Category Archives: Travel

fruit & maple oatmeal

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cover oatmeal

For our latest voyage to St. Louis, we decided to drive. We love the open road but mainly the ability to bring our two boys, (Boston & Otis) so they too can partake in the Christmas festivities with all of their cousins.

the boys

On the open road, no matter how much I pack, we inevitably end up at a fast food restaurant for either lunch or dinner. We have affectionally nicknamed most fast food stops… CrackDonalds or WacArnolds, Booger Fling, ScrubWay, Crapplebees, I could go on.

On our latest road trip, we stopped at McDonald’s, and I tried their new Fruit & Maple Oatmeal. I was actually impressed. You can get it all day, it wasn’t a ginormous serving size, and it was, well, good. I opted for the without sugar variety.

mcdonalds oatmeal

Anywho, I’ve been craving it ever since. Hence CrackDonalds and decided to make my own version at home.

Ingredients

  • 6 oz water
  • 1/2 c old fashioned oats
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/4 apple, chopped
  • 1-2 Tablespoons craisins and/or golden raisins

Add water, oats, maple syrup and brown sugar into a small saucepan on low heat. This is the “hard” part. Take your time, if you cook it too fast, your oats will be crunchy. Remove from heat after all the water is absorbed. When it’s cooking I chop up my apple and share the other 1/2 with the husband.

apples

Pour contents into a bowl and top with apples, craisins, and golden raisins! (I didn’t have any golden raisins today.)

I think it’s a great rendition of McDonald’s oatmeal without all the preservatives! Hopefully you feel the same. Obviously, if you like your oats sweeter, you can add more maple syrup and brown sugar, but I think the sugar from the apples and craisins are the perfect sweetness. Enjoy!

oatmeal

addison

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I had the pleasure of meeting up with one of our couple friends when we were in St. Louis. We really have this unique relationship, one in which we enjoy both of their company. I adore Sarah, the hubs loves enjoys Sarah’s hubs, too. We have so much in common, and she’s a joy to be around. Always bubbly and positive.

Since last seeing Sarah, she had a baby! This weekend was our first time meeting their newest addition, 9-month Addie. I wanted to eat her up! Her facial expression and sheer happy disposition was infectious to be around, much like her mama!

Now, usually I’m that creepy girl at parks or weddings who wants to take pictures of people’s kids that aren’t mine. Luckily, this time I knew the mother and Sarah was all for it AND even suggested it! Gosh, I had a blast with them all. Addison has the best expressions. I want to share some of my favorites from my “mini photo shoot”! And no, her blue eyes aren’t enhanced; they’re that blue! She’s beautiful!

As always, the time with our friends and Addie was way too short but I’m so happy we were able to fit in a small reunion into our busy travel schedule. Gosh, I miss her.

Happy Weekend!

nasher

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We’ve had the liberty of hosting a french intern at our home for the last month. The husband’s company is based in France and periodically send French interns stateside, and we were asked to host Alex, a young French college student. It was a great experience and gave me a little insight into what a high school or college child would be like in our home. Ah, the things to look forward to. Even the husband knocking on Alex’s door asking if he was ready to go made me laugh.

We tasked ourselves with showing him some of what Dallas has to offer, and one of my favorite locations we took him (and somewhere I like to go on my Fridays), was the Nasher sculpture garden. It’s a beautiful garden nestled in the middle of downtown Dallas. Plus, just walk across the street, and the Dallas Museum of Art is there for the taking! Score.

We did both. Nasher was featuring Ernesto Nest’s Cuddle on the Tightrope. The artist has been recognized for these large experiment environments. And, Kink, which was built for Nasher was an “elevated crochet environment” you could actually walk through!  It was a fun experience. I think even the husband enjoyed it.

Then we went outside to the garden. I don’t know what it is, but this space never gets old!

After Nasher, we headed over to Dallas Museum of Art. And both the husband and the intern picked apart the art and asked the age old question “why is this art?”.

After a day at the sculpture garden and museum, we headed to the Ginger Man, a local hot spot with a wonderful array of globally-brewed beer. Alex found his favorite!

