This color, and this trail right by my new place, makes the transition from living abroad–and the transition to becoming a parent–a little bit easier.

One of my favorite things about autumn, too, is baking, of course! Some good recipes I’ve made lately–this spiced pumpkin bread and this carrot bread.

I was also able to participate this week with Amanda for the Bake Off Bake Along…and this week was Italian week!

The first challenge was cannoli, which I’ve always wanted to make–but not enough to buy the tools (such as a deep fryer). So, I decided to make…

pizza!

A classic Margherita pizza–with a twist. A whole wheat crust, that is. (So not so much of a twist).

I haven’t made pizza in years, and when I did, it never turned out so wonderfully.

But this pizza was pretty good!

I may have overdone the mozzarella just a bit (ya think?).

But it’s hard to complain about extra cheese. There are much worse things.

The post Montana Snapshots + Bake Off Bake Along Week 7 appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

And now summer is over. (without too much blogging to show for it, oops!)

I’m back in Budapest, at a new school, starting a new school year, teaching 1st and 2nd graders. The weather in Budapest is still too hot for my taste, but luckily the late summer nights have lost their edge. Our new flat–an amazing 10-minute walk from my new job–has a lovely balcony surrounded by leafy trees.

Even as I buckle down and get ready to adjust to a brand new school, and attempt to find anything in my new neighborhood, I can’t help but look back on the busy, busy summer with happiness and a bit of trailing exhaustion.

E and I are calling it the “Summer of Scenery” because, wow, did we see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world! (And because we like alliteration).

We started in Romania–Transylvania, specifically–and while the towns and cities we visited we totally charming, the mountains were a real highlight of the trip.

After Romania, and a stopover in Copenhagen (and I’ll say it again, but man do I want to live there!!) we headed to Norway. It was absolutely amazing and even though we spent only three days there, I can sufficiently say we enjoyed every second of our time there.

From Norway, we flew to Los Angeles to visit family–not a part of the trip where we were thinking of the scenery. I did find some pretty flowers, though! After we visited some family near Sacramento, we were able to join some of my extended family at Clearlake–and it’s so peaceful and pretty, especially in the morning!

Then, Montana, which is always picture-perfect. My friend got married in a beautiful spot while we were there, and another old childhood friend, who recently got her pilot’s license, took me up her in plane–so I got a whole new view of my hometown! I’ve flown commercially so often that I’m starting to feel ambivalent towards planes–not as thrilled as I used to be, for sure–but it was so much fun to fly in her tiny little plane.

Thanks to our awesome parents, E and I got a free ride between Montana and Washington (where my in-laws live). The trip is long but oh-so-pretty!

My in-laws live in a lovely area of the state (you may remember their yard was where we got married, and for a good reason) and it’s always nice to be back there.

While visiting that area, we hopped down to Oregon to visit my cousin and some friends in Portland, and hit the Oregon coast on our way back to Washington.

And still, after all that breathtaking scenery, we ended with a week in one of the prettiest countries of all time, my dreamland–Ireland!

I’ll be writing more about these places soon. For now…

The summer of scenery, indeed!

Linking up with Wanderlust Wednesday.

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ONE MONTH ON THE ROAD: BY THE NUMBERS 

ONE WEEK with 30 kids under the age of 13 in the Czech mountains.

ONE birthday cake, Czech style. Along with “happy birthday” sung by all the kids and my fellow teachers.

FIVE DAYS in London.

TURNING TWENTY-EIGHT in London!

EIGHT HOURS in a spaceship, a.k.a. the Yotel in Gatwick Airport. A really cool hotel idea–and really comfortable–but also so tiny! Perfect for the airport, though, when you just need a place to crash before and early/late flight.

FOUR afternoon teas in London.

THREE HOURS at the Harry Potter Studio Tour! Maybe my best birthday present, ever.

TWO HOURS eating lunch with the lovely Jessi! My favorite part of blogging is the community, and especially getting to meet these people in real life. So far, Jessi and I have met up in Prague, Cologne, and London! How cool is that?

THIRTEEN HOUR flight from London to Seattle, via Frankfurt. It was my first international flight that wasn’t partially at night, and wow. Don’t want to do that again! Also, the airline we flew on did not give us free movies or TV shows…tell me this isn’t a sign of the future?!

ONE wedding dress purchased after weeks of research and trying on at least ten. I’ll be honest and say I never had that “moment” where I knew it was “the one”–but it was fun, it was on sale, and I was running out of the time. So, goal!

FORTY-FIVE minutes of cake tasting, hands-down the best part of this whole wedding planning experience.

TEN DAYS at home in Montana.

TOO MANY days steeped in wedding plans. As I keep saying, it’s rather hilarious that this completely uncrafty girl is throwing a largely DIY wedding. Things are getting finished, though!

