tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147381052024-03-14T04:13:26.971-04:00Grasping for RealityMaggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.comBlogger434125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-33254095325008199292017-01-28T17:36:00.001-05:002017-01-30T12:31:19.243-05:00Recipe SuccessI've been killing it on the recipe front lately. Maybe I'm making good choices with my recipe curation or just lucky, but either way, I'm on a roll. And what kind of person would I be if I didn't let that good fortune trickle down to you? So here are my top picks from January--the key here is to follow the recipes as closely as you can, especially when it comes to cooling and chilling times!<br />
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<a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/962196/chocolate-flecked-layer-cake-milk-chocolate-frosting"><b>Martha Stewart's Chocolate-Flecked Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting</b></a><br />
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Oh my goodness, this cake is delicious. The cake itself is very rich, moist, and dense so this one is not for anyone looking for something light. The frosting is a real keeper--though next time I'll reduce the amount of sour cream and replace it with whipped cream. The frosting was a bit too tangy for my personal tastes. I tried this recipe out because I was looking for a good birthday cake. I ended up going another direction for that, but this is a fucking fantastic cake recipe! Tip: cutting the two layers into four is easier than it seems. Choose a long knife, take your time, and slowly rotate the cake as you cut through the layers!<br />
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<b>The Great American Baking Show Turkey and Spices Hand Pies with Cheddar Cheese Crust</b><br />
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My boyfriend and I really got into the Great British Baking Show and its sister show across the pond, the Great American Baking Show. Basically, we love Mary Berry, the adorable British lady judge on both shows. <br />
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The American version of the show did an episode centered around hand-held pies (think of them as homemade and infinitely superior Hot Pockets). Two of the recipes were standouts to me--but I liked the crust of one and the filling of the other! So I decided to mix and match! Enjoy and if you decide to give these a try, make sure you keep all the ingredients and short crust dough as cold as possible throughout the process. You can also make the turkey filling in advance as it will warm up in the pies when you bake them in the oven! Genius.<br />
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<a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/the-great-american-baking-show/news/recipes/amanda-turkey-and-spices-handheld-pastries">Amanda's Turkey and Spices Filling</a><br />
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<a href="http://abc.go.com/shows/the-great-american-baking-show/news/recipes/stephanie-egg-and-sausage-american-hand-pies">Stephanie's Cheddar Cheese Short Crust</a><br />
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Tip: to get them to brown beautifully, use the egg wash in the recipe. Also sealing them with milk around the edges keeps them from leaking out their filling while baking!</div>
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<b>Cook's Country Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies</b><br />
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You guys, I might have saved the best for last with this one. I'm always trying out new chocolate chip cookies recipes because I always want to find the BEST possible one. This might be it. Its' not often you find cookies that bake up just like you do in the recipe book pictures, but came out damn near perfect! The recipe is pretty fool-proof and you don't need a mixer since they use melted butter. I mixed them by hand and they looked amazing.<br />
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Here's the recipe (reproduced from the <a href="http://foodforayear.com/2014/06/recipe-review-thick-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies-from-cooks-country-magazine/">Food For a Year</a> blog)<br />
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<u>Ingredients</u><br />
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2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (10 2/3 ounces)<br />
1/2 teaspoon table salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly<br />
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces<br />
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)<br />
1 large egg<br />
1 large egg yolk<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet) -- I used See's semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
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<u>Instructions</u><br />
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1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.<br />
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2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.<br />
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3. Form 1-2 tablespoons of dough into ball and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.<br />
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4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.<br />
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Happy Baking!<br />
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<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-59969830881240170802016-10-09T11:03:00.000-04:002016-10-09T11:03:01.136-04:00Bon Voyage!<i>"Well, Lizzy, on pleasure bent again. Never thought of what your poor parents will suffer in your absence."</i><br />
<i> --Mr. Bennet</i><br />
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I know you all thought I had abandoned you forever, but here we are! Almost a year after my last update (when things were starting to look up after the disaster of 2014), I'm back and ready to lavish attention on my blog and you, my dear readers.<br />
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So what prompted this return to form? A big trip, of course! If you've read my blog over the years, then you know that I generally use it as a travel journal of sorts, chronicling my adventures all over the world. In just a few short days I'll be departing for a jam-packed tour of Asia with stops in Japan, China, and Taiwan! Many people have asked me about my itinerary and all the places we're visiting so I thought a blog post was in order.<br />
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But first, let me tell you the story of how this trip came about. Three years ago, in April 2013, Chris, Kent, and Monique and I went on a cruise to Hawaii (you can find the posts about that trip <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2013/06/honolulu.html">here</a>, <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2013/06/all-aboard-solstice-and-maui-day-1.html">here</a>, <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2013/06/helo-at-hilo.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2013/07/maui-day-2-hana-highway.html">here</a>). Most cruise companies will offer substantial benefits and/or discounts if you book a future cruise while on a current cruise. We took a look at the offerings and since none of us had ever been to Asia....we decided to go for it! Fall of 2016 seemed nice and far in the future so we booked a cruise and never looked back.<br />
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(My friends and I have a habit of booking vacations waaaaaay in the future and then when they actually arrive, we're like, "OMG this snuck up on me, I'm not ready!")<br />
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And here we are! We've had a couple changes along the way--we ended up switching itineraries somewhere back in 2015 and Kent decided to stay home to cuddle with his adorable pup, so Bayard, my boyfriend, was able to sneak right in to the group. He's a lover of all things Japanese and speaks the language so everyone is happy to have him along.<br />
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Here's the plan:<br />
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On Thursday, October 13th, Bay and I will fly to Tokyo (switching plans in Toronto) arriving on Friday, October 14th around 4PM. We'll spend the next few days sampling the pleasures of Tokyo until the afternoon of Sunday, October 16th when we board the Celebrity Millennium for a 14 night cruise that will take us to three countries!<br />
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Check it out:<br />
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<h2 style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
My Itinerary</h2>
<table class="default separate" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 1px; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 580px;"><thead style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><th class="day" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 46px;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day</span></th><th class="date" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 70px;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Date</span></th><th class="destination-activity" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 163px;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Port</span></th><th class="arrive" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 80px;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Arrive</span></th><th class="depart" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; width: 79px;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Depart</span></th><th class="excursions" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Excursions</th></tr>
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<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 1</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun, Oct 16</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tokyo (Yokohama), Japan</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">7:00PM</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 2</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mon, Oct 17</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mt Fuji (Shimizu), Japan</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">7:00AM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">3:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 3</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tue, Oct 18</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kobe, Japan</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">11:00AM</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 4</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wed, Oct 19</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kobe, Japan</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">10:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 5</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thu, Oct 20</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Sea</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 6</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fri, Oct 21</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nagasaki, Japan</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">10:00AM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">8:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 7</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sat, Oct 22</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Sea</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 8</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun, Oct 23</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shanghai (Baoshan), China</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">6:00AM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">10:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 9</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mon, Oct 24</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Sea</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 10</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tue, Oct 25</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Okinawa, Japan</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">7:00AM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">3:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 11</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wed, Oct 26</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">1:00PM</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 12</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thu, Oct 27</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">6:00PM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 13</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fri, Oct 28</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Sea</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td></tr>
<tr style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 14</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sat, Oct 29</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hong Kong, China</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">7:00AM</td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: transparent; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
<tr style="background: rgb(243, 243, 243); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(232, 232, 232) !important; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Day 15</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sun, Oct 30</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hong Kong, China</td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"></td><td style="background: rgb(244, 244, 244); border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; border: 1px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px 14px 7px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="gtCPlnk" href="https://secure.celebritycruises.com/my-celebrity/getBookingSummary?action=customize&bookingId=4035173&packageCode=ML14I074&sailDate=1161016&shipCode=ML#" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #20b9eb; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Show now</a></td></tr>
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We'll get off the ship on Sunday, October 30th in the morning and then spend the next few days in Hong Kong. We'll even be there over Halloween so I am excited to see if there are any interesting celebrations in the city (Hong Kong is obviously the most Western of all Chinese cities). We'll then fly home the afternoon of Monday, November 1st and arrive home at Washington late that evening.<br />
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Whew! Good thing we have some days at sea worked into the cruise itinerary so we can have some time to actually relax!<br />
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The prep work for this trip has been a lot more intense than the international travel I've had in the past. Because of the way our itinerary is structured, we need a visa to get into China on the Shanghai leg of the tour and that required multiple trips to the Chinese Embassy visa office. And giving them my passport for four days. That part was a little sketchy, not gonna lie.<br />
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But the hard work is over and now it's time to just pack, double check the "to do" list, and try not to think of 1,000 things that could go wrong. Eeeeeek!<br />
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I'm hoping this will be more Lost in Translation than Brokedown Palace....<br />
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<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-19483771697052180342015-12-22T15:13:00.001-05:002015-12-22T15:13:12.684-05:00Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off, and Start All Over Again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ah, Christmas. That magical time of year--when the light twinkles and dances off the ornaments on your tree and you can bask in the utter shininess of the holiday. </div>
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I mean, just look at that tree! Mom, Bay and I scored it the day after Thanksgiving fresh from Washington State (at one of the local Church's tree lots). I put on the lights and Mom and Bay hung all the ornaments, perfectly placing each one. For three days and three nights, I marveled at the tree and it reminded me of all my blessings this year--especially when I consider what was happening last year at this time. I didn't put a tree up last year so this one was particularly important to me. </div>
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And then at 1AM on Sunday night (technically Monday morning), I awoke to a clatter. I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter. And what to my wondering eyes should appear.....</div>
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<img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="320" src="https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/12376092_10153349622253123_2162300060104466133_n.jpg?oh=d4790cd007893190fc1cd9967ffb3082&oe=56DB0765" style="text-align: left;" width="180" /></div>
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But the Christmas tree lying broken upon the ground. </div>
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Now, let me first say, that this is a very embarrassing thing to admit and share with you. I have been putting up trees ever since I was a teenager and never, in all that time, NEVER, has a tree fallen over. Bay blames the stand, but the stand I have is actually the most stable kind you can buy. You screw a cap onto the tree trunk and that in turn snaps into a base that allows you to adjust the tree to fix any issues with a crooked trunk. Basically, you can make sure that your tree is straight. However this year, I wasn't paying as close attention as I should to the fellow cutting the branches off the trunk, and I think there were some branches too low on the trunk that prevented the tree from sitting all the way down in the stand. Also, when I was watering it on Sunday afternoon I heard a click when I was maneuvering the water can under the tree. I think I might have actually unlocked the tree from the base. </div>
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What I am trying to say is it was my fault. But not <i>totally</i> my fault. Maybe.</div>
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But when I heard the crash Sunday night and work up, I knew immediately what it was. Trust me, the sound of an 8 foot tree falling over and ornaments shattering is quite distinctive. </div>
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The 6 Stages of a Fallen Christmas Tree</div>
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1. Shock</div>
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2. Disbelief</div>
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3. Panic</div>
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4. Anger</div>
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5. Mourning</div>
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6. Acceptance</div>
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The worst part of the whole affair was that the tree was too heavy for me to lift alone. Trust me, I tried. And managed to pull a back muscle in the process. So I spent all of Monday working from home and staring at my poor fallen tree and feeling sorry for it (and myself). Thank goodness for my friend Kent, who came over in the afternoon, helped me pick up the tree, saw off the offending low branches, and snap the thing back into place. I rehung the ornaments over a several day period, mostly because I wanted to make sure it was going to stay upright this time. </div>
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And I think it all ended up alright in the end. Here's the restored tree in all its glory with the full Hanukkah menorah in front of it for good measure and holiday inclusiveness. The tree has stayed straight and true through all the weeks in December and has proudly stood over the wrapped holiday gifts. Perhaps it's a bit of a cliche, but I think I love the tree more for the trouble I had with it. It's more special as a result of the work it required. As I write this post I can turn my head and see it standing there--an 8 foot tall symbol of how lucky I am to have such wonderful friends and family.</div>
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And of course Bay and I found time to visit another Christmas tree this year....</div>
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I hope all of you have a holiday filled with lights and love--and if this is a hard time of year for you, then I hope that you find some peace in the season. Christmas reminds of all the blessings we have, but it can also be a reminder of all that we have lost. Just know that no matter what, you have people that love you. And THAT is what Christmas is all about. The tree is just the icing on the figgy pudding. </div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-63694823885254751072015-10-12T20:22:00.000-04:002015-10-12T21:54:49.032-04:00The FaceIt started out as a little thing. While looking in the mirror about six months ago, I noticed a shiny little bump in the middle of my forehead. "Oh, great," I thought. "I am 34 years old and still breaking out."<br />
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After dealing with more than 20 years of pimples, I knew not to try to pop the sucker. It would make it bigger, redder, and last a hell of a lot longer. And since it didn't have an active white head (which I think is pretty much the grossest thing ever), I decided to just let it alone. It would heal on its own and I had a really good foundation to camouflage it.<br />
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But it didn't go away. It just stayed there. Covering it up became part of my regular makeup routine. And on the days I didn't wear makeup I just didn't worry about it.<br />
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After a while though, the bump began to worry me. I stated making mental notes to call my dermatologist--and of course I immediately forgot these mental notes. I eventually got my act together and called and made an appointment, especially since I had another mole I also wanted to get checked out. About six months after first noticing it, I was finally getting my mystery nodule checked out.<br />
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My dermatologist entered the room, glanced at my forehead, and said, "oh, yeah, that's a basel cell. I'm about 99% sure. It's not a big deal, it's not life-threatening, but you will need to have some surgery." She gave me the basics of the procedure, gave me a brochure, and a referral to a skin cancer surgery center.<br />
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I was familiar with <a href="http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/basal-cell-carcinoma">basel cell carcinoma</a> through my job reviewing medical disability claims for the VA. It's the most common form of cancer and is very rarely life-threatening. The tumors, which usually present as a new mole or shiny bump, don't metastasize, but the cancer will continue to grow and the tumor will get bigger if it is not removed. So my bump needed to come off. I started calling it my unicorn horn.<br />
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I read about BCC and the procedure (called <a href="http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/mohs-surgery/mohs-overview">Mohs micrographic surgery</a>) and pretty much figured it would be no big deal. There might be some stitches, but if the amount of skin that needed to be removed was small enough I might not even need that. I was nervous, and a bit concerned about the pain, but I figured I could handle it. To put it another way, I was optimistic.<br />
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Boy, was I unprepared. Mentally, I mean. The way the surgery works is you go back in the room and after a topical anesthetic, the doctor removes the bump. It then goes to an on site lab and they try to find a good margin of distance between the cancer cells and the healthy cells. Best case scenario: they get the desired margin on the first try and then you might not even require stitches.<br />
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This is not what happened in my case.<br />
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I had to get cut twice before the doctor was happy with the results. Apparently I had "roots of the cancer spreading into my hairline." Great. Not only was the cutting part awful, but then I had to get stitched up. I had to get extra doses of anesthetic (probably because I am a ginger) and was awake for every cut, tug, pull, and stitch that went into my forehead. I'll spare you the gory details (too late?) but it was kind of traumatic and way worse than I expected. I left the doctor's office with a huge bandage on my forehead and a forced smile on my face.<br />
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Recovery was hard too. There was a lot more pain that I expected and I had to leave the large bandage on for 24 hours, at which point it could come off leaving a water proof under-bandage which was still pretty big. That would remain on for a week and the doctor would remove it at my week follow-up appointment. That one went off without a hitch, and I had some small butterfly bandages for the next few days. After that I was bandage free, but would have to deal with my scar.<br />
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I've never considered myself a vain person. Of course I care about the way I look--and of course I have major body issues (I spent the first 30 years of my life as a fat girl, so yeah). But for the most part I think I have a fairly realistic idea of how I look and don't spend too much time worried about whether I am pretty or whether the face I present to the world is attractive enough.<br />
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But having someone cut into my face and having to look at a 2 inch scar on my forehead for the rest of my life has hit me really hard.<br />
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There was almost a sort of mourning period for my former face. It wasn't flawless and I actually had some tiny scars from childhood incidents, but I've never had anything like this before. It's large, obvious, and raised above the skin level. Think of the cliche Frankenstein-type scar, and you're not too far off. Though my stitches (which will dissolve) are thankfully flesh colored and not black.<br />
