In the After

Three Souls by Janie Chang
Published: February 25, 2014 by William Morrow Paperbacks
First Published: August 20, 2013
I've read a few historical books about China, and each one feels like it takes place 100 of years ago regardless of when the events acutally occurred. I don't really know a lot about China history so I have no way of placing each book within the timeframe of European history I'm more familiar with. Except this wasn't quite the case with this. This book takes place in the 1930s with the modern world starting to become a part of Chinese culture. Except even though there were modern touches, the majority of the book feel timeless as if it could have easily taken place 100 years ago. It was definitely an interesting mix of two worlds coming together which is an aspect I loved about this.

I thought the way the book was told was really special. It's a young woman looking back on her life and the mistakes she made after death. And that isn't even a spoiler since you know in the second sentence that our main character, Leiyin, is dead. What is also interesting is that Leiyin spends much of her time interacting with her three souls (hence the title), which was a neat touch of Chinese culture.

It's interesting because this wasn't necessarily a book that I couldn't put down, and yet I always wanted to be reading. It reads easily, and beautifully even, that I'm a little disappointed to be finished with it. There was actual one scene in particular that brought me to tears, if only because I wish certain experiences in it could actually be true. This is the author's first book, which gets me a little excited because I can't wait to see where she's able to go from here!

5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Let's Get Mixed Up

If you look through the recent recipes I've shared you'll find a similar theme. Quite a number are originally from Mix and Match Mama, and this week is no exception. This is her Chicken Florentine Lazy Lasagna. However since there's there's both tomato sauce and pesto in it, in our house we've been calling it Mixed Up Pasta since it can't quite decide between the two of them. Also the boy complained that I tend not to make meals with leftovers, so the recipe below is doubled from the original. This makes A LOT of pasta, and barely fit into my crock pot, but we definitely had leftovers!

Mixed Up Crock Pot Pasta
Ingredients
3 pounds chicken breasts
2 jars of spaghetti sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup (The original called for 1, so I should have included 2. Except I only remembered to buy 1 at the store. But I don't really think it needed the extra can.)
2 cups chicken stock
2 bags frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella (I also brought down the amount of cheese, but that's more because I don't like most dishes too cheesy)
2 pounds penne
2 jars pesto (I originally couldn't find a pesto we liked, so I was planning on trying out a paste and olive oil mix. But while the majority of food was in the crock pot, on the trip to the grocery store for brownie mix, found our normal pesto and swapped it in.)
Parmesan, for serving

Directions
1. Layer the chicken, sauce, soup, and stock in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours. (I did put the lid on after taking each of these pictures since otherwise you really couldn't see what was going on.)
2. Shred the chicken in the crock pot.
3. Stir in the spinach, mozzarella, penne, and pesto. Cook on high for 30 minutes.
4. Serve with freshly grated paremesan.
For such an easy dish, I really think it's awesome. Of course I don't have the best crock pot, which doesn't really have high or low only time settings (but 8 and 10 hours are at low and 4 and 6 are high so I can make it work), so I can't let it go while I'm at work all day. But if I had a better I'm sure I'd be making this all the time instead of just on weekend.

Mixed Up Crock Pot Pasta
Ingredients
3 pounds chicken breasts
2 jars of spaghetti sauce
1 can condensed tomato soup
2 cups chicken stock
2 bags frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
2 pounds penne

Directions
1. Layer the chicken, sauce, soup, and stock in the crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Shred the chicken in the crock pot.
3. Stir in the spinach, mozzarella, penne, and pesto. Cook on high for 30 minutes.
4. Serve with freshly grated paremesan.

The Story of What Happened and What Helped

Everybody Else's Girl by Sarah Sawyers-Lovett
Published: September 12, 2013 by Sweet Candy Press
It's hard for me to really come up with the words I want to say about this memoir. Part of me wants to say I enjoyed reading, except the author goes through such horrible times in her childhood it almost feels wrong to say I enjoyed it. I'm not quite sure, but maybe phrasing it I as enjoyed the time I spent with it sounds better.

