Cook. Eat. Read.

My favorite part of being a "temporary" housewife: cooking.  Each day I wake up, to coffee already made by my husband, and sit at the kitchen table looking over my many cookbooks.  I have discovered an entire new world of food, kitchen gadgets, appliances, ingredients, etc.  I have spent most of my life being an extremely picky eater, but thanks to Conor, I am quickly expanding my palate.

At one of my bridal showers, all of the guests game me their favorite recipes put together in a cute box.  I'm slowly making my through this box, the cookbooks I've acquired over the years, online recipes, friend's recipes, and my own mother's concoctions.  Growing up, I sat at the counter in my mom's kitchen watching her cook.  While also doing my homework, I would help her out between math problems and reading assignments.  And during my trips home, you will still find me sitting at the same counter and sometimes I'm even teaching my mom a trick or two.  However, I have developed her bad habit of rarely planning meals in advance and having to make daily trips to the grocery store.  But on a positive note, this has become a fun activity I look forward to.  I have also become a professional and finding great deals and things I love on sale.  If you've ever been to a grocery store with me, you'll know this was never my strong suite...in fact, I rarely even looked at the prices.  Those days are no more.  Next, I need to become a coupon queen!

I am finally back in a city with a whole foods...my heaven.  I could literally spend all day in there with the fresh and local produce, the incredible seafood and meat counter, and most importantly the cheese selections!  Ever since Conor took me to Purple Cafe, a great restaurant and wine bar in Seattle, I have been obsessed with speciality cheeses.  We are both slowly learning what we like and what goes with what.  Finding great parings between new cheeses we discover and wine/fruit/crackers is sort of a new hobby of ours.  The great possiblilties seem endless!  I used to think that only red wine went well with cheese, but oh no.  I could not have been more wrong.  Champagne (and other sparkling wines) is absolutely delicious with the right cheese selection.  Each new cheese I try is a new surprise.  Lavender goat cheese?....incredible!...who would have thought!  The other great thing about my new whole foods: the wine bar.  Yes, it's true.  I can have a nice glass of wine while doing my grocery shopping.  Now I haven't actually partaken is this activity yet, 'cause I'm sure it will lead to many unnecessary grocery purchases and a late afternoon nap (although this still happens sometimes).  But one of these days I will belly up to the bar and enjoy the complete whole foods experience. Maybe even tell Conor about it when he gets home... on second thought... better keep that our little secret...

Planning meals has become an adventure in and of themselves, and lately I've been having a lot of fun with some theme nights!  Examples: Italian Night: italina cheese board, italian wine (usually chianti, montepulciano, or sangiovese), homemade pizza or pasta, caesar salad, and spumoni.  South Carolina BBQ: cornbread, corn on the cob, pulled pork sandwiches, and sweet tea.  The finishing touch is a Pandora station made special for the evening.  I love to cook!...and eat!  Nothing beats a night at home with the hubby and delcious food and drink.

In between all the cooking and eating, I have been reading.  When Conor bought me a kindle for our honeymoon, I don't think he had any idea that reading can become an expensive habit.  But it has.  For some reason, having a kindle makes me read more.  That and the fact that I am no longer planning a wedding and therefore all of my previous reading material is gone.  I have always loved to read...and write (I hope to write a book someday) and finally have the time to do it.  I took some extra english classes in college and loved them.  I feel like I can sometimes miss so much symbolism and meaning when reading a novel on my own.  But with a professor and peers you get so much more from a book.  I have therefore decided that I need to join a book club.  I usually try to balance my for-fun reading material with something that has a litte much substance and literary value.  There is just something about crawling into bed a night at night and finishing that last glass of wine or having a cup of tea while cozing up with your favorite book.  That makes for a perfect ending to an evening. 

Since the honeymoon, my reading list has included:
Roses by Leila Meacham
House Rules by Jodi Picoult
The Last Summer by Ann Brashares
The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes
The Girl with the Dragon Tatto (series) by Stieg Larsson
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Currently reading: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

All of these books were good, but my two favorites were Roses and The Help.  I recommend they be the next books you read.  And please give me suggestions, after the Hunger Games series I don't know what I'll read next...

Dublin.San Fran.Napa

I was bummed when Conor told me that he had a two week business trip in Dublin, CA....but then the wonderful news came: Dublin is 1 hour from wine country.  He had to say no more, I was on board for this trip!  Since I don't have a new job yet, I was able to accompany him for the whole time.  The only problem we had with our plans was what to do with our cats....? We haven't met any friends in AZ yet, so there was no one to watch them.  We were left with no choice, but to hire a PET NANNY, hahaha.  I never thought I would use those two words together.  We are officially crazy cat people.  But it worked out well, and I was free to make my way to Napa.

Conor worked about 10 minutes away from our hotel, so I still got to see him for lunch everyday.  Some of you might be wondering what I did in a hotel all day, but surprisely I stayed very busy and entertained.  Did lots of reading on my kindle!  I only began to get some cabin fever on the last two days.  Conor and I had a blast in California, especially finding new places to eat everynight including some pretty great happy hours, amazing mexican, and some of the best raspberry cider I've ever had!  We both loved the area are hoping that Conor may be able to do a rotation in Dublin....

