The More You Know ;)

I was checking out my status feed on Facebook this morning and the general theme of the day was Daylight Savings Time.  All of a sudden I started worrying about the fact that we seemed to forget it.  After a little of research on my husband's part, we found out that Europe sets their clocks forward the last Sunday of March instead of the second like North America.  Crazy stuff.  It's not of much use to us today anyway because we're all feeling a bit under the weather.  We'll be sticking close to the house today. Anna didn't sleep from about 3 AM on.  We're SERIOUSLY looking forward to nap time today ;).

Dan the man has taken to adding a speech impediment when it suits him :)  When he really wants something he'll say (in his cutest voice) "Pwitty, pwitty pwease?!"  I've never been a fan of baby talk, but he looks up at you with those big blue eyes and your heart melts a little.  He knows how to work the system already!  This could be trouble.

Our kids love The Muppets.  We bought Muppets Treasure Island while we were in California and it came with a little sticker book.  Anna and Daniel were going through the stickers and playing with them one day when they came across these guys

Anna said that no one would want that sticker because they were just mean guys that no one liked.  I told her that I actually liked them and you should have seen the look of disgust on her face!  She took out the sticker and handed it to me.  "I guess mommy can have this one because she LIKES *scoff* the mean guys!"  She just couldn't conceive of anyone liking Statler and Waldorf :)

Current Favorite Songs...

I figured that after two posts in a row about food I needed to mix things up a bit.  Here are a few songs currently making my playlists recently.

"Sigh No More" - Mumford & Sons
"Love will not betray,
dismay or enslave you,
It will set you free
Be more like the man
you were made to be.
There is a design,
An alignment, a cry,
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love
as it was made to be"

"MarryYou" - Bruno Mars
I love the sound of this song even though I can't say I agree with the view on marriage ;)

"Forget You" - Cee Lo Green (the edited version ;))
This is another one that I really love the sound and feel of.  It can make me smile even when I'm in a super crappy mood.

"To Build a Home" - The Cinematic Orchestra
An incredible song.  I love the way it builds and swells.  I could listen to this song on repeat for hours.

"In These Arms" - The Swell Season
Such a beautiful song.  Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova sound so great together.

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" - Iron & Wine
Love this song.  It's so chill and very pretty.

"Someone Like You" - Adele
I'm slightly obsessed with her new album, and this is my favorite of the whole cd.  A beautiful song.  Daniel sounds pretty cute singing the chorus ;)

"Parachute" - Ingrid Michaelson
It's a pretty big departure from your typical Ingrid Michaelson, but it works and it's fun to sing along to.

"Transatlanticism" - Death Cab for Cutie
This was the song I listened to all the time when I was in Hamburg for three months in college.  It's still one of my go-to songs when I'm missing the states and my family.

"Canvas" - Imogen Heap
I love her music.  This song is so great.

"Blood Bank" - Bon Iver
I can't get enough of Bon Iver.  This song is often stuck in my head.

"Wake Up" - The Arcade Fire
An amazing song.  Hearing it on the preview for "Where the Wild Things Are" made me want to see that movie.

"Norwegian Wood" - The Beatles
I don't think this one needs an explanation.

"Paris (Ooh La La)" - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
I downloaded this before we drove to Paris for Christmas.  It's a really fun song.

"Cosmic Love" - Florence + the Machine
I love the epic feel to this song.


Okay, that's probably enough for now.  I listen to A LOT of music, so there are plenty of songs making the rotation these days.  ;)

Corned Beef

Will and I caught an episode of Alton Brown's show on Food Network around this time last year.  He was making his own corned beef.  We decided that the next (this) St. Patrick's Day would be a great chance to try making our own corned beef.  Well, yesterday I made the brine and trimmed the massive 8.5 lb brisket we bought from the commissary.  It's insanely easy.  The biggest issue for us was the fact that our commissary isn't very well stocked with herbs and spices, so we had to go looking at the German store, Real.  We love Real, but spices have VERY different names in German than they do in English.  We spent a good twenty minutes in the spice aisle before we left with the correct spices. 

We're celebrating St. Patrick's Day a couple of days after the 17th because I'm going in for another sleep study on the actual holiday.  The beef needs to sit in the brine for 10 days.  I'll be posting a follow-up once it's done in the brine and it's been cooked and served.  It's a five star recipe on Food Network and it has 57 reviews.  Pretty impressive, Alton ;) 

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons saltpeter  *We used Morton's Meat Tenderizer*
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 8 whole cloves
• 8 whole allspice berries
• 12 whole juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 pounds ice
• 1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed *In my case, 8.5lbs, so I did 1.5 of everything in the recipe*
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

Directions

Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F. Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container *I had to use a rubbermaid container and use a smaller container to weigh down the meat because it wouldn't fit in any ziplock bag*, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and stir the brine.
After 10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water. Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water by 1-inch. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain.

