Happy Easter and Go Blue

Most of my weekend and holiday was/will be spent working, but when I'm not working I'll be watching basketball.  Being the attending on the inpatient liver transplant service is demanding but rewarding beyond imaginable.   It is almost all-consuming of my thoughts and life right now.  I've been on call 3 of the past 6 weeks, but have a call-free month of April to look forward too.

These guilty-pleasure purchases and a heart-stopping Michigan Basketball win on Friday were the "non-work" highlight of my week.



Thirsty Thursdays

 One of our generous wedding gifts was this Breville Juicer.  We've had so much fun experimenting with it.

 Jay has been stopping at our favorite fruit market, Stanleys, in Chicago each week on his way back to Milwaukee.  The produce at Stanleys is super cheap, but always very ripe and needs to be used quickly.  This is perfect for juicing, because it doesn't really matter if they are just a little too ripe!

 Our first recipe:  Cucumber Jugo

2 large cucumbers

1 lime

1 poblano pepper

cilantro

The cucumber/cilantro give a fresh cool taste you might expect from a spa drink.

I liked it, Jay did not.  

Better luck next time :)

Embracing Milwaukee

With Chicago and our friends so close by, I've had a hard time staying put in Milwaukee and making this city feel like home.  Sure, on weeknights Jason and I have explored lots of great restaurants but mostly I've been working, working and more working while here and we leave during our free time.

After our wedding, honeymoon and traveling to San Fran for a friends wedding; I have finally felt ready to stay put spent in Milwaukee for a few weeks.  Jason continues to spend part of each week in Chicago and some of it here with me.  It will be 6 full weeks without a trip to Chicago by the time I am there next.  A record by far.

The more time we spend here the more I realize Milwaukee has a lot to offer.  Thanks to a Christmas gift of Milwaukee Magazine (thanks Christina) and several Milwaukee themed wedding gifts of Art Museum membership and Pabst Mansion Tour (thanks Hamms and Karin) we are excited to explore the city.  Here are a few things we've done so during the past month.

Two weeks ago Jamie, Filip and dog Ypsi came up to stay with us for a night.  We were so happy to have good friends here with us.  We had dinner Friday night at one of the best places we've eaten at in Milwaukee called Braise.  The atmosphere, service, food and drink were are all outstanding.  And the bill wasn't too hefty.  Perfect for a night out when you're not up for something quite as fancy as the best restaurant we've eaten at: Sanfords.

The following weekend I became a true Wisconsin resident, eating my very first Friday Fish Fry.  This is serious business.  Every single restaurant in town has this special and it seemed a right-of-passage to have it.  We were at a super cool restaurant/bar called The Garage.  The amount of food on one plate was ridiculous.  I was plesantly surprised that the fish, while fried, didn't seem super greasy or crunchy.  I guess if you know what you're doing, frying food doesnt have to be terrible?

Add tartar sauce, french fries and cole slaw- not my healthiest meal.

This weekend we celebrated Jason's birthday seeing one of his favorite bands, Frightened Rabbit at the Pabst Theater.  Um. Yes.  Pabst Theater.  Tall boys galore.  I think I could love this state.  Here is a song I love called "Old Fashioned."

Finally today, I went to the annual kick-off party for TriWisconsin, a triathlon club in Milwaukee.  It was intimidating to be in a room with at least 100 people who all seemed to know each other.  It was great, however, to see the comradarie and amount of enthusiasm for health and fitness.  I met a few cool people and joined the club, so here's hoping that motivates me to get off the couch.  Especially if I am going to keep eating fish fry.

The Mustache Crew

You might remember early on my bridesmaids named themselves the mustache crew.
So it was only fitting that they surprised me with these mustaches on wedding morning.
No only mustaches to wear, but mustache napkins, straws, plates for breakfast and mimosa sipping.

 

I've blogged about each one of these woman, by now you know how inspiring they are and how much I love them.  As a group, I couldn't have asked for a better wedding party.  Supportive, hilarious, fun.  Best friends from every part of life blending together as if they'd always been friends. 

And as Mindy Kaling put it perfectly:  "Best friend is a status, not a person." 
I'm so grateful that these crazy ladies, along with a few others, are mine.

Smores Bar

I'm not a big fan of cake.  Usually I eat the frosting and leave the actual cake.  At weddings the whole cake cutting tradition is my least favorite tradition, unless you count the dollar dance.  

So in lieu of cake, we decided to have a Smore's Bar.

We had the standard marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers; but, we also had oreo bars, heath bars, reeces bars, white chocolate bars....you name it.

 We loved it.

 We hope everyone else had as much fun as we did!

Lite Brites

Jason came up with the idea of having miniature lite bright table numbers.  At first he was just joking around, or at least I thought he was, but then he asked his dad and brother-in-law what they thought.  They took this task to a whole new level.  They made these beautiful boxes from scratch.  

 The amount of time and energy they put into making these was definatley above and beyond what was expected.  We couldn't have been happier with how they turned out.  A perfect mix between fun and somehow classy.

The whole idea was that people would use the extra pegs later in the evening and create new designs on what was once the table numbers.  It didn't take long for people to figure this out.

Here are some of our favorite designs.

A tribute to the Mustache Crew

 My cousins showing Michigan pride.

 One of many penis spottings.

Sadly, the IU on top was an omen for how that evenings basketball game would end.  Luckily, I was having too much fun to notice.

