A Stately Dinner

Last night we had our dinner inspired by a few American States.  If you remember, we came up with this idea during the International dinner with had with our neighbors a few months ago.  Each couple drew a U.S. State and a course. Each course had to have a drink to go with it.  Bryce and I drew appetizer and New York. 

With all the children having fun with a babysitter next door we were free to relax and enjoy.  The night was super fun, the conversation lively and inappropriate and the courses tasty and inspired.  Here is the run down ~

Appetizer from New York

Bagels with a schmear of cream cheese, topped with lox and capers served with a Manhattan.

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Side, salad or soup from Minnesota

Swedish meatballs, lefse, and picked cabbage served with the Champagne of beers, Miller High life.
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Main Course from Alaska

Gorgeous Coho salmon served with Alaskan Amber beer.
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Dessert from California

Nut squares (a family recipe) with homemade vanilla and Ghirardelli Chocolate ice cream  served with wine.

As you can imagine we're all still digesting . . .

A Worldly Meal

On Sunday we had an international dinner with our neighbors. Each couple (there were 4) drew a country and a course. Bryce and I drew Spain and the soup,salad or side course. How fun, right!

We started the evening with an appetizer from Sardinia. We were served fried ravioli filled with pecorino cheese and topped with a wild boar ragu. You'll be proud of me, I even ate the wild boar. And liked it! The dish was impressive and delicious.

Bryce and I were the next course, naturally we went with tapas and sangria to drink. We had fried Marcona almonds, Spanish olives, tortilla espanola, manchego cheese with quince paste, cucumber bites and Vodka flamed chorizo (we couldn't get it to ignite!!)

For the main course we visited Vietnam. We had a delicious pork Banh Mi. It had cilantro, carrot, a sweet pickle relish and tangy aioli.

Dessert took us to Hawaii (yes, yes, we know it is not a country.) We enjoyed coconut cupcakes from Cake Envy. And can I say that it was the very best cupcake I've *ever* eaten hands down. I didn't know cake could taste so good. Don't even get me started on the frosting. All I know is I'm a fan!

We all had so much fun we made plans for another similar evening. This time we decided to keep it in the US, using regional recipes. We threw in a bunch of states, added the courses and this is what came out:

Appetizer - New York (Bryce and I)
Soup, Salad, Side - Minnesota
Main Course - Alaska
Dessert - California

Do you have any suggestions? I know there are New Yorkers, Minnesotans, Alaskans, and Californians out there. Don't be shy.

Favorite Things from Trader Joe's

Thank you for your help with the California play list! That was fun. Now, I need your help with something else. I've been telling our friends about the wonders of Trader Joe's and wouldn't you know it, there is one right next to where they're staying in Cali. Sooo, please take a second and tell me your FAV Trader Joe's products. Ones that you would recommend to someone new to TJ's.

Here are mine: Their fresh hummus, pico de gallo, sesame seed covered almonds and dried apricots. I also love their peanut butter filled pretzels. However, I don't think the English love peanut butter the way we Americans do.

Thanks for taking the time to comment!

California Dreamin'

Are you taking a vacation this summer? You already know where we're going this summer - home! Some friends of ours have a very exciting vacation planned. They are taking a 2 week trip to California this summer! It is quite a long distance from Luxembourg! To add to the excitement, it will be their daughters' first visit to the States (they are English.)

I'm very excited for them to visit my neck of the woods . . . well, west coast at least. It has been fun to listen to their trip plans and to give them tips on how to talk American - things are cool, not brilliant. They will be doing quite a bit of driving in order to get to all their must sees. In addition to cranking the AC they are creating a play list to listen to in the car to make the drive more enjoyable. How fun, right? A play list inspired by California. Bryce and I contributed a few ideas, mostly obvious ones: Hotel California, Going to California, California Dreaming. But I thought I'd turn it over to you. I'm a Washingtonian, what do I know about the spirit of California?

What songs do you think embody California? What songs capture the spirit of California? Please, please leave a comment . . .or two or three.

the photo is of my in-laws in Oregon.

A Royal Affair

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a friend's house to watch the Royal Wedding. An English friend's house, at that! Not only did we celebrate Will & Kate's nuptials we also celebrated England as well. Posh frocks were adorned, tiaras dusted off and put on and, the other American and I, brushed up on the Queen's English.

The table was spread with all dishes English - strawberries & cream, coronation chicken, scones with jam & cream, a Victoria sponge (this had nothing to do with cleaning as I learned,) jacket potatoes, fairy cakes with royal toppers, and a cheese & pineapple hedgehog. For drinks we enjoyed Pimms, cremant (we were in Luxembourg, after all) and tea, of course.