The book reminds me of Regina Calcaterra's memoir except more detailed and more graphic. It is hard to read, and there are parts that I guarantee will make you uncomfortable, but I still do think it's worth reading.

If I have any complaint about this it's that the story stops when the author graduates high school. Instead I wished it would have continued, and we could have seen how Sawyers-Lovett was able to overcome her childhood. You know she has since she's able to write this book, and shares some of the resources that helped her on the way, but I wish we would have had a window into that part of her life as well. So much of this book deals with depressing situations, and I would have loved to have had it end a little more positively, or at least as much as it could have.

But in a lot of ways it feels like the book itself was a big step on the road to recovery. It seems that writing about these events really forced Sawyers-Lovett to comes to terms with her childhood. I did lead a completely different type of life from the author, which did make it a bit hard to relate to certain situations. However I think if I had a similar background, I could see how this book could be a major steps towards someone else being able to turn their life around.

4/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Monday Movie Review

3 Days to Kill
I went into this movie expecting to not really enjoy it, and yet I was met with pleasant surprise. A lot of the movie focuses on Keven Coster's character building a relationship with his teen-aged daughter, which I really enjoyed. Yes, there were still quite a bit of action scenes, but it was the bits between the two of them I loved the most.

And speaking of the daughter, Hailee Steinfeld was pretty amazing as her. I love her in True Grit and I was excited to see her in this one as well.

So while this probably isn't one I need to see again, there's definitely worse out there you could be seeing.

Mailbox Monday (66)

I'm a little in shock that my Mailbox's have been so crazy lately. It's hard to believe all these books are coming into my home, but unfortunately unless I find a way to stop time have no idea when I'm going to be able to read all of these!
From Virtual Author Book Tours
Round the Bend by Alistair McGuinness
This is a travel memoir about the author's time in South America. Since I don't have plans to visit there anytime soon, I'm hoping this book will help to transport me there even if it's not quite for real.

From Historical Fiction Book Tours
Pilgrim Footprints on the Sands of Time by Sylvia Nilsen
This is a historical fiction about the murder of Thomas Becket. I actually read another book about this last year that I enjoyed, so I'm looking forward to seeing these events from another author's perspective.

From Paperback Swap
Bright Young Royals by Jerramy Fine
I absolutely loved Jerramy Fine's memoir and every since I've been wanting to read more by her. Although I don't expect this book to be anything like her memoir since instead it profiles royalty around the world. I am a bit royalty obsessed, so I'm looking forward to reading about Who's Who in the world today.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
I absolutely loved the movie when I saw it last year, and ever since I've been wanting to read the book. I have heard they made some big changes with the movie, but I'm excited to see what's different in the original.

From Goodreads
Rosarito Beach by M.A. Lawson
This may not be my typical read, but I can't help that I love entering and then winning Goodreads giveaway. But this one does feature of female agent, which is the main reason I entered the giveaway in the first place.

Night Games by Lisa Marie Perry
Yes, another one I was lucky enough to win, especially since I probably wouldn't pick it up other wise. It's a romance novels about a football player, so I'm sure it will be a fun ride.

What did you find in your mailbox this week?

The Other People in Norman Rockell's America {Giveaway}

Hidden in Plain Sight by Jane Allen Petrick
Published: July 26, 2013 by Informed Decisions International
Going into this I knew little of Norman Rockwell. I obviously have seen his Thanksgiving painting and those for Coca-Cola, but knew little about who he actually was. Considering that this isn't actually a biography of him, it's interesting how much I learned reading this. Instead the book highlights the minorities in Norman Rockwell's work, the ones that are present, but often unnoticed.

One item I learned is that Rockwell painted from photographs, which means he'd take pictures of a given person and sketch from the photos. I never really thought about how he would have drawn his pieces, but it does make sense. After all, a photo freezes time so you don't have to worry about the model moving on you. This book is about those models and their stories.

