Summer 2012 Road Trip, Part 3

Part 1

Part 2

Tony and I joke that we never buy much in the way of souvenirs on our vacations, but we always come home with groceries. It's true. When I visited Rome, I may have bought a t-shirt or two for family members, but the majority of the precious extra space in my suitcase was reserved for limoncello, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.

Our trip to St. Louis was no different. While shopping in Old St. Charles, a couple of shops caught our attention. The first was Olde Town Spice Shoppe, crammed wall-to-wall with every spice you can think of, plus other goodies like teas, coffees, and hot sauces.

Tony picked out a couple of hot sauces and a spicy-sweet raspberry chipotle sauce that is perfect for drizzling over cream cheese and eating with crackers.

I bought some pumpkin spice tea (with all the rain we've been getting this summer, might as well pretend it's fall) and some Cafe Du Monde coffee. I'd been wanting to sample this chicory coffee, made in New Orleans, but until now I'd never seen the decaf version. So it was a nice find for this caffeine-free mama. 

I also loaded up on spices, of course. The Caribbean jerk seasoning and buffalo wing seasoning should be excellent on tofu or tempeh. I also picked up some nacho cheese popcorn seasoning for Jackson, the popcorn lover of the family, and maple syrup powder, just because it intrigued me. You mix it with water. It was much cheaper than buying real maple syrup. We'll see how the flavor and consistency compare. Finally, a mole sauce spice blend for our next enchilada dinner, and a greens seasoning blend that I'll try on some sauteed kale or collards.

And history repeated itself, as I once again returned home with souvenirs of Italian olive oil and balsamic. So what if I bought them in Missouri -- they're still Italian, haha! Our friend Carla took us to a unique shop called Di Olivas that sells nothing but olive oil and vinegars, all infused with different flavors. And you can sample all of them in the store. That was fun!

Check out all of the balsamic vinegar flavors! It was so hard to choose just one to purchase, but I went with the dark chocolate balsamic. Carla says it is incredible on strawberries -- can't wait to try it. There were also a number of infused olive oils. The garlic-scented was my favorite. The basil was a close second -- I may have to mail order it.

We did do a bit of non-food-related sightseeing in St. Louis, but not much. It was 105 degrees all weekend while we were there, so most of our tourism consisted of driving around and pointing at things from the relative comfort of our air-conditioned car. The rest of the time, we just hung out at Rick and Carla's house or went swimming at our hotel.

I spotted this sign outside a Carl's Jr.  Hmm...

I'll leave you for today with some shots of Olivia being a goofball in the hotel room. When she grins big, you can see her pointy teeth. I love my little vampire.

Since her potty training is going well and she has little need anymore for diapers in the traditional sense, she found a new use for them -- post-shower head wrap. Such a fashionista.

Tomorrow -- more food souvenirs. Yes, more.

Summer 2012 Road Trip, Part 2

Part 1

As soon as we arrived in St. Louis and got checked into our hotel, we found ourselves ready for a drink. Several hours in the car with "Madagascar 2" on repeat on the portable DVD player = ready for a drink. We hit up La Chata, a little Tex-Mex place near our friends' home. I ordered a mango margarita, and it was huuuuge...but also weeeeeak (sad face).

La Chata wasn't really vegetarian-friendly. I made do with a plate of basic nachos and a side of jalapenos.

Olivia was feeling super silly after logging all those miles in her carseat.

Jackson was a little more subdued. He perked up later, when we spent the evening at Rick and Carla's, and he got to run wild with their three boys.

The next morning, Rick and Carla took us to Old St. Charles, a historic area with lots of old, old buildings and cobblestone streets.

These days, most of the old homes have been turned into cute shops.

Little plaques tell the history of each structure.

We stopped for lunch at Trailhead Brewing Co., which used to be a grist mill. The wheel is still intact on the side of the building.

I had a salad with walnuts, feta, and raspberry vinaigrette. Not worth raving about or anything, but a decent lunch.

Tomorrow -- all the foody stuff I bought in the cute lil shops of Old St. Charles.

Summer 2012 Road Trip, Part 1

This year, Tony and I decided to keep our vacation easy and affordable by taking a road trip to visit family and friends in Oklahoma and Missouri. We were gone for eleven days -- the longest trip we've ever taken! We weren't sure how Jackson and Olivia would handle being away from home for so long. They did have their wild moments, due to the absence of their usual routine and surroundings. But they really are awesome little travelers. Everything is an adventure for them.

We left on July 3rd after Tony got off work. We grabbed some Subway on our way out of town. I got the veggie patty. Have you heard that some east coast Subways are offering vegan sandwiches now? Go, Subway!

We arrived at my mother-in-law's home, near Oklahoma City, after midnight. The next morning, we slept in. Once we got out of bed, we immediately started cooking out. While Tony grilled steaks, I roasted some potatoes and made corn, salad, and fruit salad.

We had an easy, relaxing Independence Day, hanging out with family, eating and drinking.

The next day, we set out to visit our friends Rick and Carla and their family in St. Louis. It's a long drive from OKC, so we elected to drive halfway and spend the night in Springfield, MO. 

We heard that the number one attraction for kids in Springfield is the original Bass Pro Shops store. I was a little skeptical. What's so exciting about a store? But this particular store is the size of an amusement park.

There is a waterfall. Inside the store.

It's surreal.

