(Our First Days in Edinburgh)

Day 4 – Isle of Skye – Scotland

Our first stop was in the sweet, small harbor town of Portree. We used it as a home base, staying at the Portree Hotel in the center of town. We drove out to nearby sites including, the Old Man of Storr, The Fairy Pools, and the Fairy Glenn.

We went to the elusive Old Man of Storr in the Trotternish peninsula. We hiked for about two hours into the mountains hoping to see the natural formed stones. Patience was key because for most of our hike the stones were covered by a think mist. After exploring and testing our new drone, the Old man finally revealed himself, but only for a few moments.

Next we made our way to Mealt Falls and Kilt Rock which stands at 90 meters allowing for a magnificent view of the north-eastern cost of the Isle of Skye. Kilt Rock is made of dolerite Jurassic strata rock, that’s right this part of Staffin hosts the most impressive collection of Scottish dinosaur remains found along this coast!

Day 5 – Isle of Skye – Scotland

Our second day in the Isle of Skye, we took an early morning boat ride on Stardust Boat tours in hopes of seeing some native wildlife.

We made our way out around the Raasay Sound in search of golden eagles and seals. Even with a long lens it is challenging to see golden eagles because they blended in so well with the scenery.

The natural waterfall known as the Fairy Pools boasts vivid blues and greens and are the habitat of a variety of animals. When we were hiking the tourist friendly trail we spotted two golden eagles mating in the sky. 

Continuing our search for mysterious fairies, Juliette drove to the small hamlet of Uig. There, just outside the little harbor town is the magical Fairy Glenn. A landslip in miniature and a winding road leads visitors to a breathtaking view of rolling hills.

Day 6 – Isle of Harris & Lewis – Scotland

One of our favorite places to visit on our Scotland trip was the Isle of Harris and Lewis. We drank gin, made friends with the locals and honored Scotts of the past by visiting the ancient standing stones.  Ferry goers are met by the distillery when they roll into the port.

We took a lovely ferry ride (Juliette’s new favorite thing!) and enjoyed beautiful ocean views. The Harris Gin Distillery was right next to the ferry so even though it was early in the morning we went ahead and visited and tried some delicious G&Ts!

Driving around the island was breathtaking. We rarely saw other people as we made our way along the countryside. Juliette was on a mission to see the neolithic Calanais standing stones made famous by the show Outlander.  Be careful not to touch the center stone because you will likely travel back in time. Travellers will find other stone monuments commemorating various clans, mountain climbers and Jacobites throughout the Isle of Lewis.

The Calanais stones were a focus for ritual activity during the Bronze Age and now make a great place for selfies!

The Stones create a circle pattern of thirteen stones with a monolith near the middle. Five rows of standing stones connect to this circle. Two long rows of stones running almost parallel to each other from the stone circle to the north-northeast form a kind of walkway.

There are shorter grouping of stones to the west-southwest, known as Cnoc Fhillibhir Bhig (aka Callanish III) that we visited.  We were greeted by a herd of cows that were tending their calves.

All of the stones are all the same rock type, most likely from the same quarry. Over the years the site was used as a burial site, then in the bronze age it may have been used for farming. Others believe that the stones hold power and that they are monuments used for rituals therefore they hold a special significant to the locals.

Our Scotland trip be continued in an upcoming part III.

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Day 1 – Edinburgh – Scotland

On our first day in Scotland we landed safely at the airport and made our way into town. It was challenging for Juliette to adjust her driving to the other side of the road, but she managed to get us to our guesthouse in one piece. The city of Edinburgh was full of life! We opted in and took a city bus tour on our first day to get the lay of the land. I loved weaving in and out of the streets and hearing all of the stories of Edinburgh’s past. We glimpsed beautiful stone buildings, monuments while hearing bag pipe music flowing through the air.

We arrived just before Edinburgh Festival so the town was slowly getting ready for one of it’s busiest theatre season.

After our bus tour we visited a local fun house, the Camera Obscura!

One of the best meals of our trip was at The Witchery near Edinburgh castle. The occult decor set the mood, the food was magical, and they even accommodated Juliette’s casin allergy.

Day 2 – Edinburgh – Scotland

On our second day, we took an English style horseback ride with Seacliff Stables and glimpsed the famous Bass rock from North Berwick beach.

