We left our hearts in Door County

This weekend we were able to sneak away from work and school for a couple of days. We wanted to get out of the city and enjoy the great outdoors, so we headed up to Door County, Wisc. It is a beautiful area on the shores of Lake Michigan. We had a great time hiking in two different state parks, visiting a winery, eating lots of good food and exploring the area. Needless to say, we didn't want to leave. We are already planning our next trip back later this summer!

A view of the sailboats from Fish Creek

Hiking at Cave Point County Park (there was a lot of fog happening...)

Driftwood on the beach

Luke resting at Old Baldy point

The cherry and apple trees at Lautenbach's Winery

P.S. -- I also got a new SLR camera last weekend, so I snapped some photos on our trip. So if you notice that the quality of my photos has improved significantly - it's the camera, not the photographer :)

Mango Black Bean Salad Recipe

Today, I made a fabulous summer salad. It's full of delicious summertime ingredients. I can't take credit for it - I got it of the Nate Berkus show website. I cut all of the ingredients in half, except for the mango. So if you are going to make a full recipe, I would suggest using two mangoes instead of one. Enjoy!

Black Bean-Mango Salad 
(Serves 4)


Ingredients
:

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced


½ cup fat-free or low-cal Italian dressing

Two 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed 


½ cup chopped red onions


1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped


1 small red pepper, seeded and chopped


Salt and pepper, to taste


In a food processor or blender, take ¼ cup of the mango with the Italian dressing until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the remaining mango with the beans, red onions, and peppers. To the bean mixture, add the mango puree. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and chill until ready to serve.

Congrats Mrs. Flanders!

Last weekend one of my very best friends got married. We have been friends since sophomore year of high school and she is undoubtedly, one of the best people I know. I was so honored to be a part of the wedding and really couldn't imagine a better fit for her than her new husband, Travis.

The weekend was full of fun and dancing - and even trolley rides through Minneapolis! So congrats to the Flanders - we couldn't be happier for you!

I Interviewed an Astronaut

Well, the title says it all. Indeed, I interviewed an astronaut the other week. And it was AWESOME.

I've been working a lot with the Adler Planetarium on my stories, so one afternoon they called me to ask if I wanted to come to an event that afternoon. Astronaut Pamela Melroy was giving a talk to young girls who had expressed an interest in the sciences. Of course I said "yes!" However, the only problem was that the talk started in five minutes!

So my editor (who would tell you that if she wasn't a journalist, she would be an astronaut) told me to jump in a cab and get down to the Planetarium - pronto! The whole time I was thinking to myself, "Now THIS is breaking news!" Traffic was heavy for a Wednesday afternoon and when we got about a mile from the Planetarium, the cab driver said that he couldn't get me any farther and that I should just get out and take the trail the rest of the way.

When I jumped out in the middle of the street, I asked the traffic director what was going on. And he looks at me like I'm a little bit uninformed and says, "We've got the President in town!" Apparently I missed the memo that the President and the First Lady were making an appearance on Oprah that day. It's always something, right?

So, I start running toward the Planetarium (in the rain, mind you) and all of a sudden I start to hear a helicopter... right above my head. You got it - the President and First Lady were taking off from a parking lot right next to me and heading to O'Hare where Air Force One was waiting.

But I had no time for chasing the President's helicopter, so I kept running through the rain and made it to the Planetarium only slightly late. And THEN I got to interview an astronaut.

Check out the link to the story: Inspiring girls to become new era astronauts

Behold: The Cinnamon Roll

Luke and I went out for breakfast the other day. Ann Sather in Chicago has the BEST and BIGGEST cinnamon rolls ever (see below). And you get them with most of their breakfast items... as a starter. Needless to say, we were full for the rest of the day!

So if any of you are thinking of visiting soon - let this entice you!

Luke is serious about his cinnamon rolls :)

Cait's California Adventure!

One of the perks of being a journalist is that you have to familiarize yourself with different subjects and professions. So, for my health and science reporting class, we got a week off to immerse ourselves in an area of heatlh or science. So, I decided to make the most of my trip and traveled to Loma Linda, California where I shadowed my friend Katie who is a nurse on the pediatric cardiac ICU floor at the Loma Linda Children's Hopsital. I learned so much about what nurses do and how important they are to the survival of these little kiddos.

And of course, we found lots of time to fit in some fun :)

Fun at DISNEYLAND!! We even convinced our friend Meg from college to come with us.

Katie and me at dinner

Riding space mountain! There was a lot of screaming going on...

Meg and I on the Toy Story ride.

Waiting for the World of Color show!

And maybe the best surprise of all was finding out that Bethany was visiting Kristen in LA! So we met up with them and my best friend Miyong, who also lives there.

And we just HAD to get frozen yogurt :)

Love my best friend!!

Welcome Trader Joe's!

Last night Luke and I made our first (much-anticipated) trip to the new Trader Joe's down the street. It's only a five minute walk from our apartment and we are BEYOND excited about it. It opened on Friday morning and by Sunday night, the shelves were practically empty. I guess we weren't the only ones excied about their arrival!

My shopping partner!

Say Cheese!

I got my hands on the only picture of both Luke and I from the wedding weekend in Seattle, so I thought I'd share!

Thank you to the Papes for being better than us at documenting special occasions :)