Cooking, baking, and burning

This is gonna be a quick post, but I wanted to share a couple pictures of what I've been cooking up lately! I really always mean to take pictures when something turns out, but for now I just have 2 recipes I found on pinterest that were delish.

First up...Alice Springs Chicken:

http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/?p=282

Seriously, make this for dinner tonight!!! We are addicted. Jason claimed it was one of his favorite meals ever. But I have to take into account that 9 of his last 24 months were spent eating deployment food. Whatever. I'll still take it! p.s. - making the chicken into a heart shape is optional. We're such lovebirds.

And last night...Spinach Lasagna Rolls:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/02/spinach-lasagna-rolls.html

I really wish I had a better pic of this one, but hey, at least I remembered to take one at all. This, too, was so yummy! The only real trick here is convincing our commissary to carry its basic ingredients. But what do I really expect...for them to carry cheese?? I know, it's almost too much to ask. Anyhow, MAKE THIS, TOO!!! I was pretty scared about attempting this one, but after a call to JB to figure out how the heck I am supposed to boil lasagna noodles, I was on my way to another Jason-approved dinner.

I kind of wish I was going to be here this weekend to attempt some new recipes (and I've really gotten into baking/burning lately!), but I'll be back soon enough.

Love you all & happy eating!

Life lately + America THIS WEEK!

So much for posting more often... The truth is, life lately for us just hasn't been too exciting! Last weekend was a 4-day weekend for Jason, and we did nothing. It was so nice! We got all caught up on Dexter (we are obsessed) and just hung out around the house for the most part. In the past that probably would have made me antsy, but just knowing how much time we'll spend apart this year and next, nothing ever sounds better to me now.

We did have one pretty exciting event happen over the 4-day, however...

This perfect baby boy was born!

Our good friends Jae & Stacey welcomed their beautiful son into this world just the day before this picture was taken! Now, I have seen so many babies...but I am telling you, this is the most perfect little man I have ever held! And as a side note, I could have held him forever. Jason and I left the hospital not wanting a baby, but wanting that baby. :) Such an angel! They are the most adorable family of all time, and Jason and I could NOT be happier for them. Such a perfect gift and blessing.

Jason had an extremely busy work week coming off the long weekend, so I decided we'd try something new. He would be getting home late from work most nights, so I drove him to work in the mornings in order to have the car during the day. It's a little more driving then I'm used to (if you could come see just how far our tiny parking spot is from our house, you would understand!), but it ended up working great. I was able to get groceries, run errands, and most importantly get back into working out! Granted this is the only Army post gym I've ever been inside of, but I was pretty impressed. I'm SO excited to get back in that routine. My friend Heather and I started going together (even though she is going home this week for quite a while, too), it was so nice to have someone to go with for the time being! I'm still driving to Jason to work this week (so far, but it's only Monday ha), so I can work out with him at the end of the day. We'll see how long it takes me to get entirely sick of driving to and from post 3 times a day. :)

Another thing I took up last week was cooking more. It's just time to take on more responsibilities especially while I'm not working a real job! (Plus part of my Lent commitment this year is being a better, more thoughtful wife. I like the approach of not necessarily giving something up, but vowing to do more of something or something better.) I was so spoiled when I first moved over here - Jason cooked probably 5 out of 7 nights. I was so intimidated, and still am, but I'm getting less afraid to make mistakes and just trying out new things. The crock pot has been a freaking savior to us! I've made some pretty delicious meals in there so far...but my best meal last week was a copycat recipe of Alice Springs Chicken from Outback (grilled chicken, sauteed mushrooms, bacon, and cheese). It's so yummy! Especially the homemade honey mustard. I also made an orange chicken and rice dish, Butterfinger pie, and all kinds of typical breakfast stuff - eggs, bacon (my first time!), chocolate chip pancakes, etc. etc. I'm no top chef, but I have to admit - I run a mean microwave and crock pot a few nights a week.

