We leave next week to spend Christmas in England... I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! Being as my father is from London, many of my family's Christmas traditions are centered around very British customs. I've never spent Christmas in England, but have dreamed of doing so my whole life!

Is there anything better than a good candid?! Loved photographing this family! Their joyful spirit was absolutely contagious and I came away from this session with the biggest smile on my face. Moments like this are priceless!

Is there anything as satisfying as a cold, creamy glass of milk with a sweet treat? My husband would say coffee beats milk each time, but I disagree! Nothing takes me back to childhood faster than a cookie dipped into a tall glass... As an adult, cow's milk just isn't quite as appealing as it once was. Don't get me wrong--I'm not totally anti-dairy! I just try to limit my intake and when I do consume, I prefer it come from happy, healthy heifers who get to roam green pastures and aren't pumped up with hormones and antibiotics. Unfortunately, milk from lady cows who meet the former criteria can be tricky to find, so I did some research on non-dairy alternatives that would taste just as delicious in my iced cafe con leche.

Soy milk was out immediately. The phyto-estrogens alone had me running for the hills! My hormones don't need any boosters like the ones found in soy milk. Canned coconut milk is beyond delicious, but it is pure fat. The texture is very similar to heave whipping cream, so it can be a little heavy for everyday use. The coconut milk found in the refrigerated section looks thick and lustrous, but (to me) tastes like water. Not to mention that just like store-bought almond milk, it contains a carcinogen which has been linked to cancer and is known to cause severe colon inflammation! If you don't believe me--Just check out the ingredient list and look for 'carrageenan' and then check out this link to a Prevention Magazine article which (much more eloquently) outlines reasons to avoid this icky additive!

All this to say, one day I overheard a couple of ladies talking about making their own almond milk. I googled recipes in a flash and realized not only is it ridiculously simple, but with a few tweaks to the standard recipe found through an easy Google search, you can make it creamy and with a touch of sweetness just like in real milk! Please keep in mind that since this is unpasteurized, it goes bad after a few days, so drink up and make lots of small batches! This batch provides about four cups of milk.

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Recipe:

2.5 Cups of raw almonds rinsed, then soaked uncovered overnight in filtered water
4 Cups of filtered water
1 Heaping tablespoon of raw honey or B grade maple syrup
1 Tiny pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of good vanilla
1-2 Tbsp of full-fat coconut milk

What you'll need:
Blender
Cheesecloth folded in thirds
Fine mesh strainer over a large bowl

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Rinse the soaked almonds and pop them into your blender. Add about one cup of the filtered water and blend away--Slowly adding water as needed to make a very fine paste...

Ok, so here's the thing: I am a frosting lover. I adore it. Revel in it. Glare at people who eat around it. The one caveat is that it must be good frosting. I hate the fluffed-up, lardy atrocity which garishly sits atop grocery store vanilla cupcakes. It's too sweet with zero depth of flavor. For our wedding my sweet Momma and I made all the cakes and held a 'Piping Party' the day before the wedding, where some ladies very close to my heart came to help decorate our tasty creations. If you are wanting a frosting that pipes like a dream, holds up all day, and doesn't sweat--you cannot find a better recipe than Smitten Kitchen's Swiss Buttercream. It is pure divinity. The only change we made to it was using salted butter--It provided the perfect snap needed to take this smooth frosting from tasty to fantastic! Trust. It is good.

However... It is not perfect for every baked confection. Sometimes you don't care so much about perfect piping... Sometimes you just need a frosting that will stand up to the fudgiest, most overly indulgent cake you've ever made... I had a moment where I remembered that browned butter and honey are some of the best things I could ever put in my mouth... And this frosting was born out of sheer need for something that tastes like a mix of toffee and heaven, with a nutty finish that has haunted my very dreams ever since... 

1 Stick of Salted Butter
1 TSP Vanilla or 1 Vanilla Bean split and scraped
1.5 Cups of Sifted Powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup of Wild Aged Honey (the crazy thick and creamy spreadable kind)*
1.5 -2.5 Cups of Smitten Kitchen's homemade ricotta which has been drained for two hours (easiest and move impressive recipe ever). I would advise adding cheese slowly, 'to tatste'.**

*Honey has different levels of sweetness, so your use might need to be 'to taste' (darn!). If you wish to omit the honey--It tastes just as good using 2 Cups of powdered sugar.*

**Buying ricotta works just as well--Just make sure to drain it over some cheese cloth so it is nice and firm--OR you can easily and very tastily use cream cheese in place of ricotta.**

Place butter in small saucepan and cook on medium-high heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a nice nutty brown color.

