V-Day Brunch

Brunch with the sweetie at Charlie's Frog Pond

 

Sauteed banana sauce instead of syrup. Heaven.

Lox Benedict. Lox. And Eggs Benedict. Wow.

Peppermint tea. A great IC-flareup soother.

Awkward and Awesome 21st!

Guess who has two thumbs and is officially a grownup? 

This girl! The one in the yellow sweater!

A few friends and a great pub made for a wonderful celebration the night of Tuesday, the 22nd (my actual birthday). Because I know everyone is wondering, I enjoyed an Irish car bomb (Guinness with a shot of Bailey's) and some nice red wine. Exciting, right? 

Haha, I had a great time and wouldn't have done anything differently.


Awkward:

• Josh forgetting his keys on the way out of the apartment! It was freezing and we were stranded between the building and the car. 
• When we buzzed, our neighbor let us in without checking to see who we were. What if we were murderers??
• It took me forever to add the Bailey's shot to my car bomb because I like Guinness so much by itself and didn't want to ruin it.
• To everyone who has asked (including my boss, talk about awkward) I DID NOT GET SMASHED! I DO NOT GET SMASHED! I NEVER SHALL GET SMASHED! I like my brain cells and my reputation more than I like feeling "happy" for a bit thankyouverymuch.

Equally Awkward and Awesome:

• Neme is learning English! But his vocabulary is so small that he spent most of the night nibbling a piece of Spanish cheese and repeating, "Oh, my cheese, my Spain . . ." So funny!

Awesome:

• Being a wee bit of a heavyweight. I found out in Spain that I don't feel anything when I drink. :-) Nice to know that I won't be hopping on the table and using my glass as a mic if Shania Twain starts playing . . .
• The Old Toad (the pub we visited) only hires people who are actually from England! Now, that is authentic.
• Pub fries and gravy.
• European cheeseboard with cranberries and walnuts.
• Guinness <3
• A car bomb. It tastes like a chocolate milkshake!
• Yeah, so basically good food and drink . . .
• Our friend Kyle's date (the blonde on the left) is from the Ukraine. Exotic!

Making the Most of December

This isn't really a to-do list, because almost none of these things are necessary for any reason. They're just a bunch of things that I think will help Josh and I make the most of this Christmas season. It's sort of like a Christmas bucket list . . . but not really because many of the items reappear on the list every year despite the fact that they've been "crossed off" every year prior.

Okay, I don't know what it is . . . but it will be fun!



There are enough items both traditional and unique for you to choose one everyday, if you want. Whatever you do, be sure to make the most of your December.

1. Go ice skating.
2. Make eggnog or mulled cider.
3. Buy children’s gifts for Operation Angel Tree.
4. Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
5. Splurge on a professional performance of the Great Russian Nutcracker ballet.
6. Cuddle up in front of a fireplace.
7. If you haven’t yet, decorate a tree. If you already have, decorate someone else’s
8. Watch the movie White Christmas with a cup of white hot chocolate.
9. Chop wood for a family that relies on a wood stove.
10. Tired of Christmas music? Try traditional Celtic music.
11. Go caroling with friends.
12. Make chili for chilly carolers to come home to.
13. See how many film versions of A Christmas Carol you can watch in a day ;-)
14. String popcorn and cranberries.
15. Go to Wegmans and Sam’s Club on a weekend for holiday samples.
16. Learn to knit or crochet.
17. Send Christmas cards or letters updating family and friends on your year.
18. Get invited to a Christmas party. This could be tricky . . .
19. Make a snowman, snow angels, etc.
20. Go to midnight showings of The Hobbit (December 14) and Les Miserables (Christmas Day).
21. Go to a candlelit service.
22. Kiss someone under the mistletoe. Warn them first.
23. Shop a holiday craft bizarre.
24. Help young relatives make a wreath or ornament.
25. Help your family with Christmas dinner.
26. Take a super late walk in the snow on Christmas Eve and see if anything magical happens.
27. Make homemade soaps with personalized scents for gifts.
28. Read A Child’s Christmas in Wales.
29. Declare a snowball war.
30. Watch at least one terrible Christmas movie. Try Kiss Saves Christmas.
31. Go for a sleigh ride

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Eat Your Heart Out

I swear I didn't plan this, but more than half of today's awkwards and awesomes have to do with food. Contrary to what this post may imply, I'm not a fat hog who does nothing but dream about food all day. I promise. If anything, this is a nudge from God for me to stop taking pictures of my Spanish food and make a freaking post about it already.


