Everyone else is doing one, so I guess I should, too.
I like Valentine's Day. I don't LOVE it, but I definitely don't hate it. It's another reason to get presents! Or, at the very least, some flowers or a card or candy, or hell, some wine. Josh and I have spent 7 Valentine's Days together. Some have been filled with tons of presents and dinner's out with dancing. Some have been nothing but a bouquet of flowers, and a card. It doesn't matter, though. It's still fun to get that stuff.
I don't really understand it when people say they hate the day, though. I mean, I guess if you're single and MISERABLE. But....even then, you get yourself a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates. How is that bad?? I don't feel any more loved on the day. I know some people say it's a made up holiday, created by the card companies. But.....isn't EVERY modern holiday just full of overt commercialism? Hell, look at Christmas!!! It's way more commercialized & "made-up" than Valentine's Day. Look at the religious aspects behind both of the days. They're both rooted in Christianity, but the celebration is so far removed from any truth behind the religious background, that it is almost a complete farce.
Yes, even though I'm not religious, I still know some stuff, people!!! :)
Anyway, why does that stuff really matter? Just have fun, people!! Those of you who "hate" Valentine's Day - quit being so dang curmudgeon-y!!! I'm one of the most cynical, complaint-filled people I can think of, but I still enjoy it.
Flowers are pretty, candy is delicious, wine is even more delicious. Just enjoy!!
Although, I do have to say that Josh and I both made bank this year.
I got a spa day (manicure, massage, facial), and a card. I gave Josh a craft I made, and I also booked us a hotel for 3 nights in Prague. Awesome, eh?
But, Prague will have to wait a month or two. This weekend is AMSTERDAM!!
Man, we're spoiled....
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Product Review - Koff'e
Well hello again. Keeping in line with my previous post (the Greek restaurant review), I decided to do a review on something I purchased recently. And, seeing as how it's poker night at my house, I have nothing better to do than to play online on a Friday night (I don't get to play poker with the boys, but I do get to cook their food :/ ).
Disclaimer: I'm pretty awesome, so I tend to like pretty awesome things. You have been warned.
I'm a sucker for a good deal. Now, I'm not a crazy couponer or anything. I'm way too lazy for that. BUT, I do love stuff like Groupon & LivingSocial. A few months ago, I found a site called Groopdealz. It's sort of like a Groupon, but for handmade, artsy-fartsy items (like what you would find on Etsy). Mostly it's jewelry, and other accessories. But, one time I found a deal for a 4-pack of Koff'e Body Treats products.
I had never heard of the company before, but I love trying new beauty products. The 4-pack included a solid lotion bar, a bath melt, a "pure luxury bar" (basically a bar of soap), and "lip butter" (came in a tube like chap stick).
The solid lotion bar was good. I picked the "cocoa mango" scent. The fragrance wasn't too strong, and it does a pretty good job moisturizing. I've had other solid lotion bars before, and honestly, they all do pretty much the same job. I've never thought of any of them as, "OHMYGOD THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING LOTION BAR EVER!!!". But, this brand was good.
The bath melt is the size of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I haven't tried it yet (I guess I should have, before I wrote this review...I just don't take that many baths).
The "Pure Luxury Bar" was AWESOME! Although, I'm just going to refer to it as "soap" from now on. The other name was just too long. I got the "Honey n Oats" scent. It has a layer of oats on the outside, for exfoliation. The thing smelled EXACTLY like an oatmeal cookie. It didn't give a lot of suds, but it was definitely creamy, and soothing (that sounded dirty). I have dry, itchy winter skin, and it really did a good job with moisturizing.
Now, the best part. The lip butter. I got the "Honey Child" flavor. This was seriously the best lip balm I have EVER used. And, I don't even LIKE lip balm. I use lip stain just so I don't have to feel the stickiness of lip stick. This "lip butter" keeps my lips soft & moisturized for what feels like forever. Plus, I've used it at least every other day for maybe two months (if not more) and I've only used maybe 1/4 of the tube. I am totally going to buy this lip butter all the time, now.
Seriously. Go to the Koff'e website, and buy some lip butter. Do it now!!
