Halloween is Here!

With only a couple of days left to get your costume in order I thought I would talk about some of my favorite Halloween costumes this year.  Luckily, we like to keep the celebration going on for a couple of days so I actually have a couple of costumes this year.  In the last few years we have been Charlie Brown and Lucy, Cinderella and Prince Charming, and Tinkerbell and a Jedi just to name a few.

I won't revel my actual costume until Friday, but I will throw out some inspiration outfits I considered this year.  There are so many choices that it is so hard to narrow it down to just one!  Also, Daniel and I have a hard time deciding on couples costumes so we like to exercise our individuality and just go as whatever we want!  

What will you be this Halloween?

1. Despicable Me Minion

{Source}

2. Audrey Hepburn

{Source}

3. Guess Who?

{Source}

4. Scarecrow

{Source}

One Year of Dates!

I am sure you have seen this idea floating all over Pinterest, but I decided to put my own spin on it and create something wonderful for our two-year wedding anniversary back in August.  First of all, I cannot believe its been over two years since we said I Do.  Secondly, since it has only been two years you would think I would have a million gift ideas, but man it is tough (especially since we have been together for a total of 8 years)!  Thankfully, Pinterest to the rescue again!

My One Year of Dates gift is 12 pre-planned dates outlined in sealed envelops.  Daniel gets to open an envelop at the beginning of each month and we pick when we are going to take our date that month.  Over the course of this year I will share our monthly outings.  Sorry, I can't reveal all of them at once or Daniel would miss out on all the fun!  The best thing about this gift is that it is totally customizable to the individual couple.  Do you like hiking?  Go on a hike!  Do you like baking?  Then make cupcakes!  The key to this is to plan ahead and try not to pick dates that require specific timelines, it is not impossible, but you do not want to stress out about trying to fit it in on a specific day.  I like to add variety to our dates as well.  Some are more elaborate away from home dates, some are around town, and others are simply in our home.  The most important thing is HAVE FUN!

We have already gone on our September and October dates so I have included all the details below!

SEPTEMBER

Date: Putt-Putt and Dinner

Cost: $7 per person for putt-putt and your choice for dinner

Supplies: Putt-putt tickets, dinner reservations

To kick off our One Year of Dates we headed out to our local putting green.  Before going to putt-putt we hit up a local restaurant called The Laughing Owl.  The Laughing Owl is a great restaurant that mixes American favorites with Asian cuisine from the owners previous restaurant.  I opted for my favorite Beef and Szechwan String Beans over Lo Mien.  The food is delicious and a nice, fresh change from traditional chain restaurants.  After dinner, we headed over to Larry Bill's Fun Time Golf for 18 holes of fun!  It was perfect, hardly anyone was around so it made for a romantic yet fun setting.  I must confess, much to Daniel's displeasure, that I came out the winner that night, but I'm not sure either of our scores were much to brag about.  We called it an early night and came home to watch Love Actually on Netflix. 

OCTOBER

Date: State Fair

Cost: $18 for fair entry and spending money for fair food and games!

Supplies: fair tickets, cash for food and games

Daniel and I have always loved going to the fair and since we have not been to our State Fair in about 6 years I decided to make that our agenda for October.  One of my suggestions in date planning was not to choose something that had to be done on a schedule.  However, the fair was in town for almost two weeks so that gave us plenty of time to pick our date.  Unfortunately, because of my busy schedule the only day we could go was the last day of the fair which meant it was very crowded.  We had a blast anyway!  We arrived around lunch time and were immediately thinking "what should we eat first?"  My tip for places with lots of food options is SHARE!  We split almost everything we got at the fair and it made it a lot easier to try all kinds of foods.  We always like to try the local booths so we hit up two places for country ham biscuits and fresh cut fries.  They were amazing.  After cruising through the midway, winning a stuffed minion (stay tune he will be very useful come Halloween), and almost losing our appetite in the livestock buildings it was time for round two!  I opted for the fried mac and cheese bites while Daniel got his favorite fried Snickers.  We spent the rest of the fair combing through the crafts and hobby section and the Village of Yesteryear and then finished the afternoon off with a blooming onion.  We had some friends at the fair too and one of them got a Krispy Kream burger.  That was by far the most unique creation of the fair this year, a cheeseburger with all the fixing between two Krispy Kream doughnuts instead of buns.  She said it was amazing and I can't wait to try it next year!

