Wednesday Dinner 8/26/09

Wow I am so tired and this morning started off SO WRONG! But I'm going to get through this day with a smile! So yesterdays dinner was just wonderful to say the least, I was surrounded by my family and in my eyes that is such a wonderful feeling! This week is just a week about love, relationships and family. This weekend my grandparents will be celebrating 60 years of marriage! Whew, we can only imagine and hope we can be with someone that long! Also my Aunt came into town to surprise them and boy did she! So yesterday I decided to cook for my family and have them all over. Here is what I made:

Lasagna (with ground turkey of course)
Garlic Bread
Ceaser Salad
Sour cream Pound Cake

I must say dinner was DELISH, and I got great reviews. Now don't think just because their family they were just telling me the food was good, so not the case. The one thing my family knows how to do is keep it real!!! My family is hilarious and so loving and kind, yesterday my Aunt Myrtle (My dad's oldest sister) was the life of the party. Auntie Myrtle is just to much, she has a wonderful spirit and a great sense of humor. Looking at her you would never think she has a story to tell, but she has a true testimony and is living proof that God is real! She is a Hurricane Katrina survivor!!! Along with her other personal struggles, she has managed to come out of it all and give all the thanks and glory to God and you can't be mad at her for that. Its always a treat seeing her and having her around, she just has a wonderful spirit! My Pape' (which is what I call my grandfather) also cracked a few jokes, and they were just too funny. My Gammo (which is what I call my grandmother) told us the story of how her and my Pape' met. I never knew that they had both been married before, so this is the 2nd marriage for both of them. Just seeing them together and being so blessed to have them is such a wonderful feeling. They have been married for 60 years, 4 kids later, 8 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren and they are both in their 80's and still able to enjoy and create memories is so amazing to me when I think back. So yesterday was just a wonderful day for me all around, anyone who knows me knows that I am all about family and togetherness. Its such a great feeling to have family! We talked about so many things last night and made a lot of good memories. We talked about my dad when he was growing up, when my dad's family first moved to California from New Orleans and how my Gammo decided that they weren't going back to New Orleans. Although we have quite a few relatives in New Orleans it hasn't been the same for them since the Hurricane. When the hurricane came that was a trying time for my family, so many loved ones missing and spread out. But will prayer and a careful eye they all recovered safely. We laughed and we all shared some amazing stories with eachother along with good fine, wine and a great dessert it was almost like a perfect 1st date LOL. Also yesterday, I took some leftovers to Tiff and my honey bunny (who shall remain anonymous until the time is right). First I spent a little quality time with my honey, he's so sweet and so starting to grow on me. Quality time with someone your dating is so needed when your trying to start a new relationship, so after getting my goodnight sugar and hug from my honey I was off to see Tiff. Tiff is still so pregnant and today is actually her due date, we'll see what happens with that! Spending time with Tiff is always fun, because all we do is laugh and joke! Its so funny seeing her pregnant and her babies stuff sitting up waiting for the baby to get here. We both would have never thought she'd be pregnant, but she's excited and ready to pop! If you have in suggestions on Wednesday Dinner or would like to get on the Wednesday Dinner roll call, hit me up ashleymarie729@gmail.com . In closing I'd like to talk about judging, judging is defined as to form an opinion or estimate. So many people make judgement calls or pre judge people without even knowing them. Of course we are guilty of doing this and also judging someone based on their past, who they know, what they do, where they work I mean could go on and on. However I would like to say that no one is immune to being judge however you can be very mindful of who you judge and why. Never judge a person prematurely or for what they were or where they have been rather let them show you who they are and what their intentions are. Looking at a person you will never know what they have been through or where they have been, take the time to get to know someone. We all have a story to tell and looking at a person you would never know their story unless you try and read their book. Until next week, -BESO'S Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 8/19/09

