Paris

*We could see the Eiffel tower from our hotel window!
*this was tasty
*dress courtesy of Jules
*Notre Dame Indiana meets Notre Dame Paris
*Eiffel tower in the background, birthday hat in the foreground

*hey dad, remember helping me make a styrofoam version of this thing for French class in high school?

Jake and I had an amazing time in Paris. It snowed which was really fun for us..

London

*At the Sherlock Homes Pub
*our hotel lobby
*pre-theatre drink. We saw Les Mis, I cried. We were shocked to find ourselves in the second row. Plus, the theatre was awsome because you could bring a plastic wine glass into the show, and pre-order a drink for intermission!
*Charles Dickens' House Museum
*George Eliot's grave at Highgate Cemetery
*Our first pub visit of the trip, first of many....

Rome travel disaster

*ever wonder what a 28 euro club sandwich tastes like? It tastes like a club sandwich with a sun-dried tomato....
*hotel art gallery
*We decided not to go for the imperial breakfast....

Jake and I had a horrible travel experience a few weeks ago when we booked a hotel room in Rome last minute and when we arrived we found out that the hotel had overbooked. We were stuck in the lobby for three hours while the guy at the front desk tried to figure out what to do with us- it was a huge mess and we were so frustrated that we called up the Waldorf and made a whole separate reservation. For one night, we saw how the other half lives and it was sure crazy!

Cocktails

Oh Dear! As soon as I posted those recipes that flower icon appeared, totally blocking all of the numbers! Here they are again:

OLD FASHIONED

2 dashes aromatic bitters

1/2 tsp. sugar disolved with water and bitters

1 1/2 oz. of bourbon

1 cherry

1 orange slice

1 lemon wedge

GREYHOUND

2 oz. vodka

5 oz. grapefruit juice

MOSCOW MULE

1 1/4 oz. vodka

3 oz. ginger beer

1 tsp. sugar syrup

1/4 oz. lime juice

1 sprig mint

1 slice lime

CLASSIC MARTINI

2 1/2 oz. gin

1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth

3 green olives

GIBSON MARTINI

2 1/2 oz. gin or vodka

3/4 oz. dry vermouth

3-5 cocktail onions

Cheers!

Mad Men

Old fashioned

INGREDIENTS

• 2 dashes aromatic bitters
• ½ tsp sugar dissolved with water and bitters
• 1½ oz of bourbon
• 1 cherry
• 1 orange slice
• 1 lemon wedge

Greyhound

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz vodka
• 5 oz grapefruit juice

moscow mule

INGREDIENTS

• 1¼ oz vodka
• 3 oz ginger beer
• 1 tsp sugar syrup
• ¼ oz lime juice
• 1 sprig mint
• 1 slice lime

Classic martini

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ oz gin
• 1½ oz dry vermouth
• 3 green olives

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ oz of gin or vodka
• ¾ oz dry vermouth
• 3-5 cocktail onions

Jake and I had an absolute blast throwing this party a few weeks ago. For a fun retro evening, check out AMC's cocktail guide:

http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/cocktail-guide/

New Furniture!

*top of mirror
*new mirror
*top of bench
*new bench

I have to say, I have the best husband ever. Jake has really humored my love of anything "parlor." We ordered this furniture months ago and it just arrived!

Prague Pics

Lately I have been getting really frustrated with how long it takes to upload pics to this site. Here is a link to my Prague photo album on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2083193&id=12201149&l=3bf4935f33

Prague

Hello all! Jake and I just got back from a long weekend in Prague. We had a great, relaxing trip. It was actually the first time that we decided to just wander around and not try to see all of the major sites. The city was full of drunken Scottish people in kilts who were there for a soccer game. One of those drunken Scotts decided to pull the hotel fire alarm at 6:30am. If you are considering a trip to Prague, let me be the first to say that it is neither pleasant nor charming at 6:30am. On our brief 10 minute walk....

-We were followed by a crazy person asking for money and then cursing us

-I saw a man peeing between two cars

-We saw very drunk people weaving their way into one of the many strip clubs

-a basic sense of sketch prevailed

My absolute favorite part of Prague was the many sausage stands open nearly 24hrs where you could buy a cup of piping hot mulled wine. Jake and I were big fans, and discovered hair of the dog mulled wine for breakfast works wonders. I don't think that I have ever witnessed one city drinking so constantly...we visited the sausage stand for breakfast and were offered beer, wine...yup, those of you who know me may have a hard time picturing me munching on a giant sausage with all the trimmings at 9am but hey, when in Prague!

Ashtray

In case anyone was wondering how it feels to mime smoking in an attempt to buy an ashtray in a foreign country, the answer is ridiculous. Jake and I are hosting a Mad Men theme party on the 16th of this month and that means cocktails, cigarettes, unhealthy finger foods, and more cocktails! We are having an absolute blast putting this thing together. Yesterday we went to Ikea to buy a bunch of martini glasses and pitchers and today I set out on a really long walk to find a few simple ashtrays. Apparently, ashtrays are hard to come by these days. I went into a cigarette store and first pretended to smoke and flick ashes into an invisible receptacle. The guys thought I wanted mini cigars. Then I said the Italian word for bowl and mimed smoking again. This time it got through but the dang store did not even sell them! Every time I have one of these absurd acting experiences (think describing a potato masher....) I vow to never again venture out unprepared and yet it keeps happening....

Oktoberfest in Naples

*Molly and Alyce

*Jake and Tom

Last weekend Jake's friend had an Oktoberfest party. A bunch of his friends had already gone to the real deal in Munich and wanted to relive the glory - and wear their fancy outfits again. Jake was not able to go on the Munich trip because it was our anniversary but we will be there next year!

Exeter 2

*Campus

*The adorable Laura Ashley store!
*Campus

Exeter

*Exeter Cathedral
*Train Station

*B+B

Last week I took my first trip to Exeter to visit the campus and meet with my advisor. Getting there involved a plane, shuttle, train, cab, train, cab but it was very worth it. The town is adorable and the campus is great but is under a lot of construction. I visited the special collections library and was able to hold 19th century copies of Jane Eyre, Villette, and Middlemarch.

Perugia 2

*For the second night of our anniversary trip we stayed in a castle!

Perugia 1

*We spent an afternoon in Assisi where there is tons of this intense sort of metal work.


For our two year wedding anniversary, Jake took me on a surprise trip up north to Perugia. Our first hotel was a spa/resort and Jake had made me a massage appointment. NB- Italians do stomach massages. I was startled and quite topless. After Jake and I visited the hotel baths where we did all sorts of sauna, turkish bath, pool things.

Palazzo Vecchio

*View of the Duomo


*wow

Leonard Cohen

*LEONARD!!!!!

*pre-concert set up

Jake and I went back to Florence on Wednesday to see Leonard Cohen in concert. It was amazing- the stage was set up outside of Santa Croce and the church loomed in the background. All of the windows were open on the square and people were dancing....