Homemade General Tso's Chicken

Hey Gang,

This post has been on my to-do list for oh, about two weeks now! So here I am on this gorgeous day in November sitting down to reminisce about our delicious General Tso's Chicken. This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen, probably the most amazing people ever!! I was a little nervous about frying chicken just because the oil can be so temperamental but all in all-super easy recipe and DELICIOUS.

Very versatile with sides too, we did brown rice with broccoli but you could do chard, peas, beans, asparagus, white rice, fried rice, noodles, quinoa-the possibilities are endless. The hoisin sauce REALLY makes the difference in this recipe.

Happy Eating!!

XO,

Grace


General Tso's Chicken
Recipe from America's Test Kitchen

Serves 4

Marinade and Sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 T soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 cups Water
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch pieces, about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 T Veggie Oil
2 T Grated fresh ginger
1/2 t Red Pepper flakes

Coating and Frying
3 Large egg whites
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
4 cups Veggie Oil

1) For the marinade and sauce. Whisk the hoisin, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water in a bowl. Combine 6 tablespoons of the hoisin mixture and the chicken in a zipper lock bag, refrigerate for 30 mins.

2) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook the garlic, ginger and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the hoisin mixture and simmer, whisking constantly, until dark brown and thickened , about 2 mins. Cover and keep the sauce warm.

3) For coating and frying. Whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining hoisin mixture in a second shallow dish until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Toss half of the chicken with the egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.

4) Heat the oil in a Dutch over over medium-high heat until the oil registers 350 degrees. Fry half of the chicken until golden brown, about 3 mins, turning each pieces halfway through cooking. Transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate. Return the oil to 350 degrees and repeat with the remaining chicken.

5) To serve. Warm the sauce over medium low heat until simmering, about 1 minute. Add the crisp chicken and toss to coat. Serve and ENJOY!

LOVE is a beautiful thing...

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.

~Saint Augustine~


I found this video tonight from Elysium Productions-a fantastic videographer. This video had me in tears by the end, it is so full of elegance, beauty, love and raw emotion and I LOVE IT. We (I say we as a society and as a bride myself) often get caught up in the "wedding" part of the wedding. It is a lot of fun to plan all these details but at the end of the day, Joe and I become husband and wife and share a commitment that is everlasting and unconditional.

I see a collage of weddings like this and I feel the love, my heart beats when the girls walk down the aisle because instead of seeing their groom, I see my own. I hear my own father's voice as he gives his toast and I see my own dress hanging up in the doorway. But most of all, I love what this video represents-true, unconditional love and the joining of two individuals journeys into one. I for one, cannot wait to start ours!

Enjoy!


XO,

Grace

P.S. Right click on "Elysium Productions" to open in a new link!

Wedding Wedding Wedding on the brain

Hello faithful followers,

Tonight I abandoned reality (except for a glass of wine and Modern Family snuggle time with Joe) and delved deep into my mind to create some inspiration boards for our wedding. I have so many fun ideas and most of them probably won't come to fruition but I want to remember the process and the journey as the wedding evolves and so at 11 months away-this is what I have. Try to blur the edges and focus not on the actual details of the details but the bigger picture/theme/ideas within the pictures. I am in love with what I believe our wedding will be and I honestly cannot wait to see how the real thing plays out!

So, enjoy and know that this is the first of many because at this point inspiration is truly inspiration and I feel like like an artist with a blank canvas and a hell of a lot of paint.

This first one is more of an overall theme for the wedding, which I've coined Rustic Organic Elegance. Picture the thick woods of Northern Michigan in the early days of Fall. The sand between your toes as you munch that perfectly toasted smore, not caring that marshmallow and chocolate are smeared on your face and hands. You watch the stars begin to emerge and even spot a shooting star or two as the waves lap on the beach and the embers glow to warm the crisp air around you. A perfect Northern Michigan bonfire.



This second one is the development of our color palette. I am really not going to be too strict with this but in general, warm plum tones will blend with earthy greens and browns and sand like neutrals...maybe even some wine colored amaranthus to give another pop of color. The possibilities are truly endless! Joe wanted to make note that he will not be wearing this suit exactly and to absorb the deep purple and gorgeous calla lilies that just scream elegance.






Like I said, more to come, just a taste to get the juices flowing. Now, off to bed to dream of plum colored linens, pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting and a handsome groom to share the rest of my life with!

XO,

Grace

P.S. Click on the pictures to open in a new window and you will be able to see the whole board!!

DELICIOUS PEANUT BUTTER ENERGY BARS

I recently discovered this recipe via Kelli Curtiss (Thanks Kelli!) and Joe and I are hooked. We have been making them every week and usually have one for breakfast every morning.

