We made it! Part 2

Move number two is on the books, folks! We are currently residing in Fort Bragg, North Carolina for the next five weeks.

The actual moving part was easier this time around, and I can only imagine how streamlined my/our process will be by the time we do move number 9 (yikes!). The leaving a wonderful experience and lovely people part was, as to be expected, not as pleasant. I have found myself missing Fort Hood a little bit... Mostly the warm sunshine (it averaged in the 70's when we were there... Today was overcast and in the 40's/50's at Fort Bragg) and people. However, I never thought there would be anything to miss about "The Great Place" for the first few days we were there, so I'll just tough it out until I can find the bright spots in Fort Bragg (unique moniker still unknown).

All I can say right now is that this place is definitely different from Fort Hood, in good and not-so-good ways.

Exchange here- better
Commissary here- better
Class six* here-better
'Commute' here- worse
Lodging here- worse

*For those of you unfamiliar with a 'class six' on an Army base, it is where you go to buy booze, or in my case, a bottle of wine. The selection was not stellar, but definitely superior to the offerings at Fort Hood (read here for more info). A nice glass of chardonnay can fix a multitude of things, if you ask me.

I'll post some pictures and more about our travels between TX and NC tomorrow after we're slightly more settled.

Bobby Lupo's

About a week ago (I am so behind on my blogging!), we had another dinner out with Michael's clerkship site director. She really couldn't be any nicer or more welcoming. I truly feel as though I know the full culinary prowess of Killeen and Harker Heights, Texas because of her lovely hospitality.

We met at Bobby Lupo's, a cute pizza place near her home, and ended up getting several pizzas to-go before heading to her house to eat and mingle. The pizza was rather delicious... Better than Joes Pizza in Killeen by far. I tried a small slice of all three flavors: chicken bacon ranch, buffalo chicken, and margherita. I was surprised that I liked all of them, with the margherita pizza being my favorite. It has a little ricotta and fresh spinach on top of the mozzarella, tomato and basil that make up a normal margherita pizza.

I'd like to say that we'll definitely be going back there before we leave, but seeing as our departure date is looming a mere 5 days away, I have my doubts!

Blonde Salon

I've needed a haircut/color refresher for quite some time. On Friday, I finally set aside two hours of my day to go get it take care of.

At the recommendation of Michael's attending physician, I made my way to Blonde Salon in Killeen, Texas. I was 10 minutes early, per my personality and another good habit which my mother bestowed upon me (thanks again, mom!), but the stylist, Stacy, was ready for me. She understood what I wanted to do (shorten it up and warm up the color with lowlights), but maybe didn't quite get the gravity of the situation.

The last time I cut off a significant amount of hair, I was seventeen and my friend Amanda chopped it off with a pair of dull scissors in my boarding school dorm room. Perhaps I was having flashbacks to that traumatic moment when Stacey unceremoniously (and without warning!) lopped off five inches before starting my foils. I think I disguised my hyperventilation well as she quickly put in 25-30 foils of a coppery brown shade throughout my hair. When I say quickly, I'm not kidding... I've never seen a stylist do this as fast as Stacey did. I was sitting in the little lounge processing after about 20 minutes (whoa there speedy gonzales!). It was a little nerve wracking, but she seemed to know what she was doing.

The haircut is still growing on me (and literally growing, thank goodness), because I haven't had hair this short in over 7 years. However, I think the color is divine. I had Stacey write down the exact colors she used so that the next stylist I use can replicate it. Where that will be, nobody knows :)

Yikes!!

The Sweet Lobby

Just a few blocks from Capitol Hill in the District (that's Washington, DC for those of you non-locals), there is a neat little neighborhood called Eastern Market. Located on its own metro stop, Eastern Market is home to lots of cute shops and restaurants.

My reason for going to Eastern Market is always the same, though: The Sweet Lobby! The Sweet Lobby is a bakery with a teensy little storefront (read: three really is a crowd) selling specialty baked goods. They have gourmet flavored eclairs, madelines, and cupcakes (they actually won an episode of "Cupcake Wars" on Food Network). However, the best thing they sell is their macarons. If you have never tried a macaron (notice the absence of another 'o'... This is not the coconut confection 'macaroon'), your life is not yet complete.

