In Search of Fish & Chips

After last week's post, I got about 1,000 recommendations to go up the coast to Anstruther for the world's best fish & chips. So! Ryan had the day off yesterday and we headed that way.

There are multiple fish & chip shops in Anstruther and we tried two: Anstruther Fish Bar, first, which has won UK Fish & Chip Shop of the Year.

The fish was perfectly fried and flakey, and was definitely (so far, at that point) the best fish & chips of my life.

Until we went to The Wee Chippy, which is what the locals recommended, and the fish there was even more perfectly fried and flakey.

In the end, the decision was that The Wee Chippy had a slight edge. Anstruther was beautiful and we had a sunny day which was perfect.

Camping Breakfast Burritos

Who's going camping this Labor Day weekend?! We haven't been at home in the U.S. for Labor Day in about 5 years -  we're always overseas by the time it rolls around - but I wanted to share my absolute favorite camping food for anyone who is going camping this weekend (in Colorado, Labor Day camping is one of the most popular activities).

These breakfast burritos make me want to camp every weekend. We make them one or two days ahead of a camp trip and then freeze them until we're ready to go. Then we put them on ice in a cooler and pull them out each morning to throw on the grill. They're seriously the best.

  
Here's what you need: 

Depending on how many people you're cooking for/days you're camping for, you need one white or whole wheat (we always use the latter) tortilla for each person for each morning. So if the two of us are camping for 3 nights, we make 6 burritos before we go.

Scrambled eggs, enough for each tortilla.

Crumbled sausage (or bacon, if you prefer....or you can leave all the meat out!). We use Jimmy Dean Sage Pork Sausage Roll because it's easy to crumble and delicious.

Shredded cheese, like cheddar....or Pepper Jack, if you like more of a kick

Hot sauce - this is Ryan's favorite hot sauce for anything egg-related (also, funny story: we brought three bottles of this with us to Scotland this year because we're so used to not having hot sauce in Italy...but of course they have it in the grocery store here! Oh well.)

Here's what you do:

First cut squares of aluminum foil, large enough to lay a tortilla on - you're going to wrap them up in the foil when you're done.


Scramble the eggs.

Cook the sausage, crumbling it in the pan as you go. When it's no longer pink, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the fat off.

Place a little bit of the eggs and sausage on each tortilla. Sprinkle with the shredded cheese and top with hot sauce. Wrap the tortillas up into burrito shapes and then wrap them in the aluminum foil.

And freeze them until you're ready to go!

You can also add different variations, like putting in potatoes or beans. Instead of sausage you could use bacon, or you could make them with spicy chorizo. My mother-in-law makes an amazing one with cream cheese. So, the possibilities are endless, but one of these and a cup of coffee is the best way to start any camping morning.

PS - My five camping essentials....and all of the photos were taken during our 2015 Adventure Trip.

Storm Peak Brewery

Personally, we're getting into Scottish beer now, but let's take it back to Colorado for a second. There's been a huge shift towards craft breweries in Colorado in the past few years - apparently the state is home to almost 230 breweries and is responsible for more than 10% of the nation's craft breweries. Hooray! Steamboat isn't missing out on this trend either, with two breweries: Butcherknife Brewing Company and Storm Peak Brewing Company.

We hung out at Storm Peak a few times this summer and it was so much fun - you can try small glasses of their beers (or have a big one!), there's a popcorn machine for snacks, dogs are welcome and there are big picnic tables where you can sit and hang out with friends.

A few other perks: the building faces the sun and gets the sun all day long. They have corn hole, which you can drag out into the driveway and play with friends. And there's a tiny Mexican restaurant, Taco Cabo, right across the street so if you get hungry you can run out and grab a few tacos to go and bring them back to your picnic table to snack on.

 On September 5th, they're celebrating their one year anniversary, so stop by if you're in Steamboat that weekend!

PS - The photos are by my friend Danielle, a Steamboat-based photographer, who can make even beer look beautiful! If you need any photos, definitely check her out.