Except it isn't really a biography of them either. Instead it tells the story of how Norman Rockwell, living in a predominately white town in Vermont, was able to find his diverse models. We then hear each one's recollections of modeling and see where they are today.

If I have any complaint about this book, it's the lack of pictures. Each time a piece of artwork was described I wanted to see it, hated that most times there wasn't an image. Of course I understand copyright issues, and I was able to easily search for one online, but think it a perfect world, those pieces should all be in here.

It is interesting how Norman Rockwell's one goal in life seemed to be to do something important, and that he felt he had failed. It really puts things in perspective hearing that someone who made such a difference and was able to capture the essence of America in his work, had no idea the impact he had. It also makes you think how many lives you may be making a difference to, without having any idea.

4/5

If you're curious to know more about Norman Rockwell and his work, then I have the perfect opportunity for you since I'm co-hosting a giveaway for 3 ebooks! Please use the rafflecopter form below to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I was provided this book through Virtual Author Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

Also, I'm currently a finalist for The Bookish Babe, for Best Book Blog, at My So-Called Chaos! If you enjoy reading my book reviews I would greatly appreciate you taking the time to vote for me.

Today I'm linking up with Blonde Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday!

From Miss to Mrs: Closing the Book

It's been almost 18 months since our wedding. I've written 59 posts recaping it, and I've yet to finish. At least until today, with my 60th and final recap post.

The Box for Our Wedding AlbumWhen it came to booking our photographer, I knew there was one thing we had to had. I didn't need engagement photos, nor did I want to take bridal portraits. I didn't even care if we received hard copies of our pictures (although we did). Instead I wanted digital copies (for blog posts), rights to them (so I could print my own copies), and a professional album.
I know for many albums are something on the bottom of the list. After all, it's so easy to use an online photo service and create your own, which is actually what I did for holiday presents, but knew it wasn't right for me. I guess until you've seen a quality album its hard to know the difference.

The Page Thickness of Our AlbumExcept I was familiar with them. After my Bat Mitzvah my parents' did buy a professional album, which I fell in love with. There just something about the thickness of the pages, and the quality that you can't find anywhere else. I still love looking through my album (and even my brother's from his Bar Mitzvah) to see it all captured and help relive the day.

Getting ReadyIf there's any regret with our album it's that I didn't beg and pay for more pages. As it is I couldn't narrow it down to the numbers of photos suggested by my photographer, which meant many of the pages had a collage of smaller photos instead of one or two larger ones.

The CeremonyLooking back I'm so glad I decided that an album was worth it, even if the boy wouldn't agree. I love knowing that this will stand the test of time. I know it's something I going to want to look through in years to come to bring me back to such to beautiful moment. And hopefully someday I'm able to show to our future children so they too can see the day our family started.

The ReceptionIs a professional album something you did, or would, find a place for in your wedding budget?