This was an absolutely wonderful day! Art. It can be anything and I love it all!

minnesota wedding

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Our last stop on the Midwest adventure was another wedding in Minnesota! Jenni (the bride) is a professional event planner in the Twin Cities, so I was oh-so excited to see what her own wedding would entail. Needless to say, she did not disappoint; there was visual eye-candy all over the ceremony and reception… and this girl remembered her camera! So what if it doesn’t fit in my clutch, it’s coming! Now, I get to share all the goodness with all of you!
We checked into the hotel and were greeted with a sweet gift bag filled with goodies from both the bride and groom’s home states. Lucky for me, Jenni was adding another Wisconsinite into our family, and the bag came with my all-time favorite beer, Spotted Cow! It’s only sold in Wisconsin, so this was a pleasant surprise. There was a bunch of other goodies from both states, which were devoured on our trip home!

The ceremony didn’t start until later in the afternoon on Saturday, so we spent the morning swimming with our nieces and nephews and just enjoying a little time to breathe. Sigh. We headed out with the whole family and when the ceremony started, all eyes were on the bride and groom!

The ceremony was beautiful and Jenni took a page from my own wedding with her programs. It reminded me of my own wedding and made me happy that someone else enjoys the details. The subtle details throughout the church were perfect for the space, too! Molly and I really enjoyed the yellow poufs.

After the ceremony we headed outside to wish the newlywed couple off, with bubbles!

After the ceremony, it was off to the reception which was held in an old stable. Perfect for mason jars… which I was obsessed with. Add in gray and yellow striped straws – and I was in heaven. This probably makes me crazy, but I’m okay with that. Drooling over paper straws – it could be worse. We actually got to take them home, too! The husband and I got two, so all I need now are the straws! Ha!

We enjoyed our drinks outside, while the nieces and nephews found the photo booth. We didn’t know at the time, but these were props for the photo booth; we had fun with them outside! They were returned promptly after the photo shoot. He he. 

When it was time to find our seats, we were treated with escort cards propped up by wine corks! So cute. Each table corresponded to some place the couple had traveled and a little story of their adventure.

We got to leave the party with pictures from the photo booth and cake pops made with Packers or Vikings colors! Jenni doesn’t like cake, so she opted for an ice cream bar for everyone. Seriously, this girl didn’t miss a thing!

Don’t worry, I didn’t spend the whole time just taking pictures of objects! I had fun dancing and taking pictures of the whole crew, too.

I’m thinking I may ask Jenni to plan my next big event! She did such a fabulous job!

Congratulations Jenni & Adam! Cheers.

leinenkugel’s

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The husband and I stopped in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, which was right on our drive from Wausau to Minneapolis. Chippewa Falls is home to the third largest craft brewery, Leinenkugel’s, so it was a must to stop and see what they had to offer!

We had a 15 minute wait for the next tour, which worked out perfect. We checked out The Leine’s Lodge, which got us really excited for the tasting after the tour.

The Leinenkugel’s tour is about 45 minutes – 1 hour, featuring the brew house and all the goodness that goes into a Leine’s Lager. Our tour guide was a sweet girl from Withee, WI, a small town that supplies all the honey for Leinenkugel’s beers! Honeyweiss & Sunset Wheat are two of my personal favorites that get a dose of honey! Yes, I bought a bottle of that proprietary honey to bring home to Texas!

During the tour I did learn about Jacob Leinenkugel’s yeast. He brought it all the way from Germany to Chippewa Falls, which is still the same strand used today to make many of the Leinenkugel’s lagers. The yeast used is a bottom-fermenting yeast, one of the two types of yeast used in brewing. Bottom-fermenting yeast works well at low temperatures and ferments more sugars, leaving a crisp, clean taste and then settles to the bottom of the tank. In contrast to the lager is the ale, which is a top-fermenting yeast and works better with warmer temperatures. Interesting? I thought so. Both beers taste great to me!

