Recently we found out that Alex has some unexpected time off from school this coming May. Seeing as he RARELY gets time off, I am always the first one to yell, “So where are we going??” as soon as any window of opportunity arises. It got me thinking back to our first international trip together. When we were seniors in college we traveled with a small group of students who were also interested in the healthcare field to
Read MoreNot to be dramatic or anything but this cake was the bane of my existence over the last two weeks...
Read MoreLast winter Alex and I went to New York City to celebrate our 1 year anniversary (Read about it here!). Throughout the week we visited some of the restaurants and bakeries with infamous food items that I had been dying to try forevaaa. But one of the best things we ate was not planned at all. It was Christmas Eve, a cold, rainy morning, and Alex and I needed to get breakfast before we flew back home in the afternoon. All week we had been getting a quick bagel and cream cheese for breakfast, because who has time to sit down for breakfast when you have NYC to explore? But on the last day we decided to indulge in a normal breakfast, and wandered into a nearby restaurant...
Read MoreMy snow loving self is FREAKING out over the snow that the Twin Cities received yesterday. A large winter storm rolled through yesterday, giving us over a FOOT of snow. Ahhhh!!!! South Minnesota even saw a whopping 17”! Apparently it’s the largest snowfall since 2012. So basically this is the most snowfall Alex and I have experienced since moving here, and probably ever. When in my patients' rooms, I frequently sneaked glances out the windows, watching as the blizzard like winds whipped the snow in every direction, and dreamt about being at home cuddled under a warm blanket with a book in hand...
Read MoreThe day after this past Christmas, Alex and I headed north to a resort on Lake Superior for a mini getaway to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary! The weather that week was even more freezing than normal. The coldest day had a high of -15°F (feels like -35°F), and the warmest it ever got was 2°F. Like, why?? On the way there we stopped at REI and gifted each other new, fancy Norweigan gloves as our “cotton” anniversary present...
Read MoreIt has been a busy last couple weeks, filled with traveling, the holidays, hosting, and working. We were so fortunate to have our friends Josh and Cate come to visit us for New Years. They live in the Bay in California – and when California friends voluntarily come to the artic tundra that is Minnesota during the winter to visit you and your husband, then you know they must really love you lol. Unfortunately was unusually colder than normal while they were here – staying below zero degrees Fahrenheit for the majority of the time, with the “feels like” temperatures ranging between -30F to -15. But they were troopers...
Read MoreWhat were some of your favorite holiday traditions when you were growing up? One of mine would have to be holiday baking with my mom. We would spend the whole day in the kitchen, rocking out to our favorite Christmas music CD's. She always did most of the work, but I was the designated cookie decorator and taste tester ;). Each year we would make a dozen different items - such as various breads, Mexican wedding cookies, sugar cookies, ginger molasses cookies, and caramel corn. Carefully we would...
Read MoreToday is the one week mark until Christmas! I can remember back to when I was growing up - I would get a chocolate advent calendar every year. Each morning, as soon as I woke up, I would eagerly open that little cardboard door, exposing that day’s treat. Each chocolate would have a different Christmas associated design on it, such as a Christmas tree or an angel. I used to love seeing if I could guess the design each day before opening the door – I was usually always wrong lol. To be honest...
Read MoreWe kicked off the month of December with the spirit of giving. This is my first year participating directly in charities that give Christmas gifts to families who otherwise may not receive them - and I love it! My unit at work has "adopted" a family in the need for the holidays, signing up to purchase specific gifts for the family members, ranging anywhere from household cleaning products to Lego toys. Additionally our small group through church participated in Angel Tree, an organization that helps children with an incarcerated parent feel loved, valued, and not forgotten by their parent far away. One of the ways they do this is ...
Read MoreIt is officially the holiday season! No longer do I need to listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies in secret - because my husband refuses to have anything to do with Christmas before his favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, has had its turn to shine. This past weekend, we both had a 4 day weekend, which having the same days off is a special rarity in itself! We enjoyed our large Thanksgiving meal, and spent the rest of the weekend eating leftovers for lunch and dinner. But don't worry...
Read MoreYesterday morning I woke up next to a 26 year old! It would have been more exciting had that time not been 4 AM. *insert fussy face here* One of the caveats of working as a hospital RN is that each year the hospital can give you a max of 3 "mandatories". Mandatories are - don't come in, and if you want to get paid for the day you have to use PTO time. Because of the inevitable politics associated, there are a lot of union rules surrounding these mandatories...