This past weekend was a little more eventful. Friday, we had a "hail & farewell" dinner for several guys in Jason's unit. It's basically welcoming in the new guys and saying bye to the old ones. I wasn't feeling so hot all day long, so I only made it through dinner, while the rest of the boys went out afterwards. Luckily, Jason takes good care of me and came home early to make sure I was doing okay. I lucked out. I married an absolute stud.

Saturday was our big, one-month-early, St. Patrick's Day party at Jason's friend, Mike's, house. It did not disappoint. I'll consider it my warm-up for the real thing in Savannah in just a few weeks! Here's a pic of the group from the party:

Then to finish out the weekend, last night we had a dinner date with our friends Abram & Nena, who are getting married next month! I'm so happy Jason and I will both be here for the wedding. They are the cutest little American/German couple ever! We went to a restaurant Jason and I had never been to before. It's an Italian place right inside St. Michael's up on the hill. By the way, they have the best tiramisu in the world! Seriously. It was such a fun night.

We are so blessed with such great friends halfway across the world from all our best friends we've known for years and years. It's definitely a comforting feeling. They help make this home.

And as far as this week goes, well it's insanely bittersweet for me honestly. I am SO excited to be flying back stateside for the first time since November. But I am so incredibly sad about leaving Jason in Germany. Granted, he's going to be away training the entire time I am in the States (which is the only reason I am coming home), it just feels so weird leaving him behind at the airport. We only did that when I didn't live here! In the big picture, though, I know 3 weeks is nothing. I'll be back in Deutschland before I even know it. I guess I'm just that annoying girl still madly in love with her partner long after the newlywed phase has been conquered. (And let me just say, I know you are "newlyweds" for the first year - but you have to get a lot more comfortable a lot faster with one another when you move across the ocean together.) I can't wait to see his face in the Nuremberg airport at the end of the month. And then just 2 weeks after I fly back, we'll be turning right around and heading back to Knoxville for 10 days for his pre-deployment block leave. You probably think I am crazy for taking those trips so close to each other. And you're probably right. But we both agreed I wouldn't just stay in the States those 2 weeks, because it'd be 2 more weeks we'd have to spend apart. And we are pretty non-budging on time we can spend together...

So that's it! The boring stuff we've been up to lately. Just living really normal 20-something lives. I think everyone expects us to be doing all these cool things 100% of the time, and the good news is, you don't have to be jealous - we really don't! We do get to do a lot of cool things when time allows, but our weekdays are just like yours. He goes to work, and I am a housewife buried in laundry and dishes and running errands. The only difference is, when I leave the house I'm looking at thousand year old buildings and not understanding one word that's being spoken around me. I am reminded on a daily basis of this blessed life I am leading. I keep thinking one day I'll wake up in Knoxville and realize it was all a dream...

See you in FOUR DAYS people!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope this post finds all of you lovebirds out there having had a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with lots of lovey feelings!

Now that that's out of the way, let's be clear up front...I'm not big on V-Day. Never have been, never will. Proof of that is that I am now married, and I still don't see what all the hype is about. I should be happy - I have a guaranteed valentine for the rest of my life! I'm pretty sure Jay feels the same way though, so we both agreed - no presents this year. Just a nice night together...or with 2 other couples as it turned out. Jason, of course, had to work most of the day, so I treated myself to a Felicity marathon day on the couch. :) Oh! And I made these...

If you saw this on Twitter yesterday, I wasn't kidding. These red velvet cupcakes are literally the FISRT thing I have ever baked that I didn't burn. I wish I would have started the blog this summer when I was visiting. I attempted not 1, but 2, birthday cakes for Jay. Let's just say he had to pick one up at the commissary that day to take to his own party that night. My kitchen skills, on a scale of 1-10, are definitely less than 0. I've never cooked or baked anything in my life until I got married! I know, I'm not proud. But facts are facts. So this small victory (after learning the F --> C conversion and realizing you still can't leave anything in the oven as long as they say) was more like winning a war to me. Sadly, I really do like cooking! Luvs Diapers said it best I think, you live & you learn (& then you get Luvs...if you've got a kid. And let's not talk about how I've been dreaming I'm pregnant again!)