*My notes in asterisks

Side Note:

Will brought these home for me yesterday :)  Such a sweet thing to do.  I am spoiled.

Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

I stumbled upon this website the other day and found a recipe for Dulce de Leche cupcakes and decided that I needed to try them.  Baking has been interesting here due to the way the oven in our house works.  It's basically a glorified broiler, so I'm having to learn a bit along the way.

A friend came over and helped me make these.  First, we tried the old fashioned method for making dulce de leche which involves poking some holes on the top of a can of sweetened condensed milk and letting it simmer in a pot of water for hours, but it didn't work out so well for some reason.  Then, I stood over the stove stirring the condensed milk for over an hour to make dulce de leche, but I made it too thick.  Once it cooled it was more like dulce de leche fudge.  It tasted amazing, but it was not going to work for frosting.    The third, and final method, was pouring condensed milk into a microwave safe container and microwaving it in very small increments of time until it became dulce de leche.  This method worked, but made my microwave an absolute nightmare to clean.  *All that to say* If you live near a store that has dulce de leche in a jar, I would definitely take advantage of it!  :)  If you're like me and can't find a jar of dulce de leche anywhere near you, here's a link to an article that tells you all of the different ways to make it. 

Here's the recipe:

Cupcakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Place racks in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two cupcake pans with paper or foil liners.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter and sugars.  Beat on medium speed until fluffy and pale brown, about 3 minutes.   Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add one egg.  Beat on medium for one minute.  Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition.  Stop the bowl and scrape down the sides as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract.

Add half of the flour mixture to the egg and butter mixture.  Beat on low speed and slowly drizzle in the buttermilk.  Beat until just incorporated.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients.  Beat on low speed until just incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and finish incorporating with a spatula.  Try not to over mix the mixture.

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake pans, filling each liner about two thirds full.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.  Let rest in the cupcake pans before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cupcakes should be completely cooled before frosting.

To make the frosting:

Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.  Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until very soft and pliable.  Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter and dulce de leche.  Beat on medium speed until well incorporated.  Stop the mixer and add the salt and powdered sugar.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and lighter in color. Generously spoon frosting on top of cupcakes, or use a large frosting tip to pipe on frosting.

Let's try this again...

Ok.  I'm starting to feel semi-settled in Germany, so I suppose it's a good time to get back to the business of blogging!  I'll be posting pictures of the inside of our new home around the end of the month.  I am waiting on some canvas prints of pictures I've taken to put up on the walls.

Once I really start baking and cooking I'm planning on posting some recipes here from time to time. 

In an attempt to get back into the swing of things I'm going to post a recent picture and 15 facts about me.

1.  I am a nerd....some of you may already be privy to this information ;)
2.  I am the youngest of three children. 
3.  I have always wanted to live in Europe.  We (Will) joined the AF because we were hoping to get the chance to live in Europe. 
4.  I am insanely proud of my husband.  If you give me an opening to talk about him, you might regret it because I can talk your ear off on that subject.  He is the most intelligent, witty, and amazing guy I know. 
5.  I have two children and they are hilarious.  In some ways they're SO alike, but in many ways, they are polar opposites.  I kind of like it that way.
6.  I randomly get the theme song from Lord of the Rings stuck in my head.  I seriously end up walking around humming it almost daily.
7.  Thanks to the way my brain works, it is VERY easy to get a song stuck in my head.  My husband thinks that it is the funniest thing in the world to get super annoying songs stuck in my head...I do not appreciate this ;)
8.  I am quirky. 
9.  I love to act, but I haven't done it in years.  I am hoping to be able to get back into community theater at some point.
10.  I really want to get my nose pierced, but my husband thinks that it's really gross, so I won't ;)
11.  I really love to travel and hope to do a ton of it while living in Germany. 
12.  My favorite shows are Arrested Development, Flight of the Conchords, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks & Rec, Modern Family, etc.
13.  I am totally OCD about the way I play the game Solitaire.  It's weird, and I know that.  I'm pretty sure that if someone who didn't know me watched me play Solitaire, they would worry about me. 
14.  I love comedies.  If you ask what I'd like to watch, 9 times out of 10 I'm going to say a comedy.  I love Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  Will finds my nerdy love for those movies endearing...thank goodness!
15.  Our recent visit to Prague was on my "Bucket List."  I am 25% Czech and my family came from Prague, so it was a really big deal to me.  I loved being there!  What an incredible city :)

Halloween and more fun....