The main floor is nothing but boats, 4-wheelers, snowmobiles, etc., as far as the eye can see.  And you can climb all over them. For a two-year-old and almost-four-year-old, this was heaven.

Boat Captain Olivia.

Jackson thinks I should trade in my car and take him to school in this monster.

Olivia will take this Arctic Cat over a Barbie doll any day of the week.

I decided this would be my boat. You know, if I was going to own a boat. Isn't she yar?

Moving along, we encountered some huge fish tanks. There was also a live crocodile, just hanging out in his enclosure right in the middle of the store. I meant to circle back and take a picture of him, but I forgot.

Downstairs, there was a camping area. I was amazed by all the pre-made meals you can buy. When my family went camping in western Maryland every summer when I was a kid, we lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and smores. Now you can feast on lasagna while you're crouching around the campfire.

Some of the options weren't so appealing. Giant tin of beef stew, anyone?

Uh-oh! While I was pricing camping gear (I'm determined to take the kids camping this fall), Tony went and got himself mauled by a wolf! These taxidermied creatures lurked everywhere. I guess they add to the ambiance.

Strangely, the kids wanted to hug all the stuffed and mounted animals in the store, but they would have nothing to do with this overall-clad bear statue out front. Sorry, Mr. Bear.

Springfield doesn't have a ton of exciting dinner options. We ate at the Ruby Tuesday by our hotel. As far as family-type chains go, Ruby Tuesday is considerably more vegetarian-friendly than your TGI Friday's or your Chili's. I hit the salad bar first. Gotta get your veggies while you're traveling! 

Then I had the veggie sliders, made with shredded zucchini. They were a tad mushier than I would've preferred, but had a pleasant flavor.

Tomorrow -- on to St. Louis!

Hello Again

Hello! Hope everyone is doing well. I just got back from a long vacation, visiting family and friends. Looking forward to catching up on my blog reading now that I've unpacked and bought groceries. Pics and new posts to come soon!

Try It Tuesday - Papaya

I recently read something about papaya having great health benefits, and realized I'd never eaten papaya. So I bought one, but then I wasn't sure what to do with it. Any suggestions?

.

I ended up cubing it and freezing it.

It turns out, papaya is great in smoothies. Here is a smoothie I made with papaya, almond milk, vanilla, stevia, and spirulina powder (which gives it the intense green color.) So refreshing! It made a nice light lunch with a bowl of kale salad.

Today we are painting in the bathtub with shaving cream. Hope you're having a good day!

Sunday Funday

Hey all, how was your weekend? We did a lot of relaxing outdoors, enjoying the cooler (for Austin) temperatures. Jackson and Olivia love their kiddie pool.

Jackson tried to practice his swimming, but the pool was not quite big enough for that, haha.

For Sunday dinner, I made pasta with avocado, spinach and pistachios, from Oh, Ladycakes' recipe. It was awesome! I love avocado and pistachios, but I never knew they complimented each other so well!

For dessert, I roasted some peaches with vanilla, brown sugar and brandy.

We ate them up with some Tofutti Almond Bark ice cream.

Fruit is always a good dessert when it's hot out. What's your favorite summertime dessert?

10 Years

Tony and I recently celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary. Since the actual date fell on a weeknight, we just relaxed at home with Jackson and Olivia and did some reminiscing about the past decade-plus (we've been together 12 years total.)  We were practically babies when we met. And now look at us, so mature. Ha!

After being married for this long, Tony knows what makes me happy...

 And it seems I know him pretty well, too...

I got him a Himalayan salt lamp, seen here being cradled like a precious, tiny baby. He was just a little excited about his present. Supposedly, these lamps help with allergies. They also look really cool.

Because my husband is actually Hank Hill, I also got him a smoker for the grill. How romantic! We will try it out soon.

When the weekend arrived, we got a sitter and went out. First we dined at Fino, a fancy tapas restaurant. We started out with some cocktails. I don't recall what was in mine, but it was lemony and refreshing.

For an appetizer we had a plate of marcona almonds, manchego cheese, olives and pickles.

Next we had muhumarra and pita bread. I made my own muhumarra not too long ago, and Fino's tasted really similar. It's a dip made with walnuts, red bell pepper, and pomegranate syrup. Yum. The pita was incredible. It was served hot, and it was super light and puffy. I love it when restaurants take the time to make their own pita bread.

After finishing off the dip, Tony had a bowl of gazpacho. I loooooove gazpacho when it's hot out and tomatoes are in season. Fino's was excellent.

I had a fattoush salad, with lettuce, red onion, cherry tomatoes, big chunks of cucumber, and croutons made from toasted pita. The za'atar dressing made it unique and memorable. If you haven't tried za'atar spice blend, I recommend seeking it out. I'm not sure how to describe the flavor -- kind of tangy and savory I guess. It's made from dried sumac and sesame seeds.

So that was our dinner...we could have easily stayed longer and eaten more, but we wanted a change of scenery before heading home. On our way out, I noticed this awesome metal coffee table/black and white rug combination on Fino's patio. I don't know what I'm currently more obsessed with -- Moroccan decor or chevrons.

Our second destination was Easy Tiger, a bakery/beer garden in downtown Austin. There, we drank some beers and shared a ginormous pretzel. Oh, how I love a good crusty, chewy pretzel.

A lovely evening with my love. Hopefully many more of these to come.