I love that they are a) EASY PEASY b) versatile-you can add whatever fruit and nuts suit you c) delicious without being bad for you. They pack a punch of energy and seriously, who doesn't love peanut butter.

I highly recommend them, in fact, I'm off to buy more ingredients so we can make more today!!



Here is the assembled ingredients-like I said, SIMPLE.



Next, melt your peanut butter, oil/butter mixture or coconut oil and agave nectar over medium low heat. Really you just want to meld all of this together and make it pliable enough to mix your dry ingredients in.





Mix in all your dry ingredients until they are thoroughly coated with the butter mixture. Press into a 9 1/2 X 13 inch pan. You can line the pan with parchment for a little bit easier time but either way is fine. Cool in the fridge and Kelli and I both recommend storing in the fridge so they stay together better.



Last Step: EAT YOUR HEART OUT.

Happy Eating

XO,

Grace

Double Take

A post dedicated to my lovely little sister. A reminder to her that she is all of the following:

Stunning

Worldly

Intriguing

Delightful




All in all-truly one of a kind. On that note, she does have a striking resemblance to someone else in this world. While I haven't met this other woman, I'd dare to say that my sister probably has the one-up. Just saying.



And if Joe and I were getting married back in Aix, this would be your MOH dress without a doubt.



An ode to you Claire, for all that you are, and all that you'll be in this lifetime and the next. My Maid of Honor, my best friend and forever my little Claire Bear. Dream big Bear for the world is truly your oyster.

Love,

Big Sis

XO

And the Leaves begin to turn....

Whew, it has been awhile. I'm not quite sure how time can go so fast when you think you don't have that much going on. We've been to Bozeman and back for Brandon and Laura's fabulous wedding and drove the Rabbit back to Michigan so we have two cars once again.

I've come to the realization that I didn't think much beyond our "summer in Northern Michigan" which has now turned into our Fall and part of Winter in Northern Michigan. I guess I thought it would be easy to just pick up and move back. Now that I am officially on the real job hunt, it is a lot harder than I expected. We have jobs that pay the bills right now but don't do much more than that. So to move back to SLC just to move back seems silly and expensive. So far now, we are enjoying the color changes and the cool nights as Fall hits Northern Michigan. Fall happens to be my favorite season anyways so I am happy to be here. Wedding planning is going really well, I am really going to try to post more wedding posts in the near future to keep people updated, as if people care-LOL but I will do it anyways. I'll try to post more food stuff too now that we actually have time to cook!

As far as the wedding goes, secretly I want it to be right now! I am so ready already and it is still 11 months away, that seems like an eternity. I will say that I have been stressed but unfortunately mostly about how everyone else is going to react to our choices and decisions, which I know shouldn't be a priority but I am a caring individual sometimes to my downfall.

This is what we have done so far and the list grows every week!

My dress
Bridesmaids dresses
Flower girl outfits
Ceremony/Reception Site
Photographer-Melisa McKolay-check out her website she is SO Fricken COOL!
Band-Jelly Roll Blues Band
Florist
General idea of centerpieces
Fun ideas that I can't give away cause it would ruin the wedding weekend!! :)

We are still mulling over a couple of caterers but hopefully will get this down in the next week or so. It really has all begun. I can't believe we are actually planning OUR wedding-I mean seriously, haven't I been thinking about this for like the last five years and now I really get to do it!!!!!!!! I am really going to try to enjoy every minute because I don't plan on every doing it again so it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Now, I'm off to go shower, spray some rocks for a wedding project and sit through some really important football game involving the Packers- pretty much I will be on Style Me Pretty instead-HA!

Until next time,

Grace Elizabeth

Which way is the wind blowing...

It is the last week of July 2010. The job search has begun and boy do I feel lost. Torn between health and food, Salt Lake City or beyond and really afraid to take this next step. I want too, I want back our routine and a home and our own things but at the same time, I want to already be established. I get butterflies just thinking about starting a new job. I feel lost, conflicted and pretty damn unproductive right now.

I have been consumed with planning the wedding when really I should be planning my life. I guess I am struggling with what my strengths are, whether I need more schooling, where I want to live, whether I want to start my own business now or wait a couple of years. Overall lots of emotion and conflict and no resolution.

How can I come off of six weeks of adventure and feel so down about life? I guess life isn't supposed to be easy but is it supposed to be this difficult to decide what you want to do with your life? I know I can always change but I don't want to feel like I am wasting my life away. I'd like to be cooking more as I feel that would lift my spirits but we really don't have the money to be cooking right now. The sense of urgency is helpful in some ways and hurtful in others because I feel like I have to find something NOW! I haven't even turned in my resume to one employer-what a schmuck I am.

Will it ever get better? I don't want this to be a pity post, I need some intervention or some light at the end of the tunnel. Right now all I see is gray.

