explore. dream. discover.

{We're Moving! + A Portland Summer List}

2013-06-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, this is old news... But, we're moving home to Portland! We always knew we wanted to live in Amsterdam 2-3 years and somewhere along the way it just became clear that two years would be best for us for a mutltitude of reasons. I can't say enough about the experience of living abroad, especially as a carefree newlywed. We really lived it up and traveled our hearts out, and now it's time to go home.

This is a little earlier than we were anticipating to move, but Corey got an amazing job offer back home that he would've been crazy to pass up. Luckily I was also able to land a job back home, so things have already started to fall into place. We have plenty to sort out with our move coming up in less than a month... Corey's finishing grad school this week, my in-laws arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow and I'm off to Italy next week. It's going to be a crazy few weeks, but I'm excited to soak up every last second here.

As we deal with our mixed emotions of leaving Amsterdam, we are also getting really excited to return to Portland. To get us a bit more excited, we put together a quick sumer bucket list. It's a work in progress, but so far it's looking like it's going to be one super fun summer in the Pacific Northwest! If you're familiar with the area, I'd love to know... What would you add to the list?

{1} We're planning a weekend at the Allison Inn & Spa to celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary in August! It looks incredible and I'm so excited for a weekend of pampering in Oregon wine country!

{2} A trip to the Oregon Coast - always a summer must!

{3} A trip to the Portland Art Museum. We haven't been in ages and all our museum trips in Europe inspired us to plan a trip to our local art museum.

{4} Go to a Portland Timbers game (our local soccer team) - there's that European influence again!

{5} Go to the Organic Brewers Fest. We went a couple years ago and had so much fun, we're looking forward to going again!

{6} Visit Smith Rock State Park. We want to expand our horizons and see new places in Oregon - we're both natives and have never been to this beautiful state park.

{7} A vist to David Hill Winery - the place we said "I do"

{8} Go to the Portland State University Farmers Market. A favorite summer weekend activity!

{9} We want to try at least 5 new restaurants in Portland. A lot of great new places have opened in the last two years and we're excited to give them a try!

{10} Attend an Oregon Zoo Summer Concert. The perfect way to enjoy a beautiful summer night.

{11} Go to Hood River - maybe go for a hike, definitely visit Double Mountain Brewery - who happen to make one of our favorite IPAs :)

{12} Participate in the Color Run on September 7th in Portland. I've heard so many fun stories about these runs around the U.S. and can't wait to finally participate in one!

Do you have a summer bucket list? I'd love to see it! Maybe I'd get some good ideas from it :)

{image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 {me}, 6, 7 {me}, 8 {me}, 9, 10, 11, 12}

{South Africa Day Seven}

2013-05-02T07:49:00.001-07:00

Two days in a row! Look at me! hehehe

So, back to the South Africa posts... Our seventh day in South Arica was a fun one! We started our morning with coffee from Deluxe Coffeeworks. If you're into good coffee (we're Portlanders, so you know we are...) then you must stop here if you're ever in Franschhoek. We strolled the adorable downtown (which is basically just one long street) and then headed out for a day of wine tasting. We visited La Motte, Tokara (this one ended up being our favorite), Thelema and La Petite Ferme. There are obviously so many wineries to visit and there were many on our list that we missed, but we loved all the places we went - great wine and amazing views. Couldn't complain!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{Birthday Weekend in San Sebastian}

2013-05-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

First off, hello! Long time no... blog? This weekend, a good friend of mine asked me if I stopped blogging. I took a quick glance at my blog and realized why. No updates in 20 days, and spam comments running rampant on all my recent posts. Oy vey! The good news is, no, I haven't stopped blogging - not intentionally anyways. Life has just been really nuts these days (although it feels like this is just status quo now...) with work and visitors and weekends away. I've been too busy living life to blog about life, which I guess is a good thing! But the truth is, I really and truly miss blogging and I hope to get back to posting more regularly soon...

I have so many posts to catch up on, but for now I just wanted to share some iphone snaps from our awesome time in San Sebastian this past weekend. We were there for my birthday and it was so incredibly special, fun and delicious (because we stuffed ourselves silly with pinxtos and rioja!).

