Tadaa Studio Giveaway WINNER

Congratulations to Letessha W for winning the Fairy door kit! Read more about Tadaa Studio HERE. If you want a fairy door kit or anything else on the Tadaa Studio site Use code PEAS for 15% off until October 1st!! http://www.tadaastudio.com/kits/fairy-door

I posted a picture of our fairy door. Antique white frame, Tiffany blue door with fairy dust sprinkled on it. It's hanging in Diva's room currently.

To enter a giveaway check out the left side of this blog for links!

Let's get this day 18, 19, 20

I've been so busy! We have company. It's kinda hard to eat right. I made a ham the other night so I know totally processed, high in sodium and sugar. I didn't glaze it but I'm not sure that redeemed anything.  Last nights dinner was hamburger patty and salad. I made the dressing. The girls at so well, we've all missed simple dinners- salad and protein.

Georgetown Cupcakes

I reviewed this place before HERE. (BY this place I mean the Bethesda location.) BUT, this is a different review- read on. I went with Pixie one morning and picked up some Campfire S'mores cupcakes- it was the secret flavor of the day. If you like their facebook page HERE. Georgetown cupcakes posts a flavor of the day and they give 100 of them away FREE.  These cupcakes were AMAZING. So VERY good. Not dry and crumbly, the icing was flavorful and not too sweet and toasted marshmallows on top? Perfect, and they aren't even homemade marshmallows, which would have been DIVINE. All of the cupcakes we had this time around were moist and DELISH, aside from one- but more on that later.

Wong Gee Chinese Restaurant (Dim Sum) Maryland/DC

I already reviewed this restaurant once HERE. I still think the food here is great. Today the service was so so, I had to ask for water and had to call the waitress over twice. It was busy, though. My one beef is that the last time my mom and I went with the girls the service wasn't that great so my mom tipped 15% as we walked away the waitress said "that's it? that's not even 20%", I told myself I wouldn't be back there. I had forgotten about that until I saw the same waitress today. She was much better today. 

I took the girls out for lunch/Dim Sum. It was good. The food was hot and fresh, not dried out- with the exception of one item below. Sometimes you go to places and the food has been in the carts for so long it's just yuck.  Here is what we had today.

 

Salt and Pepper Prawns. This is our exception item. They were not crispy and fresh. They were cold. Still good though.

Reason #6574 why my jeans were getting tight.

 Five Guys.

Bacon, jalapenos, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mustard, mayo. Sprinkling of their Cajun seasoning too. I eat it with the top bun off. So good.

 

Sushiko Resturant

Sushiko Restaurant

THE. BEST. MISO. SOUP. EVER. Seriously, Diva and I both said it. SO good, so flavorful and JUST good. Not that powder or paste instant stuff. SOOO GOOD. Piglet doesn't like Miso soup but Pixie girl loves it and had a whole bowl with rice. That's what she likes- miso soup with rice and big beautiful Salmon roe that she picks up with her cute little fingers off of mamas plate.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

 Five Guys Burgers and Fries. YUM. Toasted buttered buns, great burgers. I love a good burger. The beef in these are.. beefy and juicy. I had mine with onions, mushrooms, pickles, jalapenos, lettuce, cheese, tomato and bacon.  Piglet and Pixie shared a cheese burger with pickles. Diva had onions, cheese, mushrooms, tomato, and pickles.  The fries are good too, they have Cajuin which I didn't get them because I wasn't sure if they would be too spicy for the girls. I had mine with malt vinegar YUM.

The menu is very simple, not much on there. But I was there for a burger so it didn't matter. I haven't had In and Out burgers in a while so I can't compare but we'll definitely be eating here again! 

Georgetown Cupcakes- Washington DC/Maryland

Sometimes you just need a cupcake you don't bake yourself. What is it about cupcakes that people love? Is it because you can pick several flavors? They are "little" so you can eat more of them. (You know you tell yourself that too.) I've gone to cupcake shops before, and blogged about them here. I'll be honest, I really liked the cupcakes at Georgetown cupcakes. BUT I didn't LOVE them. If I'm going to pay $30 bucks for a dozen cupcakes, they need to be GOOD. Like lick the paper, Press your finger to get all the crumbs off the napkin good. I'm just cheap like that. These were not as moist as I like my cupcakes/cakes. The butter cream and cream cheese icing was good. The red velvet was on the dry side. The cherry blossom was delish, not overly sweet, full of cherry flavor... and seasonal :-). I guess I just don't feel like any of them were worth writing home about.Or fighting to get a parking space for. I may try them again. Maybe it was an off day.