Disclaimer: I'm pretty awesome, so I tend to like pretty awesome things. You have been warned.
I'm a sucker for a good deal. Now, I'm not a crazy couponer or anything. I'm way too lazy for that. BUT, I do love stuff like Groupon & LivingSocial. A few months ago, I found a site called Groopdealz. It's sort of like a Groupon, but for handmade, artsy-fartsy items (like what you would find on Etsy). Mostly it's jewelry, and other accessories. But, one time I found a deal for a 4-pack of Koff'e Body Treats products.
I had never heard of the company before, but I love trying new beauty products. The 4-pack included a solid lotion bar, a bath melt, a "pure luxury bar" (basically a bar of soap), and "lip butter" (came in a tube like chap stick).
The solid lotion bar was good. I picked the "cocoa mango" scent. The fragrance wasn't too strong, and it does a pretty good job moisturizing. I've had other solid lotion bars before, and honestly, they all do pretty much the same job. I've never thought of any of them as, "OHMYGOD THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING LOTION BAR EVER!!!". But, this brand was good.
The bath melt is the size of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I haven't tried it yet (I guess I should have, before I wrote this review...I just don't take that many baths).
The "Pure Luxury Bar" was AWESOME! Although, I'm just going to refer to it as "soap" from now on. The other name was just too long. I got the "Honey n Oats" scent. It has a layer of oats on the outside, for exfoliation. The thing smelled EXACTLY like an oatmeal cookie. It didn't give a lot of suds, but it was definitely creamy, and soothing (that sounded dirty). I have dry, itchy winter skin, and it really did a good job with moisturizing.
Now, the best part. The lip butter. I got the "Honey Child" flavor. This was seriously the best lip balm I have EVER used. And, I don't even LIKE lip balm. I use lip stain just so I don't have to feel the stickiness of lip stick. This "lip butter" keeps my lips soft & moisturized for what feels like forever. Plus, I've used it at least every other day for maybe two months (if not more) and I've only used maybe 1/4 of the tube. I am totally going to buy this lip butter all the time, now.
Seriously. Go to the Koff'e website, and buy some lip butter. Do it now!!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Metaxa Restaurant in Ramstein
Hello, folks. I have been mulling over the idea to start a new blog - one just for reviews on restaurants, businesses, etc. But, since I have a hard enough time updating this blog, I don't think I'd be very good at managing two blogs. If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a procrastinator.
But, I do still want to review restaurants, and other places we go while we're here. Businesses around here don't have websites like they do in the States. If they do, it's more like an early 90s Geocities website or something. It ain't pretty. So, you really never no what you're going to get from a restaurant, except by word of mouth. And I have a big mouth that likes to eat, and likes to express strong opinions. So who better to review restaurants, eh? Also, I'm a vegetarian, and the hubby isn't, so I can cover both aspects of the food world.
I know these restaurant reviews don't really help people who don't live here....but, tough. Besides, all two people who read this blog will probably end up visiting us here in the not-too-distant future, and they may want to see what there is to eat around here.
Saturday night, Josh and I decided to go out to eat. I had a hankering for Greek food, so we tried this restaurant called Metaxa, in Ramstein (the town in which the Air Force base is located). I think Josh misread the name of the place, and thought we were going to a Mexican food restaurant. ;)
Anywho, it was a cute, family owned restaurant. I'd say 90% of the customers were Americans, which isn't that surprising, since we were probably 1/4 mile from the base entrance.
It was freezing outside (I think -1F?) so we were so thankful when the waitress seated us right next to the radiator. Soooooo cozy. And we only saw two people working the floor there - one lady who seated us and took our order, and then one guy who was our server.
Now, I love Greek food. I love strong flavors like feta, vinegars, olives, and also fresh veggies like tomatoes & cucumbers. Unfortunately, there weren't a ton of vegetarian choices. They did have pizzas, but who wants pizza from a Greek restaurant? Most of the appetizers were vegetarian, though, and they had a large selection of salads as well.
We ended up ordering tzatziki for an appetizer. I ordered the Greek salad (actually, it was just called the Farmer's Salad, but it was what I think of when I think of a Greek salad), and Josh ended up getting the "spezial" plate. It was basically schnitzel, with fries.
