I love Trader Joe's

I said it once but I'll say it again, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy shopping there. I look forward to going there and wondering through the aisles to see what new delightful treats I may find. I recently made a trip to a new Trader Joe's that is slightly further than the one near the house, man was it worth the extra drive. It turned out to be the largest Trader Joe's that I've ever been to, not that I've been to an extensive amount (maybe about 4 or 5) but this one topped the list, the selection at this place was unlike anything I'd seen before.

This is bad news for Mike, or more like my credit card bill. My Trader Joe's bill has been going up increasingly. Although I try to justify this to Mike by saying 1) a lot of the products they sell are cheaper than what you find at Stop & Shop (and not to mention usually healthier with a larger selection of natural and organic products) and 2) almost 100% of my purchases there are what I consider "real food" to make great meals with, and ones that are also quick and easy (versus at the Supermarket, I feel like I spend $100 and I walk away with almost next to nothing and a lot of times nothing to make a substantial meal out of).

Also, one of the things on my 30 before 30 list was to "Cook with/eat more organic & unprocessed, natural foods."I have to say I've been doing a much better job of this. Maybe not as much with the organic food, but definitely a lot better with the natural products. I've been trying to make a conscious effort to read the ingredients and try not to buy things with a lot of chemicals and preservatives and shopping at Trader Joe's fits in perfectly with this.

Pretty much everything I have tried from Trader Joe's has been fantastic (although there have been a few duds but I'm always looking for new things to try). I will say I wasn't a huge fan of the chili lime chicken burgers or the chicken cilantro dumplings but everything else is great, for the price you really can't go wrong trying anything new there. It's so hard to narrow down the list of all the great things I've tried there, and my regular staple list has grown tremendously, but here are my absolute favorite products from Trader Joe's:

Freezer Section
Organic Brown Rice
Gnocchi Sorrentina
Chicken & Vegetable Pot Stickers
Vegetable Fried Rice
Eggplant Cutlets
Panko Crusted Tilapia Filets

Fridge Section
Fresh Southwest Salmon
Pineapple Juice - Guaranteed the best pineapple juice you've ever had!
Chicken Sausage
Cage Free Peeled Hard Boiled Eggs (yes I'm lazy)
Grilled Balsamic or Lemon Chicken

Pantry Section
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Yogurt O's Cereal - Strawberry
Cereal Bars - Apple - And they're only $1.79!
Cat Cookies (for people)
Light Champagne Vinaigrette Dressing
Organic Broth (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable)
Solid White Tuna
Low Calorie Lemonade

New Finds - I picked up a couple new things on my last trip that I'm looking forward to trying
Soyaki Sauce
Better 'n Peanut Butter
Cuban Style Black Beans
Roast Pork Florentine
Turkey Meatballs
Chicken Shu Mai
Thai Shrimp Gyoza

I also keep meaning to try the egg white salad and someone told me that the Gyoza sauce is really good. I'll have to look for those next time.

This was a fun quick and easy recipe that I made from all Trader Joe ingredients. I had been dying to make a tortellini and spinach soup recipe for quite some time now. When I saw this I knew I had to make it. It was such an easy throw together soup to make. I will say I prob could have used a bit less tortellini and bit more spinach (I like a lot of spinach) but the flavor was great. I served mine topped with some parmesan cheese. The leftovers though were a bit more tortellini with sauce than it was a soup but still an excellent way to eat up the leftovers. I'd def make this again!

Tortellini Tomato and Spinach Soup
Source: Trader Joe's Fan

One box of Roasted Red Pepper Soup
One package of Cheese Tortellini
1/2 a bag of baby spinach
1 can diced tomatoes (I used their fire roasted)

Bring the soup to a boil Pour in the tortellini and cook following package directions About one minute before tortellini is done, stir in spinach. Yum!

NYC Eats

I love eating in Manhattan! There are so many fabulous places that you can go and discover. The best places are often the most obscure, hole in the wall joints. Which is also why I love watching the show Diners, Drive-in's and Dives on food network to find out about all the great places off the beating path. Sometimes when I'm bored I like to look up different restaurants in the city to go check out. I also included some of my favorite restaurants that I've been. I figured it would be good to have a list for future reference in case we're ever in the city looking for somewhere to go.