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Because the forehead has to support the weight of the face, the doctor had to raise the scar; otherwise, it would pull open as the skin dropped down. The surgeon said that it would look like "taffy." Gross. He also had to put a sizable dent into my forehead. This is actually some stitches under the skin holding up the muscles of the forehead until they are used to supporting the extra weight of the scar tissue. So not only do I have a raised scar, I also have a dent. Swell.<br />
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I want to take a break from my whining and give a shout-out to my surgeon. The folks over at the <a href="http://www.mohssurgerycenter.net/">Skin Cancer Surgery Center</a> (offices in Fairfax and Bethesda) were fantastic. Very professional, kind, and skilled. Aside from the long waiting time, I have no complaints.<br />
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The good news is in about a year this will all all fade and I will have a "barely visible" line in my forehead that should essentially disappear into a normal crease. The bad news is, it's going to take a year to get to that point.<br />
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So here I am, trying to adjust to my new face. It's a shock and kind of sad to look into the mirror now. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that to the world--remember when I said I had never considered myself a vain person?I think I might have to readjust how I think about that too. I know objectively that soon the scar will fade and most people will never know it is there. I also know objectively that the surgery needed to be done; better to have a manageable amount of pain now and nip this problem in the bud. But I also know that subjectively I am still mourning my former face.<br />
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Remember to wear your sunscreen, ok? Because you really don't want to go through this. But I am still very grateful that it wasn't worse and I will have a full recovery. I am luckier than most.<br />
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And now, the pictures! If you don't like seeing pictures of scars (or my face, I guess) feel free to skip this part. Nothing is very gross, but hey, just giving the warning.<br />
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Big post-surgery bandage and sad face. </div>
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Water-proof bandage (I had this one for a week).</div>
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Removal of all bandages in the doctor's office. Check out the dent!</div>
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Two weeks post-surgery. Still pretty red. The scar is shiny since I use Vaseline to avoid scabbing. Oh, and the headphones in all these pics are because I took them while working. </div>
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My awesome friend Sarah sent me some fun bandages--these ones are called Oopsie Dasiy!</div>
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And here we are today: 3 weeks post-surgery. Still a raised scar and a dent, but the redness has gone done and the stitches have dissolved. So for the next 6 months or so, this is my face.</div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-30096729675671659732015-05-07T20:48:00.001-04:002015-05-07T20:53:08.000-04:00Welcome back to your life, MaggieHi!<br />
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Remember me?<br />
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You know, Maggie. The owner of this blog. You can't have forgotten about me already.<br />
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Yes, I know it's been 8 months since I updated. But after all the years we spent together I would have thought you wouldn't forget me <i>that</i> easily.<br />
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Think of all the good times we had; all the trips we took, all the delicious food we ate (and cooked), all the adventures we had together. I <i>know</i> that if think really hard, you'll remember.<br />
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Yay, there we are! Annnnnnnnnd, we're back!<br />
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So you probably wondered what happened to me all those months ago. No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, get kidnapped by Gypsies (Romani? Travelers? whatever), or forget that I had a blog. I was in what I like to call The Bad Place.<br />
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The Bad Place is where I spent every day wondering if I would need to take Mom to the hospital because she was so sick from her chemotherapy treatments. The Bad Place is when I had to basically move back home to care for her and make sure she was eating. The Bad Place is when I would spend every evening I was by myself crying and hugging my stuffed toy beagle because I was so sad all the time. And The Bad Place is where I broke out in hives because I had so much anxiety.<br />
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That's all I am going to say about that. Because this post isn't about some "Oh, woe is me, my life was so hard" type of discussion. This post is about how happy I am now, and how all the awfulness, and time, and stress, and pain was worth it. Because my Mom is a cancer survivor who has fought her way out of the darkness and is getting back to her life. And so am I. Sure, she's minus a few lymph nodes, but hey, nobody's perfect.<br />
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Basically since New Years 2015, things have made a complete turn around. Every day Mom gets stronger; she's back to working in her office one day a week and can just about work full days at home. She walks almost every day (with a little not so gentle nudging from yours truly) and can eat almost anything she wants again. She will always have a dry throat and has to be careful about getting sick (no lymph nodes, remember?), but other than that she's well on the road to full recovery.<br />
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I would be remiss if I didn't mention the incredible outpouring of help, love, and support from all of my friends, Mom's friends, and our family. When I say we couldn't have done it without you all, I mean it. We could not. have done it. without you. Full stop.<br />
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And as for me, well it seems like everything is going right. Of course that means I've got my eye on the sky waiting for the Acme safe to fall on me, but I am just enjoying it while it lasts. Work is going well (I just got asked to mentor a new attorney), family is all happy and healthy, and I've been dating someone wonderful since January.<br />
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In fact, I can't imagine ever being as happy as I am right now. So that's something, right? I am sure it won't last forever, but like Mom said--you gotta have the bad times so you learn to appreciate the good ones.<br />
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And I intend to appreciate the hell out of it.<br />
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And just to prove that things weren't all bad (and aren't bad now).....<br />
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Me and Selvi at a wedding this past weekend.</div>
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Visiting my nephews in February 2015. This pretty much sums up the relationship I have with James.</div>
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Another wedding with my fella.</div>
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Trip to New York City in December to see the Rockettes!</div>
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Mom and Aunt Kim happy at Christmas!</div>
Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-36678820165242141042014-09-08T20:19:00.000-04:002014-09-09T09:18:30.595-04:00Wait, I only get to pick 10??You've probably noticed a recent trend on Facebook these days of people posting lists of 10 books that have influenced their lives and then nominating certain friends to make their own lists. I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone tagged me, and it was my friend Sarah from my work book club who got me a couple days ago.<br />
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There's a couple rules associated with this. "Don't take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They do not have to be the "right" books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way."<br />
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Pish, rules are for losers. If I want to over think something (and I always want to over think things) I'm going to go ahead and do it. So why make a simple list in a status update when I can instead write lots and lots of words about one of my favorite topics? Books, that is. So in a loose chronological order, here are 10 books that have affected me and are pretty much responsible for the current course of my life.<br />
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1. The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by Stan and Jan Berenstain<br />
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2. Kristy's Great Idea (The Babysitters Club #1) by Ann M. Martin<br />
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3. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L Konigsburg<br />
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4. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire<br />
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5. The Dragons of Autumn Twilight (Dragonlance Chronicles #1) by Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman<br />
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6. The Eye of the World (Wheel of Time #1) by Robert Jordan<br />
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7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling<br />
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8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman<br />
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9. World War Z by Max Brooks<br />
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10. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell<br />
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1. The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room.: The first books I remember actively and independently reading were The Berenstain Bear books. I loved the pictures, the stories, the lessons, and how all the characters (including the parents) weren't perfect and often messed up. Sister Bear could be an insufferable know-it-all, Brother Bear acted like a jerk to his little sister, Papa Bear couldn't stay away from the treats...even the mom had some issues (and obviously questionable fashion sense). The Messy Room was always my favorite...mostly because I loved seeing how they organized everything at the end in different labeled containers. I guess it was the beginning of my OCD.<br />
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2. Kristy's Great Idea: Oh, god, the Babysitters Club. It was my gateway drug to Scholastic books. Every month I would get myself to the bookstore for the latest book in the series and I even ordered a bunch from the forms in the back of the books. When that box from Scholastic arrived in the mail it was like Christmas Day. And after I outgrew the Babysitters Club...Sweet Valley High was right there waiting for me.<br />
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3. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler: This book hit so many of my tween fantasy buttons. Kids run away from their boring suburban existence and live in a MUSEUM. And! Solve a mystery about a beautiful statute, basically saving the day. But saving the day because of their smarts. Guess how they were able to make money? By taking baths in the museum fountain and scooping up all the change people threw in the water. Of course, this was back when a cup of coffee was like 10 cents, but still. How cool is that??<br />
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4. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths: I went through a HUGE Greek myth phase around middle school. I wanted to read every Greek myth I could get my hands on and this book was my favorite. The stories were well told and the pictures were awesome. Nowadays we have <a href="http://bettermyths.com/">Myths Retold</a>, but circa 1992? This book was my jam. In fact, it's still sitting on my bookshelf (I actually own physical copies of all these books listed here, in the editions pictured).<br />
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5. Dragons of Autumn Twilight: Talk about your gateway drugs...this was my first real fantasy book. We're talking dragons, wizards, elves, dwarves, all your basic Dungeons and Dragons style fantasy elements are in this book. And I loved it. I remember the guy who lent it to me in 8th grade literally saying, "this book will change your life" and me stroking the cover reverently in response. You would think it was the freaking holy grail or something. But you know what? He was right. It did change my life; I loved it and have been a solid fantasy nerd ever since. </div>
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6. The Eye of the World: And then we come to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. The Eye of the World was gifted to me at Christmas by my stepmother, probably around 1994. By New Years I had devoured it and the next two in the series. I spent the next....oh, say 18 years reading this series. Jordan died before he finished, but Brandon Sanderson took up the reins and crafted a brilliant ending (basically achieving the impossible). Despite a loss of momentum in the later books as the characters and subplots moved further and farther away from one another, this fantasy series has been a HUGE part of life. The release of the last book was kind of a big deal for me.<br />
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7: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: I got on the Harry Potter train kind of late. I was already in college (I think the Christmas of my freshman year in 1998) when I read the first three books. I remember the son of my William and Mary Women's Chorus director (Jamie B. shout out!) went as Harry for Halloween that year, and while his costume was adorable...I had no idea what the hell he was supposed to be. A wizard? With glasses? And a weird scar who chased after a gold ball called the snitch? Um, ok. Sure. Sounds kind of lame.<br />
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Look, I'm not right all the time, ok? Of course once I read the books I was instantly hooked, am now a superfan, and have many fond Harry Potter-related memories. Like when I worked the release party of the 5th book at the college bookstore in law school. Or when I took off one day studying for the bar to binge-read the 6th book. And how a group of friends and I drove down to Richmond for the midnight release of Deathly Hallows....and I stayed up until 4 in the morning reading. Harry, man. What can you really say?<br />
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8. Neverwhere: It was a rainy day in St. Andrews, Scotland. I was studying abroad the Spring semester of my junior year in 2001, and needed to kill some time. So I popped into the Waterstones bookshop on Market Street. I was browsing through the Fantasy/Sci-Fi shelves...and came across this book. I had never heard of Neil Gaiman before and didn't have any real experience with urban fantasy.<br />
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It is now my #1 favorite book of all time and Mr. Gaiman is my favorite author. The first time I met him, I took my original copy of Neverwhere (from that rainy Scottish day) and had him sign the inside cover. Sometimes life is really good, you guys.<br />
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9. I didn't expect for World War Z to be amazing. I expected to be funny, a joke, something to read on the Metro while on the way to work. Instead it BLEW MY MIND. This book is brilliant. All the different stories, the different points of view, the way it moves around the world...amazing. As soon as people hear zombies they tend to tune out, but this book is the real deal. If you can't get past the zombie aspect, just think of it as any global viral pandemic. It will affect you.<br />
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As for the movie...it's a solid zombie flick. It doesn't have anything to do with the book, but it's an entertaining film.<br />
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10. Fangirl: Here we are at the most recent book on the list. I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell last year (or, to be precise, I listened to the audiobook) and was immediately bewitched. The main character, who is herself obsessed with a fantasy book series, felt so real to me I just couldn't. stop. listening. I could sit here and go on and on with my glowing review of the book, but that's probably boring. So I'll just say that it is one of my favorite books of all time, I now read anything by Rainbow Rowell, and I can't remember the last time I related so immediately to a fictional person. Read it. Seriously. </div>
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So there we are! 10 books that impacted my life in some way. I swear I didn't put too much thought into compiling the list--all I had to do was walk over to my bookshelves and let the memories pour over me. These books are like members of my family. I mean, it's probably pretty obvious how important they are to me, considering I can pretty much remember the exact circumstances I first found them. Or should I say, the exact circumstances where they first found me. </div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-48339546301965003862014-08-17T13:42:00.002-04:002014-08-17T13:42:34.043-04:00A Match Made in HeavenEver heard of <a href="http://www.farmersfishersbakers.com/">Farmers, Fishers, and Bakers</a>? It's a restaurant on the Georgetown Waterfront known for fresh ingredients and that "farm to table" style that has become a major trend in the DC food scene the past few years.<br />
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I have unfortunately not been able to try it out yet, but I am on the email listserv for the restaurant group and got word a few months ago about a special "beer and food wine pairing dinner" they were offering. It sounded intriguing, but at around $75 a pop...it seemed a bit steep. But I sent the link to some friends of mine to see if they were interested in checking it out.<br />
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*enter Jon, Lis, and Scott, stage right*<br />
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I can't remember who came up with the suggestion, but after some discussion there was a general feeling of "hey, we can do better than that." So rather than blow a lot of money one a night out, we decided to make our own beer and food pairing and have a night in.<br />
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The menu planning was key. It turns out you can find a bunch of tools online to help you prepare a beer and food night. We decided to go with five courses and many MANY types of beers. If you're going to do something, do it right.<br />
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First course: Cheese and charcuterie platter.<br />
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We went with a variety of everything here. A quick trip to <a href="http://cheesetique.com/">Cheesetique</a> in Del Ray set us up well for the meats and Jon provided the cheese and crackers from another shop. Our cheeses ranged from soft to hard and from mild to flavorful: we had a Honey Goat (goat), a 3 cheddar blend, a Stilton blue cheese, and an unknown sheep's milk cheese. I forgot to write down the type of sheep's cheese when taking my notes. Deal with it. On the meat side, we went with mostly Italian meats (duh): a genoa salami, mortadella, garlic salami, and my personal favorite, prusciutto.<br />
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Jon was our beer master and carefully selected beers to go with each course, and in this case, each individual cheese. The goat was paired with a Belgian Saison, while the sheep's milk went nicely with Schlafly American Brown Ale. We needed something that could stand up to the flavorful blue cheese, and it was Stone Imperial Russian Stout (2014) to the rescue! Last (but not least) was a Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA for the cheddar.<br />
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Honestly, the cheese, meat, and beer could have been a meal all on its own. But we still have four courses to go! As George Takei would say, "Oh, myyyyyyy."<br />
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Second course: Salad.<br />
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You might think salad is boring. You would be wrong. This one was fantastic--it was a mix of spinach and arugula with tomatoes, walnuts, and dried cranberries and topped off with a bright citrus poppyseed dressing. YUM! The beer pairing for this was also very good: a Bavarian-style German beer, a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier.<br />
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Third Course: Spam fried rice.<br />
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Scott whipped this up for us and it was delicious. You might hear Spam and think "ew" and again, you would be wrong. Sure, it's a potted meat, but if utilized correctly, Spam can be fantastic. It's saltiness went really well in this rice dish which was itself excellently paired with an American Pilsner from Wild Wolf brewery right here in Virginia.<br />
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Fourth course: Baked (not fried!) chicken wings with kale.<br />
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Did you know that you can bake chicken wings? Did you know that they come out amazingly crispy and not greasy? WELL NOW YOU DO. And if you shake on some Old Bay seasoning like Scott did, it's like a flavor explosion. There was also buffalo sauce, but for my money, I'll take the Old Bay. Oh, and can you pass the Lickinghole Creek Four Pillars Imperial IPA, please? Thanks!<br />
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Fifth Course: Chocolate.<br />
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In a move that is a surprise to nobody, I selected a bunch of different types of chocolate for our dessert. If you're going to blow the calories, do it on something you love. Hence, chocolate. I visited a bunch of different shops in the area to seek out a selection of chocolates, some filled chocolates from <a href="http://maxbrenner.com/">Max Brenner</a> in Bethesda, chocolate caramels from <a href="http://www.chouquette.us/">Chouquette Chocolates</a> (also in Bethesda), a large Cadbury dairy milk bar, and a chocolate bar with maple bacon from <a href="http://chuaochocolatier.com/">Chuao chocolatier</a>. You can find their bars in the fancy chocolate aisle of grocery stores and in cheese and wine shops.<br />
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On the beer side of things, Jon also brought us a selection to try with all the different chocolates. We had a couple of Belgian lambics: Lindemans Gueze Cuvee Rene and Hanssens Oude Geuze Lambic Ale. And my favorite beer of the night, Chocdale Ale from the Boulevard Brewing Company's Smokestack Series in Kansas City, Missouri.<br />
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BEST BEER EVER.</div>
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We had made it through five courses, about 10 beers (though no promises on the math there) and were stuffed to the gills. There was nothing left to do but sit back and bask in the self-reflected glow of our own pleasure and victory.<br />
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....until next time. Though I'm not sure how we can top ourselves. Perhaps...ribs?<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Our beer and meat experts!</span></div>
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The aftermath.</div>
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And of course, Max the Beagle was on hand to catch any crumbs. </div>
<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-3160758665915647392014-08-12T20:11:00.000-04:002014-08-13T07:49:51.905-04:00The Big C<div>
"Life is a pain in the ass. l´ll tell ya. You know? You work hard, try to provide for the family, and then, for one minute,everything´s good. Everyone´s well. Everyone´s happy. ln that one minute, you have peace."</div>
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"Pop, this isn´t that minute." -</div>
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--While You Were Sleeping</div>
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I'm going to have to take a break from my usual coverage of food, travel adventures, parties, and other frivolous fun in the life of Maggie. Oh, and cupcakes. I unfortunately have to break from the usual cupcake coverage. </div>
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Because right now there's actually real life stuff happening. And by "real life stuff," I mean the kind of stuff that completely changes the course of how you live, think, and look at the world.<br />
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Now that I have you on pins and needles I'll just spit it out...my Mom has cancer.<br />
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I know, it sucks.<br />
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One day you're going about your life as usual, blogging about cupcakes, and then BAM. You get news that changes everything. For me, it was my Mom telling me that she had noticed a weird lump in her neck and had scheduled a biopsy. At this point, I did what most people would do. I freaked the fuck out. Kidding! I reassured myself that it was probably nothing and it was smart to get it checked out. Just in case.<br />
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I went with Mom to the biopsy and did my best to distract her with jokes and stories as I do. But in the back of my mind there was that tiny little voice that I do my best to ignore, "...what if it's something serious?"<br />
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And it turns out it was serious. I was on a work trip to West Virginia (ugh) when Mom called me with the biopsy results. I already knew it wasn't going to be good; I had emails from my friend Chris saying, "call your Mom as soon as you can" in addition to several missed calls from Mom on my cell phone. I looked at the phone before dialing it and thought, "this is the day I find out my Mom has cancer."<br />
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God, I hate being right all the time.<br />