Right after we ordered our food, the waiter came over with two cups of some kind of chicken noodle soup. Josh said it was really good, and he ate both cups. (one, because I don't eat chicken, and two, because I didn't want them to think that I was being rude by not eating what they gave us for free. good thing he was really hungry that night)
After the soup, they brought our tzaziki. It came with a basket of bread slices, and also a cup of some kind of red pepper puree. The puree was just pure red bell pepper - very, very fresh flavor. And the tzaziki came drizzled with olive oil, and garnished with pepperoncini, kalamata olives, and cucumber slices. Oh em gee, it was soooo goooooooooood. Very fresh tasting.
Then, the main dishes. I am always a little worried when I order "just" a salad from a restaurant, because I never know if it's going to be adequate enough for a meal, or if I'm going to leave the restaurant feeling slightly hungry, and slightly cheated. Let me tell ya - this salad was more than adequate. It was chock-full of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, and feta. There were easily two whole tomatoes on this salad - in fact, I didn't even KNOW there was lettuce in the salad until I was 2/3 of the way in. That's my kind of salad. The dressing was some sort of Greek vinaigrette - I LOVED the dressing!! Tangy, highly seasoned, and not heavy at all. It also went well with the tzatziki in which I couldn't keep from dunking my tomatoes. ;) I will say one thing - I normally LOVE feta. I love that sharp, salty tang. However, this was the strongest feta I have ever had. I felt like I had literally licked the sheep that produced the milk. I only had a couple bites, before I just felt a little too...."knowledgeable" about what sheep nipples taste like.
Josh's meal was basically a schnitzel, covered in some kind of sauce, and cheese. It also came with french fries (the really thick-cut fries that are popular around here). He said it was pretty good, but he didn't rave about it. Although, he did eat 90% of the meal. I thought the fries were really good. :) After seeing some of the other, "real" Greek dishes come out of the kitchen, I think that he wished he had gotten something more along those lines.
While we were eating, we kept seeing the waiter go around to every table, taking shots of ouzo with everybody. Sure enough, at the end of the meal, he brought us shots as well. Man, that was some good stuff. It was a real shot, too, not a teeny "freebie" shot. (although, it was free)
The whole meal cost us €38 (almost $50). Now, I know that is kind of pricy, BUT, Josh and I had two drinks each, plus we had an appetizer. So, really, you could definitely eat there for way cheaper.
All in all, we had a really awesome time at Metaxa in Ramstein. The customer service itself was worth going back. Free amuse-bouche (the soup), and free shots of ouzo?!? Yes, please! We will definitely go back.
But, I do still want to review restaurants, and other places we go while we're here. Businesses around here don't have websites like they do in the States. If they do, it's more like an early 90s Geocities website or something. It ain't pretty. So, you really never no what you're going to get from a restaurant, except by word of mouth. And I have a big mouth that likes to eat, and likes to express strong opinions. So who better to review restaurants, eh? Also, I'm a vegetarian, and the hubby isn't, so I can cover both aspects of the food world.
I know these restaurant reviews don't really help people who don't live here....but, tough. Besides, all two people who read this blog will probably end up visiting us here in the not-too-distant future, and they may want to see what there is to eat around here.
Saturday night, Josh and I decided to go out to eat. I had a hankering for Greek food, so we tried this restaurant called Metaxa, in Ramstein (the town in which the Air Force base is located). I think Josh misread the name of the place, and thought we were going to a Mexican food restaurant. ;)
Anywho, it was a cute, family owned restaurant. I'd say 90% of the customers were Americans, which isn't that surprising, since we were probably 1/4 mile from the base entrance.
It was freezing outside (I think -1F?) so we were so thankful when the waitress seated us right next to the radiator. Soooooo cozy. And we only saw two people working the floor there - one lady who seated us and took our order, and then one guy who was our server.
Now, I love Greek food. I love strong flavors like feta, vinegars, olives, and also fresh veggies like tomatoes & cucumbers. Unfortunately, there weren't a ton of vegetarian choices. They did have pizzas, but who wants pizza from a Greek restaurant? Most of the appetizers were vegetarian, though, and they had a large selection of salads as well.