Boy oh boy! I am feeling very refreshed after a great sleep last night and an extremely trying day yesterday. Yesterday was just a DAY, you know the day when your emotions are all over the place and everything someone else says makes you snap. Well yesterday was my day and after much prayer and thought I am all better. So let's go "Wednesday Dinner". Yesterday I was all over the place with what I was going to eat, I couldn't decide I was torn between 5 places. But the experience I had right before I decide to eat totally took my appetite away. The plan was go to dinner, go get my hair done and then go have dessert but as usual someone threw a MONKEY WRENCH in my plans. So I proceeded just to go and get my hair done, since my appetite was gone. For many years my cousin Chanel has been doing my hair and last night I was going to her house to get "My Hair Did". I was in a bad mood when I got there and just wanted to get in and get out! I was starting to get a little hungry but still couldn't put my finger on what I wanted to eat. Chanel's husband Jason was in the kitchen cooking and the smell was wonderful, I couldn't pin point what he was making but it sure did smell good. So when Chanel and her daughter Taelor came out with their plates, I decided ok I'll make a plate and have "Wednesday Dinner" here and here is what I had:

Steak (with A-1 sauce, of course)
Mashed Potatoes
Cesar Salad

I know as a woman it must be a wonderful feeling when you can come home and your man has all hands on deck in the kitchen, so big ups to Jason for doing that! Chanel mentioned it was Jason's 1st time making Mashed Potatoes, so I will cut him a little slack LOL. Dinner was DELISH, the Steak was seasoned very well and cooked just right. The mashed potatoes were a little lumpy but good nonetheless and I was kind of lost with the Cesar salad but you need your veggies to balance out a meal. All in all the food was good and I was stuffed, I was even able to bring some leftovers for lunch. After getting my hair done and eating dinner it was back to the house for me, I still wasn't really in the mood for dessert. I really just wanted to go home, shower and go to sleep. On my home I talked to my sister on the phone about the days earlier events that just got me in a MOOD and like always when I talk to either of my sisters they always make me feel better. Once I was done with that, I showered and talked to a good friend. My friend Tiffany always finds a way to tell me something that will make me laugh and make me feel better and even though she's busy with getting ready to have her 1st baby(due any day now) she still finds time to listen. Thanks to my girls for your talks last night! I love ya'll! If you have any suggestions or would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" roll call holla at me ashleymarie729@gmail.com. In closing I would like to talk about fear, fear is defined as great dread, alarm; deep reverence; regard in fear; stand in awe; be afraid. I am seeing and starting to learn that there are some people are just fearful of everything (being happy, trying new things, falling in love, applying for a new job, taking chances, etc.) and it seems like these fears turn these people into very mean and weak spirited people. Being fearful of something is a sign of a major weakness, when you are afraid to do something look to God and pray for strength because he will see you through. Somethings you can't control, but the things you can control you should own them and never be fearful because its in your control and if you loose control PUSH (pray until something happens) and it will all work out. Life is to short to live in fear and not be happy, because tomorrow is never promised. So with that being said "Take control of your fears and become fearless" until next week xoxoxoxoxo- Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 8/12/09

Grrrrrr! is so the mood I am in this morning. For some strange reason I couldn't wake up on time and I totally was in bed and sleep by 11pm last night. Any who, good morning and let's get it. Yesterday's "Wednesday Dinner" was a day of celebrations!!! And I am a strong advocate of celebrating any and everything! Yesterday my dear mother passed her Bail man exam, which is great and will benefit the family business(King Bail Bonds 323-299-1234, just in case anyone needs our assistance's). And also we were celebrating Melissa's birthday a day early, today is her actual birthday (Happy Birthday Melissa!!!!). So let's get into "Wednesday Dinner". My mom had been wanting to go to Red Lobster and so I figured why not since we had a reason to go, not that you need a reason to go to dinner but last night I did because I so wasn't feeling Red Lobster and I had already had a theme for this week, but as usual my plan was thrown off. So it was off to Red Lobster ( http://www.redlobster.com/)%20wewe went. And of course my mother invited mini me and her sidekick Shelby hahaha! Let me start by saying, I am a firm believer that just because something is in the hood doesn't mean it has to be hood or hood like. By my description I am sure you know that we went to the Red Lobster on Crenshaw, which is not to fair from where I live. So anyway, when we got there there were about 10-15 people waiting and our wait time was estimated at 10-15 minutes. I noticed that there where a lot of empty tables and couldn't understand why all these people where waiting. Our wait was actually 20 minutes and when it was time to be seated we were placed all the way in the back? Not sure why but the show must go on. Our waitress seemed a little of balance and that's never a good look in my opinion! So we proceeded to order and here is what we got:

Lobster Pizza- appetizer
Ashley- Chef's Signature Lobster and Shrimp Pasta & A Glass of Sutter Home's Chardonnay
Mom-Ultimate Feast
Shelby-New England Seafood Sampler

Of course listing this food it doesn't look like a lot but it hit my wallet for a whopping $85.42, Red Lobster still isn't recession friendly and for some reason I don't remember it being this high for 3 people to eat back in the day when it was located on Wilshire (for those of you who remember). The best thing about the food to me was the Lobster Pizza, my mom and Shelby where pleased with their food. Me not so much, I had to ask for Alfredo sauce 2 times and I glass of water 3 times. I also had the most dreadful glass of wine (ICK). The plus side was the food was hot when it came out, however that really didn't matter because it was cold as ICE in the restaurant. Anyway we tried not to let those things get in the way of us having a good time with each other. We talked and laughed and all in all had a nice time with each other. While having dinner Shelby and I where also planning to surprise Melissa for her birthday after dinner. Melissa will be with her boyfriend tonight which is why we had to celebrate her birthday last night. So it was time to wrap it up and leave Red Lobster, but it wasn't going to be that easy. It took all of 15 minutes for the waitress to finally come pick up the check and another 10 for her to bring back my card WTHeck! I wasn't going to leave a tip, but my mother insisted. So we finally left, and honestly I think it will be an extremely long time before I dine at Red Lobster again especially that one.

So of to surprise Melissa was next on the agenda. I stopped at Baskin and Robbins( http://www.baskinrobbins.com/) to pick up an ice cream cake. That new commercial saying the cakes start of at $9.99 is a total lie because they didn't have any. So I just picked up a small Oreo cookie ice cream cake with red on it (red is her favorite color). Melissa has no idea we where coming to surprise her. She was getting her hair done at our cousins, so we stopped there to give her gifts and cake. She was totally surprised and said "Aww I feel so loved". So we stayed at my cousins house for about an hour laughing, talking and catching up on Daddy's Little Girls (Love that show). That was the highlight of my night, getting to see Melissa before her birthday was great. All in all last night was good Red Lobster canned and Baskin Robbins has rethink their marketing strategy for commericals. If you have any suggestions on where my next food adventure should be or would like to join me in my dinning adventures, drop me a line ashleymarie729@gmail.com . In closing I'd like to talk about relationships. Relationships are something we all have and something we all want no matter what type of relationship it is. I am a firm believer that a relationship takes a lot of work, caring, love, affection, communication and trust. I also believe a relationship is like a job, you have to show up everyday and do your job. No matter what type of relationship you have it should be healthy and make you feel good. If you have a relationship that is unhealthy or makes you unhappy and is the opposite of all the things I listed then you have somethings to think about. Lastly a relationship is a 2 way street, you have to give to get and when you get you give......... Until next week, B Brezzy! -Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 8/5/09

Wow July sure did move by quickly, and here it is August and the year is moving at a rapid pace. This week for "Wednesday Dinner" I decided to visit two classic L.A. spots, one for dinner and the other for dessert. Even though I'm born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, there are still a few places I haven't been and there are a few places that I love going to. So this week I did a combo of both. I was very pleased with the my two choices and will definitely be visiting these places again. Now let the "Wednesday Dinner" story begin, my first stop for dinner was Mike's Deli. Mike's Deli is a place that I have never been to believe it or not, many times I've been in the area of the Deli (Slauson and Fairfax) but just never got around to trying it. I always had the mind set that as a Deli they would close early, not take Credit/Debit cards and be closed on the weekends. And boy I was totally wrong, Mike's Deli sits on the corner of Slauson in a mini mall as some people would call it. If your not familiar with the area you might just pass it by and a word of advice "Don't". This place is your all around neighborhood deli and it shows by the appearance and the customer service. As I walked in the first thing I noticed was how extremely clean and neat the place was! That's always a huge plus! They're organization style is great, especially for a deli. Often times people go to deli's or meat markets and see all kinds of clutter and things for sale that shouldn't be sold at the same place you by your meat. Mike's Deli is a build your own sandwich or try one of their specialty sandwiches, in my opinion either way you can't loose with your sandwich choice. I loved the fact that the offer so many more choices of turkey than just turkey breast or smoked turkey breast, and I also liked the fact the slice the meat and cheese in house. So I proceeded to order and here is what I got:

Maple Glazed Turkey Sandwich (with extra mayo, mustard, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion & pickles on wheat)
Bag of Plain Lays
Arizona Grapeade

Any place that sells Grapeade to go along with my sandwich totally gets my vote! The drink and chip selection at Mike's Deli is bonkers! They have everything from your basic sandwich chips all the way to your higher end chips such as Kettle chips. The wait time for my sandwich was about 5 mins and all that came up to a total of $8.92. Not a bad price, immediately I thought to myself "Subway & Quizno's need to step their sandwich game up"! I decided not to eat my food there, because this week I wanted to do dinner, dessert and a movie. So after I left Mike's Deli it was off to my next stop, which again another classic place in L.A. "Harriet's" which is where I was getting my dessert from. I am not sure if any one is familiar with "Harriet's" but if not, get familiar! "Harriet's" specializes in cheesecakes. Now these aren't your to thick cheesecakes that you can get at Cheesecake factory or other high end or low end restaurants. These cheesecakes are like granny/grandma used to make with a twist. "Harriet's" sits in Inglewood/Ladera boarder of off Centinela. I've been getting cheesecake from "Harriet's" for as long as I can remember, the cheesecakes are just amazing. Mom and Pop owned "Harriet's" is the place for cheesecake experimentation and they've got it down to a science. Offering many different flavors of cheesecake on a daily basis, it makes it hard for anyone to choose. Yesterday I found myself on the fence between Snickers and Banana Pudding, I remembered to follow my first mind so I went with Banana Pudding. Unfortunately "Harriet's" doesn't take Credit/Debit, they are a cash only operation with their cheesecakes reasonably priced at $6.00 a slice (no tax). I think that's a great price for a slice of heaven or something close to it LOL.

After leaving "Harriet's" I went back home to eat and enjoy my dinner, of course I started off with my Sandwich from "Mike's Deli". I noticed that this sandwich had won my heart, due to the fact it was neatly wrapped and had the mile high appeal to it. After opening it I knew my heart had been won over, stacked neatly to perfection and topped with fresh veggies how could I not be ready to taste it. My first bite was amazing! I knew I wasn't going to be able to finish the whole sandwich but I was certainly going to try. This was truly the best sandwich I've had and I will totally be visiting "Mike's Deli" again, now that I know they take Credit/Debit, stay open until 9pm and are open on the weekends. Along with my chips and Grapeade I was full and couldn't eat my cheesecake right away, so I decided to start watching my movie. The movie I chose to watch was "Obsessed" with Idris Alba and Beyonce Knowles, I didn't get a chance to see it when it came out so I bought the DVD this week. Let me just say I enjoyed the movie, and I don't really care for thrillers or anything that doesn't have a comedic feel to it. But this movie was good, check it out if you haven't seen it. After the movie it was time to eat the cheesecake and boy did I. Cheesecake + Banana Pudding= Deliciousness! Words can't even describe how great the taste of this cheesecake was, perfectly put together with a Nilla waffer crust, topped with banana chips and filled with banana pudding and cheesecake what could be better? I will be going back to "Harriet's" soon to try that Snicker's cheesecake or any other of their many flavors. Over all dinner was DELISH and I was was totally please and able to sleep well on a full stomach.

