Happy Japanaversary!

I have to start this post off with our 2 year Japanaversary! It also means we have a year left if we don't stay longer. It makes me sad because we have done almost none of the things we had hoped to do.. but it does make me feel better knowing we haven't done those things because for a year in a half of that time we did not have a day off together. And add in the fact that Frank has been gone a total of a year of it so far. So we're not at least sitting around being lazy!

 

Some of our first outings...

We have had a great two years and this next year will definitely be a big one!

Now onto the food! These turned out so great I just had to share :]

Not too sure why, but in the process of making my dinner list I decided to pull out my first Costco cookbook. Besides some scalloped potatoes I made with left over potatoes I had from Thanksgiving, I hadn't used this cookbook.. well in far too long. I also decided to try a few new recipes for once.

For Frank I made Peppered Chopped Steak. To make the patties it calls for cooked rice mixed in with the ground meat. Well, I forgot to make some so I just omitted it from the recipe and they still turned out great from what I'm told. Why I have never made him these before is beyond me! They were insanely easy to make and only took a few minutes. Since I get our meat out in town the serving size was much smaller and he had invited a friend over. They ended up making a pretty nice pairing with what I was making for myself.

 

For myself (and what would be a side dish for others) I made Asparagus, Bell Pepper and Basil Egg Tart. I changed things up with this one for a few different reasons. One, I was tired and didn't want to make the crust and two, I had a couple potatoes left over to use and I really love potato crusts :] So really this ended up being more of a quiche than a tart. Simple, yet amazing!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving this year was extra special since the boat got back two days before. We definitely had lots to be thankful for :]

I hosted again this year, only this time I also did all the cooking minus dessert (that was made by a friend). I already knew my favorite mashed potatoes and stuffing from The Pioneer Women would be on the menu so while getting the recipes I started looking at her other holiday items. In the end our entire dinner came from her website. It wouldn't be healthy, but at least I knew it would be good!

 

I didn't have time to get individual pictures so here are all the links:

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Thanksgiving Stuffing/Dressing

No-Knead Dinner Rolls

Glazed Easter Ham

Frank formed the rolls as to why they are ginormous.

 

Frank and I were pretty excited that our first main meat dish turned out.. if you can't tell ha. Since our ham was only 8 pounds I cut the glaze recipe in half.

The glider has already started coming in hand ; ) The girls also replaced us pretty quickly.

 

It was a good Thanksgiving for Molly!

Guam through my iPhone

Once blogger starts working correctly for me I will write up a post.. And who knows, maybe I'll finally finish blogging about our honeymoon!? 

This kid was a few feet behind us any direction we swam. We even high tailed it in the opposite direction to get away, I thought Frank was behind me.. Nope still the kid haha

Celebrating our lesbian polygamy marriage hahaha

Best way to end a vacation. Virgin piña  colada : )

Honeymoon Day 4: Livorno {Pisa/Florence} Italy

Our stop in Tuscany was one I was really looking forward to. After our shore excursion the day prior we spent a little more money and did Pisa and Florence all day. I am so so glad we chose to stick with the excursions. Both places are a few hours from the port so that would have been a VERY long day if we had to figure out public transportation for both places. This was hands down my favorite part of Italy.

Our first stop was Pisa to see the leaning tower.

Pisa was our first time getting to try cannoli's  :]

Driving all over Tuscany was simply amazing. I could have easily packed up and moved to a villa in a heartbeat.

Florence. Florence is somewhere I think everyone should visit. I would love to vacation there for a few days.. one day...

 

Miracle Square 

 Hands down the best pizza we have ever had!

When we walked around the corner and saw this church the only thing we were able to get out was, WOW! 

 

 The detail covering the entire building was.. well there were no words for how amazing it was. 

 

Yup, second cannoli of the day. No I did not care, I was eating my way through Europe. Florence had all the good food along with the amazing scenery.

 

 This picture does not do this view justice. When we came around on this clearing it looked like we were staring at a painting.

 

These next few pictures were taken from the bus, so they aren't the best but I was trying to get shots of how amazing and beautiful the countryside is.

 

Those in Washington, doesn't this remind you of Skagit County?

 Our first towel animal :]

 

Until next time Tuscany...