We ended up ordering tzatziki for an appetizer. I ordered the Greek salad (actually, it was just called the Farmer's Salad, but it was what I think of when I think of a Greek salad), and Josh ended up getting the "spezial" plate. It was basically schnitzel, with fries.
Right after we ordered our food, the waiter came over with two cups of some kind of chicken noodle soup. Josh said it was really good, and he ate both cups. (one, because I don't eat chicken, and two, because I didn't want them to think that I was being rude by not eating what they gave us for free. good thing he was really hungry that night)
After the soup, they brought our tzaziki. It came with a basket of bread slices, and also a cup of some kind of red pepper puree. The puree was just pure red bell pepper - very, very fresh flavor. And the tzaziki came drizzled with olive oil, and garnished with pepperoncini, kalamata olives, and cucumber slices. Oh em gee, it was soooo goooooooooood. Very fresh tasting.
Then, the main dishes. I am always a little worried when I order "just" a salad from a restaurant, because I never know if it's going to be adequate enough for a meal, or if I'm going to leave the restaurant feeling slightly hungry, and slightly cheated. Let me tell ya - this salad was more than adequate. It was chock-full of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, olives, and feta. There were easily two whole tomatoes on this salad - in fact, I didn't even KNOW there was lettuce in the salad until I was 2/3 of the way in. That's my kind of salad. The dressing was some sort of Greek vinaigrette - I LOVED the dressing!! Tangy, highly seasoned, and not heavy at all. It also went well with the tzatziki in which I couldn't keep from dunking my tomatoes. ;) I will say one thing - I normally LOVE feta. I love that sharp, salty tang. However, this was the strongest feta I have ever had. I felt like I had literally licked the sheep that produced the milk. I only had a couple bites, before I just felt a little too...."knowledgeable" about what sheep nipples taste like.
Josh's meal was basically a schnitzel, covered in some kind of sauce, and cheese. It also came with french fries (the really thick-cut fries that are popular around here). He said it was pretty good, but he didn't rave about it. Although, he did eat 90% of the meal. I thought the fries were really good. :) After seeing some of the other, "real" Greek dishes come out of the kitchen, I think that he wished he had gotten something more along those lines.
While we were eating, we kept seeing the waiter go around to every table, taking shots of ouzo with everybody. Sure enough, at the end of the meal, he brought us shots as well. Man, that was some good stuff. It was a real shot, too, not a teeny "freebie" shot. (although, it was free)
The whole meal cost us €38 (almost $50). Now, I know that is kind of pricy, BUT, Josh and I had two drinks each, plus we had an appetizer. So, really, you could definitely eat there for way cheaper.
All in all, we had a really awesome time at Metaxa in Ramstein. The customer service itself was worth going back. Free amuse-bouche (the soup), and free shots of ouzo?!? Yes, please! We will definitely go back.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Man Meals
Last Saturday, we hosted a poker game at our house. I tried to be my little Suzy Homemaker self, and made some treats for the guys. I had pigs in a blanket, cinnamon brown butter rice krispies treats, firecrackers, and jalapeno popper dip.
I'm not giving out the recipe for pigs in a blanket, because gross. Plus, we watched Food, Inc. the next day, and even though I've been a vegetarian for 15 years, it made me feel like I've bathed in the blood of a million murdered animals. Although, I do highly recommend that movie to EVERYONE. It's not a preachy "be a vegetarian" movie, but it's all about every aspect of the food industry. Although, if you become a vegetarian after you see it, that won't hurt my feelings. ;) I think, actually, I'm going to try to only buy farm-raised, organic meat for Josh from now on. That is, if I can't actually ever get him to be a full-on veggie.
But, I digress. This post is about recipes, NOT about making people feel bad for what they eat. Sorry.
I've made brown butter rice krispies treats for a ton of occasions now, since I came across the recipe about 6 months ago. Brown butter is amazing. I would bottle it, and use it as perfume if I could (and if that didn't make me sound like a nutjob). It's time consuming, but it's worth it. Here's the recipe that I use. I didn't have vanilla beans, so I just did a generous 1/2t of extract. But, one thing I do add to this recipe is 1t of ground cinnamon. It sounds like a lot, but trust me, it's a pretty mellow (but super delicious) flavor. Make this dish - you won't regret it.