Matuba (Bethesda, MD)

That's Kevin. He rocks. This is my second trip to Matuba, I have been wanting to take my girls for a LOOONG time. So SIL is visiting and we had a girls day out. Pixie stayed at home with DH. Here is my last "review" I use that term so very loosely. But it's worth the read I think, so I cut and pasted it below. Anyway. The service was a bit off today, but still good. I think the waitress was just swamped. I don't care, I'm sitting right next to Kevin, right where he puts each little dish of goodness onto the conveyor belt. Again- Strategy People (read the other post.) So I don't care, I'll help myself. Piglet (3), kept saying I LOVE SAMMY. (Salmon) And again the fish was fresh, the salmon buttery, soft and just so good. We had a great time.

Wong Gee Chinese Restaurant (Maryland/ Washington DC)

I am certain we would have never tried Wong Gee if it weren't for the fact that I was looking for a Lion Dance performance the week AFTER Chinese New Year to take the children to. It's in a strip mall, on a main street, but nothing that would make me turn my head for a second look. They serve Cantonese style Chinese food. The food is fantastic. They also have an Americanized menu. DH ordered chicken curry- it was OK. I ordered some FAN-TA-BU-LOUS dishes. They also serve Dim Sum. More on that later.

When we went for the Lion Dance the waitstaff was so nice and accommodating. They had our table ready for us when we got there (reservations aren't needed, but I made them).  Brought extra napkins and got our drink order right away. The restaurant was clean and so was the bathroom :-). They have fresh (live) seafood cooked to order also.

Matuba- Washington DC/Maryland

Now THIS I wish I had a picture of for you (Pictures here). Matuba in Bethesda. I mean sushi on a conveyor belt. I am a sushi fan. OK correction I am a Sashimi fan. But still, I had to check this place out. DH took me on a date, after I told him there was also other items offered on the belt. So we went early at my insistence, you know, to get a good seat so we could hoard, err sample the items as they were put on the belt instead of waiting at the end hoping others wouldn't grab that salmon before it got to you. Strategy people.

When we were finally let in (we were standing at the door like hungry wolves waiting for the kill, ok one of us was), the hostess took payment from the people who were also waiting at the doors before they opened, so we weren't the only party- there was one more :-). I felt like a stalker, but in the name of sushi- who cares. When you walk in it's a little confusing if you haven't been there before (us). The sushi bar is on the left and dining room on the right. No sign of what I am sure will be in heaven at the wedding feast- the conveyor belt. We quickly learned that the belt was located in the back, and you pay before you sit down. I didn't leave a tip up front. There is a jar in the back for that. As we walked up the stairs to the back I got a little giddy and did a happy food dance. I did notice that the place was clean, plenty of seating (so far) and the decor was nice. In the back there are tables on one side of the conveyor belt, for parties of I think 3 or more. In the end we were asked to sit in a certain place and not able to pick. Doesn't matter it's not a HUGE belt and we were still up close to the chef. The waitresses got our drink orders and the chef in the middle was ready to start. He was fast too because the place got packed quick with people standing in line at the stairs waiting for your seat.

The food-

Thai Derm- Washington DC/Maryland

The other day we went to dinner with DH's uncle. Actual uncle, that's the thing about DH's family relatives are actually related to you in some way by blood. Not so for me, if there is a friend of the family, they are an uncle or aunt, their children become cousins and eventually there is a lot of confusion.  But it's also wonderful, it's a sense of community and closeness that is cultural. Anyway, we went out for Thai food. We chose the Thai Derm, because it was close to his hotel and we don't know the area. The atmosphere is like most Thai places I usually go to, you don't go for the atmosphere, you go for the food. It was clean with the usual touches and no frills. Well, there is this... scenery, it looks like a child's train table with plaster on top to form a hillside. It's made to look like a Thai country side complete with oxen, and rubber duckies you bathe with, but hey my girls LOVED it and we're here for the food right?

Chinatown Express- Chinatown DC

I will never get this blog updated. I won't, I have pictures in a file, I do I promise. The thing is half the time I forget my camera anyway. So here we go, Chinatown Express is a little place in Chinatown in Washington DC. An easy walk from the metro, I guess depending on what stop you get off at. You see that guy up there hand stretching noodles? He's fast, efficient, good at what he does and ... well he's got a lot of noodles to make and dumplings to fill so he doesn't really smile or interact with the crazies standing out front gawking- me being one of those crazies. I suspect one can only handle so much of that. It's amazing to watch him stretch the dough and dip it ever so slightly in water so it doesn't stick together and stretch some more finally cutting the ends when the noodles are the perfect thickness. Watching him take a ball of dough and quickly rolling it out to fill and form dumplings make you think it might be easy. It's an art he's made look like child's play.

