Foodie Penpal | May

I’m so excited to share my experience with Foodie Pen pals.

I signed up for the month of May and my foodie penpal was Jenni. I was so nervous the entire process because I didn’t know if she’d like anything I picked out.

Not only that, but she has diabetes and I don’t know the first thing about the complexities of her condition. All I thought about while I was shopping for her was, “I hope this doesn’t kill her......” A little dramatic yes, but I really wanted to get things she could eat.

Here’s what I sent:

|Photo credit to Jenni|

I forgot to take pictures of my package before I sent it off so I bugged her for a picture! I got a report back from Jenni saying that she enjoyed the food and obviously because I received an email I knew none of it killed her.

I received my package from Christine on the 18th and the food was pretty much gone within the next three days. But I did manage to take a few pictures before everyone dug in.

To say I was excited about the Trader Joe’s food is an understatement. Up until the time of getting my goodies, I had never been to Trader Joe’s, our area doesn’t have one.

Christine lives in Brooklyn, NY (one of our most favorite places) and in the note she sent along with the food she mentioned that the granola is made locally right in Brooklyn and sold at markets!
This granola was extremely good and we used it on our cereal and oatmeal.

We loved everything in the box, Reid especially loves the Mango Butter on toast and Bean single handily ate all the chocolate covered Edamame. But the real show pony of the entire package was the Trader Joe’s herb popcorn.

This bag of popcorn lasted about two hours in our house and I was the main culperate. But I don’t feel guilty for one piece of it. It’s the best popcorn I’ve ever had. I even tweeted about how great it was.

I am so happy with the box I received and I have already signed up for next month.

If you’re interested check it out:

Philadelphia | Talulas Garden

Mozart and I are back from our amazing trip to Philadelphia.
It was probably the best time we’ve had in a while. The places we went, the people we met, and the food.

Oh, the food.

Actually, the only thing I really took pictures of was what we ate. So even though you can’t taste how amazing these dishes were, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the pictures.

Our first stop was Talula’s Garden. It’s this really nice restaurant with an outside garden dining room tucked away on a major street, overlooking a little park. The inside was beautiful as well, but we decided to eat our meal in the garden.

We were lucky enough to have a great waiter who guided us through every menu option, creating an excellent meal and worry free experience.

For an appetizer we ordered salt, butter, and chive potatoes.

As our waiter placed the potatoes on our table, I looked around for salt and pepper. But there was none. After my first bite and true through our entire meal, I understood why the restaurant didn’t provide patrons with the seasonings- because they weren’t needed on any dish.

These potatoes didn’t last very long and I was going to save some of them for my entree but couldn’t help myself.

Next up were two mounds of perfection. Brioche with garlic pesto sauce.

 I actually wish they would have brought out multiple baskets with these and gallons of the sauce on the side and I almost asked for them to. But I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

For dinner I ordered brined Berkshire pork chop, charred runner beans, smoked onion puree, herbs, and natural pork jus. I was especially excited about this dish when our waiter told me they had slivers of grapes. I’ve had warm grapes before and loved them so I knew they’d go great with pork.

I didn’t leave one thing behind on my plate and the best part of the entire meal was how flavorful the pork was.

Mozart ordered local asparagus vinaigrette, and green garlic-herb sauce for a veggie side and sea whistle salmon, artichoke and spring vegetable barigioule, fennel-artichoke puree, herbs and saffron.

He really enjoyed his meal and now I wish I had tasted it but I was too busy with mine and enjoying the scenery.

As the evening grew darker, I took note of the beautiful lighting around us.

Our waiter suggested we go light for dessert and recommended Spring Strawberry Shortcake. It included two mini biscuits, basil scented berries, rhubarb sherbet, and Chantilly whipped cream.

I savored every single bit of this. It is the best dessert I’ve ever had. I didn’t know if I would enjoy the basil infused strawberries but they were devine. I told Mozart, most every bite, that I wanted to order this at least 5 more times.

At the end of our meal we were pleasantly full and thanked our waiter for his great service and guidance.

If you are ever in Philadelphia check this place out. Just make sure you make a reservation well in advance!

3 Years

Today we're celebrating our three year wedding anniversary.



Three years ago I promised:

I love you. 
You are my best friend and from this day forward
I promise you these things:


I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you,and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle.


I promise to love you in good times and in bad,when life seems easy and when it seems hard,when our love is simple, and when it takes effort.


I will share your laughter and your tears as your partner, lover and friend. 


I promise always to listen to you, respect you and honor you as an individual and to be conscious of your needs.


I will be committed to my growth and to the growth of our relationship
and to do this I promise to be honest and to communicate my needs and feelings, just as I promise to listen to yours.


I promise to accept you the way you are because I fell in love with you for the qualities, abilities, and outlook on life that you have, and I will not try to reshape you.


I promise to respect you as a person with your own interests, desires, and needs
and to realize that those are sometimes different, but no less important than my own. 


I promise to keep myself open to you, to let you see my fears and feelings, secrets and dreams.


I promise to grow along with you, to be willing to face change as we both change in order to keep our relationship alive and exciting.


Because of you, I laugh, I smile, I have hope, and I dare to dream.


I will always be the person that you can trust, talk to and the person that will always try to understand. 


I give myself completely as I am and as I will be, and I do it for all of life.