P.S. For those of you who've asked about what iPhone apps I use to edit my photos - I primarily use Camera+ and Instagram, but for the photos below I used a new-to-me app that is quickly become my favorite called PicTapGo. I highly recommend it! Hope this is helpful :)

{South Africa: Days Five & Six}

2013-04-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

Hello, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? Well, the good news is I wasn't eaten by a lion :)

We got back from our safari 8 days ago. I can't believe we've already been back so long.

I want to continue on with a couple short posts giving a general overview of each day of our stay in SA, then I'll do some more detailed posts on where we stayed, our itinerary, restaurant suggestions, the whole deal. I've already gotten several requests for a detailed itinerary to follow, so I will definitely be working on that!!

On our fifth day in Cape Town we finally got to take things a little slower. We slept in a bit and then made our way up to Table Mountain. We booked our tickets on the gondola ahead of time as we've heard the lines can get pretty long. Luckily there weren't any lines at all! Cape Town is just full of amazing views. We didn't think we'd be up at the top of the mountain long, but of course we ended up taking our time walking around and enjoying the scenery. It was a warm and beautiful day!

Later that day we ventured over to Camp's Bay - the more "posh" beachside area in Cape Town. We strolled along the beach as we got lost trying to find our restaurant and wished we would have come down earlier and spent the day soaking up the sun (took note for next time!). We ended up getting appetizers and cocktails and watching the sunset at The Bungalow. I must admit, while it was a nice experience, it wasn't really our scene. One of our friends had told us it was very "South of France", but I would have gone further to say it was more Miami. I felt a little out of place, but it wasn't anything a couple drinks couldn't fix :) We ended up seeing a beautiful sunset and having tons of fun.

On our sixth day in Cape Town we checked out of our amazing hotel (can't wait to tell you more about it!), and drove an hour outside of the city to wine country! We didn't even make time to drop our bags at our guest house as we had lunch reservations we could not be late for! Going into this trip we actually had a lot of recommendations. A meal at Maison was at the top of our friend's list, so we booked weeks in advance to make sure we wouldn't miss out. The second we stepped in we understood why they had said it was their favorite meal of their entire trip. Everything was flawless. The decor, the service, the food, the wine, the grounds. My my my. We ended up spending a good 3+ hours there just making ourselves at home and contemplating never leaving (maybe they wouldn't find us if we hid in their awesome bathrooms?). It was an afternoon to remember. There will definitely be more to come on this place!

After checking into our cute little guest house in Franschhoek we made our way to Dieu Donne Vineyards to enjoy the view (and a glass of wine of course). I wish my camera could have captured the insane beauty of the landscape. It literally took my breath away. We were so excited to be in wine country and couldn't wait for a full day of tasting the following day!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{Quick Update}

2013-03-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

Oops! Well, I made it for four days of travel updates and then we lost our wifi connection for a couple days and it's been a whirlwind since then!

Just wanted to check in before we fly up to Kruger National Park for our safari tomorrow, where I'm fairly certain we won't have wifi access (how will I ever survive?! joking. kind of.).

If you're missing me like crazy, you can always check out my Instagram, where I've been keeping up on posting. We even took Bri's advice and created a hashtag for our trip photos (#DenfeldsinSA). You can check those out here!

Thanks for all your great comments on the South Africa posts so far. It's a truly incredible country and we are having the time of our lives!

Excited to post more photos soon, but those will have to wait until we return to Amsterdam!

Hope everyone has a happy Easter weekend!

{Photo taken at the Knysna Elephant Park}

{South Africa Day Four}

2013-03-21T03:21:00.003-07:00

Our fourth day in Cape Town was adventure-filled!

We started the day with a drive to Simon's Town to see the penguins on the beach.

Did you know you could see hundreds of penguins on a beach in South Africa? Incredible! If you go to Boulder's Beach you can actually stroll in the sand and get right up close to them - as in, inches away!

The penguins are just the sweetest things and they didn't seem to mind the people around. There are very strict rules that you don't touch them or torment them in any way, so they seemed super happy to just be lounging in the sun.

I really wanted to take one home, but apparently that's really against the rules. Too bad.

After Simon's Town we drove down the coast a little bit to Kalk Bay. It's a tiny little beach town with not much to it, but our hotel recommended the Harbour House for lunch. We dined on another giant platter of sushi and took in a gorgeous view.

