Ending the year in style...

I can't believe where this year has gone. I would be lying if I said I wasn't ready for it to be over. While I've had some fantastic things happen, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying it's just been a tough one. Ups and Downs one right after the next... I have every hope and belief in the world that next year will be so much better for all of us!

Over the past couple of weeks we've been celebrating. Party after Party. And yes, I am the absolute worst person at bringing a camera with me - so I have no fun pictures. Have no fear though, I am good at drunk "snapping" so I'm sure I'll have plenty o' fun pictures to share when we get back from Mexico. (p.s. the picture of the shoe doesn't do it justice! It's too cute, and actually very comfortable!)

Last night Shane & I went to a restaurant called Elements. It's nestled up against Camelback Mountain in the Sanctuary Resort. It's one of those places you hear about, and heck - I even ride my bike past it all the time. But, I've never actually been there!

Well, the food the ambiance and the service was everything you'd expect from a top notch resort, yet at the same time it was very comfortable. We were seated in a small little both directly in front of a wall long glass window overlooking the infinity pool, with views of the city. It was gorgeous.

The food was just as great. So great I have to actually share the descriptions from their sample menu.

We started with this:

tartare of tuna herb salad, pine nuts & crisp cucumbers

it was just the right flavor - sweet tuna with a hint of spice that went amazing with the wine choice...

We actually had the 2007 Foley Pinot Noir. For such a young wine it was full of flavor. Slight fruit forward but with a fantastic spicy finish. I would absolutely drink this wine again...and again :-)

Next was our salad. I chose:

organic spinach squash, golden raisins, ricotta salada & pumpkinseed pesto vinaigrette

Shane chose:

butter lettuce spiced walnuts, bacon, granny smith apples & blue cheese , Minus the bacon.

Shane made the better choice on this one. Although my salad was good - the blue cheese dressing on his was amazing!

For our entrees Shane picked the feature of the day, a tempura shrimp trio. It was very sweet, but perfectly cooked.

I chose:

grilled wild salmon udon noodles, shiitake mushrooms, snap peas, sesame & ginger

The entree was great, and satisfied a fish craving I've been having!

HOWEVER - the best item we chose was our side dish. It was interesting enough that we just had to get it.

Truffle Mac & Cheese.

It was absolutely amazing. The pasta was so soft and tasty, it almost seemed like a gnocchi. The cheese was a combination of possibly Asiago, Romano or Parmesan. There were mushrooms and the Truffle Oil made it just melt in your mouth. Honestly, I don't think I could ever go back to Regular Mac & Cheese after that.

Of course the meal wasn't complete without desert. While they had an item called "chocolate peanut butter decadence " - our waiter (who was obviously tipped off) brought over a complimentary liquid center chocolate torte peppermint milk shake with a candle and chocolate written "Happy Birthday"

It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday before all of the Holiday chaos starts. Just the two of us, all dressed up, perfect food - then home to share some more wine and cuddle with the dogs.

Really, does it get any better?