The Food Nazi told me we weren't allowed to go to Famous Daves, or any other chain restaurant.

So, I went on the search and found this great hole in the wall place very close to where I live. It is called The English Dockside Seafood & Grill. It won Colorado Springs Best Of three years in a row. Amazing shrimp at this place! My mouth is watering still! So, I had some good food, great company, and a night out! The only bummer is they do not serve wine. :( And who was my date, you ask?

My date was none other than my best friend's hubby, in town for work. Thank you Karen for sharing your best Dude with me for one evening. And thanks for forcing me to find such a great place. We were missing you though.

This what I like to do every Saturday morning. It's kind of bad in a way, sitting here, drinking coffee, laughing at all the funny blog posts. Especially when it is a beautiful fall day outside. I should be pulling weeds, putting together my Adirondack chairs, cleaning something, shopping, I'm even skipping my knitting group (:) right now cuz I would rather sit here in my pj's and blog! It's an addiction I tell ya! Maybe because I don't get to blog much during the week, I crave this time with my friends. But man I have a lot to do today! Oh well, I guess there are worse ways to spend your time. So, you all enjoy your weekends, I'll be right here blogging.

I still need to put sealant on it, and scrap off some grout that is globby. I can't clean it for 2 weeks, but here it is. Next is painting the walls, then I have to redo the enamel on the tub, it's scraping off. So, I will wait until all that is done before I take anymore pics. Oh, and I also need a new window curtain, clearly. So, what do you think?

What do you think of my new tile for my bathroom? It's glass mosaic. I designed the color pattern with the different colored squares. It's not really a pattern. On each sheet I put 5 different colored squares in at random. Half of it was put up today, the other half goes up tomorrow. I look at the half finished shower and like it one second, and really not all that sure the next. The guy putting it in for me said it is retro looking. I wasn't going for retro, but I think it works. Think yellow painted walls and a yellow tub.

This is my Dentist. I flirted with my dentist using this appointment card as my "in". I flirted with my dentist.

How I long for the days when flirting was easy. You know...when everyone was drunk!

My coffee dream.

Ok, I get terrified just thinking about the whole thing, which I think about quite a lot. Now that work has slowed down somewhat, I have more time to think. And more time to fight against the urge. I couple weeks ago, I saw a house for sale that was almost perfect. It is an old house, cute, lots of charm. It has a decent size front yard, big enough for my tables and chairs patio idea. The backyard could be bigger, but could fit a very small play area with tables all around it. Three nice rooms inside for tables etc. The kitchen would need a lot of work to turn it into a coffee place. The foundation is bad, but since I'm just dreaming, it doesn't matter. I talked to the owner, he was willing to rent it to me for cheaper than my mortgage, he said he would also work with me on the down payment. The house is already zoned as a business. So, my mind starts turning again. Of course I am MILES from being able to do anything. But I kept feeling this sense of terror! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS BY MYSELF! I don't know how to start/run a business, why can't I let this drop?? I have always wanted a safe secure life..... Sigh. You'd think this would just die off, but not so far. Maybe I just like having a dream. Maybe I'm not suppose to do anything with this dream except dream. I don't know. I don't know.

It's a cold Fall-like day out there right now, so this is perfect for today. I made this last week in my beloved crockpot. It's called Caribbean Sweet Potato and Bean Stew. It is perfect for fall with the sweet potatoes and the jerk spices. Hope you try it, it is very different from any stew I have ever had. And beware, there is a little kick to it!

Ingredients:

2 med. sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled (or not in my case) and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups frozen cut green beans

1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth

1 small onion, sliced

2 tsp Caribbean jerk seasoning

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted

* To toast almonds, spread in single layer on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. (or in my case I bought a can of toasted almonds and just sliced them)

Combine sweet potatoes, beans, broth, onion, jerk seasoning, thyme, salt and cinnamon in crockpot. Cover; cook on low 5 to 6 hours or until veges are tender. Adjust seasonings. Serve Almonds on top when ready to eat.