We also toured Edinburgh Castle located at the end of the Royal Mile. The Military Tattoo was also in full effect when we visited. It is an annual series of events held in August where British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands perform in teams on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. We didn’t have a chance to see the performance because tickets are sold out far in advance.

We ended our last night in Edinburgh with a very extravagant 6 course meal at The Timberyard. If you have the time (and the resources) you must stop by for some of the finest cuisine in Scotland.

After dinner we took a late night precarious hike up to Arthur’s Seat to see the city filled with light.

Day 3 – Fort William – Scotland

On day three we hit the open road, delicious sandwiches in tow to make our way to Fort William and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The viaduct is famous for being featured in Harry Potter, taking the Hogwarts express to the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

We stayed in the lovely Mansefield Guesthouse for the night and were treated to a delicious breakfast the next morning. Having a full breakfast became routine for us, and helped to give us energy for the day ahead.

Our Scotland trip continues in Part II: The Isle of Skye and Beyond

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This weekend we extended our Valentines celebration into March by visiting the Raaka Virgin Chocolate Company. We took a tour of the space, were educated on their bean to bar journey and then we were able to make our own bespoke chocolate bars. While on our tour we learned about the whole bean to bar organic vegan chocolate process.

Happiness is Unroasted

The tour explained how Raaka cacao is gathered from plots of land in a forest in a technic referred to as agroforestry.  We watched a video that showed the harvesting, fermenting and drying process. Raaka sources most of their beans from the Dominican Republic and Tanzania.

Our tour guide took us through one of the most important steps to getting to those seeds. Winnowing is a procedure that cracks open the cacao and separates the husk from the nib. We tasted them, and Juliette thought they were smoky and kind of pecan like. Cooper thought they had the after taste of Twizzlers! Raaka has built their own custom winnower, a combination of a standard juicer and shop vacuum that sucks up all the lighter husks. They also donate these discarded husks to schools or urban farms to be composted.

Bump and Grind (MIX)

The next stage of the process takes 3 days. During that period the coco nibs are put in vats with large stone melangeurs that are constantly spinning and grinding. Each day the nibs break down in the next vat and release cocoa butter, gradually mixing and creating a smooth consistency. We tasted a sample of chocolate that was just in it’s second day of chocolate emulsion: it was sweetened with coconut sugar but very gritty and crunchy. Not quite ready to be tempered. It’s the third day that the large milling machine is used to really reduce those grainy, crunchy particles that we were tasting and to give the chocolate it’s silky texture. Finally, the chocolate is transferred to the tempering machine where it is cooled to 85ºF then warmed back up to 130ºF back and forth to form molecular crystals.

Bespoke Vegan Chocolate Creations

We had a blast choosing additional ingredients to add to our bars before they went into the cold storage. There were coconuts flakes, dried bananas and peaches, and pine nuts and candied ginger. While we were waiting for the chocolate to cool we got a chance to taste five different chocolates.  There was one with pink salt, one with coconut milk, and Cooper’s favorite had ghost peppers!

We had a great time making and tasting their vegan chocolate!

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Garden of the Gods – Colorado Beauties

On our first day in Denver we decided to drive about an hour south of the city to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods red rock formations. The highway turned into a winding two lane road between giant red rocks.

The rock formations towered over us and we had a pleasant hike through the grounds. We saw rock climbers precariously scale the sides of the gods and about dozen deer just grazing under a tree.

Seven Falls

We then steered the car toward Seven Falls and along the way saw some whimsical kinetic wind sculptures on a private property we later found out were built by Starr Kempf. He was a beautiful soul that met a tragic end.

Once we reached Seven Falls we took a shuttle to a tram to get high into the mountains. Two hundred and twenty four steep stairs were our next challenge to get to the top of the waterfalls.

We almost collapsed on the way up, but the view was totally worth it!

Washington Park

On day two we explored Denver’s Washington Park and took a stroll around it’s beautiful lake. It was surreal being in the city but seeing those big rocky mountains in the distance.

Atomic Cowboy

After walking through the park we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day with a Black Velvet (Guinness and Cider) at The Irish Rover. Then had brunch at Atomic Cowboy and ate Biscuit sandwiches that were the size of our heads.

Ratio Beerworks

Next stop was Ratio Beerworks,  a local microbrewery where we sat outside with locals and enjoyed a purple and pink sunset.

