My German Valentine

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Smelly Danielly

I put Mr. Ciavarro in charge of Valentines Day this year. What happens when you put Mr. Ciavarro in charge of Valentines Day? He takes you to a German Schnitzel Haus.

Priceless.

The whole time he was making the plans he kept asking me if I was sure I did not want any input and I can’t tell him I was sure I did not want any input. I wanted to see what HE would come up with. And I got just what I expected, something interesting.

Turns out trying to make reservations for a restaurant one week before Valentines Day is more difficult then it sounds. This led Chad on a while goose chance, trying to find a good restaurant that had room for us with out forcing us to wait in a giant line up for hours on end. He was left with two choices, the Boathouse or the German Haus. He chose the German Haus.

I have to say, the food was really good. We both ordered schnitzel because how can you not. Chad had the Schnitzel Cordon Blue, and I have the Schnitzel with mushrooms and Bearnaise sauce. Nom nom nom nom nom. Schnitzels are damn tasty, especially when eating at a restaurant that specializes in them.

The Old Bavaria Haus is obviously a very popular place because it was packed. People clearly wanted to spend Valentines Day with their two loves, their significant others and schnitzel. Thats exactly what Chad wanted to do.

Overall the evening was a success. Even though I probably would not have picked the Old Bavaria Haus, I am glad Chad did because it was something different then what we usually do and we had a fantastic time. Plus, nothing says love like a giant schnitzel!

Love and Hate

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Smelly Danielly

My dear husband. He has the brain of a masters student but at times has the thought process of a mule.

Sure everyone does things that annoy their spouse, like leaving lights on in rooms they are no longer working in, or leaving all the cupboard doors open after acquiring what was needed, or leaving tools spread out all over the house because ”I may need them again”, however, this one, by far, takes the cake.

We ordered some faux wood blinds for the bedrooms from Home Depot. We were called to come pick them up so Chad borrowed my car and drove down to get our new window coverings. He unloaded them into the mud room and called me down to come look at them. Everything looked good and we decided we would install them the next night.

The next morning as I leave for work I open the basement door and notice that I don’t see the nose of my car. Humm, Chad must have parked it further back. I poke my head out the door and there I see it, my car, half parked in the car port, hatchback wide open, seats down, interior lights one, open to the world.

…

Are you kidding me CIAVARRO!

Without having been there myself I still knew exactly what happened, because I know exactly how Chad operates. He unloaded all the blinds (which were in 4 very large and heavy boxes), then when the last box was brought in he closed the door behind him to not let out the heat totally forgetting that my vehicle was exposed to the great wide world all night long.

Enter in rage face.

I know that he does not do these things intentionally, but he does do them all the time. Leaving things half finished is his MO and it is MADDENING TURN OFF THE DAMN LIGHTS! CLOSE THE DAMN CLOSET! LOCK MY DAMN CAR!

ugh.

Luckily we live in Pleasantville so nothing was taken from my car, but God only knows what kind of feral animals cuddled up in my warm back seat.

Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.

You Gotta Eat Here!

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Smelly Danielly

Last week, out of the blue, I received a message from Via Tevere asking me if I would be available to do an on camera interview for a TV show they were filming for the Food Network on the weekend. Whats that? You want to film ME for a show on the FOOD NETWORK!?!?

Turns out John Catucci was in town filming an episode of You Gotta Eat Here! at Via Tevere and they needed some on camera testimonials about how tasty their pizza is. I was more than thrilled that they asked me to be a part of the production. This was definitely an opportunity I needed to seize!

I was welcomed to bring a guest so Chad and I headed down to East Van for my 4:30 shooting time. I was given instructions, miked up and waited for my pizza to arrive while other people were being interviewed. The owners were very gracious and gave Chad and I complimentary pizzas and anything else we wanted to have. If we didn’t have to run to Casa Ciavarro for dinner we would have spent all evening there enjoying yourself and taking in all the excitement.

I was a little nervous about the interview. I had an idea of what kind of questions I was going to be asked but I always find I get stuck when describing dishes that I love and just end up saying they are amazing 100 times in a row (you’ve probably noticed that when reading this blog). John was super friendly and our interview had great energy though. I think I did OK but I hate seeing myself on camera (one of the reasons we never got our wedding filmed) so we’ll see what it looks like when the episode finally airs. Plus, they filmed for 2 days so who knows how much of my interview will make it on the air, if at all!