Awkward:

• Missing the Easter Sunday service because we left the house at the wrong time. Three different times. None of them right.
• Realizing that the muffin I took out of the cupboard was over a month old . . . and eating it anyway.
• All of the Facebook friends who needed to be reassured after seeing this picture of Josh on the internet. It's a European tradition from centuries prior to white supremacy issues in the US. Okay, people?
• How many cookies I eat during a typical breakfast.
• You know how rice and beans are a really stereotypically Spanish food? Stereotypes exist for a reason. Too much fiber!
• The subjunctive verbal mood. Don't know what it is? Yeah, neither does anyone else. But we have to learn it. In Spanish.
• Being told to write a Spanish rap for my Spain Today class.
• My borrowed umbrella going all Mary Poppins on me in the windy rainstorm yesterday.
• Finding out that Kinder is illegal in the United States. How can you make Nutella in solid chocolate and cookie form illegal??? What kind of person are you???

Awesome:

• Talking with Carmen's adorable relatives at Easter Dinner. 
• Holidays mean desserts in Spain, something we don't normally get :-) 
• My friends Bre and Allie live with Colombians and get fruit juice with dinner. Like, pineapple and strawberry banana. So jeally. It's water or coffee for us "Spaniards."
• Tomorrow being Friday the 13th and me not being superstitious :-D
• Celtic Women. Voices of angels and a violinist who is a pure Celtic sprite. Have you seen this girl frolicking about as she fiddles to her heart's content? Makes me miss Ireland.
• So I found this art and design blog, and it is colossal. No, seriously. ThisIsColossal.com
• Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs in our Easter candy package from my mom <3
• Just realized today that with all of the coffee, citrus, and other highly acidic, salty, and/or spicy foods I regularly consume here in Spain, I still have been IC flare-up free for almost two months. Praise God.
• My husband listening to Michael Ball showtunes all day. By himself :-)
• Writing my first article for thalo.com.

Starving Artist: Easter Dinner in Spain

Spain is a Roman Catholic nation. Over 94% of the country's entire population has been baptized into the Catholic church. With such overwhelming church membership, it's only logical that many of these Catholic church-goers are not actual "believers" as much as they are cultural Catholics. Their parents were Catholic as were their parents before them and so on. This being the case, their lives have always been shaped by religious traditions even if whole families today don't have any personal religious convictions.

One example of these such traditions is the menu surrounding religious festivals and holidays. Pictured above is the traditional Good Friday dish called plato unico. This roughly translates in English to "the dish that stands on its own."

In what Catholic tradition does this dish find its roots?

Well, many of you are probably aware that devout Catholics are expected to abstain from eating meat every Friday during Lent. Not ones to let this mean eating less food, the Spaniards created plato unico as a way to fill up without eating meat but also without sacrificing taste. The above dish is chock full of vegetables (spinach), starch (potatoes and rice), and protein (eggs, beans, and fish). Believe me, it is very filling. There's no way you'll still be craving meat after a bowl of this stuff.

But our dinner's not done!

Almost as a break between the meal and dessert, Spaniards often enjoy sweetened fruit as a springtime holiday treat. Yesterday's fare was a bowl of strawberries swimming in orange juice and honey. It was delicious and the first berry I could remember eating for several months. Citrus is much more popular in Spain and is actually in season all winter long.

It would have made sense if this light dish was the extent of dessert following my heaping helping of plato unico, but no . . .

