Support Local Farmers: Dandelion Greens

Next up was dandelion greens.

JB decided they would go well with onions and garlic

and sauteed them up.

We had them with baked chicken.

Not gonna lie, the greens were a little too bitter for my liking but I'm glad I tried them - I had never had them before.

Support Local Farmers: Peaches

I bought a Groupon for South Mountain Veggies last month and used it this week - Tuesday night we had a bag of fresh local veggies delivered right to our door. We thought it would be fun to document how John Buss decided to prepare each of the items. What you get in your bag depends on what is available that week from the farmers. Here is what we have:

Apples - Red Delicious

Asparagus

Dandelion - Red Ribbed

Gold Beets

Lettuce

Peaches

Potatoes, Russet

Spinach

The first thing we did? Make peach infused vodka!

Gathering the ingredients

Pitting the peaches

Chopping them

Into the mason jar they go

Shake it up

Ready to go into the fridge for a few weeks!

We can't wait to try it!

Team Marie

My best friend Kristen lost her momma to ovarian cancer 4 years ago. My grandmother had ovarian cancer, and my aunt fought it off this past fall. Ovarian cancer sucks. Each year Kristen leads the volunteers and helps organize the NOCC (National Ovarian Cancer Coalition) 5k run and walk. The past two years we have volunteered at the event, but this year I wanted to also participate in the 5k. Amy Bridges and I did it together and made it across the finish line! It was a great accomplishment, but an even bigger accomplishment to be part of an event committed to raising funds and awareness about ovarian caner.



We spent the rest of the day eating, drinking, and enjoying time with friends and all of Kristen's family that came to town for the event. We're already looking forward to next year's race!

Quick Trip Across the Pond

John Buss had another trip to London for work, and this time I was able to join him for the weekend. It was a quick trip, but we had a really great time together. The weather was perfect, the food yummy, and the pints quite delicious. There were mobs of people, we presume still in town from the Royal Wedding, so I didn't take too many pictures.


Our first night there we stayed in Leatherhead, where John's office and the hotel are. We walked around town...

...found the river walk...

...spotted the largest swan we've ever seen...

...and had pints at the oldest pub in leatherhead.

Saturday morning we headed into London to enjoy the sites...
...like Big Ben...

...from several angles...

...this guy...

...had a proper fish & chips lunch...

...and enjoyed several points outside the pub...

...hi.


We started Sunday off right at this adorable restaurant...

...with a proper english breakfast...

...walked around Leatherhead before heading into London...

...and then - yikes - the madness that is Camden Markets...

That was my last picture. That place nearly sent me over the edge. Too many people! Too much crap for sale! It was not at all what we were expecting. We made it out alive and enjoyed a nice dinner in the city before heading back to the hotel. I'm so glad I was able to join JB across the pond even though it flew by.

Cuties

Look at these two cuties I got to spend Easter with. Meet twins Maddy & Nathan. Not only are they adorable, they are super smart and so fun to play with.

Celebrating 6 Months

On Saturday we celebrated 6 months of being Mr. & Mrs. Since I couldn't get a reservation at a restaurant we have been wanting to try out (the soonest Saturday reservation is two months out!) we stayed in and had homemade pizza and a bottle of bubbly that Kristen & Tommy gave to us as an engagement present. It was perfect. We're happier than ever and feel blessed to have each other. It keeps getting better and better.

Napa: The Food

We had some really great meals while we were in Cali. Up first was lunch our first day there. We stopped at Oxbow Market in Napa - a hotspot to shop for picnic items. We opted to have tacos and beer and stay in out of the rain.

For dinner that night we went to Mustards Grill in Oakville. It was a quick 3 minutes from our B&B. The food was great, and our waitress rocked. When I was overwhelmed...

she picked for me.

JB had the meatloaf

And I had the famous mongolian pork chop. I woke up in the middle of the night wanting another one. It lives up to all the hype.

On Friday night we had dinner at The French Laundry, which is listed as the number 1 restaurant in America by foodies. We planned our trip around this reservation and it didn't disappoint. The perfect place to celebrate John's 30th birthday. Dinner was 9 courses, although between all of the other goodies they snuck in I think it was closer to 15.

Here are a couple of pictures I snapped that morning of their gardens.

In order to make sure I enjoyed dinner and didn't obsess over pictures, we left the camera in our room. We did still manage a few iPhone pics, but not many. JB's favorite course was the foie gras, which came with a choice of 3 different kinds of salt.

My favorite course was the lamb

One of the 4 different desserts we had (lemongrass sorbet).

A mini-happy birthday cake!!!

We left full and happy. If you can get a reservation we highly recommend!