(btw, yes, I know that as a vegetarian I really shouldn't be eating rice krispies treats. i can come up with a million excuses, but i won't. sue me.)
Firecrackers are basically white trash chex mix. You take saltines, cover 'em in oil, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and a ton of crushed red pepper. Then, you wait til the oil soaks in. Super easy, and tasty. But, next time I'll use unsalted crackers. The ones I made basically brined my insides.
And now, my personal favorite for the night. Jalapeno Popper Dip. Oh my, was this stuff good. Here's the recipe. If you notice, it calls for bacon. I didn't put it in for obvious reasons. I asked the Mister if he thought I should add it in next time, but he said he liked it how it was. If a meat-eating guy says there's no room for bacon, then you should take him at his word. Also, I did this in a 9x9 pan. If you do it in that size - you definitely only need half of the bread crumb topping. If you do it in a 9x13 pan, double the amount of the dip, but keep the amount of topping the same. Also, my jalapenos were WAY TOO MILD!!! It tasted good, but there was no spice. The Aycocks like spicy. It was my fault, anyway, for not tasting before I put it in the oven. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, though. In my mayo-hating mind, I assumed the taste of cold mayo would rear its ugly head, and if it was heated up, I wouldn't be able to taste it. So, I really didn't want to try it until after it was cooked. Yes, I know, I'm a moron. Lesson learned.
Apparently we're hosting another poker tournament in a week....so if any of y'all (all two of you) have some ideas for different snacks, let me know. I always like trying new recipes!
I'm not giving out the recipe for pigs in a blanket, because gross. Plus, we watched Food, Inc. the next day, and even though I've been a vegetarian for 15 years, it made me feel like I've bathed in the blood of a million murdered animals. Although, I do highly recommend that movie to EVERYONE. It's not a preachy "be a vegetarian" movie, but it's all about every aspect of the food industry. Although, if you become a vegetarian after you see it, that won't hurt my feelings. ;) I think, actually, I'm going to try to only buy farm-raised, organic meat for Josh from now on. That is, if I can't actually ever get him to be a full-on veggie.
But, I digress. This post is about recipes, NOT about making people feel bad for what they eat. Sorry.
I've made brown butter rice krispies treats for a ton of occasions now, since I came across the recipe about 6 months ago. Brown butter is amazing. I would bottle it, and use it as perfume if I could (and if that didn't make me sound like a nutjob). It's time consuming, but it's worth it. Here's the recipe that I use. I didn't have vanilla beans, so I just did a generous 1/2t of extract. But, one thing I do add to this recipe is 1t of ground cinnamon. It sounds like a lot, but trust me, it's a pretty mellow (but super delicious) flavor. Make this dish - you won't regret it.
(btw, yes, I know that as a vegetarian I really shouldn't be eating rice krispies treats. i can come up with a million excuses, but i won't. sue me.)
Firecrackers are basically white trash chex mix. You take saltines, cover 'em in oil, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and a ton of crushed red pepper. Then, you wait til the oil soaks in. Super easy, and tasty. But, next time I'll use unsalted crackers. The ones I made basically brined my insides.
And now, my personal favorite for the night. Jalapeno Popper Dip. Oh my, was this stuff good. Here's the recipe. If you notice, it calls for bacon. I didn't put it in for obvious reasons. I asked the Mister if he thought I should add it in next time, but he said he liked it how it was. If a meat-eating guy says there's no room for bacon, then you should take him at his word. Also, I did this in a 9x9 pan. If you do it in that size - you definitely only need half of the bread crumb topping. If you do it in a 9x13 pan, double the amount of the dip, but keep the amount of topping the same. Also, my jalapenos were WAY TOO MILD!!! It tasted good, but there was no spice. The Aycocks like spicy. It was my fault, anyway, for not tasting before I put it in the oven. I just couldn't bring myself to do it, though. In my mayo-hating mind, I assumed the taste of cold mayo would rear its ugly head, and if it was heated up, I wouldn't be able to taste it. So, I really didn't want to try it until after it was cooked. Yes, I know, I'm a moron. Lesson learned.
