo Wild Wings, which I know as BW3 (that's what it was called wayyyyy back in my college days). I played trivia while Brian ate wings. Then we went to Albertson's and stocked up on salty things to eat at the pool tomorrow.

Now it's almost 11 pm but there is no sleep in sight. We took advantage of our lack of responsibilities and slept on the squishy, wonderful pillows until noon!

Many, many, many thanks to Brian's parents for donating this great timeshare to us for a few days!

Jennifer

Welcome To Our Blog

Brian and I have decided to start a joint blog! Perhaps it will be dull as dirt but let's give it a shot.

I was bloggin when bloggin wasn't cool,

Jennifer