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So, yes, the biopsy did not come back with good news. Basically, it indicated that the lump in Mom's neck was a mass on her lymph node consistent with metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma. That's skin cancer for all you science nerds out there. The next step is to figure out the primary site of the cancer. Even though it's technically skin cancer, SCC can actually occur almost anywhere in the body as epithelial cells are present all over. In cases like my Mom's, it's usually in the lungs or in some other chest or abdominal organ. But then her chest, abdominal, and pelvic CT came back normal.<br />
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This was not a good sign. If you can't locate the primary source of cancer it's known as "occult cancer." And it means that the doctors can't tailor the treatment to a specific area; they pretty much just have to zap your entire body with chemo and maybe radiation.<br />
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However, in the past week there have been positive developments. Mom had a PET scan that indicated the cancer was located in the throat. This area is very treatable and has an excellent prognosis. She is having an endoscopy later this week to confirm the location and then meeting with the oncologist later this month to figure out the next step. It's not a done deal until the endoscopy, but the PET scan/oncologist seemed pretty sure about the throat as the primary site so for now I am going to focus on the positive.<br />
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I think at this point though I am still working my way through all this. There's a long road ahead for sure and I need to focus on supporting Mom in whatever way I can. And while I have one of those feelings that everything is going to work out ok...this is all pretty scary. It makes you think thoughts like, "what would I do without my Mom?" and other terrible stuff that I am definitely not ready to handle. But thankfully I have an amazing group of friends and family who have already stepped up with love and support.<br />
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I'm trying to just focus on a "one step at a time" mode of attack. Though I know the coming weeks, months, and years are not going to be easy. But then, whoever said life was easy?<br />
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I will now return you to my usual nonsense blogging, because hey, who doesn't need a good distraction. And I will definitely keep you all updated on developments as they happen--but no news is good news as far as these things go.<br />
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And now here is a picture of my Mom with a beagle puppy. Because why not?<br />
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<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-83148734093444085442014-07-20T18:32:00.000-04:002014-07-20T18:32:57.406-04:00Off to the RacesI promise I will finish up my Belgium-related posts, but there is so much other stuff I need to post about and I keep putting it off...so decided I would suck it up and do things a bit out of order.<br />
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Races have figured prominently in my spring and summer. Not just running races, but also horse races! Part of the reason is a new goal I have set for myself to make sure I keep up with my running: I plan to run a 5K a month for the rest of the year. That's 7 races total from when I made this solemn vow back in June.<br />
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Well, it wasn't that solemn. It was more me sitting on my couch and thinking, "how can I make sure I keep up with my running? I know! I will make myself spend a lot of money on race registration fees so I make sure I actually put in the time for training!" So not only do I get to suffer physically, my wallet will also take a hit. Awesome.<br />
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I also reached my Spring running goal of completing my first 8K! That's five miles for those of you who can't perform instant kilometer to miles conversions in your head. If you had told me three years ago that I would be able to run five miles, I would have laughed in your face, fallen out of my chair, and then laughed some more. But the joke is on me, because I totally did it!<br />
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In fact, the day of my 8K was full of races--not only did I get up and run in the Fairfax City 8K: Race FOR THE CHILDREN along with my friend Matt who was in town, I also immediately drove out to The Plains, Virginia to see the Gold Cup, or Diet Kentucky Derby.<br />
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Me and Matt ready to pwn the 8K!</div>
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I am happy to report that both races--the humans and the horses--were an amazing success. Despite the hilly course (I hate those hills), I came in right at my goal of time of under an hour for the 8K at about 55 minutes. And all the logistics went off without a hitch. My friend Rachel who lives in Manassas graciously let me stop at her place on my way to The Plains to shower and change and I arrived at the University Row event before the horses started running.<br />
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I was really impressed by University Row. The event is sponsored and organized by colleges that have a high population of alumni in the area and for the ticket price you get access to the private race area, an open bar, all day long food buffet, and games and other activities. You never really know how these kind of things are going to go--usually you end up with crowds, long lines, weak drinks, and food that runs out after the first hour. But I am happy to report that this was not the case. The whole event was classy, the food was amazing, and the layout and quality of the food and drinks was great. I was impressed. And I got to wear a hat!<br />
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No better excuse for a hat than a horse race.</div>
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Speaking of races....I found that I was having trouble keeping myself motivated for the running after my 8K. Finishing a big goal can sometimes leave you in a bit of a funk and looking for something to keep yourself going, especially in the middle of a DC summer when you remember you live in a swamp. So I came up with a new goal! From June until the end of the year, I plan to run a 5K a month.<br />
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It's not THAT difficult a proposition-after all, three miles is a regular running distance for me now, but it will allow me to focus on lowering my time and getting closer to the elusive 10 minute mile mark. I have already run my June and July races (more on the July race below) and have my August and September races booked! I haven't decided what to do for an October race yet, but you can bet it will somehow involve zombies or some other Halloween-themed monster. Remember the first rule of the zombie apocalypse: cardio.<br />
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Getting back to July, I am just coming off a week in Los Angeles visiting my brother and his family and meeting my new baby nephew, William. I figured why run a 5K in hot and humid DC when I could do it in LA, so on Friday I ran the Redondo Beach Fourth of July race! It took place on the road that runs along the ocean and OF COURSE the weather was perfect. Not only did I make a new PR (34:50), but it was even more fun since Amanda loaded my nephews, James and William, into the stroller and walked in the race. When I had finished running, I jogged back and met them along the course and we were all able to cross the finish line together. It made it all the more special since we did it as a family--though my brother (predictably) spent the morning sleeping in and missed out. Though he would probably say that we missed out. On sleep.<br />
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How do you convince a 2 year old to sit in his stroller for an hour during a race? Trail mix, of course.</div>
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Lots of running around--literally and figuratively! If anybody has any interest in joining me for a 5K in October, November, or December just let me know. It's always more fun when you have other people to share in the torture...I mean, fun!<br />
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<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-16275317421003199892014-06-03T20:33:00.000-04:002014-06-03T20:33:10.088-04:00Eating and Drinking in Brussels, Part IILet's get back to talking about how I ate and drank my way through Brussels! I mean, posts about new cars are all well and good, but I know y'all are only here for the food porn.<br />
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When most people think Belgian food, three things come to mind. First, waffles. Second, chocolate. And third, frites! That's french fries for all you Americans out there.<br />
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But how do you know where to get good frites? There are lots of reviews and travel sites out there telling you where to find the best frites in Brussels. Last time I was in town, I visited Fritland, a friterie right off the Grand Place and swamped with tourists. The fries were great, sure, but I wanted something...more.<br />
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So I took to the internet! It never lies, right? Almost everywhere I looked I came across one place over and over: <a href="http://www.maisonantoine.be/">Maison Antoine</a>. It's a bit off the beaten path from your typical Brussels friterie--about a 30 minute walk from the touristy area of the city and 10 minutes from the EU Parliament in the Place Jourdan. Luckily for me, I was over that way on Sunday of my visit at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (more on that in a later post). Even luckier for me, there was no line! This apparently doesn't happen very often, but I just walked right up to the window and placed my order. "Bonjour, petite frites, merci!<br />
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And they were very, very good. Large hunks of potato, double-fried, and wrapped in paper. They give you an adorable little plastic fork, but you don't need it. Just reach right in grab those suckers. Despite the double-fry part, they aren't super greasy. And you really get a lot of delicious potato flavor rather than icky oil flavor.<br />
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This is something I have discovered about the food in Brussels: it's not great for you, I mean this is the land that carbs built, but it's made with fresh, natural ingredients. If you got the same thing here in the States it would be full of preservatives and other crap. At least when you blow your diet in Belgium, you blow it on the best version of whatever you are eating.<br />
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Once you find the Place Jourdan, you can't miss Maison Antoine. Just look for the giant cone of frites on a post. Though finding the actual square isn't easy; apparently in Brussels they don't trouble themselves too much with street signs. It took me an extra 20 minutes to find this place just because I kept wandering down the wrong twisty turny streets.<br />
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Once you've whet your appetite with frites, the next logical things to do is get some beer! Brussels is stuffed with great bars, and one of the best is <a href="http://www.alamortsubite.com/">A La Morte Subite</a>. The name translates to "at the sudden death" and according to the bar's website, derives from a dice game played by some original patrons more than 80 years ago.<br />
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But that's just the background. Morte Subite is a great classic Belgian bar. As you can see, it's full of nifty art deco details, mirrors, and wood. It's specialty is Gueuze (lambic) and Trappist beers of which it has many on tap. Drinking here you quickly get stuffed with atmosphere and well-priced and delicious beer. They apparently have food too, but we didn't have any of it. This was strickly a beer only visit as Jonathan and I were having drinks with his friend, Julie.<br />
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Looking around the bar! </div>
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Our first order! Mine is the Mort Subite lambic white beer. It's their house specialty and it was soooo good. </div>
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After bidding Mort Subite adieu, we took a quick walk and went to a cool Flemish place called <a href="http://www.alabecasse.com/en/info.html">A La Becasse</a>. This looked exactly like how you imagine an old German beer-hall would look.<br />
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Oh, yes, I think this will work just fine for us.</div>
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It was completely different from the previous bar we visited, but just as cool with a more "sit back and take off your lederhosen" type of vibe. Continuing my theme of trying every lambic beer in Brussels, I ordered a lambic beer flight (a "palette").</div>
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They were all so good, I couldn't pick a favorite. Or I guess I should say that my favorite was whichever one I happened to be drinking at that moment. Starting from the top and working around clockwise I had:<br />
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--Lambic Doux: "The best lambic blended with a top-fermented brown ale, matured in oak barrels (5%)." It tasted very cidery, but no where near as sweet. You still knew you were drinking beer, not alcoholic juice.<br />
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--Lambic Blanc: "The only white beer based on lambic, flavored with coriander and dried orange zest (4.5%)." Light, crisp, delicious.<br />
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--Kriek: "Slightly sweetened Timmermann's lambic beer (4%)." Cherry-flavored, but again, not overly sweet. Timmermann's is basically the way to go if you want a lambic beer that doesn't have too much sugar.<br />
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--Bourgogne des Flandres: I forgot to write down the description, but it's a Flanders-style red ale. Strongest beer-like flavor, but still not hoppy.<br />
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I think the lambic beer flight was my favorite thing that I drank on this visit! Just an all around great tour through Timmermann's lambics. Too bad these things are so ridiculously expensive here in the US.<br />
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I swear we hadn't been drinking that much. This was just an awkward photo. I mean, I am always awkward, but you know what I mean.</div>
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Here's me and my new friend Julie. I promised her a shout out on the blog, so Julie, this one's for you! Thanks for being so awesome and hanging out with us on my last night in Brussels!</div>
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Cheers to new friends! </div>
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And finally, I had one culinary splurge while I was in Brussels. On my first night, Jonathan and I decided to treat ourselves to a good old fashioned Belgian dinner. We visited a place we went the first time I visited (I think it now counts as a tradition), <a href="http://www.spinnekopke.be/en/welcome.html">In't Spinnekopke</a>. It may sound Greek, but the menu is pure Belgian.<br />
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I had the <i>carbonnade</i>, a beef stewed in beer (foreground). It's served with frites and a small salad. Jonathan had the steak with a mushroom cream sauce, also served with frites, and we pretty much agreed that it was the best sauce EVER. </div>
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Inside of In't Spinnekopke.</div>
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Did I mention there are creepy puppets hanging all over the wall? I don't know what the hell that is about but it was kind of freaky. Further proof that Europeans are weird.</div>
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Coming up next time: wanderings around Brussels with weekend markets and dinosaur bones! And then: a day in Amsterdam!<br />
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-16009204780569984802014-06-01T18:50:00.001-04:002014-06-02T15:48:30.888-04:00You'll be playing for...A BRAND NEW CAR!An event 15 years in the making....I just bought a new car! <div>
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Yes, this means I had to bid a fond adieu to my 1999 Toyota Corolla. This car has served me well throughout the years; from college to law school to the first seven years of my being a real honest-to-goodness adult homeowner attorney. </div>
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You're probably wondering what happened. Well, not to get into too many details (mostly because they are embarrassing), let's just say that the Corolla incurred some minor body damage recently. Unfortunately, due to the age of the car, my insurance company was not willing to pay to make the repairs and declared the Corolla a "total loss."</div>
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*insert sad trombone noise*</div>
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I'm not one to get emotional or even sentimental about a car. My Dad said it best when he said that I view cars as appliances. That's accurate. If I am comfortable driving it, it protects me from dying in a crash, and I don't find the layout and color too offensive then I am happy. Having said that, the Corolla was a great car and there was absolutely nothing wrong with its guts. I could have driven it another 5 years for sure. So I got really upset about it being considered totaled; so wasteful and pointless. And I certainly didn't start the week thinking I would have to blow half my savings on a car or go through the hassle of actually buying one.</div>
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But now that's all in the past and I find myself the proud owner of a 2014 Hyundai Accent Hatchback!</div>
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Hyundai has apparently really been upping its game the past few years with solid craftsmanship, great safety ratings, and excellent warranties. I also got a pretty good deal, so no complaints. I'll mourn the loss of the Corolla...but I am excited about my new car!</div>
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Driving it off the dealer lot....</div>
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And getting the keys from the salesman, Charles. I had a great experience at <a href="http://www.pohankahyundai.com/hyundai-super-sale/?gclid=CjkKEQjwwbCcBRCxvJn9-N6dorwBEiQAVriOineMGDXh3GcjqgirVjZc6Tz_x6PdDmzpFwSpNR7MKIjw_wcB">Pohanka Hyundai</a> and definitely recommend them if you are looking for a new car! And a big shout out and thanks to my Dad for coming along with me and taking pics of the purchase!</div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-87850365508811964192014-05-29T19:35:00.000-04:002014-05-29T19:35:11.587-04:00Eating and Drinking in Brussels, Part I<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
If you have read this blog at all (or let's be honest, have ever spoken to me) then you know that I love food. It's basically one of my favorite hobbies. Now that doesn't mean that I eat whatever I want when I want; I have busted my ass to lose over 90 pounds and counting calories and eating healthy is a big part of that. But when I am on vacation I allow myself a few indulgences. </div>
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Due to some, shall we say "interesting" circumstances, I discovered I needed to purchase a new car soon after my return from Brussels. Obviously when I booked my trip to Europe I didn't think that I would be dropping a good chunk of my savings on a new car a week later. So when I was in Brussels I was very conscientious about how much I was spending on food and drinks. Thankfully, Google, Yelp, and various ex-pats websites were there to help point me in the right direction for cheap eats.</div>
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First up! A place that I wanted to visit during my last trip to Brussels in November, but unfortunately I never found the time to make it. And then when I did stop by on Monday (Armistice Day) it was closed for the holiday along with EVERY OTHER SHOP IN THE STUPID CITY. I mean, really. What kind of country actually closes the shops on federal holidays? These people would make terrible Americans. </div>
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Anyway, the place I am talking about is a tiny Middle Eastern snack counter on the main drag about a 15 minute walk from the Grand Place (the medieval square that is the center of tourist Brussels). It's called Mr. Falafel (best name ever!) and I can't even call it a restaurant since it's a quick service place with like 3 tables. </div>
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But oh my gosh, it is so good. And cheap! For 4.50 euro, you get four big fresh falafel balls served in a delicious toasted wheat pita AND a plastic bowl that you can fill with whatever toppings and sauces you want from the well-stocked salad bar. The salad bar isn't just raw veggies either; there are delicious mixed salads with various oils and vinegars as well as hummus, tzatziki sauce, and other stuff that I can't even remember. </div>
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My pita, falafel, hummus, and salad. You can refill the salad container as many times as you want! And the good stuff is hidden under my lettuce, don't let the boring topper fool you into thinking I didn't try the more adventurous options.</div>
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Just step right up to the counter behind the salad bar and order your falafel. I think that is actually the only thing on the menu.</div>
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And in case you were wondering how I found this place, I first came across it on the website<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.spottedbylocals.com/brussels/mr-falafel-snackbar/">Spotted by Locals<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a>covering the best hidden gems of Brussels. </div>
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Next up, pizza! I know you don't automatically think Belgium when you think great pizza, but in the local chain,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.mammaroma.com/en">Momma Roma</a>, they do pizza right. And a bit differently then we do it here in the States. First, the pizza is built on foccacia bread, unlike other pizza crusts you might be familiar with. This is a most excellent idea in theory and execution. Second, Momma Roma offers super fresh and "fancy" toppings that are more true to Italian cuisine (think spec, amazing cheeses, and more unusual vegetables). And third, the cost is based on weight of the pizza. You order by the slice--which is huge--and the slices are then weighed to determine the cost. The huge slices are then cut into more manageable pieces. </div>
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I actually ordered from the prix fixe menu; for 11 euro you get two slices of pizza (any type you want), a drink, and dessert. This adds up to a lot of food for about $15. And since a can of soda will typically run you about 3 euro in a restaurant, the prix fixe menu is a bargain.</div>
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Momma Roma's order counter and the pizza display.</div>
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Pizza for me and Jonathan; mine was cheeseless but still amazing with the fresh roasted tomatoes and herbs.</div>
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Dessert: chocolate pie. This thing was AMAZING. It was like a warm donut stuffed with gooey chocolate. Seriously, one of the best things I ate on the entire trip.</div>
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Let's switch gears and talk about bars! One of my favorite bars that I visited last time was <a href="http://www.moederlambic.com/bars/">Moeder Lambic</a>. It's a great modern vibe, an awesome beer selection, and as the name suggests lots of lambic beers which are my favorite. It's also one of Jonathan's favorite spots, so we headed back and sat outside to enjoy the Spring sunshine. Brussels is far enough north that the sun doesn't actually set until around 11 at night in late May.</div>
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Cheers! The dude next to me is Martin, a friend of Jonathan's from work. And a fellow ginger!</div>
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After a few beers at Moeder Lambic, we headed to a more specialized bar. At <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/goupil-le-fol-bruxelles">Goupil Le Fol,</a> you can wind your way through small red and candle-lit rooms stuffed with French-themed bric-a-brac. The juke box only plays French songs from the 1920s and 1930s, and the entire place makes you feel that you are visiting a cluttered old Parisian salon. The bar specializes in fruit wines and brandies (of course) and they are delicious but deceptively strong. It's an amazing mix of charm, kitsch, and cheesiness. But for me, it leaned more towards the charm.</div>
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Jonathan and Martin!</div>
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One of the rooms at Goupil Le Fol. I seriously loved this place.</div>
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Coming up next time: the best frites (fries) in Brussels, an art deco bar, and a good old fashioned Flemish beer hall. Stay tuned!</div>
Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-63641543250038808662014-05-28T18:17:00.000-04:002014-05-28T18:19:33.913-04:00In Bruges<div style="text-align: center;">
"A great day this has turned out to be. I'm suicidal, me mate tries to kill me, me gun gets nicked and we're still in fucking Bruges." --Ray from <i>In Bruges</i></div>
<i><br /></i>My second day in Belgium, I left Brussels behind and hit the mean streets of Bruges. And by "mean streets," I mean "ridiculously charming cobbled streets."<br />
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A few years ago, the only thing I knew about Bruges was what I saw in the movie <i>In Bruges</i>. In the film, two hit men who work for an Irish mob boss are banished to Bruges for a few days as penance when they screw up a job. They're told to wait in Bruges...and then basically spend the entire movie talking about what a shithole the town is. So Bruges was never really high on my must visit list.<br />
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Then last year, when I made my first trip to Belgium, I started hearing from people "oh, you have to go to Bruges!" It's apparently a wonderland of medieval adorableness. Phrases like "cute European village" and "like if Disney created an actual little city" were bandied about. These didn't fill me with a lot of confidence either, to be perfectly honest.