Anyways, back to our exciting day. So when Jason called me an hour or so before he usually gets home to say he was on his way, I was so excited! And of course, he knows the way to my heart (or the TWO ways - he'd already made buffalo chicken dip this weekend!), he brought me these...

The most perfect non-gift (remember our agreement?) of all time. Oh, and 2 cards. A real romantic. One of the envelopes addressed like so ("Look! I even drew a stamp!):

Sorry ladies, this guy is all mine. In all seriousness, this made me laugh for at least 5 minutes straight. (The only funnier thing he did all day was mispronounce Ellen DeGeneres's name at dinner...please, PLEASE ask him in person how he thought you say it!!!)

While I'm at it, I'd like to thank the coolest Grandma of all time, Gram Penny, for making these lovely heart coasters and Mom for sending them over to us. I'm keeping them out year-round. Too precious.

After a Twix/red velvet cupcake eating contest, we took our daily 5:00 nap together before heading to the next town over for dinner. We met our friends Chase & Emily and Chris & Courtney there for some Mongolian buffet. (Let's also not talk about how I ate half a plate of kangaroo thinking it was pork.) But it was delicious! And fun to see some of our best friends over here. 

And that was our day! We came home and watched The Voice, hated on Christina Aguilera, and called it a night. Not all days are perfect - they don't always live up to big expectations the world makes us believe in - but they are perfect enough for us. I can't think of another time I've been so happy. God is blessing us beyond measure.

Happy Valentine's Day 2012!

Love, The Stewarts

So many castles, so little time...

I promise after this post, I am going to be better at updating the blog more often! I always have the best intentions to, then things get crazy, then I have so many things I want to post about, that I get overwhelmed and just never do it. But that will change. Mom & Dad are back home safe and sound (very sad), but Jason is finally home after 3 weeks away (very happy), and things are finally getting back to normal around here.

So after Dad headed back Stateside, Mom & I had another week and a half to ourselves. Girl time. I was so excited! We had big plans of visiting a few places like Neuschwanstein Castle and Rothenberg ob der Tauber and Munich, but those plans got pretty derailed by the fact that we had below zero temperatures and a decent amount of snow. That wasn't going to keep us inside though! We mapped out a whole string of castles and churches and palaces we wanted to see within an hour radius of Bamberg. That way, we could be in the car and stay warm and only have to get out a few minutes at a time to brave the weather. It worked perfectly! And I want to share some of the amazing pics with you. I'll update the post later with names and places, but for now I just want to post these gorgeous photos!

First up: 14 Saints Church - Staffelstein, Germany

And 5km across the way: Banz Monastery - Staffelstein, Germany

My favorite one of all!: Seehof Palace - Memmelsdorf, Germany

A close 2nd: Weissenstein Palace - Pommersfelden, Germany

A tiny little schloss: Water Palace - middleofnowhere, Germany

Right in town: Altenburg Castle - Bamberg, Germany

A 2-minute walk from our door!: Geyersworth Palace - Bamberg, Germany

Another hometown palace: Concordia - Bamberg, Germany

A few churches you will probably recognize: The Dome - Bamberg, Germany

And St. Michael's (Monastery) - Bamberg, Germany

On the road again - Griefenstein Castle - Heiligenstadt i.OFr, Germany

-10 degrees: Giechburg Castle - Schebliss, Germany

Back in town: New Residences - Bamberg, Germany

Our last day trip: New Palace - Bayreuth, Germany

Weird name; cool place: Fantasy Palace - Eckersdorf-Donndorf, Germany

And finally: Hermitage Castle - Bayreuth, Germany

(Old Castle - boarded up for the winter)

(New Castle)

So there you have it! A sample of all the beautiful places Mom & I got to see over a week or so. There are a million more pictures of each place, so check out JB's facebook to see more!!

The Mills do Germany!