The First Week of Scotland

We made it! Last Monday we arrived in Kirkcaldy and got set up in our new apartment and we've been exploring our new town ever since. So far, we're loving Scotland and it's been so much fun to figure everything out: which grocery store we'll go to, where the best fish and chips are, where to get a good Scottish breakfast...

Here are a few pictures from our first week, if you'd like to see....

Moving!

We're leaving for Scotland this weekend and we're so excited and ready to go.  I'll be taking the next week off blogging while we explore our new neighborhood and get the lay of the land, and then I'll be back with lots of pictures! In the meantime, here are a few fun articles and blog posts that I've enjoyed recently:

Since we're getting in the Scotland groove, here's a nice article that came out in the Fife newspaper on Ryan's signing back in June.

Our old stomping grounds!

An interesting article on personality changes after moving abroad, written by another hockey wife. 

9 Foreign Words that Should be in Your Vocabulary

We're doing a mother-daughter trip to Paris in October with my cousin and my aunt and we rented this beautiful apartment.

I wrote a guide to our Venice favorites for Taking Route if you're visiting this fall.

The Top 40 Places to See in Italy.....we've been to 14! Guess we'll have to go back...

And I thought this was so hilarious: things that will happen if you don't check your cell phone right now

Have a good weekend - xo.

*Image via

Overnight Plane Essentials

Now that we're a few days away from going to Scotland (!!), we're finally starting to pack. We've had a few packing horror stories in the past: the first year we flew to Italy, Ryan packed all of his clothes in his carry on, which the airline ended up making him check. Of course that was the one bag that got lost during the trip, so for the first four days that we were in Cortina, Ryan had to wear the same clothes every day. Another time, one of my bags got lost and when I got it back, it had the most exotic tags on  it, from places all around the world - one tag was even in Arabic!

But now we've pretty much got the packing thing mastered - we check our larger bags, carry on small roller bags with a few sets of clothing in them in case the checked bags get lost (I just ordered this one and I'm so excited to use it!), and then I always pack a small bag for the plane. After countless overnight flights, here's what I've found I like to have on hand:

1. Face wipes to wash your face with before you fall asleep. As an avid face washer, I find it makes a huge difference to be able to "wash" you face on the plane.

2. Planes are so drying for skin, so I always put lotion on my face a few times during an overnight flight - usually before I fall asleep and then again when we land.

3. Cozy socks! I always take my shoes off on overnight flights, but my feet tend to get really cold on planes so I always bring a big pair of socks.

4. Headphones - for all those movies you'll end up watching.

5. A scarf that can be used as a blanket. I always bring my biggest, comfiest scarf to wrap around me while I sleep...so much better than scratchy airplane blankets. This one looks cozy.

6. An eye mask to block out light for better sleeping.

7. Disposable toothbrushes! We discovered these a few years ago and love them - you can brush your teeth with no water and then throw the brush away when you're done.

8. Hand sanitizer, because obviously....how nice does this one look?!

9. Snacks. I've been digging these Kind bars all summer.

10. A water bottle. It's so important to stay hydrated on long flights, so we always bring water bottles to fill up before we get on the plane. We bought two of these this summer and they've been great.

And, this year I ordered this great bag to put it all in, which I think will also be great for weekend trips once we get there.

Steamboat Spot: Bella Vista Estate

The other night, my friend Danielle and I had a chance to go up to Bella Vista Estate to watch the sunset and take a few pictures.

Bella Vista is a vacation rental, used for fun events like weddings and family reunions and it's so beautiful up there. It's on Rabbit Ears pass and has the best views of Steamboat down below. If you're thinking of doing a big group vacation or family reunion in Steamboat, it would be the perfect spot. The property is surrounded by wildflowers and there are so many neat spots to sit outside with a drink or for dinner - including a hammock overlooking the lake below!

 And how amazing is the pool?! They also have an incredible hot tub and a fire pit where it would be so fun to make S'mores and watch the sun set...

Thanks for having us, Bella Vista! The 3rd and 4th beautiful photos are by Danielle.

PS - What to do in Steamboat in the summer and our favorite Steamboat happy hour.