Say "hola" to a nice plateful of torrijas. These sweets are prepared very similarly to the french toast that is so familiar in the United States, but it is served cool and has a much lighter consistency than french toast, making it more like a Spanish variety of bread pudding. These are another traditional Easter food, supposedly developed in convents as a way to simultaneously whip up something special yet cheap for Easter dinner and also to use up leftover stale bread.

The beauty of torrijas is that they can be prepared in so many more imaginative ways than the cliche French toast. Not only have Josh and I tried the traditional egg-and-milk-soaked variety, but we have also been delighted by torrijas soaked in red wine and anise liqueur. The latter may possibly be the most delicious thing I have ever tasted . . . except maybe Mama Thurston's anise biscotti :-)

And just when you think you can't fit one more thing into your oh-so-happy belly, it's time for your post-meal cafe con leche. Don't worry, though. While this picture fails to capture how purely petite this little cup-ette of coffee is, I assure you it won't take up much room.


How was your first traditional Spanish Easter meal? Did you miss the ham and gravy? I, for one, am still too full to even think about what a traditional US dinner would have been like.

"Tea For Two and Two for Tea" (London/Dublin Trip)

Dear friend Kristen met up with us in Dublin after Josh and I had spent five days in London on our own. Having visited London in the past with her family, Kristen was somewhat mortified that I had not regularly indulged in the British joy that is tea and scones.

Much to both of our delights, upon visiting the beautiful seaside town of Howth (pronounced "Hooth") on the eastern shore of Dublin, we discovered a deliciously homey tearoom at the start of the pier. I didn't need any encouragement, but Kristen definitely wanted me to go.

In the absence of chai (sad day), we ordered a pot of simple green tea, but there was nothing simple about the scoop of dried grasses, lavender, and leaves that was scooped into our teabag. We each enjoyed two cups of the lively beverage--Kristen plain (such a purist) and me with cream and three lumps of sugar each :-). Teehee. I'm sure a scone would have been quite authentic, but who can say 'no' to a spiced muffin with chocolate chips?

They had rosebud tea! I'll have to try that some time.

What was most lovely about this experience was the atmosphere of the tea room. There were comfy antique chairs and sofas and a cozy reading corner. All of the colors were warm and inviting and just asking to be photographed.

Kristen and I sat here while at least an hour passed by without us noticing. We chatted, sipped, munched, and missed our train home while Josh and some other friends hiked the cliffs surrounding Howth's peninsula.

Scones or not, I will never forget my first real teatime just outside of Dublin, Ireland.

Title from Doris Day's "Tea for Two."

More tasty pictures after the jump!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: Fiestas de Amigos y Sardinas

Strawberry buttercream cake that looks suspiciously like a slice of pepperoni sub in this shot

I know I'm about a week late posting about this, but for Valentine's Day last week, our class had the lovely idea to get together to celebrate our friendship while the majority of the remaining civilized world was celebrating mushy gushy love. (Who am I kidding? I like that mushy stuff, too . . .)

Since Josh and I were the only two "lovers," so to speak, in the class, we felt silly running off to have our own little romantic evening while the other girls sat home alone watching Grey's Anatomy reruns. Therefore, viva la fiesta! We ate goodies, talked about our vacation plans, and attempted to play cards . . . but Kristen left early with the only sufficient knowledge of card-playing that we had between the six of us.

It was awkward, it was awesome, and a lovely time was had by all <3

Smooth like strawberry buttercream ;-)

Awkward:

• Unsalted popcorn . . . or rather, salting the unsalted popcorn for myself and creating an acrid mixture of crunchy crystalline chemicals masquerading as a party snack. I did better on take 2.
• Washing my skinny jeans (which were somehow eluded by laundry day) by hand . . . while I was in the shower . . .
• Broken sink, so I guess I'll also be brushing my teeth in the shower.
• Having Bre and Allie over for dinner and Carmen forgetting to feed them! Talk about a misunderstanding.
• Bre once again managing to stay out of every single picture I took at the above get-together.
• Finally making a hike to the mall at El Bulevar and finding out 2 euros later that it is closed on Sundays.
• Carnival. Funny costumes and good music, but it was so random and unorganized! We had no idea what was going on.
• The waiter at carnival who didn't seem to want us to get up from our table. Ever.
• The Gregorian chants floating up to my room as I type this. Apparently a local church is burning a giant paper sardine to represent the death of the flesh as lent begins.

