Showing posts with label Things We Like. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Things We Like. Show all posts

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Things We Like: Silver Diner

Although Henry and Vivian do relatively well in restaurants, we don’t dine out that often.  For special occasions (Christmas Eve, Mother’s Day) we usually head to Clyde’s.  In the summer, before it gets too hot, we sometimes eat on the terrace at Chadwick’s, near the waterfront in Old Town.  But our go-to place for an easy weekend meal is Silver Diner.  Although styled like a classic 50s diner, the menu is actually a touch more upscale, with lots of locally sourced ingredients and interesting twists on traditional fare, such as bison sliders or challah french toast.  They have a great children’s menu and are one of the few places where you can order a bowl of strawberries (not just mixed fruit) for the kids.  They also hand out coloring books and origami cars.  Each booth comes equipped with a faux jukebox player with classic tunes like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” or the Scooby-Doo theme song.  Best of all, because the place is always bustling, we never worry about the kids disturbing other patrons.  More often than not, we end up here after Saturday evening mass.  Here we are (below) enjoying some old fashioned milkshakes for dessert.

 

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Things Vivian Likes: Band-Aids

It’s been a while since we posted an installment of “Things We Like,” so we thought an update was in order.  By now, you’ve probably figured out that Vivian likes, and we mean REALLY likes, Disney princesses.  Her favorite princess varies from week to week, but Ariel, Belle, Aurora and Tiana are always in the running.  However, Vivian has another obsession we haven’t mentioned: she loves Band-Aids.  Hardly a day passes without a trip to the medicine closet.  The slightest bump, poke or graze is an excuse for another Band-Aid.  Often there’s no actual injury, just a firm insistence that something hurts and needs bandaging.  These “invisi-booboos” can appear in the strangest places: forehead, neck, belly, even the bottom of her feet.  If there’s an open patch of skin, it’s ripe for bandaging.  Not surprisingly, we have princess-themed Band-Aids (although recently we’ve branched out to Dora).  And heaven help us if we apply a Rapunzel Band-Aid for a booboo that requires Snow White.  We’ve tried weaning Viv of this addiction, but in the grand scheme of things, it seems like a harmless habit.  We’ve just had to get accustomed to seeing our daughter covered in adhesive bandages for most of the year.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Things Vivian Likes: Sophie the Giraffe

Vivian is now six months old and is developing into quite the young lady. She is sitting up, learning to eat baby food and attempting to scoot on the floor. She enjoys spending time in her exersaucer (an invaluable gift from the Powells; we can’t believe we didn’t have one for Henry!) and playing with her brother’s toys.

One of her favorite distractions is a rubber teether called “Sophie the Giraffe.” We received two of these from friends, and heard that it was the hip new toy with the Hollywood crowd (or least those with babies). The company website explains that Sophie was created in Paris in 1961. She is made from natural rubber from the Hevea tree and is named after St. Sophie, the saint whose feast day (May 25th) is the same day she was invented. Apparently Sophie has been popular in France and across Europe for many years and is now all the rage in America.

As it turns out, there is something to this Sophie phenomenon. Vivian really enjoys her rubber giraffe -- something about the shape and perhaps the texture and taste of the natural rubber make it ideal for chewing. She also squeaks! The real test for Sophie will come in the next few weeks when Vivian begins teething. If Sophie can get us through that, she will be something we really like too!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Things Henry Likes: Barney, Thomas & Elmo

Our last posting made us think of all the new characters Henry has embraced. He took a liking to Barney early on, and the purple dinosaur has only grown more popular with each new book, DVD or CD we purchase. Henry’s favorite DVD is The Best of Barney, and we can now sing most of the Barney songs by heart. In fact, Henry has been known to ride his trike around the neighborhood singing “I Love You” at the top of his tiny lungs. A close second in popularity is Thomas the Train. Henry discovered Thomas only recently, but he has quickly skyrocketed in popularity. Henry received a Thomas cake and several Thomas books and toys for his birthday. And his Thomas pajamas are definitely his favorite, so much so that he once insisted on wearing the top all day. Other popular characters include Elmo, Cookie Monster, Mickey Mouse and Nemo. Mom and dad are partial to Thomas, if only because the episodes are only 10 minutes long and involve no singing. There is only so many times you can hear Barney sing “Clean Up,” “Apples and Bananas,” or “Looby Loo” before you start to go a little crazy. And according to this report on the BBC, the Barney theme song has been used by American interrogators to break the will of Iraqi insurgents. The insurgents never had a chance.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Things We Like: Historical Miniseries

This spring, one of our favorite shows returned to cable: The Tudors. It’s a Showtime miniseries about the life of King Henry VIII. This is the show’s third season, and at this point in the series, Henry has already gone through two wives (Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn) and is starting to sour on the third (Jane Seymour). We started watching the show when Elise was pregnant with Henry (Henry’s middle name, Callum, was inspired by one of the actors in the first series, Callum Blue). It’s difficult to find the time to watch TV these days, but with cable on-demand, we can wait and watch the show when Henry is in bed and our chores are done. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays King Henry. The show is a little bit of history with a lot of soap opera and action-adventure mixed in. Two other historical miniseries that we really enjoyed were Rome and John Adams (both HBO productions).

Friday, July 25, 2008

Things We Like: Sausage Balls

What would the holidays be without sausage balls? They're so good, it really is a shame to wait until Christmas to have them. Fortunately, sausage balls are incredibly easy to make. Here's the recipe that Bryant's mom uses:

Mix together:
1 lb ground sausage
1 lb Velveeta
2 cups Bisquick

Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!


The great thing about sausage balls is their versatility: they can be eaten as a snack, served as hors d'oeuvres or enjoyed for breakfast. Elise and Bryant have even been known to have them for dinner.