All photos in the album courtesy of Sabree Hill Photography.
Miss a Recap Post?
Sneak Peak
From Miss to Mrs: The Calm Before the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: There's a Hurricane Coming?
From Miss to Mrs: Here Comes Isaac
From Miss to Mrs: Weathering the Cane
From Miss to Mrs: After the Storm
From Miss to Mrs: Trials and Tribulations
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Errands
From Miss to Mrs: A Night on the Town
From Miss to Mrs: The Hangover
From Miss to Mrs: Rehearsing in the Heat
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Supper
From Miss to Mrs: Gifting the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Single Night
From Miss to Mrs: Oh What a Beautiful Morning
From Miss to Mrs: Getting Prettified
From Miss to Mrs: Prepping the Plantation
From Miss to Mrs: Turtle Time
From Miss to Mrs: The Photographer Has Arrived
From Miss to Mrs: Becoming the Bride
From Miss to Mrs: Dress Details
From Miss to Mrs: Ou Est le Groom?
From Miss to Mrs: A Bridge-y First Look
From Miss to Mrs: Couple Time
From Miss to Mrs: Just the Two of Us
From Miss to Mrs: Grouping the Girls
From Miss to Mrs: Ain't No Party Like a Bridal Party
From Miss to Mrs: Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: Making it Official
From Miss to Mrs: The Bedeken
From Miss to Mrs: The Final Minutes
From Miss to Mrs: Programming Break
From Miss to Mrs: The Processional
From Miss to Mrs: Walking the Walk
From Miss to Mrs: Circle to Ceremony
From Miss to Mrs: Remembrance to Kiddush
From Miss to Mrs: The Exchanges
From Miss to Mrs: Lucky Number Seven
From Miss to Mrs: Mazel Tov
From Miss to Mrs: Ceremony Details
From Miss to Mrs: The Yichud
From Miss to Mrs: Extended Fun with Family
From Miss to Mrs: The One Who Found You
From Miss to Mrs: You Are My Fire
From Miss to Mrs: Eat, Drink, and Be Married
From Miss to Mrs: I Want Candy
From Miss to Mrs: Let's Get Toasty
From Miss to Mrs: What a Wonderful World
From Miss to Mrs: Behind From Where We Came
From Miss to Mrs: Havah Nagilah
From Miss to Mrs: Hey Mr. DJ
From Miss to Mrs: The Littlest Guests
From Miss to Mrs: Show Me the Money
From Miss to Mrs: Tossing Fun
From Miss to Mrs: Don't Stop Believin'
From Miss to Mrs: The Morning After
From Miss to Mrs: The Last Lunch
From Miss to Mrs: Inspiration to Realty

You Got the White Stuff

If the boy had his way the only dessert I would ever make is a Black Russian Cake. Except I can't quite get accept the idea of making the same thing every single time. But when I found this recipe for a White Russian Bundt Cake it seemed to be the perfect compromise, something new for me, and something close to the boy's favorite.

White Russian Bundt Cake
Ingrediants
For the Cake
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup kahlua plus 1 tablespoon
For the Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons kahula
3 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions
For the Cake
1. Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Stir together the milk and whipping cream. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. At the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix together. Then half of the milk mixture and mix. Again add in and mix 1/3 (or half of what's left) of the flour mixture.
7. Finish up by adding the last of the milk and flour, mixing after each addition. (Unfortunately for me this bowl isn't really made for pouring, which you can kind of see in this action shot. Thankfully most of the milk still did make it into the mixing bowl instead of the counter!)
8. Scoop out half of the mix into a separate bowl. Stir in white chocolate chips.
9. Add 1 cup of kahlua into the other half of the batter. (After my early incident I was sure to have the measuring cup as close the the center to make it all in. And it would have been fine, if my elbow hadn't hit the kahula bottle as I was pouring. Normally I would have easily been able to catch it. But with one hand on my camera and the other one the measuring spoon the counter once again got wet!)
10. Add half of the kaklua batter to a prepped bundt cake pan. Add the white batter on top, followed by the last of the kahlua batter.
11. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then invert onto serving platter to finish cooling. (I've made several bundt cakes by now, but this was the first time I've had issues getting it out of the pan. I did make it eventually, but it's why the top looks a bit mangled in places. Next time though I will make sure not to skimp on the cooking spray to avoid it happening again.)
12. While cooling, pour over the tablespoon of kahlua to absorb into cake.

For the Glaze
13. Stiff the powdered sugar into your mixing bowl.
14. Mix in kahlua and and then whipping cream until desired consistency.
15. Pour over warm cake.
As for a final verdict, it was really good. Except while I'm not quite ready to admit this to the boy, I do think his Black Russian Cake may be slightly better.

Do you find yourself making the same dessert over and over? Or are you more likely to only make something a single time?