Red Rocks Amphitheater

The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, U2 and Radiohead have all graced the Red Rock stage. On this trip we got our 15 minutes of fame. I can’t imagine seeing a band concert at this venue. 

Root Down

After our performance we headed downtown to have dinner at Root Down. On the menu, pork tenderloin with farm potatoes and jam, lamb sliders and sweet potato fries, and kimchi ribs with a fried egg.

Sweet Action

We ended our night at one of the many delicious ice cream parlors Sweet Action, and Juliette had a vegan milkshake! I haven’t had a milkshake in three years.

Breckenridge Mountains, Colorado

On Day four, we took the long trek to Breckenridge, an adorable ski town outside of Denver to check out some skiers, and get a little more up close and personal with those powered Rocky Mountains. We didn’t end up skiing ourselves, but had some fun flying our drone camera, and getting stuck in some fresh snow banks.

All in all, Denver had great food, beautiful landscapes, and was very hip. I can’t wait to visit our friends Chris and Kate again.

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Vegan Shop Up has partnered with Pine Box Rock Shop many times and you can keep tabs on when the next event will be held by following their updates here. This was the first time we had attended the event and when we arrived just about 30 minutes after the start time the place was packed.  There were so many bodies you could really empathize with livestock!

I’m Dreaming of White Pizza…

I immediately found the Screamer’s Pizzeria stall and quickly ordered a white pizza. The pizza is made with almond ricotta vegan cheese, oregano and oil drizzle. The dough of the pizza was perfect. It was salty, garlic-y and soft and crispy. The cheese was so creamy and at $5 a slice I was very easily sold.

Cooper spotted our local vegan cheese shop Riverdel Cheese and the hearty looking grilled Havarti cheese sandwiches. The sandwich is made with vegan havarti cheese, pickles, and dijonaise on a thick country bread

The line for Peaceful Provisions doughnuts snaked through the whole space. You could hear ravenous vegans asking, “Is this seriously the line for the donuts?!” over and over again. The popularity peaked our interest so we begrudgingly joined the line and began making friends with others and chatted about all of the options while we waited for the sweet treats.

By the time we reached the front of the line we were able to order the coveted Cannoli and Key Lime donuts. The Cannoli doughnut is filled with decadent cannoli vegan cream, and topped with chocolate icing, crushed cannoli shells and powered sugar. The Key Lime doughnut is filled with lime cured and topped with a bruleed fluff.

These beauties were absolutely worth the wait.

We just had to share a picture of these gorgeous macaroons from Sweet Maresas, even though we didn’t try any.

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This Sunday transform your my bathroom into a spa-like sanctuary. Light a candle, que up your favorite tranquil playlist, and relax your mind. In an effort to make this tub session more luxurious, I have made my own natural bath salt and mask recipe using two of my favorite fragrances, lemon and lavender.

Winter in New York makes my combination dry/oily skin go crazy. My face and body become excessively dry, and if I apply too much daily moisturizer I find that I have acne flare ups. Lemon and lavender are natural ingredients that I like to use to soothe and treat my skin.

Below you will find all the ingredients needed for this Self Care Sunday sesh.

Self-care Sunday – Lemon & Lavender Recipes

1 sealable container

2 cups Epsom Salt

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

5 drops of lavender oil

Food coloring

Lavender flowers or sprigs

Directions: Combine the epsom salt, lavender oil and lemon juice into a mixing bowl and hand mix. Add a few drops of food coloring to the mix for a pretty color. Take the lavender flowers or sprigs and rub vigorously in your hands to release their natural fragrance. 

Lemon & Lavender Face Mask

3 tablespoons of honey

1 teaspoon of coconut oil

5 drops of lavender oil

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Directions: Combine all ingredients and hand mix well. Bring the mask mixture with you and set near the tub. Apply generously to your face or skin for about 15 minutes. Then wash and rinse in the bath water. If you have oily skin you can add more lemon juice. Or you can also omit the coconut oil if you have very oily skin.

Enjoy your Sunday everyone!

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I have struggled with a casein allergy for most of my life and I have completely cut it out of my diet for 3 years now. Since casein is a protein found in milk, I can’t eat cheese, which is in almost everything on an Mexican food menu.  My casein allergy is nothing like lactose intolerance which affects the gastrointestinal tract.  If I eat milk, yogurt or cheese my lips will swell and my throat closes.