An über talented friend of mine, Jennifer, knitted Kate, Will and the Queen and presented them to our hostess as a gift. The dolls were incredible! Have you seen the book the dolls were born from, Knit your own Royal Wedding? Super fun stuff!

So, what about you? Did you watch the wedding? What did you think? I loved the Queen in yellow. Almost made her seem cheerful, no? Leave a comment, let's dish about the Royal Wedding!

Friends in Brussels

Sunday was an extremely exciting day! We drove up to Brussels to meet up with friends who were on their way to Rwanda. You heard me right. Rwanda. And not just for a visit; to stay. For 2 years. The visit was special for so many reasons: 1) We hadn't seen each other in years.2) We'd never met their son 3) They are embarking on this incredible adventure in Africa!

It was perfect that they had a stop in Brussels. We had 2 great days with them. We didn't really *do* anything. Oh sure, we laughed at Mannekin Pis, drank lots of Belgian Beer (mostly the Trappist variety,) a few of us had mussels. The visit was not about Brussels. It was about being together. And that we did. And then we sent them off with love and good wishes.

This is the Atomium. It was built for the 1958 World's Fair. We didn't go in it, but did enjoy seeing it.

Free face painting in the park at the base of the Atomium. My girls will never say no to that!

You can follow the Rwanda adventure here (ahem, as soon as they have connectivity.)

Pronto!

Ah, home again. One of my all time favorite parts of vacation. Looking forward to sharing bits of our Italian excursion with you.

We're doing juuuust fine

That's all ya need to know.

Tea Time

I had a small burst of productivity this week. These two quilt blocks were made for the American Women's Club of Luxembourg. Actually, the AWCL is contributing quilt blocks for a quilt that is being put together by FAWCO - Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas. Um, I don't really understand it all either. I was asked if I'd like to contribute. I said yes. Anyway, the theme was tea - greens and browns with a splash of milk and honey. The first block is my standard scrappy log cabin.

The second is made by sewing 6 strips together, cutting them apart and resewing. As you can see I did this multiple times. It kinda got away from me. Regardless of this strange block the sew, cut, resew process is really fun .

The exciting news is that Julie is here! She arrived safe and sound with her characteristic smiling face. She even managed to stay up until 10:00!! Unheard of if you ask me. Tomorrow we're going to the center. I'm so excited to show her around!

Her first time

My oldest and dearest friend, Julie, is coming to visit next week! I couldn't be more excited. We've been friends since 3rd grade. That amounts to over 25 years of friendship. Whew! That's a lot of years. We've seen each other through many loves, losses, and awkward phases (I think I may have hit another one) Anyhoo, I couldn't be more thrilled that she is leaving her little Seattle neighborhood to come and visit.

This is Julie's *first* trip to Europe! Isn't that exciting?!? Can't wait to watch her take it all in. Julie left all the planning of her European vacation to me. A task I was thrilled to take on. But before I share with you where we will be traveling, I'm curious to know where you would go if this was *your* first trip to Europe.

So please leave me a comment. If you've never been to Europe tell me where you'd like to go. If you have been or are a resident of Europe tell me where you'd take your first-time guest. I'm so curious!

Oh, about the pictures. That is Julie and I at 13 years old (maybe 14 or 15?) trying to look oh, so grown-up. I'm on the right with the shorter hair, Julie's on the left.

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Only a few guesses about my HEMA shopping binge. Both Poppyart and Leslie guessed 30,00 euros. As if. Try 63, 40. Gulp.

Carbo Loading (Loving)

Quick interruption to my regular scheduled programming to *RAVE* about the bread pudding at The Hi-Life. Yum. Yum. Yum. Huge sigh of contentment. Met a few bffs from Book Club last night. I love those ladies. And the bread pudding. In that order.

The Weekend in Review

My mom is back in town! She brought 4 fresh-from-the-tree tangerines for the girls. They enthusiastically wolfed down all 4 this morning. After talking blog and photography, she loaned me her Canon Rebel to try out. Naturally, I'm totally intimidated but also chomping at the bit to give it a try. I read the first page of the instruction manual. I should be all set.


Our great friends from Eastern Washington spent the weekend with us. They are such kind hearted, easy to be around people. I enjoyed the visiting along with the abundance of good natured teasing. Bryce made breakfast for us this morning, complete with some homemade cinnamon rolls.


This afternoon we celebrated an early Mother's Day with the in-laws. We met at a park for a picnic dinner. The cousins (4 girls!) didn't stop moving once. I could watch them delight in each other's company all day long.