White Russian Bundt Cake
Ingrediants
For the Cake
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup kahlua plus 1 tablespoon
For the Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons kahula
3 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions
For the Cake
1. Preheat the over to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
2. Stir together the milk and whipping cream. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. At the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Add in 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix together. Then half of the milk mixture and mix. Again add in and mix 1/3 (or half of what's left) of the flour mixture.
7. Finish up by adding the last of the milk and flour, mixing after each addition.
8. Scoop out half of the mix into a separate bowl. Stir in white chocolate chips.
9. Add 1 cup of kahlua into the other half of the batter.
10. Add half of the kaklua batter to a prepped bundt cake pan. Add the white batter on top, followed by the last of the kahlua batter.
11. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then invert onto serving platter to finish cooling.
12. While cooling, pour over the tablespoon of kahlua to absorb into cake.
13. Stiff the powdered sugar into your mixing bowl.
14. Mix in kahlua and and then whipping cream until desired consistency.
15. Pour over warm cake.

February Blog Love

Each month I like to highlight a few of my favorite posts from my current sponsors. So join me for a trip over to Kitty Adventures!
Kitty Adventures

DIY: Lace Peter Pan Collar

Depression and Miscarriage

"When my depression ebbed, I was still sad---but instead of controlling and overwhelming my entire person, my melancholy was now just a tiny part of my heart. Like thinning fog. Like waking up from a bad dream. I was still sad, but I could move. I could feel the tears, but now I could hold them back--when before I couldn't no matter how hard I tried."

Italian Chicken for Two

If you want to look into sponsoring From L.A. to LA, be sure to check out my sponsor page.

What are your favorite posts from around the blogosphere this past month?

Mailbox Monday (65)

Another busy week of books for me! So, as always, I'm linking up with Mailbox Monday!
From Paperback Swap
The Runaway by Terry Kay
This is actually our book club book for the month. I actually don't know much about it, except that from the summary it takes place in the South after WWII. But I do love historical fiction and enjoy reading about the South so hopefully it's one I'll enjoy.

From Goodreads
The Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley
I remember loving a Lifetime movie growing up about two little girls who were allergic to sunlight. I can't even remember the name of it, but certain scenes still are vivid in my memories. Which is why I'm so excited about this mystery since one of the main characters is a boy with a similar medical condition where he must avoid sunlight.

From Historical Fiction Book Tours
The Highlander's Reward by Eliza Knight
I haven't read much about Scotland, but it's definitely a place I'm curious about, which is of course why I'm excited to start this one.

Won at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell
Billion Dollar Cowboy by Carolyn Brown
The Cowboy's Mail Order Bride by Carolyn Brown
The Cowboy's Christmas Baby by Carolyn Brown
Not only did I receive these 3 books, but also this sparkly cowboy boot ornament. I'm not quite sure which of these I'm most excited about, but maybe The Cowboy's Christmas Baby.

What did you find in your mailbox this week?

You still have time to enter my giveaway to win a copy of Marie Antoinette's Head!

Five on Friday (2)

I'm once again joining in with the fun and linking up with Five on Friday!

1. I finally went out and bought the newest Nashville soundtrack. I own every Nashville album so far, and as much as I love the show, I think I love the music even more. And yes, I am still one of those people that goes out and buy cds. There's just something about have a physical copy and being able to look through the album booklet that I can't quite quit.
2. After I finished my Project 365 last year, I was so excited to kick off the new year and not worry about it. Except I miss it. I find that I rarely think to take photos anymore now that I don't make myself. And while I don't miss the stress, I still plan on taking it on again in 2015!
3. The boy and I stopped at Trader Joes last weekend, and since I couldn't find my normal chocolate covered fruits, I picked up these chocolate covered ginger pieces instead. I will admit that I'm a bit ginger obsessed, I always go through both mine and the boy's ginger when we have sushi, so it isn't too much of a surprise how much I love these. They do have a very strong ginger flavor which I know everyone isn't a huge fan of, but they're perfect for me.
4. I'm excited and a little shocked to share that someone nominated me in My So-Called Chaos' Best of Blog Awards! I'm currently up for The Bookish Babe (for Best Book Blog) and Courageous Commenter (for favorite comment-leaver). If you do enjoy reading my book reviews and love reading my comments, I would be ever so appreciative if you took the time to vote for me.

