I Survived the East Coast Love Tour and All I Got Was This Lousy Blog Post

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I'm alive!  Sorry that you haven't heard from me sooner, but I'm sad to report that my trusty ThinkPad has finally bit the dust.  Yes, I am computerless and writing this post from our old, ancient, dinosaur of a Mac which I can't use to upload pictures or watch Slingbox.  But I can type and go on Facebook, so I guess I'm surviving.  I'm hoping to get a new PC...

Summer Recipes: Lemon Dill Quinoa Salad

Ok, I realize I've already shared a few Quinoa Salad recipes with you all (seen here and here) but lately, I've been particularly addicted to my latest creation and I had to share it with you.  We've been on a serious low-carb kick and this has been a nice alternative to our usual green salad combinations. I'm not going to lie, this salad is really easy to make, but it does take some time to get everything...

Baby-Sitting Bed Beard

We're on vacation, ya'll!  But there is one big huge drawback to going on vacation...leaving our little boy behind. We've been lucky enough to always have friends willing and available to baby-sit little Figgy when we travel and we're working on building another group of baby-sitting friends here in France.  During this trip Fig will be staying with a pet-sitter that Stéphanie and Simon recommended for the...

Hump Day: Our New “Special Occasion” Wine

We're getting ready to celebrate lots of special occasions next week as we embark on the East Coast Love Tour.  Tomorrow morning we're heading back to the U.S. to attend not one, but two weddings on the east coast!  We're so excited to spend another week with our dearest friends that will involve sun (hopefully), kickball, beach time, and of course, LOVE. Speaking of special occasions, we've got a new wine for...

Summer Recipes: Not Your Typical Potato Salad

You know what's awesome?  Potato Salad.  You know what's not awesome?  Really mayonnaise-y Potato Salad.  Luckily this Potato Salad recipe has all of the awesome and none of the mayonnaise.  Last week we had Stéphanie and Simon over for a steak dinner and I whipped up this healthier version of Potato Salad as a complementary side dish.  I found this recipe last year in a summer issue of Cooking Light and I've...

21st Century Baby Shower

What do you do when your only little sister is having a baby shower and you live over 4,000 miles away?  Surprise Skype in, of course!  Thanks to 21st century technology, living on a different continent than your family isn't so bad.  After several test runs earlier in the week (first I could see Mom but not hear her, then she could hear me, but not see me) we finally got Skype up and running at Shady Hollow...

Smoking Hot Bed Beard

Sorry for no post yesterday and I have to warn you:  this isn't going to be much of one either.  I had a really good post planned for yesterday, but you'll just have to wait until next week because I'm too busy sitting here wallowing in my own sweat to be motivated to think too much.  We're going on nearly two weeks straight of intense sun and humidity with no air conditioning or reprieve,  and it's making me...

Hump Day: Aperitif

Have dinner at any restaurant in France and the first thing they will ask you is, "Désirez-vous un apéritif?"  An aperitif is a refreshing pre-dinner drink that is meant to stimulate the appetite. Usually The Hub and I go straight for the wine, but lately we've been imbibing in a more traditional pre-dinner drink:  the Kir Royale.  We drank a lot of these while we were in Paris with my parents.   I'd...

Midnight in Paris

Around midnight on Sunday in Paris, after a long first day of sightseeing and dinner with the parents, Michael and I wanted to buy some bottled water and maybe a beer or two to bring back to our hotel room.  We spoke to the concierge to see if there was a corner store nearby, but he informed us that everything around the hotel was closed for the evening.  Even though he was probably right, we decided to take a...

Mr. Fix-It: Dad’s Vacation

I think if you asked my Dad, “Hey Dave, what was your favorite part about France?  Was it the Eiffel Tower?  Seeing Versailles?  The Mediterranean Sea?”  He would probably say something like, “Hmm, it's a tie between installing the new oven and re-wiring the bathroom lighting.”  Seriously.  I think my Dad is happiest when he's helping others and fixing things.  Case in point:  When I was growing up,...