Office Wall Stripes

I've been dreaming about this next post for a long time.  Here's the background: I love stripes.  That is all.

My fabulous FIL let us borrow his laser level and we set up shop in our office.  The walls are vaulted so one wall is much taller than the others and that was the designated wall.  We used the same color that is in our living room (Behr Bavarian Cream - love it!) for the other three walls and alternated Bavarian Cream with white for the striped wall.

Before and After:

Frog tape!

 Instagram enhanced.

I am so happy with the way this room turned out.  It looks a million times better than it did prior to the makeover and I love, love, love the stripes!  Daunting, yes, but not terribly hard.  This leaves us with one more bedroom... the MASTER... to remodel.  This is what it currently looks like -- four paint samples later (with no winner):

Oy vey.

Behr is having a paint sale that lasts until tomorrow so I'm giving myself 24 hours to pick a fifth sample and then have a winner.  Wish me luck!

Something Stands Out...

One of these items does not match the others.  Can you spot it?

Yes, this picture is legit and was taken in our rented apartment in Paris.  No, we did not bring it with us.

The Canal Prince of Amsterdam

Following the all-too-short adventure in London, I flew off to Amsterdam for the final leg of the trip.  This time, I had company!  I stayed at the same hotel as a co-worker and there were three more visitors from the Boulder HQ that were in town at the same time.  We spent Sunday strolling the town, shopping at boutiques, making our way through the canal streets and enjoying the sunny weather and gorgeous views.

This was my second time to Amsterdam which allowed me to skip the popular tourist attractions (van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, ...) and act like a local instead.  It was a wonderful way to wrap up the EuroTour.

The Canal Prince greeted me upon arrival at my hotel. 

The hotel was ... interesting.

Canals.

We found the Cheese Museum!

Windmills in the Netherlands.

Beautiful, sunny day on the canals.

The Jewish Museum was the one museum I did tour on this trip.

View from the office.  Seems like a big city!

Gorg.

After a wonderful weekend, I worked at the World Trade Center office for four days before making my way back to the 'ol U.S.ofA.  The ride home was much more calm than the ride there.  I even changed seats at the last minute so that I could have the entire row to myself.  I spread out, watched at least 3 movies, ate my snacks and enjoyed the calmness of the flight after an adventure-filled two weeks.

All things considered, it was a wonderful trip and I feel so fortunate that I was given the opportunity to travel and visit with my International co-workers.

The London Bridge is... Disappointing!

I cut out a little early on Friday to drag my luggage to the train station to take the Tube into the big city of London.  I made arrangements with the Mr.'s college roommate, who conveniently lives in London, to meet up and sightsee for 24 hours.  It was a blast!  I only freaked out a little when I arrived at the scheduled meeting place and couldn't find her, didn't have access to make a local call, and was hungry -- you know what happens when I'm hungry!

Tube station in Amersham.  Mind the GAP!

After finally finding each other in the midst of Friday rush-hour action at the station, we dropped my stuff off at her flat to be looked over by her reindeer rug straight from the Nordics.

Gross!

We then embarked on an epic nighttime sightseeing tour of London.

I believe this is the Queen's ship...?

Big BEN!  Up close and in person.

Not the London Bridge.

Westminster Abbey - where my friends Wills and Kate were married.

It's a beauty.

We awoke early the next morning to get some touring in before my early evening flight.  After the world's most amazing hot chocolate, we shopped around at Harrod's and dreamed about future purchases.  Wish I had pics from that fun excursion...

Thank you.

Show me the way! 

Just chillin' at Buckingham Palace.

Quintessential London.

I had to.

When in London...

It was a whirlwind trip in the big city as we ran around all day and saw some amazing things.  My picture-taking was slacking so I guess I'll just have to go back!

Small Town, UK

Back to EuroTrip 2012/3...

Following our blissful week in the City of Love, the Mr. and I parted ways as he headed back to the States and I moved on to the United Kingdom.  This was my first time in the UK and I was looking forward to the familiar sound of English, meals that didn't consist of cheese and bread and a slower pace of travel.