I ordered a three course vegan meal that I will probably be thinking about for weeks. I usually can’t ordered these options at other Mexican restaurants and I have to tell you that everything was delicious.

Esquites: Mexican Corn – Vegan Menu

The first course I ordered was a classic Mexican street food snack called Esquites. This is one of my all time favorite appetizers, and I haven’t had it in a very long time. Generally, it is prepared by boiling fresh corn in water and then it is sautéed in butter, onions, chiles and salt. It came to the table in an adorable small pot, topped with lime juice, chile powder, vegan chipotle mayo and vegan queso.

Mushroom Taco with Vegan Queso

The mushroom taco was by far my favorite dish. This taco had a very balanced umami flavor profile and had a meaty and creamy texture.  The mushrooms were perfectly sautéed in a pasilla salsa and were topped with vegan crema and queso. I could have eaten two more of these.

Mole Enchilada with Squash Blossoms and Vegan Crema

My main entree was three enchiladas filled with squash blossoms and topped with a classic mole sauce and vegan crema. The mole sauce in this dish is customarily made using a mole poblano pepper. Depending on the amount of fruit and chili pepper added, a mole sauce can be characteristically bitter and smokey. The vegan crema was a perfect paring for these enchiladas.

Cooper and I were able to take advantage of Citrico’s happy hour (Goes till 8:00pm) and both ordered some very strong and tart margaritas to go with our meal. Cooper ordered blue corn tortilla fish tacos. It isn’t vegan but it is tasty and pretty.

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I am skeptical about buying gem stone jewelry online. Holding a stone in your hand and feeling it’s textures is a meaningful part of the process when choosing the right gem for you. After spending a good amount of time examining all of the stunning jewelry I began to narrow down my favorites. There was an abundant amount of agate and amethyst. I found a delicate amethyst bracelet with a magnetic clasp and had to have it, it was so easy to put on.

Amethyst stones are described as being meditative and calming. They are believed to promote balance and peace. I use them as an emotional healing stone and believe that it will help bring a sense of stability or inner strength when I am wearing it. I love the rich and diverse color of amethyst stones, and think this sweet little bracelet will be a perfect everyday statement piece for me.

The quality and craftsmanship of BOBO Jewelry is outstanding. I was impressed to see a wide range of more rough/organic and fully finished design styles. Now that I feel confident in their artistry I will for sure be visiting the website for more one of a kind jewelry pieces.

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“There are no strangers here, only friends that have not yet met,” William Butler Yeats.

Finding familiarity in people and places is what motivates us to travel and learn about the world. Driven by curiosity, we want to uncover and celebrate diverse culture that manifests itself in Brooklyn as well as further abroad. Our apartment is designed to acknowledge people, places, and things that may be foreign to Brooklyn, but make us feel at home.

We couldn’t think of a better way of getting started and sharing more intimate details about our life then with giving a glimpse of our apartment in Brooklyn, NY.

After graduating from Pratt Institute, we decided to make Brooklyn our home together. The diversity of people, the rich history, and constant transformation we have seen in our neighborhood has been astonishing. When we first moved into our apartment we were so excited about all of the light. It’s not always a guarantee that you will have a window with any kind of view when living in NYC. We are eternally grateful for the inspiration our windows give.

Entertaining friends and family is very important to us. We were able to find this eight foot long mid-century table at Horseman Antiques in Boerum Hill. It has become a great utility piece for us. It has hosted many dinner parties and also functions as a desk for Juliette.

When thinking about our bedroom, we were both quick to say that it should be a relaxing sanctuary. We wanted to shut out as many distractions as possible and use dark wood and deep purple (Cooper’s favorite) to invoke a calming feeling. We sleep against the eastern wall of our building, so the sun greets us every morning. On trip to Art Basel Miami, Cooper visited a local shop that was selling Hindu toran, a sacred decoration for entry ways that is shaped like mango leaves, from India that works perfectly in our bedroom. It’s one of my favorite design items in our apartment.

We both have similar eclectic design style and are commonly drawn to antiques, one of kind furniture and artwork. Hope you all liked this little tour of our apartment, more to come soon!

Don’t be a stranger,

Juliette and Cooper

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On our fourth day in Iceland we visited the Laxnes Horse Farm just outside of Reykjavik for a two hour horse riding adventure. Laxnes Farm is own and operated by the Jónasson family and they are dedicated to the quality of life of these horses.