We barely had time to catch our breath before we went back to the hotel and changed into hiking clothes. We had heard that a sunset hike up Lion's Head was a must, but we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into! This isn't like the hikes we know and love at home. There were several times we were convinced the hike was over because we couldn't see a trail. Well, that's because you had to climb rocks and basically scale the mountain to get to the top. It was intense.

But as you can see, the view at the top was totally worth it.

Quick story on that photo of me standing on the rock with the city below. Corey really didn't want me to get on that rock. But I couldn't resist the amazing photo opportunity. So after 10 minutes of back-and-forth (me insisting it would be fine, Corey insisting I stay right where I was), I got on the rock :) I'd say the photo was worth the risk, right?

We ended this long, fun and exhausting day with an awesome casual dinner at the Royale Eatery (they specialize in burgers and Corey said his rivaled any burger he'd ever had in the States. Score!). Oh, and they also specialize in milkshakes. We shared an out-of-this-world banana and peanut butter milkshake. Hey, I had just scaled a mountain, I deserved it!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{South Africa Day Three}

2013-03-20T14:08:00.002-07:00

On our third day in Cape Town we woke up bright and early for our tour to Robben Island. We’d heard from many people that we should book this tour in advance, so we always knew Tuesday would be Robben Island day. As you can imagine it was fascinating and powerful. We learned so much and all of our guides were spectacular. If you’re ever in Cape Town I highly recommend you do this!

After our tour we ate sushi for lunch at Willoughby’s. It’s this sort of strange restaurant in the indoor mall at the V&A Waterfront. Not the kind of place I would’ve picked if I was just strolling by, but we got it as a recommendation from an instagramer so we went for it. And I am so glad we did. The last time I ate sushi was 5 months ago, so I was seriously overdue. I was a happy girl!

After sushi we made our way to Kirstenbosch Gardens. We didn’t get to see much of it when we went for the concert on Sunday night, so we knew we wanted to return. We got there too late for any of the tours (but we hear the shuttle tour is great!), so we just spent time strolling around on our own. It ended up being perfect because we were there during golden hour (photographers you know what I mean), so I was in heaven. The gardens are so breathtakingly beautiful, I kept saying “oh my gosh can you believe this?” “Holy crap this is so incredible!”. It’s another must-see in Cape Town.

We ended our night with a super romantic dinner at Fork – another great recommendation from a blog reader (you guys are keeping me well-fed!).

P.S. I'm not sure what's going on with the size of the fonts and I'm way too tired to figure out how to fix it, so sorry about that! :)

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{South Africa Day Two}

2013-03-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after 12 hours of sleep, we woke up to rain in Cape Town.

We surprisingly weren't that bummed. We just took it as an excuse to really slow down, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and French press coffee at our hotel and get settled into vacation mode.

We had originally planned to hike Table Mountain, but since it had rained that morning conditions wouldn't be great, so we changed plans and decided to drive to Cape Point instead.

What could take you around two hours to drive ends up taking an entire day because the scenery is so breathtaking you just keep stopping to take photos (and this is typical - not just because I'm photo crazy!).

We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into when we left the hotel, which is why I hiked in hot pink pants and floral boat shoes :) But hey, I made it work!

It turned out to be an incredible sunny day with some of the most stunning scenery we've ever laid eyes on!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{South Africa Day One}

2013-03-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Cape Town today!

After an 11 hour overnight flight and driving on the wrong (to us) side of the road, we made it to our hotel!

We had just enough time to shower and freshen up before heading out for the afternoon for a summer concert at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

I am so glad we booked this in advance and made it work with our schedule because it was so much fun. South Africans really know how to dance and have a good time!

Despite being really tired from sleeping on a plane and still not feeling 100% myself after my illness last week, we still managed to have an awesome and memorable first day in Cape Town.

But just to keep it real - we are ending it with cereal in our hotel room and an early bedtime. Need to catch up on our sleep so we're well-rested for the upcoming adventures :)

{Happy Friday + Meet Jenna!}

2013-03-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Happy, happy Friday!!!

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't blogged since last Friday.
Well, Tuesday I got really sick with the stomach flu or food poisoning or something that had me completely bed-ridden and miserable.

That put me out of commission until Thursday.

Thursday was an insane day at work because it was my last day in the office before our two week trip to South Africa (!!!).