(Cheeseburger in Paradise) Fry it and they will come...

When MIL comes out to Florida to visit us we (MIL and I) always look forward to Fried Dill Pickles. They are so very good. These are from Cheeseburger in Paradise, in Destin. They come with a Horseradish dipping sauce that give them a nice kick. Their Chicken Gumbo is pretty good...The sweet potato chips make me feel like I've made a "healthy" choice instead of say... fries, LOL.

Orchid House Thai Restaurant

Orchid House Thai Restaurant
This place pretty much sealed the deal for me. It's the place to go for Thai food in the FWB/DESTIN area. The food is authentic, the service is good and the place is clean. They have the popular curries, Pad Thai, Thai Beef Salad, and Tom Yum on the lunch buffet. But they also have Thai desserts, coffee, papaya salad, Larrb and other specialties. The great thing is, it's a buffet so if you aren't sure about trying something different you don't have to pay for a one meal. You can sample everything. My friend loves their donuts, not Thai but they are good. The donuts are made at the Orchids sister store Rosa's. For $7.95 this is a great lunch place. I haven't been for dinner.
If you're Thai or Lao... the staff is friendly and once they know you speak Thai/Lao just about everyone will come by and say hi. Or maybe it's because I have cute kids? Who knows. Who cares, my friend and I have made it a set lunch date every week.

Panda Buffet

Panda Buffet. Diva loves this place. It's one of her favorite restaurants. She asks to go almost every Sunday after church and DH and I usually groan and say no. It's a buffet, some Chinese American food, Mongolian Grill, Sushi bar... DH and I don't mind it but we don't prefer it. We certainly don't want to eat there every weekend. We usually tell her to wait for Papa and Po Tu to come because they love it there. So we go a few times when we have company. Luckily on weekends they have a fairly good spread. I took the girls on Easter Sunday, I couldn't find a tea room that was open. I was pleasantly surprised. The oysters on the half shell looked freshly shucked- generally I would warn anyone to stay away from oysters at a buffet but they have a great turnover. The sushi was good, I mean there was no fatty tuna or anything but it was good. Diva had THREE, I kid you not three bowls of clams the girl loves clams.

One of Diva's favorite things to eat...

Reeeeddd Robin... YUM

My eldest DD loves to say that, "Reeeeddd Robbbiin, YUM", she's four, it's catchy. That and the fact that she's got a mind like a steel trap that doesn't forget anything, except where she left her shoes. She's also an advertisers dream like her mom. I'll admit it, catch phrases, jingles and nice ads will get me in the door looking at your product. Moving on, this is a good start isn't it? An all American Restaurant chain. How's that for gourmet, makes you want to make a reservation food? Diva- the four year old, picked it. I gave her a choice on Good Friday. The place was packed, I thought arriving for lunch would be a good idea. We were seated an hour after we got there because, "the kitchen was behind". The girls were fine, they had balloons and a basket of hot fries that were being passed out, that and I truly have good kids, in spite of who their mother is.
So Red Robin, what do people go there for? DH says not the shakes, don't get the shakes. (He warned us a couple weeks before when we thought we would go there for dinner, place wasn't opened yet, the nearest Red Robin after that? a 400+ mile trip out of state, I kid you not, Greg told me. Greg is my GPS. We're close.)
If you like potatoes, the steak fries are good. I am OK with potatoes I can take them or leave them but these fries are good especially with the Red Robin seasoned salt. The girls had Grilled chicken with pasta and mandarin oranges. The pasta was slightly over cooked, tossed with Parmesan cheese and chicken. Eh, it was OK. I generally don't give my kids "kid version" of things. They have a wide palate and I think that's why.
I had that monstrosity of a burger you see. It's the Santa Fe, roasted Poblano pepper, guacamole, sauteed onions, crisp tortilla strips, pepper jack cheese and an ancho chili mayonnaise that I asked for on the side. I also asked for a fried egg to top it all off. As far as burgers go, it was good. I ate it all, except a few bites.

Seasoned Salt. I bet it has MSG in it, I bet that's why it's so good. If you know it has MSG in it do not post to tell me.