Tag Archives: #twopeasandpod

January, We Hardly Knew Ye

How did January go by so fast? Where does the time go? Where is the Fitbit charging cord (seriously, if anyone knows…).

Not a ton of events hosted during this bleak month. We did have one momentous occasion. Guitar Boy entered the realm of teenager.

Neither Hallmark nor Target carries violent video game cake toppers, you have to make your own. Weird.

January definitely is for comfort food. So it was a big soup month around here. I made Smitten Kitchen’s Ultimate Chicken Soup.

I made Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup from Two Peas and Their Pod.

With Italian Grilled Cheese from Stanley Tucci’s cookbook.

Basically it is fresh mozzarella sliced thin on Italian bread, dipped in a slightly beaten egg and grilled. I rubbed the bread with a cut garlic clove and added a pinch of salt to the egg mixture. It was gooey and good, but it needed a little somethin’ somethin’. If I did it again, at MBork’s suggestion I would add grated parmesan to the egg dip to give it a frico type of texture. Or I might make it two cheese with Fontina or another strong but melty cheese. But hey, grilled cheese, no complaining!

Made the easiest Stovetop Mac and Cheese from The Food Lab at Serious Eats.

This was really good. And it heats up well the next day. The only tip I’d offer is don’t add the salt until you taste it. Cheese varies in saltiness. PS, that’s in a clear glass bowl. I don’t just put piles of mac-n-cheese directly on the table. Well, not often.

Drummer Boy advanced to the Battle of the Books semi-finals. They read 7 books in two months. They didn’t win the whole thing but not for lack of preparation. So proud.

Taking a step away from clothespin-on-the-aorta type of recipes, I also made this Detox Salad from Gimme Some Oven.

I didn’t have miso though so I substituted with this Ginger Sesame Dressing from Epicurious. Delicious. Though if you are going to store it in the refrigerator for a day, don’t add the almonds. They get super soggy.

So what food is going to the Superbowly party today? Oh, wait no, it’s Superbowl LI. My bad.

You know how you are walking through Trader Joe’s and they are handing out samples of food and drink. Fatefully one day I was walking through and they had taken their Pub Cheese and warmed it. Just warmed it. And then put it on pretzel bread. And then handed it to me. And then I ate it. And then my whole family ate it. And now Imma gonna eat it again.

Seriously, all you do is warm it up for 30 seconds or so in the microwave and put it over a warmer and slice the bread. As Ina would say, “how easy is that?”. Also bringing the always popular and totally low calorie Muffins That Taste Like Donuts from Tasty Kitchen.

And my 90’s classic – Crab Dip.

Old School Crab Dip

WHAT YOU NEED
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 TBSP mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced (or use 2 cubes of Trader Joe’s crushed, frozen garlic. I heart you Trader Joe’s!)
Hearty pinches of kosher salt and a grind of black pepper
3 green onions minced or 2 TBSP of finely minced white onion
6 oz crab meat (canned or refrigerated, but fully cooked)

WHAT YOU DO
Combine the everything except the onion and crab meat in a bowl. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Stir in the crab meat and onion with a rubber spatula until fully combined. Put it into serving bowl, cover and chill at least an hour.

And so we’re off to enjoy the ~~commercials~~ big game. Have a great week everyone!

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like The Middle of February

Seriously, 11 degrees below zero in the middle of December? Two major snowstorms? Is the universe trying to stop Plaid Christmas?! Because nothing stops Plaid Christmas. Nothing!

All right, well, the weather did move the first Plaid Christmas back by a week. But I’ll give you the recipes now because now next week I’m doing two Plaid Christmases (Christmasi??) in two days. So not likely going to feel like recipe writing. And thanks to The Block

we did an impromptu practice Plaid Christmas last night when the original got pushed back.

However, moving Plaid Christmas One closer to Plaid Christmas Two allowed me to go to a cookie exchange yesterday.