Theater District/Times Square

• ** Orso, 322 West 46th Street (b/w 8th & 9th)
• ** Connolly's Pub (121 West 45th Street
• Becco, 355 W 46th St (b/w 8th & 9th) 
• Shake Shack, 691 8th Ave (b/w 43rd & 44th) 
• Thalia Restaurant, 828 8th Avenue (at 50th)
• Carmine's Restaurant, 200 West 44th Street (b/w 7th & 8th)
• Victor's Cafe, 236 West 52nd Street (b/w 7th & 8th) 

Midtown

• Basso 56,  234 West 56th Street (b/w 7th & 8th)
• Heartland Brewery (Multiple Locations) 
• Tao, 42 East 58th Street (b/w Park & Madison)
• Schnitzel & Things, 723 3rd Ave. (between 45th & 46th streets)
• ** PJ Clarke’s, 44 W 63rd St
• Eatery NYC, 798 Ninth Ave. at 53rd St.

Union Square  & Flatiron District

• ** Sala One Nine, 35 West 19th Street (b/w 5th & 6th)
• ** Havana Central, 22 East 17th Street (b/w Broadway & 5th)
• Mesa Grill, 102 5th Avenue (b/w 15th & 16th) 
• Max Brenner, 841 Broadway (14th street/Union Square)
• Cafeteria, 119 7th Avenue (b/w 17th & 18th) 
• Rosa Mexicano, 9 East 18th Street (b/w 5th & Park) 
• Gramercy Tavern, 42 E 20th St (between Park & 5th)

Meatpacking 

• Dos Caminos, 675 Hudson Street
• Frying pan, 205 12th Avenue
• Scarpetta, 355 West 14th Street (at the corner of 9th Avenue)

The Village & Downtown

• Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant, 119 MacDougal Street
• Pomme Frites, 123 Second Avenue
• Piccolo Angolo, 621 Hudson Street 
• Mac Bar, 54 Prince Street
• Frank, 88 Second Avenue 
• Supper, 156 East Second Street
• Ofrenda, 113 7th Ave South (b/n W. 10th and Christopher)
• Taim - 222 Waverly Place 
• L'Artusi, 228 West 10th Street (Between Bleecker and Hudson)
• dell'anima, 38 8th Avenue

Uptown/Harlem 

• Dinosaur BBQ, 700 W. 125th St at 12th

Hip Cocktail Lounges

• Employees Only
• Little Branch
• Death & Company
• PDT
• Apotheke
• Gansevoort Hotel
• Ink48 Hotel
• Peninsula Hotel 
• King Cole Bar
• Flatiron Lounge
• 230 Fifth

NYC Pizza

• Grimaldi's (walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to get there!) 
• John's on Bleecker Street
• Joe's on Bleecker and Carmine
• Motorino, Keste, or Co.

Brunch, Bakery and Sweet Treats

• Bouchon Bakery
• Sarabeth's
• Sweet Revenge NYC 
• Levain Bakery 
• Grom
• L'Arte del Gelato
• Milk & Cookies Bakery 
• Waffles & Dinges 
• Grandaisy Bakery 

Decisions, Decisions

Chances are if you're one of the few people I know that are reading this you're qualified to help me decide. It's now been over a year and I still haven't picked out a wedding picture to frame for the bedroom. Can someone please help me decide (since Mike won't). I think I've narrowed it down to these 5 (although I'm open to other suggestions from the remaining 850). Keep in mind, this will either be probably a 16x20 print (I think that is the size, if you know the size too, let me know, haha). In no particular order, I think I am leaning towards either 4 or 5.... What do you think?

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

Oh and I have a 5x7 frame for the night table as well, I think I'm leaning towards a black and white one for that. I think I am leaning toward 3 or 5. So many good pictures, so hard to pick!

Rocky's First Birthday Celebration

I can't believe the little guy is one already. Halloween was Rocky's first birthday and boy did he get a celebration. He was completely spoiled by his Grandparents and of course Mom and Dad too. When we brought him home he was just 3 months old, it's hard to believe he's been part of our family for 9 months already and yet it feels like so much longer. He is truly part of our little family.

As part of our family, we of course had to celebrate his birthday. His Grandma helped throw him a special doggy party, he had a birthday boy party hat. And his special birthday toy that plays happy birthday to him (but he can only play with it on his birthday every year). He also got his very own birthday bone cake (made with yogurt and peanut butter), it had his name on it and everything. And it wouldn't be complete without birthday presents, lots of new toys and a new bed. I'd say Rocky had a great first birthday!