And right now, as you read this, I am in London for the day.

So needless to say, it has been a craaazzzyyyy week and I have many things on my to-do list that have yet to get done.

But alas, tomorrow we're off to Africa. A place I honestly never even dreamed of going. It just seemed so far away. We couldn't be more excited!

Everything we've read and heard about South Africa is that it's the most incredible place in the world.

As I was packing I realized that I completely forgot how to prepare for big trips like this - it's our first vacation over a week since our honeymoon in 2010!

I have a feeling I didn't do a very good job packing for all our activities, but only time will tell :)

I have this crazy idea that I'm going to blog a photo and a travel memory each day(ish). While we're gone. Knowing me, I can't be sure this will actually happen. But I'm putting it out there because I want it to happen. I think it'd be really awesome to look back on, and I also think it would be fun to keep you guys updated on what we're up to. It may be a photo from my camera or just one from my phone (but I promise it won't be one I already instagramed). So, wish me luck with that!

And last, but certainly not least I want to introduce you to another sponsor! It's particularly awesome and coincidental that I'm introducing you to Jenna from A Home Away From Home this week because she just so happens to live in South Africa!! In my opinion she puts my blog to shame as she posts about all her incredible and unique travels through Africa. She got engaged to the love of her life last summer and is planning on getting married in South Africa this December! You should really head over and check out her exciting life. I have a feeling she'll become a new daily read for those of you that don't already know her! A little more about Jenna below (in her own words!).

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Hello Explore.Dream.Discover readers! My name is Jenna and I blog over at A Home Away From Home about my life as an American ex-pat living in South Africa. South Africa started out as a semester study abroad experience for me, but after I met and fell in love with a local I just sort of never left, and still find myself here five years later! Most of my posts are about our adventures in and around Johannesburg, but you'll also find plenty of travel, ex-pat, and recipe posts thrown in for good measure. And... in the most recent turn of events Jurgen proposed {!!!}, so you can bet that a quite a few wedding-related posts will also be making their way into the mix soon :) I hope you'll stop by and say hello!

{Happy Friday + Meet Emily!}

2013-03-08T08:14:00.001-08:00

Happiest of Fridays everyone!!! We’ve been out of town the last two weekends, so I am feeling super thankful for a weekend in Amsterdam. I am taking a French macaron baking class with some girls on Saturday and other than that will be packing and preparing for our big trip to South Africa (we leave in 8 days!!). Even though we booked this vacation three months ago I feel like it totally snuck up on us and I have a million and one things to do before we leave!!

Today I also have another lovely sponsor for you to meet! Emily, the author behind Hopeful Wandering, is an adorable girl who is living out a bit of a fairytale romance. She’s an American and she is dating a cutie British fellow! And get this, they met through being pen pals!! How awesome is that? She writes a lot about their relationship (including hilarious conversations in which you realize that American English and UK English are very different) and about her time studying abroad in Paris last Spring. Head on over and check her out!!

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Hey y'all!! My name is Emily and Hopeful Wandering is my blog. I'm 22, finishing up my Business Degree in College, and trying to figure out a way to get back to Europe. So far so good though as I currently have an opportunity to be a grad assistant next spring in Paris, and i happen to be in a little LDR with a guy named Tom, he's from England. My blog discusses everything from the silly Skype conversations i have with Tom to all of the shenanigans i got into while studying abroad over in Paris last spring. There's just a lot going on which has been fabulous and crazy all at the same time!! So I hope you'll head over to myblog, check it out...stay a while...you know the drill ;)

{Five Things About Moi}

2013-03-07T11:28:00.001-08:00

I've seen this circling around Instagram and blogs and thought I'd join in - why not?

I'm tagging all of you next! Leave a link in the comments if you've done this - it's always fun to learn more about my readers!

<<1>>

I hate being cold with a fiery passion and rain annoys the crap out of me. I feel like a totally different person when the sun comes out- my happiness level spikes! Don’t ask me how I’ve survived my entire life living in Portland and Amsterdam (two very grey and rainy cities). My sisters (who both live in LA) are constantly trying to convince me to move to California. Of course I’m tempted, but I know I’d never be able to go back to Portland after being spoiled with so much sunshine, so for now I just get my dose of sun on tropical vacations!