Basically, a macaron is the Parisian version of a sandwich cookie. The huge difference between a macaron and an oreo (besides everything) is that the actual cookie parts are made with an almond flour batter. This makes them light and chewy and crispy and gluten free! The beautiful thing about macarons is that they can be flavored in so many different ways, with colors to match. The Sweet Lobby sells on average, ten different flavors of macarons daily. Sometimes more, sometimes less, always delicious!

I can tell you from experience, the macaron is a finicky and labor intensive cookie to produce. Therefore, they are quite pricey. This makes them inaccessible for daily consumption (and all the more special) and even lovelier for gifting.

We gave my father-in-law a big box of macarons as a thank-you gift at our rehearsal dinner.

My sweet in-laws had The Sweet Lobby send us a gift box full of different flavors (in pairs of two!) for our anniversary. They were such a wonderful surprise :)

Underwood Jewelers

If I were Holly Golightly, Underwood's would be my Tiffany's. (For those confused, see Breakfast at Tiffany's, or better yet, read Breakfast at Tiffany's).  Nothing bad could ever happen at Underwood's.

Underwood's is a jewelry store in Jacksonville, Florida.  It is the old fashioned kind of jewelry store... the kind that also sells china and crystal and silver.  Just another reason that I linger in the store every time I visit! There are four locations, but my husband and I always go to the one in the Avondale neighborhood.  Partially because of its convenience, and mostly because of Cindi Rivera, the most genuinely helpful jeweler I have ever come across.  From Christmas presents to my engagement ring, Cindi has been a part of our relationship in such a fun, sweet way. Even now that Michael and I are rarely in the Jacksonville area, we always call or email Cindi to get help with gifts for each other.  I really can't speak highly enough of our experiences with Cindi or Underwood's.

Cindi's wedding gift to us- a small silver folding frame, so that we could take it with us on our travels this year!

These are Underwoods' boxes, and in my opinion, they are superior to the robin's egg blue kind :)

My reaction to seeing an Underwood's box is probably comparable to actually opening it up and seeing the contents:

 Our anniversary gift to each other... four years ago we were walking around the campus in Gainesville and Michael made sure to stop by the trophy case to show me the real version :) 2008 was also the year we met, again.

Inside this little pouch was a chain for Michael to wear at the hospital so that he has a place to put his wedding band when he has to scrub in for procedures or surgery.

Anyways, Underwood's will definitely be a place that we revisit for many, many years to come!

County Line Barbecue

Last night we ventured over to Austin. It's just over an hour away from Fort Hood, so we (me, Michael, Jill and David) went for dinner and a little bar-hopping downtown.

At the recommendation of my Aunt Jodi and Uncle Darren, we went to The County Line for dinner. It was on top of a hill just outside of Austin, with a beautiful view of the sunset. We were lucky that the 60 degree weather allowed us to sit out on the back porch and really enjoy the vista.

Jill and I each enjoyed a coronarita... A jumbo margarita with a corona upside down in the glass. They are pretty easy to find in Texas, and absolutely delicious.

The food was equally incredible. Their homemade bread is apparently as famous as their barbecue, so we made sure to start off the meal with some. It was sweet and still warm from the oven. Holy cow... Better than any crock-pot meal, that's for sure!!

Per the suggestion of the waiter, I sampled the beef ribs and some brisket. They were both lean and tender and flavorful and.... SO GOOD! I also had some mashed potatoes and corn on the cob on the side. They were both yummy, but not as special as the barbecue... Although it was a treat to have mashed potatoes that didn't come from a shelf stable package :)

After we finished up at The County Line, we headed to downtown Austin's 6th Street. We went to several bars, and it was really nice to relax and hang out with Michael, Jill and David.  We had a really fun time and are planning to have a Fort Hood Pediatrics reunion when we are all back in Bethesda in April :)

One Year

Michael and I celebrated one year of marriage on Friday!  What?!  The "Big Day" was June 30th! How could we possibly be celebrating one year already?!

