Carmel Apple Pull-Apart Bread

It is unofficially fall here in Virginia - this weekend it was almost 90 degrees but this morning when I stepped outside the cool crisp air let me know that summer was over.  I love summer - however this summer was challenging and getting used to 90 degree weather with lots of humidity was no picnic.  So this year I am ready to welcome fall with open arms! And to celebrate the unofficial start of fall I made Carmel Apple Pull-Apart Bread.

Dear Starbucks: A Sad Tale from a Displaced Seattleite

Dear my beloved Starbucks,

You and I go way back, back before I was even supposed to be drinking coffee.  Yes, I confess, I would sneak sips of my mom’s beautifully crafted nonfat lattes with extra foam before I was tall enough to peer over the counter.  As I grew up your delicious concoctions of peppermint and mocha warmed me during the cold winters and your assorted icy beverages cooled me in the summer.  I speak “Starbucks” fluently, can tell a lot about a person by what they order, and even have a gold card with my name on it to prove I am part of the club.  I studied, met friends, debated life’s tough questions, wrote countless papers, worked, mended a broken heart or two, challenged my beliefs, loved, fought, grew, cried, laughed, and lived in the comfort of your espresso wielding arms. 

Illinois to Tennessee - Finally! {Part 4 of Our Cross Country Move}

After a LONG drive through South Dakota we decided to stop and site see in Chicago.  I had been before but my girlfriend hadn't (and let's be honest she really wanted to try some Chicago style pizza!).  

Going from driving through fields to driving in the city was a little bit of an adjustment and we didn't really have a plan of what we wanted to see.  I knew that the waterfront was pretty and I wanted to take her to see the Bean in the park so that's where we started:

Funny story about this park:  We were walking through the park towards the fountain and there was a group of kids - it looked like a YMCA group - and all of a sudden one kid looks at us with pure terror on his face and screams "it's a lion!" at the top of his lungs.  So everyone in the park turns to look at us... apparently kids in the city don't see dogs very often!

The pizza that my girlfriend had been talking about for days weeks - it was really good but so much cheese!

The beach through the car window - the parks in Chicago don't allow dogs (we learned that because we got kicked out!)

After a long and kinda stressful day of getting lost, I mean, driving around Chicago, we were very excited to see this sign:

Our plan for the trip was to try as many local/famous restaurants as we could.  So on our drive through Indiana I looked up places that might be good for dinner.  I stumbled across a little gem that had been featured on "Man vs Food" called Bub's Burgers and Ice Cream.  

We love Man vs. Food so we decided to give it a try!  They are famous for their "Big Ugly" burger which weighs a pound after it's cooked!  They have pictures covering all of the walls of people who have eaten one (or more!) of these giant burgers.  We didn't even try to attempt that but their normal sized burgers are delicious!  

The restaurant is in a small town just outside of Indianapolis called Carmel and it is the cutest town!  

I was so sad that this bakery was closed - it looks exactly how I want my bakery to look one day!  Plus I love the name (I have an Auntie Em who is amazing!).  If we ever are up that way again we will definitely stop here again!

Last day of the trip and this poor pup is ready to get out of the car!  She was so good the entire time!

Coffee!  Ok this Seattle girl was having some major coffee withdrawals - it had almost been a week without anything but hotel coffee and let's be honest that doesn't count.  We couldn't find a Starbucks so we decided when in Rome (or when in Kentucky, drink as the Kentuckians).  Let's just say I have some adjusting to do! 

Of course during the last few hours of the trip we got so lost!  Kentucky highways are a little confusing! 

Last little way of the trip - we are only a few miles away from our new home!

Ok y'all that's it we finally made it to our new home!  Overall the trip was not as nearly as bad as we were expecting.  We actually took about two days longer than we were planning but all of the sites that we got to see were worth it plus there was no stressful rushing!

Read about the rest of our cross country trip:

Big Changes Ahead - A Cross Country Move

Part 1: Washington to Montana

Part 2:  How to See Yellowstone in One Day

Part 3:  Quick Trip to Mount Rushmore

I will also keep you updated on how we are adapting to Southern living! 

Until next time, 

A Quick Trip to Mount Rushmore {Part Three of Our Cross Country Move}

After Yellowstone we made our way through South Dakota to Mount Rushmore.

We had to stop in Sturgis just to check it out.  We were there about a week before the big bike rally but people were already starting to show up.  Actually our entire trip we saw lots of motorcycles - we assumed they were all headed to Sturgis.




After learning from Yellowstone, we looked up to see if we could take our pup with us into Mount Rushmore - no dogs allowed.   Time for Plan B... We actually really didn't have a plan B we just kept following the signs for Mount Rushmore hoping to catch a glimpse.  And boy did we get lucky!  Note to anybody who A) has pets with them, B) doesn't have time to stop but really wants to see Mount Rushmore, or C) doesn't wanna pay to park - check this out:

From the road up to the park

 There is a small pull-off on the shoulder of the road where you can see the monument perfeclty

On the other side of the hill there is a parking lot where you can pull into and see the other side of the monument (you can't see the whole thing like the other side)

In the parking lot on the other side of the monument there are some boards with quick facts about the Mount Rushmore Monument - like did you know that the original plan was to make each carving down to the President's waist but they ran out of money before they got that far.  

George Washington is HUGE - his nose is about 20 feet long!

And no offense to the rest of South Dakota but we were really ready to see something other than fields and Wall Drug signs for hours!

On to Chicago next!  

