Valentine's Day Dinner

We decided that for Valentine's Day, instead of going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant, we would bring the fancy restaurant...home :) Not only did we get to enjoy a gourmet meal but we enjoyed spending the 3 hours it took us to make it :)

There's my lovely Valentine, doing what he loves doing :)

To begin:

A lovely Spinach Salad with Glazed Pecans (that we harvested and shelled ourselves this last fall) with a sweet and tangy Pomegranate Red Wine Vinaigrette

and

Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer

To cleanse the pallet:

Creamy Mango Sorbet

(this is Shanam's specialty)

And now for the main course:

Seared Scallops over Wilted Spinach and Lemon Risotto with a side of Asparagus covered in creamy Bearnaise Sauce

And last but not least,

to add a little sweetness to the night...our dessert:

Dark Chocolate Mousse Ice Cream

(this is my specialty)

That was definitely a meal to remember :)

Murder Mystery!!

Awe, how precious :)

Every year, the Friends of the Library in our little town of Andrews puts together a fundraiser for the summer arts program. The theme of the Mystery Dinner this year was Prom, so we got to dress up as if we were going to the prom! We got our pictures taken in the traditional prom pose in front of the ghetto backdrop and enjoyed a great four course meal during the performance.

This was our table of awesome friends! Andrea, the woman in the blue and only other blond haired woman at our table, was a main organizer of the event. There was a great turnout and about $2500 was raised! It was fun to try and guess who the murderer was, but none of us got it :( No $200 prize for us...it was tricky!!

She was one of the main actresses in the show and was an absolute hoot!

Natalie was also in the show and did a fabulous job! Shanam and I had so much fun, we can't wait to do it next year...that is, if we're still here :)

P.S. A few of you may recognize the "beautiful gown" I'm wearing. I've worn it on many occasions...I got it for $15 my freshman year of college...10 years ago! LOL. And it has come in handy! 3 college dances, Halloween twice, "Academy Awards" as Nicole Kidman, Mascarade Party, New Year's Eve Party and now a mystery dinner. Am I forgetting anything? The seams are coming loose and I found a stain on the front of it, but I just can't bare to let it go!

Baltimore!!

This last weekend we headed out of town...yet again...for another adventure :) This time we made it all the way over to the east coast! We went out there for another Amway Conference and had such a great time exploring the city, eating seafood, and getting pumped up at the conference! We stayed at The Renaissance Hotel at the Inner Harbor. The rooms were very modern chic and the hotel was located right in the middle of everything. Perfect location! On Friday, we quickly put our bags in our room and headed out to grab a bite to eat. I wanted to eat real Maryland crab cakes and Shanam really wanted me to try raw oysters, so we found this amazing little restaurant with both! It was called Mo's and it was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel. It was recommended by everyone we asked, so it was bound to deliver! And it definitely did! The oysters were great...Shanam was disappointed that I didn't give him the reaction he was expecting, but proud that I actually liked them. And the crab cakes...oh the crab cakes!! I have never seen so much crab meat before in my life! They were packed full and soooo delicious! After our meal, we went to check out the famous Barnes & Noble. So cool! The store is inside an old revamped power plant, so you still see all the smoke stacks inside and outside the building. I loved it!

Then it was time for the conference!! Here are just a few pictures of the next two days. We heard from great leaders and met with so many awesome people from our group. Shanam had started this business when he was 18 and he has a very large group on the east coast, so it was fun seeing all of them and uniting together! I love seeing their success! If anyone wants to know more details about the business, let me know and I'd be happy to share! It's such a great organization to be a part of!

Snowshoeing by Moonlight

Isn't this picture absolutely gorgeous!! Shanam did a great job capturing the feel of the evening. It was such a perfect night for snowshoeing! It was so bright that it hurt our eyes at times! We went with a couple good friends to Cloudcroft, NM for New Year's weekend. It was about a 3 mile hike through the woods, with no sound except for the crunching of the snow. So serene and magical! Not to mention romantic :)

Laura and I all set to go! She was so excited!

The first timers, Laura and Matt.

LOL! She had trouble stepping on herself and losing her balance. She was hilarious! You can't tell but she's laughing hysterically on the ground :) What a fun trip!

Happy happy New Year!

We spent New Years Eve with some great friends eating lots of food and laughing the night away!

Here we are, ready to ring in 2010!

This is Eva. Eva the doll in white cowboy boots :)

Happy New Year!!

Snowshoeing in Utah!

For our Christmas present to each other this year, we got snowshoes! We took them out for a spin on Christmas day and then again with family along the next day. So much fun!! It was absolutely gorgeous both days and it felt so surreal to be hiking through such beautiful snow covered trees! What a great treat! We plan on going to Cloudcroft, NM this week to do a little more! (In case you didn't know, click on the picture to view it larger!)

Campbell Christmas

Can you guess what we all got for Christmas at the Campbell house?! You guessed it! Scarfs! I loved seeing the different ways we all chose to wear them :) Since my family's house is only five minutes from Shanam's, we had two Christmas mornings in a row! And what did we get from my family? A beautiful cast iron pot and "The World's Healthiest Foods" book!! Way way way exciting! My grandma was able to come from California to spend Christmas with us and that was a total treat seeing her! My family doesn't do a traditional Christmas dinner but we do a Christmas Taco Party a couple nights before Christmas every year and we flew in just in time! Gotta love Christmas Tacos with the WHOLE fam!!