Muller’s Famous Fried Cheese Cafe (Helen, GA)
When my husband and I were visiting Helen, Georgia we decided to try out this small family owned authentic German or Czech food cafe. We decided to try it because some of our family heritage is Czech. Since it had a lot of dairy products on the menu Jake and I went together on our last day in the area. They are known for their “fried cheese” sandwiches. We have a child who cannot have dairy so figured if we wanted to eat at this restaurant it was a good day to do it.
We had the fried cheese sandwich as an appetizer. Even as an appetizer it was pretty rich and we ended up bringing the majority of it home. If you like cheese sticks you may enjoy this treat. It was a little much for us, but tasty. Jake had a Pork Schnitzel and I had a Chicken Schnitzel. We split a bowl of Homemade Goulash Soup with Beef.
Overall: We enjoyed the service and the quietness of the cafe. The meal was richer than what we were used to eating so we could not eat much, but the food was good. We typically do not eat a lot of fried food and brought some home to eat as leftovers. If you like rich and cheesy food than you may enjoy this restaurant. They are only open a limited amount of hours some days and closed others, check their hours prior to going.*
*We would not recommend this place if you have any member of your party with a dairy allergy as they would have limited menu options.
Inside of the fried cheese and ham sandwich
Homemade Goulash soup and Chicken Schnitzel
Pausing to Eat at The Glacier Brew House Restaurant (Anchorage, Alaska)
During our adventures while in Anchorage, Alaska we decided to stop for a few minutes to rest and grab a bite to eat. We had been walking and sight seeing all morning so wanted to find a place where we could sit down, relax, chat, and refuel for a little bit. There were several great restaurant options to choose from where we are currently walking, but we ended up settling on going to the Glacier Brew House at 737 West 5th Avenue, Suite 110, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.
We arrived in a little bit after lunch so the wait was short. It was a neat atmosphere and the staff was great. The hostess brought us glasses of water to drink as we waited to get our table. It had a cozy atmosphere and decor inside the restaurant. The sound carried well inside the restaurant so at times it was hard to hear the conversation at the table, but the kids were more interested in eating at first.
They bring bread to the table that you can dip in oil and seasonings as you wait for your appetizer and main entree to arrive. The food was delicious too. Jake had a steak sandwich, Brina had chicken strips, Karlie had brick oven pizza, and I had the shrimp salad. With the kids menu they serve a homemade ice cream sandwich which was HUGE and DELICIOUS!!! We were full by the end of the meal so we ended up splitting the homemade ice cream sandwich between the 4 of us.
If you are looking for a good restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska you should try out the Glacier Brew House. They carrier their signature beverages too if that is something that you would like to try.
What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say?
Our fortunes!
Recently we had Chinese food and the following were our fortunes from the meal:
- Jake – “You will be traveling to distant lands for business purposes” (He travels a lot of places for work!)
- Bridgette – “You will travel to many exotic places in the next few years.” (I LOVE to travel. I have already been to many amazing places over the years and I cannot wait to see more of the world. Plus, sometimes I get to travel with Jake when he goes on work trips. Maybe our fortunes were suppose to be together, sounds like more fun for me though! 🙂 Already looking forward to these exotic places we are going to together!)
- Brina – “You have a flair for adding fanciful dimension to any story.” (She is definitely the more fancy of the two kids!)
- Karlie – “You will soon be involved in many gatherings and parties.” (I am curious about what she’s going to be doing!)
It was a fun evening of relaxing with the family, eating Chinese food, and laughing about silly fortunes. We have so much to be thankful for in our lives. We are richly blessed and take many things for granted every day. Let’s treasure the time with have with our friends, families, and those around us. It is not impossible to run into people that you know even if you are across the world. Our lives leave an imprint of each person we interact with whether it is only once or many times! Make each moment count for good!
Flashback Friday: Adding More Foods
Jake making the next days bottles!
Today’s flashback Friday is about 10 years ago when the girls were five months old. Every night right before Jake and I would go to bed we were make the girls bottles for the following day. At this point when I took the picture of Jake (above) we were down from making 16 bottles a day to 10 bottles a day. They no longer had to have any caffeine in their bottles and they were sleeping through the night consistently. Making the bottles the night before helped us be well prepared for the next day when the babies were hungry and ready to be fed.
It was this month after a routine Doctors check up with the girls that they suggested we start introducing them to rice cereal in place of a couple bottles a day. That was an adventure in itself. The girls were not too excited about it at first and would rub it all over their faces and heads as well as cry, but eventually they got used to it.
Brina packed up in her carseat and ready to go to the Dr and on errands this morning.
Karlie doesn’t care if we run errands or go to the Dr as long as she can sleep peacefully in her carseat.