<<2>>

At one point in my life I truly felt like I had no “passions” – like, whenever someone would say “follow your passion”, “follow your wildest dreams” – I felt like I didn’t have either of those. Now, totallyyyy different story. Every day I find a new hobby or interest that I feel is calling my name: photography, calligraphy (sure I’ve never picked up a pen, but I’m dying to learn!), interior design, cooking, baking, videography, event planning, you name it!

<<3>>

Super random… But I can drive a stick shift! I think this is cool because most of my friends (and Corey!) can’t. While I find this useful, I also hate being the only one out of me and Corey who can drive manual because it has caused me to have to drive in crazy European cities (like Paris) and I would much prefer to leave those shenanigans to the huz. We’re off the Cape Town in less than two weeks and we will be driving a lot (on the wrong side of the road!) and we paid almost double to get an automatic so Corey could take the wheel :)

<<4>>

I’m stubborn as a bull. Makes sense because I’m a Taurus! One of the biggest things my marriage has taught me is how to say I’m sorry, and admit when I’m wrong. This has been extremely hard for me to do in the past, but Corey is probably the least stubborn person in the world and the first to apologize (even when it’s not his fault!). I’ve learned so much from him and feel so lucky to have him as my life partner. I’m a better Liz thanks to that guy!

<<5>>

I do too much. My mom will attest to this time and time again. I try to do it all. I succeed many times, but those few times where I break down because I’ve put way too much pressure on myself and overplanned my schedule…It ain’t pretty.

Now it's your turn! Five things about you... Go!

{Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Graham!}

2013-03-05T05:39:00.000-08:00

Our weekend in Scotland was absolutely perfect.

Megan and Stephen tied the knot on a rare + gorgeous sunny day in Glasgow.

We then wined and dined and celebrated the happy couple at the ridiculously amazing Cameron House in Loch Lomond.

It was an incredibly beautiful day that honored an incredibly beautiful couple.

Keep an eye out for wedding photos and recaps over on Megan's blog.

Once she's finished recapping I'll post some photos over here too!

Thanks again to the Grahams for letting us be a part of their special day - and an even bigger thanks for trusting me enough to photograph this momentous occasion. I truly hope I did your wedding justice - it was pure perfection!

Love you guys and congrats again!

{Photo © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{Scotland Here We Come + Meet Danica}

2013-03-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

Well, we're off again! This time we're heading to....

But not just that...

We're going for a very special occasion...

Megan + Stephen are tying the knot!!!

Corey + I are so excited to be there for this huge moment in their lives.

And even better - Sophie will be joining in on the celebration, so I finally get to meet her! Hooray!

We'll be instagramming the weekend away, no doubt. So feel free to follow along if you'd like:

@LizDenfeld

@meganacrosspond

@sophlear

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I'd also love to introduce you to a darling new sponsor! Danica from GoodHeart is a sweet girl who writes her blog from our old hometown of Portland, so I'm always longingly reading her posts missing home! She's super sweet, posts fun outfits (this one would be perfect in Amsterdam) and inspiring quotes. Find out more about Danica below and then hop on over and to her blog and you’re sure to find a new daily read!

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Hi everyone! I'm Danica and I blog over on Goodheart . I'm a recently turned 24 year old (as of February 27th!) Texas girl, who decided to move to Liz's hometown, Portland, Oregon. It's now been almost two years since I moved, and I'm loving it! Thessaloniki, Greece is possibly my favorite place in the world, I'm a big fan of cold weather, and I love chai tea lattes. My blog is all about fashion, travel, photography, and other things I find inspiring. Come on over and say hi!

{Scotland photo by Megan}

{Weekend in Bruges}

2013-02-25T10:10:00.001-08:00

Goodness, is it Monday already? This weekend flew by!

We had tons of fun on our quick weekend in Bruges – despite the fact that it was absolutely frigid (we woke up to snowy rooftops on Sunday morning!!). Here are a few {iPhone} highlights from our weekend getaway! More to come...

{Happy Friday + Meet Bri!}

2013-02-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

Happy, happy Friday!!

What. A. Week! Phew! I'm feeling super drained after a long week and I'm so happy tonight I get to just lay low, have some comfort food for dinner {gnocchi with mushrooms + pesto!}, share a bottle of red with my love and generally just relax.