Northern Michigan Summers

Life is good. Practically too good. I think I am still catching up on sleep but slowly but surely am getting back in the US of A life. We had a blast at Evan and Ashley's wedding, it was great to catch up with people and we were so happy to be a part of their weekend! We got to see my Dad and hang out in MP and celebrate Claire's 21st birthday (she held herself together amazingly well) and then we headed up north to hang out with Mrs. T all week since it is one of her few times in Michigan this summer.

I am in a dilemma with summer jobs. I really don't have the flexibility to work all the time because we need to be here and there and visiting people and the summer for the most part is already booked up. The problemo is and always is-money. I am defs (as the aussies would say) going to run out of money and this is a good opportunity to put money away for the wedding but my schedule is on the fritz and changes weekly. It has been on my mind 24/7 and I need to figure something out. So any ideas would help.

I am also diving head first into wedding planning and I am not sure I am ready or prepared. SO many fricken details. Sometimes it is hard to know what you want, but you have to have an idea about what you want before you commit to anything. Yikes. So far we think we want it to be September of 2011 and we have a rough idea of a guest list. Other than that....it is still up in the air. Sometimes, getting married in the Italian countryside seems like the best option! We shall see. For now, I will try to get into the groove of things.

I think I feel disjointed because I am in the in-between stage right now. In between jobs, homes, single life and married life, and there isn't a lot of stability in any of it which I am accustomed too. I am enjoying life but am not stress free because of all the things/worries floating around in my brain all the time. I also need to get back into a workout routine. We took our first bike ride into Harbor Springs the other day which was great but we need to get the bikes tuned so we won't get them back for a few days. I feel sluggish and lazy and all the wonderful treats from Europe are lingering on my body in places I don't want!

This entry isn't really as interesting but is a much needed vent session. Sometimes I work stuff out the best when I write it all down so maybe this is the motivation I need. We shall see.

HOME HOME ON THE RANGE

Well, here we are. Six weeks later. Can't say I am the same person. I am happy to be home but sad at the same time. The thrill of traveling and not knowing what the day will bring is rather invigorating. It makes you feel like you are really living life. Yes, there is a different sense of reality because you don't necessarily have to worry about going to work or doing the dishes but there is a different sense of responsibility involved. You are consumed only with your basic needs. Where to eat, where to sleep and in Europe's case-where the hell are you going to be able to relieve yourself because there are NO PUBLIC toilets!!! It is very frustrating! HA, at least for me!

It was, brilliant. We met loads of fun people, saw loads of amazing things and def are better more rounded people because of the experiences we had. I can't wait to post all the pictures. I think total we took around 2500-3000 pictures. Don't worry, I won't make you look at all of them!


Now the next journey begins. Driving home, Evan's wedding as well as Brandon and Laura's in Montana, summer in Michigan, where to go next and WEDDING PLANNING! WAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! And no, I will not be a bridezilla, sorry to disapoint.

I am just excited to marry my best friend!! Stay tuned for more details and for more posts on different cities we visited. For now, we are safe and home and exhausted. I slept for 12 hours last night and didn't wake up until 1PM today!!! I obviously needed it. Can't wait to catch up with all of our friends and most of all, I cannot wait for the next adventure. For now the backpack is hung up-but it won't collect too much dust!

Love from SLC,

Grace and Joe

Aix marks the spot

HELLO!!!!!!

Ok, I know I have slacked big time on the blog, we really had horrible internet connection and I have not been able to get on and blog. The internet that was available was for 15 euro cents a minute!!!! YIKES! I am really sorry for the lack of posting and will try to post everyday to make up for it!!!

Ok, so I left off on my birthday in Venice. Italy was FABULOUS. Definitely somewhere I want to go back too, not even a question. The food-out of this world, more details on that to come. The people-fantastic. The scenery-unbelievable. Pictures do not it justice.

So from Venice off to Rome where we stayed at the COOLEST B&B outside of Rome in a little town called Zagarolo. Ivano and his wife Tehri were the best and we stayed on an olive farm and ate dinner family style with Ivano and our new friends from Australia. It was amazing. Good company, great food, and yes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do....and eat as much gelato as possible!!!! We decided to spend one full day in Rome see the ruins, vatican, st. peter's basilica and many other fabulous things. The next day we visited Tivoli, a town near Zagarolo that has three beautiful villas.
I really have trouble expressing how much we saw and how I found myself staring up at the coliseum and thinking to myself, am I really here? I mean, pinch yourself Grace, are you looking at the Roman coliseum!!!!! AHHHHHH!

So I will write more about each city but for now I will leave you with that but we have safely arrived in Aix-en-Provence (Claire's home for the last 10 months) and are living it up. Only a week left but it is so good to be back in Aix. I love it here and can see why Claire has fallen in love with it too! We were reunited with a great friend and fellow world traveler today, the one and only JJ Vandette!!!!!!