Being careful to avoid pouring in the burnt bits, add browned butter to mixing bowl over powdered sugar, vanilla, and honey and mix until combined.

Let cool COMPLETELY (this can be a lengthy process, but I promise it is worth being patient) before mixing in the ricotta or cream cheese. Mix until smooth and totally creamy.

Spread, pipe, or just eat it right out of the bowl!

Since we returned home from our amazing trip, I've been taking it verrrrry easy, thanks to a severe concussion... A couple of days after we got home, I was cooking dinner and had the stove fan going at full blast. Now--This vent/fan is not delicate. It is loud. Obnoxiously so. It vibrates. A. Lot. I had placed some big cast iron pans that had belonged to my Grandma on the shelf above/touching the vent. Wellllll... The vibration from the fan caused the biggest pan to fall right off the shelf, and right onto my head! I am finally starting to feel a bit better, but it was pretty awful. Even now--over ten days later, just going for a walk outside makes me dizzy and tired. It feels like the world is moving a lot faster than my brain can process... My sweet Navy has been so gentle and has been taking great care of me. I just hate feeling so out-of-it! At least now, I can carry on a conversation without forgetting what we were even talking about!

Moral of the story: Don't be a goose--Pans belong on low shelves that don't vibrate!

So... Turns out spending the day in the French countryside in the famous Bordeaux wine region is pretty fabulous... Annnnnd crazy hot. So, so, so hot. Though the lighting was perfect for picture-taking (poor Navy had to endure me stopping to snap every few feet), this pale-skinned lady walked away looking like a sweaty lobster! It was worth it, though. 

Our French adventure is fully underway! Yesterday being Navy's birthday, I was determined to have it be filled with delicious French food and gorgeous sights... Didn't happen. We pushed off from the lovely Northern Spanish town of San Sebastián and made our way to the French border. There, we encountered our first hurdle: An unmanned toll booth that only accepted a special prepaid card, or a European brand of credit card (one which we don't have)! As I was driving, the pressure started to mount when the ten cars behind us starting honking. Frantically I pushed the call button, only to have the person on the other end only speak French. No English. No Español. Trying to explain our problem was pretty difficult. In the meantime, a driver from the huge stack of cars behind us, tried to come to our rescue. He paid our toll, but while thanking him, the arm came down, before I'd even touched the gas pedal! At this point, I was near tears. Finally an attendant came and sorted us out and we were off! Cruising down the French freeway, admiring the countryside at a fast pace felt fabulous... Until we weren't. We hit our first batch of traffic right after a little stop in the picturesque, but touristy St. Jean de Luz. This traffic patch lasted an hour... When the heavens parted the sea of cars and we were clipping along at a steady pace again for fifteen minutes we started to feel saucy and were laughing about the toll and traffic run-ins. Surely no more misfortune could strike on my Navy's 35th birthday! Wrong. Traffic. Three hours of the nearly standstill kind. With till booths every 30 km.

Finally, we exited for our destination: The gorgeous town of Bordeaux. After a curious route provided by the GPS, we were starting to think Bordeaux was all ugly factories and sad apartment complexes. Wrong! Soon the bad 1990's architecture faded completely away to be fully replaced by the most stereotypically stunning architecture that always appears in period films based off Victor Hugo novels... Being as this city was built several hundred years ago, they weren't so interested in planning the streets around car travel (rude) and we got royally lost (thanks GPS). Twice. We made it to our hotel at midnight. Just in time for my Love's birthday to expire...

Today has more than made up for yesterday's stinginess of goodwill. We've spent hours walking the narrow streets if Bordeaux, eaten delicious French frites, gazed upon cathedrals which have stood the test of time and faith for hundreds of years... Suffice to say: I now adore France...