One week ago yesterday, I hit the road bright and early at 4:45am to drive to Frankfurt to pick up Mom & Dad for their European vacation! I had horrible anxiety for 2 reasons about this: 1) I'd never driven on the autobahn (especially in the dark; there are NO street lights/reflectors on that thing!), and 2) I had no idea where I was going. Not to mention, I hadn't really slept the night before because I was so excited! They were originally supposed to get in Monday morning, but thanks to our courteous friends at United Airlines, their first flight was delayed and the second cancelled altogether. Did I mention they only gave them one meal voucher for a 24 hour delay? (I sent United a super nice email thanking them for their hospitality. Hey, they got a $500 voucher out of it...) But nonetheless, they arrived around 7:00am Tuesday morning, worn completely out. After a delicious McDonald's breakfast in the Frankfurt airport and a rousing conversation with Luftansa employees to figure out where the heck their luggage was (still in D.C. - don't get me started), it was time to head home to Bamberg! Dad went to bed immediately, which I don't recommend for people trying to fight off jet lag. It's really best to just stay up and be tired then in time for CET bedtime. But he hadn't hardly slept on the plane, so while he napped, Mom & I got them settled into the apartment. After a few hours, my anxiety got the best of me, and I had to wake Dad up! It was time to see downtown Bamberg.

First stop...get them a doner for lunch! (p.s. - that is our building in the background with the yellow umbrella.)

Mom & I chowed down on a doner as I took them on a walk around town. It didn't last as long as I thought...turns out 100% Southerner Tim Mills was not quite ready for Southern Germany temperatures.

Daddio (wearing Jason's clothes haha) & I on the big bridge. Rathaus in the background.

Mom & Dad in the Rosen Garten looking up at St. Mike's.

And this is just about where the tour ended. Dad needed another nap! So Mom & I just caught up on everything and waited for Timmy to be awake again so we could get dinner. Since I hadn't made a reservation anywhere (it's so weird here - one is almost always required), we headed to Jason's favorite spot, Cafe Esspress for Pizza Tag - Pizza Day! After stuffing ourselves, we said goodnight to my parents' first day ever in Germany.

At dinner :)

Wednesday started off a little on the wrong foot, too. My dear friends at Lufthansa gave me an upbeat phone call that morning saying they couldn't figure out where to send Mom & Dad's luggage because "Longestrasse" doesn't exist in Bamberg. Now they would be correct about that, but LANGESTRASSE does...and it is the main road! Come on people, you really couldn't figure that out? So once I cleared up the one-letter confusion, he assured me their luggage (which had been flown into Frankfurt that morning, then flown to Nuremberg? You can't make this stuff up...) would be arriving sometime between 1-3pm that day. Okay, kind of a buzzkill. But we need the luggage, so we'll hang around the house and wait. Thankfully it arrived at, I kid you not, 2 minutes until 3:00. But hey, like previously stated, United felt sorry enough for my parents to give them a voucher for their trouble, so you cut your losses and move on... You are in Europe! Nothing can be that bad. :)

After unpacking and changing clothes for the first time in 4 days (haha), Mom, Dad, and I went on a walking tour of the other parts of downtown.

On the way to Max Platz right behind our apt.

Cuties :)

In front of a painting I'd never even seen before!

Luckily, I did a better job playing hostess Wednesday and had made reservations at an amazing Greek restaurant for dinner that night.

Literally a 3 minute walk from our front door...Poseidon is so yummy! Mom is already dying to go back. She ordered a pork steak with yogurt sauce that was one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. And did I mention they give you free shots of ouzo with dinner? Weird and not very tasty, but it's the thought that counts! :)

Another perfect ending to a perfect day with 2 of my favorite people in this world. Jason was jealous. I don't blame him.

