Cold, shmold – this afternoon was gorgeous! I got out during lunchtime and took a stroll around the nearby sculpture garden that opened up a couple months ago. It was just as nice out today, November 11th, as it was the last time I went at the end of September…wild!

I also stopped by a nearby gas station on my walk, to pick up a fountain pop, and had two of the strangest encounters/exchanges ever…

1. As I was walking up to the door, 2 teenagers swung into the parking space right in front of the store and started barking at me. Awesome. They later apologized as I was walking back out. Awesome?
2. The woman who was behind me in line was standing approximately 3 inches away, so I turned to see what the deal was and she goes “WooAAHH! – too close for ya’?! Better be careful – I might swipe your debit card!” Hmmm, ok?

Needless to say, I won’t be back to that gas station any time soon! Thankfully, my fountain pop was very refreshing. FYI.

In other news, Mr. IGE had the day off today and bless his little heart – his original plans were to either:

1. Sleep for 36 hours straight, or

2. Watch movies all day.

Instead, he found himself in the middle of a third, very different, scenario:

3. Cleaning the entire house and running errands all day!

I felt bad for the guy, I really did – but…cool! Do you know the joy I felt walking into a sparkling clean home AND finding that he had picked up my medicine and face lotion at Target as well? 

Plus, dinner was all ready to go! Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup was bubbling away on the stove when I walked through the door. What a guy

I actually made this last night as I was on hold with my blog hosting tech support line. I let it cool down after it was all cooked and popped it in the fridge. Today, Ben let it warm up on low heat for about 20 minutes, and we were ready to rock!

I made this recipe the same way as last time, except I cubed and cooked my chicken in the pot when the veggies were about 90% done. I also used half frozen egg noodles and half frozen flat dumplings.

Mmmmkay – flat dumplings are where it’s at! This got a “best soup I’ve ever had” award from Ben.

The dumplings get super soft and chewy as they cook, and are just so satisfying to eat. Know what I mean?

We also topped our soup with some oyster crackers.

Do you top your soup with crackers and/or saltines?

Seriously you guys, if you haven’t made this soup yet – don’t wait. It’s incredibly easy, heartwarming and sooo tasty!!

Dessert shall be Darrell Lea Australian Licorice from my friend’s care package!

Nevermind the soup – if you haven’t had this licorice yet, look here to see where you can find it.

Or, if you happen to live or are visiting Las Vegas anytime soon, they have an almost exact replica of this licorice in the Sugar Factory store at the The Mirage. (Random factoid, I know!)

That really made me want to go back to Vegas, actually…!

Tonight = Top Chef Las Vegas…perhaps this is a sign. I might be spending some time on Expedia this evening…

Have a good one!

~~~~~

Where’s your favorite warm-weather vacation destination?

My heart belongs to Hawaii – it’s the most incredile place!

Related posts:

1. It’s That Kind of Morning
2. Kind of Salty, But Not Too Sweet
3. 5 Minute, 5 Ingredient Dinner!