Check out that toy. Wonder how long it'll take me to chew it up. 

Grandma, I want the toy, give it to me, come on

 Here let me help you Grandma. I got this. I want to open it myself

 Look Mom I got a new bed in the shape of a bone

 Stop teasing me to take pictures, give me the bone. Check it out it has my name on it. 

That looks yummy, I can almost get it. 

 Proud Mommy with the birthday boy in his little hat

Happy First Birthday Little Guy!!! 

Happy Howl-o-ween

In addition to October 31st being Rocky's first birthday, it was also his first Halloween. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to dress him up to mark this event. I'd be planning it for weeks. Rocky was going to be a bumblebee for the occasion. I tested the costume on him a couple times before the big day just because I couldn't resist. He was too funny, he froze up when I put it on him, he didn't know what to do, but he sure did look cute. I even took him trick-or-treating, well only to three houses in the neighborhood that I knew they wouldn't think I was completely nuts. He even got a dog bone from his best friend CJ.

My adorable little bumble bee!

My First Trifle

I saw this recipe in the Sunday paper, and immediately got it stuck in my head that I wanted to make it. When Mom said she was planning to make us a mini Thanksgiving since Nick and Stephanie were in town and we could have dinner together the 6 of us I thought that'd be the perfect excuse. Of course I didn't even own a trifle bowl at this point but I was somehow going to make a trifle. Thankfully a trifle bowl only costs $8.50 at Bed, Bath and Beyond, and I'm sure this won't be my one and only trifle. Then at least $15 later at the supermarket I was ready to go. I think I also underestimated the price of all the ingredients it would cost to make this dish (angel food cake - $4.99, two tubs of cool while - $2, strawberry preserves - $3, hot fudge topping - $2.50, raspberries - $3.50, etc...) It was definitely worth it though, it got rave reviews from the whole family. I would definitely make it again or even try a different variation next time, I'm looking forward to making my next trifle, maybe a banana one next time!

(not the best picture, it's from my phone but you get the idea)

Raspberry Fudge Mocha Mousse Trifle
Source: Smuckers

1 (12 oz.) jar Smucker's® Red Raspberry Preserves, divided
1 1/2 cups red raspberries, washed and drained
1 (12 oz.) jar Smucker's® Hot Fudge Topping, divided
1/4 cup strong-brewed* Folgers® Lively Colombian Coffee
2 (8 oz.) containers frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (10 oz.) prepared angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes, (8 cups)

COMBINE 3/4 cup preserves and raspberries in small bowl. Reserve 5 raspberries for garnish. Place 2 tablespoons hot fudge topping in small resealable plastic bag for garnish. Stir strong-brewed coffee into remaining hot fudge in large bowl until blended. Fold in one container whipped topping to make mousse. Stir remaining container of whipped topping until fluffy.

LAYER half the cake cubes in a trifle bowl or 2 1/2 to 3-quart glass bowl. Spread on half of fudge mousse and half of plain whipped topping. Spoon all the berries evenly over topping. Top with a layer of remaining cake cubes and fudge mousse.

SPOON dollops of remaining whipped topping over center of trifle. Top with reserved raspberries. Microwave remaining preserves on HIGH for 10 seconds. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over topping and fudge mousse. Microwave reserved hot fudge topping on HIGH for 5 seconds. Cut small corner off bag. Drizzle over top of trifle. Chill 1 hour before serving.

*To make strong-brewed coffee, use 1/4 cup ground coffee and 1 cup (8 oz.) water.

Pot Roast

I decided to participate in the online recipe swap I did a couple weeks ago when I saw the theme this time was one pot meals, which I am all for. Part of the recipe swap is you don't know what type of recipe you are going to get so I was really excited when I got a pot roast recipe that could be made in my dutch oven. I knew a pot roast was supposed to come out really good in a dutch oven and it would give me a new recipe to add to my collection to justify having the pot sit on my shelf.

When I was telling my mom about my pot roast and how it turned out, I realized there was one memo I missed, pot roast is one big piece of meat, I had bought the small cut up pieces of chuck roast, so I guess mine was more of a stew, than a roast, but it was still made with chuck roast and tasted delicious. Note to self, next time buy the one big hunk of meat, lesson learned, I guess that is part of learning to cook.

