Happy Easter Sunday

Happy Greek Easter, for all the Greek folks out there today. These are photos from last week's Easter that I wanted to share with you. One of the most elegant pieces of meat I've ever had the pleasure of devouring, and I mean... devouring... is a Beef Rib-Eye Roast. (It's up there along with Kat's Deli Beef Brisket). While I did not make this recipe (I wish I did), I do have the exact recipe posted below from the "Joy of Cooking." Its fairly simple, if you can be on the money with the oven temperature. The tricky part is taking it out right on time, especially if you like your meat temperature rare to medium rare. But other than that, its still the most succulent piece of meat you can have. Sometimes, you just need to sink your teeth into a different piece of meat besides a steak! Hope you all had a nice weekend as well. So happy the weather is warming up! Spring is in the air and I LOVE spring flowers! :) 

Beef Rib-Eye Roast (High Heat Roasting Method)

This well-trimmed boneless rib-eye roast responds beautifully to high heat roasting, producing a nicely seared crust and tender slices of beef.  You'll need 1 boneless rib-eye roast (about 4 1/2 pounds), well trimmed.

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the ovem to 425. Season liberally with salt and black pepper to taste. Place the roast fat side up on a rack in a roasting pan until an instant read thermometer reads 110 to 120 for rare, 120 to 125 for medium rare, or 130 to 135 for medium, 15-20 minutes per pound, (the temperature will rise about 10 degrees out of the oven. Remove the roast to a platter, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and let stand 15 to 30 minutes before carving.

The Antipasto - Oliva, Carciofo (Artichoke), Mozzarella

Baby Stuffed Bellas

Beef Rib-Eye Roast

A little Egg-Coloring :)

Love, Sandy.

Good Night on this Sunday!

Happy Easter (or Passover) everyone!! I had such a longgggg day. I began the morning with a run around the track. Let me tell you something about me - I hate running. Its my least favorite thing to do, next to watching paint dry.  Yes, it's a goal of mine to run a marathon one day, and run a 10k soon... but its so painful for me. But I had to do it since I knew I was going to eat a huge feast - with a sexy 10 lb roast rib as the main event. Dinner was delicious, and I felt guilt-free to eat an extra piece of meat! :) After dinner, I went for a walk around my neighborhood to literally stop and smell the flowers. It is so beautiful in the Spring with all the cherry blossoms in bloom, even though my allergies are a pain. Right now, its super late and I'm watching the movie, "Before Sunrise" with Ethan Hawke, but I'm going to shut down prematurely and go to bed now. I'll be posting more of my Easter pictures soon. I hope everyone had a nice weekend and I'll see you guys tomorrow! Have a beautiful week! xoxo

Posted another Easter picture here @Sandys_Beach

White Lace Crochet Dress by I.N.C

Introducing Josh... 4.1.12

Happy Aprils Fools Day! And Happy Birthday to my nephew Josh!! He was born in the early morning hours, weighing in at 6 lbs and 13 ounces! He's not even a day old here! Congrats to my sister and brother in law. This is their second prince and he couldn't be any more perfect.

Just Because I LOVE Puppies

Happy Friday! Here's your daily dosage of happiness. How cute are they!!

Naughty & Nice: My 2 Favorite "Cheap" Wines

My two favorite cheap wines are Cupcake and Bitch. Both are delicious and such a bargain for the price. 

Cupcake is a little more well- known because the vineyards are located right here in the states.  The vineyards are located in California, which I would love to visit one day.  It is offered in most medium to high-end restaurants in the country for quadruple the price. The wines offered are red, white, and sparkling. I personally like their red and white selection. It is so ridiculously smooth and delicious. 

I think Bitch is the lesser known of the two but has gained notoriety because of its provocative name. Needless to say, I've never seen it carried by a restaurant and have only seen them in select wine and spirit stores.  This is a wine from South Austrailia and is more fruitier, packed with raspberry and strawberry hints. It is pretty delicious and serves as a great ice-breaker! 

And the price?... Both are generally priced around $20! I've actually seen them cheaper online! Not only do I recommend these wines to enjoy for yourself in general, I especially recommend these for dinner parties and when you have guests. These have always been excellent conversation starters and ice-breakers. I can see Bitch served at the Bachlorette party, and Cupcake served at the wedding! And these make great gifts! Around Christmas, give Bitch to your girlfriends who have been naughty and Cupcake to your friends who have been nice! They're perfect. 

