Euro Tour

Back when I was young and living in Finland for a year, Rotary took us on a trip around Europe. It was something like ten countries in nineteen days, in June 2007. This was a trip I had been looking forward to the whole of my stay abroad, and it was truly fantastic. The only downside was when I woke up in Italy to over 40 bug bites on my legs and almost had to go to a hospital in the Italian Alps because they were throbbing so badly and just generally disgusting in appearance. But instead I hiked the mountains and reached the snowy summit like a champ (and whined and ached in pain all the rest of the time). During the trip we went to: started in Turku, Finland, cruise ship overnight to Sweden, bus and ferry down to Denmark, Germany, Netherlands- Amsterdam, Belgium- Brussels, France- Versailles, two day stay in Paris, and Nice, Monaco, Italy- Lido di Jesolo, Venice, and the Alps, Austria- Innsbruck, Czech Republic- Prague, and back up again via Berlin and Stockholm. Here's pictures up through Paris.

 in between Finland and Sweden

 Sweden

 Copenhagen

 Netherlands

Amsterdam

 Anne Frank House

 Brussels, Belgium

 Paris

Versailles

Paris

If you've made it through all those pictures to the end of this post, congrats! Stay tuned for pictures from the rest of the trip, and a post about the places I'd like to travel to in the future. Also, a guest post from my friend Allie about her semester abroad in Italy!

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Stuffed Peppers

I stumbled on this recipe yesterday, just as I was thinking of what I could make with a few open ingredients we have before Kyle and I head out on our trip back to PA at the end of this week. All I needed to get was the peppers. I altered the recipe a bit: I used 10oz can of diced tomatoes and green chilis, and I used a lot more than 8oz of chicken broth, to make sure the rice was cooked, and I we had 1lb ground beef to use up. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes total to make, and was really good!

And after dinner we did a photo shoot of Kyle's motorcycle jacket. :)

Quite handsome, don't you think? You should go read about his jacket here.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

PS- the peppers and filling make great leftovers! yum!

I Really Miss These Guys

Good thing I get to see them this weekend!

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Movie Suggestions

I have not done a Monday Movie post in a while, due to being super busy and not having time to watch movies. I don't think I will pick it back up with any sort of regularity, but I wanted to share a few movie suggestions from what I've watched lately. They're all really different and all quite good, so depending on what you're in the mood for, you can't go wrong with these choices.

Midnight in Paris

Kyle and I watched this last night. It seems we have a pattern for Sundays of watching football in the afternoon and settling in with a movie of my choice in the evening. :) I had heard this was a really awesome movie though I didn't know much else about it (but clearly that was enough to add it to my Netflix cue straight away. also I love Paris). Ever since Marley and Me, I've looked at Owen Wilson in a different light. He's not just the goofy guy from Wedding Crashers or Zoolander, but a more versatile actor than you might think. Kyle said the movie was succinct (it's as long as a Disney movie). I think it was subtle.

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Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Kyle and I are both Alan Tudyk fans. Kyle saw this movie while deployed and thought I would enjoy it. I really did. It is hilarious hijinks. And bloody. And makes fun of college kids.

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Super 8
I already wrote and raved about this back when I saw it in theaters. I got it for Christmas and Kyle and I watched it together. I just love it. It makes me happy.

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Friends with Benefits
Yess I got Kyle to watch this with me. And you know what? He laughed. He laughed a lot. Even more than I did (it is inevitable that us ladies just don't get a good penis joke like the guys do). It's, you know, your typical romantic comedy, all while poking fun at the genre. I secretly (not so secretly?) love anything Justin Timberlake does, and while I prefer his music to his acting, he was good on screen too. Kyle kept hoping for a secret twist to be revealed, that the two were actually brother and sister (oh no!), but I knew that was a level of serious that the filmmakers wouldn't want to explore in a Justin Timberlake film.

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There you have it! My four choices for a good movie night. Pick one and pop some popcorn. The couch is calling...

{or for a funny read, check out Mindy Kaling's guide to women in the movies.}

- From the TV screen of Mrs. M