Wild To Child

When I arrived home from work yesterday, our babysitter was sitting in our living room. To my surprise, my wonderful husband had arranged for us to go out to dinner sans children, which couldn't have come at a better time. He made reservations at Branzino, a restaurant which previously employed chef Ashley Merriman, a contestant on the most recent season of Top Chef. Once we arrived, we realized that she was no longer employed there, but the food was still amazing and the service was flawless. Proof that the food on Top Chef is every bit as wonderful as it looks!

I had Roasted Cauliflower Soup, Gnocchi (which included rabbit, mushrooms, and ruby chard), and for dessert...cannoli. While the rabbit meat could not hold a candle to the rabbit my grandmother makes, it's safe to say that it was one of the best dinners I have ever had. The only thing I didn't care for was the Heirloom Beet salad that Evan ordered. But to be fair...I never liked beets to begin with. He also had Duck Confit as his main course and Poached Pear Sorbet as dessert...each sample equally delicious.

For all you wine lovers like myself, they have a great selection...even featuring some from my old stomping grounds out in the Walla Walla Valley!

For all of you from and visiting Seattle I completely recommend giving their food a try! Here is their website for more information:

http://www.branzinoseattle.com/

Since our big move to Eastern Washington and back again, we have downsized considerably in space. So much in fact, that it is impossible to go anywhere in our town home and not hear a crying child...three out of five times they aren't even my kids! It's been really tough going from a 1500 square foot home into a 900 square foot town home in a complex.

The biggest mistake we made in choosing a place was not getting one with three bedrooms. I figured putting the girls together was the obvious answer, because they are both girls and we could save money at the same time. Needless to say, the girls each occupy a bedroom and Evan and I have been sleeping downstairs in the living room! I miss, miss, MISS having a garage, and a big yard, and the luxury of not hearing your neighbors walk up and down their stairs. The upside to our home now is that it does have a TINY (I mean super small...like a 10 foot square) yard, rent is pretty cheap, and they let us move in immediately. Now I know why.....

The moral of the story is...I will never try to get a one year old and a three year old to share bedroom again. Never. Ever. EVER.