We are so excited that he is here and with us and that we could meet up halfway around the world and enjoy some time together after not seeing each other for 6 months. Off to market in the morning to enjoy a fresh croissant and pain au chocolate-we just can't seem to get enough.

Love from Aix,

Grace and Joe and Claire and JJ

And another year older....

Hello from Venice!!!!

Sorry about my lack of posts, internet has been MIA. We have arrived in Venice, Italy and today is my 24th birthday. WOW! Ok, let's back up a few days (or cities).

Brugges and Brussels, Belgium

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. A bit cold but didn't bother us, actually it was a nice break from hot weather. We ate lots of waffles, chocolate, drank amazing beer, visited some fun bars and enjoyed games of checkers and mancala on Joe's phone and had a fabulous time. One day we walked around the whole city and saw the Palace of Justice, the EU parliment building, and most importantly, had the best frites (fries) of our lives. Period. We then ventured on to Amsterdam, on another note, I would seriously consider not getting a rail pass next time around because it really does us no good. We have to reserve seats everywhere we go anyways because most of them are high speed trains and it was an expense I had not really budgeted for. Poohie.

Anyways, on to Amsterdam. Can I just say (and I know that Joe agrees) that Amsterdam is so much more than it is known for. BEAUTIFUL city! Our highlight was 1. Meeting up with Claire after almost a year for Joe and 7 months for me. 2. Taking a ride with the St. Nickolas Boat Club in the canals of Amsterdam and having a picnic lunch while on the boat. 3. Renting bikes and banching through the streets of Amsterdam like we owned them (mainly because this is what everyone else does) Remember when they taught you defensive driving in driver's ed-well I'm pretty sure that biking in the streets of Amsterdam is where defensive driving originated!

HA-we escaped without any major injury and had a fabulous time. We visited the Anne Frank Huis (personal life goal for myself) and the Van Gogh museum-both which were fascinating.

On our last night we ate at this little cafe right on a canal and just watched all the Amsterdamnian's (not the proper name I'm sure) cruise in their boats eating their picnic dinners-very cool.

Another thing that I have really appreciated about Europe is the really cool and large city parks that each city has. And it is not like parks in the US where people may use them but not really. People LOVE their park-it is packed and it is so pretty and fun and such a social place-I really like it. It is always a nice breath away from the city yet you are still in the city.

So, we rode the trains all day yesterday because we could not get a straight train from Amsterdam to Paris to catch our night train to Venice. Put it this way, Claire left three hours later than us and made it an hour before us. So we had a tight 60 minutes to catch two metros and make it to our night train but we did it!! Not without running with backpacks on and sweating profusely.


So we meet up with Claire and we are all in the same compartment, she grabbed sandwiches and eclaires for dinner and we end up only having one other woman in the compartment with us when we should have had six total-great right? WRONG. SO WRONG.

We were carefree and careless, well partially. We went to bed at 10:30PM and expected to wake up in Venice. If only it was so easy.

I woke up a few times early in the morning to our roommate going to the bathroom. No big deal right? Well after the second time, I work up to our cabin door wide open-hmm that's odd I thought, why didn't she lock it and shut it again? I look down and see my purse still under the seat so I think well it seems okay, and push the door as far shut as I could from my top bunk. We then wake up at 8:15AM and start to get all of our stuff together and the conductor gives us our passports back. Only then do we realize what has happened.

Claire's purse (which was laying on the bunk but right by the wide open door) was gone. Absolutely gone. Our roommate had left earlier but had said goodbye to me when I was coming back from the bathroom so we don't think she was the culprit but just some random person who saw an opportunity and capitalized on it.

So we spent the morning at the police station filing a report and calling all of Claire's credit card companies to cancel them. Not a great way to start out my birthday or the stint in Italy.

It could have been a lot worse. Her computer was lying underneath the blanket that her purse was on in her case, she had her phone, her ipod and her camera with her in the bunk because she had asked me to take a picture right before bed and the conductor had her passport overnight. So pretty much it was just money and credit cards and her diary that she had kept all year-big bummer.

We were really sad and hurt and felt stupid but really we locked the door last night and were really angry that our roommate couldn't do the same for us when she came back in this morning but I guess we should have put our valuables away. Oh well, what's done is done and we are safe and have met up with MAX!!!!

We are off to eat dinner and are drinking spritz's. We have already consumed gelato and plan on consuming A LOT more. I will try to post pictures tomorrow. I believe we are headed to the Islands of Lido and Murano tomorrow. WHOOP WHOOP!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Love and miss everyone!!!