Twas a bittersweet cookie exchange though to honor our dear friends, the Harrisons, who are moving back to Australia. The Block will be all the less kind, funny and joyful without them. *stupid computer got something in my eyes again*

For the exchange I made these Brown Butter Sugar Cookies from Sally’s Baking Addiction.

We tried multiple toppings and all agreed sanding sugar was a better topping than sprinkles. But everyone loved them, even Drummer Boy, who is not a big cookie eater.

However, those cookies were incorrectly attributed by me on Instagram to What’s Gaby Cooking. So to make up for it, I made her Molasses Cookies. Couldn’t be easier. Used a scant two tablespoon cookie scoop and cooked 2 minutes longer than the recipe called for.

As a gift for the hostess and a snack for Plaid Christmas (one cannot exist on Chex Mix alone. JK – yes you can) I made these Union Square Cafe Nuts via Smitten Kitchen. Only thing I did different is reduced the cayenne pepper a little. Glad I did, they still have heat at the end, but not overwhelming.

On to the meal. Totally pulled a Rachel from Friends – a layer of jelly, a layer of ground beef – when making GF meatballs and marinara sauce simultaneously. I started the meatballs, paused probably to tell the cat to get off the table, then looked up a the meatball recipe and continued. That is, until I got to the “add a whole can of tomatoes”. That seemed wrong. Yep, was following the marinara recipe in the middle of the meatball recipe.

I soldiered on though, and what a happy accident indeed. So I present to you:

Accidental Gluten Free Meatballs

WHAT YOU NEED
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 heaping cup of gluten free panko crumbs
scant 1/4 cup of milk (I actually used a little less)
1/2 TBSP dried parsley
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
3 TBSP finely minced onion
1 egg
2 TBSP olive oil

WHAT YOU DO
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients except olive oil in a large bowl with your hands until fully incorporated. Shape in to balls with about 2-3 tablespoons of meat per meatball. Heat oil in a skillet and add meatballs. Brown, turning very gently, until browned all over. Place meatballs on a greased baking pan and cook until done, about 15-20 minutes. These can be chilled and reheated in the sauce.

Plaid Christmas will include Skinnytaste’s Crockpot Bolognese Sauce and Two Peas and Their Pod’s Slow Cooker Marinara. That way we take care of the meat eaters, the vegetarians, the gluten free crowd and the butter noodles crowd. Trying a new GF pasta, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Will also be making the world’s easiest Rosemary Roast Salmon that I’ve talked about before. The only thing I do differently is mix olive oil with dijon mustard and pinch of chopped rosemary and rub it over the salmon before putting the lemons on. It’s a hit every time and can be prepped ahead and kept in the fridge. Thanks to The Block for taking care of yesterday’s salmon with gusto

all the while not being allowed in the front room or dining room because I had already set the tables before Plaid Christmas was moved. So it was a cozy practice Plaid Christmas.

In between all these festivities, we had one of the best School of Rock shows to date. Drummer Boy, Guitar Boy and friend and neighbor Singer Girl were all in the Motown band together and they killed it.

See Kevin’s Facebook account for some video footage if you are interested. Or I can send you some, I only have like 40GB of video though #proud parent.

I would be remiss in all my talk about Plaid Christmas – which, by the way, I’ve been planning for 4 years because that’s the McNamara Christmas rotation – if I did not link to one of the funniest annual features on the internet. The 2016 Hater’s Guide to The Williams-Sonoma Catalog. Even though it is a little close to home this year (ok I know he’s making fun of me), it still is one of my favorite reads. Not safe for delicate eyes though.

May Santa bring you all a Murder Vacuum. Have a great holiday everyone.

Trying to be Organized

Inspired by, but nowhere near as cool as Shutterbean’s Meal Prep, the last two Sundays I have tried to pre-prep a number of items so that I would be all “Weeknight dinner ready in 10 minutes boys!” during the week. Erp. Didn’t exactly go down that way. But, I did shave some time off my game.