Awesome:

• Popcorn (not the sinfully salty batch) covered in chocolate and cherry liqueur. Only the best for our Valentine's Day bash.
• Apparently sheep in Spain say "Meh" instead of "Baa." Haha, perpetually indifferent sheep.
• The little boy breaking it down onstage to a Rihanna song at Carnival. I have a video! Coming soon ;-)
• Gofres. Deep-fried waffles with ice cream and flavored syrup. Yes, please.
• Cathedrals. They never cease to amaze. They also do a good job of helping us decide which cities to visit. "Do they have a cathedral?" "No? Eh, let's skip it."
• Spanish bagpipes. Think Celtic times Africa and then divide by amazing.
• Finding a little craft store in Avila Centro! I'm going to buy some yarn and start some projects.
• Mastering the complicated bus system here in Spain. I once was blind, but now I see! 
• OMG OMG OMG OMG We're going to Milan tonight!!! I am so blessed :-D
  

More Ways for Singles to Celebrate V-Day

Despite the fact that there are some definite perks to being single, Valentine's Day is often a reminder that you haven't yet found that person who will make all of the waiting worthwhile. On this day that celebrates love, why not get closer to any and all loves in your life with some of these fun activities.

NOTE: Even more fun with other single friends!

1) Jam out to this playlist! You won't find any love songs that will make you mope about what you think you're missing or any songs about how badly "Love Stinks" and that Valentine's Day is a joke. We're talking about ways to spend the holiday aware of how loved and how worth waiting for you are.

Playlists work best when enjoyed on Youtube.

1. "Single Ladies" by Beyonce (duh)
2. "Ridin' Solo" by Jason Derulo
3. "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby Mcferrin
4. "Be Good to Yourself" by Journey
5. "Free to Be Me" by Francesca Battistelli
6. "Let's Dance" by Hawk Nelson
7. "Express Yourself" by Madonna
8. "Perfect" by Pink
9. "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain
10. "Single" by Natasha Bedingfield
11. "Something 'Bout Love" by David Archuleta
12. "Barlow Girls" by Superchic[k]
13. "More Beautiful You" by Johnny Diaz
14. "Firework" by Katy Perry

2) Watch a funny movie. Not a romantic comedy or anything that could be remotely confused with a chick flick! You are celebrating be single, not longing for your prince charming!

3) Make some munchies. Worried that you'll spend the evening "eating away" your loneliness? Well, who needs ice cream and chocolate when you can try try some of these perfectly healthy snacks  from College Fashion (two separate links). Again, these taste better with friends ;-)

4) Have slumber party! Snacks, hair and nails, chitchat, what could better remind you how well you're loved by your chicas?

6) Help out at a homeless shelter, Salvation Army, etc. Nothing like getting your eyes off of your loneliness and loving on other people in need.

7) Bless your mom and dad and their love that has held your family together for all of these years. If you think about it, they were the first people to ever teach you what love was. Go back to this post for a cool idea that will make their day.

8) Write letters to old friends and family that you'd like to stay in touch with. When was the last time you wrote a nice, old-fashioned, hand-written letter?

9) Make yourself over. I always find that a little change of personal scenery can be a great mood upper and can provide a super boost to your self-image. Try a haircut or color. If you're feeling less daring, just buy a nice new outfit or some new makeup. If you're feeling more daring, try a tattoo, haha (mostly joking . . .)

10) Babysit for a young couple so that they can go out and enjoying a worry-free Valentine's Day together. I will admit that this would be quite a sacrifice, but if anyone ever offered to do this for me I would offer to put them through college or something like that. Talk about a blessing!