Turns out that even though our "Big Day" was June 30th, we had a small day to ourselves on February 15, 2012.  It was sweet and lovely and now we have a two-day long Valentines celebration to look forward to every year!

The happiest day of my life...

We had a little 'reception' together last year before I had to head over to George Mason for class (our appointment to get married was at 2:00 and I had to leave for class at 4:00... we really fit getting married into our schedule :)  So we sipped on a glass of my favorite champagne (Pommery Brut Royal) and enjoyed a cupcake from Georgetown Cupcake (because how can one get married without cake, right?) for a quick celebration.

For our anniversary, I wanted to sort of re-create that.  You're supposed to share the top tier of your wedding cake together on the first anniversary, so I decided that cupcakes again would be the only appropriate way to go!  So off I went (after a semi-traumatic haircut detailed here) to The Sweet Factory to get a strawberry cupcake for me and a carrot cake cupcake for Michael, because that is what we had last year :)

Add two flutes of champagne into this equation, and it was the perfect evening! 

Side note: I didn't pack the flutes we used last year (a lovely gift from my MIL for the occasion) because I was fearful of them being broken in all the moving, so we had to buy a new pair to use.  Of course... plastic wouldn't do on our very first first anniversary :)  have I confessed my love for stemware?  Anyways, the flutes came in a box that looked like this:

So they will definitely be keepsakes of our first, first anniversary!

Spaghetti

I'm back on the crock pot wagon after falling off for a week (!) while I recovered from whatever nasty virus my husband got from the sick kids in the pediatric clinic. Therefore, this dish was admittedly unambitious, and there are many things I would do differently if the commissary were open on Mondays. The commissary not being open may or may not be a convenient excuse to hide the fact that I was feeling yucky and didn't want to go outside in the chilly, drizzly rain. You decide :)

Anyways, the spaghetti sauce turned out alright. It would've been better if I had the following to add to my recipe: freshly chopped onion, fresh basil, dried oregano, and fresh garlic.

Under the circumstances, however, this is how it went:

1 lb 97% lean ground beef
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
Sea salt (to taste)
2 cans no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can no salt added tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1/2 cup merlot
Parmesan cheese, finely shredded

Combine all ingredients together in a crock pot, stir and cook on low for at least 4 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles with a little parmesan cheese. I used fresh noodles because I thought they would be easier to cook. I was right... They were MUCH better than the other outcomes from the pasta boat.

We now have a lot of leftovers in our little fridge, which means I probably won't be cooking in the crock pot for awhile. Again :)

Must Love Mail

Mail is an important part of my life. I like sending mail and receiving mail, of course, but for me, it's more than that. Mail and I, we go way back.

Probably the most important thing mail and I have gone through together was my long distance relationship with my now-husband. For three years, Michael and I were never together for more than a week, and even two consecutive days was rare at times. Therefore, I wrote lots of letters, sent many cards, and pieced together quite a few packages. If I had to ballpark it, we're probably talking 600 pieces of mail. Minimum.

So, where has all that love and devotion to the post office gone? All over the place! I've always been a thank-you note sender (thanks for that habit, mom!), but now I send notes and cards to loved ones whenever the occasion arises or there is a spare moment in my day.

I just think that getting something pretty in a non-electronic version is so special now-a-days. I'm not sure that everyone understands that, though.  During one of the last card purchases I made, the cashier commented on my purchase: "Geez! $10 for just four cards... isn't that awful!!"... My response: "Maybe, but they will brighten the days of those I send them to!"... her response: "Yea, and then they are in the garbage."  I am a little too tirelessly optimistic to think of anything besides the smile on someone's face when they open a nice note or a card (not to mention the fact that I have a system for keeping meaningful cards), so I just told the cashier to have a great day.

My favorite cards and stationery come from Papyrus, Curly Girl Design, and Paper Source.  It's a little bit of an addiction for me, but I think that's ok, right?

Here are two of the cards I sent out for Valentine's Day.

They are both made by Papyrus, and I thought they were perfect.