Three years ago he promised:

On our first date we picked up ‘Malcolm X’ at the post office.
I bought you a flower pot, and forgot the seeds.


You have probably planned our next 100 years together.


We have written and shared approx. 312 love letters, poems, and cards since we’ve met, and I promise this won’t be the last one.


You scrapbook everything, and will probably blog about our wedding after the ceremony.


I enjoy being fashionably late. You think; if your on time your late.


I have read the research, studied the books, and talked to all experts, but with all the knowledge in the world… I’m still unsure about most things, but certain about us.


I know these years together will be a balancing act of complementing our strengths.


Today we become one-My people will be your people.Your people will be my people.


This ceremony is a united front; that what we put before God and loved ones,no one lay asunder.


We will cast our friends and family as a supportive net,and always let God lead the way.
You are my confidante, my best friend, toughest critic, and strongest supporter.


My father told me that falling in love is silly, so each day we take together
I pray that we can grow in love.


In front of all the people we love, I commit myself to you as your husband.


I vow to honor and respect you all of of our days.I vow to build trust through my words and actions.
I vow to support you, and let your joy be my joy,your heat-break, be my heart break.


I will be here to laugh with you, and be here to cry with you.


I have no illusions, time is short, we are mere specks in the universe’s history.


I take you as my wife, and promise to never count the years, never to watch the months or days, but to always cherish our moments together.

Happy 3 years to us!

Right Now

Right Now I am

Krisatomic via Spring Diary

::: looking forward to my wedding anniversary celebrations

::: excited about a few restaurants we have reservations for

::: trying not to over heat in this warm weather

::: preparing our family for a wonderful and busy summer

::: thinking of all the berries that will be picked in the coming months

::: trying to take deep breaths

::: picking up my camera more

::: attempting to use kinder words

::: enjoying the things that make Syracuse lovable

::: anticipating fun times to be had in the coming weeks with no children

::: taking extra time to snuggle my cuddle bug

::: attempting to redirect my very strong willed daughter

::: wishing I had flowers on my table

::: thinking of a pie to make

::: loving my life where its at right now

::: trying not to look so far into the future

What are you doing right now?

Frugal Travel | Airbnb Review

Where do you stay in an awesome city when you ain't gots no monies?

Not at a hostel, that's for sure.

Mozart and I wish we could travel more. We love traveling. Mostly for the different food adventures.

But we aren't rollin' in the dough. We have expenses and budgets just like everyone else. So we have to be smart about our money.

When $200 a night hotels are out of the question, we turn to Airbnb.

We discovered Airbnb from a friend who is pretty much a nomad. We didn't know if our four day trip to NYC was going to be possible a few years ago because hotel rooms were so expensive so when he suggested this website, we decided to take a look.

I admit I was a little nervous at first. 

Here are some tips we use to have a nice, clean, cheap, and safe stay:

Profile                                                                                                

You don't have to go crazy with this. Just a simple picture and who you are in a couple sentences. Hosts like to get a gimplse of potential renters.

Determine Your Price Point

Airbnb hosts a lot of properties at every price point. When searching, select your maximum price and it will weed out all properties that cost more than your maximum. 

Choosing a price point is important. Don't go too cheap or you may end up staying in some shady locations. But don't choose too high. After all, the goal of Airbnb is to beat hotel prices.

Dates

Airbnb also has a great feature that will allow you to put in your desired dates. Any property not available during your desired stay will not be shown. This saves time and frustration.

Location

Depending on how comfortable you are in the city with driving or public transportation, choose a property close to the reason you're traveling.

Room or Apartment?

Choosing between a room or an apartment is a great search feature. Airbnb allows you to select all properties available, rooms, or entire apartments.

Some people may not be comfortable renting a room in the host's apartment while they are there. But ask! Sometimes hosts leave for your stay.

If staying in a room isn't for you, then select the apartment option in the search tool.

Read Reviews

I can't stress this enough! Read through all reviews.

Look for key words: clean, nice host, accommodating, safe, great location, pretty, easy check in/out, exactly as pictured.  

You want to make sure other people have been there before you, so we stay away from renting rooms or apartments with only a couple reviews, especially if they were longer than a year ago. 

Never, under any circumstance rent a place where the host has canceled on a guest. 

Apartment Tour

It's important the property is appealing to you. Usually hosts will show pictures of the bed, scenery, neighborhood, and amenities. 

Check for well made beds and organized rooms. If someone hasn't taken the time tidy a room before they photograph it, they may not be a good host.

House Rules and Amenities

Hosts have house rules, so read them!

No pets, no kids, no parties, empty trash, leave key on table. Things like that. Make sure you can follow these rules. Take note of the check in and out procedures and if there is a cleaning fee.

Amenities are also important. Properties can have washers and dryers, the internet and cable. Some even allow for kitchen access. 

Book it!

Once you've found your room or apartment click book it! 

You'll pay by either Paypal or credit/debit card for the dates you selected. However, the payment wont be taken until the host approves you. Once the host has accepted your reservation (usually within 24hrs) they will email you with all the information you'll need for your stay (directions to get to the apartment, security codes, key location, and their phone number).

I hope this was helpful. Mozart and I are actually staying at an apartment in Philly that we found on Airbnb for a weekend. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Comment below and tell me some horrific hotel stories or travel woes!

*I was not compensated for this post in any way*