Picture of the Day: Tulip Bulbs for Sale in Amsterdam

Amsterdam, The Netherlands
8.2004

Going Away Party For Trisha

My friend, Trisha, is moving out of state for a new and exciting job so last night I had a little dinner party for her and some friends over at my house.

To set the table I started off by laying out a kraft colored linen tablecloth and then laid out a pink table runner and pink napkins at each place setting. I also laid out two glasses at each place setting. The short, wide glass was for sangria decorated with a sugared rim and a lime slice with a short pink polka dot straw and the tall, skinny glass was for water with a tall pink bendy straw. 

For flowers my grocery store had bunches of alstroemeria on sale for $3 each so I bought four bunches in two shades of pink and placed them on the table in little white flower pots.

For drinks I made two different flavored waters, strawberry-mint and watermelon-sage, and set them out in glass carafes. For those who wanted alcohol, I sliced up some oranges and put them with some sangria in a pitcher. I placed my drinks in a pink metal tray at the center of the table.

For food I had to be careful of my menu to make it gluten-free. I used a quinoa-corn pasta to make a pasta salad with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, kalamata olives and parsley. I also made a spinach salad with goat cheese, raspberries and sugared pecans and tilapia wrapped in sage and prosciutto. 

We had a fun time and it was so nice to have everyone over and celebrate our friendship with Trisha. Good luck with your move, Trisha! We love you!

Picture of the Day: Shoal Bay in Anguilla

Shoal Bay, Anguilla
5.31.2010 

Picture of the Day: Flowers at Farm Tomita in Furano

Furano, Hokkaido, Japan
9.2010

Cincinnati Eats

I had to make a quick trip down to Northern Kentucky for work earlier this week and had the chance on the drive down and on the way back to try a few new restaurants in the Cincinnati area.

On Monday evening we pulled into Blue Ash Chili at eight p.m., just in time to eat before they closed at 8:30. I really enjoy Cincinnati style chili and Blue Ash Chili had a lot of rave reviews so I thought it would be fun to try it. I got a 3-Way which is spaghetti topped with chili and cheese. For reference, a 4-Way is a 3-Way with the addition of beans or onions and a 5-Way is a 3-Way with both beans and onions. Blue Ash Chili also featured a topping unique to their restaurant: fried jalapeño caps. Of course I had to have them added to my 3-Way. I really loved it. The spicy jalapeños gave an excellent kick to my 3-Way. The service was also really quick and we ordered, got our food, ate and left in under thirty minutes which was nice since we still had an hour and a half drive remaining that night. Overall it was delicious chili and I would go there again if I had the chance.

On Tuesday as we drove back we arrived for an early dinner at Terry's Turf Club at four o'clock, right when it opened. I had read that it was a popular place and fills up fast but we had no problems getting a seat since it was early on a weekday. I will say that almost all the tables had people seated at them by 4:30, though. The decor is really charming full of vintage neon signs and posters. The vibrant colors and neon continued outside as well, and I also spotted some old brightly colored stadium seats for waiting in line to get in, I presume. Besides the fun decor, another thing that I liked about Terry's was that every table has a bowl of peanuts and you can just toss your shells on the floor as you snack on them.

The menu looked awesome. I had never seen foie gras on the menu at a diner before so I decided to try it. It was served with toast points, grilled apple slices and a pomegranate pear sauce. It wasn't the best foie gras that I had ever had but it was pretty darn good. The burger, on the other hand, was probably the best burger I have ever eaten. Terry's offers all sorts of sauces and toppings for your burger and I couldn't resist getting Stilton cheese and the Burgundy wine with wild mushrooms and truffle sauce. The burger was perfectly cooked and both the sauce and the cheese were to die for. Absolutely delicious! Terry's is definitely worth a detour if you are anywhere in the area. 

Picture of the Day: Vendor Stall at Straw Market in Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas
1.2011 

The Night Market in Luang Prabang (and Why You Should Always Pack Benadryl)

One of the fun, magical things about staying in Luang Prabang in Laos is visiting the Night Market. In the evening a section of the main road through town, Sisavangvong (try saying that five times fast!) closes to traffic and local traders set up a market in the street.  They lay down mats on the ground to spread out their wares and set up tent awnings over them with strings of bulbs to light everything up.