As much as I like to cook, I have a confession. I can’t stand leftovers. There, it’s out there. Once it is cooked and eaten, I really don’t want that dish again for a long while. Thankfully Kevin likes leftovers, so there is no waste. But it also means I don’t tend to repeat the same meal within a month. So I have also tried to use Sundays to make a big meal where I can freeze half for another time at least a month later. That should save some time during the winter blahs in terms of getting a decent dinner on the table.

Enough yakkity-yakking.

The first Sunday, I made Short Rib Pasta Sauce from How Sweet It Is. Divine!

Added bonus: Pizza Mike made The Pioneer Woman’s Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes. He did the batter and home and brought it here to cook and it worked just fine. An awesome treat with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (which I would have a picture of, but every time we topped one – swipe! it was gone).

Froze half of the short rib pasta sauce for another day. While that cooked, I made garlic confit (garlic cloves roasted in 2/3 cup grape seed covered in a dish in a 250 oven for 1.5 hours – cool completely and store in airtight jar in fridge for a week), chopped parsley and cut up vegetables for salads.

Next day, used oil and half the parsley in Garlic Walnut Pasta.

Garlic Walnut Pasta

WHAT YOU NEED
4 TBSP garlic olive oil or just regular olive oil
1 cups walnut pieces
2 cloves minced garlic (one if you used garlic olive oil)
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan
kosher salt to taste
3/4 lb linguine

WHAT YOU DO
Prepare pasta to al dente, reseve 1/4 cup of the cooking water and drain. Heat oil in a frying or sauté pan. Add walnuts and toast, stirring, for about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and basil and stir until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add pasta to the pan and toss with tongs to coat. Add cheese and stir and finish with the parsley.

Then two days later, I used the parsley and some chopped basil to make a salmon dish

Parmesan Herb Crusted Salmon
adapted from Add a Pinch

1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp garlic oil (or olive oil plus a dash of garlic powder)
salt and pepper to taste
2 6 oz salmon filets

WHAT YOU DO
Heat oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. Place salmon skin side down on the foil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover loosely with either foil or parchment (preferred) and bake for 10 minutes. Combine first four ingredients in a bowl until they hold together. If too loose, add a dash more oil.

Remove salmon from oven and take cover off. Press the cheese mixture onto the top until it adheres. Put back in oven for about 10 minutes more or until fish is cooked through and top is all melted. If you would like the top to brown a little more, feel free to put it under the broiler for a few minutes. Me, I’m afraid of the broiler. I feel like if I take my eyes off of it for three seconds BAM!, burnt. But you do what you need to do.

Then the next Sunday I became all things tomato. I made Pioneer Woman’s Stuffed Shells and froze half. I cooked chicken breasts.

Then I took the chicken off the bone and shredded it. Helpful hint from How Sweet It Is. If you ever need to shred a bunch of chicken, put it in a bowl and use your hand mixer. Yep, pinky-swear it works.

Used the shredded chicken to make tacos (mix with cumin and chili powder or just package of taco seasoning and a dash of chicken stock if your chicken is too dry). Add some cotija cheese or queso fresco, lettuce or slaw of your choice and a squeeze of lime and wrap in a toasted corn or flour tortilla). Using many of the same ingredients, made a slow cooker batch of The Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Tortilla Soup and froze half (without the tortillas or cheese in it).

And since the slow cooker was out anyway, and by now I had bronchitis and a sinus infection – I’m so pretty!!! – I only wanted more soup so I made Two Peas and Their Pod’s Creamy Tomato Soup with Orzo with grilled gruyere cheese sandwiches. Freezer’s getting full!

Used the various precut vegetables in salads or as sides. Used orzo as a side to the salmon, froze the extra and then used in the soup. Froze a lot of rice too. So in February I’ll have some freezer meals ready to go.

Speaking of February, if your potted Christmas tree from the grocery store is still going strong, rewrap that baby, add some cookie cutters and make that poor shrub feel seasonal again!

Yep, those are cat paws to the right. Skunk the Cat – always helping.

Have a great week everyone.

The I’ll Do it Someday Someday is Now!