I loved the pot roast, Mike hasn't tasted it yet, but I will be bringing the leftovers home to my Dad and I know he will definitely enjoy this one. I doubled all the vegetables in mine, because in that respect I am my mothers daughter, my Dad is the meat guy. I even had seconds of this. I will definitely be making this recipe again, next time with the proper hunk of beef though! My bad.

(don't mind the terrible pictures from my phone since my camera is out for it's annual cleaning)

Pot Roast (In the Dutch Oven) 
Source: A Taste of Home Cooking
Adapted from Vintage Victuals and Food Network

1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1 1/2 - 2 lb. chuck roast
4-6 carrots, peeled and cut into 3″ pieces
1 large onion, cut into wedges
1 cup mushrooms, stems removed and sliced in half
1 large can crushed tomatoes
16 ounces beef broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dry the roast and then coat all sides in the flour mixture. Brown the roast on all sides in the hot oil.

Pour in the tomatoes and the beef broth. Scatter the vegetables, thyme and bay leaves around the pot roast and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Braise for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices, until the beef is fork tender.

Slice the pot roast and arrange on platter surrounded by the vegetables. Serve with the pot juices....I served mine with boiled potatoes and crescent rolls, a perfect meat and potatoes meal!

My Collection

Let's talk collections for a minute. I'm not much of a collector of anything, to be honest, I hate clutter, but there is one thing that I have been collecting throughout the years, and that is Hard Rock Cafe pins.

The tradition started on our trip to Europe when I was in middle school,  maybe going into high school, let's just say for arguments sake when I was around 13 or 14. On our trip, my Dad took my brother and I around Paris for the day, I'm pretty sure at the time we didn't want to go with my Mom to the museums or churches (wherever she was going, I can't remember all the specifics). But my Dad took us around Paris for the day, he took us to the famous cemetery in Paris where Jim Morrison was buried, and I'm not quite sure where else but we went to the Hard Rock Cafe and I got a pin while we were there.

That was where the collection started, every trip after then I'd ask my Dad to take me to the Hard Rock where we were going to get a new pin. It was a great way to get a small simple souvenir from the places we visited. Of course not every city or country has one, but I have to say for the most part, most of the trips I've been on they've had a hard rock cafe there. It's been so much fun collecting them throughout the years, I've already amassed quite a collection. My Dad had helped me put them all on a cork board so I could display them but last year for Christmas my in-laws bought me the official pin case so now I can display them proudly in a larger, and nicer case.

It's been such a fun thing to collect, and now it has turned into "our" collection. Whenever Mike goes on a trip without me, he always tries to bring me home a pin, and those are memories of his trips as well. I now have over 50 pins, although a few are repeats of the same city but it's fun to remember each trip. Here's the list of cities that I have pins from

The old school pins I collected throughout my childhood that my Dad helped me "saw off the back of the pin" so I could glue them down flat on my board. Now they make nice push pin ones, much better for collecting

Childhood Pins  

1. Fort Lauderdale
2. Key West (x2)
3. London 
4. New York 
5. Boston (x2)
6. St. Thomas
7. Washington, DC
8. Myrtle Beach
9. Newport Beach
10. Orlando (x2)
11. Paris (x2)
12. Miami 
13. Los Angeles 
14. San Francisco
15. Hollywood 
16. Las Vegas
17. Atlantic City
18. Aspen 
19. **Toronto Skydome
20. **Edmonton
21. **Hong Kong

Pins that Mike & I have gotten together

1. Maui 
2. Honolulu 
3. *London 
4. *Paris 
5. *New York 
6. *Hollywood, Florida
7. *San Francisco 
8. *Miami 
9.  *Nassau, Bahamas 
10. Yankee Stadium

Pins that Mike has gotten for the collection 

1. Houston
2. Toronto 
3. New Orleans 
4. Dublin 

My continued collection of pins (nice new push pin ones) 

1. Rome
2. Barcelona
3. Munich
4. Cozumel 
5. *St. Thomas
6. *Nassau, Bahamas 
7. Baltimore 
8. Nashville
9. *Hollywood, Florida
10. Couture Pins (x2)

*Duplicate entires of cities 

** Were given to me as gifts from people that knew I collected them 

Book Worm

I am a book worm. I love to read. There is nothing like curling up with a good book and when you're so engrossed in the storyline you just want to keep reading so you can see what happens with the characters next and staying up late just to finish. To me, it's so much more satisfying than watching a tv show.