Wine and Chocolate for a Reason

Not that I need a reason to indulge in either but tonight I attended a fund raiser for the Northwest Girls Coalition. The vision of the Northwest Girls Coalition is to ensure a healthy, supportive environment for all girls to realize their full potential. Their mission is to strengthen the girl-serving community by fostering education and collaboration in the Puget Sound region. The fund raiser took place at Theo, an organic and fair trade chocolate company in Fremont. $10.00 not only went to the NWGC it also gave us a generous wine and chocolate tasting. Not to mention a tour of the factory. It was a delightful evening. I absolutely enjoyed my generous tasting of both chocolate and wine.

My favorite chocolate was the vanilla milk chocolate. The most unusual flavor was the coconut curry chocolate bar. I learned that I may like coconut curry with chicken, but not so much with chocolate. The chocolate with French bread was also usual but tasty; it had the sweet/salty thing going on. The highlight of the evening was, of course, just being out without the little ones AND visiting with 2 friends that I don't get to really talk with very often.

Busy Big Sister

Look at what came in the mail for me! It's from Lisa of Franny Kate Creations. Lisa made such a thoughtful Big Sister Busy Box for my oldest that I asked her for help in creating one for my niece. The contents arrived today and they are great! She out did herself - paper dolls, card making kit, gardening craft kit and beading supplies, just to name a few.
My FAVORITES are the Little Mouse Magnet Game and the Exercise Dice Game. Lisa included an extra Mouse game for my girls saying that it would be a hit with my youngest. It is, but, it is an even bigger hit with my 4 year old. We played this game post dinner to bedtime! The brilliance of this game is that it sticks on the fridge so the kids can play it (okay, I have to play too) while I get dinner ready or clean up. With my youngest we just turned it into a game of peek-a-boo with the mouse hiding under a house.

The Exercise Dice Game is going to be perfect for my niece as she is a very busy, physical child. Between the tossing of the cubes, the counting and exercising it is sure to keep her occupied while tiring her out at the same time. Pure genius.

Introducing FRANNY KATE

There is a great new shop on Etsy called Franny Kate! My friend and former teaching colleague, Lisa just started it. Like most of us she's been crafting for many, many years and recently decided to try out the crafting for cash venture. Lisa is a SAHM of two girls. She is an avid scrap booker, gardener and former preschool and elementary school teacher. I think her crafts reflect all of these things.

Franny Kate offers the most fabulous Diaper Cake, a perfect gift for any new mom. She also has little mini Baby Cakes, also a great baby shower gift. My FAVORITE items are her Big Sister Busy Box and Paper Dolls. The Big Sister Busy Box is filled with crafts and activities that will occupy Big Sister while mommy tends to the newborn. This box was invaluable to me (and my oldest) when #2 arrived.
My oldest just received a set of Franny Kate's Paper Dolls for her 4th birthday. They were a huge hit! The Paper Doll set comes with bodies, clothes, accessories, glue and glittery bling. Just look at the result~
Help welcome Lisa to Etsy, check out her shop and mark it as a favorite. You'll be glad ya did.

It's kinda an emergency

I got the best phone call Saturday morning. It was 8:25 and I had just stumbled downstairs, deciding my husband needed some help controlling all the crying I was hearing. I pick up the phone, assuming it is my in-laws who are due at my house at 9:00, and hear, "Hi, Katy, It's Mlle-Claudette. Ooo, I see I woke you up, but its kinda an emergency. I need brown thread to finish Kelly's quilt" Instant smile. You need thread??!! That is a wonderful emergency. "Yeah, I have some," I tell her. She goes on - "Oh great, I'm attaching the binding to her quilt and I need chocolate brown thread. I'll be over in 15 minutes." So, I go down to my sewing corner, get the thread, still smiling, quickly take a picture of it because I know I want to record this humorous little emergency.

Mlle-Claudette is a fellow member of a quilting group I've been a part of for 6 years now. We meet once a month for 5 hours and dish, eat, share our lives and quilt (all in that order). We make group projects for members and friends to recognize babies, marriages, new houses and even first communions. Our recent project was for a member who just got married. The plan was to present her with our gift today at Quilt Club and Mlle-Claudette was rushing to complete the quilt.

When I heard her knock on the door I opened it to hear, "Thanks, can you believe people pay me manage their projects?!" We exchanged a few pleasantries and then she headed home to cram for Quilt Club. The smile from this emergency didn't leave my face all morning. I love my quilting friends. We really will still be doing this when we're 80.