Roma, Italia- Una Bella Città (Rome, Italy- A Beautiful City)

19 April, 201521 August, 2015 oursweetsomewhere3 Comments

Big time news and a big time adventure. The ‘somewhere’ in Our Sweet Somewhere is about to change from Columbus, Ohio to The Eternal City!

This big (and once thought as a farfetched) idea started back in October when I (Kate) came across a program at the American University of Rome in Food Studies. After talking it over with Anthony I decided to apply assuming I may not even hear back, let alone ever be considered. Then, in February, I received an email that I was selected to be interviewed. I was ecstatic. I spoke on the phone with the director of Graduate Studies and two weeks later I got an email congratulating me on my acceptance. Can you believe it?! I am moving to Rome! (dies from excitement)
If you have seen any other posts about our adventures, you know it is what we live for and a huge part of what this blog is all about. This, by far, is about to be our biggest adventure yet.

I don’t want to downplay this though. We are going to have to hurdle over some massive road blocks and maneuver through some big time challenges. Relocating to Italy with only slightly over four months to plan for it is nothing short of insane and the six-mile long to-do list to prepare is growing by the minute. (Really, only a slight exaggeration in that last sentence.) Also, my loving and amazing husband is leaving a safe and secure job to embark on this wild ride with me…jobless. Have I mentioned how much I love this man? Well, I do.

But, aside from the mounds of visa and citizenship paperwork that has consumed our dining room table and the mental battle I have already started on what shoes are really necessary to bring along, I wouldn’t do this any other way. We are crazy in the eyes of some to leave, but we are crazier in our own eyes to say no.

And now, some beautiful pictures taken by my amazing sister-in-law (the pretty one smiling in front of the Florence countryside) on her last visit to Italy. Someday I will have my own to share, but until I do you will just have to drool over third party photos with me.

Spring Kale Salad (Time Lapse)

9 March, 201528 March, 2015 oursweetsomewhere2 Comments

Spring is here (singing in my best Julie Andrews impression)!

What better way to kick-start this wonderful season than with a kale salad movie?!

Now, raw kale is a new [re]discovery of mine. I used to try to always eat it raw, but found that it and my belly were never good friends. But it wasn’t until very recently that I learned that you should always massage kale in order to eat it raw and for the best possible outcome. Yep, you read that right…MASSAGE!

Cray, huh? You will see in the video below what I mean exactly, but to read about how this process breaks down the indigestible fibers, check out this Huff Post article.

Add whatever you have in your fridge, just know that the bed on which it is going on is the real star in this show!

Let us know what you think of this video and if you want to see more like it. Please keep in mind though that this was our first attempt at creating a time lapse video, so it can only go up from here! :)

xoxo,

P.S. There will be a post on the amazing homemade dressing shown in the video..soon. Promise!

Banana Crumb Muffins

8 March, 20158 March, 2015 oursweetsomewhere4 Comments

Sunday mornings: I love ’em, but then I instantly start to hate them when I realize how soon Monday will be here. It’s a never-ending-bittersweet-cycle that I try to make the best of by getting up a tad earlier than the day before so that I can enjoy some morning sunshine, coffee, and at times, a new recipe. Thankfully, I’ve found one this weekend that’ll make many of my future Sundays (with already overripe bananas) a bit more tastier.I baked these Banana Crumb Muffins this morning by following My Baking Addiction‘s recipe exactly to the T! Her recipe is so versatile that you can easily make your own adaptations too. You better believe that I’ll be adding a handful of chopped walnuts to a future batch! Be sure to visit www.mybakingaddition.com for this recipe and more tasteful treats. What do you do to make the most out of your Sundays?

xo,

Jamie

DIY EASY WASHI TAPE VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS

13 February, 201514 February, 2015 oursweetsomewhere4 Comments

It’s been quite some time since Kate or I have posted anything…and we apologize greatly for our lack of love on here! This past winter has been filled with a roller-coaster of events for the both of us, and although we’d like to go in to more detail with you about our recent bloggin’ hiatus, I will have to save this update for another day.

Instead, I’d like to share with you today a few easy ways to create some last-minute Valentine’s Day cards (because we all know how expensive it can be to buy cards for your sweet valentine during this time of year)! Plus, homemade cards make some of the most treasured gifts. I’ve saved a handful of cards over the years that were made with love from friends and family and always enjoy looking back at them.

Here’s what you’ll need:

FYI: The card stock and hearts can be found at any local craft store (Michael’s, AC Moore, and Target). A few other items that aren’t pictured above that will come in handy for you are a pencil, glue gun, and toothpicks (to help keep the glue looking neat).

Directions:

1. Create a random pattern on a piece of card stock paper with your washi tape. The more wacky your pattern, the better!

2. Then take each heart shape and trace around each one gently with a pencil. Feel free to also free-hand your hearts! Once traced, use your scissor to cut them out.

3. Next, grab some twine and more washi tape to secure the string on to the backs of each heart cut-out.

4. Gather a few of the hearts with twine and tie a secure knot to resemble a small bundle of heart balloons. Grab some more card stock and fold it into a card. Use your already-hot-glue-gun to secure the knot at the base of your heart balloons to the card. Use more glue to secure each heart balloon to your card.

And voila! Your done. If you have any left over heart cut-outs and some more card stock paper, simply use them to make more Valentine’s day cards. As you can see from the picture below, I used the extra hearts to create very simple designs.

Oh, and can I just say that washi tape always wins? Because it truly does.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo,

Jamie

#fromwhereistoodinayear

28 December, 201428 December, 2014 oursweetsomewhere4 Comments

It’s funny to think that I’ve snapped and documented this many pictures of my feet to date, but I love being able to look back at these yearly reviews. It’s so much fun to see where life brings you in a year’s time! This is my fourth round of this mini-project I’ve created where I concoct a little grid from some of my Instagram photos (and with the PicFrame + Over apps) of the various places I’ve stood throughout the year.

#fromwhereistoodinayear | 2014

#fromwhereistoodinayear | 2013

#fromwhereistoodinayear | 2012

#fromwhereistoodinayear | 2011

If you take as many #fromwhereistand photos like myself, I encourage you to please join in on this monthly review and tag your final product with #fromwhereistoodinayear! I would love to see a glimpse of your year in review and the places you’ve stood in!

xo,

Jamie