Chances are, if you're in my family or are one of my close friends, you've been the beneficiary of a piece of mail from me.  However, if you have somehow missed out on some paper-love, just message me your address, and I will remedy the situation very quickly :)

Luigi's

Last night we went out to dinner in Harker Heights, which is about 15 minutes away from Fort Hood.  It was a good-bye dinner of sorts because the visiting resident, Allison, is going back to San Antonio today after spending a month up here at Darnall Army Medical Center.  Michael really enjoyed working with her this past week, so even though I wasn't feeling great (still fighting the nasty head cold) we headed out to her farewell.

Luigi's was the restaurant of choice. It was a local Italian place that was bring-your-own-wine for a $4 corking fee.  I brought the bottle of Killka Malbec (which was even better than I remembered it), and someone else brought Dalliance Red Blend (which was milder in comparison to the malbec, but still good).

The food was surprisingly good, and reasonably priced.  My manicotti was a perfectly sized portion for $8. My husband had lobster ravioli, which was slightly pricier, but just as delish.  I tasted some of his sauce on a piece of homemade bread... so yummy!

The company was lovely, too, as always here in Texas.

All in all, Luigi's joined the ranks of restaurants we have enjoyed here in Fort Hood!  I can't believe we only have two weeks left here... can't decide if I'm happy or sad...

New Digs

Whew! What yesterday was quite a day here in scenic Fort Hood, Texas! You'll remember from my previous post (because I know y'all obsessively check this darn thing to see me wax poetic about my shower) that all was not copacetic.

However, speaking of showers, we have a new one now... It doesn't burn us or give us frostbite like the evil one, but it does change pitch (shhhh to shhhiii) every now and again. I just think it has a playful sense of humor :)

So, how did we manage to receive this wonderful upgrade??? We moved! Hallelujah!

After deciding that we were too exhausted to deal with Poxon House for another night, I went and spoke to the management to see if we could move to a room at Keith Ware Hall.  They were very understanding about our continuing issues (did I mention the constant threat of cigarette smoke wafting into our room, whether the door was closed or not?), and very accommodating as they set us up in a new room at Keith Ware Hall.

The difference between our previous room and our current circumstances extend far beyond the shower.  We are now in a hotel with interior doors, which means that the carpet in the rooms is fresh, clean, and not musty. Instead of a makeshift ironing board 'counter top', there is a dedicated spot where the crock pot has found a home. There is a desk (the medical student was thrilled!) and a large closet and a chair without mysterious stains.  I could go on, but you get the picture.  Being here makes me happy.

Moving did not make me happy, though.  I was getting my husband's lovely head cold and working on 3 hours of sleep, so running around in 80 degree heat with heavy suitcases and boxes of books wasn't my cup of tea.  But we are all settled in, so I can take care of my sick self in the peace and quiet of room 333 :)

Chili and Other "Adventures"

I made chili for dinner last night.  My regular 'ole chili recipe that I would make at home on the stove top.  The few variations from my usual recipe (because I am VERY flexible when it comes to changes/substitutions in recipes) had nothing to do with the crock pot, but everything to do with what I found and did not find at our local HEB (the commissary is closed on Mondays).

Notice that there isn't one of the handy crock-pot liners :(

My Chili Recipe:

1 bottle Shiner Bock
1 can no salt added tomato sauce
1 can no salt added diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
garlic, minced
2 ribs celery, diced
(*note* I found a pre-diced mix in the produce section of HEB that included the previous 4 ingredients)
1 1/2 lbs of lean sirloin steak, cubed
1 Tbs. Ancho chili powder
1 Tbs. Cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 can low sodium Kidney beans, rinsed
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
High fiber macaroni noodles
Unsalted saltine crackers

Things I omitted because I didn't have them on hand:
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 Tbs. ground coriander
Texas Pete Hot sauce to taste

Combine tomato products, veggies, steak, beer, and spices in a crock pot on low. Cook for 6 hours.
Turn off and stir in beans.
Serve with noodles, cheese and crackers.  Whatever your preference.