I've had the largest, loveliest bunch of basil growing on my terrace. Fairly surprising, since I am the one who planted it... I have a black thumb. Though my (ridiculously) lily white skin hates the overwhelming abundance of Spanish sunshine, my herbs have exploded under its warm kisses. The rosemary and basil have grown so big, I've started cutting them for bouquets in order to keep them manageable! I've used them in marinades and even some rosemary has made an appearance in a peach galette, but I've had yet to make a recipe solely focused on basil as the star ingredient. But what to make? Then it hit me! Obviously it was pesto time! Though I adore a good pesto, I sometimes find the flavors to be a bit too brash... While listening to Fleetwood Mac tell me to 'play it how you feel it,' I realized I needed to just play around a bit to make it a little more my speed.

Most pesto recipes revolve around tossing about six basic ingredients into the food processor:

Basil (2-3 Packed Cups)
Olive Oil (1/2ish Cup)
Parmesan (1/2 Cup)
Garlic (2-4 Cloves)
Pine Nuts (3 TBSP)
Salt (One Pinch)

The exciting thing about recipes with such simply, yet flavor-filled ingredients is that it leaves a lot of room to play, but since the stand-by is already so tasty, you don't have to deviate much to make something unique, but not too risque... For the most part, I followed that standard recipe... But couldn't resist adding just a few, tasty additions... Since many a pesto tastes like Springtime punching you in the face, with its apologetically vibrant flavors, I thought would sweeten it up and turn it into more of a kiss on the cheek.

I've been quite negligent with writing here... It has been a whirlwind few months! Since the last post in March, we have spent three weeks living in luxury at the Ritz, moved into our fabulous penthouse, spent two weeks in the German countryside, custom-designed a dream sofa, hosted 8 guests, traveled South and into Morocco, and gotten fully caught up on allllllll the Housewives shows! Suffice to say--It's been crazy!

I still find myself in shock that we are living in Europe. Not just living--Thriving. Whereas in the States we were so guilty of falling into a routine, here we feel like adventurers! We have just gotten back from the South and with Eric's birthday next week--We've decided to go North and into France!

Here are a few shots from some of our travels thus far...

                                                    Beautiful Germany and Austria...









Sometimes I find myself feeling overwhelmed at the sheer wonder of it all. There are challenges to living abroad, but for the most part--I'm in complete awe of my fortune. Plus--I get to do it with my best friend and one love by my side!

Navy comes back tonight! I always miss him like crazy when he is gone, but being left alone, in a foreign country, where I get stared at every time I go out, makes me miss him so much more! Not to mention all the crazy decisions that we have to make on the flat and the millions of emails about all that... I just can't wait till he gets in. I hadn't been homesick until he left. He is my home... And I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to such an amazing man.

Well, looks like we've gotten ourselves a home in Spain! I am pretty overwhelmed at the thought. It feels like so much pressure, since we don't really know areas all that well yet, but I think we are in a good location (Salamanca--just off of Goya) and we are only a five minute walk from Retiro, which is lovely.

The flat is ridiculous. The building was built during the housing boom in the 80's. In its current state, it is the type of crazy, 1980's penthouse that might appear in some James Spader film with dark undertones of cocaine addiction, Wall Street embezzlement, and people who have leopards as pets. It's kind of fabulous.

One of our conditions is that it ALLLLLL be painted a crisp white, so please imagine it as such. Thinking of having them paint the doors all white too, but in a high gloss, as well as the trim... Not sure yet... That would give it a more Mediterranean vibe--Very Santorini with the spiral staircase and dark wood floors...


HUGE open space when you walk in and the main room looks out onto this fabulous terrace that has a shade made entirely of vines in the warmer months. I hate that half wall, but there is a chance it can be removed... It has some odd nooks and such, but I think after everything is painted and fresh, I can make them cute...

The master looks out over the terrace too... It has a very open concept--The bathtub and double sinks are exposed to the rest of the room, while the shower and toilet are in a seperate space, and closed off (thank goodness!).





The kitchen is just off the main room--I'm not in love with having the kitchen be in a totally separate space, but it will work just fine. I love that it is right off the living/dining room and not down some endlessly long, narrow hallway past the bedrooms. The landlords pointed out that it is ideal for our maid. Maid? Yes... Maid. Apparently most people with our budget have one in Spain--which explains why a lot of the places we looked at had itsy bedrooms adjacent to the kitchens (maid's quarters).


The stairs lead up to a cozy, attic-like space with windows slanted from the roof. There are three bedrooms upstairs and and very spacious landing, that would make a great TV room.






