The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe

Paris is one of the most wonderful cities on Earth.

It is absolutely breathtaking.

The architecture, the history, the beauty.

It is a very luxurious city, so rich in culture.

It is our new favorite city.

The Eiffel Tower is without a doubt, spectacular.

One of the most recognized, interesting and special landmarks.

It is a must-see for those of you who like to travel.

I recommend buying your tickets online.

We did and bypassed waiting in line for 3 hours.

The first & second levels offer gorgeous views of the city.

And the elevator ride isn't bad at all.

We walked down the ~700 stairs and our legs were wobbly by the end.

There are restaurants, cafes, an ice cream shop.

Boutiques selling overpriced souvenirs.

(Which of course we bought!)

We didn't make it to the third floor this time.

I was sweating & a little nauseous from the height on the 2nd floor.

And the line to the top was crazy long.

But maybe next time.

We started our Parisian tour at the Arc de Triomphe.

It is a gorgeous site to see.

Almost like a gateway to another world.

The carvings and inscriptions are mesmerizing.

An eternal flame burns bright

for the solider that never returned.

It reminded me of Washington D.C.

A memorial to another soldier

in another land.

The Arc stands in the middle of an enormous intersection.

The largest that I have ever seen with

TWELVE different exits.

There are no marked lanes,

so it's sort of like a free for all when driving around it.

We had the pleasure (or misfortune) to

drive inside this crazy circle.

Our exit was number seven.

We made it.

=)

Recipe of the Week- All About Pumpkins!

Spider Pumpkin?

Pumpkins in every size, shape and color

Artichoke Blooms

Pumpkin soup, Pumpkin butter on bread & pumpkin bratwurst!

It was all so good, but the soup was the best!

This past weekend, I went to my first Pumpkin Festival. They had pumpkin everything!

Pumpkin cookies, jam, butter and wine.

Pumpkin liquor, oil, seeds covered in chocolate and cocoa.

Pumpkin soup, bratwurst and bread.

It really got me in the mood for fall and inspired me to make pumpkin cheesecake muffins today. I found the recipe on Becca's blog, Lovely in Pink.

You all know by now that I LOVE pumpkin flavored anything.

Lattes, pie, candles, bread, anything.

After making these, I am now also a fan of pumpkin muffins.

These are delicious!

A heavier muffin than what I am used to, full of flavor, great with a cup of coffee.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Courtesy of: Becca

Ingredients

1 egg

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 T. sugar

2 1/4 c. flour

3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 c. sugar

1 c. canned pumpkin

1/2 c. oil (I used light veggie oil)

(Not pictured: Baking soda)

1. To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, 1 egg and 1 T. sugar until well blended; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.

3. Beat remaining eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

4. Divide the batter among 16 greased, paper-lined muffin cups.

5. Drop filling by teaspoonfuls over batter. Cover with remaining batter.

6. Bake 20 minutes in a 350º oven or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.

7. And as always, ENJOY!

( I enjoyed mine with a cup of Sumatran coffee, Starbucks brand, in my new Paris cup!)

Don't you just love my ceramic jack-o-lantern? I bought it at the festival for only

10 euro! What a steal!

It was the only one they had.

It's incredibly heavy & has a hole in the bottom to place a candle.

I love it!

A Lovely Award

Thank you so much Mrs. Duh for this award!

Little things like this always make my day! Mrs. D is one of my favorite bloggers, so after you're done here, check out her blog.

So there rules are:

1. Accept the award and post it on your blog.

2. Pay it forward to 5 other bloggers.

3. Contact those 5 and let them know they've been chosen.

So I'm passing this on to these 5 fabulous bloggers:

1. Adventures in Italia

2. Army of Two

3. It's a Dog Tag Wife Life

4. My Camo Colored Life

5. Lovely in Pink

And because I'm a rebel like that, I'm including a 6th one

6. The Huffmaniacs

Be sure to check out their blogs. Trust me, it's worth your time.

Don't forget to enter my Christmas in September giveaway if you haven't already. Only three days left!

Happy Monday everyone!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #15

By participating in a weekly Fill-in, I realize just how quickly time is passing! We've already been in Germany for almost 4 months!

Visit Wife of a Sailor to check out other milspouse blogs!

This week’s questions are:

1. What characteristic about yourself has either been strengthened or weakened due to your experience as a Military Spouse? (from The Albrecht Squad)

My independent, ambitious nature has definitely been strengthened. I'm not sure if anything about me has weakened. Perhaps that I spend a little less time with friends knowing that every day J and I have together is precious since he travels so much for work.