Love from Venice,

Grace, Joe, Claire and Max

Unrealiable

UGH

UGH

UGH

Marrakech and Morocco were treating us well up until 2 days ago. First, we eat a restaurant (versus all the street vendors and non sanitary conditions we had been eating at), mistake number 1. Joe wakes up the next morning sick as ever and me not feeling great either and we therefore spend the entire day laying in bed because I can't really go out by myself for fear of being heckeled by Moroccans. BUMMER

So, we leave yesterday morning to take our train to Casablanca and then fly to Paris. Joe is still not great so we head to the airport five hours early. We then go to check in two hours early because that is the earliest and BAM, flight says ANNULE in big red letters. What does that mean? I don't know that word in French.

I DO NOW. CANCELLED. OUR FLIGHT TO PARIS WAS CANCELLED. No order, no lines just masses of people spewing in French and Arabic at the Easy Jet counter trying to get on different flights. Needless to day being English did not help our cause. We got on a night flight to Madrid today (5/28) but have no idea how we are going to get north from there because of train schedules and god knows what else. Charles De Gaulle went on strike yesterday causing the choas and our extra night in Casablanca. With no prospect of a hotel we called in reinforcements (Mrs. Torreano) because we had no internet and no way of finding a hotel. She came through and we had a restful night and now we will try to get to Brussels somehow as Paris is out of the pictures.

C'est la vie.

It could be worse. I know it could. But I still feel sad. I will be happy to reach European soil and we will take it from there. At least we are together and healthy (well sort of)

Love from Casablanca,

Grace and Joe

Little bit of everything....

"Reunited and if feels so good" -the Roman aqua ducts of Segovia, Spain



Sweet fruit marinating in sweet sangria in Madrid, Spain



INTER, INTER, INTER, INTER!!!!!



Adding Africa to the continent list....




Yes, I may have caved and touched this kitten in Marrakech, who possibly could have rabies...but seriously....could you resist that face-I doubt it! (Don't worry, I hand sanitized right after-Joe is convinced I am going to get fleas)

AFRICA!!!

Hello friends! We are currently in the Madrid airport waiting for our flight to Marrakech,Morocco. We had a blast in Madrid with Brady and we can definitely see coming back here in the future. The final champions league game was amazing!!!!!!!! I can't wait to post pictures but I am at a computer in the airport. I cannot even describe how cool the stadium was!!!! Inter (the Italian team we were rooting for), won 2-0. The scene last night was intense; but so much fun. We had a great time catching up with Brady and I will post pics soon. Avila was amazing as well and Cory is the best tour guide around!!! He showed me his favorite pastry shop and I wantted to go all the time. The wall of Avila is sooooo impressive. Segovia (home to Roman aqua ducts was also a highlight

On the last night we went out to dinner and had a segovia specialty-cochinillo or translated to roast suckling pig. All you veggie friends close your ears but the little piggie is only 16 days old but very delicious!!!

Ill write in more detil later but my hands hurt typing on this odd computer.
Wish us luck on the flight and we will see you in Morocco!!!!!!!!!

Love from Madrid,

Grace and Joe

FINALLY!

And by finally, I mean we FINALLY arrived in Europe after not being able to get seats on the first flight (well, one could have gone but we didn't want to split up), although it was totally worth all the stress because when we did finally get on a flight we were in BUSINESS CLASS, in our opinion, the only way to fly!!! We had fold-out seats, fabulous meals, warm towels, and the wine was flowing freely! We didn't sleep much on the flight because we wanted to enjoy the whole experience and enjoy we did. We landed in Paris @ 6:30AM and set out to get on a train to Barcelona. We had some trouble because France and Germany were on a bank holiday (imagine that) so we had to wait in Paris to get on an afternoon train to Montpiller and then spend the night in Montpiller and get on an early morning train to Barcelona. We decided to get to the train station, dump our bags and wander around Paris in the early morning hours.

The second part of the title applies to the fact that we FINALLY GOT ENGAGED!!!!!!

As you can see we are ecstatic! I had no idea, and Joe has been scheming with friends and family for months. We grabbed a warm croissant and wandered by this Parc and decided to go in. Parc de Bercy for those of you that want to know (I don't think it translates to anything other than a name). Anyways, as soon as we walked in we both had feelings of content (Joe was thinking, this is the perfect place) and I was thinking (What a beautiful serene garden with birds chirping and flowers blooming, in other words, a place where I feel close to my mother).

Joe asked me if I wanted to sit down and I said sure, I had seen Joe reach into his bag and I had a slight inclination that something was about to happen but I didn't want to get my hopes up. We sat down and before I knew it, he was down on one knee in front of me and asking me to marry him!!!!! I SAID YES!!!! AGAIN AND AGAIN! We both love the ring and we are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives! We had always known that we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives but it is fun to make it official! We can't wait to celebrate with all of our friends and family when we get back to the States.