Have you followed our entire trip??  Catch up here:

Big Changes Ahead - A Cross Country Adventure

Part 1:  Washington to Montana

Part 2:  How to See Yellowstone in One Day
Part 4:  Illinois to Tennessee - Finally!

How to See Yellowstone in a Day {Part Two of Our Cross Country Move}

Yellowstone is just a short drive from Livingston, Montana.  Neither of us had been to Yellowstone before so we were excited but didn’t know what to expect.  I wish we would have done some more research before we left but we just ran out of time.  So if you are going to Yellowstone for the first time - please read this before you go! 

Learn from our Rookie Mistakes (or tips on visiting Yellowstone):

1)  Get there early in the day especially in the summer – there will be more animals to see!

One of the many picnic areas

2)  Pack food and drinks to take with you – there are tons of great places to picnic in the park.  There are a few places to buy food in the park but they are expensive and far and few between.  

3)  Be prepared to stop and get out of your car A LOT!  Yellowstone is HUGE and there is a ton to see but its not all conveniently located (God Bless Mother Nature!) so be prepared to do a lot of driving and a lot of getting in and out of your car.

Bison cruising down the road next to us - clearly I did not have the camera ready!

4)  Make sure your camera is charged and ready to go!  There is usually no warning when an animal is going to cross your path so be ready!

5)  Stop at the visitor’s center at the entrance you come in and ask where the most animals have been seen that day.  They have electronic maps that update frequently so they will know the best places to go!  We ended up missing the turn to go to the area where a lot of the animals were and decided not to turn around -  big mistake!  If I could change anything about our trip that would be it – we did see a few animals but nothing compared to what we were hoping!  We still are talking about how we wish we had turned around. 

6)  Wear good shoes – you have to walk to a lot of the sites so good shoes are must!

You can get really close to a lot of the sites using the boardwalks - if you don't have your dog with you!

7)  Pets are not allowed anywhere except for paved areas - normally this wouldn’t be an issue but since we were moving we had our dog with us.   This limited what we could see because we couldn’t go on any of the boardwalks that led to the really cool stuff.

8)  Prepare for a long day – you will be driving a lot and a lot of sites to see especially if you are doing it all in one day! 

9)  Use the map they give you - you will be lost without it!

10)  Fill up your gas tank before heading into the park!  We only saw one gas station in the park (I'm sure there are more) but it was a lot more expensive than outside of the park.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day:

Thermal Waterfall

These dandelions were so big we had to take a picture!

Old Faithful

These next ones are right outside of the park - we actually saw more animals outside of the park than in (see Tip 5)!

Now we are off to South Dakota!

Our next major stop is Mount Rushmore!

Want to read our entire Cross Country Moving Story:

Big Changes Ahead - A Cross Country Move
Part 1: Washington to Montana
Part 3:  Quick Trip to Mount Rushmore
Part 4:  Illinois to Tennessee - Finally!

If you have been to Yellowstone what are your tips for first-timers??  

Washington to Montana {Part One of Our Cross Country Move}

Originally we had planned on leaving first thing Thursday morning and arriving at our new house on Sunday night or Monday morning... shoulda known better than to plan!  We started off pretty good - we packed most of the car the day before and only had a little bit of arranging left.

If you ever have to move you have to get these giant bags - you suck the air out of them so they shrink!

Loading the car top carrier - it took 5 of us to get it up there! 

Almost finished! 

And we sent our last night in Washington out in style!  We had dinner with my family which turned into a dance party (that may have had a little assistance from a few drinks)!  We laughed, told stories, listened to music, and danced the night away - a perfect way to ignore the good-byes that were coming next.  We had to say good-bye to my brother and his girlfriend that night and the tears flowed - I'll blame my sister since she is usually the one who starts it. :)

Thursday morning we said terribly sad good-byes to my family (with ugly crying and all!), and took off down the road.... only to turn back around after less than 5 miles when we realized the car top carrier was too heavy and we wouldn't make it through the first sharp turn!  We did some quick unloading, sorted through what we absolutely needed and what could be shipped, and we were off again.  In reality I am glad we went back because saying good-bye the second time wasn't nearly as hard as it was the first.  Because we got such a late start we decided to only go as far as Spokane and stay the night with some family.  It was a nice short trip over there and it was so good to see some more family before we left!  

We drove from Spokane through Idaho which had some nasty wild fires which meant lots of black smoke on our drive.  We decided to stop in Livingston, Montana for the night because it's one of the last stops before you drive into Yellowstone.

Livingston, Montana

I am so glad we stopped because it was the cutest little town!  We grabbed dinner at a little walk up burger place called Mark's In and Out and ate dinner in the park.  If you are ever near Livingston you HAVE to go to Mark's In and Out - the burgers and milkshakes were so good!

Plus its a great little town to walk around - lots of cute shops! 

Main Street looks just like the new Car's Land at Disneyland! 

Our next stop - Yellowstone!  

Read about the rest of our cross country trip:
Big Changes Ahead - A Cross Country Move
Part 2:  How to See Yellowstone in One Day
Part 3:  Quick Trip to Mount Rushmore
Part 4:  Illinois to Tennessee - Finally!

Big Changes Ahead – A Cross Country Adventure

Original Image

My girlfriend has been applying for med school this past year – what a fun process (insert sarcasm here)!  While she didn’t get in this round she did get into a Master’s program that is a stepping stone to med school!  I am so proud of all of her hard work and dedication and was so excited to hear that she got in!  HOWEVER,

Adventures in Country Living