Sure, some people might have days off between jobs and go away for a weekend. A spa day perhaps? Maybe just lounge about on the porch and read some of those eleven books stacked up on one’s nightstand? Sure, one COULD do that. Or, presented with 10 days of no kids at home and a husband who can reach things in high places, one COULD also embark on the biggest organizing and cleaning spree since one moved in here eight years ago. And it was done. So say we all. #Nerdfoiles.

First up, the most significant change was Drummer Boy’s room losing its nursery motif. Because he’s 9. Yep, 9. I never said I moved with lightning speed.

And changing colors

To a sports/Minecraft/Art theme more suited to a boy of his maturity.

Next up, our closet. Before:

After

Yes, I know the tag is still on it. I’m gonna wear it this fall, I swear.

But oh, it gets worse. Don’t worry, we’re getting there. Laundry room before:

After

Oh dear, now we go down to THE BASEMENT. Actually, it’s been more cluttered. We recently unloaded the baby toys (like play kitchens, small vehicles) so there are lot less large items. I remember buying this house thinking, “Now we have a finished basement, so all the toys will be down there and I won’t have to stare at a mess all day”. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, woo, woo, oh. Whew!

Anyway, the basement before:

And after

Behind the bar, before

Behind the bar, after. Why yes, we do need more can koozies. Thank you for asking.

And finally, the utility room. Now, by way of background for those that are new here, at the old house we had a scary, spider-filled, space between the stairs where someone could easily grab you type of basement. Thus, whenever I would accidentally go to Homegoods, I would purchase a festive red platter, enjoy it, and then send that festive red platter down to said basement. Then the next time I accidentally went to Homegoods, I’d think “Hey, I don’t have a red platter” because, you know, object permanence issues. And down to the scary Hell-mouth basement that one would go too. Tablecloths would suffer the same fate. Resulting, as some might say, in an excess of housewares. Now, however, there is no excuse as our basement is lovely. No excuse for THIS!

Or this tablecloth tower of doooooom:

But, finally all is in order. With napkins in drawers labeled by season, kitchen and hand towels bagged by holiday:

Tablecloths loaded into a dresser by size of the table:

Often used items put within handy reach:

And platters and assorted dishes organized by color. As any normal person does. Right? Normal people do that, right?!!

Note the number of red dishes. It was a real problem.

Along the way a number of drawers were organized (nightstand, desk), supplies were created for the holiday gift I’m going to give the neighbors (SUSPENSE – it’s only September!) and Halloween Block Party planning/organizing has begun.

But for those who only come here for the food and not the OCD ramblings of a hoarder, what were some of the food highlights I made after seven days of seven straight hours of straight up straightening up?

Made this Shrimp with Spicy Garlic Sauce from Can You Stay for Dinner. Didn’t have green beans so I used broccoli. Also, only used half the chili garlic sauce and it was plenty spicy for me. Did I take a picture – no, because I was too tired from all the before and aftering.

Also grilled up some very simple chicken legs. This is a very simple, fast way to grill chicken legs with lots of flavor.

And, the never fail Ina Garten’s Baked Potato Wedges

The leftovers of which became Two Peas and Their Pod’s Loaded Baked Potato Frittata (fri-ta-ta – that’s a fun word to say) for dinner the following night.

And for dessert during my unemployment period?

Kentucky Butter Cake cookies from Cookies and Cups.

Oh, I may have also watched two entire seasons of Orphan Black at City Cousin’s insistence. Which means I also didn’t sleep very much on certain evenings.

So, ultimately, over the last two weeks we donated/gave away/boxed up for Mom’s garage sale:

13 Hefty bags total of clothing and shoes
4 bags of toys
3 boxes of books
3 boxes of ancient financial records shredded
3 boxes of housewares

Buuuuuuut, nonetheless, I accidentally went to Homegoods because I had something to return (it happens!), and may have bought a new fall pillow and blanket.

Which Skunk the Cat is totally fine with.