But with so many people talking up Bruges and Rick Steve's guidebook calling it a "heavyweight sightseeing destination, as well as a joy" I figured I had to give it a shot! Getting there couldn't be easier from Brussels; trains run every 30 minutes to/from Brussels and the trip only takes about an hour total. So off to Bruges I went!<br />
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As usual, let's talk a bit of history to put everything in context. Bruges (spelled Brugges and pronounced BROO-ghah in Flemish and brooze in French and English) had its big moment in the 14th century. It was a European economic powerhouse with a population as large as London's. Bruges was the center of northern Europe's cloth market and it was ideally situated on the sea between northern and southern Europe. Things also went well in the 15th century, when England and France were slugging it out in the Hundred Years' War and commerce and the arts boomed in Bruges.<br />
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But then...the harbor got silty and Bruges became a dead city. Not much happened for the next 500 years or so and the city appears to have escaped WWII pretty much untouched. And along came the tourists. People began to discover that Bruges was a well-preserved town with amazing intact gothic features and lovely canals. And the high times are back for Bruges, what with all those tourists pumping money into the local economy.<br />
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My itinerary was going to keep me busy, but also allow me to hit almost all of Bruges main sights in one day. From the center of town I would go on a chocolate and beer scavenger hunt, go for a bit of a walk to see some windmills, and then follow Rick Steve's walking tour of the city hitting the big churches, museums, and photo opportunities.<br />
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The heart of Bruges, both for tourists and modern residents, is the Market Square (Markt). Picture your stereotypical European medieval square and that's pretty much it--in a good way. The Markt is dominated by the tall bell tower (Belfort) which dates from 1300. I climbed the 366 steps to the top and was rewarded with stunning views of the city.<br />
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The Markt</div>
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Belfort, and yep, I climbed all the way to the top!</div>
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One of the many panoramic views from the top of the Belfort. I told you it was a beautiful town!</div>
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The stairs reminded me a lot of the Statute of Liberty climb, with the twisting staircase growing steeper and more narrow the closer you goe to the top. But the climb was worth it since the panorama (and the up close look at the bells) were amazing.<br />
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Also in the Markt is a large statute of two Belgian dudes who led a revolt against French rule in 1302 and ended up winning Flanders its freedom. The Markt is further surrounded by a bunch of neo-gothic "old" buildings that were reconstructed in the 19th century in an exaggerated neo-Gothic style. Add in a ton of cafes, restaurants, and bars with plenty of outdoor seating and chocolate and lace shops, and you're in tourist heaven.<br />
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Of course, I always want to find places more off the beaten path so I eschewed these places with my nose held high in the air. I was going to find the more authentic places...at least the ones that are listed in the guidebook. And yes, I am aware that this makes me a pretty giant hypocrite, but whatever.<br />
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After snapping some pics of the Markt, I set off to find some chocolate nirvana. Rick Steve, Google, and Yelp all agreed that the best chocolate shop in Bruges was Dumon--a family-owned shop that makes their chocolate daily and is located only a few blocks off the Markt. It was as smooth, creamy, and delicious as it sounds. Another local chocolate shop I visited was De Clerck Confiserie, a third generation-owned store with amazingly affordable homemade chocolate. The shop was a sight in and of itself; it was crammed with vintage chocolates, candy, toys, tins that looked like something out of a movie.<br />
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Inside the Dumon chocolate shop. It smelled amazing.</div>
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After packing my bag with chocolate (no tasting yet!), I visited the Choco-Story: The Chocolate Museum. The displays weren't as sophisticated as the big-city museums you might be used to, but the information was really fascinating. The museum explains the ancient (over 2500 years ago) origins of chocolate from the Aztecs and Mayans, as well as its discovery by the Spanish and its journey across the pond to Europe. The museum also covered the evolution of chocolate from a drink consumed by the Aztecs/Mayans to our modern truffles and pralines. Finally, the museum de-mystified the chocolate making process which is way more time and labor-intensive than I ever imagined.<br />
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Now that I had my mental fill of chocolate (the tummy filling would come later), I wandered along the Spiegelrei canal to the tiny alley of Blekersstraat. Just a bit down the alley was the entrance to Herberg Vlissinghe, the oldest pub in Bruges. It dates from 1515 and the decor is pure medieval beer hall. Outside was a lovely sunny garden ande everything is watched over by a cute terrier who roams inside and out looking for big-hearted tourists to share their bar food. I had a glass of one of the local brews, Brugse Zot ("Fool from Bruges") which was a delicious golden ale.
It much have been coming on lunchtime, because that one beer definitely made me a bit tipsy.<br />
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The tucked away entrance to Herberg Vlissinghe.</div>
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Brugsze Zot in the oldest bar in town!</div>
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A short 10-15 minute walk later down Bruges' narrow, winding, and charming back streets brought me to some large grassy hills dotted with sunshine and that typical Low Country feature--windmills!
This was the perfect place to eat the lunch I packed myself (so healthy and frugal!) and stuff myself with all the chocolate I bought (so not healthy but so amazing!).<br />
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I soaked up the sun for a bit and then hit the roads again, wandering my way back to the center of town. Bruges is a great town for wandering--it's not large and as long as you head in the general direction of the Markt and occasionally consult your map to orient yourself, it's fun to "get lost" in the side streets.<br />
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Windmill! One of three located along the grassy area.</div>
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Once I found my way back to the Markt, it was time to follow Rick Steve's walking tour! At this point, there was nothing to do but go full on tourist--alternating between gaping at the medieval sights around me and keeping me nose buried in the guidebook for the descriptions of what the heck I was looking at.<br />
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From the Markt, I proceeded to Burg Square, Bruges historical birthplace. The square contains several buildings representing over six centuries of architecture. Some of the highlights...<br />
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The Basilica of the Holy Blood: a church dating from approximately 1150 and built by a Flemish knight of the Second Crusade to house the drops of Christ's blood he brought back from Jerusalem. The relic is preserved in a clear tube of rock crystal and is displayed on Fridays--which means it was out when I visited the church! </div>
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The City Hall, dating from about 1400 (large building in the picture below). It's still in use (and is where you go for a civil marriage ceremony in Bruges).
From Burg Square, I walked through a another little alley with some interesting details. On the left wall was an original iron hinge from the city's south gate. And directly across was a patch of wall left to show how dirty Bruges was at the time of a 1960 cleaning.<br />
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Burg Square and the City Hall</div>
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I walked through a smaller restaurant-lined square (Huidevettersplein) to Rozenhoedkaai street which is where Bruges almost becomes too adorable to be real. Medieval row houses rise directly from the tree-lined canals Venice-style with a view of the Belfort in the background.
These postcard perfect views could easily seem too treacle. But in my opinion, Bruges avoids the Disney and Williamsburg comparisons by being completely authentic. It just really is that charming.<br />
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Only a few hundred yards down the Dijver canal is the Groeninge Museum. The museum includes paintings dating from 1400 to 1945 and the most extensive collection of Flemish Primitive art in the world. The paintings date from when Bruges was the richest and most cultured city in Europe.<br />
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The Flemish Primitive style commonly features a "primitive" 3D perspective, realism in its subjects (who tend to be members of the merchant class as opposed to nobles and clergy), meticulous details, oil painted on wood, and symbolism, such as a dog symbolizing fidelity.
The paintings were fascinating, but I was really glad my guidebook included information and highlights of some of the more famous pieces, because the museum didn't provide any information aside from the name, artist, and year it was painted There wasn't an audio tour or guidebook or anything like that. Weak sauce, Groeninge Museum. Thank goodness for Rick Steve.<br />
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By this point, my feet were starting to feel the miles I had put on them today (including a 4 mile run in Brussels that morning), so I made a quick lap around the Church of Our Lady: the church houses a Madonna and Child statue by Michelangelo, said to be the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy during the artist's lifetime. I went inside hoping to get a glimpse. While it used to be out for viewing in a chapel free of charge, apparently Church of Our Lady isn't too pious to gouge us tourists for what they can, and now you have to pay to see the statute. Well, forget that.<br />
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I continued on my merry way to De Halve Maan Brewery, where they make the Brugse Zot ale I had earlier in the day!<br />
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A few more cobbled streets, some quiet courtyards, and a lovely lake-filled park called the Minnewater ("Water of Love") later, my walking tour ended about 5 minutes from the train station. Perfect! I easily hoppd on a train back to Brussels and was home in time to meet Jonathan and his work friend Martin for a late dinner and drinks!<br />
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Church of Our Lady</div>
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Outside the brewery.</div>
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The Minnewater...complete with swans. OF COURSE.</div>
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Coming up next in my Belgian adventure: eating and drinking my way around Brussels, all on a budget. I'll show you the best places to imbibe while not breaking the bank!</div>
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More pictures from around Bruges!</div>
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Old (and I mean old) houses abound.</div>
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The stairs to the top of the Belfort</div>
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Markt selfie!</div>
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The relic in the Basilica.</div>
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Canal selfie!</div>
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Statute in the Markt.</div>
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View from the Courtyard of the Groeninge Museum looking towards the Belfort.</div>
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Inside a Dumon praline.</div>
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Oh, shut up, Chocolate museum.</div>
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Jonathan and Martin, back in Brussels.</div>
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Chloë: There's never been a classic movie made in Bruges until now.</div>
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Ray: Of course there hasn't. It's a shithole.</div>
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Chloë: Bruges is my home town, Ray.</div>
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Ray: Well, it's still a shithole.</div>
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I beg to differ, Ray. I beg to differ.Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-72989331188078348082014-05-22T12:32:00.000-04:002014-05-22T12:32:12.467-04:00Chocolate Life: Neuhaus Factory OutletAhhh, Brussels. It's been six months since I was here, but it feels like I never left. Except for the improvement in the weather this time around. You might recall that last November I traveled to Belgium to visit my friend Jonathan (JR) from college. Even as I left, I knew I had to come back. Not only because it would mean another chance to hang with JR, but also because Brussels is a beautiful and fun city providing easy access to much of continental Europe. In other words, it makes an excellent home base for day trips.<br />
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I also had unfinished business in Brussels. Last time I was here, I waited until my last day in town to visit one of the sights I had most wanted to see. A rookie mistake, I know. Especially since my last day in town ended up being Armistice Day, a national holiday, and a day when pretty much everything in town is closed. Which means I went all the way out to this very special store...to find the gate closed and locked. What is the place I am referring to?<br />
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The Neuhaus Factory Outlet.<br />
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Just in case you aren't up on your fine Belgian chocolatiers, <a href="http://www.neuhauschocolate.com/index-en.htm">Neuhaus</a> is one of the oldest and most luxurious Belgian chocolate makers. We're talking on the same level as Godiva here--though I actually think it's better. And while they don't have the exotic flavors of say, <a href="http://www.marcolini.be/">Pierre Marcolini</a>, what they do have is deliciously smooth, creamy, and classic chocolates.<br />
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Before I get into the amazeball-ness of the factory outlet store, let's talk some history. Neuhaus the company was founded in 1857 by Jean Neuhaus, a swiss immigrant, who opened the first Neuhaus store here in central Brussels.<br />
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There are traditionally two types of chocolates in Belgium: <i>truffles</i> (soft and round chocolates with various fillings) and <i>pralines</i> (a hard chocolate shell also with various fillings, what Americans normally think of as "chocolates;" think of what comes in a Whitman sampler, etc.).<br />
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In 1912, Jean Neuhaus II invented the praline. So yeah. These folks know what they are doing. Another fun fact: Jean II's wife, Louise, invented the "box of chocolates" when she realized the pralines were getting smooshed when placed in bags. "Let's put these things in boxes!" she said, and BOOM. All of a sudden, Forrest Gump had a catch phrase.<br />
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Ok, so back to my original story. Last time I was in Brussels, I spent a lot of time googling things like, "best chocolate in Brussels" and "hidden Brussels," you know as you do. And I came across this blog, <a href="http://www.writingwithchocolate.com/reviews/neuhaus_outlet/">Writing With Chocolate</a>, that talked about a place so wonderful it could not be real: a Neuhaus factory outlet that was located on the outskirts of Brussels, was metro-accessible, and offered free unlimited samples of EVERYTHING IN THE SHOP.<br />
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I didn't believe it. Free and unlimited samples of Neuhaus chocolate? Could such a place even be real??<br />
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Well, today I finally found out. Yes, Virginia, there is a Neuhaus outlet and it is just as wonderful and magical as you ever imagined.<br />
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And it's all for me! Not really, but it felt that way.</div>
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It's also fairly easy to get to. You take the #5 metro line all the way to the end (Erasmus--about a 20 minute ride from central Brussels) and after a short 10 minute walk past the Erasmus University College, you come to a very corporate looking building with a Neuhaus sign out front. Right when you are thinking, "this can't be right," you spy the small red sign labelled "chocolate shop" with an arrow pointing around the corner of the building.<br />
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And then: paradise. Nirvana. Heaven. Whatever you want to call it, the Neuhaus chocolate factory outlet opens up before you like a dream and as your eyes scan over the offerings you realize it's true. There really are free and unlimited samples of everything in the shop available for tasting.<br />
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Just walk by each item and there are open versions encouraging you to take a taste.</div>
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The best part about the outlet is the opportunity to buy truffles in bulk. Truffles in Neuhaus stores typically retail for about 2 euros each (as of today that's $2.73). A 410 gram box (containing 38 pieces) retails for 26.50 euros (about $36). But at the outlet, you can get 1 kilogram boxes (approximately 100 truffles weighing 2.2 pounds) for 20 euro. And if you buy 3 boxes, they are only 40 euro total. We are talking BIG savings for the highest quality Belgian chocolate. Sure, each box contains only one type of truffle, but if you buy three of them you have three excellent types of truffles to gift to people.<br />
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The row of bulk items with open boxes for sampling displayed in front. </div>
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There are deals on lots of other items as well: I got 750 gram bags of pralines (holding about 50 pralines each), 3 for 30 euro total. In the stores one praline is a little over 1 euro. A lot of the pre-packed box and gift assortments are heavily marked down as well. Not everything in the outlet is discounted, but as long as you pay attention to the signs you can find some fantastic deals. And all your chocolate gift shopping = done.<br />
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And let's talk about the samples. Literally everything in the store is available for sampling. The employees just pull the lids off the products/boxes and set them up so you can walk around and try them. I had to take small bites of the truffles and pralines (and throw away the rest --wasteful!) because it was just so much chocolate. It was basically my lunch today, and I can say with some authority, that yes, it is possible to get chocolated out. But, oh what a way to go.<br />
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To recap: the Neuhaus outlet might be my new favorite place in all the world.<br />
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<b>Neuhaus Factory Outlet</b><br />
Postweg 2, 1602 Vlezenbeek, Belgium
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Mon. – Thur. 9 a.m.-6 p.m.<br />
Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.<br />
The outlet is open during the lunch hour and takes credit cards (though like a lot of European stores, I think you need the special "chip and pin" style of card which Americans credit card companies don't typically provide). There is also lots of available and free parking, but the store is only 1/3 of a mile from the metro stop.<br />
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Also, don't try to go during a national holiday. Trust me folks. You'll go all the way out there only to have your heart broken when you realize they are closed. But at least the story has a happy ending this time!<br />
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My haul: total cost 70 euro for about 500 pieces of chocolate. That works out to about $0.20 per piece, people. </div>
Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-62034475474155364952014-05-07T21:16:00.002-04:002014-05-07T21:16:54.372-04:00Things to do in DC: Afternoon Tea in the WillardThree things I really love:<div>
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1) Getting dressed up and feeling fancy;<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2) Wearing hats; and,</div>
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3) Eating baked goods. </div>
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I finally found the activity that combines all three. Afternoon tea! Think about it--the dress code is always fancy and the food is always delicious, adorably miniature, and sweet. And hats are not only accepted, they are frankly encouraged. </div>
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So on a beautiful Saturday a few weeks ago, my Mother and I took to The Willard, one of DC's finest and oldest hotels, to enjoy afternoon tea at their <a href="http://washington.intercontinental.com/food-drink/peacock-alley-tea">Peacock Alley</a>. </div>
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It's basically The Plaza of Washington, DC.</div>
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The hotel actually has special meaning for my family; my Mother's Grandparents had their honeymoon there many many years ago. So it's always had these aura of romanticism and history for me. I've only been there once (to visit the <a href="http://washington.intercontinental.com/food-drink/round-robin-scotch-bar">Round Robin & Scotch</a> bar), but I have been looking for a reason to return. What better reason than my Mom's birthday? Did I mention it was her birthday? Because it totally was. </div>
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She was a little bit excited. </div>