Anyways, all in all, a great way to start the trip and it makes the trip even more special. We want to thank everyone for the congrats, it really means a lot to us.

So, finally got to Barcelona and had a blast. The pictures are of a huge lunch we ate right on the beach, paella, sangria, fresh salad and fabulous desserts!!! (Chocolate for me of course.) It was a beautiful afternoon. We ate tapas, wandered around the city, saw Sagrada Familia and other works of Gaudi and just tried to soak up as much sun and culture as we could. We could have definitely spent more time but we were excited to see Cory in Avila.

Right before we left in the morning we visited Merket de la Boqueria. It has been a highlight of my trip so far. So many beautiful colors and foods and every kind of fresh squeezed juice you could imagine (see picture!!) A perfect way to leave Barcelona! We grabbed some salami, machego, zamorano and bread for the train ride and set off for Avila.

We arrived after a beautiful ride through the mountains (Avila is at an elevation for 3200 feet) and were greeted warmly by our good friend Cory Richardson (Joe's freshman year roommate from college). Today we are off to Segovia to see Roman aqua ducts but that is for another post!

We love and miss everyone and thanks again for all the well wishes!

Love from Avila,

Grace and Joe

The Hour is Upon Us

This will probably be our last post until we have reached a new continent! Presently we are about to enjoy a fabulous meal prepared by Joe and our good friend Chris Yates. It will be a great way to get ready for the trip. We had a blast last night having dinner with Scott and then watching Kelsey at Urban Lounge and seeing all of our friends one last night.

Today we did some laundry, grabbed breakfast, packed our bags for the final time and got the odds and ends ready for the trip. I also snuck away with the girls to get a pre-trip pedicure, it was really relaxing, and hey, a girl needs her feet to look cute!

We are definitely ready to get on the plane! The 24 hour countdown has definitely begun.
I don't have much else but if you need to get a hold of us you can email us or facebook us or leave a comment here on the blog! I hope you enjoy reading about our adventure and I can't wait to share it with you all!

See you in Europe!!!!

-Grace and Joe

Un Semaine, Uno Settimana, Una Semana

Here we are, seven days away from the greatest adventure of our lives to date. Am I stressed you ask? HHHMM...mildly, but really not that bad. The house is packed for the most part, the backpacks are packed and lined up against the wall just begging to be put on, the money is saved (or as much as we are going to get) and we have the whole season of Modern Family on our phones..I think we are ready.


Words don't translate all the emotion I am feeling, I think Joe would say the same. Sad to leave, excited to travel, anxious that things will go mostly according to plan and that I've researched enough (I don't think I have) but at this point...I'm just going to enjoy the ride. Coulda, shoulda, woulda is really not in my vocabulary. I feel like Lewis and Clark....worlds unknown to explore...foods untried to consume.....languages unspoken that I still can't speak (I'm working on that now).

All in all...let the journey begin. I feel like I should be singing a song from Pocahontas right now..."just around the river bend" to be exact! CW will appreciate the reference.

Tonight we are having some friends over to say goodbye and celebrate the trip...a BBQ on a beautiful SLC day. The house is empty which is sad because it no longer seems our own...just a shell of what once was, but I guess that confirms that the place doesn't define you, you define the place. The end of an era, our first apartment just the two of us, and boy was it fun.

I am excited to share the night with good friends and there are many here in Salt Lake City!!

Oh by the way, new addition to the itinerary. We decided to extend our trip by 5 whole days and take a jaunt down to Morocco! We are so close by being in Spain and we wanted to experience something that will culturally challenge our comfort zone, and we thought...well why not? Within 24 hours we decided to go, changed our plane tickets, I bought the LP Morocco book and read the whole damn thing, thank god for my speed reading abilities. I am slightly nervous but really excited because it will be one heck of an adventure. We will be staying in Marrakech and then flying out of Casablanca with a day trip to another coastal city. On another plus of staying later, we will overlap with Scott and Jess's trip to Paris and will be able to stay longer with Claire in Aix and then head up to Paris and meet them for dinner before we fly out. I'm sure it will be awesome to see familiar faces and what a great way to end the trip. All in all, I feel so lucky that I have the opportunity to take this trip and I truly thank all those who helped us get there from the bottom of my heart!!

I'll write more soon as d-day approaches! Right now....I have a beer to drink and some meat to grill! (Well, Joe will be doing the grilling but you get the idea!)

Love from Grace and Joe!!!

P.S. You should all listen to just around the river bend right now...I bet you will all remember the words and be singing along by the end!

