From the monthly archives:

June 2011

My night cruising on the Philadelphia Belle

by Bay on June 24, 2011

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The Philadelphia Belle at night (photo from PicturePhilly.com)

Recently I had the opportunity to go for a dinner cruise on the “Philadelphia Belle” a riverboat that cruises along the Delaware.  The Phildelphia Belle was hosting a blogger night and I was lucky enough to be invited!  Marc and I were so excited to go, as you might hear me complain that we don’t get out too much ;)   This was a couple months ago when I was super pregnant with little Marc.

Pregnancy wasn’t going to stop me from a lovely night out though, and we had such a great time.  I know that waiters at blog events probably have been tipped off that we’re going to write about our experiences, but our waiter was awesome.  He really made us feel VIP, more than tolerating my excessive requests for virgin cocktails :)

We enjoyed a three course meal while we were on board and the food was delicious.  I ordered the salmon, which was served with a tomato sauce and orzo pasta.  It was yummy, but I have to say I loved my husband’s steak dish.  It came with an au gratin potato side that I wanted to eat five plates of.  So yes, the food and drinks were delicious, but what was spectacular is the view.

Since Marc & I got married at Penn’s Landing, we were extra excited to be outside and see the sights from a new angle.  With a name like “Philadelphia Belle” the boat doesn’t stray from the city, it cruises up a little and back down a little during the three hour ride.  It was fun to ride under the bridges, see the big steamboat wheel & enjoy the city after dark.  It was romantic, but would also be a fun thing to do with friends.  I got to talk to some other local bloggers on the trip and we had a little fun with Sarah from Genesis Moments and her daughter, you can check out her post about the event here and know that the other “blogger’s husband” she mentions is Marc. ;)  

I checked with the Philadelphia Belle to see if there were any upcoming events going on and they are offering two fireworks cruises to celebrate July 4th.  There’s one tomorrow night (6/25) and next Saturday night (7/2) that will include BBQ favorites, soda, beer and wine and of course, fireworks!  The price is $65 for adults, $44 for children 4-12, and children 3 and under free!

It really is worth the price if you factor in the meal, drinks, the boat ride and the entertainment.  When we were on the ship there was a live band playing at the dance floor for some after-dinner dancing.  Very fun!

For more information check out the Philadelphia Belle website.

Disclosure:  I was given two free dinner tickets for this event.  All opinions are mine.

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Giveaway! John McLemore’s “DADGUM That’s Good!” cookbook

by Bay on June 22, 2011

It is now officially summer & outdoor cooking season is in full swing!  No one wants to heat up their house in sweltering temps, so here’s a cookbook where not one recipe involves turning on the oven!

“DADGUM That’s Good!” is a cookbook by John McLemore, owner of Masterbuilt, which makes cooking products like smokers, grills & fryers.  The book is broken down by each cooking method, so it’s easy to find recipes based on how you want to cook that night.  I don’t own a smoker, so that one section wasn’t relevant for me, but there was plenty of great ideas & recipes to make up for it!  In fact, a lot of the recipes call for Masterbuilt products (like a fryer) but you can still use the recipes without them.

I decided to try John’s recipe for Chicken Fajitas since I can never seem to get the peppers & onions right when I make them.  The recipe was so simple, just rub chicken breasts with some seasonings mixed with oil & lemon juice (which I didn’t have, so I used vinegar):

Let that marinate in the fridge a couple hours

Then put sliced peppers & onions in foil with olive oil:

I added salt & pepper, next time I'll probably add some more seasonings too

Then just grill the sealed foil pack for about 7 minutes on medium heat, and the chicken until done.  When the chicken is done wrap in foil & let it set for a few minutes before slicing so the juices don’t spill out & dry out the chicken.  And then you have this:

So easy!  That was my favorite part about this book, all of the recipes are really simple to prepare.

Would you like to win a copy?  Then just leave a comment telling me your favorite thing to grill in summer :)

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“I just entered to win “DADGUM That’s Good!” #giveaway at @Queenmotherblog Ends 6/30!”

Giveaway is for residents of the US & Canada & will close 6/30 at 8PM EST. Good luck!

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review.  All opinions are mine.

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I’m anti-Vertical Blinds

by Bay on June 21, 2011

I’m not exaggerating when I say that EVERY window in my new home was covered with vertical blinds.  Every. single. one.  And nothing else, just white (or white-ish) vertical blinds.

Can you say, yuck?!

I hate them.  Many of them have broken slats, which we tried to just repair, but we can’t (because apparently they are old enough to not feature modern clip technology) so there they are, like windows with ugly missing teeth.  Most of them we are living with for now, because why bother getting new window treatments until we know what we are going to do with each of the rooms?  But the one I just can’t live with right now is our sliding glass door.

We never had a sliding glass door before, so I didn’t realize just how few options are out there.  There’s vertical blinds and there’s vertical blinds.  Oh and vertical “panels” that pretty much look just like vertical blinds:

I resigned myself to getting something like this for our slider, because I figured it was the best we could do.  And I really can’t live with ours and the missing panels, because wouldn’t ya know, our couch is right across from the window, which is right across from our neighbor’s window, and when I nurse the baby I can stare straight at my neighbor.  The other night I was nursing and staring at the neighbor’s teenage son.  See why I’m in a hurry?

So we went to Lowe’s and I’m talking to the window treatment guy about ordering these hideous panels and he tells me, “well they’re not going to be cheap”–which I figured–but then he hits me with the price for the size I need: over $400!  Um, what?  After tax and all you want me to pay $500 for something I hate?

Enter my husband, who was roaming around the store while I worked with Window Guy, and he tells me that the sliding glass doors with the blinds on the inside are about $500.  Of course that price doesn’t include the install, but to pay $500 for a brand new set of doors with blinds on the inside is WAY better than buying some expensive, ugly panels.  If you haven’t seen them, they look like this:

You just slide the thingy to open them, close them, etc.

I’m already dreaming of the benefits: no dog peering out of the blinds and whining, no kid pulling down something I paid $500 for, no flashing the neighbors.  I can’t wait to get it!  If only I could get rid of all the other vertical blinds in this place.

(And I realized how much I ragged on vertical blinds and/or panels.  And if you like them, sorry.  To each her own! ;) )

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A little update post

June 16, 2011

Goodness gracious, I need more time in the day.  Does everybody feel like that?  I wonder when I’m going to fully get out of survival mode & actually start being more productive.  We are starting to get into a better groove around the house, the baby is sleeping pretty much through the night (11-5!!) so [...]

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Beef & Beer to benefit local couple battling cancer

June 4, 2011

I wanted to let my local friends know about an event coming up in Warminster, PA for a worthy cause.  My good friend Blaire lost her mom to cancer a few years ago and now her uncle (her mom’s brother) and her aunt are both battling different types of cancers at the same time. Blaire’s [...]

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Rayna’s Gender-Bending Toy Story Obsession

June 1, 2011

I’ve briefly mentioned just how, um, not good Rayna is adjusting to her new role as big sister.  She wants to pinch or squeeze him every time I turn my back, she wants to yell in his face when he’s sleeping, and she really, really wants to still be a baby (read: still wear diapers, [...]

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