For the Love of Disney

Today marks 9 months that I have been married to the love of my life! The day after we were married we flew off to Disneyland to celebrate our new life together. To celebrate today and the last 9 months I thought I'd share some pictures of our favorite moments at Disneyland. 

Our first night at Disney!

Meeting some of our favorite characters!

^^Disneyland Fun!^^

^^California Adventure fun!!^^

Blue Bayou Restaurant inside the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

If you go to Disneyland, make reservations a couple months in advance for this place. It is such a fun experience and a must in our opinion.

Wine Country Trattoria at California Adventure

We had appetizers and drinks at this restaurant on a sunny afternoon. It was a very nice atmosphere and the food was scrumptious! We got wine to go (in plastic wine glasses) and walked around California Adventure afterwards. So fun!

Just a glimpse of some of the yummy food we had at Disney. Rustic Bruschetta (Roasted Artichokes, Mushrooms, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Caramelized Onions on Crostini with Tomato Oil and Parmesan)  at Wine Country Trattoria, Fried Green Tomato Sandwich (Cornmeal Crusted Fried Green Tomatoes layered with two slices of fresh Heirloom Tomatoes, topped with Havarti, Rémoulade, Jicama-mango Slaw and served on a Multi-Grain Roll) from the Hungry Bear Restaurant and room service our last morning at the Disneyand Hotel.

Enjoying the warm California sun at our hotel

In line for the Haunted Mansion during the Mickey's Halloween Party on our last evening at Disney. Note the churro in Micah's hand, his favorite treat at Disneyland. It quickly became my favorite snack as well. Fried dough covered in sugar, how can you go wrong?

We were as giddy as children the whole time we were at Disneyland together. It truly is the happiest place on earth for us. We cannot wait until our next trip!

Wine Pairing

 Last Wednesday Micah and I went to a Rodney Strong wine pairing at Tuscan Moon.

The event was hosted on their patio and the weather was perfect.

The evening started with a glass of prosecco.

 Next was the appetizer. Lilies and radishes with whipped butter served with a glass of Knotty Pines Zinfandel 2012.

The second course was a cucumber soup with crab served with a glass of Chalk Hill Chardonnay 2012. We bought a bottle of this chardonnay at the end of the night. So good!

               

The third course was Strawberries and Wild Boar served with a glass of Symmetry 2011. The Symmetry was out of this world good. Oh my goodness.

The fourth course was called Truffle Tremor and in my opinion was the most tasty course. The cheese and the fresh raspberries served with the glass of Russian River Pinot Noir 2012 was a perfect combination.

                   

                 

And dessert.

Blueberries and Walnut Crumble served over fresh whipped cream. Yum!

This was served with a glass of Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc 2013.

A perfect finish.

                           

It was a wonderful evening.

my little itty bitty green thumb

Someday I hope to have a huge beautiful garden that we can practically live off of in the summer. As for now, we live in a rental, we stuck with potted plants and a few flowers out front.

This is our Meyer lemon tree. The blooms smell wonderful. All the credit goes to my man on this one. He brought it home this spring and it is my favorite.

   

     

I love tomatoes!

 I always seem to have really good luck with them. I'm excited for them to ripen so I can make yummy summer recipes.

                                                        

Another one that my man gets all the credit for.

Originally I had an eggplant in this pot but it lived a very short life. These cantaloupe seem to be thriving though!

Peppers. Not my favorite veggie but a good staple in a garden nonetheless.

Honestly, now that I'm looking at all these plants, Micah picked out most of them. Another good choice on his part because this rose bush is doing wonderfully.

This is one of my favorites. So pretty and pink!

 That's a little glimpse into what I'm growing this year. I hope to add to it every year and turn my itty bitty green thumb into a full grown one.

Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Maple Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temperature

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats

1 bar dark chocolate, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and lightly coat your baking sheets with coconut oil. Add the butter and the maple syrup to the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium speed until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, around 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat for another minute. Add the flour and salt. Mix until combined. Add the oats and combine. Last but not least, add the dark chocolate (yum!). The mixture will be a bit sticky so I suggest you wet your hands before handling the dough.

Roll the dough into 1.5 inch balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until the edges begin to brown and the centers are set. Let cool and then serve!

I'll be honest, I don't think this recipe is perfect yet. While very yummy, I think the recipe could use some additions (or subtractions) here or there. Make your own variations and see what you like best. Have fun and enjoy!