Now go get your weekend on. I know I will as I have to go to the new job on Monday. There may be pumpkin bread involved. Just sayin’

Happy Fall y’all.

Happy Birthday Dodd-Frank Act!

You share a birthday with my husband. However, Dodd-Frank, so far you have not shown me how you are useful or done anything to impress me. So you, Dodd-Frank, do not get a custom can koozie. Kevin, on the other hand, has done all that and more. So he gets one for his birthday:

Step up your game, Dodd-Frank.

My friend receives a monthly box of fair trade food/ingredients, similar to the Hatchery box I get. We’ll call her Mbork to protect her identity. She wasn’t sure what to do with the California peach vinegar she received and Jbork agreed. So they dropped it off over here. Challenge accepted!

What, what?! That’s right, first up is Pineapple Salsa

WHAT YOU NEED
1.5 lb fresh pineapple, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups diced)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
1 cup finely diced red pepper
4 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP peach vinegar
2 TBSP fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin

WHAT YOU DO
Whisk last 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add first 5 ingredients and stir. Cover and let chill at least 2 hours for flavors to meld. Serve with tortilla chips when you get to a 9 year old’s birthday party

Or save it as a topping for grilled fish.

What’s that you say? Big deal, so the bottle is missing about two tablespoons worth of vinegar? Not going to concede? Alllllrighty then.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Peach Vinegar Dressing

WHAT YOU NEED
4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP peach vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 heirloom tomatoes
2 TBSP sliced basil
1 ball burrata or mozzarella cheese

WHAT YOU DO
Combine first 4 ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine. Slice tomatoes and place on platter. Slice cheese and place under tomatoes (if burrata – cuz it’s messy) or on top of tomatoes (if mozzarella). Drizzle dressing over and scatter basil on top.

Had enough?! No? Prepare your face.

Pork Tenderloin with Peach and Ginger Sauce
adapted from Epicurious‘ recipe

WHAT YOU NEED
1 TBSP canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup PEACH VINEGAR (Bam!)
2 TBSP minced or chopped ginger
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 16 oz pork tenderloin
12 slices frozen peaches, thawed.

WHAT YOU DO
Heat vegetable oil in a pot on medium heat. Add onions and sugar and sauté until only slightly golden brown. Add remaining ingredients up to pepper and boil 2 minutes. Remove sauce from heat and cool. Once cool, add about a cup of the sauce to the pork tenderloins in a gallon size bag and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Store remaining sauce in refrigerator.

When ready, heat grill to medium. Remove pork from marinade and grill until done. “Done” is a subject of intense debate here at Lucky Rhino headquarters. Some members would defer to the USDA which lowered the pork safety temperature to 145 degrees with 3 minutes of resting time. Others of us feel that we aren’t going to be tricked by some shadowy government agency who is likely trying to grow a tapeworm army with humans as hosts and insist there not even be a hint of pink. Thus, 155 and 10 minutes of rest time it is.

Anyhoo, boil remaining sauce (don’t use the marinade) until reduced by half, about 5 minutes or so. Add the peaches and cook another two minutes. Slice pork and serve sauce over pork.

Sorry, pork simply doesn’t photograph well.

And, since today is National Ice Cream Day (yep!) I also made this S’mores Ice Cream Pie from Two Peas and Their Pod. Don’t worry, I didn’t put vinegar in it.

The only thing I changed, albeit inadvertently, is that I forgot to mix the cracker crumbs into the ice cream, but I don’t think anyone noticed.

And I also drizzled the top with Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Because, why not?

And of course, then we went next door to Fake Sister’s house to make actual s’mores. Because, why not?

Have a great week everyone.

Weather – Please Make up Your Mind I’ve Got Things to Do

And pick up your toys and dirty socks from the family room! Oh, no, wait, that’s the boys, not the weather.

Do you have tomatoes that are not up to par on the summer tomato bliss meter? No problem, just slow roast them. Yep, that’s right, I went right from pictures of dirty socks to food. No time for segues.