After our tour, we were invited inside to sample 5 different Leinekugel’s creations. They also had a menu of “leine’s mixers”, which mixed beers together to make for some interesting combinations, like honey bear or pink lemonade!

It was a fabulous break from driving, and a really relaxing tour. Plus, how can you go wrong with free beer?!

I bought two “taster” glasses; I think they’ll be perfect for a Bloody Mary chaser someday! For anyone that isn’t from Wisconsin, a small chaser of beer is ALWAYS part of your Bloody Mary order. I think this tradition should be extended into all states. On Wisconsin!

papoose lake

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I’m back! Back from my midwest adventures, and yes, I’ll be sharing with you some of my goodness from that trip throughout this week and next! My apologies on the late post – I got back late, late Sunday and have been dealing with pink-eye ever since. I’m just thankful it happened now, opposed to midway through our trip! I would not have been able to get such fun pictures with just one working eye! ha!

The husband and I headed up north for back-to-back wedding weekends, which left us with a week between for our own exploration. We decided to spend some of our vacation at my generous aunt and uncle’s cabin in Manitowish Waters. A beautiful destination in northern Wisconsin, which I highly recommend for a little R&R. They gave us full reign of their cabin and water toys… I’m glad they don’t know my driving record. Just kidding.

We enjoyed every moment of our time up north, and I just couldn’t get enough of the interior design of this cabin. My Aunt Diane has a great eye for design, so I was excited to share some of her cabin style (and my uncle’s) with you! It has the true cabin feel: rustic, but modern with wood throughout, picturesque windows, and even an antler chandelier. Perfection.

The living room has a beautiful stone fireplace, which is used often during those cool Wisconsin nights. I love the old wooden TV that offsets the newer accessories.

Up a fight of stairs and you’re in the loft that sleeps four comfortably.

Here’s the aerial view from the loft.

Downstairs in the basement, my uncle has been working on this amazing sliding barn door that’s all the rage. He used reclaimed barn wood, planed the boards, and it looks absolutely wonderful! Obviously, he still needs to install the track but it looks amazing already! I can’t wait to get back to see it complete!

Besides the interior of the home, there are beautiful views from the dock, too! If you look closely, you can see Boston retrieving one of his many tennis balls during our stay.

We also took the pontoon out, even though I’m always leary of screwing something up … but it went really smooth. Mainly, we just spent time relaxing, while our boys swam.

Don’t worry, we actually left the cabin too, by heading into town for some bare essentials and dinner at Smokey’s, a fine restaurant where we ate WAY too much but had a great time!

The next morning I woke to the husband making breakfast in this beautiful kitchen! There’s nothing sexier than a man that can cook!

Again, I realize I’ve said this before, but truly there is nothing better than Wisconsin in the summer! I hope you all can go at least once! Enjoy the view, clear water, and great food!

Thank you again to my aunt and uncle for allowing our family to enjoy your beautiful space! I hope that someday we, too, have the luxury of paying it forward to one of our nieces or nephews. That would mean we would have to save up for a cabin first, but you get the idea.

Lastly, here’s our attempt at a family picture. I think it’s us. Perfect.

midwest vacation

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The husband and I have taken the week off to spend with family and have a mini-vacation of our own! I was going to not change my format this week and blog on my regular schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday … But I’ve decided to take a blog-cation, too! I’ll be back next Monday with travel excitement and a kitchen update! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

washington island

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Happy Friday, Friends!

I saved the best for last! Bear with me, there are a lot of pictures in this posting, but I was in love with this whole day… So, I couldn’t stop myself!

We started out the day at my favorite breakfast spot, The Cookery. It had actually burned down in the five years since we were last there, but it was back and better than ever. More seating, outdoor patios, an endless array of menu goodness, and my favorite, their homemade jam! It was all there! Nothing says summer like strawberry rhubarb jam! Yum.

After we filled our tummies it was up the coast we went to Washington Island. You have to take a ferry across Lake Michigan to get there.

Our first stop, bike rental! I felt like a mix of The Sound of Music and Wedding Crashers! It was a beautiful day to ride, but we got a little sweaty!
We then headed to Schoolhouse Beach, a fine cove of picturesque water and a great way to cool off after a long (to us) ride. The icy water of Lake Michigan felt wonderful on a hot July day!