I arrived in London shortly before noon and made my way to the most amazing taxi to begin the 45-minute journey to a small town called Amersham.  Yes, the taxi looked like this:

Amazeballs.

Arriving in Amersham on January 1st wasn't the best idea.  It is a small, quaint, picturesque town lined with boutiques and small restaurants... that are all closed on New Years Day!  I explored the town via the walking path that circles around the old cemetery and was promptly bored in my hotel room by, oh, 3pm.  The hotel was a building that was over 500 years ago and had amazing character!  So much character, in fact, that the heat in my room never started working so I had to move to a new room on night 2!

Main Street in front of my hotel. 

Main Street.

Self-portrait in the cemetery.

It was creepy cool.  Let's just say the graves weren't in great shape.

The town walking path -- heading up.

The town walking path -- looking down into the sun (sorry, poor quality but it was gorg). 

500+ year old church.

My hotel.

Instagram-improved photo.

My cup of tea at the office ;)

Love. 

I spent three nights in Amersham working at the office and resting up from the long week in Paris.  The Indian food was delish and the co-workers were welcoming.  I'm so glad that I was able to see the English countryside but I was ready to move on after those few days!

Coming next... London!

*Recipe* Allergy-Friendly Pizza Crust

I changed the title on this post because I don't want to scare you with the ingredients.  Long story, short: I cannot eat traditional pizza crust anymore and I've searched high and low for a new recipe that the Mr. and I can both agree on.  There have been a lot of icky nights during these experiments!  But, alas, I knew there was an option out there!  I started with breadsticks using nearly the same recipe (which were delish!) but jumped all over the chance to try this as pizza crust.  It did not disappoint.  This is what we had for our Valentine's Day dinner:

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

1 cup riced, cooked cauliflower

1 cup shredded mozzarella (though I only used about 3/4 cup) 

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

pizza sauce

shredded cheese for topping

additional toppings of your choice (we used peppers and onions)

Instructions:

Use a food processor (pulse - don't puree it!) or cheese grater to "rice" the cauliflower.  Place the riced cauliflower in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for approx. 8 minutes, stirring halfway.  Drain some of the moisture after heating to make the crust a little crispier.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, stir together cauliflower, egg and mozzarella.  Add spices and stir.  Using your hands, transfer to the cookies sheet and pat out into a 9" round.  Brush with olive oil (or cooking spray) and bake for 15 minutes. 

Remove from oven and add sauce, toppings and additional cheese.  Place back in the oven and bake just until cheese is melted, approx. 3-5 minutes.

THIS DOES NOT TASTE LIKE CAULIFLOWER!!

It's a little difficult to pick up and eat so you might need a fork.  I made two pizzas for the two of us so you may want to at least double the recipe if you're feeding more than one person!  Rumors say that making one large pizza doesn't work as well because the center won't cook as it should.

Enjoy!

Palace of Versailles

We set our alarm - which is a big deal when we're on vacation - to wake up early and grab the train from the Latin Quarter to Versailles.  The Mr. had done this before and was more than willing to trace his steps and show me the beauty of the royal chateau.  Not knowing what to expect, I was more concerned with finding a cup of hot cocoa once we arrived which promptly led to our first and only trip to a McCafe.  #fail

Simply put, Versailles is breathtaking.  We had to stand in an absurdly long line but, once inside, it was bliss.  The interior is unreal and the gardens are made to be frolicked in.  Which we did.  For hours.  Whilst enjoying yet another nutella crepe.  The Mr. was happy to reminisce about his last trip to Versailles which was during the summer months and made the gardens just a bit more enjoyable.  Without further ado, my fave pics:

 The sight upon arrival.

On the outside, looking in.

Finally permitted inside the gates! 

Marble.  'Nuff said. 

Just a regular 'ol bedroom inside the Palace.

The Hall of Mirrors.

More Hall of Mirrors.

I would enjoy this in my own... palace.

Marie Antoinette's bedroom.

Just a glimpse of the ah-mazing gardens.

Frolicking amongst the trees!

Chillin' on the steps.

The best of our self-portraits.