Beach Week 2012

Another year, another trip to the beach, and of course it was all over too soon. You probably won't be able to tell from these pictures that we actually spent any time at all in the water, but I promise we did. And even if we hadn't it still would have been a successful trip, because any time we were inside we were cooing over this adorable baby.

Is he not the cutest?!?

No worries though, we made sure to give plenty of loving to baby Evan's equally cute big brother John as well...

And even managed to tire him out for a few good afternoon naps.

Napping with mommy!

Of course, as we were trying to get a picture with both of our nephews before we left, John decided that it was a good time to start acting shy (silly boy!), but we still managed to snap a cute one with the help of some funny face-makers in the background (if you look closely you can see them in the mirror).

Darrell did manage to snap one good picture of the actual ocean (the only picture we took with any water in it!)--turns out that getting up at six in the morning to go fishing has its perks!

Mocha Coconut Fudge

While you are waiting for the adorable photos of my nephews (because I'm sure you are just on the edge of your seat in anticipation), I figured I'd hold your attention with something equally enticing: this delicious mocha coconut fudge. This may be one of my favorite fudges--and that's saying a lot because I never thought I'd find anything to compete with my chocolate peanut butter fudge. My only complaint with the recipe is the use of coconut oil in it, which is apparently quite expensive (at least in Sioux Falls). But the taste of the fudge totally validated the expense, and now I'll just have to find other uses for the oil (or make lots and lots of batches of this fudge!)

Mocha Coconut Fudge
(original recipe found here)


12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
12 ounces white chocolate chips
1 15 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 tbsp espresso powder (or instant coffee)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted

Spray an 8x8 pan with non-stick spray. Add semisweet chocolate to a double boiled and melt completely. Once melted, stir in half the sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla, the coffee powder, and 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil. Mix with a spatula until well combined and fairly smooth, then spread evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan (mixture will be thick). Place in the freezer for thirty minutes.

Add the white chocolate to a double boiler and melt completely. Stir in the remaining sweetened condensed milk, coconut oil, and coconut extract. Mix until well combined. Remove the fudge from the freezer and top with the white chocolate layer. Spread to coat evenly. Top with the toasted coconut, pressing it in slightly to ensure that it sticks, then chill in the refrigerator for at least sixty minutes.

I'm not normally one to be bossy, but you really should make this fudge. Today. And then open a nicely chilled bottle of rose or white wine and enjoy the first day of summer in style!

NC Success!

A sure sign of a successful week at the beach with Darrell's family?

Returning with a bagful of (new-to-me) books to read!

I love doing book swaps with Darrell's sisters--and visiting the used book store on Topsail Island. Now I just need to get a Nook so I can borrow ebooks from Darrell's mom (hint hint Darrell--I do have a birthday coming up in a few months...)

More beach pictures coming later this week once Darrell gets his photos uploaded and edited--you won't want to miss them, our nephews are ridiculously adorable!

I Mowed!

Yes, I know, really not an accomplishment. Especially since I can't walk in a straight line to save my life (Seriously. It's a good thing Darrell isn't one of those guys who is super anal about how his lawn looks. Actually--it's too bad Darrell isn't one of those guys who is super anal about how his lawn looks because I guarantee he'd never let me out there again). But since this is only the second time in my life that I've mowed, I'm allowed to be proud of myself for actually doing it (especially since there are a few kids in our neighborhood who would have gladly taken $20 to mow it for me). And now I can (finally) cross it off the "101 in 1001" list.

Before you go all calling me a lazy-ass for never mowing, you should that I grew up with a dad and brother who always assumed the male responsibility of yard work, so neither my sister nor I rarely had to hep out. Plus one of my grandpas has always lived in Sioux Falls, and he absolutely loves mowing (Seriously. Still at eighty-seven. The doctors won't let him use a push-mower any more, but he loves being able to get out on his rider), so he would come by and pick up the slack if my brother and dad couldn't get it done. My dad did try to teach me once when I was about thirteen, but when he started it up with me at the push bar and the self-drive feature kicked in causing the mower to lurch forward, I freaked out and let go. And he must have felt bad for scaring me because he never tried again.

I do owe an apology to my college housemates, though. I really didn't pull my own weight with the mowing responsibilities (considering I lived there for nearly a year and mowed once, and that was in the weeks before graduation). I did make Darrell mow the lawn at the house a few times (because, you know, I just had to study for my killer test), but certainly not enough for what some of the other girls did. So consider this a long overdue apology--and a promise that if I'm ever in your neighborhood you are more than entitled to make me mow your lawn. Just as long as you don't care if your lawn has more loops and swoops than a roller coaster.