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Since it was still technically the Cherry Blossom festival, all the teas and food had a cherry theme. The food was amazing (especially the cherry and ginger scones OMG), but the service was strangely a bit off. You would think at a place as fancy as The Willard they would nail the details, but apparently all the serving staff seemed to find the concept of my seafood allergy completely perplexing. Maybe it was a language thing? But being served salmon sandwiches (twice!) was kind of a problem. </div>
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But you know what makes up for it? MINI PASTRIES. </div>
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Scones on the bottom, sandwiches in the middle (no crusts, of course) and desserts on the top. The scones were served alongside jam (apricot, cherry, and lemon) and Devonshire cream. Everything was fantastic. </div>
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All in all, the Willard tea was fun and delicious, but for the pricey cost, I think there are much better places in the area to get your tea fix. And it <i>pains</i> me to say this, y'all. But unfortunately, reality doesn't always live up to the dream. </div>
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However, this doesn't change the fact that it is my mission to stay as a guest in the hotel one day. This is an item for the bucket list and I am being very serious. I will walk around like I own the place, jump on the bed, and order room service. Just because I can!</div>
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The birthday cupcake was a very nice touch though, I must say.</div>
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Me and the birthday girl!</div>
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Peacock Alley (basically a hallway off the main lobby. But still very nice, and note the harp player in the left corner!).</div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-3419164579169395482014-04-10T07:42:00.002-04:002014-04-10T07:42:24.133-04:00Treat Yo Self 2014Best Day of the Year!<br />
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What, you haven't heard of a Treat Yo Self Day? Please let the nice folks over at NBC's <i>Parks and Recreation</i> explain the rules. It's only 24 seconds, you can spare that much time.<br />
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So basically, you take the day to, you know, treat yourself. You want it, you got it. For me this meant a mix of pampering and (of course) eating a bunch of things I usually deny myself. Hey, you keep Treat Yo Self in your way and I'll keep it in mine.<br />
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First stop! Haircut. I was long overdue for one, but while I usually just get a quick shampoo and trim at the place around the corner from my mom's house, this time I decided to go the whole nine yards and get a cut, blowout, and style at a nice salon. Turns out my friend Barbara from work's (whom I was just with in Lincoln, Nebraska), husband works at a salon and is a fantastic hairdresser. Sounds like a plan.<br />
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So on my most recent benefit day (I get every other Monday off from work since I work longer hours on all the other days) I got myself an appointment in the morning at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/muse-boutique-salon-arlington">Muse Boutique Salon</a> in Arlington. The place was pretty empty, so I waited only a few minutes while Atilla finished up with the client before me and sat back and relaxed while I got my hair washed (scalp massage!), cut, blown out, and styled. It looked pretty damn good, if I say so myself.<br />
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...and wow, I look eerily like my Mom.</div>
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Look! It's straight! That doesn't happen very often with my hair, trust me. And it even survived the windy day...well, mostly.<br />
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After getting my hair done, I headed to Shirlington for a massage. I've only had three massages before--it always feels amazing, but it seems like such a splurge. There's always other things that seem to make more practical sense to purchase, even for myself.<br />
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But anyway, this massage was too good a deal to pass up. At <a href="http://www.nirvanareflexologyspa.com/#home">Nirvana Reflexology Spa</a> in Shirlington, you can get a one hour full body massage for only $45, compared to the around $75-100 cost at other places in the DC area. You don't get a private room or the oils rubbed in to you like at other places, but there is still privacy with heavy fabric curtains separating the areas of the room and the massage is still amazing. And, if you are one of those people who has problems being naked in front of people, you get to keep your clothes on. They still use lotions on your arms and legs and it just feels really nice. I recommend it!<br />
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After my haircut and massage I was hungry! And if I was going to treat myself, I wanted something I haven't had in a really long time. Specifically, cheese. Ever since I figured out I was lactose intolerant two years ago, my cheese intake has gone down to almost zero. Unless it's goat cheese--goat cheese I can handle and it's also my favorite. But I wanted other types of cheese. So to <a href="http://cheesetique.com/">Cheesetique</a> for lunch I will go!<br />
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Appetizer: a glass of the house red wine (balanced, smooth, and fruity) and a cheese board with the chevre (goat cheese). Since it's the cherry blossom festival, they had mixed fresh cherries into the cheese and oh my stars it was delicious.<br />
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Next up: something I hadn't eaten in all the time I have been lactose intolerant. Macaroni and cheese. This was the Billy Goat Mac with several types of cheese (including goat and cheddar) and chicken. This was blow my mind amazing.<br />
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For dessert, I decided to leave the cheese shop behind and walk a block down the street to <a href="http://cakelove.com/products/cupcakes/">Cake Love</a>. It wasn't an entirely selfish decision; I needed to order my Aunt and Stepmom's birthday cake from there (they have the same birthday and we always do a joint celebration). But while I was there....I figured why not have a cupcake? A Drumstick cupcake to be exact. Vanilla cake, salted caramel middle, vanilla buttercream frosting, and a layer of chocolate on top (with some salted peanuts).<br />
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The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home and then over at a friend's playing a little D&D. All in all, I declare the first Treat Yo Self Day a total success.</div>
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Is it 2015 yet??</div>
Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-83713594365241390992014-04-07T09:59:00.004-04:002014-04-07T09:59:46.617-04:00Stuck in the Middle....of the CountryYou might remember from a few years ago I used to travel for work a lot. The judges at VA's Board of Appeals travel to the Regional Offices (there are at least one in every state) to allow veterans the opportunity for an in-person hearing. An attorney used to accompany the judges to help them brief the hearing cases--basically, we would quickly review each case and identify the issues and pertinent evidence for the judges.<br />
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Well, those days are gone.<br />
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Budget cuts must come to us all, and the Powers That Be decided about three years ago that sending attorneys on the Travel Board trips was an unnecessary expense. It was a shame too because getting out the office, networking with judges you otherwise wouldn't interact with, and forming relationships with the people in the Regional Office were invaluable benefits to the attorneys.<br />
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I had pretty much resigned myself to never traveling on the government's dime again...when all of a sudden! Rumors started that attorneys might be going back out on the road! Extra money from Congress and a change of leadership at the Board are no doubt the reason, and the rumors proved true. During the ten Travel Board trips in February and March attorneys were once again sent with the judges to various Regional Offices. And I was lucky enough to go on one! To Lincoln, Nebraska.<br />
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This is Husker territory.</div>
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I know what you're thinking. Lincoln? Nebraska? Umm....yay? But I was actually pretty excited, and had specifically requested the trip. I had been on it once before back in 2009 and Lincoln is a really well run office which means the practical aspects of the trip are easy peasy. It also meant I would be traveling with the judge who was my mentor when I first started at the Board in 2005--at that time he was an attorney like me.<br />
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The reason for sending the attorneys has also changed. Instead of spending an entire week with our noses buried in cases, the attorneys now only travel through Wednesday and provide training to the Regional Office staff on various aspects of the law. The employees at the RO who decide cases aren't lawyers, and yet they are often expected to know as much as we do and perform the same kind of analysis. So we provide them training to hopefully clear up some of the thornier issues.<br />
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So if the government wants to send me out of the office for a couple days, pay for a hotel and meals in nice restaurants (hello, per diem!), and let me do one of my favorite things--talking in front of a group of people who have no choice but to listen to me--who am I to say no??<br />
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That's how I ended up in Lincoln, Nebraska. From a work and personal perspective the trip was a complete success. The second judge traveling with us was a friend of mine and we had a great time. I was also able to find some GREAT restaurants. In the past four years Lincoln has become quite a bit more cosmopolitan, so much so that I was pleasantly surprised by the number of trendy restaurants and shops that would have fit in perfectly in downtown DC.<br />
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Since it's me, I took lots of pictures of the food and am happy to provide you, gentle reader, with all my dining recommendations in case you ever find your self in Lincoln, Nebraska. First, let's talk steak. Nebraska = cows. That's the reality. But last time I was in Lincoln I was not impressed with the steak dinner I had. Maybe I went to the wrong place? Or it was just a bad cut? But this time I was going to hunt down a great steak if it killed me.<br />
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Luckily I didn't have to go far. Enter <a href="http://www.mistyslincoln.com/ordereze/default.aspx">Misty's Steakhouse and Brewery</a>. Conveniently located directly across the street from our hotel, Misty's is considered the best steakhouse in all of Lincoln. But I went into it without expectations, after all, I had been burned once before. I am happy to report that Misty's more than lived up to its reputation and I think I had the best steak of my life.<br />
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Bacon-wrapped filet mignon with caramelized onions and grilled veggies. SO GOOD OMG. And only $25. Amazing.</div>
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The next two nights were also winners. Barbara (the second judge on the trip) and I had a bit of a girls' night on Tuesday with a delicious meal and wine at a French-inspired place called <a href="http://www.greengateau.com/ordereze/default.aspx">The Green Gateau</a>. They had a three course prix fixe meal for only $25. Again, amazing. I realize people in Lincoln don't make as much as us in DC, but traveling someplace with such a low cost of living is definitely refreshing<br />
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And it's signature dessert (from gateau, "cake" in French) was yummy. It's a light chocolate cake filled with mousse and covered with a green almond fondant. </div>
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Another example of how things are cheaper in Lincoln: the cost of a mani/pedi. Barbara and I arrived in Lincoln on Sunday afternoon and I thought it might be fun to get our nails done to look nice for our interaction with the RO staff and veterans having hearings. I found a salon open late on Sunday afternoon and a mani/pedi was, you guessed it, $25. Apparently everything worth having in Lincoln is only $25. The folks at <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/queen-nail-lincoln">Queen Nails</a> were completely nice, and I even got a little decoration on my big toes at no extra cost.<br />
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I went with black sparkly bow ties on my pink nails. Subtle and classy, just like me, right? Also, maybe it's me, but my toes totally look like fingers here. It's kind of creeping me out. </div>
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Ok, back to the food. Our last night in Lincoln we tried a new farm-to-table style place called <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/jack-and-june-lincoln">Jack <span style="color: black;">&</span> June</a> (they're redoing the website, but the link will take you to the Yelp page). They bill themselves as an "urban table" and this is the kind of place that has become very hip in DC lately. Local fresh ingredients and trendy twists on classic American dishes. The decor was also pretty cool, kind of a burnished steel modern kitchen meets homey wood. It was also Spring Break at the University of Nebraska so the place was practically empty.<br />
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The bar at Jack & June. We definitely didn't have any trouble getting a table.</div>
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The food there was FANTASTIC. We were all really impressed with our meals--so impressed we had the manager come by to pay our compliments. He was very excited to talk to us and actually sat and chatted with us for about 15 minutes asking our opinion on any improvements that could be made. Apparently the restaurant had just hired a new chef and was in the process of some major menu revamps. I like nothing more than giving my opinions so it was very flattering to have the ear of the manager.<br />
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I had a kielbasa and brussel sprouts. And let me just say...</div>
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BEST BRUSSEL SPROUTS EVER. I never considered myself a brussel sprouts person, but they've become quite a trendy vegetable (which is hilarious that a "trendy vegetable" is a thing) and these were amazing. They were roasted and covered with a kind of sweet Thai chili sauce. Amazeballs.</div>
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Only one more stop on the Lincoln food tour. Barbara and I were both in agreement that it is never too cold for ice cream, so we decided to find the best Lincoln had to offer. I figured good cows must equal good ice cream. Unfortunately, our visit to the <a href="https://dairystore.unl.edu/">Nebraska University Dairy</a> was a bit disappointing. I mean, it was good. But Nebraska couldn't hold a candle to the Penn State creamery which is the best ice cream I have ever had. But! All hope was not lost.<br />
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We found <a href="http://www.ivannacone.com/">Ivanna Cone</a>, an old fashioned ice cream parlor in Lincoln's popular Haymarket district. They had super unusual flavors, but also delicious favorites, and everything was super fresh and tasty. My selection?<br />
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A scoop of chocolate, a scoop of cinnamon, hot fudge, and peanut butter sauce. Yum!</div>
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Ok, but enough about the food. Like I said, the trip was a complete success. The training I performed was super well received, and the RO staff actually kept me after the training for almost two hours to answer their questions. Which is great! They wanted more training the next day, but alas, the training room was booked. Instead, I spent the day talking to a lot of the staff one-on-one and getting some suggestions to increase communication between the RO and the Board. They also had some good ideas on ways to improve VA's overall efficiency and functioning. The hearings conducted by the judges also went really well and we had a great show rate. </div>
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Overall, our trip to Lincoln was fun, informative, and even more successful than we could have hoped. It was a win all around and I really hope the Board decides to keep sending attorneys out with the judges. It's a nice break from the office and a great networking and mentoring opportunity. </div>
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Just remember, in Nebraska you can't carry your DEADLY weapons into the ice cream parlor. Non-deadly weapons are ok though. Bonus Barbara sighting!</div>
<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-63234338323318475222014-03-29T12:17:00.003-04:002014-03-29T12:17:44.605-04:00Shamrock Fest 2014Kiss me, I’m Irish! No, really, I am. It’s totally legit.<br />
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On March 23, 2014, RFK Stadium in DC was transformed into an Irish wonderland. Well, if carnival rides, fried food, beer tents, and over 30 Celtic-themed bands can be considered an Irish wonderland. For my part, it ABSOLUTELY is, so I put on my best green finery and hit the festival along with some friends for a day of merriment.<br />
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The gang from last year--together again!</div>
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Despite finding ourselves in the winter that WILL NOT END (seriously, snow on St. Patrick’s Day??), the weather was beautiful for the Fest. Clouds that disappeared through the afternoon and a high temperature of around 70 meant that I had to break out the sunblock for the first time all year and dress in layers to get my Irish pride on. Since it was so gorgeous out, me, Selvi, Kevin, and Diana met up an Irish pub near Union Station, The Dubliner, for lunch and then walked a few miles to RFK. It was just so nice to be outside and not freezing or slipping in the snow that we were all grateful for the chance to get out and walk.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xiy_SJlLmTI/UzbXj_rL7TI/AAAAAAAALuI/TDt4vSW_tVw/s1600/0322141715-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Xiy_SJlLmTI/UzbXj_rL7TI/AAAAAAAALuI/TDt4vSW_tVw/s1600/0322141715-1.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a>As soon as we entered the stadium grounds it was clear something was different from last year. The festival organizers had added carnival rides! The area around the entrance had been transformed into a midway with rides (like a Tilt a Whirl!), games, and concessions to make anyone’s mouth water. Hello, funnel cake. Who can resist funnel cake?? Sure, I only had a taste, but still. Never pass up a funnel cake opportunity.<br />
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Aside from the carnival additions, things at Shamrock Fest were as usual—fun, crowded, and green. There was a large tent of merchandise where you could shop for items like kilts, t-shirts, and novelty vaguely offensive Irish-y accessories to cap off your Festival outfit. The beer lines were long, but for the most part moved quickly so nobody waited long. And I was gratified that the food area offered some slightly healthier alternatives than the usual fried food—namely, chili from the Hard Times Café. Yum!<br />
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BEER.</div>
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The bands are always a highlight of the Festival. I love Celtic rock music, but most of the groups also dabble in pop and cover tunes; I admit I’m a sucker for a good 80s cover. And as soon as a band breaks out the fiddle or the bagpipes…the crowd goes crazy and shit gets REAL.<br />
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I’m always up for celebrating anything Irish, but the main reason I attend Shamrock Fest is to see one of my favorite bands, Carbon Leaf. They’ve been around for a while, but got their start in Richmond, VA and are strongly influenced by Irish and Celtic music. I first discovered their music at the Detroit Scottish Festival (while visiting my brother one summer when he still lived in Michigan) and their live CD was recommended to me by a dude working the music booth. From the first listen I was hooked and when I finally saw them live at William and Mary during undergrad it turned me into a huge fan.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PLyDzpZRgo4/UzbXk-4wdeI/AAAAAAAALuQ/u49gPIc4O6E/s1600/0322141921a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PLyDzpZRgo4/UzbXk-4wdeI/AAAAAAAALuQ/u49gPIc4O6E/s1600/0322141921a.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Their set at the Fest is always amazing, and this year was no exception. They played for a solid hour and a half in the evening, and the energy coming from the crowd and from the band was infectious. Though we were packed pretty tight, my friends and I had gotten prime spots near the front of the stage and still had room to dance, jump, and fist pump along to our favorite songs. Hey, never underestimate the appeal of a good fist pump.<br />
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Side note regarding concert-going: for the most part, the crowds at Shamrock Fest are always really great. People tend to be respectful of other people’s space and with such a mix of people and ages, things never get out of control. Having said that, any festival that includes as one of the main draws beer drinking is going to attract some assholes. But other than one drunk guy who tried to start a mosh pit (during a Celtic rock concert? Really?) everyone was just dancing around having a good time and not being a jerk.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">And then a guy in a wheelchair crowd-surfed by. On one hand, you go, dude. In the words of Kevin, “that guy is very handicapable.” On the other hand, you should have seen the look on the faces of the security staff who had to catch him and carry him down. They were not happy about the large and heavy metal contraption making a beeline for their heads. </span><br />
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All in all, Shamrock Fest was a blast aided in part by the stunning weather. Just one word of advice if you go: have your friends wear something distinctive that is NOT green. Because trying to identify anyone dressed in green in that crowd? Not easy.
