Passover 2019

My favorite holiday has come and gone, and it was just as wonderful as I wanted it to be! As I've documented here many times, I absolutely adore Passover. Yes, it's kind of a hassle and is pretty expensive, but I love everything about it. I love that the holiday is about family, food, and tradition.

This year I was lucky enough to have my mom, dad, and sister come in town. They spent the first few days at our house, then we rented a house in Virginia for a little vacation. More about that later.

Me and Dad making horseradish

My dad and sister came in a day early to help me get the seders ready. I also started prepping a couple of weeks before the holiday to make it as stress-free as possible. It actually worked pretty well! I would definitely do that again. Dan and I made soup, chocolate mousse, an apple cake, and a couple of kugels in advance. Then we just had the main meats (turkey and brisket), matzah balls, and seder stuff to make on the days of. 

Turkey

When we bought this house, I dreamt  of hosting big Passover seders, and this was the first year we could host. Both seders were full of friends and were very kid-friendly, which helped make it a little less stressful. Having so many kids in the house was definitely different for my mom and dad though--ha!

(Zahara is pretending to be a slave)

What an awesome holiday! Next year in Jerusalem!

Read previous Passover posts:
2018: Passover 2018
2017: Life Updates
2016: Passover 2016
2015: Passover Recap
2014: Passover in Paris
2013: Passover Preparation; Passover Musings
2012: Happy Passover!; Road Trip

Tea Party Menu

A couple of weeks ago we hosted a small tea party for some friends from work. It was a really fun afternoon, and reminded me again how much I absolutely adore tea parties.

The key to any good tea party is the menu. Dan and I thought long and hard about what to serve, but we knew we wanted a traditional fare. So, we planned for Yorkshire tea, British scones with clotted cream and jam, tea sandwiches (cucumber, egg salad, and smoked salmon), and for dessert, macarons and little pastries. Yes, we might have gone a bit overboard.

We also pulled out our bunting to make the place look festive. It's amazing what a little bunting can do to create a festive atmosphere. We even went to the thrift store to get beautiful (but cheap) tea cups and saucers. I didn't think to take pictures, but trust me, it was cute.

I asked a friend to grab the macarons, and we bought the pastries from an adorable cafe near us. Everything else, including the clotted cream, was homemade. It actually didn't take quite as long as it would seem. We made the scones the week before and froze them (this recipe is perfect for freezing!), and the sandwiches came together quickly.

It was a really fun afternoon! Below you'll find the recipes for our party. Enjoy!

English Scones
Original recipe from here
Makes 9 scones

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (10 ounces by weight)
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar a couple of times to combine
• Add the butter in small chunks, and pulse 7-10 times until the butter is completely distributed. You shouldn't see any chunks of butter, and the mixture should have a sandy texture to it. Transfer to a large mixing bowl
• In a small bowl, whisk to combine the milk and egg. Save 2 tbsp of it for the egg wash later, and pour the rest into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients
• Stir to combine with a spatula until a rough dough forms
• Transfer to a lightly floured countertop and knead about 10 times until the dough comes together in a relatively smooth ball. Don't need too much, or the dough won't rise as well
• Roll the dough about an inch thick and use a 2.5 inch round mold to cut circles. Re-roll the scraps until you have 9 scones
• Place scones on parchment paper or a silicone mat-lined baking sheet and brush the tops with the reserved egg wash
• Bake the scones for 13-15 minutes, until about tripled in height, and golden brown on the tops and bottoms.
• Serve with jam and clotted cream 
• To freeze, place cooked scones in freezer bag. When you're ready to eat them, let them sit at room temperature for an hour, then put in a pre-heated 425 degree F oven for 5-10 minutes, until warm. 

Egg Salad Tea Sandwich
Original recipe from here, slightly modified
Makes roughly 15 small sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1 tsp mustard (I like Dijon, but yellow will work too)
• 2 tbsp chopped green onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup paprika
• loaf of soft white bread (I like potato bread)

Directions:

• Place egg in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel and chop
• While eggs are cooking, cut crusts off bread slices* 
• Place the chopped eggs in a bowl, and stir in the mayonnaise, mustard and green onion. Season with salt, pepper and paprika
• Place egg salad on slice of bread, top with another slice, and cut into halves or thirds, depending on the size of your piece. I prefer long rectangles, but you can also make triangles

Cucumber Tea Party Sandwich
Original recipe from here
Makes roughly 12 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber
• 16 ounces softened cream cheese
• lemon zest
• pinch of salt
• big handful of chopped dill
• loaf of potato bread

Directions:

• Slice cumbers very thin using a mandolin, if you have one
• Chop dill and combine with softened cream cheese, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt. (You'll use this mixture again for the smoked salmon sandwiches)
• Cut crusts off bread*
• Spread cream cheese mixture onto bread and add cucumber slices
• Cut sandwiches into rectangles

Smoked Salmon Tea Party Sandwich

Original recipe from here

Makes roughly 10 open-faced sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 package of smoked salmon
• cream cheese mixture from above
• loaf of pumpernickel bread*
• Round ring mold (cookie cutter or water cup)