ONE DAY sailing on Lake Washington, near Seattle.

TWO WEEKS of reverse culture shock. I guess it’s fading…until I walk into Target, a mall, or something of the like. It’s akin to the same feeling I had whenever I walked into the Czech grocery store: being overwhelmed and slightly panicky, yet also feeling the strange urge to buy everything and try new things/old things I forgot existed (like PopTarts!! Remember PopTarts?!?).

SIX WEEKS booked in Central America! Hard to believe the next “By the Numbers” post will be written from Costa Rica.

source

THREE WEEKS until I get to marry the guy who wrote this:

Previous By the Numbers:

Twelve Months in Prague (By the Numbers)                                                                                                        Eleven Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Ten Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Nine Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Eight Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Seven Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Six Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Five Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Four Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Three Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
Two Months in Prague (By the Numbers)
One Month in Prague (By the Numbers)

QUESTION:

How is your September shaping up so far? 

The post One Month on the Road: By the Numbers appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

-Our wedding is in one month from TOMORROW. Cue dramatics!! For all of you, I don’t recommend this being-abroad-then-planning-everything-in-six weeks approach. However, it does mean that instead of waiting a year or longer to marry E, I get to do it in four weeks! So it has some pros.

-I can’t help but find it a little amusing that I’m ending up with a largely DIY wedding when every DIY project I’ve ever endeavored has turned into a disaster.

-Another thing I don’t recommend? Wedding dress shopping the day after an international flight. If there’s anything that will throw you into reverse culture shock, it’s wedding dress shopping (and rush hour traffic). There may have been some tears in the dressing room, but I ended up picking a gown that was the most fun. Since that is the ultimate goal for our wedding day, I figured why not have fun in my dress, too? And by fun, yes, I mean fun in the it’s-poufy kind of way. I can’t really remember it all that well at this point even though I picked out it two weeks ago…so hopefully when I try it on again I’ll still be happy with my decision.

-I admit that I’m having a lot of guilt when it comes to wedding planning. Or, really having a wedding at all. It’s a unique reason for most of our loved ones to come to one place, which is great since we’ve been living abroad (and will continue to be doing so). But, I have to admit that sometimes weddings feel so commercial and consumer-based. Everything is so expensive, from the food to the dress to the chairs. It also feels…socially irresponsible! Can any other brides relate to this?!

-It’s really nice to be back home, but now I am so homesick for Prague and Europe in general. America is just…gigantic! After arriving in Seattle, three days later I drove back with my parents and sister (who had come to meet us!!) to Montana. It was a full twelve-hour drive, and that’s barely a third of this whole country! Yet another thing I don’t recommend…a long-haul flight followed almost immediately by a long-haul drive.

-Reunited with my favorite pups and it feels so good.

-Not only is America the country gigantic, everything else here seems to be giant, too. The houses! The stores! The cars! The cups of coffee (there is nothing as wonderful and American as the bottomless cup of coffee.)! The serving sizes! The freeways! Dare I say…some of the people?! And I’m not even talking about the obesity epidemic…everyone here seems so tall!

-E and I officially booked our honeymoon!!! We are going to spend…wait for iiiiit…SIX WEEKS IN CENTRAL AMERICA! I am beyond excited, as I’ve never been to any of the countries and neither has E. We were looking for an adventure honeymoon close to home (read: cheap, cheap flights) since we will be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we found an amazing deal from Seattle to San Jose. We are flying in and out of Costa Rica but otherwise we haven’t made any plans. So, for those of you who’ve been, I would love all of your tips for the area, especially Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua!

source

-Now it’s your turn! Tell me what’s up with you in the comments!

The post Catching Up (+ Honeymoon News!) appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

For the past few weeks, since I left Denver, I’ve been traveling to Montana, Washington, and even California for a few days to see as many friends, family, and favorite places before we leave! It’s been fun, stressful, happy, and sad–we haven’t been able to fit everyone in, and it’s also sad to see someone for what feels like an hour before saying farewell once again!

I’ve included my favorite Instagram shots of both Montana and Washington State. They are in no particular order and span several years and seasons! I’m already homesick looking at these pictures as we leave in just two days…!!!

^^the Puget Sound area of Washington (including Seattle) is kind of gorgeous, no?

^^Montana vistas are some of my favorite things.

^^fur babies!

^These flowers are from Pike’s Place Market in Seattle. They have the best flowers there!!

^^Olympic National Park and Orcas Island are some of my favorite trips we’ve ever taken.

^^we go to Montana for a lot of events, like weddings, graduations, and bachelorette parties. It seems like most of my friends have had their weddings there!

^^a throwback just for you of my siblings and me. I’m the one cheesing it up for the camera…can you tell?

^^A few shots from the past Christmas in Olympia and Leavenworth, Washington.

Linking up with Skimbaco Lifestyle!

