D-Files

Romance Challenge #2 How would you grade your relationship right now? A = Passionate, exciting, loving, fulfilling; not perfect- but clearly excellent. B = Very good, solid, better-than-most, consistent, improving. C = Average, acceptable, status quo, okay- but static, ho-hum, sometimes boring. D = Below average, unhappy, dismal; bad not hopeless. F = Hopeless, depressing, dangerous; tried everything, it didn't work. Now, I'm no relationship expert, I've had my ups and downs, and I know what works for me. I won't say what I'm grading my own relationship as, but I am striving for an A, which is why I have taken on this challenge for myself. Hopefully no one reading this feels their own relationship is at an F, but there is always hope. So here's to baby-steps toward a grade A relationship! Today's ideas are: 1. Give your lover a dozen roses - and do it with a creative twist. Give eleven red roses and one white rose. Attach a note that reads: ...

So how many times do us women complain about how much we wish our husbands/significant others were more romantic? In the beginning we were all aflutter, and just head over heels (and hopefully still are) but we must admit, that the excitement does fade with time. I found this great book at the Borders clearance sale called "1001 ways to be more romantic", so I thought it would be a really great challenge for myself. No matter how many hints I drop, lets face it, my husband may never be as romantic as I may want, but what if I took the initiative instead? What if I changed my attitude and started to try all the cute little suggestions? Would my husband follow my lead over time? Do we get what we give? So here is my challenge. I will go through the topics in the book, and list them in the blog. I will try out one of the challenges and write out how it went at the end. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post as well. Anyone who would like to follow along, also pi...

This is by far my FAVORITE dessert EVER!!! Seriously, if you make it right, you will be celebrated as the best cook ever, and its really easy! The key is to make sure you don't substitute any ingredients for something else! Especially delish served with ice cream! Apple Crostada 10 tablespoons butter, cut up 2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar 1 egg yolk 1/2 cup creme fraiche ( I have only found this at Trader Joes so far) 4 to 5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored and sliced into eighths 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons cream In a mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 8 tablespoons of the butter, flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar until sandy. In a separate bowl, blend the egg yolk and the creme fraiche. Add the blended egg yolk and crème fraiche to the flour mixture and mix until barely combined. Form into a disk and chill. Meanwhile toss the sliced apples with 1/2 cup of the sugar and cinnamon. Roll out the dough to...