Margaritas! And A Bit Of Fundraising

Hello, hello! Just wanted to stop in to make sure you know tomorrow is national margarita day! (As if you didn't notice the countdown at the top there). Anyway I will certainly be celebrating and I hope you might too because margaritas are yummers! You are totally invited over and I will whip you up the best one ever.

Speaking of margaritas, I have been a member of the Desert Sharks PHC (parrothead club, a club for fans of Jimmy Buffett and his music) since I moved here to Tucson and it has been a blast. However, being a parrothead isn't just about partying, it is also about helping out your community which is super great!

"In the process of making new friends and having fun, we believe in leaving something positive behind. Our clubs are open to anyone with the tropical spirit and desire to contribute to the betterment of their communities"

Anyhoo, one of the major events our chapter does every year is a race for the cure here in southern Arizona. So because I like to do things with the club, and because I want help out, I am doing it too! Now I know most anyone who is reading this probably doesn't know me that well so I hope it is not too weird to do this here, but I just thought this might be a good way to get the word out. So if you want to help me raise some money just go HERE and donate however much you please! And if you are not interested I totally understand and don't worry I won't be soliciting you very often I promise.

It has been a little cloudy (with actual rain!) here the last few days, so I will leave you with few sunny photos of tea on the patio which were taken a few weeks ago. (I don't think I already posted these, but if I did please let me know. I have a hard time remembering these things.)

As you can see, the furries LOVE it and so do I.

Happy margarita drinking tomorrow, and don't forget virgin ones are delicious too if you are not alcohol inclined!

Alia

ps. Check out my giveaway on the next post down. I had a question if people from outside the States could enter, and the answer is yes certainly! I would love to give as many people as possible the chance to win so tell everyone you know!

Weekend Eats And Jams (And I Don't Mean No Jelly)

Friday: Had some of the other SIRLS (that stands for School of Information Resources and Library Science) ladies over to make dinner and cocktails. Thanks to my new book, Jamie helped us make asparagus and potato tart.

 

The berries were for cobbler. The tart turned out super yummy, and I don't even like asparagus!
You know you had a good time when the kitchen is a disaster afterwards.

I really love Jamie Oliver's show "Jamie at Home" and this cookbook is basically the exact same thing in book form, yay! I am super excited about it. The cocktail in the photos was also from the book. It was so funny, on the same day that I bought this book I ran across a new blog called Indianablue who talked about how she was cooking her way through another one of Jamie's cookbooks. Now I am certainly not as proactive as that, to cook every recipe in the book, but it definitely inspired me to make an effort to actually cook some of the recipes! Often times I will buy a cookbook, make one thing, put it on a shelf, and forget about it, but I can't do that to Jamie. So I am planning on making many more things. Thanks Indianablue! Definitely check out her blog if you have the chance, it is lovely. Anyway, on to....

Saturday: Sadly, I have no pictures of Saturday since I spent most of it doing homework. I did go on a nice outing with Mister B to Fantasy Comics (our favorite comic book store in Tucson which is quite a feat since there are like five), Upper Crust Pizza (best lunch special ever: a HUGE slice and a soda for $3.50), and Bookmans (needed some magazines, but didn't want to pay new prices). All in all it was a nice day even with the mountains of homework.

Sunday: The weather was PERFECT* for an outdoor house concert with the gang from Desert Sharks PHC. Brent Burns was playing who I hadn't heard much before, but pretty much anyone the PHC gets to play I know I will enjoy. He was really fun and I bought a CD! I have always liked Jimmy Buffett, but it is nice to be introduced to some other trop-rock musicians as well. This is the second house concert I have been to and they are rad! You basically are just hanging out in someone's backyard, sitting in whatever chair you chose to bring, sipping whatever beverage you chose to bring, listening to some fun music, and then during intermission you get to eat one (or all) of the many potluck dishes and have a nice chat with the artist. All this for a small donation (they can't work for free!) I highly recommend it, in fact I am going to another one this Friday.

*I have noticed that people here in Tucson always talk about what a lovely day it is like it is some sort of surprise. I mean why are they so shocked, pretty much every day here is lovely (we have been having a little storm the last couple days so I guess it isn't technically every day)! I still comment on the weather, but that is because I am still new and it is still a revelation to me. You would think people who have lived here for a long time would be used to it by now.

So anyway, that was my weekend. Hope your was great too!

ps. How do you do those signature thingies that so many people have at the end of their blogs? I really want one because whenever I end a post I always feel that it is so abrupt and would love to have a consistent sign off. Please help!

pps. I cooked another Jamie recipe today which turned out tasting pretty good, but looked horrible hence no photo.