New Years Eve 2011, Philadelphia

New Year's Eve, 2010 (or is it 2011?) was spent in church. Oh, but that's just where we started. My awesome aunt and new uncle thoughtfully planned and paid for a huge family party for NYE. The best part was watching them get MARRIED first! I love this church - it's the same one I was baptized in nearly 30 years ago.

It's a good thing we all prayed first since it got a bit rowdy. There may have been some overly animated singing along to Sweet Caroline and someone could've lost a tooth with all the fist pumping during the Journey number (I couldn't even hear the real singer during the chorus) but all their friends and us family had a great time ringing in 2011 with the newly married couple.

Two Years

Here's to 730 days of a wonderful marriage! We're both looking forward to the adventures and travels to come.

Recipe 11: Spinach Casserole

As a gift for my bridal shower, my female relatives and family friends all wrote down one (or two) of their favorite recipes to serve as my culinary trousseau. Two years later, I'm embarassed at how few I've attempted but in some cases, why bother when I can taste that relative's own version!

This spinach casserole was for a time, the only spinach I liked. Naturally, it's filled with cheese and terribly unhealthy. I love fresh spinach now but that doesn't mean I can't be fond of this frozen spinach cheesy deliciousness. Credit to Mrs. R (mother of my best friend growing up) for the yummy recipe and making sure I wasn't too biased against spinach at the tender age of ten.

A couple other notes: I halved the recipe (and that's what's pictured above) but the full recipe is below. Also, I substituted mozzarella, fresh onions (used one) and skim cream cheese.

Spinach Casserole
2 (10 oz) boxes frozen spinach (cooked)
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
1/4 bag frozen onions (cooked)
3/4lb chedder cheese grated

Combine spinach, cream cheese, onions, and 2/3 of cheddar cheese. Place in casserole and sprinkle the rest of the cheddar on top. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts.

This is one of those comfort foods that can help cheer you up when it seems like spring is just NEVER going to come!

Married Life

Happy six-month-niversary to my amazing husband.

Frederick, Maryland

For a brief weekend, we were back in the D.C. area for a good friend's wedding. Taking advantage of the fact that we could spend dollars, instead of crazy amounts of euros, we stopped by Costco and Target for a few of the things we forgot.

We were also lucky enough to catch up with quite a few friends that we missed during our year in Arlington. Wednesday night, we met up with some friends from Nigeria at Ray's the Steaks in Arlington. Mark had a GIGANTIC steak and, as usual, all the food was delish. Most of those friends had just arrived back in the DC area so it was nice to hear all the crazy stories from Lagos. The next night, we met some of my high school friends at the Liberty Tavern. We had a lovely meal on the patio when, at the end, all these fire engines started pulling up. Firefighters got out and went into the restaurant (which had a very crowded bar) but we didn't see any smoke or anything.

Friday was when all the wedding activity began! Most things were centered in the Frederick area and the ceremony was at Thorpewood, a nature retreat in the Cacotin mountains. The rehearsal dinner was in downtown Frederick, a super-cute town that, relative to the DC area, is very affordable! It was so great to see all my old friends and it was a wonderful opportunity for Mark to meet even more of them. The bridal couple are both very unique people, I suppose you could tell from their cake:


The wedding itself was Saturday evening - and we had a blast! Lots of amazing friends, good food, great music - a perfect combination.