In my house, we absolutely LOVE Moby Dick House of Kabob. And when I say we - I mean all three of us. My 4 year old orders his own platter and eats every last bite. The food is awesome - but it ain't cheap. I decided to try to mimic the famous yellow chicken recipe at home (Persian saffron chicken joojeh). Surprisingly, it was a super easy two-step recipe.

Marinade:
2lbs chicken breast, trimmed and cubed (1-2 inch chunks)
1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used a Chobani)
1 yellow onion, minced finely (almost a paste)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced finely
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tsp white pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp saffron threads dissolved in 1-2 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 tbsp turmeric (for color)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl that is not going to absorb the color of the saffron. You could probably use glass, but I used a metal bowl to be safe. Cover in the refrigerator and let marinate for a minimun of 4 hours.

*If you're going to put the kabobs on the grill using wooden skewers - make sure to let soak in water for at least an hour before you're ready to start cooking to prevent the skewers from catching fire.

Baste:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1tsp salt

Grill kabobs for about 3-4 minutes per side (all 4 sides). I had my grill set on medium heat - but all grills are different, so adjust the heat and timing as needed. Baste each side of kabob with lemon butter mixture. Serve hot with basmati rice.

After I made this and was cleaning up dinner, B ran around the corner in the kitchen and said, "Mom, that was PERFECTO!"
I'll add this to my arsenal of recipes. Hope you enjoy!

... and it feels so good.

A few weeks ago, I was looking for an adventure in Fredericksburg. I posted on our facebook page and someone recommended hitting up Belvedere Plantation... I checked the reviews online and it looked "just ok" to me. And, the charge is $16/person. Eh... might as well go to Cox Farms. But then someone else commented and posted a Certifikid deal for 50% off tickets which made the day trip a no-brainer. We packed up and headed out.

Due to the constant ridiculousness of this delightful area we live in, it took me over two hours to actually make the 40 mile trip south on 95. I'm pretty sure that any cost-savings I incurred by buying the tickets at a 50% discount were severely offset by a SUV that only gets 14mpg on a good day. We parked in a field and walked to the gate to check in. A simple X on your hand with a Sharpie was your pass to enter (oh, how the trust in fellow man exists in the South - no stringent wrist bands needed). From that point onward, I had a good feeling about this place.

Here are the highlights of the FREE stuff:
huge inflatible pillow for kids to bounce on, big red barn filled with hay and rope swings, zip lines for kids of all ages, pig races, petting zoo, pumpkin launcher, hay stacks to climb, potato sack slides, pedal car race racks, tractor ride, etc.

With a FEE:
pick your own pumpkin (although, you could enjoy the pumpkin patch without actually taking them home)
pick your own flowers (my personal favorite part of the trip): buy a cup for $5 and fill it with as many flowers as you can. they provide the cup and a pair of scissors and you cut your own flowers from their garden.
paintball shooting @ targets

The best part of the whole trip: NO LINES. Belvedere Plantation was busy - but there were no lines for almost all attractions. If there were lines, they were modest. I appreciate the reader-recommendation to give this place a try - I think it will be added to our list of Fall traditions!

Check out our pics to see for yourself!

by Jenn Plant
Just a few miles off of 66 in Haymarket is a small, family owned farm market called Burnside Farms. For three generations, the Burnside family has been in the flower business and now their farm stand has everything from fresh, local produce to a wide variety of pumpkins perfect for decorating. This week, they open their sunflower patch for ‘Pick Your Own Sunflowers’. The field is full of gorgeous large blooms ready to pick and adorn your autumn dining table.  

With a great area for kids to play, including a small playhouse with a slide and a sandbox filled with corn kernels, parents can browse thru the huge selection of different pumpkin varieties (some of which I’d never seen before!), fresh local apples, vegetables and local honey. With the beautiful weather, opportunities for great pictures of the kids are around every corner of their little farm stand. With events open to the public year-round, Burnside Farms is a great local place for families. In the winter, the farm has Christmas trees for purchase and coming this spring, they’ll have ‘Pick Your Own Tulips”!

The farm is open Monday thru Friday from 12pm-7pm and weekends from 10am-7pm but you may want to call ahead to confirm before making the trek out to Haymarket. Burnside Farms, 4905 James Madison Hwy, Haymarket, VA 20169.

We snagged tickets to Disney on Ice presents Rockin' Ever After last week and went with neighbors and friends from B's school. What a great show! The acts in Rockin' Ever After were from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, and Brave. LOVE all those songs. I think the parents in the audience were singing along louder than the kids. The only bummer of the night: I got suckered into a $12 snow cone to avoid a potentially destructive meltdown.

Check out the pics to catch a glimpse of the fun!

Calling all lady Shirlies! Shirlie is inviting you once a month to enjoy trunk shows, cocktails, restaurants specials and more during Shirlie's Girls Night Out.
Meet up with your fellow Shirlies the First Thursday of each month from 5-10pm.

Shirlie's Girls Night Out
November 1st, 5-11pm

Special Shirlie's Girls Night Out Event: Meet the Author, Wendy Higgins, of Sweet Evil.
7-8:30PM
Hilton Garden Inn

A day of fall fun including trick or treating, a costume parade (for people and pets), a Rocknoceros performance, a petting zoo, face painting, a kids circus, strolling entertainment, balloon creations and much more! 

Saturday, October 27, 2012
Free and open to the public. Entertainment Schedule:
10 am – Rocknoceros
11:30 am – Kids Circus
12:00 pm – Costume Parade
1:00 pm – Kids circus

Belle Mode Intimates hosted a Bra Drop @ Fairfax Corner to support Breast Cancer Awareness month in October and to benefit the Tigerlily Foundation. Over 450 bras were dropped off to be recycled! The donated bras were hanged on clotheslines across fairfax corner to bring awareness to the event - so neat! Women (and men) stopped in to sip on wine, meet Miss DC, snack on Pinkberry, and have a personal bra fitting.  Congrats to Belle Mode for a successful event! I was happy to be a part of it!

Last weekend, B was swept away and spoiled by my parents. In turn, I, too, was spoiled with a whole day of freedom. We ended up snagging DREAM SEATS to the skins game! HAIL YEAH! We usually go to one or two games a year, but this was probably the best game we had ever been to. RGIII ran his record-setting touchdown right into our end zone. The crowd was insane!

Since it was a 4pm game, the night was still young when we left FedEx and we decided to further our date by stopping by one of our favorite sushi spots in Shirlington. Bonsai has a great outdoor seating area and it was the perfect night for it.

Of course, being kid-free, we couldn't end the night there. There has been such great hype about the World of Beer that opened up in Ballston so we checked it out... however, I was not impressed. At all. I guess if I wanted to spend $10 a beer, receive bad service (i'm pretty sure our waitress was drunk and/or high), and eat from their menu of basically pretzels and sausage.... no thanks.

Regardless of the last stop, what an awesome Sunday Funday we had! huge shout out to my mom and dad for making it possible! xo