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Have green eye shadow, will travel.</div>
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Me and Selvi in the DJ tent!</div>
Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-2820004151634037342014-03-05T00:00:00.000-05:002014-03-05T00:00:05.705-05:00Stuff ItI think I am creating a new snow day tradition. On the last snow day, I experimented with low calorie pancake recipes. This time around, it was french toast.<br />
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From now on, snow days = new breakfast recipes. This might be one of the best ideas I have ever had.<br />
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Blueberries were on sale at the grocery store the other day; two containers for $5. It was too good an offer to pass up and I like blueberries in my oatmeal, so I ended up with a LOT of blueberries. But I'm not sure even I could eat enough oatmeal to use all the blueberries before they went bad, so I decided to look up some recipes to use them.<br />
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(enter the blog <a href="http://www.skinnykitchen.com/">Skinny Kitchen</a>, stage right).<br />
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Let's see....stuffed blueberry french toast? Hmm. I'm not usually big with the french toast. Not sure why, pancakes just always seemed to hit the spot for me more. Maybe it's a texture thing. *scanning recipe* This one has potential though....I think I have almost all the ingredients on hand....and getting a big serving for 166 calories is not bad all...I think I will give it a try!<br />
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And thank goodness I did, because holy moly, these things are delicious. It's a very simple recipe--you essentially make a cream cheese and blueberry sandwich and then fry it up a bit in a pan. What keeps it low calorie are the details: a sandwich thin instead of regular bread, no sugar blueberry jam, no fat cream cheese, and an egg white. You still get the juxtaposition of the crunchy coating of the bread with the savoriness of the cream cheese and sweetness of the blueberries. And it's so sweet from the blueberries (and the optional dusting of powdered sugar), you don't even need any syrup.<br />
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The finished product: weighing in at 166 calories and 9 grams of sugar which makes this is a MUCH better option than standard french toast. Skinny Kitchen includes the stats for full-fat and calorie versions of her recipes, and at IHOP the french toast will set you back 830 calories and 51 grams of sugar. Ouch.<br />
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Assembling the french toast "sandwich." You just spread cream cheese on both sides of the sandwich thin and top with sugar free blueberry jam and 1/4 cup blueberries. After coating it in an egg white and frying it up for about 3 minutes per side...you have delicious crunchy, creamy, and blueberry syrupy french toast.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Are you hungry yet? I also had a scrambled egg and egg beaters (I need the protein to feel full) and my breakfast was still less than 300 calories!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/skinny-blueberry-stuffed-french-toast/"><span style="font-size: large;">Skinny Blueberry Stuffed French Toast</span></a><br />
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(NB: this recipe and the ingredients list are for two french toast sandwiches. I halved it to make just one).<br />
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2 whole wheat sandwich thins<br />
2 tablespoons fat free cream cheese<br />
2 teaspoons reduced sugar blueberry preserves (I used sugar free jam since that's all I could find)<br />
½ cup fresh blueberries or frozen and thawed, sliced in half<br />
1 egg white<br />
1 teaspoon reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance Light spread<br />
1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar (optional)<br />
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1. Spread the bottom inside piece of each sandwich thin with 1 tablespoon cream cheese. On top of cream cheese, spread 1 teaspoon blueberry preserves on each. Place ¼ cup sliced blueberries on top of preserves on each. Top each with the remaining sandwich thin to create a sandwich.<br />
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2. Add the egg white to a shallow bowl. Dip both sandwiches into the egg white, making sure to coat both sides.<br />
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3. Coat a large nonstick pan with cooking spray. Melt 1 teaspoon reduced-fat butter and swirl around bottom of pan. Add 2 sandwiches, cook about 2½ to 3 minutes on medium-high heat, until golden brown. Using a spatula, turn over and cook the undersides for about 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.<br />
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4. Sprinkle top of each with powdered sugar. Plate each and serve with a fork and knife.<br />
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Makes 2 servings (each serving, 1 full sandwich)<br />
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1 stuffed French toast sandwich = 166 calories, 2g fat, 9g protein, 31g carbs, 6g fiber, 370mg sodium, 9g sugarMaggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-24854885716277273732014-03-04T09:00:00.000-05:002014-03-04T09:00:02.867-05:00Chocolate Caramels and Wine TastingJust when you thought my posts about chocolate were coming to an end...here's another one guest-starring my fellow attorney and WM graduate, Dorilyn!<br />
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Not only are we both big nerds, but Dori and I are also big chocolate and wine lovers. I mean, most people of good taste and breeding are, but I know there are some strange folk out there who don't find either of these things appealing. How do they live with themselves?<br />
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I'm also a big fan of the Living Social facility at 918 F Street where I have participated in a lot of classes over the past year. Sadly, Living Social is closing the building next month (since they appear to be <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/livingsocial-posts-a-net-loss-of-183m-for-2013-says-it-will-no-longer-produce-live-events/2014/01/30/5ae6441a-89c4-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html">hemorrhaging money</a>), so I have been trying to make sure I take any last chance opportunities to visit.<br />
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When I saw on the Living Social website they were offering a chocolate caramel and wine tasting class--I immediately called up Dorilyn and asked if she wanted to do it with me. She's no fool, so last week we headed downtown (on a uncharacteristically warm February day) to indulge in some wine, chocolate, and caramel.<br />
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The "class" was led by the owner and founder of <a href="http://www.chouquette.us/">Chouquette Chocolates</a> in Bethesda, Sarah Dwyer. I use quotation marks because it wasn't really a class-we didn't do anything except drink wine, eat chocolate caramels, and listen and watch Sarah Dwyer as she explained how she came to open a chocolate shop and demonstrated how the caramels are made. It was all actually really interesting and she had lots of entertaining stories about her time in Paris studying at Le Cordon Bleu. She also shared some stories about how she came to develop the more unusual flavors of her caramels.<br />
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The other wine pairing class I attended involved cookies and wine and was a little more in-depth with explanations of the wines and why certain flavors are brought out by certain types of wine. With the chocolate caramels, it was more "this is all delicious so eat, drink, and enjoy." Both approaches are fine with me--as long as I get wine and chocolate I am happy.<br />
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The set-up at our table; 4 types of wine and 4 chocolate caramels. I love the designs and colors of the caramels, so lovely. The gold looking ones on the right are dusted with edible gold sugar.<br />
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Clockwise starting from the upper left: vanilla sea salt caramel paired with Prosecco, rosemary lemon caramel paired with a Sauvignon Blanc, raspberry caramel paired with a Pinot Noir, and last but not least, a balsamic caramel paired with Shiraz. </div>
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Inside the raspberry caramel!</div>
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My favorite of the caramels was actually the balsamic one. The savoriness of the balsamic paired beautifully with the sweetness and saltiness of the chocolate and caramel. And it also went very well with the robust red wine. But let's be honest: everything was delicious and went well with everything else.<br />
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Other than eating all the yummy chocolates and getting a bit tipsy off the wine, the other highlight of the experience was seeing how the chocolate caramels are made. The chocolate is first poured into molds...but then immediately poured out so only a shell of chocolate is left covering the mold's three sides. After hardening a bit, the caramel is poured inside the mold and chocolate is again poured over it all. After everything sets, you pop out a completed chocolate-covered caramel!<br />
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This is only one of the possible ways of making caramels, some companies (like Lindt truffles) makes two sides of the truffle, put the filling in the middle, and then join them together. This creates a seam that runs around the truffle. Others fill the entire mold with chocolate right off the bat and then use a small tube to inject caramel and fillings into the middle. I think the method used by Sarah Dwyer at Chouquette is actually the most elegant way to do it: there are no seams or holes in the chocolates.<br />
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Cheers!</div>
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Oh, and because Dorilyn and I are crazy for chocolate, we decided to grab some hot chocolate at <a href="http://www.cocosala.com/">Coco Sala</a> across the street from the Living Social building. I tried the hot chocolate flight...<br />
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From left to right: dark hot chocolate, salted caramel hot chocolate, and peanut butter hot chocolate. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite. </div>
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My next chocolate adventure? A chocolate walking tour of Georgetown. It's not scheduled yet, but the Groupon is purchased and I am already licking my lips in anticipation....</div>
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Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-64935977338519039852014-03-03T11:13:00.000-05:002014-03-05T08:13:27.321-05:00Good Times in the Big AppleIt's so easy to get to New York City, I don't know why more people from around here don't make the trip. It's 4-5 hours on the bus (I always use Bolt Bus, which goes direct from Union Station to Manhattan), and you can sit back, relax, and not have to worry about tolls or paying attention to the road. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't mind bus or plane trips since it gives me uninterrupted time to read, listen to music, or just nap.<br />
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Of course, as soon as I arrive in NYC, I like to hit the ground running. When you're only spending one night in the Big Apple, you need to cram in as much fun and adventure as you can, and this trip was no exception. Along with my friend from work (and fellow WM alum), Dorilyn, I spent the last two days in NYC hanging with friends, seeing two of my favorite actors, and stuffing myself with chocolate.<br />
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I've had worse weekends. And not that many that were better.<br />
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This trip came about because Dorilyn is as big a nerd as I am. When she heard that Patrick Stewart (<i>i.e.</i> Captain Picard) and Ian McKellen (<i>i.e.</i> Gandalf) w<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/25/theater/reviews/no-mans-land-and-waiting-for-godot-at-the-cort.html?_r=0">ere performing on Broadway together</a>, she thought I might be interested in going up to NYC and seeing them in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot">Waiting for Godot</a>.<br />
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She was not wrong.<br />
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Per usual, we took the first bus up and arrived in midtown Manhattan at 10:30, leaving us the entire day for shenanigans. We met up with our friend Caroline and grabbed a quick lunch at <a href="http://www.freshandconyc.com/">Fresh & Co. </a>(basically the NY version of Sweetgreens and Chop't) and made our way to the <a href="https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum.asp">Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology</a> (FIT) to take in some of their exhibitions.<br />
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I love visiting FIT when I am in New York; the exhibitions are free, include stunning fashions spanning the centuries, and don't require too large a time commitment. Basically, it's ideal for someone who wants to see something "very New York," but can't spend hours wandering in a museum.<br />
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We were particularly interested in two exhibitions, <a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/21786.asp">Trend-ology</a>, about the sources and forces that alter trends in fashion, and <a href="http://www.fitnyc.edu/21912.asp">Elegance in the Age of Crisis</a>, an exploration of the clothing of the 1930s, the period between the Jazz Age and WWII when modern fashion was created (mostly due to the development of synthetic fibers).<br />
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From Elegance in the Age of Crisis: I'll take one of each, please. Well, except that one with the green bow. I mean, REALLY.</div>
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From Trend-ology: perhaps camo should remain on the battlefield. </div>
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After feasting on fashion, we headed back to Caroline's apartment, and watched <i>Terminator 2: Judgment Day</i>, ate some cookies, and shot the shit. You know, typical girl stuff. Running around the city is all well and good, but sometimes you just want to catch up with your friends. </div>
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But before too long, it was time for me and Dorilyn to head out. We had dinner reservations at a fun French bistro-type place in the theater district called <a href="http://www.marseillenyc.com/">Marseilles</a>. It was Restaurant Week in New York (which actually lasts for about 3 weeks) and Dorilyn took advantage of the three course prix fixe menu to get a little adventurous. I stuck with my typical roast chicken entree I try at most places, but had a bit of her sweetbreads appetizer. Surprisingly, I found it delicious. I guess eating outside your comfort zone can pay off. And of course, I couldn't turn down fancy melting chocolate cake for dessert. </div>
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And then! It was time for the main event! We walked a few blocks to the Cort Theater and saw two fantastic English actors in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. The show was great (of course), with </div>
engrossing performances from Stewart and McKellen, whose ease and affection for one another was obvious. Despite being at its core a pretty depressing study of the futility and meaningless of human existence (how cheery!), the play was still very funny. Stewart and McKellen proved they were as adept with acts of physical comedy as they are with wordplay, and it was just a genuine pleasure to watch two such talented friends act alongside one another. The audience was also one of the best I have shared a theater with; their respect for the actors and play was obvious and there was no inappropriate talking, cell phone usage, or other distractions.<br />
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Their epic bromance lives on!</div>
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Did I mention the adorable dance routine they performed at the curtain call?</div>
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Right before the curtain went up....we were practically giddy with excitement.</div>
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The show let out around 10:30, but our day wasn't over yet. We headed back to Caroline's to pick up our bags (she was kind enough to let us leave our stuff at her place) and then we journeyed over 100 blocks north to my friend Sarah's place where we were spending the night. It ended up being something of an adventure--I won't get into details, but let's just say it involved a dead cell phone battery, my not writing Sarah's phone number down before the phone died, Dori and I remembering the wrong house number, and a very kind deli-counter worker with a battery charger. Despite the hiccups, we finally got to Sarah's and settled in for a night's sleep.<br />
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We had hoped to make it to the gym in the morning, but because of a noon brunch reservation and a late opening time of the gym, it didn't work out (we were of course, DEVASTATED). Instead, we had a bit of a lie-in, grabbed some coffee at a tiny, adorable coffee shop down the street, and took the subway back to midtown to meet up with Caroline and Joe and walk to Union Square, where we also met up with a friend of Dorilyn's, Dave, who lives in Queens.<br />
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What was in Union Square? Only some place I have been trying to visit for the last couple years: <a href="http://maxbrenner.com/">Max Brenner</a>, a restaurant that believes in "creating a new chocolate culture worldwide." Most of the items involve chocolate of some kind and other sweets. Example: sandwiches are served on rosemary waffles instead of bread and the pizza is actually a sweet pizza crust topped with chocolate and mini marshmallows. Fries are dusted with coca powder and salads come on top of a corn waffle.<br />
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So yeah. To say I was looking forward to eating there was a bit of an understatement.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-05dCwR7hgfQ/UxSj_pN5zmI/AAAAAAAALXY/tHInZq8mifs/s1600/0302141323a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-05dCwR7hgfQ/UxSj_pN5zmI/AAAAAAAALXY/tHInZq8mifs/s1600/0302141323a.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>The <a href="http://maxbrenner.com/menus/restaurant-nyc/food-menu-nyc.pdf">food</a> and <a href="http://maxbrenner.com/menus/restaurant-nyc/dessert-menu-nyc.pdf">dessert </a>menus are extensive and creative. Everything we had was tasty and decadent, but aide from a few standouts, it wasn't really anything too terribly special. The regular food is on par in terms of quality with your typical chain sit-down restaurant (think Ruby Tuesday, etc.) except for the unusual ingredients and construction. The desserts were all delicious, but again except for a few items, didn't really blow my mind. The real appeal of Max Brenner is the experience, the presentation, and the fun of ordering things like the Spectacular Melting Chocolate S'mores Sundae. And the indulgence of all that chocolate. The chocolate was amazing.<br />
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And now it's time for some food porn (apologies for the yellow tint in the pics, my cell phone camera isn't great at taking indoor photos):<br />
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Hands down, the best thing I had was the Italian Hot Chocolate (available in milk, dark, and white chocolate). I had the milk chocolate, and it's a very thick warm hot chocolate with added vanilla cream. Completely and utterly delicious. It's also served in a special mug called the "Hug Mug" since you have to hold it with both hands to sip.<br />