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The post Snapshots and Snippets {From Montana to Washington} appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

Bozeman, Montana, is a college town in the southwestern part of the state. It really is a lovely town, ringed by mountains, with a historical downtown, parks and pine trees, rivers and ponds. The sky is almost always blue and the sun is almost always shining, even when there’s snow on the ground. I have a hard time explaining this town because it sounds almost too idyllic to be true.

Despite its real loveliness, I spent most of my childhood dreaming of other places to go. Really, I spent most of my childhood reading everything I could find, and collecting places and experiences I would someday have. I refused the idea that I might ever come back to this small (not so small anymore!) town and “settle down.”

Yet, because my father is an employee at the university in Bozeman, it was hard for me to not accept the scholarship that goes along with that. There is another school in Montana that I could have gone to in a town about three hours away, but my brother was already at school there, and I was determined to be different.

While I attended college here, I was able to travel and study abroad a little. Traveling helped me appreciate my hometown a little more, but I didn’t really get why people loved it here so much until I moved to Denver.

Almost everyone you meet in Colorado loves it there. Yet, I didn’t, not right away.  It wasn’t my little mountain town where you could go for a quick hike after work and I was very aware of that. Instead, you’d have to battle traffic and oh-so-many people just to find my coveted mountain peace. There were different things about Denver I learned to love, but it helped me learn to love my hometown, too.

I’ve been back in Bozeman for almost two weeks now. While I appreciate the peace and the beauty here so much more, there is still a little bit of a love/hate thing going on.

I love that the pharmacist immediately knew who my parents were and could pull up my information quickly, even though it had been over four years since I’d picked up a prescription there.

I hate that I had an extremely awkward encounter with an old high school crush.

I love going to my favorite coffee shop and knowing it will consistently be delicious.

I don’t like that I cannot stop running into people I’d be okay not seeing again for awhile.

I love running into family friends I haven’t seen in years and catching up quickly.

I don’t like that even in this idyllic place, things seem to grow and change and get more crowded.

Despite this love/hate attitude of mine, It’s been great being back here, and I know the second we leave on Saturday, I will miss it (especially my family! And my dogs! And the great Montana summer!).

I am looking forward to spending a few weeks in Washington before our August 2nd departure, however. That place (especially E’s hometown) is pretty idyllic, too.

(Can we take a moment to appreciate that we are moving to Prague on August 2nd?! Ahh!!).

Linking up with Nicole!

The post In My Hometown {USA} appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

While I’ve struggled with other late letters (obviously X, as it was a few days late…), I immediately thought of Yellowstone National Park for Y. This particular national park is a special one for me, as I grew up about an hour and a half from an entrance to the park. I visited many times while I was growing up, and even went on several “work trips.”

On one trip, I attended a several night writing workshop and saw baby wolves.

For a week during the summer before my senior year of high school, I camped in Yellowstone, worked for the Montana Conservation Corps, stayed up all night watching a meteor shower, and collected some bear fur that I found four years later in my bedroom (which caused quite a freak-out before I figured out what it was).

Another time, I went on a biking trip in the park before the roads opened to cars, and ended up having to carry my bike as a buffer between me and some bison on the road.

Then there was that trip where I got a 2nd degree burn from sticking my hand into a hot springs area that were…too hot. (It is called the Boiling River…boiling, Amy.)

Yellowstone National Park is obviously an experience. As the first national park here in the United States, in 1871, it deserves its title. It’s beautiful, remote, giant, and full of wildlife. Major attractions include the Old Faithful Geyser, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone Lake, Lamar Valley (most famous for the wolves!), the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Tower Falls. While I don’t have pictures from every corner, because most of my sojourns in the park were before I had a camera (much less a camera phone…and now you know I’m old).

Yellowstone National Park practically raised me, and I always feel that elusive (well, for me…I’m sure some of you understand!) sense of “home” when I go back there. It was the place I went several times to push me out of my comfort zone, and I really do think it helped shape my personality. I hope to go back someday soon…but it’s also a place I know I will always go back to in my life.

Just like a home.

^the Boiling River…this time safely from my window. Although it is a great hot springs, just be careful!

^my cousin at Mammoth Hot Springs.

^some of the hot pots at Mammoth Hot Springs.

^me and the cousins at Yellowstone (I can’t believe I don’t have any pictures of myself and my siblings there??)

^overlooking the Lamar Valley.

^can you spot the elk?

^hello Mr. Bison!

^some lady elk.

^the writing workshop camp in the Lamar Valley.

^look at the color of that water. no filter

^Cooke City, on the edge of the park.

Linking up again for Travel Tuesday!

The post Yellowstone National Park {USA} appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

(Although really, who doesn’t?)

Part of the reason I love it so much is the traditions. This post inspired me to think about my favorite traditions, new and old.

