Anniversary Getaway--Bowers Harbor, MI

Whew, it has been a crazy week!

I have been trying so hard to tell you about our anniversary--our little getaway, the yummy giveaway tarts, our dinner date--but time has not been on our side. My summer class is kind of taking over my life, so as soon as that's over I'll be back in action. Lots of things to share with you!

I do want to share about a change in our lives that's been consuming a lot of our time recently. Sadly, we will be moving out of our beloved apartment at the end of August, which has been the home of so many great memories over the past year. We will definitely miss it, but we are trying to be optimistic about our new home (which we have been searching for constantly since we found out we would need to move). Luckily we were able to find something pretty fast, and it has a lot of potential to be super cute. Our kitchen is unfortunately the thing we like the least about it, so we're trying to get some ideas and inspiration for how to make it great. We'll share it with you when we have some decent photos.

In the meantime, here are some pictures from our two-day anniversary vacation to Bowers Harbor, Michigan. We spent an entire weekend wine tasting, enjoying the peace and quiet (and each other), and reminiscing about our wedding. It was completely lovely. 

The Cooks' House, our favorite restaurant in Traverse City


The amazing Tesoro Inn, our cozy weekend B&B


I am so lucky to have such a great travel buddy. Can't wait for our next trip together, love! Maybe Europe?! (I can dream, can't I...?) :)

Mediterranean Chicken

This week Wife is on Spring Break and I can't think of a more frustrating prospect: here I am, stuck at work, while she enjoys some leisure time. My disgruntled attitude got me daydreaming about vacations that I've been on, and the first place that popped into my mind was Cinque Terre.

You can find this beautiful place on the western coast of Italy, just a stones-throw away from Florence. To me, no other place has come closer to being paradise than Cinque Terre. It has all the necessary elements of paradise: the ocean, mountains, wine, delicious seafood, and to top it all off, it is the (alleged) birthplace of pesto! Wife and I traveled there with two of our closest friends after a summer study program in college. Ever since then, we've been scheming on how we are going to make our way back.

More to the point--I knew that daydreaming could only get me so far, and that I had to do something that made me feel just a little bit like I was in my Mediterranean paradise. I think you know where this is going...

Mediterranean Chicken
from Martha Stewart Living

1 pint grape tomatoes

16 pitted Kalamata olives, halved

3 tablespoons capers

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 bonless chicken breast halves, with skin

Coarse salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Toss tomatoes, olives, capers and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat until hot. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil; heat until hot but not smoking. Place chicken in skillet, skin sides down. Cook until deep golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn chicken over and add tomato mixture to skillet.

Transfer skillet to oven. Roast until chicken is cooked through and tomatoes have softened, about 18 minutes. Serve with Mediterranean couscous and a glass of your favorite Italian wine.