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It really was like a warm chocolatey hug.</div>
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We were there for brunch after all, so I ordered the goat cheese and spinach omelet. The eggs were ok, as was the sugar-dusted biscuit, but the spicy breakfast potatoes and little dish of chocolate (for biscuit dipping) were the stand outs here.<br />
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And now the desserts:<br />
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The above-mentioned S'more Sundae. Chocolate peanut butter ice cream, with toasted marshmallow, fudge, graham crackers, and peanut butter sauce. Ice cream is always yummy, but I couldn't really taste any of the peanut butter. It was good, but not great.<br />
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My other favorite item: the OMG dark chocolate chunk cookie served with strawberries, whip cream, and pourable chocolate. The cookie was fantastic: warm, crispy outside, soft inside. Kind of like a brownie in consistency Yum!<br />
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Dessert #3: chocolate cherry waffles. A waffle covered in chocolate, whip cream, and what was essentially cherry pie filling. The cherry filling could have come from a can and all the other toppings basically masked the flavor of the waffle. Again, you can't call something that looks like this anything other than delicious, but still, not the best dessert ever.<br />
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Pourable chocolate served in little beakers. So cute.</div>
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DC peeps: don't feel like your Max Brenner dreams can never come true. They opened a dessert bar in Bethesda last year that includes all the desserts on the NY menu, but not the actual food menu items. And there are also locations in Vegas and Philadelphia.<br />
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After stuffing ourselves with chocolate and sugar we needed an activity that didn't require too much physical exertion. Good thing Union Square is also home to a huge bookstore, <a href="http://www.strandbooks.com/">The Strand</a>. If you're familiar with Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, it's kind of like that. A huge, sprawling, wonderland for book lover's filled with used and new books of all kinds. I could have spent all day in there, but alas, we only had about an hour and a half. Still, we all found some books and we headed back to Midtown flush with chocolate and excited to read our new books.<br />
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Unfortunately, by that time Dori and I had to head out to catch our 5:00 bus home. There was a large snow storm headed for DC, so Dori and I were fervently hoping we would make it back before the weather hit. Turns out we didn't have anything to worry about--we got on the bus with no trouble and made it back to DC in around 4 hours with no traffic and only a little rain.<br />
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All in all? It was kind of a perfect visit.<br />
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Next excuse for a trip to NYC? Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams in <a href="http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/shows-events/cabaret.aspx">Cabaret</a>. YES, PLEASE.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Me and Dori heading home on the bus. Until next time, New York!</span></div>
<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-48728823334638995182014-02-18T10:12:00.001-05:002014-02-18T10:12:18.305-05:00Snow and PancakesIt wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be relaxing in Los Angeles with my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and adorable two year-old nephew. There was going to be sunshine, temperatures in the 70s, a Scottish festival at the Queen Mary, and hanging out with my awesome LA friends on Saturday night.<br />
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Instead? There was snow. Lots and lots of snow. Well, lots of snow for the DC area. When a large storm from the South roared into town on Wednesday night, I knew the writing was on the wall for my Thursday morning flight. So it was not a surprise when I got an email from my airline telling me the flight was cancelled and all the other flights on Friday and Saturday were full.<br />
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So here, I am. Day 4 of my unplanned staycation.<br />
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I did surprisingly well finding things to fill my time. I don't think I've ever ended up with a holiday weekend at home with NOTHING planned. But Thursday and Friday I worked at home (and didn't have to use any leave), and this weekend was full of gaming fun with friends, hitting H street Saturday night, lunches with family, and doing some retail damage at the President's Day sale at Macy's.<br />
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And that brings me to today, Tuesday, the last day of my staycation. I've got pretty much nothing planned except catching up on reading, binge-watching <i>House of Cards</i> Season 2, and running some pretty typical errands.<br />
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Being at home has also had the added benefit of allowing me time to try out some new recipes, specifically, pancake recipes. Maybe it's the cold weather or all the snow, but for some reason, I have been hankering for some pancakes. But as you all know, I have been trying to stick to a healthy low calorie diet and big, fluffy, carby pancakes aren't really part of the plan.<br />
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Good thing there's the internet! During the past few days I have tried out two new low calorie pancake recipes, with mixed results. First was a <a href="http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/12/snickerdoodle-pancakes/">Snickerdoodle Pancake</a> recipe from one of my new favorite blogs, <a href="http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/">Chocolate Covered Katie</a>. I don't know how she does it, but this chick makes dessert recipes that are low calorie and packed with good things like fiber and protein.<br />
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Most things I have tried from there have been very good, but the snickerdoodle pancakes I would have to rate as just so-so. Don't get me wrong, they were tasty, but not very snickerdoodle-y. But that could be my fault since I replaced the sugar in the recipe with just a teaspoon of Splenda. So it's possible I needed more sweetener.<br />
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The recipe cooked up three nice-sized pancakes! I missed the actual Snickerdoodle taste and the texture was a little off, but overall it wasn't bad.</div>
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With a quarter cup of sugar-free syrup, these weighed in at 300 calories. I used regular all-purpose flour, 1 tsp of Splenda, and light soymilk. </div>
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If you are familiar with diet-friendly pancakes, then you probably know that they tend to have a slightly different texture than regular pancakes. They are denser and not as sweet (obviously), and these ended up a bit sticky--they were cooked all the way through, but just kind of sticky. Still, they helped scratch the pancake itch!<br />
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My second recipe was much more successful. Y'all know I am a huge fan of the Hungry Girl recipes, and I found her basic pancake recipe (<a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/askhg/show/2679-a-perfect-pancake-recipe-and-eating-smart-on-vacation">Perfect Pancake Duo</a>) in a past daily email. I love that you get two big pancakes out of it and the nutritional info is for the entire recipe. So you can eat all that you cook and not feel like a glutton. The only change I made was adding a half cup of blueberries which ended up being plenty. But then, I love blueberries.<br />
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These cooked up really nicely--they needed to stay on the griddle/pan for a little longer than your standard pancakes, about two to three minutes per side. But they cooked up thick with a nice "crust" on the outside and soft inside. Overall? It was a winner and by new go-to pancake recipe!<br />
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I'm kind of strange and cut up my pancakes completely before pouring syrup on them. I find it lets them soak up more of the syrup! You can also see all the blueberries in these two pancakes;I think next time I will add more cinnamon as well.<br />
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With the addition of the blueberries and sugar-free syrup, these stacked up (get it?) at 262 calories. Not. Too. Shabby. Recipe below!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hungry Girl Perfect Pancake Duo
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<u>Ingredients</u><br />
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1/3 cup whole-wheat flour<br />
1/2 tsp. baking powder<br />
1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)<br />
Dash salt<br />
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)<br />
1/8 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
Optional: cinnamon and half cup blueberries<br />
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<u> Directions</u><br />
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In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sweetener, and salt. If you like, add a dash of cinnamon. Stir in egg substitute, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup water.
Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add half of the batter to form a large pancake. Cook until pancake begins to bubble and is solid enough to flip, about 2 minutes. Gently flip and cook until both sides are lightly browned and inside is cooked through, 1 - 2 minutes.
Plate your pancake. Remove skillet from heat, re-spray, and return to medium-high heat. Repeat with remaining batter to make a second pancake. Enjoy!<br />
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<u>Nutritional Information</u><br />
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Entire recipe (2 pancakes): 180 calories, 1g fat, 515mg sodium, 32g carbs, 5g fiber, 1g sugars, 11.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 4*Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-36169440004320248422014-01-14T07:36:00.001-05:002014-01-14T07:58:13.796-05:00Captain William Bruce Overstreet, 1921-2013.Children rarely concern themselves with the lives of adults. When you're a kid, the grown-ups around you seem to live in a kind of bubble where they don't exist except for when you see them. Remember the first time you saw a teacher outside of school? It was strange. Didn't your teacher just....live at school all the time or something?<br />
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It's no different with the adults in our families. So when Mom would pack up me and my brother and take us down to Roanoke to see our great Uncle Bill and great Aunt Nita, I never spent a moment thinking about the lives they led before knowing us. We would sit in their living room telling stories at Christmas, or see them at Aunt Melvene's cabin in Goshen, Virginia, or wander around Clifton Forge together, the small town in Virginia where Uncle Bill was raised. Bill was always there...usually seated in his favorite chair, with his pipe in hand, laughing and chatting.<br />
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But I didn't know he was a hero.<br />
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We bat around the word "hero" a lot. And don't get me wrong--people like teachers, firefighters, policemen, and heck, even the person who gives up a seat on the metro for a pregnant lady, are deserving of the title. But until this past weekend, I had no idea that my great Uncle Bill--the quiet man with the pipe and twinkle in his eye--was an honest to god war hero.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pirmUtqNJZ4/UtR2iRXZWfI/AAAAAAAAKF8/Lpunv2NP9ho/s1600/2012+Greenbrier+Air+Show+048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pirmUtqNJZ4/UtR2iRXZWfI/AAAAAAAAKF8/Lpunv2NP9ho/s320/2012+Greenbrier+Air+Show+048.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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At the Greenbrier Air Show in 2012.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta_D_r6k0Ek/UtR4yddhb-I/AAAAAAAAKGM/uGNe96M0jg4/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ta_D_r6k0Ek/UtR4yddhb-I/AAAAAAAAKGM/uGNe96M0jg4/s320/IMG_1574.JPG" width="240" /></a>William Bruce Overstreet, Jr., born on April 10, 1921, passed away on Sunday afternoon, December 29, 2013.<br />
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"He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. Bill was a highly decorated combat veteran with the 357th Fighter Group.<br />
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After the war, he began his career in Roanoke as a CPA in his own practice. Bill was active in several charitable organizations, both locally and nationally. He was a member of The Businessmen’s Club and the Big Lick Breakfast Club, whose members will be honorary pallbearers at the grave. He will truly be remembered as an honorable and generous individual to his family and country. Bill was a native of Clifton Forge, the son of the late William B. and Gertrude Taylor Overstreet. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Nita Brackens Overstreet; and two sisters, Bernice Overstreet Meiselman, of Alexandria, and Melvene Overstreet Marks, of Rocky Mount, NC."<br />
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The above is from Bill's <a href="http://www.memorialsolutions.com/sitemaker/memsol.cgi?user_id=1204221">official obituary</a>. But it's just the tip of the iceberg. "Highly decorated combat veteran?" Oh, honey. Let me fill you in.<br />
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Bill Overstreet flew over 100 combat missions as part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/357th_Fighter_Group">357th Fighter Group</a>, a combat unit of the Army Air Forces during WWII. Alongside Chuck Yeager and Bud Anderson, Uncle Bill flew a P-51C Mustang ("The Berlin Express") from a small airfield in Leiston, England to France the defend the skies of Paris from Nazi aircraft. He also flew missions to Germany, Eastern Europe, and Italy.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDy1cyvc4Hk/UtR4y_lt45I/AAAAAAAAKGU/LBXs4SeGCSc/s1600/IMG_1551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDy1cyvc4Hk/UtR4y_lt45I/AAAAAAAAKGU/LBXs4SeGCSc/s200/IMG_1551.JPG" width="200" /></a>His war service sounds more like a movie: he was shot down/crashed several times, survived a broken oxygen line that caused him to pass out in the cockpit, and was even captured by the Germans and managed to escape.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.vmt.org/">Virginia Museum of Transportation</a> features Uncle Bill in its Wings Over Virginia Aviation Gallery with an exhibit called Flight Talk, that includes video of Bill discussing his more dramatic wartime moments. Regarding his capture and escape, he relates that he was placed in the back of a vehicle with two Nazi Stormtroopers in the front seat. A large wrench had been left in the back and he was able to hit the Nazis on the head and take the vehicle into the French countryside. He hid out in the woods surrounding a town until he was able to find a clergyman who could help him contact the French Resistance and get back to his base.<br />
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To hear Bill tell it, it was just another day at the office.<br />
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But his most memorable moment was in the Spring of 1944 when he pursued a German aircraft under the Eifell Tower during a dogfight. According to the <a href="http://www.roanoke.com/news/article_378d4b12-7290-11e3-b390-0019bb30f31a.html">Roanoke Times</a>, "Overstreet’s most famous flight came while in solo pursuit of a German Messerschmitt Bf 109G flying into Nazi-occupied Paris. He maneuvered his plane beneath the arches of the Eiffel Tower, re-igniting the spirit of the French Resistance troops on the ground." Bill's pursuit and destruction of the Nazi plane over Paris was a seminal moment for the French, and inspired a three day uprising in the Nazi-held city.<br />
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A painting of Bill's "The Berlin Express" flying under the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a Nazi plane, by Len Krenzler.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJNnGIijaNQ/UtR7AXoH0JI/AAAAAAAAKHE/ebC0WAmJJyo/s1600/Captain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dJNnGIijaNQ/UtR7AXoH0JI/AAAAAAAAKHE/ebC0WAmJJyo/s320/Captain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the cockpit!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_ZYY7nSh0E/UtR1Ll8KIhI/AAAAAAAAKFs/x4vJInPFSLk/s1600/Bill+O+Medals+(3)+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-o_ZYY7nSh0E/UtR1Ll8KIhI/AAAAAAAAKFs/x4vJInPFSLk/s200/Bill+O+Medals+(3)+004.jpg" width="150" /></a>In <a href="http://theroanokestar.com/2009/12/10/wwii-pilot-receives-%E2%80%9Clegion-of-honor%E2%80%9D/">December 2009</a>, Bill was awarded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Honour">French Legion of Honor</a> at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford County, Virginia by His Excellency Pierre Vimont, the Ambassador of France to the United States of America. It is the highest honor bestowed by the French nation and gave Bill the title of "Chevalier," or knight. At the ceremony, the Ambassador acknowledged Bill's many acts of bravery and stated that he and his fellow American soldiers helped liberate France from the Nazis and inspired the Resistance to carry on in the face of seemingly-impossible odds. Bill, always the most modest of men, accepted the award on behalf of his friend and comrade, <a href="http://www.cebudanderson.com/simpson.htm">Eddie Simpson</a>, who died during the war fighting a group of Germans in order to give a group of French Resistance fighters an opportunity to escape.<br />
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I knew generally of Uncle Bill's war service when I was younger, but learned the details of his heroism in the last few years. Many of the stories I heard for the first time recently, when we traveled to Roanoke for his memorial service. His passing was difficult for everyone in our family, but especially for my Mom, who was very close to Uncle Bill. But the sadness of his passing was tempered with a need to celebrate his life, to shout his deeds from the hilltops for all to hear. He never would have spoken of his own achievements; to him, he was only one man doing his duty and it was others who showed true bravery.<br />
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The weekend in Roanoke was full of remembrances; we visited the Virginia Museum of Transportation along with one of Bill's dear friends to view and record his Flight Talk videos. There was a visitation on Friday afternoon and evening at Oakey's Roanoke Chapel with all of Bill's friends and family, and the chapel was full of people for a solid 4 hours. In my experience, these types of events are somber and depressing, but in Bill's case there were so many people with stories to share of his life that I was fascinated and proud rather than tearful.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1JzwSLlqGU/UtR2hq_XumI/AAAAAAAAKF4/A3HlYPc6R5A/s1600/20121112_142230(0).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k1JzwSLlqGU/UtR2hq_XumI/AAAAAAAAKF4/A3HlYPc6R5A/s320/20121112_142230(0).jpg" width="320" /></a>I learned of Bill's charitable work with the Salvation Army and numerous other organizations. He visited local schools and spoke to kids about his wartime service and became close friends with many of the teachers, and the students themselves. It's rare to find a person of Bill's age that can connect with teenagers, but many of the students came to the visitation to pay their respects to a man whom they admired not only for what he had accomplished in his life, but for the way he could talk and interact with them. I also met people who knew Bill from his work as a CPA and after retirement, with his participation in accounting organizations, and The Businessmen's Club and <a href="http://theroanokestar.com/2011/11/10/revamped-big-lick-breakfast-club-focuses-on-giving/">The Big Lick Breakfast Club</a>. He had more true friends than anyone I have ever known.<br />