Question: How do you and your significant other make plans for dates?  Preplanned or spur of the moment?  Take turns choosing or always let one person decide? Weekly, Monthly, Bi-monthly?

Homemade Ice Cream Cake

Now that Summer is here in all of its glory, I find myself looking for anything to cool me down.  In my family pretty much all of our birthdays fall from the end of May through the beginning of August, so that equals a lot of birthday cake.  My parents both celebrated their birthdays recently and since I was on cake duty I wanted to do something different and "cool."  Enter the ice cream cake.  Its the best of both worlds... cake, but in ice cream form.  I browsed around for a few ideas from different recipes and then I put together what would work best for my family.  The great thing about ice cream cake is that they are totally customizable to what you like.  For my dad's birthday I went with a Reese's Pieces Ice Cream Cake and for my mom's we had a Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake.


Reese's Pieces Ice Cream Cake

what you need

1 carton Vanilla Bean ice cream (I used Breyer's)
1 container Cool Whip (I used fat free)
1 oreo pie crust
Assorted Candy (Reese's Pieces, Mini Chocolate Chips, Oreo crumbles, Mini Reese's Cups)
Chocolate Syrup

how to make it

Crumble Oreo pie crust into bottom of a spring form pan and press it down firmly to make the crust of the cake.  If you have difficulty getting it to hold together add some melted butter.

Mix softened ice cream and cool whip together until throughly incorporated.  

Layer half of the ice cream, cool whip mixture on top of the Oreo crust.

Top ice cream with assorted candies (I left out the Reese's Cups and used them only on top) and drizzle with chocolate syrup.  I will use melted chocolate next time, but use whatever you like best.

Layer the remaining ice cream mixture on top of the candies and cover with remaining candy pieces, this time adding Reese's Cups.  

Place in the freezer for a minimum of 4 hours, but overnight works much better.  I covered the top and bottom of my spring form pan with aluminum foil to fight off freezer burn. 

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake

what you need

1 carton Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream (I used the Food Lion brand)
1 container Cool Whip (Fat Free)
1 graham cracker pie crust
1/2 quart fresh strawberries

how to make it

You follow the same basic process for this cake.  The only difference is that instead of placing candy between the two ice cream layers you will layer fresh strawberries.  I also sprinkled some extra graham cracker crumbles on the top for decoration.  The final result was pretty amazing!

Europe 2013: Day Six

Day Six: Crossing the Irish Sea

Day Six started out EXTREMELY EARLY!  We had to leave The Generator by 5:45am to get down to the docks and prepare to load onto the "ferry" boat to cross over into the United Kingdom.  Thankfully, we decided to skip the morning shower that day since it was such as early departure and when we got onto the bus we were very happy we did.  Apparently in hostels the warm water is not turned on until after 6am in order to reduce energy cost and keep the hostel cost efficient.  Great plan, not so great for 30 or so people in our group who tried to get showers at 5am!  I still completely recommend the Generator and look at those rooms, they were so cute!  

We arrived down by the docks around 7am and quickly went through baggage check and goto comfortable on board.  I really wish I had snapped some pictures on board, because this was no ordinary "ferry" boat rather a miniature cruise ship.  I travelled on one very similar to this the last time I was in Europe and they have areas for short journey passengers and private rooms with beds and showers for those who will be on the ship for a little longer.  I was so sleepy and still feeling very nauseated, so I grabbed some chairs, stretched out and took a solid two hour nap.  When I awoke, I bought Sea Bands (designed to help with motion sickness) and perched myself next to the window just in time to see out arrival into Wales.  We had to go through customs and get our passport checked, load the coach, and we were off to the Lake District of England with an overnight stop planned for Manchester.   

We had a long drive that day, but we did take the time to stop at Beaumaris Castle, built by Edward I (aka Edward Longshanks) in the 13th Century.  This was the largest of a series of castles built by the king throughout Wales in an effort to conquer the area.  Beaumaris is not used today as a residency of the royal family, because of its Medieval structure which is not fit for people to live in.  However, it is a historical site and museum that is worth a visit.  It was honestly one of my favorite places that we visited, because I think it really captures the feeling of Medieval Europe and the mind set that so many of the monarchs had during this time period.  Luxury was not a concern when constructing castles like they were much later in history, rather they were fort like structures designed to protect the king from invasion.  The castle is very open and you can explore for hours on end and there is a good amount of wildlife and livestock in the area to admire such as swans and sheep.  I even got to wear my Hunter boots that day, because it was one of the few days with "rain like conditions even though it never rained (thankfully!).