Unexpected Package

Ok, so I've slacked a bit since my last post, I've had the ideas, just haven't really had the time to sit down and write. Anyways, a month or so ago I sent CW (my sister) a package containing American things that would help ease the pain of being without her sister for a few more months. :)

A week or two later, I received a package from her side of the pond which was totally unexpected and contained many delectable goodies that made me want to pack my bag and get on the plane immediately! Among the treats were Speculoos (fabulous little cookies that they drink with their coffee, I can consume a whole sleeve in one sitting easily!), Petit Buerre's, again little butter cookies that are traditional to the Provence region, salami from Florence, beautiful Gorgonzola cheese that to my sister's dismay, did not make the journey but it was a beautiful thought and finally, the gem of the package-FRESH and I mean FRESH PESTO from the market in Florence, which CW had vacuum sealed twice and was in fabulous condition just waiting to be devoured!!

It took us a few weeks to find a night where Joe and I were both home and would be able to enjoy the dinner together so I got some fresh four cheese tortellini and tossed it with the pesto along with a loaf of garlic bread, a crisp pinot gris from Erath (one of our favorite wineries in Oregon) and a beautiful pear and blue cheese salad topped with pecans! It was delicious!! The pesto literally tasted so fresh, there was something in this pesto that was different than the other pestos I've tasted, some herb or maybe arugula, something that maybe only the pesto's in Florence have. I am definitely going to investigate when I am there in June.

As we sat down to eat I felt like this was a perfect prelude to our European adventure. We had pesto and wine and cheese and everything just fell together with a perfect harmony and I could close my eyes and imagine the many meals that I will be dining on that will be so similar to this only with much better scenery, and I don't mean Joe. :) After dinner, we started reading restaurant recommendations for Paris and it was really nice to have an evening to sit down and talk with Joe about our upcoming trip and share a wonderful meal together. Talk about a Toes in the Water moment. It is amazing to me what one fabulous or special ingredient can do to not only a meal but a whole evening.

I'll try to post again soon! We are down to the one month mark before we leave and things are starting to get a little hectic around here. I can't wait till I buckle in to that plane seat and let everything go!!!!

The Epic European Excursion!

Ok, so most people know that I am pretty much the definition of Type A personality. I love to plan, be organized, yada yada yada. I cannot tell you how long I have had the dream of backpacking Europe. I am now even MORE excited that I was when I first got the idea because of how my passion for food has evolved and we all know how fabulous the food is in Europe! :) :)

This is the trip of a lifetime. I plan on taking many trips of a lifetime but for now, I am focusing on this trip. I have been consumed with researching, trying to get the best deal for accommodations/transportation, figuring out where to go, when to go, how much money to save, HOW to save that much money-HA! The cool thing about it is, is how much I LOVE the planning involved too. I actually enjoy doing all of these things-why you ask? Well, I guess because I love to learn and this is kind of like a class for me, no I don't get a grade at the end of the semester but it is a challenge to see if I can put together the trip that I want to have.

I get to create our trip!

I get to pump myself up for these foreign places that I dream about, and I begin to imagine the foods I will taste and the wine I will drink and it makes the trip that much more fulfilling. I like to be prepared, I know, I know, spontaneity is the key to a trip but at the same time, I want to be prepared so that when disaster occurs (and I know it will) I can problem solve and not waste our precious vacation time trying to figure it out. I am well aware that everything will not go as I planned, I expect it not too. But being the Type A person that I am, the less things I have to stress about before the trip, the more enjoyable my trip is.

I cannot wait to spend time discovering new places with the two people that I cannot live without-Joe and Claire. Just being together with both of them makes me more content that I could ever describe in words. Sappy I know but so true. This is what I live for-being able to take five weeks and spend them with the people that I love the most. I mean really, isn't that the true meaning of life? My heart beats faster just thinking of the adventure we are about to embark on. This is what traveling does for me, this is why I get the itch every few weeks to go someplace different. It is not because I don't love "home" or Salt Lake City but because I feel alive when I am challenged in a new place.

Humans are such creatures of comfort and while I love being in my comfort zone, I also love seeing the world through different viewpoints, different perspectives shall we say. I mean really, let's be honest.....who DOESN'T love people watching! Seriously, I find it fascinating. Traveling allows me to people watch and experience a culture and a lifestyle so different than mine. It is a damn big world out there and it is BEAUTIFUL. I found this quote the other night and I think it sums up my perspective perfectly, probably because I love reading and traveling and it just seems to fit!


"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine


Ok, now that I have rambled on for awhile, let's get to the true meaning of this post-

The Itinerary!

I know you are all shaking with anticipation. This has been a few months in the making and could still change slightly but for the most part is concrete. I can't wait to share our journey with you and this itinerary is just a taste of what's to come in May and June! Enjoy!


