Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
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Food and Life

Grand Cayman Islands – Stop #4 – NOT!

February 10, 2006 · Narrative

The stop that wasn’t, but Clare from Eat Stuff wins the cookbook this time for correctly guessing where we SHOULD have been today.

Last night, from dinner time on, the seas were really quite rocky and some of the crew were a little concerned because we weren’t docking right at the pier. We would be docking a little bit out (they call it tendering) and then we have to get a little ferry boat to bring us to shore. Because of the seas being so rocky, they were worried about the ferry boat usage. Well, bad turned to worse. We should have been waking up to us arriving in the Cayman Islands; instead we awoke to an announcement from the Captain saying that they had closed the port about 20 minutes prior to our arrival because the swells were so high, and due to safety reasons, we couldn’t stop there.

I feel really bad for the crew, because they were definitely scrambling today, besides trying to figure out where to route the ship to, they also had to figure out what to do with a ship full of unexpected people, since we would have been off the ship touring the Cayman Islands. The Captain said that he was trying to get us back to Key West. You know it’s never good when you see all the stateroom attendants standing in the hallway, holding their heads with that certain expression. It’s like if your plane is going down, you kinda want your flight attendant to keep a cool head, you know? ;) I don’t think they were overly concerned about safety, more so then that their schedules were a little out of whack with the uncertainty.

An hour later, the Captain comes on and says that after lots of phone calls, he managed to get us space back at Key West, so we’re heading back there today, and spent all day at sea. The other problem is that there are ships already there, so although we’ll actually arrive there around 11 am tomorrow, we can’t pull into the pier, dock and get off until 4 hours later. Geesh. One day at sea (which was actually scheduled for tomorrow) is one thing, but keeping the kids now cooped up on the ship for nearly 2 days is another.

OK, for the food report, since we didn’t get off the ship, nothing regional to report. One of the dessert selections at lunch time was a really delicious Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Tart. So yummy, I had two. Supplemented, of course, by fruit to balance it out. One of the great things about the ship is they have the most amazingly fresh fruit anywhere, available all the time. They go through 300 pounds of fresh pinepple a day – I believe it.

For dinner, The Husband had Citrus Cured Smoked Salmon Appetizer, which he liked, and I had Wild Mushrooms in Puff Pastry. It was very good, although the mushrooms tasted suspiciously unwild. We both chose the Aged Prime Rib for a main course, and Nicholas had his prerequisite Chicken Fingers. Two nights ago, one of the bread selections was a banana bread that both kids went wild for. Last night, unfortunately, they didn’t have it, but once our Head Waiter saw their disappointment, she promised them some tonight, and she delivered. Good thing, since as soon as we reached the dining room, Nicholas was anxiously scanning the dining room for “the lady in the red jacket” for the banana bread. They got a whole plate full and it’s all gone already. I had a bite … and we’re going to have to work on his palate again. The one I make from Nigella is SO much better. But, he’s happy, I’m happy.

Tonight is the Grand Buffet, and those that read our last cruise review back in November will remember what a big deal it is. It takes the crew 200 hours to prepare for it, and they open it at 11:45 pm first for a viewing, then reopen a half hour later for actual eating. I wasn’t sure I could stay awake that long, so I sent The Neighbor Husband with the camera to do some intrepid reporting for you guys. I ended up heading down there, and am glad I did. They had a divine Chocolate Truffle Cake that was worth staying awake for.

All for now … tune in tomorrow for pictures.

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Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. Elise says

    February 10, 2006 at 4:44 pm

    I went on a cruise over the summer that was supposed to head to Bermuda… but instead we went to Canada! Still had a great time though, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to do. I recommend bingo :)

    Reply
  2. Cate says

    February 13, 2006 at 4:54 am

    Canada is definitely a different animal than Bermuda. I don’t mind Bingo, but it’s so expensive to join in, and not so much fun for the kids. ;) We still had a good time nonetheless.

    Reply
  3. James Baker says

    February 16, 2006 at 2:20 pm

    Hi Friend! I liked your blog!Pictures fantastic!
    If you have a moment, please visit my site:
    pet supplies
    Best success to you! :-)

    Reply
  4. FJK says

    February 16, 2006 at 7:53 pm

    Hi SN
    I’ve been to Grand Cayman and most of the really great sites are underwater — great diving and snorkeling — so if you weren’t planning to do that you missed a few nice sights, some shopping and a long wait to get back on the tender to get back to the ship.

    I know how frustrating it is to have to change stops. That happened to us on an Alaska cruise.
    Kids were ok, husband was the grumpy one.

    Kind of a reminder whose in charge — nature or man.

    Reply

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Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨

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Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and lite Always looking for sunshine, figuratively and literally. Sometimes we don’t have to look very far and it finds us. ☀️
It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasand It didn’t take much to get me to @mikespastasandwichshoppe when a friend texted me a screenshot of their cheese butter. Up until last week I had never even heard of cheese butter but just two days later, I’m driving an hour round trip to get some. 😂 I was never one to succumb to peer pressure (I didn’t have my first drink until I was 21!), but when it comes to food finds, I am very easily intrigued. After all, that’s how I’ve discovered some of my favorite bites over the years … lardo from @butlerandtheboard, a spicy Italian sausage, and my love of chicharron. If you haven’t visited Mike’s in Nutley, it’s worth a visit. While there, I also got a small tray of meatballs (a bargain at $10!) and a delicious mortadella sandwich that is worth a round trip. ✨
The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻

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