Preppy Empty Nester F

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Social Distancing Dinner

Hello, dear friends. I don't know about you, but our Fall weather has been picture-perfect. Needless to say, not a lot of packing, purging, or organizing has been done.

We did have our dear friends, Annie and Bob, over for dinner. It was a great evening of catching up and reminiscing.

I would not be lying if I told you that I am getting a bit melancholy about our big move. Not only will I miss the dear friends that I have made over the past almost seven years, but I also feel sad about leaving our old house, which was a labor of love.

The last time I went on my hydrangea hunt around the outside of the house was the day that we sold the house. Lucky for me, I found several still blooming and ended up having just enough.

Another thing that I am going to miss in this old house is this big ol' sink, which is in my laundry room right off the kitchen. It has come in very handy over the years between arranging flowers and doggie dilemmas.

I took some behind-the-scenes photos to share with you.

Our very pensive Chef seen here whipping up his magic.

Lucky for me, the Chef cleans up as he goes.

The CIA has trained him well.

He is wearing his favorite needlepoint bowtie belt that I gave to him years ago.

I told him that I made it.

I think he believed me because he nodded and tossed an eye roll my way.

Safety first!

We served the hors d'oeuvres on cakestands in my favorite room in the house.

Tasty Tomato Galettes

* Recipe in next Friday Files

Cured salmon with horseradish cream and cucumber caviar (chopped cucumber & basil) on brioche.

Zucchini carpaccio croutons with onion bacon onion jam

Take note of this socially-distanced table.

Not user-friendly for passing the salt.

Tomato salad made with avocado tzatziki, corn, parsley, yellow beets, cucumber radish, watermelon, and small buffalo mozzarella.

Sole and lobster with fennel and Maui onion, chanterelles, olives, cherry tomato, capers, lemon on parchment.

* Recipe at the end of this post.

The entree was wrapped in parchment paper.

After serving, the Mister doled out the best part... beurre blanc.

And then we indulged in the sweetest part...

Peach & Raspberry Cobbler

Who am I kidding?

The sweetest part was spending time with our good friends.

Until next time...

I follow Mr. Villi and the Westie Boys on Instagram.

Whenever I have a stressful day, they always put a smile on my face.

Halibut Baked in Parchment

6 oz. Halibut

1/4 cup of fennel and sweet onion mix

1Tb Butter

1t Dijon

1/2 t Capers

4 pitted Kalamata Olives

2 Cherry Tomatoes cut in half

1 1/2 oz. Lobster

Salt & Pepper

1 Lemon Slice

Quickly saute fennel and onions together and then chill

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Layout parchment

Top with fennel Onion Mix

lay Halibut on top of fennel and onion bed

Brush on Butter and Dijon combined

Add:

Olives

Tomatoes

Lobster

Salt & Pepper

Brush edges of parchment with egg whites, fold, & seal

bake for 12 -15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Use scissors to cut pouches.

Linking up with:

Friday, September 18, 2020

The Friday Files

Hello, dear friends. TGIF! For some reason, that phrase does not pack the same punch when you are in the throes of a pandemic and easing into your husband's new normal otherwise known as retirement.

The Mister and I have been working on organizing the big move. We have been purging like crazy. The lady at the Dump even knows the Mister by name.

Secretly, I think we are both procrastinating the packing part. This is the first time that we have had to pack ourselves because our previous relocations have been corporate moves. Let's put it this way... neither one of us is looking to add packing a house to our skillset.

This magnificent home was owned by a world-renowned comedian until his death.

Love this study!

I bet the lady of the house whipped up many almost-homemade dishes in this kitchen.

I spent the first several weeks of the gawdawful pandemic having lunch with a certain Governor televising statistics and warnings. The Love Gov lived in this charming home with his sweetheart.

They are no longer together and the house is on the market.

Do you enjoy a good house story as much as I do?

This 1920's Maryland mansion is chock full of secret passageways and hidden rooms.

And speaking of house stories, how about a treehouse tale?

You can read all about the world's largest treehouse right here.

Need a quick app recipe?

It's right here.

Double Strawberry Pretzel Pie anyone?

The recipe is right here.

Do you like bread?

Wait, what am I, crazy?

Everybody loves bread!!

Especially Oprah.

Here is a great article called:

Bread 101: All About Bread Basics.

I came across a blog called How Sweet Eats that posted 33 Easy Dinners for the Back-to-School-Season.

My friend, Leslie from Gwenn Moss did a spectacular job spiffing up her linen closet.

Actually, I had this project on my to-do list for this Summer.

Unfortunately, I never got around to it.

I had too much research to do on Netflix and Prime Video.

Speaking of closets, stop over to The Vintage Contessa and take a gander at Elizabeth's new royal closet addition.

I am positively pea-green with envy!

My buddy, Juliet, who has always been such a supportive reader to me as well as to many of my Blogger Buds, started her own blog called Make Mine A Spritzer. Stopover and see her gorgeous newly-renovated home.

Are you looking for an unforgettable getaway in New England?

Details can be found here.

Are you in therapy?

I'm not, but my family tells me that I could use some.

Here is the best advice from therapists for 50 kinds of people.

Btw... I'm Mayiah.

Who are you?

Have you been experiencing any weird dreams since the pandemic began?

I have.

I just wish Brad Pitt would show up in one of them.

Here's why.

Speaking of dreams, have you been having trouble falling asleep lately?

This may be the secret formula to nodding off in minutes.

If that doesn't work, try a bottle of Chardonnay and a fistful of Tylenol PM.

Works like a charm for me.

My dear friend, Mary, the Queen of the Sudbury Sweethearts, sent me a note about this. If you have a preppy streak and enjoy fun, informative interviews, you will enjoy this podcast hosted by Patricia Maristch.

The Mister woke me up yesterday morning to show me all the cool stuff that the new update does for the iPhone.

I gently told the Mister that the next time he has some riveting technology news, he could wait until breakfast.

#retireeintraining

Wait until you read these bathroom cleaning hacks!

Zoom is another word that I have added to my vocabulary since this nightmare of a pandemic began. Here's an entertaining article about the eight people we become on Zoom.

Btw... I know this will be a shock to you but my family would tell you that I am the confused parent.

Which one are you?

If you enjoy British TV programs, this list will tell you which ones are on Netflix.

Btw... my girls always make fun of me when I refer to TV shows as programs. Kind of like when my Grandma used to refer to her soap opera as her story.

Have you colored your hair at home lately? I have - just look at my bathroom floor and countertops. If you share the same talent of getting the dye everywhere but on your head, this article is for you.

I'm curious as to what all my friends on Blogger think of the new interface. I mentioned the fact that it takes forever to load a photo to the Mister. He did some research and found out that Chrome, which I use, and Safari are known to have issues with Blogger. So now I use Firefox which enables photos to download faster.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time...