This chili is definitely one of my favorite comfort foods, so I was a happy girl last night.  Until the neighbor nightmares returned, worse than ever before (you can read about our other escapades, here).

There was an unhappy (and possibly sick) infant in the room next door last night.  Side note- don't ask me why the bad neighbors are ALWAYS in the room that our bed shares a wall with.  This is just a cruel joke from the universe.

Anyways, as we were going to bed early at 9:30, we hear a few cries/whimpers.  I assume it is just a fussy baby needing to fall asleep.  Michael was agitated, but I assured him the baby would fall asleep and all would be fine.  I was correct.  Until about midnight.  Then it started again... but this time it was blood curdling screams and cries and if I didn't know better, I would've thought someone was being tortured.  Oh wait, that was us.  We were the tortured ones.

Then, after about a half an hour of this disaster, the baby calmed down and fell asleep. I fell back to sleep around 1:30 AM.

Next was the mother of all melt-downs.  From 2 AM to about 3:45 AM the screaming ensued, but this time the parents chimed in.  Yelling at each other and yelling at the baby ("shut up you stupid brat" was one of their more PG phrases), then yelling at the toddler who began a temper tantrum after being woken up by all of this noise at 2:30 in the morning. We fell back to sleep around 4:45 AM, and the alarm went off at 5:20 AM.

This is not enough sleep.  Especially for my husband, who is fighting a nasty head cold, and working 12 hour days in inpatient pediatrics. I am praying for a better night tonight.

Super Bowl Sunday

Michael's clerkship site director was so kind and invited us to her home for a little Superbowl get-together.  It was really nice to spend time in a real live home, complete with a couch, carpet that wasn't mysteriously musty, a legitimate kitchen, and two cute kitty cats. Absolutely heavenly.  Oh, and she and her husband crafted together a make-your-own nachos bar. Quite delish!

Our contribution was two-fold.  First, we picked up some craft brews at Spec's the day before.

Anchor Steam Beer is made in San Francisco, so we thought it would be appropriate (even though we weren't cheering on the 49ers).  Michael and I both really enjoyed it.

The second thing was some cupcakes from The Sweet Factory, a Killeen bakery and candy shop.

We have been completely cupcake-spoiled over the past few years by Georgetown Cupcake (you can read about it here), so I was skeptical to endorse another cupcake.  We purchased a variety of flavors (chocolate cherry, vanilla, triple chocolate, pina colada, chocolate peanut butter, and German chocolate), and all received rave reviews.  

Oh, and in the midst of all of this eating and drinking, there was a Beyonce concert, erm, I mean the Super Bowl :)

Tham Rab Thai Date Night

My husband and I decided to have a date night on Saturday. Date night-in is our favorite, so we decided to give it a try in the motel.  

First stop was earlier in the day to get a bottle of wine.  I have already lamented the limited selection in Killeen (read about it here), but we were delightfully surprised by the selection at Specs, a Texas chain of liquor and gourmet foods stores. We picked up a bottle of yummy Catena chardonnay (warning, it must be pronounced "Cat-ay-n-yah" or you will be chastised). and Killka malbec. Both are Argentine wines, reasonably priced (plus Spec's gives a 5% discount for all purchases paid for in cash, by check or by credit card!), and delish :) Happy girl moment, number one.  

Later in the evening, we decided that we would get take-out from a Thai restaurant that was recommended by Michael's clerkship site director and my parents (they did some research on area restaurants as part of a Christmas gift for us, but have never actually been to Killeen).  Site-unseen, we called the restaurant and ordered dinner.  This is what we saw when we arrived to pick-up our meal.  I was a little wary... and once we got inside, even more so.  Lets just say the atmosphere was a little lacking, and I patted myself on the back for deciding to give 'date night-in' a go.

I had spicy pad thai with chicken.  I didn't take a picture of my meal because as soon as we got it back to the motel I wanted to dive in. Literally.  Have I mentioned that Thai food is my favorite thing? Even though it was so spicy that it physically hurt, I enjoyed every bite!! Oh my goodness sooooo good.... Happy girl moment, number two.  Michael got "mild" red curry with pineapple and shrimp.  This was my suggestion, and he would have really liked it if it had been American mild.  It wasn't nearly as spicy as my delicious on-fire pad thai, but enough to clear the sinuses.