And add them to my new favorite Summer Pasta Salad just as Smitten Kitchen predicted it would be. She never steers me wrong. Do not fear the oregano amount. She’s right, she’s always right. I used white wine vinegar for a lighter taste and ricotta sallata as I sometimes find feta overwhelming.

Also did Garlic Roasted Potatoes from Ina Garten. With two luminaries of cookbooks like that, it can’t go wrong. And since we were straddling between spring and summer over the weekend, we grilled steaks but then sautéed some asparagus.

Asparagus with Pancetta

WHAT YOU NEED
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb asparagus, sliced on diagonal in 1 inch pieces
1/4 lb pancetta sliced thick and then diced

WHAT YOU DO
Heat olive oil in pan. Add pancetta and stir until crisp. Remove pancetta to a paper towel lined plate. Add asparagus to the oil in pan. Stir about 4 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of water, stir and cover loosely and steam for about 3-5 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and tender.

Remove from pan with slotted spoon and sprinkle crispy pancetta over the asparagus.

What’s up for dessert. How about giant Pretzel M&M Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod via What’s Gaby Cooking? I really flattened them and thought that was better than when they puffed up. But to each their own.

Now it is June so hopefully we’ll see some solid summer grilling weather. I made some teacher gifts of candle holders with 150 sharpened pencils and tucked in Gerber daisies in their own test tube vials.

Fake Sister had her very last day at grade school.

So after today, she and Drummer Boy will no longer be in school together. Hang on, this computer keeps getting dust in my eyes. *misty*

Happy Last Day of School everyone!

Happy First Day Without Negative Windchill

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks forward an hour (after the kids woke up, of course).

We took the opportunity of a moderately mild night yesterday to grill some steaks.

Simply salt and pepper the steaks, throw them on the grill. While they grill, melt half a stick of butter. Stir 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1 TBSP chopped fresh parsley and a dash or two of dried oregano into the butter. Right when the steaks come off the grill, baste with the butter mixture and then let the steaks rest while you grill asparagus, because SPRING BABY!!! Continue reading →

Getting Ready for the Holidays? Better Call Skunk

Our cat Skunk has offered to help you get ready for the holidays any way he can. He will help with:

Setting the table

#nothelpful (and Ewww!)

Ordering presents online

#nothelpful

Wrapping the presents

#nothelpful

Changing the sheets:

#nothelpful

Perhaps some baking?

#nothelpful

Setting the other table

#nothelpful (and Get down!)

Getting the kids to stop playing video games and help pick-up

#nothelpful

Well, at least when all is said and done, you can relax and read a good book:

Non-Cat Stuff

Here are some recent recipes that we’ve made for the various parties or just because:

Rainbow cookies from How Sweet It Is

I’ll be honest, these were way too sweet for me but Guitar Boy gave them thumbs up. Mine needed more cooking time than the recipe states as the first batch wasn’t quite done. I made the small ones (yes, those are the “small” ones).

Soft Gingersnaps from Two Peas and Their Pod

These were delicious. I definitely preferred them flattened with the bottom of a glass rather than puffy. To keep the coating both sparkly and crunchy, I used a mix of white sugar and Demerara sugar (also known as Turbinado sugar. Also known as cheap at Trader Joe’s.)

Gingerbread Granola from Minimalist Baker

Well, since I opened a jar of molasses, might as well find other things to do with it. This is granolatastic. Every time either Kevin or I walked by it, we would grab a handful. And the house smells great while it is cooking. I used one extra tablespoon of sugar and you could probably use another tablespoon of maple syrup if you want it more maple than ginger. Either I didn’t use a big enough pan or my oven runs cool, but I cooked it about 25 minutes before it started to brown. So check it at 18 but if it still feels really wet, leave it in for 3 minute intervals. It was great over vanilla Greek yogurt for breakfast. What is not great? Pieces of granola in my work keyboard.

Oh and one other thing:

hats

#notregrettingthispurchaseatall

Merry 3 days to go!