After exploring the castle we headed into the town of Beaumaris, located on the Isle of Anglesey (the same area William and Kate lived after their wedding).  It was a quaint town with small shops and restaurants.  It was a good chance to hit an ATM for some Pounds now that we were out of Euro territory and we also grabbed some lunch.  We ate lunch at the Triple 8 Coffee Shop which was a small used bookstore with some seating for customers to have lunch as well.  I decided on the ham, cheese, and pineapple panini and it was amazing!  We had a good laugh at lunch, because the menu said that crisps (chips) came with the panini and when our plates arrived we had 3 whole Pringles on the plate!  Not exactly what we expected, but the sandwich and hot chocolate that I had was a great choice.  After strolling through the town and grabbing a Beaumaris Castle magnet it was time to hit the road again.  Next stop: Manchester, England.

We arrived in Manchester late in the afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Britannia.  If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the picture below which had a capture that read "Best. Hotel. Ever!"  It was an extremely nice hotel and I will be staying there again!  We had two large and luxurious beds and were bummed when we realized that we were only staying one night.  They had a lounge singer, in-house pizzeria, full service buffet, and numerous other amenities.

After an early dinner we hung out in the lobby of the hotel, enjoying free Wi-Fi and pizza.  I think the amount of Americana that was oozing out of us at the end of each day was ridiculous.  Pizza and Wi-Fi were like gold in our minds.  That was one of the things that made travelling abroad for two-weeks without my family bearable though.  Being able to spend time with the group each evening and relax took our minds off of home and having Wi-Fi and my IPad made it so that I talked to and saw my husband and family almost everyday of the trip.  My travel advice is do not waste hundreds of dollars (trust me I have done it) on international cell phones.  The vast majority of hotels have Wi-Fi (mostly for free) and if you have any type of electronic device you can FaceTime or Skype for free.  

So fellow travelers, what is your favorite travel tip?  

{Currently Craving}

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8


The temperatures are finally warming up and I am loving it!  Along with the spring temperatures, I am loving the spring colors and light and airy fabrics.  It is a birth month as of today, so maybe I will soon see a fews of my favorites in my closet.  Follow me on Pinterest for more of my favorites.

Beef Noodle Bowl 2

So I guess today is technically Traveling Tuesday, but seeing that I did a travel post yesterday I decided to give you guys a break!  Today I am brining back the recipe post and since I rarely cook these days this is a treat!

This recipe may look vaguely familiar to you if you have seen my post on Beef Noodle Bowl.  This is a different take on the same recipe.  That is the great thing about this recipe, you can change it around numerous times and never get tired of it!  I hope you enjoy Beef Noodle Bowl 2!

what you need

1/2 lb. whole wheat angel hair, uncooked
2 zucchini, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp. oil
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
1/2 cup Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing

how to make it

cook pasta in a large saucepan as directed on package.

heat oil in large nonstick skillet.  add zucchini and onion until soft and translucent.  place in glass bowl and cover to keep warm. 

in the same skillet add more oil and the meat; cook until browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing and teriyaki sauce; cook 2 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. 

drain pasta; place in large serving bowl. Add meat and vegetable mixture; toss to coat.

Enjoy!

The Pennington's

Europe 2013: Day Five

Day Five: Dublin!

Hello from Dublin!  We arrived in Dublin late in the evening on day four, so we were ready to hit the ground running the next morning.  Day five was full of sites of the city with a local tour guide and some free time to explore on our own.

We started the morning with Shane, our local guide, and we took a drive around the city to see some of the high points.  We rode by the Guinness Factory (which you can tour), the site of the 1916 Easter Rising (early fight for Irish independence), and Phoenix Park (the largest park in Dublin- bigger than Central Park).  We took time to get off the bus at a few places, but mostly just saw the city at a glance.  Our first actual stop of the day though was St. Patricks Cathedral.

St. Patrick's Cathedral was built in Dublin based on the legend of its namesake, Saint Patrick, passing through the area in as early as the 5th Century.  According to the legend, on his journey through St. Patrick used a well to baptist and convert Christians in the area.  Years later in the 1100's a wooden building was built in this area and was later replaced by the structure that is there today.  In the early 1900's Celtic graves were unearthed and what was thought to be the remains of the well that was used by St. Patrick.  Today the Cathedral serves much as a museum, even though it still operates as a church.  All types of artifacts from Irish and Catholic history have been preserved within the church.