Tentative Europe Itinerary

May 12: Depart from SLC to CDG (Paris)
May 13: Arrive in Paris mid-morning; take night train to Barcelona
May 14: Barcelona
May 15: Barcelona
May 16: Arrive in Madrid in AM go to Avila
May 17: Avila, Spain (stay with Cory Richardson)
May 18: Avila, Spain
May 19: Avila, Spain
May 20: AM train back to Madrid (visit with Brady Richards)
May 21: Madrid
May 22: Madrid, Spain (UEFA FINALS-IF we got tickets-PRAY that we do)
May 23: Early afternoon plane from Madrid to Lyon, take train to Aix
May 24: Aix, France (FINALLY be reunited with Claire after 6 LONG months)
May 25: Aix, France
May 26: AM train to Paris, stop back in Lyon (A foodie's paradise)
May 27: Paris, France (day trip to Versailles)
May 28: Paris, France (The Louvre, Eiffel tower)
May 29: Paris, France
May 30: AM train to Brussels, Belgium
May 31: Brussels, Belgium
June 1: Brussels, Belgium (day trip to Bruges?)
June 2: AM train to Amsterdam, Netherlands (2 hours) (meet back up with Claire)
June 3: Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 4: Amsterdam, Netherlands (train to Paris (3hrs) night train from Paris to Venice
(13 hrs)
June 5: Venice, Italy (meet up with Max)(Grace's 24th Birthday!!! I know, be jealous that I will be in Venice :) :) :) )
June 6: Venice, Italy
June 7: Venice, Italy
June 8: Drive with Max and Claire to Rome, Italy (6 hrs from Venice)
June 9: Rome, Italy
June 10: Rome, Italy
June 11: Drive with Max and Claire to Florence, Italy (3 hrs from Rome)
June 12: Florence, Italy (day trip to Tuscany/Siena)
June 13: Florence, Italy (Max and Claire leave us ☹)
June 14: Florence, Italy Day trip to Modena (home of excellent Balsamic) and Parma (home of Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto)
June 15: AM train to Cinque Terre,Italy
June 16: Cinque Terre, Italy
June 17: Cinque Terre, Italy
June 18: Mid-day train to Aix, France
June 19: Mid-day/ late afternoon train to Paris, France from Aix (3 hrs on TGV train)
June 20: Depart Paris in AM


More details to come.....

I guess what I want to leave you with tonight is the motivation that ANYONE can take these types of trips. Think to the movie Ratatouille-"Anyone Can Cook!" This is my motto for traveling. I always hear people say they wish they had taken more time to travel or with they traveled more-MAKE the time.

You CAN do this thing, you just have to commit to it. YES, it is A LOT of money, YES you have to sacrifice things and most importantly YES, it is scary to leave a job and not know what the next step is. But dammit, life is too short to "wish" you had taken a trip. It doesn't have to be five weeks long or even a week long. Make the time, SAVE the money, and BELIEVE in the trip. It is always possible.

-Grace Elizabeth

The Collaboration

Nothing says comfort to me like grilled cheese.....or any type of melty ooey gooey cheesy goodness in sandwich form.

Joe and I did not have much time for dinner as we were meeting Josh and Alexandra later on to see Crazy Heart so I called from work to tell him to make some home fries with the one potato we had in the house. I on the other hand, was in charge of the tuna melt.

I am particularly fond of the Double Cream Gouda, a perfect melting cheese with a lovely creaminess to it that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. I also picked up some cornichons, fabulous little guys that pack a punch and look like mini-pickles, they are a favorite snack of ours. We decided we liked the sourness of the cornichons better than celery in the tuna salad, even though celery gives more of a crunch. We figured that if you grill the melts right, the bread will give you the texture crunch you are looking for.

Anyways, a hot grill pan and dash of salt and pepper later we were enjoying our tuna melts and home fries and we decided that we make a pretty damn good team in more ways than one, but especially on the home fry/sandwich front!

Bon Appetit!

and it all begins....

After months of wanting to start a blog, I have finally created Toes in the Water and with posting my first entry, committed to the fact that I may never have a movie made about me like Julie and Julia, or have anyone other than my loved ones read this but at least I finally have a space to share my adventures. Life thus far has been filled with many unforgettable moments, sometimes fabulous and sometimes so sad that my heart aches just to begin to remember. Even at 23, I have learned so much about myself and with each event that has happened, another piece of me is shaped and created, much like the volcanic lava that spills out into the ocean even at this very moment creating new Earth.

I can't guarantee to be as imaginative or enchanting as J.K. Rowling or the characters in her novels, (I could only dream) but I can guarantee to write it as it is and hopefully leave you with the emotions that I feel as I type each word. Life is raw and I plan on feeling every emotion it brings me, even when it hurts. I say this only because I have learned the hard way that the hurt allows you to remember what you were afraid you would forget as time slips past.

"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt

A toast to a new adventure and to the ones I'll never forget :)

-Grace Elizabeth

Toes-Zac Brown Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21OfqlL_hyE