GUR: Great Urban Race

We have one Great Urban Race under our belt. Go Team Trophy Doe!!  There were 950 participants in a wide variety of costumes. Some of our clues/challenges included origami, taking pictures next to murals, solving pictogram puzzles, and finding random landmarks around houston. We were allowed to skip one challenge and we opted out of eating a serrano pepper, which meant we had to complete all the rest. Sadly our last clue was "Where Houstonians go to watch hockey" and we went to the Toyota Center (where the Aeros play) and it was NOT the answer to the clue. We kinda felt jipped when we found out it was some bar called Maple Leaf. Cheap. We did not know that we would be running all over Houston. RUNNING. Take that Metro. There were teams taking the rail/metro line, but we RAN. I think we should get extra points for that. Anyhow... I think they could rename the GUR the "iPhone Challenge" next year. Sounds like reason enough for me to get an iPhone. haha. :)

My central market sandwich was amazing BEFORE we started running all over town... :(

"Take a picture shaking a dogs paw"

"Find the mural at the given coordinates"

"Take a Picture with a Biker"

"Take a Picture with the Leopard Lounge Mural" 

"Find the Antique Art Gallery Mural"

Did you know James Coney Island has cookies?

Picture with the clock

All done!

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Cook with Liz and Steph: #3

The Menu:

Main: Pecan Crusted Trout with Horseradish Lemon Cream Sauce

Side: Watercress/Romaine Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Side: Hasselback Potatoes

Dessert: Dorie's Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Steph is "testing" the chocolate

"Kiss the Cook" Apron

Cheesecake Espresso Brownies, pre oven. Trying to get the swirl.

Pecan Crusted Trout.

Apple Cider Vinaigrette Salad.

We called 'em Armadillo potatoes.

Our 5th wheel was feeling left out. 

We agreed that this was the best all-around Cook with Steph and Liz meal so far. Everything was great! The unanimous winner was the apple cider vinaigrette on the salad. It was delicious. I thought that the brownies needed more espresso and chocolate flavor, it was just too subtle. The horseradish sauce was a must have for the fish (I forgot it in the fridge till we were about halfway done-it really made a difference!).

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TGIF

It's Friday.. At LAST! It has been a pretty hectic week. On Saturday, Steph and I are doing the Great Urban Race, which is kind of like a giant scavenger hunt challenge for adults. There will clues along the way and prizes at the end. Some people have said it's similar to the Amazing Race on TV, where teams of two try to get from point A to point B with clues guiding them along the way. It should be a good time and we are hoping the weather cooperates too. Pictures to come! (By the way, you may be getting a "lifeline" phone call from us tomorrow!)

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Chatty Cathy and the Night Owl

I never thought I would say it, but I am a morning person. I think it is even more clear that I am NOT a nighttime person, so by default I call myself a morning person. On the contrary, Ross is a night owl. He dislikes waking up more than anyone I've ever met.  This can occasionally cause a minor stress in our relationship. To illustrate my point here's an example. I drink coffee in the morning and get my caffeine rush about the time Ross enters Phase 1 of his awakening. During Phase 1 it is not advisable to strike up a conversation, however I am a Chatty Cathy. Not good. You can imagine my concern when the pup started to show similar tendencies. Here's a typical lazy Sunday kinda afternoon at the Huebel House...

"Go away, I'm trying to take a nap"

This is my new favorite picture. It's got just enough bokeh (background blur) to see Ross sleeping too.

Sleeping with her head up.

BRRR. It's a chilly 32 degrees in Houston. I have the fireplace going, my slippers on, and a good book waiting for me... 

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Burger and Fries

My college friend Chris came over for burgers on Monday night. We had a good time catching up and the food wasn't so bad either :) We had green chile burgers, sweet potato fries, Mexicali corn salad, and Dorie's applesauce bars for dessert.

Bobby's Flays Mexicali corn with lime butter sauce.

Bobby Flay's Green Chile Burgers

Dorie's Applesauce Bars

We have so many more kinds of burgers to try out of the cookbook! These burgers were good, but not flat out amazing like I thought they'd be. The dessert was delicious! Cinnamon, apples, raisins, pecans... it tasted like "Home".

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Wedding Shower

On Saturday we went to Austin for Adam and Danielle's wedding shower. It was definitely a Mexican Fiesta!

Danielle and I.

Ross's early bday present- scent lock camo pants

Opening Gifts.

Huebel Girls

The Hosts and Hostesses

The Huebels.

You can see all the shower pics HERE.

On another note, it may snow in Houston tomorrow? what? really?

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Let's Paint

Today was a busy busy day. We started painting at 10AM this morning and didn't finish until 4PM. About halfway through we realized the color we were painting the media room looked a lot like Roma. It's a Roma colored room... aahhh! Not intentional I promise. We bought Behr's "premium" paint (primer + paint in one) this time around and were not disappointed. We did 1-2 coats, NOT 4,  like another room we painted a dark, bold color.

After painting, exercise, and a trip to the grocery we whipped up a quick dinner. I saw this recipe in this months issue of Cooking Light- tuna steaks topped with basil verde sauce and roasted fennel. Here's the recipe. Neither Ross nor I like fennel very much, but we decided to give it a try because it was the suggested side dish. We roasted mozzarella cheese with the fennel instead of the asiago the recipe calls for. SO GOOD! Who woulda thought??

We installed a new light fixture in our kitchen, just above the dining table... It seems like a lot more home improvement projects occur AFTER hunting season ends. I love it. :)

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Pizza Pizza

Just to follow-up, I successfully renewed my Texas auto registration this morning. :)

Ross is getting over a cold, so we decided to play it low key today. We went to Home Depot to pick out a paint color for the media room. However, we took a detour through "Lighting" and ended up leaving with a new light fixture for our dining room in the kitchen. You know how simple projects always turn out to be WAY more complicated than you initially think?? Yes. Exactly. That feeling. We had a taste of that this afternoon. Do you know what a chain plier is? We didn't know it existed till today because we didn't have one. Long story short, we made it work. I'll post a pic of the new lighting tomorrow.

We had homemade whole wheat pizza tonight. So good! We debated on whether to go to Perry's or to do dinner at home. I'm glad home won. Topping options included spinach, carmelized onions, mushrooms, turkey pepperoni, Italian sausage, roasted eggplant, and fresh mozzarella.

Smiley in vanilla ice cream, anyone?

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