After we left St. Patrick's we had a few minutes of free time so we went to a department store on the same street.  They were offering free truffle pops that day, because it was Easter Sunday and it was also an attempt to raise money for cancer patients.  I gladly donated some euros and grabbed a delicious truffle.  It was amazing!

We then headed off to Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university established by Queen Elizabeth I.  The college was not really what we were there to see, rather the infamous Book of Kells and the Irish Declaration of Independence.  The Book of Kells is an illuminate manuscript of the Gospels and New Testament written in Latin by monks during the 8th or 9th Centuries.  It was breath-taking to see and amazing to think how much time and effort it took to create such detailed work.  Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures of the Book of Kells, but check it out online.  After the tour of the book we went into the library to see the Irish Declaration of Independence, as well as old original copies of books by famous authors like Charles Dickens, and the oldest harp in Ireland.

Lunch was calling my name by the time we finally finished all the activities of the morning.  So off we headed to an authentic Irish pub.  I probably should have been more adventurous in my eating that day, but nothing sounded more appetizing at that moment than a cheeseburger and that is exactly what I got!  It was really good, but I think anything would have been by that time of the day!          

After lunch we spent the remainder of the day exploring Dublin.  We went up and down the main streets popping into local stores and grabbing some souvenirs.  The big sight seeing of the afternoon was the National Museum of Ireland.  We had heard that they had some bog bodies on display and were eager to check out 2000 year old remains.  They did not disappoint.  Many of the bodies (dated back to the BC era) had hair, nails, and recognizable features still in tack.  It was found that the bog bodies were so well preserved, because of chemicals from the bogs.  Bodies were sacrificed into the bog once a year as part of a Pagen tradition.  A sacrificial victim would be chosen, "fattened" up and then killed and given to the bog.  After the museum, we just took a walking tour of the city and enjoyed a little bit of free time in Dublin.

This cross supposedly held a portion of the cross of Christ at one point.

After a dinner of Bangers and Mash (not my thing) we decided to turn in early for the night, because we had an early wake up time for the next morning.  On day six we crossed the Irish Sea and took this adventure to the United Kingdom!        

Happy Wednesday Day!

This cool cat wishes you a Happy Wednesday!

Back tomorrow with more on Europe!

Europe 2013: Day Four

Day Four: Blarney Castle and the Rock of Cashel

An early start was on the books for day four since we had many places to see.  We headed out of Killarney and began the trek to Dublin, but with planned stops at Blarney Castle and the Rock of Cashel along the way.  I enjoyed my time in Killarney immensely, but I was eager to move on and cross something off of my bucket list... Kissing the Blarney Stone!

Blarney Castle is a sunning site to see.  While much of the castle is in ruin it is still beautiful and the grounds are gorgeous.  We quickly began our ascent to the top of the castle to see the infamous Blarney Stone, but as we traveled through you could not help but to be impressed with the people who lived in Blarney Castle during its prime.  The people who use to live and work in the castle had to be able to navigate the narrow and steep stairways in which the steps were not even and handrails did not exist.  I also felt very sorry for the cooks, because the kitchen was on the third floor!  Even though the up and down of the stairs probably made it very difficult for them, It made sense once we read the explanation   They placed the kitchen on the third floor in an effort to prevent fire from spreading through the entire castle.  Also, it was conveniently located near bedrooms and if there were ever unwanted guest the hot oil could be quickly used to announce to them that it was time to leave!!

Once we reached the top of the castle we got in line for our turn to kiss the Blarney Stone.  It was a little more tricky of a task than you might think, because you have to lay down on a mat and with the assistance of a worker you hold onto the bars and lower yourself upside down and backwards to kiss the stone.  It was thrilling and nerve wrecking at the same time, because you could see the crowds of people down below.  The man who was working that day was absolutely precious and kept saying things like "You like to kiss don't you, yes you do!"  It was an experience that I will never forget!

After some photo opts around the grounds and stumbling upon a Downton Abbey look-alike home we headed back towards the town for lunch.  There is a giant shop and eatery near the castle called The Woolen Mill.  It is a great place to purchase items made of real lambs wool and a good lunch stop as well.  I had one of the best meals on the trip at the market place style restaurant.  I had a chicken and brie sandwich on focaccia bread with malt vinegar and sea salt chips.  We spent a little time shopping around and then it was time to hit the road again.