Dublin is also only 45 minutes away from San Fran!  We went into the city twice and had drinks and dinner with a couple of our friends, Lindsey Cochran & Dave Aron.  They both live in the North Beach area, so we ate some awesome italian food on both visits.  It was soooo great to see them both; hopefully we will be making more visits there sometime soon.

The highlight of the trip: Napa! 

The weather was great, the scenery breathtaking, the wine plentiful, the food delicious, and the company the best! We spent Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning/afternoon in Napa.  We had gotten a couple of recommendations on where to go, but we also chose some random wineries we wanted to check out.  Conor didn't get off work til lunch time, so by the time we made it to Napa most wineries were closed.  However, we did have time to make a quick stop at Robert Mondavi.  We had been trying to avoid the touristy locations, but we were on a time crunch.  It was fun, but of all the wineries in Napa, I would not recommend a stop there.  On a side note, in the parking lot we saw a group of "tourists" pounding some white wine and a huge bag of doritos! Mmmmm, those cheesy chips must really bring out the flavors of the wine...delicous!

That night we had dinner at the marketplace in downtown Napa.  On recommendation from our friend Dave, we ate at a place called HogIsland Oyster Co.  Conor and I both love raw oysters and were not disappointed.  Raw oysters, adult mac & cheese, an oyster poh'boy, and a bottle of white wine later, we were doing quite well.  Dave also told us to check out this wine bar called the Bounty Hunter.  It is a must stop if you head to Napa.  Lots of delicious and local (obviously) wines by the glass.  I could have stayed all night.  We met a crazy couple from Texas that wanted to become our best friends.  They offered to let us stay in their hotel, but we graciously turned them down.  Gotta love meeting people on vacation.

Day 2 in Napa was a big success.  First stop was Domaine Carneros for a sparkling wine flight and cheese board!  Two of my most favorite things.  They have some beautiful property with a great view...and table service, which I came to love and want for all my wine tastings.  I loved one of the cheeses, midnight moon by cyprus  hill.  They also make humboldt fog which has been my absolute favorite cheese for years.  The whole experience was great.  I pulled the industry card, saying my family owns a bar, and was offered lots of extra tastings...yum yum.  Most of the wineries are beginning to harvest...and you could smell it in the air.  Next stop was Clos Du Val...the overall experience was a little boring, but the limited release white wines were great.  Then we were on to Mumm Napa for more sparkling wine!

We tried their sparkling reds for something different and loved them both. 

 

A whole new world of sparkling wine has opened up to me.  The last stop of the day was Hall.  This was a wonderful small, family owned winery.  We received excellent service here while sitting in a small picnic area shaded by trees.  Their merlots and cabernets were terrific.  We had had plenty of wine by this point and called it quits for the day.

First stop on Day 3: Artesa.  This winery had one of the best views

It was set up on a hill, so the tasting room was somewhat "underground."  A very modern winery with lots of art, very different from anything else we saw.  The wine was nothing to write home about it, but the location was worth the visit (it's on some back roads so you have a chance to get off the main highways for awhile.)

Our very last winery and our favorite....KEENAN!!!  And not just 'cause of the name.  The wines were incredible, unlimited and large tastings, complimentary cheese board, and an impromtu tour.  You have to make an appointment to visit this winery, which is nice because then you have the full attention of whomever is serving you.  The tasting room is an old building which houses their wine barrels.  It is set in the middle of a mountain hidden in the woods.  Such a different experience from all the other wineries we visited.  We had picked up some meat and cheeses on way up there, and had a picnic on their deck when we finished with our tasting.  A perfect weekend with my husband!

Already getting the infamous Simpson purple teeth

It was a very successful trip...10 bottles of wine later.  We are trying to acquire a small collection and attempt to cellar a few for some years, but we'll see if we can hold off on consumption!

First Month in AZ

It's finally fall, but it's still hot.  Today: a nice 106 degrees.  So while the rest of you are enjoying your sweaters, uggs, hot apple cider, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin soup, and just plain old pumpkins...I'm looking at a cactus and sweating.  I've finally put up some fall decorations which I'm pumped about, so that will have to be enough of a fix for now.  Not sure if or when this area will get some pumpkins, but I am on the lookout!

At our neighborhood pool

Conor and I are finally settled in and can begin to call our house "home."  Most of the organizing is done, and we are able to relax.  We've still been traveling a lot; I haven't been here for longer than a week at a time, but slowly I am learning the area.  We have had so much fun using some of our wedding gifts for the first time: pasta maker, pizza stone, seafood set, new wine glasses, etc!!! Thanks to all, we have thoroughly beeen enjoying all of our new things.

Now that we've had homemade pasta, I don't think I can ever go back to buying it...sooo much better!

As you can see, we've been eating & drinking quite well!

We've also ventured out a little bit, and had a fun date night at a place called The Living Room.  Very good food and wine and of course our favorite......cheese boards!  We've also discovered that a golf course right down the street from us, Lone Tree Golf Club, has a 2 person scramble on Friday nights called the Friday Fiasco.  We've played once and took 2nd place.  I'm pretty impressed my performance considering we actually used some of my shots, and there were no whiffs :-) Hopefully this will become a regular occurence in my golf game.  It was such a fun night...we're hoping that Conor will be able to leave work early every once in awhile so we can keep playing in this!

We'll keep ya posted on how we're enjoying Arizona once we venture out more.  Next on my list: find a pumpkin farm and an Oktoberfest!