One of the bedrooms is covered with this absurd elephant print fabric, but we want to leave it, since it is so bizarre... PLUS! This will fulfill a longtime dream that we have a room we call 'The Jungle Room' just like Elvis had at Graceland! Can't wait to decorate this room in the most ridiculously chic jungle way possible!

So, Navy is in Germany for the week... Which leaves the Poodle and I all alone in Spain. Though it totally blows being without the Navy Man, we are focusing on the positive and trying to keep busy. We met one of the other NATO wives and her dog at Retiro Park--To get there, Poodle and I took the Metro all by ourselves! SO proud! Lame, right? It's the small victories that you have to celebrate when you live overseas... Poodle has to ride in my bag to get on the train, which she hates, but I hate having people stare at my blonde hair as if it's on fire--Get over it, Poodle! We've all got stuff to deal with here! It really was a gorgeous day, and I was thrilled to get out of the hotel...





When we got home, I dropped off the Poodle and headed to a new grocery store. Uh, turns out it is some sort of weirdo-European-city-only-sells-their-brand kind of store. Naturally, I didn't want to buy some cheese with a logo of a dancing gnome, so I tried to leave without buying anything. Um... Didn't work. I literally couldn't figure out how to exit, since you have to go through a one-way gate to go in and any lane that didn't have a checker and a loooooong line is locked up tight! So, I bought hairspray--just to be able to exit! Felt like a total goose, but as least now my hair will look good for a while...

We have been in Madrid just over two weeks. It is remarkable so little time has passed... It feels so much longer. As we explore more and more of this city, we fall more in love. We have walked many miles... Over three hundred year old cobblestones, and down streets with shops that haven't been open more than a week... There is an electric pulse to this city that is intoxicating. Everywhere you look, you see life lived to its fullest. The Spanish don't live life indoors--Cafes are always full to bursting, fashion and design provide a feast for the eye, and young lovers kiss openly on corners... My favourite people to watch are the more 'mature' ladies of the city. Anyone with an extra Euro to spare owns some sort of full-length fur coat. They saunter around with fluffy dye-job hairdos, wearing low heels (even though many need a cane). Truly fabulous. This woman must have been at least 80 years old...



Our hunt for the perfect flat has been grueling, but we have made an offer and hear on Monday if they will accept! It is a penthouse with a fabulous terrace in the Goya area of Salamanca--Two blocks from Retiro park... Very weirdo European vibe to the place, but we kind of love it! The open floor plan is a rarity here, and though it's not in one of the old buildings with fabulous gargoyles, I would rather have a kitchen just off the living area (and not in the very back of the apartment, so the maid can sneak in), than 100 year old floors and charming leaded glass windows... Keep your fingers crossed for us!

I've been negligent in updating this, since we have arrived in Spain. It's been a bit of a whirlwind. We landed on Feb. 7th around noon. Our first taste of the relaxed Spanish attitude came when we tried to go through customs, but got waved right on into the country! No one looked at our passports or even Junie's paperwork that I was so stressed to have done correctly! We were greeted by some of the NATO contingent and whisked away into the city. I'll admit, my first impression as we drove in, wasn't so positive. The outskirts of the city are pretty dirty and with an extreme lack of sleep, it was hard to see any silver lining to everything around us.

Luckily, our hotel wasn't too hard to find and we were treated to a lovely efficiency apartment quite close to Gran Via (a popular shopping/tourist area--think Times Square, for comparison).

Since that first day, my impressions of the city have totally changed. It is beautiful! Everywhere I look, I cannot help but gasp at the ornate architecture. We have toured some amazing barrios so far... Centro, parts of Salamanca, we walked through Retiro Park... It's breathtaking.

My blonde hair affords me MANY stares. More than when I was in Singapore! Since we know very little Spanish, we are relying on lots of hand gesturing and broken words here and there... We have been told that out of all the countries in Europe, Spain speaks English the least and Madrid in particular...

Funny mix-ups so far: I bought baking soda, thinking it was salt... Eric took someone else's coffee at Sbux, and didn't notice till I asked if he had switched his name to 'Minosh', as it was written on the cup... I spilled water all over the table our first night at a restaurant...





While we are missing our friends and family, we are still too hyped up to be too homesick right now. Our house-hunt starts tomorrow and I am so excited!