5. Also in exciting news for you, I'm currently hosting two book giveaways. Today is the last day to win a copy of At the River's Edge and you have till Tuesday to enter to win Marie Antoinette's Head!

Do you ever buy physical cds still, or have you completely switched over to digital music?

An Apple a Day

The Taste of Apple Seeds by Kathatina Hagena
Published: February 4, 2014 by William Morrow & Company
Originally Published: 2008
Iris has just inherited her grandmother's house, but before she can decide what to do with it she has to comes to terms with what happened there. While Iris is our narrator, this books is really the story of the house instead; from Iris' experiences there, then her mother's and her aunts', and finally her grandmother's and great-aunt's.

Back in high school I remember telling a teacher, "I only read for fun, and can't imagine anyone actually wants to analyze a book for deeper meaning." Till now that has largely been the case. Except with this book, this is the first time I've read something where I've thought, "I need someone to help me through this." There is so much symbolism, and so much hidden meaning with each and every anecdote. I do think I was able to get some of them, but I know I could spend far more time thinking about this and still not quite discovering all the hidden meanings.

This book doesn't have very many pages, and it didn't take me that long to read, yet I feel like I was reading it forever. The book kind of meanders along, at times even seeming to go backwards. You do eventually reach your final destination, but it's quite a journey to get there.

In a way the book reminds me of the magical realism of Like Water for Chocolate, except instead of a Mexican background the book is very firmly set in the Germany countryside. It is an interesting perspective, one I haven't read before. Looking back on the book, it feels almost like a long summer day, and now that it's over I'm ready for a good night's sleep to be able to dream and reflect on it.

4/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

While you're here, don't forget to enter my two giveaways!

Wine & Mexican

Like most other city, January is home to restaurant week in Baton Rouge. The boy and I have never taken part, mainly because I never hear about it till after it's over. This year though we had warning and made a point to make it happen.

I went through the list of restaurants looking for a new place to try where we'd both have options that amused us. The choice we made was Bin 77, which technically was new to both of us, although I had been there before under a different name.

It's actually more of a wine bar, but they decided to take a bit of a Mexican twists on their restaurant week. So while we did have the restaurant's food, it wasn't the wine and appetizers that you'd normally have while there.

The boy and I both had the braised rabbit and duck carnitas. They came stuffed with foie gras, chestnut-thickened green mole, spiced quince, roasted broccolin, and duck skin cracklin. The main reason I order this was because it came with foie gras, but while it was really good, you couldn't really taste the foie gras, which was a bit of a disappointment.
For my main dish I went with adobe crusted ahi tuna with wilted saffron endive, creamy masa, baby bok choy, smoked corn & anchovy sofrito. Again, the tuna was good, but not amazing. But far the better part of this dish was all the vegetables underneath.
The boy's choice, which you can see in the back, was a lava rock aged New York strip with short rib and manzanilla olive rillette, chanterelle-oxtail rellenas & celery root chuleta. Again with his dish the best part was the sides, and looking back I think I would have preferred his steak to my fish.
Since the boy isn't a fan of desserts, I was able to enjoy both of the options offered. Above was their chocolate plantain bread pudding with candied walnuts, raw honey comb, saffron simple syrup & cinnamon-rum whipped cream. In the photo below was a slice of dos leches cake with goat cheese & cranberry jam, blood orange gel & pistachio gelato. Unfortunately though, I wasn't a huge fan of either item. Both were good, and there were items that I loved, especially the gelato, but neither was one I'd see myself ordering again.
Looking back, I made it sound as if it was a disappointing night. Except it wasn't really. We probably did go into this with high expectations, and there were a lot of aspects that we really liked. But next time we go back we'll probably stick to wine and appetizers, and next year again we'll likely want to try out someplace new for restaurant week.

Do you have restaurant week where you live? If so, have you ever taken part?