Apparently we're hosting another poker tournament in a week....so if any of y'all (all two of you) have some ideas for different snacks, let me know. I always like trying new recipes!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung
Josh rented a UFC movie for tonight. It's 140 minutes of UFC, bad acting, and Nick Nolte. So, I'm distracting myself by writing a new blog entry. :)
On Friday night, me, Josh, and our friends Lacie, Yahreen, and Marcus went to the Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung. Yes, I know that's a mouth full. Freinsheim is the name of the town, and "Rotweinwanderung" just means "red wine hike". Here's the translated link.
It was snowing at our house when we left, but by the time we got to Freinsheim (an hour away) the sky cleared up. That just meant it was even colder, so we hurried to find the wine.
So, here's how the red wine hike works. There are 13 large party tents set up all throughout the vineyards in the area. A hiking trail connects all of the tents together. Josh and I guessed that maybe the whole walk was a mile and a half, but that's really just total guessing. All of these tents have wine and food available, and you go from tent to tent eating and drinking. Oh, and you get torches. There were burning logs set up every so often on the trail to light the way, but you could also carry your own torches throughout the hike. So, lots of wine, plus lots of fire. The Germans aren't too big on safety.
Actually, the thought of carrying torches was much more romantic than it really was. It's a real hassle carrying around a glass of wine, a handful of food (pretzel, sandwich, etc) and a torch. Basically, our DD (thanks, Yahreen!) was the one who carried the torch most of the time. It was such a hassle, Josh and I didn't even bust out the camera. (the others took photos, so I may upload those later).
It actually worked out perfectly that four of us were drinking - 4 glasses in a bottle. I think we ended up getting 5 bottles of wine on the whole walk. Yes, that sounds like a lot (and it is). BUT, with the amount of walking we did, and the time we spent drinking, and the food we were eating - nobody went overboard. We definitely had a very good time, but there were no...."ill effects".
Memorable moments? Well....there was the German who crop-dusted me and Yahreen. The older drunk American lady that was totally hitting on Marcus (but she was a riot). The superawesomedelicious cinnamon & sugar crepe filled with applesauce. The shooting star that Lacie and I saw (NO, it wasn't a result of the wine, we really did see it!). The live band that was playing in the middle of the vineyard. Having to use Yahreen's phone as a flashlight in the port-a-potty (I was verrrrrrry careful not to drop it). It was really such a fun fun fun time. Freinsheim has a wine walk every season, and we'll definitely make this a regular thing.
The next one is in April, and I think we'll do it during the day for that one - just to be able to see all the flowers blooming.
The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed. Josh and I went to Möbel Martin in K-town. It's basically an expensive Ikea...well, a very expensive Ikea. It was 3 huge stories of uncomfortable looking European furniture. There is something so distinct about German-style furniture. The beds and couches sit so low to the ground, and everything is very....boxy looking. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of that style (although I do love Ikea), but it was still fun to look around.
Saturday night, I went out with a couple friends for a girls' night/birthday dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It was good food, but I'm not sure if any locals eat there - it seemed more like it caters to Americans (by the end of the night, the restaurant was completely full of nothing but Americans). One thing was pretty neat, though. When we first got there, the restaurant was mainly empty - except for a young couple sitting next to us. All of a sudden, the waitress comes out with a plate that had sparklers sitting on it, and a little box resting on the plate. Yep - the guy next to us proposed to his girlfriend. I've never seen a proposal before, but it was pretty cute. She was crying, and we all clapped (although, in my head, I was making fun of her for crying like a big baby ;) ).
All in all, it was such a fun weekend. I can't wait for the next one!
On Friday night, me, Josh, and our friends Lacie, Yahreen, and Marcus went to the Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung. Yes, I know that's a mouth full. Freinsheim is the name of the town, and "Rotweinwanderung" just means "red wine hike". Here's the translated link.
It was snowing at our house when we left, but by the time we got to Freinsheim (an hour away) the sky cleared up. That just meant it was even colder, so we hurried to find the wine.