Directions:

• Cut large circles out of each slice of bread using a ring mold or water glass. I got one-two circles out of each slice using a 2.5 inch mold
• Spread the cream cheese mixture from the cucumber sandwiches on to the bread circles
• Place salmon on top of circle, and use mold again to trim into shape
• Put remaining cream cheese in a piping bag and pipe rosettes on top of each sandwich. If you don't have a piping bag, put mixture into plastic ziplock bag and cut off the corner to make a piping bag

*You can use the crusts and remaining pumpernickel scraps to make homemade breadcrumbs

Skiing In New Hampshire: Or the Coldest I've Ever Been

Dan's cousins have a lake house in New Hampshire and the are always telling us we should plan a visit. Over Martin Luther King weekend, we finally made it happen!

We don't get to see this part of the family often, but when we do, we always have a great time. Paul and Yana have a son who is a year older than Zahara, but they haven't seen each other since Zahara was four months old! The kids all got along well (for the most part), and had fun building forts, playing in the snow, eating yummy food, and snuggling their two GIANT dogs (120 and 140 pounds each!).

Speaking of snow, we were excited to get some good snow since we were planning on going skiing. We didn't bargain on an actual blizzard and polar vortex though. We got around a foot and a half of snow one day, and FREEZING cold the next. I'm not exaggerating when I say freezing. Wind chills were -25 degrees. Can you even??

Playing in the snow during the blizzard was really fun though. My dad always says the number one rule for playing in the snow is you must stay outside at least as long as it took you to get ready. This was a challenge for us, to be honest. It took forever to get a million layers on each of the kids, and it was pretty darn cold out. They didn't last too long, but we had a lot of fun. We especially enjoyed playing fetch with the dogs (until we couldn't find the ball in the snow anymore), and sitting in the hot tub while it snowed! That's such an amazing feeling!

Skiing was...cold. We don't ski often and we had been really looking forward to the outing. If not for the absolute freezing weather, it would have been perfect. The mountain (Gunstock) was really close to their house and had great, wide trails. We put Zahara in ski school while Asher was in day care. I think next year he'll be ready for school too.

Zahara did really well! She mastered her turns and was able to carry her own gear. The only downside was that it was so cold that you couldn't have any exposed skin. We tried our best to dress warmly, but there's only so much you can do with those temperatures. Both she and I had serious issues keeping our hands warm. The instructors were able to get her additional hand warmers and another set of gloves, so her second time out was much more successful. I think next year/lesson she'll be ready for the ski lift!

Dan and I did several runs together and a few with Paul. After a few hours, my hands were too cold to continue, so I hung out in the lodge with Yana. I was pretty happy with the skiing I did--minus the one giant fall that left me a bruised mess. We all had a great time and were ready for a nice afternoon nap.

Thanks Paul, Yana, and Sasha for a wonderful family vacation! We can't wait to see you again soon!

Our House: One Year Later

It's hard to believe that we've been in this house for more than a year already! In some ways it feels like we've been here forever, but in other ways it still feels like we just moved in. This place definitely feels like home, but there are still some big ticket items I'd like to check off before really calling it done--not that a house is ever really "done."

I feel like we're entering the maintenance phase more than the start-from-scratch phase. It's a good feeling to be really comfortable in your own house. And we really are. I couldn't love this house more. It's fulfilling every single hope I had for it--tons of entertaining space, great kitchen, open feel, separate work space...it has it all.

Here are some of the things we've done lately:

Kitchen

This room is mostly complete. We added four stools to the counter and they've added so much function! Dan and I were in a design debate over what type of stools to get. I lobbied for a chair with a back, since I envisioned the kids sitting there doing homework eventually while we cooked, and I wasn't sure how comfortable a backless stool would be. Dan argued that the sight-lines are much better with a backless chair and that the kids would get used to it. If they didn't, the dining room table is two feet away and they could work there instead. In the end, I conceded, and I have to admit he is right. These chairs are awesome, and so cheap! I highly recommend them. They're comfy, sturdy, and tuck in easily under the island.

Dining Room
We found it! The perfect dining room table! It's a gorgeous 8-seater that extends to seat twelve. We bought it during a crazy sale at Arhaus (who's surprised?), so we got it for 50% off. We also got a matching bench. I'm not sure we'll use the bench every day (though we have been so far). Eventually, I'd like to get chairs and a rug to go under the table. I haven't seen anything that I love yet and I really want to be deliberate about that choice.

Living Room

Again, this room is mostly done. Eventually I'd like to add some greenery (probably fake), some floor cushions, and way down the road--when I'm not constantly thinking about sticky hands--a new couch. In the meantime, we added this small table from World Market, and I LOVE it! It's the perfect place to set a cup of tea while I'm reading a magazine.

Office

Oh, Arhaus, how I love thee. Let me count the ways. Dan and I couldn't find the perfect piece for the office that would house our printer and our files. Then we went to the Arhaus showroom on a whim, and BAM! There it was. Isn't she lovely? I'm eventually going to get some boxes to use as a filing cabinet and get rid of my existing one. But is already so functional. I love it.