Europe: London Edition, Part V (The Leftovers)

This last (go ahead and get excited, I know you are getting sick of all these Europe posts!) post is mostly just a dump of the pictures that didn't fit into any other category, yet ones I felt were still interesting enough to share. I hope you enjoy--and then I promise not to talk about this trip for at least a few days! :)

The Royal Courts of Justice--no idea what the significance is behind this building, but it sure looks cool! 

The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain--not really much of a fountain, but we're not judging

The Prince Albert Memorial--as you can clearly tell, Queen Victoria really loved her husband

Harrods--a really really big (and overwhelming) department store

Wellington Arch

The Queen's House flanked by the Old Royal Navy College (and if you are thinking those domes look suspiciously like the one on St. Paul's, you are right. The architect practiced his design here before putting it on St. Paul's)

And last but not least, a (massive) billboard of the royal family commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It's like the Queen is bidding thee farewell!

Other Europe Posts:

London, Part I: The Iconic Images

London, Part II: The Royalty

Anniversary Trip to Denbies Wine Estate

London, Part III: The Museums

London, Part IV: The Fun!

Paris Trip

Europe: Paris Edition

In addition to our anniversary trip to the winery, Darrell and I also planned a two-day getaway to Paris. Once we had paid for the flight and were in London, travel to other European cities was pretty easy--and considerably cheaper than planning another overseas trip--so we figured that since this might be the only time we are in Europe we might as well make the most of it. As we realized when we were in Paris, we aren't really sure whose idea it was to travel to Paris out of the available European cities, but it was certainly a great--albeit busy--addition to our time in London. With the help of Google maps, we estimated that we walked about fifteen miles in our two days there--and this was after a week of walking around London and winery!

Up at 4 AM to catch the train to Paris

Finally in Paris!

Apparently Darrell is a giant in Paris (or they just serve their espresso in really small cups...)

Place de Concord (obelisk), National Assembly (building with columns), Napoleon's Tomb (gold dome). And yes, this was as close as we got to all three of those. We just didn't have the time--there is soooo much to see in Paris 

The Louvre! We were probably there for close to four hours and *maybe* saw half of it. That place is seriously huge. Seriously.

But, of course, we made sure to see the Mona Lisa--as did, not surprisingly, everyone else in the museum

Apparently the French aren't as protective of their Crown Jewels as the British are

Darrell's cool shot of the inverted pyramid

The Arc de Triomphe

Notre Dame self-portrait

A shot of the beautiful stained glass inside

Probably the coolest gargoyle ever

View from the top! (Not surprisingly, the hike to the top was very similar to that of St. Paul's. And unfortunately, it was a hazy morning so we couldn't get any really good shots of the city)

Does this monument even need a caption?

Kisses!

Getting ready to take the train through the Chunnel! (Which--for the record--not as cool as it seems. You can't even see the English channel when you enter or exit the tunnel, and--naturally--you can't see anything from inside the tunnel)

One. Post. Left--I promise!

Other Europe Posts:
London, Part I: The Iconic Images
London, Part II: The Royalty
Anniversary Trip to Denbies Wine Estate
London, Part III: The Museums
London, Part IV: The Fun!
London, Part V: The Leftovers

Europe: London Edition, Part IV (The Fun!)

Phew! How are you holding up? I told you we did a lot during our ten days in London--and subsequently took a lot of pictures. So far the London posts have been all about the "famous" places we've visited--iconic landmarks, royal palaces, and museums. Now it's time to show you some of the fun we had when we weren't being tourists (which, remarkably, we had time for. Still not sure how.... But we managed).

Perusing all the eclectic shops (and wildly diverse food stands) at the Brick Lane Market

At Her Majesty's Theater for a performance of Phantom of the Opera. Un. Believe. Able. And I know it technically wasn't a dinner theater, but it was definitely professional, so we're using it to cross an item off our "101 in 1001" list

Spending a wonderful afternoon on a riverboat cruise down the Thames River

Darrell's first pint!

Enough said

Standing on the Prime Meridian in Greenwich

More Pints! 

A fun shot of the taps at The Porter House

Wicked cool tree in Hyde Park

I'm convinced London has the most tame fowl in the world. Darrell is hardly using any zoom on this shot. And we literally had a dove land on our table and try to eat our pizza off of it at dinner one night!

I would be absolutely remiss if I didn't put a huge thank you out to the fine people with us in this next photo. Linda and Paul graciously let us crash in their tiny flat for the whole trip (saving us a crazy amount of money), plus took the time to show us around and help us get acquainted with the public transportation even though they were in the middle of finals at LSE. Love you guys!

Sunday Roast at The Prince Bonaparte

 Let's go to Paris next, shall we?

Previous Posts:
London, Part I: The Iconic Images
London, Part II: The Royalty
Anniversary Trip to Denbies Wine Estate
London, Part III: The Museums
Paris Trip
London, Part V: The Leftovers