I wanted to add a few Halloween pictures here :)  The kids were just WAY too cute!  Anna (Aurora) was wearing the tiara I wore at my wedding.  I was a little nervous about that, but I made sure to pin it in really well.  Daniel was a super cute Woody!  He wasn't too keen on keeping the hat on, but at two years old that's understandable.  He was very leery of all of the scary decorations and costumes and wound up crying to be held a few times while trick-or-treating.  The whole holiday seems to freak him out.  Every time we walked through the Halloween section at Target he would cry and hide his face.  He's so sensitive.

My passport came in the mail yesterday!  The picture cracks me up because I look so smug ;)  The guy was taking the pictures at a weird angle, so it looks like I'm half smiling while looking down on everyone.  Will said that my passport picture was the best out of all four of ours in spite of the smug look ;)  None of our passport pictures are good.  Even the kids, who never take a bad picture!  It's still bizarre to me that our kids have passports.  I didn't get my first passport until 15 or 16 when I went to China.  I love the fact that our children are going to be little world travelers.  I just hope they love traveling and Europe as much as Will and me.  To be honest, sometimes I worry that they'll grow to resent us because of all of the moving we'll probably do in their lifetime and having to be so far from extended family.  This is exactly the life that Will and I want, but would they choose it if they had the option?  I guess only time will tell.  

We'll be in Germany this time next month.  That's still pretty surreal.  Our lives have changed so much since we got married five and a half years ago.  I often feel overwhelmed to have been blessed so much.  God is SO good to us.  We're still working on all of the final details, but most things have been scheduled :)

Thoughts on loss and change...

It's hard to believe that it's November already!  Where has the time gone.  It feels like we're moving at a break-neck pace now and I'm trying to acclimate myself the best I can!

I suppose I should start with an apology for being MIA for such a long time.  I kind of gave myself this six months to try to take in life here in CA because I knew that everything would be changing so quickly.  I didn't take on any non-friend photography clients for quite some time here and tried to lay low.  I've made some of the best friendships I've had in my life in this short period of time.  I have friends who care deeply about me and never hesitate to offer a hand when they can tell that I need to take a breath.  What a blessing those friendships are.  There is nothing like a friendship where both parties are so actively pursuing each other.  I have been blessed like this by my best friend Jessica for years, but we never live near each other!  ;)  I love you SOOO much, Jessica!  Thank God for friends we can lean on when we feel like screaming or crying and need a sympathetic ear.  

Change...I don't even know where to start!  Like I said, I have been laying low here photographically speaking ;)  I've done a couple of newborn shoots and now I have a family shoot that was booked as a result of them seeing one of the newborn shoots!  This is such a lovely way to gain business!  I'm hopeful that things will really pick up once we get to Germany and I actually start advertising my photography business.  I'm looking forward to this move and all of the changes it will bring for my family.  Life is good and we are so blessed to be able to live where we've always wanted to live long term.  

Loss...There are some losses that you simply never get over.  My Grandma passed away about a year before Will and I got engaged.  She was and continues to be one of my favorite people who ever graced this planet.  I think of her daily, but sometimes the loss hits me like a ton of bricks and I find myself crying.  This happened the other day on my drive home from Walgreens.  I went to pick up medications for my stomach flu and found myself tearing up while driving home alone even though nothing in particular reminded me of her at that moment.  Today I was looking through a Pier 1 catalog and saw something that reminded me of her holiday decorations.  Autumn and the holiday season are the worst.  Will loves to listen to the Rat Pack and we often play Sinatra/Dean/Bing for the kids after dinner.  It always makes me think of how much my Grandma would love Will's affinity for old music and movies.  They would have gotten along so well!  Daniel's new favorite song to sing (sometimes yell ;)) is "Count Your Blessings" from White Christmas.  That would have made her day.  I think of her when I sing "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ra" to my children when they're in their beds and having a rough time sleeping because it's what she did for me every night I spent at her home.  My life is a million times richer for having spent time with her and it sometimes makes me cry that my children will never get to know how wonderful she was.  Anyway, I'm not sure why I felt the need to share this with whomever decides to read the blog, but I just know that I miss her dearly and wouldn't trade a second of the time I spent with her.  It's never easy to lose a loved one, but I have to trust that God has a plan and that ultimately my Grandma is now in Heaven and at peace.