Plus having my kindle now I'm even more addicted than before. I cannot tell say enough how much I love my kindle. I don't know why I waited so long to get one, and why I was so hesitant about making the switch. When I finished my book the other night I told Mike I need a new one and I had to go to the store, and I pointed towards my computer. When I finished reading Ellipse I had to run out to Target at 10:00 at night just so I could pick up a copy of Breaking Dawn, this is much easier. I've found myself reading so many more books this year with my kindle now, of course this could also be related to the fact that I no longer have to read school books and can finally read what I want.

Having my kindle is so easy, when we went on the cruise I stocked up on a few new books before we left and had them all right on my little kindle, versus bringing 3 big books, my kindle was smaller than the paperback book my brother was reading. Plus in the winter time too it's great since you can snuggle up under the blankets and just click to turn the page. I tell Mike all the time how much I love my kindle.

I realized the other night that I've read 16 books on my kindle this year alone. So many good ones. Here's what I've been busy reading (in author alphabetical order)

1. My Name is Memory - Ann Barashares
2. Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo 
3. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins 
4. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins 
5. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins 
6. Friendship Bread: A Novel - Darien Gee
7.  Still Alice - Lisa Genova 
8. Something Borrowed - Emily Giffin 
9. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin 
10. Heart of the Matter - Emily Giffin 
11. Can You Keep a Secret - Sophie Kinsella 
12. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larrson 
13. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Steig Larrson
14. Gravity vs. the Girl - Riley Noehren 
15. Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins 
16. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein 

Since I haven't written any book reviews on each of the novels I've read, thought I would mention a couple of them. Bridget recommended the book, My Name is Memory, it's by the same author that wrote the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. This book was great, it's really different, its about a man who has "the memory" to remember all of his past lives, he can see peoples souls, he has this one soul, that he has been in love with since his first life, but her soul does not have the same memory he does. In each life he tries to track her down hoping to ultimately be with her. The book is told in flashbacks to his previous lives and then intertwines with the current time. I was so upset when it came to an end because it leaves you hanging and wanting more since it is the first book in a planned trilogy. I can't wait till the subsequent books come out.

Speaking of trilogy's, I read two other trilogies this year, The Hunger Games, and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Both were great, although I think I liked The Hunger Games slightly better. It sounds like such an odd plot line, if you read the book synopsis, you wouldn't believe that is what it is about, but from the second the book starts it pulls you right in and you feel for the characters. Of course they are making movies out of both of these books.

Some other notable books I read this year were Anna and the French Kiss, and The Art of Racing in the Rain. Even though the book Anna and the French Kiss is really a young adult book, it didn't feel like it. It is about a senior in high school that is sent by her parents to a boarding school in Paris. If only I should've been so lucky. It was a fun read to see her discover herself, fall in love with a boy, and the scenery only made the book that much better. It was fun to picture her falling in love with the Paris. I really related to this book having spent the semester abroad, it was a fun, light read.

I should've known it was only a matter of time till they made this one into a movie as well, as I just googled the book I came to see they are also making a movie of The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Patrick Dempsey will play the main character (a good fit) but I hate when they turn good books into movies, something is always lost. I loved this book because it is told from the dog's perspective. It was fun to read right after I got Rocky since I kept picturing talking to him and what he would say back.

.... Now if I only I could pick what book to read next, so many books, so little time!

ps... Santa, if you're reading this, I would love some Amazon gift cards in my stocking this year so I can stock up my kindle :-)

NCL Review

Since we've been back a lot of people have been asking how our cruise was. Of course we had a fabulous time, it was great to just get away from everything and be totally disconnected. A couple people were asking about how the Norwegian Cruise Line was in particular. So I'm going to break it down. As a teenager I was lucky enough that my parents took us on several cruises, I think like 8 in total. We went on a few different cruise lines so I had a good basis of what we liked and didn't like in a cruise. We'd gone on NCL, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and I think it was either Princess or Celebrity (or maybe it was both, I can't remember those two). Here's my review of NCL:

Price: Let me say I think the NCL was a great deal for the money. For the price we paid (which really wasn't much) I think we got a great deal, it was very affordable. Of course we did go during the end of hurricane season (which did actually effect our trip) but the price was practically half the price of what Royal Caribbean would have cost for the same week. But I also believe you get what you pay for. Was it the best cruise I'd ever been on, no, but was it still highly enjoyable, yes. I went into it not expecting it to be on the same caliber as a Royal Caribbean cruise, I knew it would be smaller and that was ok.

