Crepes & Snaps

Fri., Jan 18: Mom & I met R&J at the new Titus Landing Le Crave Cafe. It just opened this week (their 3rd location), and they offered 15% off thru Fri., so it was the best time to try it out.

The interior design is very modern-chic, warm, & beautiful:

 

Mom & I: Venice Square (prosciutto, gruyere, grilled veggies, balsamic sauce - $12.50) & Empanada (roast beef, gruyere, potatoes au gratin, spinach, caramelized onions, Hollandaise sauce - $13.50)

 

We were impressed w/ the presentation & then the taste (even Mom!). The thin buckwheat crepe was crisp on the outside but strong & soft enough to hold together the mass of fillings. Although the ingredients seemed simple, the flavors melted together deliciously, so that the whole (crepe) was greater (tastier) than the sum of its parts (ingredients). We switched halfway, but Mom preferred her prosciutto, and I my beef, so after sampling, we switched back to finish our plates.

R&J: Veggie Deluxe (avocado, asparagus, mushroom, spinach, caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes, swiss & asiago, balsamic sauce - $13.50) & Bolchoi (cold smoked salmon, chevre & gruyere, spinach, beurre blanc (white butter) sauce, lemon - $14.50)

 

R&J agreed that the texture & flavors were just right and that the food was yummy enough to come back for, probably w/ M&M next time.

 Mom & I also tried one of the sweet crepes: Wild Berry (blueberry, banana, strawberry, raspberry, Nutella, caramel, whipped cream - $9.50)

This one was good but generic, similar to Village Inn's or Mom's homemade fruit crepes, so we won't order this again.

The bill is steep, but the savory crepes are (almost) worth the price. Definitely recommend trying once (in awhile)!

After dinner, we walked to Amazing ($1?) Jewelry to browse. R & I each bought a cute, big & thick, holiday scarf for $5 (75% off).

Sat., Jan 19: Mom & I stopped by Amazing Jewelry & More again for the 75% off holiday jewelry sale (the night before it was still 50%). I picked out a pretty Sandy Snaps snowflake pendant ($2) & a gem snap button ($1.50 reg. price) to go w/ it. Mom bought another $5 scarf for M, so we will match next Xmas! 😁

Sunset & Steak 'n Shake

Sunset in Cocoa:

 

 

 

 

 

We ate at Steak 'n Shake for the first time in years. Eating there used to be a treat, but the last time, the burgers were unbelievably salty, as if someone had accidentally spilled salt into the meat, so I stopped craving it, and we hadn't been back since. But since we were close by and had coupons, we decided to try it again.

This time, we were very satisfied, not just w/ the quality of the food but also w/ the great price from the permitted use of multiple coupons at once.

Mom got the $4 Double Steakburger w/ Cheese special w/ fries, side: chili, & chocolate chip cookie.

I got the Western BBQ 'n Bacon Steakburger w/ fries ($4 coupon instead of $5.29)...

side of onion rings ($0.50 coupon instead of $2.29)...

and Dark Chocolate milkshake w/ Mom's Strawberry shake (2-for-1 $3 coupon):

   

All that food for just $11.50, or $5.75 a person! We were so full & pleased. 😋

Mini Jukebox!

Before Xmas, Aldi was selling these desktop jukebox CD player/radio/Bluetooth speakers for $50. When it went down to $35, we bought one and were delighted by it. Later, it went down to $25, so we got another one for Dad.

It's so cute & pretty w/ the color-changing LED light tube, and it's easy & multi-functional w/ great sound.

Jan. Library Activities

Sat., Jan. 5: This month's upcycling project is paper flowers. We took used library due date cards, tore them into pieces, and made a 3D collage on a small canvas.

Mom & I chose to use the back of the canvas to create a shadowbox frame look. Although mine didn't look quite as cute as the sample, I thought my flower was okay. Compared to Mom's perfect rose w/ red beads though, mine looked like a trash pile of ripped up ticket stubs. 😅 Luckily, Mom fixed mine up w/ some strategic crimping & folding (R).

 

Because there were only 5 participants instead of the usual 10 in the class, we got to take more card slips & an extra canvas home.

Sun., Jan. 13: The mini glue gun we finally ordered a few days ago arrived, so I tried it out on my 2nd framed paper flower project. The glue gun was pretty much the same as the ones we used at the library, fast-heating & effective. This time, instead of ripping the paper cards, I cut them into petals, then carefully arranged & glued them. Mom found some yellow felt for the center, and my paper lotus was complete! 😊

 The finished products:

Art, Animal, & Music Fest

Swan Lake Stables celebrated its opening by hosting the 1st Art, Animal, & Music Fest. There was a good turnout, and we had to park a ways down the dusty road. The place was so big, w/ areas for horse trails, hayrides, artist stalls, rescue horses, pony rides, picnics, music pavilion, stables, & farm animal petting zoo!

First we looked around the local arts & crafts: drawing, painting, pottery, knitting, wood work, leather work, glass work, clothing, recycled/mixed media. We even saw a mystery novel author & a masseuse. Mom ran into several work friends & chatted w/ them.

Then we toured the rest...

Beautiful rescue horses:

 

 

 

Diaz the Pony

 

 and her boyfriend McConaughey the Pony

 

 

 Lovely music from folk band Robbin the Bank (bass, guitar/banjo, fiddle, hammer dulcimer!):

(Sample of their music):

 Farm animal petting zoo:

 

 

 

 

 

 Stables:

 

 

(We skipped the picnic area selling burgers & hot dogs.)

Diaz & McConaughey (rolling around lol)

 

We circled back to the artists' tents, and Mom asked me to help her choose pieces to buy from her 2 good friends who had stalls there. I chose a pretty ceramic butterfly cheese plate and Mom a charming watercolor study of Mr. T's cat:

 

We left around 3:30 and stopped by Dollar Tree to see if they sell plate display stands, but they didn't. By then it was 4pm, just in time to finally try the dinner menu at Third Culture Kitchen. I ordered the Korean BBQ Ribs w/ jasmine rice & Asian side salad ($15), and Mom ordered the Pad See Ew (their version of Pad Thai) w/ marinated chicken, ginger scallion sauce, egg, lime, peanuts, & rice noodles ($11). I really enjoyed the flavorful, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, spare ribs, but Mom was not impressed. She also thought her dish was too sweet & generic, but it was normal pad thai to me. She says the pad thai we made ourselves was better & wants to make it again soon. 😅

Korean BBQ Ribs (bowl in back is not Pad See Ew)