Thursday was big adventure day! I was going to brave the autobahn once again to make a day trip to Coburg. Our friends had been there just a few weeks ago to see the Coburg Fortress, and it just looked too beautiful not to see. And it is only about 30 minutes away! Not to mention, they also have a palace there that reminded me of the Biltmore/Downtown Abbey. Mom & I swear we are just living in the wrong time period. We're obsessed with that stuff! So after an easy, short trip to Coburg, we drove around for twice as long as it took us to get there to find somewhere to park. Disaster. But nonetheless, we finally found a garage closeby. I dropped my pin on my iPhone map (thanks Jason, for teaching me the finer points of land nav.) so we could find our way back, and we were off to see the beautiful Cobourg Palace!

Here are a few pics of the walk from the garage to the Palace...

Gorgeous town hall! It's hundreds of years old.

This platz was like a fairytale...

Beautiful entrances to the city everywhere!

And just 10 minutes later, you run right into the beautiful Coburg Palace.

Seriously, guys. I get to live here. Well, not in that palace...but holy cow.

Looking back from the Palace.

After making our way back through downtown, we decided to drive up to Veste Coburg, which translates to Coburg Fortress or Castle. It's AMAZING. Dad and I decided they couldn't build something like it today if they wanted, let alone literally hundreds of years ago. It took our breath away. Although it was also like 8 degrees F up there too, which probably contributed to our breathing problems. Again, Dad almost froze to death, but he refused not to "fly his colors" in his bright orange UT jacket intended for 60 degree weather. Gotta love a diehard. Unfortunately, we didn't make it up to the fortress in time to tour the inside, but check out these amazing pics from the outside.

From the parking lot...

FINALLY made it up the hill!

I'm sorry, is this a movie set? It was unreal.

We have about 1000 more pictures from up there, so check JB's facebook soon for others! We literally could not stop snapping pictures. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, and I've been blessed to see a lot of really beautiful places in Europe so far. One more end to one more perfect day with my parents.

Friday was wake-up-at-7:00am-by-the-movers-day to get all 29 of my household good boxes delivered. I wish I had a picture of our living room by 7:30, because it was wall to wall boxes and plastic bins and couches and other furniture that I'd been waiting almost 10 weeks to get. I AM NOT LIVING OUT OF A SUITCASE ANYMORE!!! Mom, Dad, and I worked all day unpacking, cleaning, organizing, and still didn't get it all done. But it was a really good start, and Jason was happy when he got in late that night to see a more home-y apartment. p.s. - separate blog post to come once I am finished decorating!

Dad's last day (insert tears) was Saturday, so we decided to go to Munich as a big send-off. Then we got a late start and the weather was bad, so we turned our Munich trip into a Nuremberg trip (only 45 minutes away, rather than 2 hours). I love Nuremberg, and I had only been for the Christmas markets, so there was plenty I still hadn't seen. It was the perfect day. Freezing again, of course, but the snow that was coming down and had already stuck was so beautiful. We went up to that castle (are they all running together in your head yet?) and ate at the best German restaurant ever. If I could remember the name, I'd tell you. So if you're ever in Nuremberg and want some brats, get back to me. I'll figure it out.

Check out the pics.

Words can't even describe...St. Sebald.

(side view)

Nuremberg Castle!

Too bad they couldn't afford a bigger door.

The view from atop the castle. Another movie set.

Our babe of a tour guide. I am so lucky my best friend is a hottie, and I also got to marry him. And we get to spend our whole lives together. Let me pinch myself again.

The greatest parents a girl could ask for. And the only picture of all 3 of us from all week.

After watching a German man throw beach ball sized snowballs at unsuspecting tourists for what seemed like hours, we decided to head back down into town for lunch. Still can't remember the name, but everything we ordered was insanely good.

The 2 men in my life :)

And then we had to walk downtown more to burn off some calories. (I cannot beg you enough to look through JB's pictures when she posts them from snowy Nuremberg...they are so beautiful! I'm just running out of space.)

And that's about it for this post! We ended Dad's stay with a dinner with our friends Mike & Nora at one of Jason's favorite places, Mahr's Brau. We were up early again Sunday for another trip to Frankfurt airport. I hate goodbyes. They never, ever get easier. You just get more used to them. But I know I will see him in just about 6 weeks. :)

More adventures from JB & I to come. Check back!