2. What is your favorite vacation spot and why? (from 'Tis the Life of the Army Wife)

Right now it's a tie between Paris and the Caribbean. I loved Paris for the culture, the architecture, the food and drink, the history. It really is a beautiful city. On the flip side, my heart lies at the beach, with the ocean. I've traveled pretty extensively throughout the Caribbean and I've loved almost every place that I've been to. Give me a tropical location on a beach, a fruity drink, and my husband and I'll never want to leave!

3. If you could have any fast-food restaurant in the food court on base/post what would you pick? (from The Only Pink in a House of Blue)

Hmm...well, I would rather not have another fast food place on base. We've got BK, TB, Johnny Rockets, a Chinese place, a sub sandwich place and Captain D's. I would prefer a Starbucks. A real Starbucks that served Pumpkin Spice lattes. (The European Starbucks, sadly, do not serve them. My heart breaks a little every day about this. I would be willing to pay if some sweet someone wanted to ship the International Delight travel creamer cups to me in this flavor. I would pay you AND I would send you German chocolates in return! =)

4. Where did you go on your honeymoon? (from Pennies from Heaven)

We went to the Turks & Caicos. It was beautiful and we had fun, but we weren't super happy with our resort- Club Med. It was our first experience there and we felt like we were at summer camp on a cruise ship! We were married at the Adventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya and spent five days there first. I highly recommend this resort and we cant wait to go back!

5. If you could have any job in the world regardless of money, degree or experience, which job would you have and why? (from Proud to Be a Navy Family and The Calm Before The Storm)

I would love to be a super translator, as in- be fluent in 10 or more languages. Ive always wanted to be fluent in another language and think it would be so cool to be able to communicate with just about anyone. OR a travel writer who gets paid to travel, eat, drink and experience the world. Yeah, let's go with that one!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Don't forget to enter my Christmas in September giveaway!

Recipe of the Week

Today's recipe is one that I made for dinner last night. It turned out delicious if I do say so myself! J raved about it and said that he wanted me to make it again soon using the sauce and a different kind of meat. I think his exact words were "You could put that sauce on anything and it would be good!" Quite the compliment. For Cooking Light really, not me. I just followed their recipe. Ok, maybe a little for me. =) For those of you who aren't really into spicy foods, fear not, it's really not that spicy. More like a slow burn that never fully develops. I love spicy foods, so it was pretty tame in my book.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

Courtesy of: Cooking Light

Ingredients:

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. ground cumin (I substituted ground nutmeg- I was out of cumin)

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. ground red pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (Mine had bones)

6 T. honey

2 tsp. cider vinegar

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Add chicken, one at a time and toss to coat.

3. Place chicken in a greased broiler pan. Broil 5 minutes on each side.

4. Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, mixing well.

5. Remove chicken from oven and brush with 1/4 c. honey mixture.

6. Broil for 1 minute.

7. Take chicken out, flip, and coat the other side with remaining honey mixture.

8. Broil an additional minute or until chicken is done.

9. I served it with broccoli and corn on the cob.

10. Enjoy! (Maybe with a little wine?)

We only drank a glass, not two bottles like this picture implies!

Guest Blogger

Today I am guest blogging over at A{muse}ing Mommy on a Pink Park Bench. Be sure to head over and read my post and while you're there, check out her awesome blog! It's my first time as a guest blogger, so be gentle! =)

Christmas in September

It's time for my last Birthmonth giveaway!

My second most favorite month (after September of course)

is December.

J's birthday, Christmas, New Years, holiday movies, presents,

eating, baking, celebrations with friends and family, decorations.

I love it all.

And now that I live in Germany,

I'll get to experience the famous Christmas markets.

So, to get ready for the holiday season I've got a

Christmas themed giveaway.

Here's what you get:

Cranberry tart lotion and body gel

Two Yankee Candles in "Christmas Wreath"

A bite of German Chocolate

Two Christmas cookie cutters

Santa's Little Helper napkins

and what's in the box? ...

A Kathe Wohlfahrt ornament!

(Santa's a pilot of course! =)

Here's how to enter:

Be a follower of my blog (1 entry)

Follow my on Twitter @kmack143 (1 entry)

Blog about this giveaway (1 entry)

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite holiday movie is (1 entry)

Four ways to enter.

Be sure to leave a comment for EACH entry or it won't count!

The winner will be chosen by random.org on Sept 30th.

There are only 95 days left until Christmas!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures from Paris...