If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" train or have any ideas of places for me to try, please drop me a line ashleymarie729@gmail.com. In closing I'd like to talk about change, change is described as make or grow different. I have been noticing and noticed that people are afraid to change. A wise man once said and I quote "People will only change if they can see the benefits of the change first". a statement for all to think about. Change is something that is at times uncomfortable but can be the best thing that's ever happened to you given the mind set that you want to change. Personally I think we all need a change of something or need to change something or a few things, so why not start your change today or right now. Start with something little and work your way up to something big, who knows what can happen. You might starting living instead of just being alive once you start to change. Take it from someone who's made a lot of changes "It feels good to feel good" and its all because I changed the game in my life. A thought to think about, until next week SMOOCHES! -Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 7/29/09

It seemed like last week was so long ago, or maybe its just me. This weeks "Wednesday Dinner" was extremely special because it was my Birthday (WOOOOHOOOO). I decided I would go to dinner with just my family (my parents and my sisters, however my sister Melissa decided to bring her boyfriend LOL. He's part of the family just the same so it was fine. I had been craving Benihana's since the last time I was there, which I think was in April. So off to Benihana(http://www.benihana.com/) we went for "Wednesday Dinner". I was so glad that there was just enough of us where we didn't have to share the table with anyone :-). Since this week's dinner was all about me, I'll only get into the details of what I ate and here it is:

Las Vegas Roll
Benihana Delight

OMG my meal was DELISH! I appreciate the fact that all the food is still hot after all the cooking and entertaining was done. If you've never experienced Benihana please take a trip there! Benihana is a place that does the Teppanyaki Table right in front of you, you have a Chef come over and prepare your meal right in front of you. To add to your experience the Chef will do amazing things while preparing your food, kind of like a food magic show except nothing disappears. My family is so funny when we all get together, we talked and laughed the entire time. Of course the conversation was short because we were all being entertained by our Chef Cecilo. He was amazing and very nice, he also took a picture with me (how nice was that). Overall this was a wonderful "Wednesday Dinner" for the following reasons: it was my Birthday, I was with my family & the food was excellent. My apologies on this blog being a little short but this is one of the ones that is extremely close to my heart and there really aren't many words to describe how great I felt yesterday and the wonderful time I had. If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" ban wagon or have any restaurant suggestions hit me ashleymarie729@gmail.com. In closing I would like to talk about me for just a minute since this week's dinner was truly mine. The end of last year and the beginning of this year where extremely hard for me, I had been through and was going through a lot. I have learned a lot over the past year and have grown up a lot and I'm still growing. The lessons learned where hard but well needed and know I can move forward and not make the same mistakes twice. I have learned that certain people come and go for many reasons and it' not our place to question it, it's God's way of showing us something we refused to see on our own. I am taking a lot of chances of myself and putting all my faith and trust in God because I know if I follow his word what he has in store for me will be. I've noticed as I began to change and become better and happier my circle of friends became smaller, which I am totally ok with. The one thing I am not ok with is people talking bad about me or saying things that aren't true, but I can not control what anyone else does or says. So with that being said, I want to thank all of your for your support and positivity (ya'll know who ya'll are). I have plenty more of wonderful things I am working on and they will be good so stay tuned. I'd like to quote Coco Chanel "A girl should be two things; classy and fabulous" which I totally am! Until next week just let your soul glow. -Ashley

Wednesday Dinner 7/22/09

This weeks "Wednesday Dinner" was suppose to be with my mommy!!! My mom has been interested and seeing what this "Wednesday Dinner" is all about, since I changed it up on my end so I decided to take her out to eat. My mom isn't very picky with the food she likes, but when she finds a place she likes she'll wear it out!!! She's very simple with her food choices: Mexican, steak & potatoes and basically that's it. She had been wanting to go to Applebee's since she has been seeing all the adds on tv, so I figured that would work. But like last week, on Tuesday I came home and my whole plan was thrown off. I noticed we had coupons for Black Angus in the mail, so I figured I would give my mom the option to choose either Applebee's or Black Angus for some reason she couldn't decide so she left the choice up to me. So I put some factors into consideration, as far as traffic and the menu options. I decided to roll with Black Angus (http://www.blackangus.com/), I haven't been there in a year and I don't know the last time my mom had been. So when I got home I was ready to spend some good old quality time with my mommy and come to find out she invited Shelby (LOL). I told my mom she can't invite other people when she's been invited somewhere! Just kidding, I love Shelby and she's always welcome. So to Black Angus we went. As soon as we got there we were seated, the restaurant was kind of full but not crowded which I can always appreciate when eating out. Our waitress came right out took our drink orders brought us some bread and we began "Wednesday Dinner"! I am not really a steak person, but I was like hey when in Rome do as the Romans. I had a coupon for what was called a Summer Trio and my mom and Shelby noticed what they wanted right away, which is another thing I can appreciate when eating out (I don't like waiting for someone to figure out what they want to eat). So here is what we ate:

Ashley- Summer Trio (half slab of baby back ribs, 8oz steak-well done, grilled shrimp, loaded baked potato, creamed spinach and a slice of watermelon
Mommy- Wednesday Prim Mud ( prim rib, green beans, mashed potatoes and a slice of mud pie)
Shelby- Wagon Wheel Sampler Platter (fried zucchini, buffalo chicken strips, loaded potato skins and shrimp cocktail)
Along with out drinks I spent a grand total of $ 56.10

I noticed that even with out the coupon Black Angus also has very recession friendly prices. What my mom ordered was a Wednesday Special and was only $14.99, which was amazing for the amount of food she got and it also included desert. My food was also $14.99 and I got a lot of food also, and so did Shelby. I will guess that my dinner came with a slice of watermelon because it was called the Summer trio and not because I'm black and I like watermelon (LOL). I know watermelon is a summer fruit and it was fitting to the name of what I got. Every ones meal averaged out to about $15.00 per person which is a deal to me! During dinner we talked about so many things ( I wish Melissa could've been there with us). We talked about our grandparents, Shelbygetting a job, work, family, funny memories and the topic of the night was Shelby wanting to get another tattoo. This girl is going to run my mother low with wanting to get another tattoo!! My mom let Shelby get her 1st tattoo in February of this year and since then Shelby just wants more! Personally I'm on the fence with this one and I will not give my input because it is totally up to my mother and father to make the decision on this one. I was extremely surprised at how much I enjoyed my dinner last night, I had no complaints and neither did my mom or Shelby. My meal was absolutely delicious, which was surprising to me because the last time I was there I wasn't to impressed. The only thing I didn't really care for was the desert, along with my mom's meal she got a slice of mud pie. We all decided to share the slice of pie since it was clearly a huge slice and I know she wasn't going to be able to finish it on her own. So Shelby and I helped her out, the concept of mud pie is cool I guess but it had way to many nuts in it for my taste. But hey no major complaints since my moms entire meal was $15.00, dinner was good and I enjoy spending time with my mom and my sister. As I have mentioned previously I cherish the time with my family, more so with Shelby now that she is getting older and will be going to college soon. My mom also because its rare she'll come out to eat, she's more of a order her food and bring it back home type person. All in all the night was great, and I hope my mom and Shelby enjoyed themselves too. If you would like to get on the "Wednesday Dinner" list or have any suggestions, drop me a line ashleymarie729@gmail.com. In closing I would like to talk about Family. You can't pick your family, but you can pick what type of relationship you have with them. Family should always be your priority and nothing should come between that NOTHING! At the end of the day family will always be there for you no matter what. If you have a broken relationship with someone of someone(s) in your family, patch it up because life is to short to miss out on making memories. With that being said until next week Ciao! -Always, Ashley........