Wedding Pinecones

Thanks to pintrest, I wanted to have a pinecone bouquet.  I thought it would be a perfect touch for a winter wedding, but also makes for an easy keepsake from our wedding.  The people at Eastern floral out did themselves with this task.  I absolutely loved it.

Eastern floral also added small pinecones to the groomsmen boutineers.

Mom and Dad worked tirelessly to make these gold painted pinecone escort card holders

Eastern Floral even added some pinecones to the vases on the tables.

I loved this unique touch to our winter wedding!

Signature Cocktail: Grandpa TenCate's Old Fashioned

A TenCate party isn't complete without our family recipe for an Old Fashioned.  For as long as I can remember holidays start with the adults enjoying an Old Fashioned.  The recipe has been passed from generation to generation, it's a strong one, but perfect for warming you on a cold winter day.

Dad was generous enough to prepare several batches of the cocktail and provide it to our bartenders for distribution.  People seemed to enjoy them!

 

Jay and I found an vintage gold mirror at the Milwaukee Antique market.  Mom used scrapbook lettering and a display easle found on craigslist to display our signature cocktail for all to enjoy!

Reliving the Wedding

Our wedding photos from Mitch Ranger Photography arrived this week.  For those of you at the wedding, you know he was amazing.  I've spent the last several days combing through literally thousands of fantastic images trying to pick my favorites.  After a years worth of planning and a lifetime of waiting, I want to relive every moment as long as possible.  So......brace yourself for several days of wedding details up on my blog.

Today's highlight Grandma TenCate's stole.

My family has always told me I look like my late grandmother in her younger days.  Maybe it was my lace dress or my updo, but in our wedding photos I do see a striking resemblance.  A loving wife and mother, I can think of worse people to be compared to.

 

At my bridal shower, my aunt and cousin gifted me a beautiful fur stole which was my grandmothers.  On the inner pocket. you can see her initials LTC still embroidered.

It was so special for me to wear this on our wedding day, keeping a woman of intelligence, spunk, graceful beauty near me more than 15 years after her passing. 

Best Eats/Drinks: The Big Island

Our first meal on the Big Island was a place called Da Poke Shack, which Jeff and Kim took us to.  An unassuming shack, take out only, located in a neighborhood near their home.  Poke is delicious, cubed, ahi sashimi, marinated in oil with all sorts of ingredients. This place also serves  Kalula pork,  Luau chicken which are equally as good.  Coupled with some Kona Brewing company beer made for a meal we will be salivating over until our next trip to Hawaii.

 

Speaking of Kona Brewing Co ever since hearing about this place from ironman friends, I've been dying to try.  We ate more than our fair share of pizza here, but the best part was the beer flights.  Kona Brewing Co distrubes a few beers nationwide, but sadly not my favorites: Wailua Wheat

Finally, our last fancy dinner at Ulu Ocean Grill at The Four Seasons.  Wow.  We spent valentines night there.  Our table was as close to the ocean as possible, making for perfect sunset viewing.  Cocktail menu was on an Ipad each table could scroll through. 

Poke was made table side as an appetizer. The entrees and deserts did not disappoint. 

A perfect end to a perfect honeymoon and our first valentines day as husband and wife.

Best Adventures: The Big Island

We had equally as much fun exploring the Big Island- Hawaii as we did on Kauai.

We spent the first few days with our friends Kimberly and Jeff, who live in Kona.  Thanks to our wonderful hostess/host as tour guides, we saw and did things we never would have had a chance to do otherwise.  They took us everywhere and have literally every single water-sport accessory necessary. This made for the most water-sport active portion of our trip.  If you know me, you know that means I was very happy lady.

We kayaked along the Ironman swim course in Kona, we went boogie boarding near Keauhou, and we failed stand-up paddleboarding because of huge waves.  But of all our water activites, snorkeling at a place locals call Two Step Beach on Honaunau Bay was our favorite. This came as a surprise to me, because I've always borderline hated snorkeling.  I find the masks and breathing tube annoying and fish always look about the same.  Most times, I end up ditching the equipment and just swimming in the ocean.  This was totally different.  The coral was spectacular, I could dive down so deep that my ears hurt, but the water was so clear you could see perfectly even from the surface.  I saw so many different schools of fish, but the most exciting part was when Kim spotted a Honu (sea turtle).  We swam along with him, one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had.

After we left The Gertons, we spent a few days in Volcano Village.  Hiking the trails at The National Volcano Park and seeing the crater light glow at night was well worth the trip.  It's amazing to imagine what the trails were like when lava was active.  I had my heart set on seeing active lava flow.  This is not an easy task.  The lava is currently flowing on private property well outside of the National Park.  We drove to old subdivision buried by lava flow from the early 2000s before setting out on a 2 hour one-way hike.  It was how I imagine walking in a desert or on the moon would feel.  Nothing in sight, rugged, uneven terrian but we continued on, eyes set on the steam ahead.  As we grew closer, we realized the steam we saw was actually lava pouring into the ocean.  

With our eyes set on the distance, we nearly stepped into hot lava.

We watched molten lava pour out between already cooled lava cracks and snake it's way toward the ocean.  The heat was intense and bits of lava were crackling almost as if they were boiling.  Pictures do not do this justice.  Jay and I had many discussions, which was more amazing?  Swimming with the Honu or discovering an active lava flow.  I'm not sure the answer, but highly recommend this hike if you're up for it.

If not, the crater glow from the national park is pretty striking on it's own and you can drive there :)