Snow before Halloween???...

Well the snow found us here in Connecticut! It was a crazy weekend. From the sound of it, snow isn't the norm here in October. All the leaves are still on the tree's so the snow can cause some damage. Because of the leaves and the fact that the snow was really heavy, lots of trees collapsed under the weight of the snow and knocked over a lot of power lines. Over 700,000 people here are without power. That's about 80% of the state. Clint and I lucked out again and still have power. We decided that we are in a good area because we didn't loose power over the hurricane or this big freak snowstorm. It snowed all day Saturday, so we had to stayed hunkered down in the apartment, but today the sun was out so we went out and played in it a little. Oreo wasn't sure what to think of it at first. He we slipping all over and sinking in the snow and just had this real confused look on his face. After a little bit though, he decided it was way fun and just ran and played in it. We literally had to coax him in the house he loved it so much. (as evident in the picture above). Well that is that. I am not a big fan of the snow, but what can you do. We are just praying for the rest of the state and hoping they get their power back soon. 

Oreo and his buddy Layla who was spending the weekend with us.

Poor tree was sagging so much from the weight of the snow

Oreo has snow clumps hanging from his fur every time we go outside

I love this picture of Layla jumping through the snow.

This one is cute, both of them jumping through the snow.

This is a car that is on our parking lot. A huge tree fell over on it and crunched it. I feel so bad for the person who owns this car.

Another tree/car collision.

Pretty fall colors on the trees.

SUPER DOG!!!

Clint cleaning off the car turned into a game. Look closely at Oreo in the background. He looks slightly evil.

Love this picture. Layla looks like a little fox.

 Oreo had sooo much fun in the snow!

"Happy Birthday to You"...Clint is now 27...

Clint is officially 27 years old. Like a good wife, I keep teasing him that he is well on his way to thirty now! ;) haha.  Unfortunately, he had to work most of his birthday. (I think everyone should have their birthday off, but his work didn't agree.)  Before he went to work though, I made sure we went out to breakfast to start the day out right. After work, we went and did a little wining and dinning (ok, no wining but we did dine.) Because I don't like seafood that much, I hinder Clint's experiences to have seafood. He loves seafood and would like it if we ate it more. I decided to indulge him for his birthday. I took him to Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford. It was a nice restaurant and even though it smelt of fish, it was tasty and I survived. Clint splurged and got a WHOLE lobster, body and all. I asked him how he can eat something that sits there and stares at him while he eats it. He said it didn't bother him. It bothered me and I wasn't even eating the lobster. It was crazy. He said it was really good. I rebelled and ordered one of the four things on the whole menu that weren't fish. I got chicken and mashed potatoes (my favorite) and it was delicious. I had planned on going bowling afterwords, but it ended up being the bowling leagues night. So Clint asked to go to Cabellas (he is a true man. haha). So we hung out there and then came home and ate Clint's cake. I must say this cake turned out better than the one last year. (Last year I turned it pink and it didn't taste that great. haha) This year it looked better and tasted better! Goal accomplished!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Clint's birthday cake!! It looks much better than the one I did last year. Yippee!

The gifts

Oreo wasn't sure what to think about the balloons (as evident by the look on his face)

After awhile, he decided he liked them (at least until they popped).

The homemade jerky I made for Clint's birthday.

The WHOLE lobster!

It looked really pretty on the plate.

My yummy chicken

Cabellas

The birthday boy!!!

Blow baby blow!

(Oreo is sooo funny! We enjoy watching him experience new things. Below are two little videos. The first one he is trying to get to the birthday cake on the counter. He wanted it soooo bad!! The second one is him figuring out that the balloons are actually fun to play with.)

How to satisfy those Cafe Rio cravings...

One of the hardest things about moving away from Utah (besides leaving our family), was moving away from Cafe Rio and Durangos. They have nothing comparable to it here in Connecticut. We crave Cafe Rio often so we had to do something about it.  I found tons of Cafe Rio copy cats online and we have Cafe Rio nights ever couple of months or so. The recipes never disappoint. For those that are interested here are the recipes: 

Cafe Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic (minced)
5 lbs chicken breast  

Directions: Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook for 1 additional hour.

Café Rio Rice
6 c water
4 t chicken bouillon
4 t garlic (minced)
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles
¾ t salt
1 T butter
½ onion
3 c rice (see note)
Directions: Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.
 
Café Rio Tomatillo Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as to the recipe)
2 tomatillos
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (without seeds unless you like it spicy)
Directions: Use a food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.  

Café Rio Black/Pinto Beans 

2 Tablespoons Onion, finely chopped 

2 cloves Garlic, Finely Chopped

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

½ teaspoons Cumin 

1 can (15-16oz) Black Beans or Pinto Beans

8 Tablespoons Tomato Sauce 

3 Tablespoons Cilantro, Chopped

Directions: Chop onions and garlic. Heat extra virgin olive oil on medium high heat and cook onions and garlic with cumin until soft. Add all other ingredients and simmer at least ten 
minutes. 

We like to make homemade tortillas too and place everything on top of them with romaine lettuce. Some of the toppings we like are shredded cheese, sour cream, homemade guacamole, homemade pico de gallo, and homemade salsa. Can't forget the tortilla strips either. We were soooo excited to find them at the grocery store! :) That's how you do Cafe Rio homemade! Kind of fattening but sooooo worth it.
 

 Muy bueno!!!! 

Halloween Traditions...

 

Halloween is less than a week away and I am getting really excited. I love Halloween and all the creativity it inspires in people. Last night Clint and I continued with our tradition that we started when we were dating.  We went and bought two pumpkins and carved them while we watched a Halloween movie. This year the Halloween movie was Lost Boys that Clint bought for me for my birthday. It is quite a cheesy 80's movie, but I love it.  We snacked on some whoppers and butterfingers and a couple hours later we ended up with our masterpieces. I must say that we are improving each year.  Oreo wasn't sure what to think of it, but he got brave enough near the end to sniff the pumpkins (proof up above). My favorite part is roasting the pumpkin seeds after carving the pumpkins.  This year we rolled them in melted butter and salt and they were delicious. I love Halloween.  

Our supplies (got to have the chocolate!)

The finished product

Doesn't he look happy? He sooo did not want to be near the pumpkins

He loves Clint

Clint's pumpkin

My pumpkin

Mmmm.... pumpkin seeds