Tomorrow morning I'm whisking Corey away to Bruges for the weekend. He has been wanting to go since I went with my sister last summer so I surprised him with a little weekend getaway. I'm excited to go back and spend the weekend eating waffles, chocolates and frites and indulging in the best Belgian beers! Hope you all have something fun planned for the weekend!

You may have noticed a cute little critter has joined the right hand side of my blog recently. I'd love for you to meet Bri from the Pink Piglet! You may have known her from her previous blog, Travel. Eat. And Repeat. Her blog has just gotten a complete facelift with a new name, new content and new focus! She posts drool-worthy salad recipes (yes, I said "drool-worthy" to describe salad!) and the cutest videos of little piglets named Chris P. Bacon. What more could you want?! Learn more about Bri and her wonderful blog below - and then hop on over there and check her out!

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Hi Everyone! I'm Bri from The Pink Piglet by Chef Bri! The Pink Piglet is my lil space where I combine my loves of food, cooking and travel. I love to travel, and I'm lucky to have married a pilot too, but sometimes home calls. So I love to cook recipes from all over the world and bring that sense of travel to my kitchen table. To me food brings out the best memories and when I travel the best memories are made, so I like to relive them in my kitchen! So join me as I cook and travel my way through life!

Cheers!

{Madrid: Around Town}

2013-02-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

When we moved to Europe we made a huge list of cities we wanted to visit while we were living abroad. The list was long. Way too long to accomplish seeing all these beautiful places in two years. We’ve put a dang good dent in those cities, but there are still many on our list. One that wasn’t on our list? Madrid.

To be honest, as an American, you hear way more about Barcelona than you do about Madrid. And I remember a year and a half ago when we researched Madrid for a quick weekend away, we realized there really weren’t any notable sites we felt like we had to see, so we scratched it off our list.

Well, then Nicole moved to Madrid and she raved about how incredible it was – even saying it was more amazing than Barcelona. I trust that girl’s opinion, so a few months after she moved Corey and I booked a quick weekend visit. I am so glad we did. Madrid isn’t about any specific sites, it’s just about being a big beautiful city packed with charm, beautiful architecture and really good Italian food (What! I know, strange, but true.). We so enjoyed our weekend in Madrid and only wished it would’ve been a teensy bit warmer (but when do we not wish that?!). Hanging out with Nicole is always such a treat! And what's not to love about having a personal city guide?! She showed us all the best parts of her new home. Here are some snaps from all around town. I hope they give you an idea of just how gorgeous Madrid is!

P.S. A few travel tips below the photos if you're looking for Madrid suggestions :)

{If you find yourself in Madrid - here are a few places we suggest you don't miss (many pictured above!): Retiro Park, Mercado de San Miguel, Chocolateria San Gines (for the most amazing churros - be prepared to wait in line), Plaza de Oriente, al fresco lunch at Cafe de Oriente, Plaza Mayor, Vertical Garden at CaixaForum followed by coffee and a treat at the Vertical Cafe, Templo de Debod, and my biggest tip of all (thanks to Nicole), dinner at Piccolo Diavolo - get the pasta with pear and ricotta. I know it sounds crazy, and we were totally skeptical, but Nicole convinced us it was the best thing she's ever eaten, and goodness was she right. We returned the next night to have that dish!}

{We stayed here. We found the location to be great, the price to be fantastic, and the place was comfortable and cute}

{High Tea}

2013-02-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

\\ high tea \\

n. Chiefly British

A fairly substantial meal that includes tea and is served in the late afternoon or early evening.

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High tea happens to be one of my favorite things about Europe. It's a concept I know exists in the U.S., but nobody really practices. But in England it's, like, a totally real thing. People really do drink that much tea and eat cute little sandwiches and a good helping of cake. Can you imagine a more wonderful way to spend an afternoon than by sipping tea out of perfect vintage china teacups, nibbling on tasty puff pastries and sandwiches, and devouring five pieces of cake? Well, that's exactly what my good friend Jeanelle and I did on New Years Eve day. It was wonderfully girly and the perfect way to catch up after both of our Swiss Christmases. Ah, we live a charmed life (when we're not getting stuck on Dutch trains and commuting 2-3 hours a day... but we'll forget about that for a second!). My goal is to make it to the Orangery in London next time we're there (who knows when that will be - but it's only a 50 minute flight, so I'd say sooner than later! Plus, I need to meet these girls when they get here!). It looks right up my alley.