Deck

I can't say enough what a good decision it was to do our deck in the late winter, meaning it was ready for use when the weather got warmer. We enjoyed this deck all summer and fall. We got an 8-seat table plus a deck box that doubles as extra seating.
 

Patio

Same deal here as the deck. So functional! I love that there is enough room for a shaded area, but also for a fire pit. And, we specifically designed the patio to be large enough to hold our sukkah, which we got to use this year!!

Decor
Dan is a bit of a perfectionist, which means he is in charge of hanging any art in our house. I have slowly been forcing asking him to hang things on the walls so they aren't completely bare. We're getting there. And, I got an AWESOME piece of art for our bedroom that I am totally in love with. We need to find some furniture in there before we know it's permanent place, but right now I can see it from bed and it makes me happy.

Lighting
I think we're done with lighting for now. We got gorgeous pieces for all of our bedrooms (our chandelier, Zahara's petal semi-flush mount, and Asher's industrial-style). I couldn't be happier with these. Eventually we'll add a big statement light in the living room, and replace the builder-grade lights in the dining room, kitchen, and foyer. But that's down the line.

We're making great progress on our to-do list, but there's still quite a bit. The largest items are the dining room and bedroom, which are still largely untouched. We've got time though. For now, I'm loving my house even more with each passing day!

• Kitchen backsplash (we're doing this ourselves over winter break!)
• Kitchen bar stools
• Dining room table and chairs
• Office furniture (have a desk, need a place for printer and files, etc.)
• Mudroom build-out (need a place for coats, backpacks, shoes)
• Basement organization (bookshelves, toy storage)
• Basement guest room curtains
• Master bedroom bedframe (we put our old one in the guest room )
• Master bedroom curtains
• Master bedroom furniture (probably a bench for the end of the bed and a chaise lounge)
• Master bedroom light (it's roughed in, but we need a fixture)
• Asher room light
• Zahara room light
• Guest room curtains (bedroom and bathroom)
• Guest room nightstands
• Decor throughout the house (nothing is on the walls yet and it's starting to drive me crazy!)-
• Patio furniture --got chairs for fire pit, but still need something under the deck (lounge seating)
• Deck furniture
• Fire Pit

Apple Picking

It's fall!! I couldn't be more excited. I love this time of year, especially in Washington, DC. The humidity finally breaks and we can enjoy the glorious weather. It's time to break out the sweaters, fall boots, and pumpkin spice everything!

One of my favorite fall traditions is apple picking. This year we went to a new place, Waters Orchard, with our friend Dani and her daughter. This was a no-frills orchard; no hay rides, pumpkin patches, face painting, or apple cider donuts. But, the trees were full of delicious apples that were ready for the taking. It was perfect.

We picked a total of around 20 pounds (a bushel). I'm making apple butter with some of my lot as we speak. I can't wait to spread it on toast or put it in my morning oatmeal.

After apple picking, we all went for ice cream at Bruster's. My pumpkin pie flavor was my favorite, but the death by chocolate was a big hit too.

What a fun day! Do you have any fall traditions that you love? Can't wait for pumpkin picking and carving soon, too!

Great Wolf Lodge

A few weeks ago we took a family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Virginia. We've been hearing great things about it for years, and it seemed like something our kids would really like. Spoiler alert, it was great!

This place has fun down to a science; every aspect of the lodge is meant for kids. I was initially skeptical about whether Dan and I would have a good time, but it was so much better than I thought. We had fun too!

We found a Groupon for a day when the kids were off school, which made the trip really affordable. I know they run specials all the time, so I would definitely recommend looking for that. Our coupon was for the Kid Kamp room, which was perfect for us. It's a hotel room with a separate den for the kids. The den is outfitted to look like a tent and has bunk beds for the kids. I was worried about Asher in the bunk bed since he's in a crib at home, but this one was fantastic. The sides were high enough that he couldn't get out on his own. Of course Zahara loved being on the top bunk!

The lodge has tons of activities for kids at all times of day. We spent most of our day in the water park, but in the evening, it was great to play games, have a dance party, get their face painted, and go trick-or-treating. There was even a story time in the evenings that Zahara stayed up until almost 9:00 pm to hear.

The water park was much bigger than I thought. It has a ton of different areas that you can spend your time in: a lazy river, a toddler activity section, a giant fort, a wave pool, a hot tub, and of course the slides. The kids adored it, but I was surprised how much I liked it too. Dan and I even got the chance to switch off and go on a couple of rides on our own. It was so fun!

  

Click here for a video of Dan and Asher with the giant bucket.

I just loved how carefree the whole weekend was. There was no stress about how the kids were behaving. They could just have fun (or tantrum) and there was no judgement from anyone. We ate at the restaurant one night, and though the food wasn't great, it was easy. We even started a tradition that my parents had with me--dessert first on vacation! The kids were thrilled!

All-in-all, it was a great vacation, and I would absolutely recommend it. Yay for family vacations and fun memories!

Have you been to Great Wolf Lodge? What did you think? Let me know in the comments?