Cooking for Christmas

I realize that no excuse is sufficient when returning to the blogosphere after a period of absence, but  mine is about as good as it gets. You see, this holiday season, I planned and prepared Christmas dinner for my side of the family. The Thurston side got some leftover muffins and pie, but I didn't make them dinner this time around. Maybe next year.

Today, I am utterly exhausted and sick to boot. I have finally determined the reason that I continue to get sick every time I come home for a visit. When I am stressed and working my butt off, the insistent adrenaline keeps me from getting sick. As soon as my body senses that the stress is over, that there is no longer a need to power through, I experience a complete and utter crash in my immunities and fall terribly ill.

Well, the week after the semester ended, my body must have forgotten that I still needed to move from Rochester to Canandaigua and prepare a Christmas meal for 15 people.

I've been sick with a flu for days! And worst of all . . .

I have laryngitis.

No voice whatsoever. For someone like me, this is a fate worse than death. Do you have any idea what it feels like to know that the cure is to just clam up and give your voice a rest but to be psychologically incapable of this act? *Heavy sigh*

Yeah, I didn't make these rolls, but I thought the table looked cute. 

Here is a rundown of the unique and surprisingly low-fat (my family is trying to be more health-conscious) Christmas dinner I cam up with. I was most pleased with the baked goods, but everything turned out quite delicious.

Recipes to come later!

Christmas Dinner 2011

Lean pork roast with apple cider glaze

Rosemary potatoes

Green beans almondine

Citrus stuffing with baked chicken livers

Coarse apple chutney

Butternut squash bake

Coconut butter rum pie

"Hamantaschen" muffins

Actually, I said that everything was delicious, but this is not entirely true. The citrus stuffing did not turn out well . . . and it was not because of the chicken livers, you giblet-haters! I made the stuffing chock full of carrots, celery, onions, apples, cranberries, walnuts, and chopped chicken livers (it was one of the more extensive dishes in the meal); and I flavored it with chicken stock, orange zest, thyme, and tarragon. 

Mom said the flavor was incredible!

However, my mom and I, not having baked stuffing from scratch very often, left the dish covered as it baked. The bread cubes absorbed all of the moisture, and the substance took on the distinctive consistency of snot.

I have enough of that going on with my flu. Thank you.

The stuffing was not offered to the dinner guests. I was disappointed, but all bellies were full, and all taste buds were tingling :-), so no complaints.

I hope your holidays were wonderful (and still are if you celebrate Kwanza!) God bless, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and many happy returns.

Awkward and Awesome Thursday: FINALS WEEK!

Awkward:

• Having an 8:00am final. Every. Single. Day. This. Week.
• Classical and Modern Rhetoric essay exam? Sixteen handwritten pages later . . . Check.
• Finding out that one of my friends here at school graduated with my cousin who is now stationed in Okinawa. Small world?
• Showing up late to couples counseling . . . can't you go to hell for that or something? Haha.
• The people who think that you need to have severely traumatic and life-altering issues to go to counseling. Yeesh. Sometimes it's just nice to have someone listen, you know?
• Enjoying a  lunch of cookies, pretzel sticks, and a clementine. Not the most filling/healthy meal I've had all semester. Hey, there was fruit in it.
• This girl . . . grrrr, this GIRL . . See there's this one girl . . . we don't get along.
• Ten-page Old Testament paper on marriage metaphors due tomorrow!

Awesome:

• GAW-geous photo shoot with Kelly on Monday! Everything was lovely. Beautiful warm day, beautiful studio, beautiful me in crazy high fashion makeup :-D
• Christmas gala. There were bongos!
• Ultimate finals week food combo: sushi and mango lemonade. Fish oil reduces anxiety and depression, and vitamin C keeps us from getting sick. Well, yeah, I guess it does kind of taste good, too.
• Cookies at work. Can also be awkward. See above.
• Late-night study breaks in the library or dining hall. Yes, thank you, I will have a taco and a cheeseburger at 11:00 at night.
• Back rubs from the sweetest husband ever.
• My first Christmas present from the sweetest Paige ever! Nothing beats a cornbag when you don't currently own a heating pad or anything like that.
• The semester being 100% over at 10:00am tomorrow morning.