Have any of you experienced high tea? Do you love it? Clearly I do ;)

P.S. Jeanelle and I had high tea at this most adorable place in The Hague - Bloem. We highly recommend it!

{Photos © Liz Denfeld Photography}

{Weekending}

2013-02-16T06:24:00.001-08:00

With a very busy travel itinerary on the horizon, we are soaking up this relaxing weekend at home in Amsterdam. This morning we slept in, spent a lazy morning laying in bed drinking coffee and reading (well, I was lazy, Corey went for a run...), and then headed out for brunch at one of our favorite spots, Le Pain Quotidien. The best part of the morning was running into our good friends Carly and Marcus (who are moving to Portland in a few weeks!) - so brunch for two turned into brunch for four, and it was just perfect!

Another plus for this wonderful Saturday is that temperatures are back above freezing (for now), so I took advantage and left my big black puffer at home and wore my favorite leather jacket instead. Paired with a cozy sweater and my wedge sneakers, it was the perfect match for a put-together yet casual weekend look, if I do say so myself! What do you think about wedged sneakers? Would you wear them? They're all the rage here in Europe!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

{Leather Jacket: Mom, Sweater: Zara, Scarf: Urban Outfitters (old), Skinny Jeans: Paige Premium Denim, Wedge Sneakers: Nike, Hat: Tie Rack}

{Madrid: Retiro Park}

2013-02-13T12:02:00.001-08:00

We started our first morning in Madrid with a run through Retiro Park. Clearly I had to go back so I could take pictures. It was pretty quiet in the earlier hours of the morning when we were running, but once we returned later that day it was packed with runners, roller bladers, dogs, strollers, you name it. It was chilly out, but the sun was shining, and everyone was out enjoying it. We even saw an adorable impromptu puppet show being watched by a huge crowd of kids - it was the most darling thing ever! We've noticed that almost every major European city we've visited has a massive city park (or two or three or four) right smack dab in the city center - something you don't find much outside of New York City's Central Park. Visiting all these parks has become one of our favorite things to do on weekend getaways.

{Snow Day!}

2013-02-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

Well, remember last week when I said "Hopefully I won’t have anymore snow photos to share with you anytime soon"... I clearly spoke to soon because Sunday morning we woke up to a beautiful blanket of fresh white powder! But seeing as it was Sunday and I didn't have anywhere to be (more specifically, a train to be on headed towards the office...) I was giddy with excitement. I practically jumped out of bed, threw on 17 layers of clothes and took off for a snowy morning walk with my boys. It was early enough that most of the city was still sleeping, so we had the fresh snow all to ourselves. I loved every minute of it! Now that it's back to work for the week I am back to hoping it doesn't snow again... At least until the weekend :)

{Saturday Breakfast: Baked Eggs}

2013-02-09T05:45:00.000-08:00

A couple months back I tried baked eggs - or eggs en cocotte as they are often called - for the first time.

They were so delicious. Simple, tasty and comforting.

I figured they couldn't be too hard to make, I was just missing the right bake ware (I didn't own one ramekin).

After picking up a large shallow ramekin a couple weeks back I finally got around to making baked eggs for breakfast this morning.

And folks, they were so good and so easy to make I just had to share the recipe with you all!

The first thing to know is you can add anything you want into this dish - make it your own! A lot of the recipes I read called for bacon, but I don't eat pork, so I substituted some sliced smoked chicken breast instead. It tasted incredible! Many recipes also called for parsley, but I'm not a fan, so I used basil instead -- fantastic choice if I do say so myself.

Below you'll find a recipe for my version of baked eggs - but you can modify it however you'd like.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 large leaf of kale, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

2 large leaves of fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup grated gruyere + a little more for topping

2 slices deli roasted chicken breast - diced into squares

6 eggs (we have quite a large "ramekin")

A dash of half and half

salt + pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Butter your ramekin(s)

2. Add chicken to each

3. Crack eggs into ramekins, being careful not to break the yolks

3. Mix together your chopped kale, green onions, basil and grated gruyere

4. Top the eggs with the mixture

5. Add a dash of half and half into the ramekin

6. Top with salt and pepper

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes (you'll know it's done when the center is still a little jiggly {pick it up and jiggle it}, and the outside is firm)

8. Top with a little extra gruyere

9. Eat up with a piece of buttered whole grain toast - YUMMY!

Happy Saturday everyone!!