We were off again for lunch at an eclectic restaurant called Fiddler’s Green where Cowboy, a black lab greeted us.
We decided to share a cheese plate (we’re in Wisconsin people!) and Hummus! Here’s a couple pictures of our food and restaurant! So fun!


I actually bought a stemless wine glass and it made it all the way back to Dallas unscathed! My only regret: I should have gotten two!!

After lunch, we were all fueled up to bike back to the ferry, but first we wanted to stop at Nelsen’s Hall, a historic bar that was able to stay open during prohibition because of a clerical error! Only in Wisconsin! Ha. Nelsen’s Hall also takes part in a “bitters club”. We didn’t participate, but thinking back I wish we would have!
After our drinks, we headed back to the ferry. We got caught in a summer rain which was refreshing but a little wet for the ride home. Which be barely made. The ferry we got on, was the second-to-last! If we would have missed it, we would have been stuck on the island! Though, we did have time to skip a couple rocks!

Back in Fish Creek, we decided on a low-key dinner at Wild Tomatoes, a wood-fire pizza joint that did not disappoint! It had locally grown pizza toppings, a friendly staff, and an even better beer list! Oh… and cheese curds, get the cheese curds!!


Seeing these pictures again makes me want to go back!! Door County is a fabulous low-key destination for all ages. I picture us in a couple of years bringing our wee-ones and experiencing Door County in a whole other way!

stone’s throw winery

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A little bit of Napa in the Midwest? I’ll take it!

Stone’s Throw is a fabulous winery nestled in the beautiful landscape of Door County. You can’t get better than that, especially in the summer!
They blend their homegrown grapes with California’s finest to make an outstanding blend of wines. They call it the “traditional one barrel at a time way”. My Stone’s Throw favorite is Uncle Gino’s, a great table red!

The actual tasting takes place in part of a 90-year-old barn they’ve reinvented for their winery. For a mere $5.00, you can taste five wines…AND you get to keep the glass! Score! The hard part is choosing just five!

After finishing our tasting, we went out with the bocce ball set and started a friendly competitive game of bocce ball between the couples. All while savoring a bottle of Uncle Gino’s, of course!

I would recommend this quality winery to anyone! It has so much character and such a great sophisticated feel without the pretentiousness.

Oh, and we found out a helpful tip for port wine drinkers. The husband, NOT I, loves port. Port is not like all other wine – it doesn’t go bad after a couple of days! So don’t throw it away! You can keep if for YEARS and the tastes keeps changing. Crazy. Right?

Paul and I actually first found this winery the year we got engaged, or maybe it was the year before?!? We wanted real red wine, not the “fruit stuff” (there is always a time and place for that, too) but we wanted red wine. I don’t remember who suggested Stone’s Throw, but I could hug them! Plus, it was fun to look back at the changes and growth Stone’s Throw had in the past five years! I tried to get the same spot we stood five years ago.

I hope everyone has a great Friday, maybe a happy hour filled with red wine?

Don’t mind if I do!

fish boil

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Anyone who grew up in Wisconsin has heard of the “friday night fish fry” and anyone vacationing in Door County has heard of “the fish boil”. Vacationers come back year after year comparing and contrasting the fish boil experiences they have had at different venues.
I, however, have never been to a fish boil. Now, I’ve had my fair share of friday night fish fries but never a fish boil until last week – and it never ceases to surprise my local Wisconsinites. Yes, I grew up here. No, never a fish boil.

So, we set out to do just that. Watch a man boil fish! We decided on White Gull Inn, one of the oldest fish boils in the area. Our presenter was named Nick, who I think must play Santa Claus in winter. He was great, and I got a lot of great pictures of him in action.

Once the fish was cooked, it was time to head indoors and enjoy Lake Michigan whitefish! It was a really enjoyable experience, and I would encourage everyone to participate at least once! Oh… and save room for the cherry pie (made with locally grown cherries)!