The market is geared toward selling to tourists and is full of Hmong handicrafts. The vendors bargain over prices, but are friendly and not aggressive about making a sale. They are also very adept at the exchange rates in a variety of currencies and I saw trades happening in US dollars and Thai Baht in addition to Lao Kip. The market is full of wonderful paintings, carvings and lanterns but the hand appliquéd items are really stunning. The stitches are so tiny that they are almost invisible. The detail work is just amazing with beautifully intricate patterns. The prices are so fabulous that I bought several pillow covers and a duvet cover for myself and some aprons for Christmas gifts.  I also couldn't resist buying a small painting, a lantern and a decidedly non-handicraft item, a Beer Lao t-shirt.

I enjoyed wandering around the market and even though I had already purchased my souvenirs on a previous night (so many so that I actually had to mail a small box home!) I decided on my last night in Luang Prabang to go to the market again after dinner. The little place that I was staying was just a few yards down the street from the beginning of the market. Just as I walked out the door and was about the enter the row of tents something flew at my face. I instinctively shut my eyes and then felt a sharp searing pain right below my left eye.

I quickly rushed back to my room and sure enough a large stinger was protruding from my face less than a half inch below my eye. I was so lucky that it hadn't actually hit my eye and was instead just below. I grabbed my tweezers and pulled it out but the spot had already ballooned into a lump the size of a walnut and was slightly obstructing my vision. I took a can of soda out of the mini fridge and pressed it against my face. The cold felt wonderful and helped the swelling. I also had some Benadryl with me and taking that helped as well. By the time I went to sleep the area around my eye almost looked normal.

The next morning was another story. When I woke up it was puffed up again and itchy. Since it was near the corner of my eye it made me look like I had a cat eye on the left side. Not cute! I put the cold soda can against it again and popped more Benadryl and it improved. Over the next few days I found that if I didn't take Benadryl every four hours the area around the sting would puff up again. I was so thankful that I packed the Benadryl or I would have had a miserable time on the rest of my Southeast Asia trip. 

In conclusion, my takeaway from this story is twofold. One, the Night Market in Luang Prabang in awesome and should not be missed. Two, always pack Benadryl when you travel.

Note: For people outside of areas where it is sold that may not be familiar with it, Benadryl is an over the counter antihistamine that can reduce swelling and itching. As with all medications make sure before you take it that you are aware of any risks and follow dosage instructions. Also, as a disclaimer, I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice. 

Picture of the Day: Girl Making Lanterns in Hoi An

Hoi An, Vietnam
8.10.2011

How to Mount Photos

While I was mounting the photos from my giveaway to celebrate my six month anniversary of blogging I thought I would share how to do it. Pictures can buckle when the mount board, mat board and picture expand and contract at different rates when the temperature changes. By hinging the mat board to the mount board and hanging the photo from T-hinges you keep the picture as free to move as possible and minimize the chance of warping.

To mount a photo you need a mat board and mount board that are the same size and some linen tape. Start by laying your mount board face up with the mat board face down and align their edges. If the thicknesses of the mat board and the mount board aren't the same put something underneath the thinner one so that they are level. Cut a piece of linen tape the width of the boards and then lay it along the seam between them to make a hinge. Flip the mat board down and so that it is right side up.

Now that you have hinged the mat and mount board the next step is to mount the photo. Place your photo under the mat board and adjust it to the position you want. Once you have it where you like it, place a paper weight on the photo to hold it in place and then flip the map board back. Cut two short pieces of linen tape. Carefully lift up the top corners and slip the tape halfway under with the sticky side up. Cut two more pieces of linen tape and then place them sticky side down over the previous pieces of tape. The picture will now be hanging from the two tape T-hinges. To complete just remove the paper weight and flip the mat board pack over the picture. Your picture is now ready to frame.

Picture of the Day: Uluru From A Distance (Ayers Rock)

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
Northern Territory, Australia
11.2010