{Happy Weekend!}

2013-02-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday, everyone! As usual, I am glad the weekend has arrived!

After two weekends of travel in a row – London, then, Madrid – I

couldn’t be happier to spend a relaxing weekend at home in Amsterdam.

We don’t have much on the agenda and that’s just the way I like it!

I wanted to thank you so much for all your comments on yesterday’s

post! It’s great to see that I’m not the only one totally impressed

by my awesome Mom :) A lot of you asked if she has an online shop, or

where you can buy her creations. At the moment she just makes custom

clothing for private clients in Portland, OR. If that were to ever change – you all would be the first to know! Thanks again for all the kind words!

Lastly, I’d love you to all meet Explore.Dream.Discover’s newest sponsor – Casey, from True Colours! I’m thinking if you like reading my blog, you’ll love hers. She’s a traveling girl currently based in Portland, OR (our old home sweet home!). She has a super interesting life story and gives tons of great travel advice – read on below to learn more about her, and hop on over to her blog to check her out!

------

I'm Casey from True Colours and like Liz, call myself a Portlander. Although Portland is my base now, I grew up as an expat kid in Saudi Arabia and fell in love with the traveling lifestyle. Since then, I've lived all over, including a brief stint in Hawaii. I've always loved the inspiration of other cultures and the draw of a plane headed somewhere far away. I count Paris as my favorite place in the world, love cupcakes and have a soft spot in my heart for anything Arab. My blog is a journal of my adventures around the world with as much traveling as my husband and I can possibly do! My blog follows our travels and my thoughts all over this lovely planet. Come check out where we're headed next!

If you're interest in sponsoring Explore.Dream.Discover shoot me an email at exploredreamdiscoverblog {at} gmail.com

{Made by Mama}

2013-02-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know that my Mom is a talented designer. I'm lucky that her favorite clients happen to be my sisters and me. She has designed and made me countless things throughout my life - including almost every single one of my high school dance dresses and the most important dress of all, my wedding dress! I've never taken the time to showcase the things she's made me in one place before, but today while reminiscing on some photos I felt compelled to do just that. This is a tiny fraction of the things she's crafted for me. I look at these photos and feel so much pride for my talented Mama. She is so creative, inspiring and gracious. I miss her so much every day and getting to wear her creations certainly makes me feel closer to her when I'm so far from home!

I hope you enjoy this peek at a few of the beautiful clothes she's made me in recent years!

{My Wedding Dress!!!}

{My Other Wedding Dress - yeah, she made me two - LUCKY!}

{Leather Jacket}

{Dress}

{Striped Skirt}

{Color Block Dress}

{Polka Dot Dress}

{Yellow Bridesmaid Dress}

{Jacket/Blazer}

{Maxi Skirt}

I LOVE MY MAMA!

{P.S. She made her entire outfit except her scarf in the photo below :) }

{Winter Weather}

2013-02-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I finished reading Luisa Weiss’s “My BerlinKitchen”. I loved the book for so many reasons – for inspiring me to cook more, for making me long for a trip to Paris, New York, Berlin and Italy, but most of all for how much I could relate to her writing. One passage in the entire book really stuck with me, as I happen to be in the middle of one of these merciless winters she writes of – just not in Berlin, but in Amsterdam instead.

It's not that it’s particularly cold here – although for me it is! – but it’s more that the sun rarely shines. The darkness feels never-ending, waking up in pitch black, leaving the office in pitch-black. And don’t even get me started on how one single snowflake sends the Dutch train system into a tizzy. There will barely be a dusting on the ground and trains get canceled left and right, leaving us stranded in the cold. Winters in Amsterdam are bleak and I feel like I’m on the verge of a meltdown – I need some sun, stat!

Truth be told – Holland is stunning in the snow. And even though I am already tired of it and hoping it doesn’t make any more appearances this winter, I am trying to focus on that beauty instead of the annoyance it causes. Here are a few iPhone photos from this winter in Amsterdam so far. Hopefully I won’t have anymore snow photos to share with you anytime soon ;)