This year will be unusual for me–I won’t actually be spending Christmas Eve/Day with my family, but with E’s family in Washington state. (We’ll be meeting my family in Mexico for New Year’s Eve–definitely NOT a tradition! Maybe it can be a new one though ).

Not being with family and partaking in our usual traditions has inspired me and E to form our own. As I was making this list, though, I realized that in the 2 years we’ve lived together we’ve already formed a lot!

Do you have favorite holiday traditions? I would love to hear them!

1. Christmas Eve candlelight service.

• We always go to a service at my mother’s Lutheran church on Christmas Eve. I love it the most because I get in a solid hour of singing Christmas carols! My favorite. We always end with a candlelight-rendition of Silent Night. I don’t even need to tell you how magical it is, whatever you happen to believe.

2. Advent calendar.

• I’ve always had an advent calendar, as long as I can remember, even when it was one of those cheap grocery store ones with the waxy chocolate (that I secretly love). This year, E and I have been doing the 12 days of Christmas for each other and exchanging small gifts. We’ve developed little clues in each countdown day and I’ve been loving it!

3. Special Christmas Eve dinner (and opening presents!)

• Maybe it’s my mother’s German heritage, but we’ve always opened all of our gifts on Christmas Eve when it’s just our family. We attend an early candelight Christmas service, come home and eat shrimp and sourdough (always!) and open our gifts in front of the fire.

my dad, being cool.

our cat, Sophia, helping me open gifts.

a dad and his beagle (and a tree!)

4. Ornament exchange.

• My aunt always buys her children a new ornament each Christmas that symbolizes the prior year in some way. I love this idea, so I borrowed it, and now E and I (and sometimes my sister and I) buy each other an ornament each year. Soon we will have enough to fill an actual size tree, maybe!

my ornament from last year, in honor of our first whale sighting, in 2012, of whales!

5. “Just the two of us” Christmas.

• The first several years of our relationship, E and I spent Christmas apart with our families. So we invented the tradition of re-doing Christmas when we were re-united, exchanging gifts/filling each other’s stockings, and cooking a fancy (sometimes) Christmas feast! Sometimes we just pick up a pizza, too.

obviously I was playing with a new camera…hence the blurriness.

6. A trip into the mountains.

• In the past, we’ve gone skiing at a friends’ cabin. This year, we’ll be going to Georgetown and Frisco here in Colorado (this Sunday!) and Leavenworth in Washington. This will hopefully last as long as we live around mountains!

In Frisco after skiing!

picturesque mountain cabin.

7. Annual Holiday Potluck.

• Every year we open our apartment to as many friends of ours in Denver we can squeeze in! This year was so fun and busy this is the only picture I got:

my cousin, scavenging the leftovers (there weren’t many, which equals success, right?)

8. Zoo lights.

• I went with my cousins last year and I’m hooked! We’re going with our friends here in Denver on Sunday and they insist Denver’s Zoo Lights are some of the best they’ve seen.

look-alike cousins at the Zoo.

9. Donate a toy or a book to charity for a child.

• Although in the past we’ve found an Angel Tree, the past several years we’ve donated a book through our local Barnes and Noble for their annual Holiday Book Drive, a great local charity that provides books for children in the area. I love picking out a book I’ve loved for a kid, hoping to pass on my love of the written word!

10. Buy a meal for a family in need.

11. Watch Die Hard and Love Actually on Christmas Eve/Day.

• It’s our favorite way to watch out two favorite Christmas movies, but compromise at the same time :).

12. Go on a drive to see the lights!

The post Freestyle Friday: Holiday Traditions appeared first on Amy and the Great World.

However, today we hit the road again and I’m grateful for the long, uninterrupted hours on the road to get some serious studying done (and maybe continue listening to Allegiant…)! For those of you who don’t need to buckle down (seriously, already, I need to get BUCKLED), here are some of my favorite links to make up your digital Sunday paper.

+ Would you try these mashed potatoes? I’m making Thanksgiving this year and I’m already looking for time-savers.

+ The most 90’s things ever. Awesome! You have to see #25. And one more from Buzzfeed: these people are having a worse day than you.

+ This amazing idea for a post from one of my favorite food bloggers.

+ How to tie a scarf.

+ When I read this viral article about why marriage isn’t for you, I felt a little off about it but couldn’t put my finger on the reason. Until, I read this article from a different perspective, and it resonated with me so much more. I felt like it encapsulated what marriage will mean to me, whenever it should happen, if it should happen, and if I decide to have kids. I didn’t hate “Marriage Isn’t For You,” but it just didn’t fit with me, although it’s nice to be reminded that everything isn’t always about the individual. Did it fit for you? I’d love to hear your opinion!

+ Incredible shots of disappearing tribes.

Have a great, relaxing Sunday!

The post The Sunday Paper (11.10.13) appeared first on Amy and the Great World.