So, here's how the red wine hike works. There are 13 large party tents set up all throughout the vineyards in the area. A hiking trail connects all of the tents together. Josh and I guessed that maybe the whole walk was a mile and a half, but that's really just total guessing. All of these tents have wine and food available, and you go from tent to tent eating and drinking. Oh, and you get torches. There were burning logs set up every so often on the trail to light the way, but you could also carry your own torches throughout the hike. So, lots of wine, plus lots of fire. The Germans aren't too big on safety.
Actually, the thought of carrying torches was much more romantic than it really was. It's a real hassle carrying around a glass of wine, a handful of food (pretzel, sandwich, etc) and a torch. Basically, our DD (thanks, Yahreen!) was the one who carried the torch most of the time. It was such a hassle, Josh and I didn't even bust out the camera. (the others took photos, so I may upload those later).
It actually worked out perfectly that four of us were drinking - 4 glasses in a bottle. I think we ended up getting 5 bottles of wine on the whole walk. Yes, that sounds like a lot (and it is). BUT, with the amount of walking we did, and the time we spent drinking, and the food we were eating - nobody went overboard. We definitely had a very good time, but there were no...."ill effects".
Memorable moments? Well....there was the German who crop-dusted me and Yahreen. The older drunk American lady that was totally hitting on Marcus (but she was a riot). The superawesomedelicious cinnamon & sugar crepe filled with applesauce. The shooting star that Lacie and I saw (NO, it wasn't a result of the wine, we really did see it!). The live band that was playing in the middle of the vineyard. Having to use Yahreen's phone as a flashlight in the port-a-potty (I was verrrrrrry careful not to drop it). It was really such a fun fun fun time. Freinsheim has a wine walk every season, and we'll definitely make this a regular thing.
The next one is in April, and I think we'll do it during the day for that one - just to be able to see all the flowers blooming.
The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed. Josh and I went to Möbel Martin in K-town. It's basically an expensive Ikea...well, a very expensive Ikea. It was 3 huge stories of uncomfortable looking European furniture. There is something so distinct about German-style furniture. The beds and couches sit so low to the ground, and everything is very....boxy looking. I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of that style (although I do love Ikea), but it was still fun to look around.
Saturday night, I went out with a couple friends for a girls' night/birthday dinner at a local Italian restaurant. It was good food, but I'm not sure if any locals eat there - it seemed more like it caters to Americans (by the end of the night, the restaurant was completely full of nothing but Americans). One thing was pretty neat, though. When we first got there, the restaurant was mainly empty - except for a young couple sitting next to us. All of a sudden, the waitress comes out with a plate that had sparklers sitting on it, and a little box resting on the plate. Yep - the guy next to us proposed to his girlfriend. I've never seen a proposal before, but it was pretty cute. She was crying, and we all clapped (although, in my head, I was making fun of her for crying like a big baby ;) ).
All in all, it was such a fun weekend. I can't wait for the next one!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
the3six5
the3six5 is a blog where I signed up to be a guest author. Every day, they get a new author to write a diary entry based on their day. My day was January 18th. I just couldn't get into the writing groove yesterday, so I'm not exactly proud of my entry. I was just in a slump. But, if you care to read it, you can check it out here.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Weekend Recap
Pampered Chef Party
Pool tournament (I was just a cheerleader this time)
Super awesome flea market ($3 for a brand new copy of Modern Family Season 2!?!)
Slot machines!!
Beatles Rockband marathon ($10, brand new at the flea market)
Family walk in the country (Sasha loves being off leash & running through the fields)
Shopping trip with the girls at a nearby mall
Marathon of horrible movies (please don't ever watch The Expendables)
For a weekend where we didn't actually go anywhere and do anything, we sure did a lot. This place is so much better for us than Ohio was. Life is good.
Pool tournament (I was just a cheerleader this time)
Super awesome flea market ($3 for a brand new copy of Modern Family Season 2!?!)
Slot machines!!
Beatles Rockband marathon ($10, brand new at the flea market)
Family walk in the country (Sasha loves being off leash & running through the fields)
Shopping trip with the girls at a nearby mall
Marathon of horrible movies (please don't ever watch The Expendables)
For a weekend where we didn't actually go anywhere and do anything, we sure did a lot. This place is so much better for us than Ohio was. Life is good.
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