Painted Desert

Visiting Sam at school slash Arizona road tripping and taking in some pretty spectacular sights along the way.

Joshua trees are apparently real 

Passing the time in the passenger seat 

There is no iPhone that can capture the true depth and beauty of the Grand Canyon

But at least my iPhone was able to capture the 

Hoover Dam

Photographing the Hoover Dam

The Food of Spain

The title of this post is also the title of my new favorite cookbook by Claudia Roden, which I recently received as an engagement gift (reminder: my wedding will take place in Spain).

Normally, I'm not a baker; I'm a stovetop chef. I like the hustle of the chop and the bustle of the sauté and I spend very little time inside the oven. When I flipped through the pages of The Food of Spain my inspiration was piqued time and time again, but for reasons that I simply cannot explain, the recipe I couldn't resist above all the others was for something baked: lemony almond cupcakes…and thank goodness because these tasty treats were absolutely divine.

Hats Off to the Chef

Ed's Chowder House on Manhattan's Upper West Side is one of my favorite restaurants. When my dad, an excellent chef and a foodie (whether he likes it or not), saw that Chef Ed Brown--THE "Ed"--was the headliner at the famed De Gustibus Cooking School, he recruited me to join him. Side note: going to De Gustibus is one of my all-time favorite NYC experiences; and you do not have to be a chef to enjoy it. Just as long as you like food (and in my case, food that comes with wine), you will have a wonderful time.

Ed is, without question, an artist and a culinary genius, but what struck me most was how down-to-earth he was, even making a point to stick around after "class"and mingle until the very last attendee had left.

Go Blue

My cousin is in his final year as an undergrad at the University of Michigan, meaning this football season is the last opportunity I had to go with him to a game in the big house. Better late than never, right?

My Best Friend's Wedding

A cliché of a post title but there aren't that many other ways to say it. I'm biased, I know, but despite this I feel very confident in saying that my best friend was the most exquisite bride in the world. As expected, every detail was perfect, and the occasion was without question an affair to remember. I do, however, wish I had more and better pictures.

Bridesmaids

Taken moments before the "first look"

Found some friends at cocktail hour

And look who flew in from Arizona!

Napa Nuptuals

Took a weekend off from my MOH duties (my best friend's wedding is next week!) and went to Napa to celebrate the marriage of one of Sam's closest friends from college. I slacked off big time in picture-taking, so you'll have to take my word for it that the wedding was stunning. Of course, we also took advantage of Napa's major attraction (wine, of course).

Bonus: we realized it was our -1 year anniversary…exactly 365 days to go!

Awful quality but this back-row, fuzzy shot is the only one I have of the beautiful bride and groom

A Breath of Fresh Air

We are smack in the middle of wedding season. This weekend, we escaped the NYC humidity this to attend a wedding at Hawkesdene in Andrews, North Carolina, and what a wedding it was!

A sibling hike

Newleyweds!

I know it's blurry but it was too cute not to post. Mom and dad cutting a rug!

Auf Wiedersehen, Austria; Pozdrav, Croatia!

Following our outdoorsy Alpine adventure in the top of Austria, we hopped over to beautiful Croatia for some much needed beach time. What I learned about Croatia is that not only is it visually spectacular, but it is also the perfect destination for all types of vacationers from history buffs to adrenaline junkies to beach sleepers to foodies. Actually, as I write this I realize that I am all four of those things.

And here is a video of Sam jumping into a former submarine shelter

An Alpine Reunion

After spending what feels like a million years apart (in reality, it was only two months), Sam and I have finally been reunited. While I was taking care of business in New York, Sam had a summer position in Vienna, Austria.

As luck would have it, Sam's family has dear friends in a town in the Austrian alps called Heiligenblut (literally "Holy Blood"), where we convened for some high-mountain family fun.

On the glacier

Jumping over a crevasse