Read MoreMy first international trip was a Mediterranean cruise with my family when I was 16. We traveled to various stops throughout Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Not only was this trip wonderful for obvious reasons, but I also loved it because since the ship provided a safely, confined space, my mom allowed me to roam freely around the giant ship without parental supervision. What! This was the greatest privilege of independence while traveling I had been given so far. Just after a couple days I knew this ship like the back of my hand. Whenever we were on the ship, I spent the majority of my time exploring on my own because....
Read MoreHow is it November already?? You know the saying, “the days are long, but the years are short?” Well it feels like the days are short, and the years are shorter. Granted I don’t have any kids waking me up at all hours of the night, so maybe I can’t apply this phrase to my life. These past weeks have been filled with work, work, and more work. And the time that I do have off seems to be gone in the blink of an eye. Today is my one day off in this 7 day week, and the accumulation of the emotional stress from the past couple weeks seems to have caught up with me this morning – I slept into until....
Read MoreFall is here and I am leaping with joy! This truly is my favorite time of the year. Back home in California, fall was usually designated by when Trader Joe’s started stocking their plethora of seasonal pumpkin-related items. So when I experienced my first Midwestern fall last year- the colorful changing leaves, the crisp air, the being able to wear sweaters without sweating (I sweat way too much in California trying to make it feel like fall), the picking of apples and pumpkins, and then the fallen leaves that completely cover the ground, leading to lots of...
Read MoreOne of our favorite things to do Sunday afternoon is to watch the latest Bucketlist Family video on YouTube. If you’ve never heard about them, they are a young couple with 2 of the cutest kids in the world, who sold everything a couple years ago and now are a full-time traveling family. When we found out that they were also visiting Iceland and Norway this summer, I was so excited! The thought of potentially running into them (yes, yesI realize how unlikely that would actually be) had me as giddy as a kid on Christmas. Sadly I don’t think that will happen as they recently left Iceland and will likely visit Norway before we get there. But seeing...
Read MoreThe Anaheim Packing House is probably one of my new favorite places to go in Southern California. It reminded me of Chelsea Market in Manhattan, expect that it felt more crowded and it focused more on hip and trendy foods. (To give you an example, there was a dessert called Dragon Breath, which is milk condensed into little balls via liquid nitrogen, creating that cool dry ice effect). We met my college roommate and her boyfriend at Ecco, which is an Italian restaurant located at the end of the packing house, allowing for an outdoor patio. I got an Ace pineapple cider and a prosciutto and arugula pizza. And this wasn’t just any pizza…
Read MoreWe have a lot of adventures planned for the upcoming months, and I couldn’t be happier! Tomorrow I’ll head out to California to meet up with my husband, who was fortunate enough to spend the past couple days there and get some much desired rest and family time. We’ll be in southern California, where Alex’s family is located, catching up with friends, family, and attending a wedding. But the travel that has been the most anticipated is…
Read MoreWell it’s Monday once again, and like most Mondays, it leaves us a slight longing for reliving the weekend that just passed. Lately I have been picking up extra shifts at the hospital to help save up for our big trip at the end of summer, which leaves little time off to rest. But this past weekend I had 3 whole days off in a row! Woohoo! I finished rereading the Harry Potter series, and now I really want to watch the movies again – but my husband says that the HP series is good just being watched once a year. Someone please talk some sense into him. I went to a Mary Kay launch party – and while I felt like an old adult, because my mom and her friends always went to Mary Kay parties, I did greatly enjoy the free facial and winning some prizes. But wow...
Read MoreDuring this past week and a half, most of our evenings have been characterized by staying up late to watch the NBA Finals. I remember last year by the time it got to Game 7, I couldn’t sit down while watching because I was so nervous about the outcome! Fast forward back to this year, and it was unsurprisingly amazing to watch the Warriors face off against the Cavs for the 3rd consecutive year. When the Warriors lost Game 4, I was upset, because of 1) the game loss and the Warriors losing the opportunity to make NBA history with an undefeated playoffs record and 2) Alex and I were both scheduled to work during Game 5. Lame. But thankfully we got...
Read MoreThis past weekend was the perfect sneak peak into summer. The majority of my time was spent outside in our hammock, reading Harry Potter numero 5 while enjoying the warm breeze. We went to one of our favorite Thai restaurants (though I still have yet to find a Thai restaurant that even comes close to my favorite Thai food truck in Portland), and walked to the local Asian market for some authentic curry paste to use later in the week. We endured the overcrowded Lake Calhoun and kayaked around the Chain of Lakes. While on the water a mosquito landed on me and I was the most dramatic about it. If there are two things I hate about Midwest summers it is...
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Hi! My name is Tori, and welcome to To Salt & See, where we indulge in simple, elegant, and cozy recipes. To learn more about me click here!