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The internment and memorial service on Saturday were just the way he would have wanted them; beautiful, honest, and without pomp. We braved the frigid temperatures to see Bill's casket brought to the burial site and a flyover of P-51 Mustangs was the perfect tribute. The Memorial Service was held at the <a href="http://www.spres.org/">Second Presbyterian Church</a> in Roanoke, and was led by the local minister and two of Bill's closest friends: his cousin John Adams (whom we all know as Buck) and his close friend, Pastor Jeff Clemens, a combat veteran of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps. They each spoke eloquently of Bill's life, with Jeff focusing on Bill's military service and Buck telling of Bill's life with his family and wife, my great Aunt Nita. It was not a full service (there was no communion), but the readings, poems, and hymns were all appropriate and perfect. I will never sing <i>America, the Beautiful </i>again<i> </i>without thinking of Uncle Bill.<br />
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Our time in Roanoke ended with Bill's closest family and friends gathering for dinner in <a href="http://www.theroanokerrestaurant.com/pages/index.html">The Roanoker</a>, his favorite restaurant. We shared more stories and learned about Bill, and in many cases, about each other. This was my extended family, and making connection with them is one of the things I will treasure most about the weekend. Emails, texts, and phone numbers were exchanged along with promises to see each other soon. Promises we will hopefully be able to keep.<br />
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I hope that this post will serve as a tribute to my great Uncle, the type of man who would never brag or acknowledge his accomplishments as anything more than a man doing his duty for family, country, and God. His story has been told and retold in the local and national news over the past few weeks; <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/01/02/wwii-eiffel-tower-fighter-pilot/4296873/">USA Today</a>, <a href="http://www.npr.org/2014/01/03/259432775/bill-overstreet-famed-wwii-fighter-pilot-dies-at-92">NPR</a>, and even CBS Sunday Morning have spoken of Bill Overstreet. But it is us, his family and friends, who must make sure that his story (and those of his comrades like Eddie Simpson) are never forgotten.<br />
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I hate to resort to cliche here at the end, but in Bill's case I can't think of anything else to say except: they don't make them like that anymore. He truly was part of the Greatest Generation and the world was a better place with him in it.<br />
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Uncle Bill and Aunt Nita.</div>
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One last act of respect.</div>
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Flyover of the P-51 Mustangs.</div>
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A gift from the Salvation Army at the Memorial Service. The Salvation Army provided doughnuts to the servicemen during the war, so they sent a plate to the church for the reception.</div>
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The Roanoker printed up a really nice menu for the family dinner after the service.</div>
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Mom and Uncle Bill.</div>
<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-88087550990817938422013-12-30T18:02:00.001-05:002013-12-30T18:02:42.698-05:00Total and Complete Cookie DominationAh, the holidays. There are many things to love about them: the brisk air and chance of snow, reconnecting with friends and family, all the lights and decorations....but come on. We all know what the best part is: THE COOKIES.<br />
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Every year, I host a cookie swap. It has gotten...shall we say, larger as the years go on, and this year I think we might have finally outdone ourselves. Squeezing 25 people into my one bedroom apartment is something of a challenge, but my god, the cookies. We had about 30 types of cookies and it was a beautiful thing.<br />
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Table #1 at the swap (as much of it as would fit in the camera frame)...</div>
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...and table #2, complete with gingerbread house centerpiece!</div>
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In case you are unfamiliar with a cookie swap, it's pretty simple. Every person bakes a large batch of one type of homemade cookies. Everybody's cookies are placed on a table and then you walk around with an empty container and fill it with all different types of cookies. So you come in to the swap with one type of cookie and leave with dozens and dozens of different types! Your holiday baking = done.<br />
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Your waistline = huge, but that's a post for another day. This is the holidays and even I allow myself some indulgences.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ie3Y-3W8R-U/UsH46goQnOI/AAAAAAAAJ9M/-fWIlLQr3nI/s1600/IMG_1413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ie3Y-3W8R-U/UsH46goQnOI/AAAAAAAAJ9M/-fWIlLQr3nI/s200/IMG_1413.JPG" width="200" /></a>We had an amazing spread this year; several people brought more than one type of cookie so the tables were practically groaning from all the cookie goodness. But that's what you want from a successful swap: lots of cookies, smiles, and laughs and we had all that in spades.<br />
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So what did I make? I decided to try some new recipes this year. First, I wanted something a little more standard for the holidays, and this <a href="http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/peppermint-meltaways.html">Peppermint Meltaways</a> recipe from the Cooking Channel website looked fun (full recipe below). It's a crumbly shortbread style cookie with a Hershey chocolate kiss hidden in the middle. You then roll the cookie in powdered sugar and crushed candy canes. Yum!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Xkajr2-yNM/UsH4vD5p3EI/AAAAAAAAJ78/x95A9C7qM80/s1600/1209131041a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8Xkajr2-yNM/UsH4vD5p3EI/AAAAAAAAJ78/x95A9C7qM80/s200/1209131041a.jpg" width="200" /></a>For my second cookie, I decided to try something a little more unusual. There were more boys than usual planning to attend the swap, so I thought something using bacon might be fun to try. Bacon is also a big trend in baking right now, and hello, it's bacon. So when I came across this <a href="http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/nadia-g/candied-bacon-and-dark-chocolate-chunk-cookies.html">Candied Bacon and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookie</a> recipe, it seemed perfect. All in all, I think they came out pretty splendidly. And when I caramelized the bacon in the oven it made the entire house smell AMAZING.<br />
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More pictures, links, and recipes for cookies I have made this holiday season below. You've only got two more days before those New Years resolutions kick in, so happy baking!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyWdMvTY_ww/UsH4vRbCnWI/AAAAAAAAJ8A/H1GFX-b3Ook/s1600/1208131907b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YyWdMvTY_ww/UsH4vRbCnWI/AAAAAAAAJ8A/H1GFX-b3Ook/s320/1208131907b.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;">Peppermint Meltaways</span></b><br />
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1 cup powdered sugar<br />
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened<br />
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract<br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1/8 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 cup finely crushed peppermint candies or candy canes<br />
24 chocolate Hershey's Kisses<br />
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add the peppermint extract and mix to combine. Next, slowly add the flour and salt, mixing until just combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the peppermint candies.
Roll the dough into twenty-four 1 1/2-inch balls. Insert 1 chocolate morsel into each ball and re-roll to ensure that the cookie dough encases the chocolate. Next, transfer to the bowl with the powdered sugar and crushed candies rolling each to coat.
Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until they start to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to wire cooling rack. Cool until they are just cool enough to handle, 5 minutes. Return the cookies to the bowl with the powdered sugar and crushed candies and toss gently until each cookie is coated.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Candied Bacon and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies</span></b><br />
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CANDIED BACON:<br />
8 strips applewood-smoked bacon<br />
1/4 cup raw sugar<br />
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper<br />
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COOKIES:<br />
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1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour<br />
1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt<br />
3/4 cup melted unsalted butter, at room temperature<br />
3/4 cup raw sugar, pulverized<br />
2 egg yolks<br />
1 to 2 teaspoons maple extract<br />
1 cup dark chocolate, chopped<br />
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For the candied bacon: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and set it aside. Lay the bacon strips in a single layer on a wire rack, and coat the tops completely and evenly with the raw sugar. Lightly press the sugar into the bacon strips, sprinkle them with the cayenne, and transfer the rack to the lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until the bacon is deep red and very caramelized. Check on the bacon frequently; the cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the bacon. Use tongs to remove the candied bacon from the baking sheet, and transfer the slices to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, roughly chop.<br />
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For the cookies: With the oven rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, egg yolks and maple extract with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is well blended. Stir in the dry ingredients and the dark chocolate chunks.
With a spoon, drop 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Flatten lightly with your fingers, then press your thumb down the center of each cookie to make a slight indent. Add a tablespoon of chopped candied bacon to the center of each cookie. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies will be a bit soft but will firm up when cooled and become chewy. For crunchier cookies bake for 15 minutes, taking care not to burn the bacon by covering the cookies loosely with aluminum foil.<br />
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<a href="http://www.self.com/fooddiet/recipes/2012/12/flourless-chocolate-walnut-cookies">Flourless chocolate walnut cookies</a> (from Self.com)</div>
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My grandmother's puffy and silky <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2012/12/cookie-maaaaaaaaaadness.html">Ricotta cookies </a>(from my cookie swap blog post last year).<br />
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The best cookie ever: <a href="http://redmomma3.blogspot.com/2012/12/cookie-maaaaaaaaaadness.html">Andes Chocolate Mint Cookies</a> (originally from Cook's Country, but reproduced on my blog).</div>
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Bonus cookie porn from my work cookie swap: the aftermath!</div>
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<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14738105.post-32428368880024318172013-11-22T18:53:00.005-05:002013-11-22T18:53:41.442-05:00The European Union and AntwerpAlrighty, let's wrap up this Belgium trip, shall we? I am sure you are all tired about reading how great a time I had and how delicious the food, chocolate, and beer was...but there are still some tales to tell.<br />
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First up, the EU! Brussels is the <i>de facto</i> capitol of the EU (there's no official EU capitol) and is home to the seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, as well as one of the European Parliaments. The public doesn't have access to these buildings right now (due to "renovations"--which I think means security issues), but the European Parliament's Visitors Center, the <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/visiting/en/visits/parlamentarium.html">Parlamentarium</a>, is open for business.<br />
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Old and new meet at the EU buildings.</div>
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My friend Jonathan and I visited the Parlamentarium the Friday I was in town, and I honestly didn't know what to expect. Visitors centers can be tricky, they are usually just be a boring collection of exhibits with no real context. I am, however, happy to report that the Parlamentarium was really interesting and well worth a visit.<br />
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Admission is free and audio guides are provided in tons of different languages. The center is the most technologically advanced I have ever visited and the story of the EU is presented through documents, photographs, maps, speeches, etc. All the features are interactive and allow visitors to focus on what they find specifically interesting. For me that was pretty much everything, since my knowledge of the EU is limited. I took a government class on it in college, but let's be honest--that was more years ago then I care to confess.<br />
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Hmm...this audioguide is actually pretty cool.</div>
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Moving through the exhibits at the Parlamentarium.</div>
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After you learn about the history of the EU, you get a chance to see the parliament in action--kinda. You go to a room with a 360 degree huge screen showing the members voting, speechifying, and otherwise conducting the business of the day. It's completely immersive and also gives you a chance to play a kind of "choose your adventure" game where you use an interactive screen to put together a piece of environmental legislation. I am sad to report that Jonathan and I both failed as our bills didn't pass, but I'm not sure how much of it is our fault. The process by which things gets done in the EU is agonizingly slow and labyrinthine, it's kind of amazing anything gets done there at all.<br />
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At the end of the tour, you can move kiosks around over a huge map of Europe and screens display information and videos of what goes in various EU facilities and cities. </div>
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I'll spare you any poetic words re: the EU, but I will say that it's kind of amazing how the countries have been able to tie themselves together so closely as to render the possibility of armed conflict impossible. Can anyone really imagine France and Germany going to war now? (cue smartass response)</div>
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And now, on to Antwerp! On Saturday, Jonathan and I took a day trip to the second most populous city in Belgium and home of one of the busiest ports in Europe. I don't know much about the history of the city, except that its economic development was limited in the seventeenth century as punishment for its role as a center of Dutch revolts. Things really turned around for Antwerp though in the twentieth century and now it's a bustling place. </div>
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Strangely, the most impressive feature is actually the train station. It was built between 1895 and 1905 and is covered with glass and iron. Once you come out of the train station, it's a short walk down the main shopping street to the Grote Market, the touristy and medieval center of the city. We followed the Rick Steve's self-guided walking tour which pointed out the main historic sites, but nothing really grabbed our fancy.</div>
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Inside the Antwerp Centraal Train Station....</div>
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....and the outside!</div>
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We couldn't afford to get distracted as our trip to Antwep had a purpose. And that purpose was two-fold: fashion and beer.</div>
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Our first visit was to the <a href="http://www.momu.be/en/index_momu.jsp?layout=momu">Mode Museum </a>(MoMu), the museum of fashion in Antwerp. Turns out Antwerp has quite a reputation for fashion, starting with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerp_Six">Antwerp Six</a>, a group of fashion students who made a big splash at fashion shows in London in the 1980s. Since then, Antwerp has been known for its <i>avant garde </i>fashion designers. The MoMu was showing an exhibition celebrating the last 50 years of fashion from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwep, the years when the Academy really made a name for itself on the fashion map. </div>
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The exhibition includes pieces from various collections created by fashion students through the years, loosely grouped by the inspiration. </div>
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Our next stop in Antwerp was de Kulminator, considered the finest beer bar in the entire world. Let me say that again in case you didn't catch it:</div>
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I went to the best beer bar in the WHOLE WORLD.</div>
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And I can see why. If you are looking for character, yeah, it's got that in spades. The place is tiny and other than the long bar when you first walk in, makes you feel that you are drinking in the cozy (if cluttered) home of the older couple proprietors. There's almost a Harry Potter/Diagon Alley vibe to the place; I don't think I would have been too surprised if a house elf popped up behind the bar or a Hogwarts professor walked in the door. There are stacks of newspapers, books, board games, and other random items everywhere.</div>
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It looks modest outside...</div>
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...and is crammed full of stuff! Check out the papers and games taking up the entire table in the foreground. </div>
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Sante!</div>
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The beer bible, aka the menu.</div>
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Don't expect fast service though. The bar is run by an older gentleman and his wife; you order with her at the bar, he trundles down to the basement beer cellar to get most items, and then she brings you your beer in the appropriate glass. When the place gets busy, as it does quite easily thanks to the small size, it can take about 20 minutes to get your order filled. But the ambiance, people, and menu are so interesting at de Kulminator, you'll never be bored. Jonathan and I struck up a conversation with a nice guy from Amsterdam (by way of Finland) who shared our table and had a great time just sitting and drinking some beers.<br />
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Well, that's it! Thus end my tales of Belgium. Thanks to Jonathan for an amazing trip and I am already planning when I can go back in 2014! After all, there is still lots of chocolate to eat and beer to drink!<br />
<br />Maggie Catshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09883765124150271927noreply@blogger.com0