Ship: While I think the ship itself was very nice, it was small. When we were in the port in Nassau surrounded by 3 other ships, Royal Caribbean, Disney, and Carnival, our ship was by far the smallest. The Royal Caribbean ship towered over ours. I kept looking for this grand main lobby when we got on the ship, such as what Royal Caribbean has, but there isn't anything like that on NCL. I think the Royal Caribbean ships have a much more impressive main lobby with better flow. This ship you had to walk through different areas to get to your destination. For example, you had to walk through a bar area to get to the dining room, or you had to walk through the shops and casino to get to the theater. The cabins were nice though, your standard cruise cabin, clean, and got the job done. No complaints there.

Freestyle Dining & Food: Like anything in life I think this aspect has its pro's and con's. It did afford us a great deal of flexibility to decide that day of when we wanted to eat and how it fit into our schedule. The biggest con of course was that we were not the only ones that had the same schedule as us. The first night we went down to the dining room before the show at around 7:00, needless to say we were not alone and waited about a half hour for a table that night. We did have to wait for a table most nights. We started going to to the early show at 7:30 and then heading to dinner after that. Some nights you did have to get a buzzer and wait for a table. While it wasn't a long wait, and it's not like we had anywhere else to be.

We were all very happy with the food on the ship. We ate in either the main dining room or the smaller more informal dining room six out of seven nights on the ship. The one complainant I think we all had was when we all ordered the steak one night they were way over cooked and tough. Other than that we had a few favorite things on the menu, like the spring rolls, those were awesome, at least one of us ordered one every night.

They also had about 10 different speciality restaurants on the ship, ranging from Italian, French, Asian, Steakhouse and more. We honestly had no interest in paying for something like the Italian restaurant. The prices ranged from $10-$25 per person for the speciality restaurants. We were happy to go the dining room for dinner. However on the last day we did splurge and go to the Asian Lotus Garden restaurant. Matthew and Nohra also went to to the Japanese steakhouse on the last day for lunch and they said it was incredible. I thought the Asian restaurant was good, we ordered so many different appetizers and courses and they were all good, although Mike was less than impressed with this restaurant (in all fairness I tasted his fried rice and that wasn't really great), but I think we all enjoyed the meal, but I def would not have eaten in the speciality restaurants every night, once was enough.


Amenities: Another thing I kept looking for but knew I wasn't going to find was another pool area. While the ship has two separate pools they are in the same pool area, on the same deck. One of the things I loved about the last Royal Caribbean ship we were on was the separate pool area located near the spa, it was an adults only pool area and was quiet, separate from all the noise of the pool games and band playing. It was a great spot to get away and read my book. Unfortunately NCL didn't have that feature. While there was enough room for all of the guests to enjoy the one pool area I would have liked to have seen another pool option.

I used the fitness center but only to walk on the treadmill at night before dinner. The gym itself was nice, although on the Royal Caribbean ships you are actually facing out from the front of the ship (that is where the spa is on this ship). I didn't try any of the fitness classes since the free ones were mostly only stretching classes, there were no cardio classes to try. In order to use the spa pool or hot tubs you had to pay $119 to use the spa facilities for the week, I don't remember there a charge like that on other ships.

Entertainment: We went to the shows every night, they were very enjoyable. There was your standard cruise ship productions, they had a Jersey Boys tribute group, an improv comedy group and a juggling act. All were a lot of fun. The Jersey Boys group even inspired Mike and I to want to try and get tickets to go see Jersey Boys on Broadway.

All in all, we were all very happy with the cruise. Matthew and Nohra absolutely loved it. I think Mike and I definitely enjoyed it but I personally would like a little more luxury and amenities as featured on the Royal Caribbean shops. But considering the price of this cruise I definitely think you get a lot for your money. I would go on an NCL ship again but I think at the same time I would save a little bit more and splurge for the Royal Caribbean if we could. But hey, you can't go wrong with any cruise around the Caribbean for a week, even with a Hurricane out there!