Wednesday Dinner 7/15/09

This weeks "Wednesdays Dinner" was with my buddy Justin. Justin and I have known each other since I was in the 12th grade and he was in the 10th, we both went to Hamilton and we were both in the Music Academy. We lost contact over the years, but reunited thanks to Facebook. Justin thru a major loop in my original "Wednesday Dinner" when the night before he asked me "You don't have a theme for me" so I had to put my thinking cap on and go to work. So I immediately asked him what his favorite type/types of food are. His favorites are Mexican and Italian. Since I had Mexican last week ,that was a no go. So I searched my mental Rolodex for all the good Italian places I knew and one place stood out. I decided to introduce Justin to one of my favorite Italian places and a place that holds a lot of memories for me. So we were on our way to Alejo's (http://www.alejosrestaurant.com/), this is a Mom & Pop type restaurant located in the Marina off of Lincoln & Venice. The outside appearance of the restaurant might throw some people off, but don't let that fool you. Let me tell you why this restaurant holds memories for me; I used to work for this company called EZ Check Advance aka Payday Express back in the early 2000's. Alejo's is located right next door to one of this companies many locations. At the time I first discovered Alejo's, I was working at the Inglewood location and one of my co worker put me up on this place. She would drive all the was from Inglewood (Century & LaBrea) to Alejo's (Lincoln & Venice). Before walking in I explained to Justin not to be fooled by the outside appearance. And now let the "Wednesday Dinner" begin. Alejo's can no more than 25 people at once, maybe 30 and that's the max. Once we arrived there were maybe about 10 other people having dinner, by the time we left the place was packed. Here is the run down of what we ate:

Fried Calamari- Appetizer
Ashley- Ravioli alla Cheeca with Meat Sauce
Justin- Three Color Cannelloni with Red & White Sauce
For a total of $44.67 (Which averages out to about $22 per person)

Our conversations at dinner where funny, we touched on many different topics. We talked about Pac Man Jones, Michael Vick, Lamar Odom, Michael Jackson, Oprah, and other daily life happenings. I noticed that as people where coming into the restaurant to have dinner, you can bring your own wine. I think that's a great concept for restaurants to offer, I thought dinner was DELISH and I was undeniably full when I was done. Of course I didn't finish my food & had left overs, but hey ya'll know how I do. Here are Justin's thoughts on dinner "Thrown off by outside exterior, service was great, not the best Cannelloni I've had, but I'll put in my top 5. Ambiance was nice, place is a little small overall I give this place an A-". "Wednesday Dinner" includes dinner, some sort of alcoholic beverage and dessert. Last night I didn't get the memo about alcohol(LOL). So after dinner it was time for dessert, I noticed on our way down to Alejo's we passed on of my favorite places. I decided we would go there for dessert, since Alejo's doesn't really offer that many choices for dessert. I decided to introduce Justin to Penguins frozen yogurt (http://www.penguinsyogurt.com/). Before there was Pinkberry or Yogurt Land, there was Penguins. Penguins is the OG of the frozen yogurt game, and now they are conforming with the times by having the current craze of flavors available. Last night they offered; Vanilla, Chocolate, Swirl, Yellow Cake Batter, Peanut Butter, Tart, & Chocolate Mint. Here is what we had:

Ashley- Yellow Cake Batter
Justin- Tart topped with Captain Crunch & Strawberries
For a total of around $7

Penguins offers inside & outside seating, Justin decided he wanted to sit outside. We sat outside & I was freezing my (@)(@)'s off! LOL. Penguins frozen yogurt is a lot thicker than Pinkberry & Yogurt Land, which is one of the things I love about this place. It's very ice cream like, just healthier. Here is Justin's take on Penguins "Pinkberry" is what he prefers. The night was still young for Justin and he suggested that we go and have drinks at Jerry's. Being that I was so full & I was going to unbutton my pants to breath a little bit, I had to decline (no hard feelings). It was getting late & I was way to full, it was time to call it a night. On the way home I had to share some funny stories with just, most recently my run in with the shady cd couple that sold me super bootleg cd's & got $10 of my hard earned money. I had a great time with Justin & I'm sure we'll be having more "Wednesday Dinners" together. So like always if your interested in joining me for a "Wednesday Dinner" or if you want to suggest somewhere for me to check out, drop me a line ashleymarie729@gmail.com. In closing I would like to say; There has been a lot of talk regarding my blog, for some stupid reason someone is extremely mad about it. So here is my take on that, an idea is something people have & they share. There's a huge difference between an idea & a dream. A dream is something that belongs to you & only you. An idea is something that is always up for grabs by someone else who is faster, smarter & more proactive than you. With that being said, live your own version of "The Good Life" or start a blog about it. Always Love, Peace & Hair Grease- Ashley