My personal wine bar stocked with Reds, Whites, Rieslings, Grey Goose, Bacardi, and Baileys, and more.

Words to Live By

I just talked to a good friend of mine who has recently been suffering some hardships recently, such as loss of steady employment. But not only was I glad that we were able to connect, but I was thrilled to hear some great things happening in his life. He's now a full-time manager again and is surrounded by loving and supportive relationships. The conversation just made me feel appreciative and blessed with even what little I have. Because I love inspirational words, here's a few below I like to live by. 


Love, Sandy. 

 

and no matter what happens, Always remember that...

BLOGLOVIN

FOLLOW MY BLOG WITH BLOGLOVIN...
Its a pretty cool website.

 

My Valentines Day Bouquet

Delivered to my office was 24 beautiful roses. What can I say?  I am a lucky gal. 

Happy Valentine's Day! 

Happy New Year!

Even though New Years was only last month, I can't help but feel nostalgic about it. If I may speak for the majority, every year on Jan 1st, we establish these resolutions and are so DRIVEN to achieve them but do we ever really accomplish them? Well a whole 5 weeks later... I have to ask myself, am I on track on keeping my resolutions?...

Well let's start off by listing some that I am achieving: 

1) Blog more - yes! I am on track

2) Cook more - yes! 

3) Travel to a international destination - Italy next week - yay!

4) Read more books - this is my resolution from last year, and yes, I am hooked on books!

So far so good... But here are some that I have not achieved yet, but will work towards:

5) Volunteering more - I'd like to set a goal of once a month.

6) Stretch and exercise more - its winter...So in my head, I still have time! 

7) Re-learn Spanish - I just got Rosetta Stone so I will be working on this! 

And here are some I am continually working on:

8) Spend more time with family

9) Stop impulsive (and compulsive) shopping. Don't buy things you don't need!

10) Be more positive and optimistic - Can't overdose on either.

And here are some goals of mine... 

See 1 Broadway Show this year

See 1 game of each professional sport (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL)

See 3 Live Concerts

Go to a music festival

Train to run a 5k race

Next month, I'm going to revisit this list and I hope to be on track! We shall see... Cheers to a happy and healthy 2012!

Christmas in Dyker Hill, Brooklyn

There is a little area in New York City that is known as "The Undisputed Capital of Christmas Pageantry." Almost every house in Dyker hill participates in professionally decorating their homes. It is reportedly said that residents here spend anywhere from $1,000-$20,000 decorating their homes for Christmas. It's not even one particular block, but a radius of the whole neighborhood. There are motorized 20-foot-tall toy soldiers, Santas, reindeers, Christmas Angels and most homes even blast Christmas music! Some even take it as far as turning their garage into a life-size nativity scene! The decorations are so over the top that it is reportedly said that Con Edison gives the residents free electricity for the month to sustain the lights! How crazy! And these are mansions! Even without the lights, these houses are gorgeous! One house has a huge fountain and several marble statues all over the lawn! But visiting Dyker Heights is definitely a New York City thing to do around the holidays that can't be missed. So layer up, grab a cup of hot chocolate, park your car, and be prepared to walk around the neighborhood in awe! Don't forget your camera!

My first Christmas Tree

I'm excited to show off my first ever home decorated from scratch Christmas Tree this past holiday. Being that I had such a nice tree, I was in a BIG giving spirit and stuffed tons of presents under the tree!  Yep - its all from me little kiddies! Love, Santa Sandy

Thanksgiving 2011

This is a very dated picture - but here was Thanksgiving 2011! My sister cooked everything in the top picture. And my second Thanksgiving below was pot-luck. 

Super Bowl Sunday - Feb 5, 2012

Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday - the biggest American past-time. This year's match-up was between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Giants won!!!! What do we do during Super-bowl? PIG OUT!!! The spread consisted of spicy chicken wings and butter biscuits from KFC, baked Lays, Pretzel Chips, hummus dip, guacamole dip, buffalo chicken dip, kani salad, seawood salad, vegetable sticks, bruschetta, and burgers we didnt get to cook because we were already so full! Not a very healthy day - but hey its Super Bowl Sunday!! We are entitled to eat like champs!