I haven’t been to the Fair in probably 15 or more years, but I cannot believe how many different foods they now fry. . .it’s a bit ridiculous. But I do find it funny that Fried Butter is enough of an attraction to bring Oprah in town. . .

But, I had no idea that Brett would literally skip and run across the Fairgrounds to find the Fried Butter that I like to call Butter Balls. . .

Look how excited he is, just about finding the booth selling the Butter Balls. . .

Four of us went in on the Butter Balls together so that we could all try them, though it was way too much butter for me so I shared my butter ball with Mollie.

After Fried Butter we headed into one of the buildings in search of the Fried Peaches and Cream for Melissa and Jennifer:

While inside Brett spied the Fried Grilled Cheese sign and decided he had to try it:

Apparently it is so good he will be DREAMING about it. . .our group also tried the fried cookie dough and the fried smores. . .the possibilities are endless!

I know this book has been around for quite some time, but I am just now getting around to reading it.

I had always heard mixed things about this book, some people really enjoyed it, and some people hated it. I have to say that I enjoyed it.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, is the story of a little girl that is murdered and then watches over her family and the investigation of her murder. I thought it provided a very unique perspective.

And. . .like the majority of the things I’ve reading, this book is about to be made into a movie directed by Peter Jackson and starring Mark Walhberg and Rachel Weisz. I can’t wait to see it.

Fortunately the murder happens in the beginning of the book so the majority of the book is spent watching Susie’s family cope with her death and how the investigation unfolds.

For Christmas, Kandice got me a subscription to Food & Wine Magazine. There have been quite a few recipes that looked good, but none quite like the Vaca Frita: Crispy Beef.

This was on the cover of the May issue and it looked so good, and the recipe really didn’t look that tricky. I just need a reason to try it. Well, Meredith and I decided it just might be an interesting way to spend a Saturday night.

We met up at Central Market for all of our ingredients and then headed to her house to get started and Mollie showed up with dessert. First, we made a batch of “Pepe Margaritas” and then got started on the beef.

First step is to let it simmer for 20 minutes; while meat was cooking we made Kandice’s guacamole.

After simmering the meat marinades with onions, garlic and lemon juice for a while.

The last step is to cook it for a few minutes on a very hot skillet. You cook it just long enough for it to get crispy in spots.

While the meat was marinating we attempted to make Chipotle’s cilantro-lime rice. . .we weren’t so successful with that. It was entirely too sticky. So that recipe will need some work. . .

But the beef. . .it was AMAZING!

when I start playing MahJong, ever played? Once I start it is so hard to actually cut myself off. I’ll think to myself, I have some time to kill, I’ll play a game of MahJong. . .then it turns into 3 games or 4 games. . .yikes!

It is almost impossible for me to stop playing in the middle of a game; I have to lose before I can quite. Although, can one actually win at MahJong? I have never even come close.

Inevitably, whenever I am ready to throw the towel in, no matter how hard I try I can’t lose! What the heck is that all about?

Anyway, in the first episode of Flipping Out, season 3, I completely understood when Jeff’s new intern talked about his obsession with checkers.

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Sorry the sound is so bad, but that’s all I could find. . .enjoy!

So much for the fall like weather, it has been downright hot here, which can only mean a chilled white wine was what I needed.

Back in 2005 on my first trip out to Napa I visited Artesa with my friends. I thought the winery was absolutely beautiful covered with fountains and providing a beautiful view of the Napa Valley.

Here are a few shots from that trip:

When I visited Artesa, I was strictly a white wine fan and hadn’t yet learned to appreciate red wines. I actually fell in love with their Riesling and actually bought a bottle to bring home. But other than that I don’t really remember too much about their wines.

This week’s wine is the Artesa Chardonnay. I really liked this wine; it was a refreshing mix of sour and sweet. I shared this bottle with Meredith over the weekend and we had absolutely no problem finishing it off just the two of us. On a hot summer day this wine definitely hit the spot!

There is this really great gas station/wine store not too far from my house that always seems to have a great selection of wines at a great price. The Artesa Chardonnay is normally about $22.99 but I was able to pick it up for $14.99.

I have been a bad blogger of late, and I am sad to admit the reason why is that I’m having a harder time grasping being 30 than I thought I would. Yes, I know in reality nothing has changed, it’s just a number. . .but, I don’t know. . .things just don’t feel the same.

This is not my attempt to get sympathy or reassurance; I just figured this is what a blog is for right. . .hashing out whatever is on your mind?
Back in high school if you’d asked me where I thought my life would be when I was thirty, trust me the picture in my head was quite different from where I am now. Don’t get me wrong. . .I honestly don’t think there is anything wrong with my life. . .I own my own home and car, I have a job, great friends, I could pick up and travel anywhere anytime. . .but. . .

I guess I just thought I would have life figured out a little better. But I guess that is the bigger portion of this dose of reality I’m having a hard time swallowing. . .we don’t really ever have life figured out, if we did we would all live these cookie cutter lives with no obstacles to overcome. Instead it is the day to day journey of our lives that teaches us more about ourselves and the world we live in then we could ever imagine. . .wait, I better stop there a reverse my course, I’m getting a little too deep I’m afraid. . .

I promise, scout’s honor from here on out to work at being a better blogger. . .I’ve even got a wine to discuss tomorrow for wine o. Wednesday!

One of my birthday presents for my birthday from my Dad was a night at Hotel Zaza. This was my way of thinking ahead so that I wouldn’t have to worry about driving home after Pub Golf. Here a few pictures Kandice took of the hotel.

It was really nice to be able to just walk back to our room. But first, Meredith and I stopped at the Dragonfly for a little midnight snack, and learned that late night it is the place to be!