Currently

This is a trend I've seen in the blogging community that I wanted to try out. I got the idea from the darling Casey Wiegand.

Obsessing over: chocolate peppermint, naps, comfortable high heels (is that an oxymoron?), College Humor videos (the clean ones), suede, musicals, snow, Zhang Ailing

Working on: expanding Nine to Phive, finishing up the last of my final papers, a poetry series, DIY winter clothes, C. S. Lewis's The Great Divorce, a bunch of books on sign language, styling a photo shoot with Kelly for tomorrow :-D

Thinking about: my honey, the future, how much I love school, money worries, my Nikki back in PA

Anticipating: going home for Christmas, Spanish food, basically just Spain and Europe in general, having babies, my family's move up here to Rochester!

Listening to: My Christmas playlist on Spotify which I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get onto my blog . . . 

Drinking: Theraflu. Real exciting.

Wishing: to become more like Christ in the New Year, to become fluent in Spanish, for a new laptop, to have a baby ;-)

Happy Birthday to One of My Rachels! And Cocoa Hand Cream

Today just happened to be the birthday of a certain now-fourteen-year-old someone who received a DVD copy of Fiddler on the Roof from her brother and sister-in-law, experienced a lovely birthday massage (not from her brother or sister-in-law), and is currently dining at the exquisite Red Lobster.

That someone is . . . drumroll . . .

The lovely Rachel Jeannine Thurston!

Now, the above ice cream cake looks very tasty, but it is lacking a festive birthday message because decorative icing apparently does not take well to very cold cake. The cluster of fourteen candles is covering up a lovely blue smoodge that would have been the 'H' of "Happy Birthday Rachel!" had things turned out differently.

Little Cousin "helping" blow out the candles . . . one of which turned out to be a trick candle!

This was actually my first ice cream cake, believe it or not. It was a layer of chocolate cake sandwiched between oodles of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I'm not usually a huuuuuge chocolate ice cream fan, but this was quite tasty. Therefore, in honor of being acclimated into the chocolate ice cream cake club, I have decided to whip up for Rachel some cocoa-scented hand cream.

Now, the Thurston family is all about homemade gifts. Momma Thurston makes toffee, peanut brittle, and to-die-for biscotti every Christmas for all of her friends and family. Rachel loves making homemade spa treatments. Josh . . . well, I mean, Josh and I didn't make the Fiddler on the Roof DVD, but you should have seen the "custom designed" wrapping paper Josh created for the occasion.

And as for me--here is a recipe for my own personal everyday "spa treatment." Hope you had a great day, Rachel! I'll have to give you your belated present for Christmas. Enjoy the musical in the meantime.

Cocoa Hand Cream

1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup unscented baby lotion
1/2 cup petroleum jelly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the petroleum jelly in a small saucepan and melt it down on a low heat setting. It will begin to look like water as it "sweats" and reduces down.

Add the cocoa powder to the melted petroleum jelly. Blend very well. This will look a bit like thick hot chocolate. Add the vanilla. Turn off the heat and let the temperature of the mixture go down.

Add the lotion. MAKE SURE IT IS UNSCENTED OR THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL REEK. I found this out the hard way. This will not combine very well initially.

Doesn't look very appealing just yet

If you keep stirring, you will eventually end up with a smooth and almost-appetizing-looking substance. Let this cool a little bit, but it can only thicken slightly or it will be too firm to pour into whatever container you would like to use for your hand cream. I used a Relic watch tin.

Pour the mixture into the container you will be using and pop it into the fridge. Allow to sit for about a half an hour.

Apply a cool dab to your hands and rub it in nice and smooth :-). You can see my fingertip "dimple" in the photo of the cream near the top of the recipe. This lotion goes on pretty greasy like any body butter, but if you keep rubbing it in it just becomes nice and nourishing for your skin . . . P.S. it smells super yummy.

As for my other sister, Rachel . . . have no fear. She did not have another birthday and is still eighteen. Yikes!