Overall, it was a great experience. I never thought in a million years I would be on the Food Network. Well, I guess I technically haven’t made it quite yet, but I am one step closer. The episode is set to air sometime in the Spring. Lets hope I don’t look like a total goof!

Thank you so much, Via Tevere, for making me a part of your special day!

The 12 Days of Christmas

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

1) Chad is home sick today, which is ironic because Saturday night we were talking about all the sick days that government workers get and how Chad technically gets unlimited sick days but never takes then because he is never sick. I don’t think this is his usual 24 hour sickness either which means this will not be fun.

2) We had our kitchen sink positioned (not installed) on Saturday in preparation for the measuring of the countertops. Thankfully the sink weighs 200lbs and stays put with out being attached in any way.

3) Our countertops have been measure and ordered and now we have to wait a month for them to come in, or 35 days to be exact. This does not make me very happy but I do not think I have a choice in the matter.

4) Grease makes things stick to Chads face.

5) On Sunday Mom and I participated in the annual craft day at Grandma Heagles. We made beach mobiles out of drift wood and beads. Technically not a Christmas craft, but a wonderful craft none the less. Plus, you can just pretend we are in Australia having a beach Christmas. I was very happy with the way mine turned out and I can’t wait to hang it in the backyard among the trees.

6) We have almost finished putting the hardware on all our doors. We did not position our knobs according to the standard position, which I like, but at the same time makes me feel weird that our knobs are totally different than everyone elses in the world. Our handles are also coming along but are way more time consuming. Plus, we discovered that the screws that come with the handles do not fit the thickness of our drawers and so we have to go out and buy all new screws.

7) I do not support the shaping or cleaning of men’s eyebrows. Except for the unibrow of course.

8) There were a bunch of things that I knew I had purchased and collected over the past year but for the life of me could not find. I looked everywhere, and by everywhere I mean the basement, where we put all the stuff from the storage locker, my moms house, and my Nonnas house. Then, while getting a pair of fabric scissors from my sewing room I discovered the boxes containing all my missing items. Clearly I do not remember putting them in there, but it felt so good finding them all. Opening up the boxes yesterday was like having an early Christmas.

9) Tonight I will clean out the basement IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO. I really need to stop putting it off.

10) I have a K C Dia (aka a quesadilla) for lunch today and I can not stop thinking about but I also can’t stop thinking about how much I want a stove. 6 more weeks until I get a stove. UGH. BBQ I love you but I really wanna bake stuff.

11) We are ordering fabric for Fall 13 today. How does that make you feel? It makes me feel confused because I can’t get my seasons straight. The colours for Fall 13 are so rich and beautiful. And the printed, my God the prints!

12) I want to wear army boots every day.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Smelly Danielly

We started to put up our Christmas decorations this week. We don’t have enough to decorate the entire house, but that’s why there are sales after Christmas. I think we will pick up a few things each year once the season is over until we have quite the collection of Christmas goodies. We also decided to stick with our fake tree this year, considering we are still in the process of getting things set up in the house, plus real trees cost money, which we don’t have right now.

Chad also decided that we should NOT put presents under the tree because Santa comes down the chimney and not the tree so therefore the presents should be left in front of the fireplace. Remind me again how old you are, Chad?

Christmas looks to be a little quieter this year, which is refreshing. We will be dogsitting Lady for the week which I’m excited about AND I’ve actually take 10 days off so that I can hang out in my cozy new home with pseudo-foster pup. This is the first time in 5 years I will actually get to relax and really enjoy the Christmas season with time off.

Being as that we are now house rich and cash poor, there will be no gifts (ok maybe one) exchanged between Mr. Ciavarro and I. That is, unless the gifts are house related. At first I was kind of upset that there wouldn’t be an excessive amount of presents under our tree (sorry, I mean fireplace) but then I realized we have been waiting a long time to spend a Christmas in our very own house, and that in itself is the greatest gift we could ever give each other.

Now, if only we could get some counter tops in before the 25th, then we would really have a Christmas miracle!