Soldotna Days

After a good night's sleep, Vince, Colin, and I were ready to hit the road. We packed our bags and fishing gear and set out for Soldotna. While Vince and I usually make it there once a year, it had been around 8 years since Colin had been there, so he was looking forward to seeing how things had changed since we grew up.

One stop we had to make along the way: The Wildlife Conservation Center

along Turnagain Arm; here's one of the bears munching on some blueberries :)

Our first stop in Soldotna was our old neighbor's house. We spent a few hours catching up, telling stories, and sharing pictures, then headed our cousin's house for a visit before heading to St. Elias for some pizza.

Bellies full, it was time to check into our hotel and get ready for our next adventures...

Fun With Family- Colin Comes To Town

After spending the past several months inside, Vince and I were looking forward to summer and raring to get outside! May had another perk as well: a visit from my brother Colin. He has been going to college since his departure from the Coast Guard, but he had a week off between semesters this year, so I got him a ticket to fly up for some fun :)

The first place we took him was Humpy's for

Anchorage's best halibut fish & chips

From there, we set out to meet some friends at The Blue Fox

for Karaoke Night (something a little out of the ordinary). Before the

night was over, we'd had some fun, I sang a song (really!) and we

made some boating plans for the next week.

The next day was gorgeous, so hiking Flattop was a "must."

We enjoyed a leisurely morning, laced up our hiking boots, and

set out for the trail. It was awesome getting out in the fresh air-

and amusing to watch Colin trying to haul his butt up the hills!

After our hike, we ran a few errands, got cleaned up for church, and made it there just in time for the Saturday evening mass. We had a day of traveling ahead, so Saturday church would save us time in the morning ;) I made dinner after church, we spent some time hanging out, and then went to bed looking forward to the days ahead.

First Anniversary

WOW. Where did the year go!!! I suppose time flies when you're happy and having fun. Vince and I were originally planning a trip to St. Lucia for our anniversary, but we ended up cancelling our trip once the news about the Zika virus started rolling in... scary stuff! That said, we got creative and made the best of our special day up in Alaska :)

I got a nice surprise - some Hawaiian flowers!

They added a lovely pop of color to our dining room table

After much debating on what to make for our anniversary dinner at home, I decided to make a Hawaiian-inspired meal with some of our favorites from our wedding reception last year

A Thai-inspired cabbage slaw



Coconut shrimp- was a little nervous...

...but they turned out great!

Vince helped me make teriyaki caribou skewers- it was a great combo

And for us chocoholics: French Silk pie for dessert- yum

Vince and I had a busy week ahead (we were getting all the doors and trim in our condo replaced and doing a number of other house projects), but we had plans to continue our celebration the following weekend at Alyeska Resort. It was a bit of a push, but we got things wrapped up just in time on Friday evening to head out, freshen up, and make our dinner reservation on time!

One of the best parts about dinner at Alyeska's 7 Glaciers

is the chairlift ride to the top of the mountain

All aboard!

The view from halfway....

...and the view from the top!

 

The scallop bisque was my favorite part of our meal





We had a concert to check out after dinner, so coffee with dessert was in order!

We changed clothes back at our room and headed to the Sitzmark

 

Cool interior!



The Young Dubliners were playing- good times :)

We were up past our usual bedtime (lol), but it was worth it

The next morning, we decided to spend some time in Girdwood

(the nearest town) before heading home. First stop: The Bake Shop



Mmmm. Coffee and morning buns :)

From there, we walked next door to scope out the Art Gallery

There was an impressive variety of local art, but this picture was my favorite

Girdwood is pretty small and the weather was alternating between rain and snow, so it was time to head home...



...However, some friends of ours told us to check this place

out first; it was interesting for sure (haha!) We spent some time

talking to the owner, picked out a little souvenir, and hit the road ;)

We made one last stop to watch the mountain goats. I have to say that

Alaska is pretty cool. It was a fun weekend and we're looking forward to many more :)

Christmas Day 2015

Vince and I woke up Christmas morning a little tired from our busy Christmas Eve, but our hearts were filled with joy for the day ahead...

It was a peaceful Christmas morning in Anchorage

Santa brought me a new stocking!! It even had

doxies on it- my fave! Can't wait to get a puppy ;)

Vince got some croakies for his sunglasses, movie gift cards,

and some new pj's; and I got a pasta roller and a doxie kitchen towel :)

We opened the rest of our gifts, made a good breakfast (eggs & bacon of course!), and got ready to volunteer for a few hours at Anchorage's main soup kitchen- Bean's Cafe.

People were already lining up when we arrived- exciting!

We got a quick briefing of the kitchen and manned our stations.

We were in the "back of the house," but we could see the dining room.

It was truly a wonderful feeling getting to help others on such a special day.

Vince and I didn't want to leave the soup kitchen, but other volunteers were showing up for their turns, so we cleaned up and headed home to prepare our own Christmas dinner. We decided on an Italian menu to celebrate, and I couldn't wait to get cooking!

The beginnings of my Roman-style gnocchi...

Tomato sauce from scratch

Final product: Roman-style gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce

Our porchetta-style pork shoulder turned out beautifully!

I made a simple saute of broccolini, garlic & olive oil to go with the pork

Yum

And for dessert? Tiramisu of course! We finished our dinner,

cleaned up the kitchen, settled into our jammies, and enjoyed some

Christmas movies before calling it a night. It was an amazing first

"married" Christmas, and one I'll always cherish :)

Christmas Eve 2015

Time flies when you're having fun (or working on a rotational work schedule)! Vince and I were at work for the three weeks leading up to Christmas and got home on the eve of Christmas Eve. We unpacked, settled in for the night, and rested up for what we knew would be a busy day. We had a lot to do- check the mail, get groceries, find a Christmas tree, wrap presents, prep for our Christmas dinner, and go to church- but we were looking forward to the excitement :)

Our first stop: mail! Our boxes filled my car to the

brim, so we had to go back home to drop off the goods...

The next stop we made was our favorite

butcher shop... Needless to say, it was busy!

From there, we set out to find a tree

Luckily, there were about 5-6 left in our size range...

In the car!

Then it was time to brave Costco... not as bad as I'd expected- whew!

After a few runs back and forth to the store (ran out of lights for the

tree on our first attempt), we got our first Christmas tree up and decorated :)

Time to prep- this was the beginnings of our "porchetta"

From there, we cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for Midnight Mass

The Nativity Scene at our church- sweet and serene

We got back from church around 1:30 am; time to go to bed

if we wanted a visit from Santa!! "The stockings were placed by the

chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there..."