After a little more time on the coach we arrived at one of Ireland's most historical sites, the Rock of Cashel.  This legendary rock of St. Patrick supposedly is a part of Devil's Bit (a mountain) on which St. Patrick banished Satan and the rock flew and landed in its current location.  It is also the place at which the King of Munster was converted by St. Patrick in the 5th century, thus creating a lineage of Christian rulers.  In the 1100's it was donated by the King of Munster to the Church and is now largely a tourist attraction due to its failing structure   It is the home of some beautiful Celtic artwork and medieval architecture.  If you are in the area I strongly encourage a visit.  

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about our visit to the Rock of Cashel was hearing and seeing about the visit that Queen Elizabeth made there in 2011.  She was on a tour of Ireland and this was one of the places that she personally requested to see, so they organized a visit for her.  She and her husband, Prince Philip, were shown around the grounds and even signed a visitors ledger to show that they had attended.  The coolest part was that they went on my birthday!!  I love anytime my life intertwines with the life of the royals!

After the tour ended we quickly loaded the buses to finish our two hour drive into Dublin.  When we arrived in the city we were immediately taken to our dinner reservation which was Irish Fried Chicken. I'm not sure that is actually what they called it, but that's what we will go with.  It would not have been to bad, but they loved brown gravy at many of the restaurants we ate in and this place was no exception.

Irish Fried Chicken?

Looks like home :)

No worries though, because once we checked into our amazing hotel I found the snack bar.  We stayed at a hostel called The Generator, which had single beds for rent for those youngster backpacking through Europe, but also private rooms for those people like us who required a little more privacy.  The students on the trip and myself included really enjoyed the young vibe of this hostel.  It was not like the creepy, dirty hostels that we see on television. It had a bar with live music, lounging areas, and a cafe.  I enjoyed hot chocolate both nights we were there and sampled a little taste of home with french fries and a coke one night!  Overall I recommend the Generator if you are looking for an expensive, no frills place to stay, particularly if you are in your teens, twenties and even early thirties.

How To Run A 5K

If you follow along with my blog at all, you would know that I have an on again, off again relationship with running.  One week I am posting I am running a half-marathon, the next I am saying who needs running or exercise.  But when it really comes down to it I really do enjoy running.  I think it is something you either like or do not.  For me (as a former college athlete) it is a form of competition that I now have a lack of in my life.  The other part for me is I LOVE to eat!  So if I can eat what I would like and go run it off, then I am a happy girl!

Daniel and I set out on the task of training for a 5K back in February.  I posted a long time ago about my first 5K experience.  I knew this time I was really going to train and push myself.  Yeah right!  I got about 3 weeks into the training and life happened.  I started staying late at work making sub plans and spending my afternoons getting things together for my trip to Europe over spring break.  To make a long story short, the training just stopped.

Now add two weeks in Europe to the equation.  No time or access to running coupled with exhaustion made it impossible for me to pick up my training schedule.  Needless to say I arrived back in the States booked for a 5K and no time to train.  The only advantages that I had going into the race were that I am athletic and Daniel did not train at all, so we could suffer through it together.    

The morning of the race arrived and we were pumped.  The goal was to finish the race.  We took it nice and slow, not pushing ourselves beyond what we were physically capable of handling.  In the end we both crossed the finish line in pretty decent times (33-34 minutes) and had a blast.  We are even trying to figure out what the next one will be... granted there will be training involved with that one!

I told you all that, because I want to stress two things.  First of all running a 5K is a reality for almost anyone.  There were people at that race from all ages and all types of physical capabilities.  With the right amount of training and the right program it is something that anyone can aspire to complete.  The second thing is that training is essential.  Unless you have been very physically active in your life leading up to this you will need to train to ensure your safety.  By gradually building up your distance it makes it seem like such a doable task and much more enjoyable.  

Below I have shared by training schedule that I followed (for a little while) during the training for this last 5K.  I made it a really long time ago, but I think I used Hal Higdeon's 5K Novice training plan.  His website is a great resource for all distances.  Another great tool is the Couch to 5K Program, which starts you off very slow with small intervals of running mixed in with walking.  Both programs offer applications to download on your smartphone as well and they walk you through your exercises.     

I hope this helps any of you considering walking or running a race of any distance in your future!  Check out the following resources for more information about races in your area:

Run The East 

Running In The USA

Road Race Runner