Icelandic horses are characteristically small, stocky, and strong and almost looking like large ponies. All of the horses had course full manes and tails. They are breed with a double coat which keeps them warm during the winter months in Iceland. Many Icelanders credit the horse for the survival of the Icelandic people.

We shared a beautiful ride through the mountains with our horses. Cooper was riding Dreki, which means Dragon, who was super chill.

Juliette riding her horse stjörnu (Star)

Day 5 – Journey Into A Glacier

This unique tour took us to the north, our GPS sent us through a “shortcut” that turned out to be a 3 hour drive on a gravel road.  It was a beautifully bleak route with occasional boulders blocking our path. We were a bit concerned that our rental car wouldn’t survive the trip!  Later, we found out the landscape we traveled through is called the “cold valley” and it was where outlaws and murders were sent as punishment.  If they could survive 3 years out there they were allowed to return to the community. Think about that: 3 years out there is either a life sentence or the death penalty depending on how you fair.

When we arrived we got in a special retired NATO vehicle that was designed to carry missiles.  This missile transporter now transports tourist over glaciers to show them the danger of global warming. Did you notice the pneumatic hoses leading to each tire?  Believe it or not the driver is able to control the inflation of each wheel with a tablet interface to regulate the tire traction with the glacier ice. Which means at certain moments of our trek we were quite literally gliding along the snow and ice of the glacier #intotheglacier

We were on top of the Langjokull, the second largest in Europe.  At the top we came upon an entrance to the largest man-made ice tunnel structure of its kind. Inside we learned that 80% of Iceland’s water comes from glacier and about 60% of the U.S. water comes from glacial sources.  The glaciologists estimate we only have 100 more years of glaciers on this planet due to the warming of the atmosphere.  They also told us that this glacier may completely melt away in 50 years.

This tour was very special and we both enjoyed it as a once in a lifetime experience.

Since there was still light out (the sun sets at 11:30pm!) we drove over to the hydro-electric plant near Deildartunguhver Geothermal Area. The Deildartunguhver Hot Spring, the centerpiece of the geothermal area, is the most powerful hot spring in Europe and the one with the highest flow rate. The boiling water it produces emerges at 97 °C and is used for heating the houses in the area via a pipeline to places far away such as Borgarnes, 34 kilometers away and the town of Akranes, 64 kilometers southwest.

Day 6 – Viking Sail, Blue Lagoon, Anniversary dinner

On our final day in Iceland, we celebrated our wedding anniversary. In the morning we took a private viking ship out onto the harbor in hopes of seeing puffin. Luckily, there were still some families enjoying life on a small island nearby and because we were on such a small boat we were able to get closer then the larger Puffin tour boats.

While on the boat we learned about the history of vikings from an Icelandic historian. Iceland was uninhabited until 874, until viking explores from Norway and the British isles discovered the land in the ninth century. Christianity wasn’t established in Iceland until 999 under the Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason. We learned that the Sagas of Icelanders, also known as the family sagas are highly honored stories that were passed down from generations and covered all of the historical events that took place in 9th, 10th, and early 11th centuries.

After our boat ride we traveled to the most visited touristy attraction of our trip the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa. Located right next to the airport the Blue Lagoon is a spa, pool, and restaurant/bar. We bought tickets that included a free algae mask and alcoholic beverage.  The facilities felt very luxurious and relaxing. They have a strict hygiene policy, so be prepared to take a shower before entering the warm, rich mineral lagoon water.

The water temperature averages 99-167 °F, and once you enter there is a swim up bar and little hut that holds different types of skin masks. We spent the afternoon relaxing and recounting some of the places we had seen the days previous both feeling melancholy about it being our last day. Cooper started getting very pruney, so we took that as a signal to head out to make our dinner reservation.

We had reservations for dinner at the Fiskmarkadurinn, or Fish Market. The restaurant is highly rated and when they heard we were celebrating our anniversary quickly brought champagne with strawberries to our table.

We ordered items from their tasting menu: smoked puffin, whale, and salmon (YOLO). We also met a lovely couple sitting next to us that were traveling from DC. They were also celebrating their last night in town and it was nice to share some of our stories with them.

In conclusion, our trip to Iceland was phenomenal. I want to return again and see other parts of the island as well as the Northern lights.

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