Just in case you were wondering if there was a happy girl moment, number three, there was :)  Post incredibly-spicy-Thai-food coma, we enjoyed a glass of that Catena chardonnay, and watched a movie on tv.  I don't even know what movie it was, but I was so happy and content to spend time with my husband that I didn't care :)

Nami

Earlier this week, my husband and I went out to dinner with his pediatric clerkship site director, again.  We were joined by Jill and David (the two other medical students rotating here at Fort Hood), and two other physicians in the pediatric department.

We found ourselves at Nami, a Japanese hibachi restaurant. They wouldn't seat us until everyone had arrived, so we ended up sitting at the bar for a bit... To my surprise, I found La Crema Chardonnay on their drink menu.  Overpriced ($8), but a nice addition to our wait.

When we were finally seated at the hibachi table, we ordered right away.  I had the shrimp and scallops, and Michael had the filet mignon and scallops.  Of course, being a hibachi place, this comes with soup, salad, vegetables and rice. The highlight for me was the salad because of their ginger dressing.  It was so good that I "stole" my husband's salad, too :)  I would go back just for that... but everything else was good too.  Not as good as Kanki in Fleming Island, FL, but it was a fun place to go with our little peds family in Fort Hood!

Crock Pot Ribs

Holy cow! Some of the best ribs I've ever had came out of my crock pot tonight... or rather off of the community grill here at the motel... but I am still attributing the yummy-ness to my occasionally-beloved crock pot :)

The two wooden spoons were the 'tongs' we used to transfer the ribs on and off the grill.  Obviously, we really believe in innovation here at Adventures in Somewhere... ironing board counter tops, beds for dining room tables, etc.  It's not what you have, it's what you make of it!

Alright, I'll go ahead and tell y'all how I made them, now.

Ingredients:

2 bottles of Shiner Bock

18 oz. Barbecue Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original, but whatever you like is fine)

Unsalted broth (chicken or beef broth would be fine)

4 half racks of baby-back ribs (I realize that this equals two full racks, but at the commissary they only sold them in half racks.  Which is just as well because full racks won't fit in a crock pot.)

Barbecue Sauce for basting

Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. Absolutely necessary.  Here is what I'm talking about:

Pour the two beers and the bottle of barbecue sauce into the crock pot. Stir.

Place the prepared 1/2 racks into the beer/sauce mixture, meat side down.  

If the ribs aren't covered, add some broth.  I probably added less than 1/2 cup of broth.

Cook on low for 4 1/2 hours.

Remove the ribs from liquid and transfer to a 400 degree grill.

Baste on one side with BBQ sauce, shut grill for 5 minutes.

Flip ribs, baste with sauce, shut grill for 5 minutes.

Repeat this process until the ribs are sauced/charred to your liking.  

We had the ribs on the grill for about 15 minutes total.

I served the ribs with corn and mashed potatoes.  How did I manage to make mashed potatoes?

These! Potatoes you can make in the microwave that aren't full of sodium and preservatives! They aren't as good as my homemade kind, of course (I'll share that recipe at some point), but I think that these will be our go-to for potatoes until we have a real kitchen again!

Enjoy, y'all!

Joe's Pizza

A few nights ago, we decided to take a break from the crock pot leftovers and indulge in some local pizza. We decided to go with Joe's Pizza because the reviews online described it as "the best pizza in Killeen"... I realize that the best pizza in Killeen is probably not a lofty claim. Also, Joe's is the closest pizza place to the base.

We ordered an XXL (18") pepperoni pizza because it was a special for $10. Good deal. Joe's claimed to be a New York style pizza place, and on that count they definitely delivered. The crust was thin and the sauce was really flavorful.  I wasn't a fan of the pepperoni (but I rarely care for pepperoni to begin with), so I just picked it off. Overall, we enjoyed having a meal that wasn't from the crock pot, and we will probably have Joe's again before we leave Killeen :)