Not Banana But....

I spent my Friday before leaving for the cruise baking apple goodies. Every year after apple picking I usually spend one day baking an assortment of apple desserts, this year was no exception. I decided to make Apple Bread, Apple Brownies, and Apple Cake. The apple brownies def did not turn out quite how I expected. That said my parents still absolutely loved it, even though I don't think it turned out like brownies at all (they also looked nothing like the picture). The big hit though was the apple bread, my parents couldn't stop raving about this apple bread and how good it was. It sounded like they were fighting over the last piece of it. I know this is one recipe my parents don't want me to lose!

Apple Bread 
Source: Southern Pink Lemonade

Ingredients:
3-4 apples, cored, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (depending on taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9in x 5in loaf pan with non-stick spray. In a small bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate bowl add sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Using a spatula fold in apples.

Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. Bake for approximately 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let apple bread cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes remove from loaf pan and place on wire rack to finish cooling.

Cruising the Caribbean

After months of ideas and hinting at Mike, I was able to convince him to go on a cruise for our first anniversary, I also convinced my brother and his girlfriend, Nohra, to come too. And on our actual anniversary we were off to sunny Miami, Florida to board the Norwegian Pearl. We met, Matthew and Nohra at the port and ready to go for our adventure, once we were abroad we were also promptly ready for our sail away party and drinks. It's always fun checking out the ship and seeing what fun awaits for the week.

 For our first stop on Monday we were headed to the private island in the Bahamas. Unfortunately the weather didn't quite cooperate for us. Matthew and Nohra made it over to the Island earlier than we did, Mike and I attempted to go over, however the weather had other plans for us. Just as we were pulling into the dock on the tender the heavens opened up and it was torrential downpours. Being on the top deck of the tender did not provide us with much cover either, good thing we were wearing bathing suits and towels. We never made it off the tender that day and went right back to the ship to enjoy the rest of the day on the boat, by the pool once it cleared up. Matt and Nohra got to spend some time on the Island though.

Yea - Note the clouds! 

The next day was much nicer thankfully since it was an at-sea day. Of course we got by just fine while we were on the ship, there was certainly no shortage of food. We spent most of our day by the pool or checking out some of the activities on the ship like rock climbing. I was quite content sitting by the pool with my kindle and a corona (light). Look at those tough guys climbing. Nohra and Matt made it up there pretty quickly, I only made it like half way. It was def much harder than I thought.

We had a great time going to dinner and the shows every night. They did have some good entertainment and plenty of good food at dinner. We also had quite the entertaining time when we went to go take professional pictures and the guy made Mike and Matt lay on the floor, that was funny to say the least.

After that our next stop was Ochos Rios, Jamaica on Wednesday. The weather didn't start off too great but it turned into a surprisingly nice day. We decided to wing it and just find a tour to take us to Dunns River Falls the main attraction on the island once we were off the ship. We had so much fun at the falls, it was probably our favorite activity of the whole week. You climb up the falls and it's a lot of fun. Nohra's waterproof camera case really came in handy.

I will say Nohra is a genius, she asked our personal tour driver if he would take us for authentic beef patties in sweet bread, so he did, man were these things delicious. I would also refer to these as hot pockets of deliciousness, we all really enjoyed our authentic Jamaican beef patty lunch!

Unfortunately our next two ports were changed due to hurricane Rina that was approaching the coast of Mexico where we were scheduled to go, so we lost out on going to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, which we were really looking forward to. Instead we got an extra day at sea and a day in Nassau, Bahamas (not the most exciting port in the Caribbean). But I guess all we can say is at least we were safe, dry, and away from the hurricane. This is risk you run taking a cruise during hurricane season. So we hung by the pool, which was again fine for me, I was on my second or third book by this point.

Our next and final port (before another sea day) was Nassau. We didn't have much of a game plan for the day so we took a taxi down to Atlantis, although you really can't see much of the grounds without giving them your first born child, it costs more for one person to use the pool for the day than a day at Disney World!!! Crazy. We clearly did not stay there, so we took another cab to go essentially less than a mile down the road to the free beach where we hung out for the day.

Before we knew it the week had flown by and it was time to go back home. But we had a great time and a lot of great memories. This was a great way to celebrate our first anniversary! I hope every one will be as great as this one and only get better with the years to come.