Brina’s first time trying rice cereal. She was ready for her bottle and instead got rice cereal. She NOT happy with me and cried through the whole feeding.
Karlie’s first try with the rice cereal. She was very upset and cried the entire time I fed her too. This picture was taken right before she burst into tears. After a couple minutes she closed her eyes and cried as I fed her the last few bites. Guess, she preferred getting her bottle over the rice cereal. Such a disappointed baby.
Later Jake attempted the second rice cereal feeding instead of the bottle. Karlie was not happy with Daddy either about him giving her rice cereal instead of her bottle. Poor baby….growing up is hard!
After awhile she gave up and began to enjoy it. In this picture she is babbling away as she gives in and eats the rice cereal for Daddy. Glad to see her smile starting to come back.
What a mess Brina! Sometimes we would let them attempt to feed themselves or if we were feeding them they would smear the food all over their faces with their hands. It never failed during this stage there was always a mess to clean up at the end of meal time.
Brina enjoying her morning bottle with Mommy. Loved holding them and talking with them first thing in the morning as they took their bottle. They were always great snugglers and gave me many sweet smiles.
Karlie enjoying her morning bottle. When they first started taking the bottles it would take them over an hour to drink an ounce or two. At this point they were guzzling down several ounces in a just a few minutes. How much they have grown. Loved hearing them drink their morning bottles and sigh with contentment. It was a great way to get the day started.
Travel & Vacation: Noisy Oyster Seafood Restaurant (Charleston, SC)
Noisy Oyster Restaurant
When we are traveling to various places we enjoy trying out a couple of the local restaurants. We’ve been to Charleston several times and have found some ones that we really like. Since Charleston is so close to the Atlantic Ocean we like to try different seafood places occasionally when we are in the area. Our family has eaten at both of the Noisy Oyster locations, one in North Charleston and the other one in Downtown Charleston.
Both Noisy Oyster restaurants have great food and a unique atmosphere that is fun for the whole family. The one in Downtown Charleston is right along Market St and it has open windows so you can enjoy your dinner while watching the various activities going on downtown. It is pretty common to see horse drawn carriages or pedicabs (or bike taxi) during your meal. After you eat you can take a stroll through the Charleston’s City Market or browse through one of the many neat shops nearby to find a unique souvenir.
The Noisy Oyster in North Charleston has a different setting, but still great food. It is in a little quieter part of town and doesn’t have the open windows. It looks more like a traditional seafood restaurant. If you want to relax or stretch your legs after dinner you can go to Barnes & Noble or the local mall nearby.
If you are looking for a good family restaurant that serves seafood in the Charleston area you should check out Noisy Oyster. We have always enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Sometimes its fun to try something new when you are on vacation!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Mother’s Day Celebration
Huge Mother’s Day chalk message on the driveway from Karlie!
I am blessed. Yesterday I was reminded again of how much God has given me. A family that loves me despite all my imperfections. Jake and the girls showered me with love on Mother’s Day. Even though Jake was on call this Mother’s Day weekend and was a little busier than normal, he made time to celebrate. It was a great day with the family.
They made me breakfast in bed. We went to church. Jake and the girls made an amazing lunch. That afternoon we relaxed, read books together, opened gifts, played games, and had fun. Thankful for my family and a chance to spend the day together. Their thoughtfulness made me feel loved and appreciated.
Breakfast in bed – cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, and sauteed mushrooms! Delicious!
Fresh flowers from the girls (they got them from Children’s Church)
Putting together the pinwheel steaks!
They choose what ingredients to stuff the steak with for lunch
Pinwheel steaks ready to go into the oven!
Stuffed with tomatoes, swiss cheese, goat cheese, bacon, ham, spinach, mushrooms, sunflowers, cranberries, and more goodies!
My steak was AMAZING!
Huge stuffed portobello mushroom! Stuffed with spinach, hummus, and topped with toasted granola – so tasty!
Mother’s Day cards from Jake and the girls. Karlie’s was the kitten and Brina’s the puppy.
Brina picked out a beautiful pink rose bush for me!
Karlie picked out a gorgeous red rose bush for me!
Adorable handmade flowers from my girls! Brina made the bright yellow one and Karlie made the blue and red one!
A place to sit and talk with Jake or read with the kids. Very comfy!
Sweet note from Brina. The top says “I am thankful to have a Mom like you because you are nice to me and play with me.” The bottom has a cute little poem!
Colorful Mother’s Day Butterfly from Brina
Cute card from Brina
Mother’s Day note from Brina wanting to know if I can play or cook with her! Love my girls!
Vibrant Mother’s Day drawing from Karlie
Sweet poem and note from Karlie on the back of her drawing.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
But no one a flower,
Just like you!
Happy Mother’s Day! Hope you are having a nice and relaxing day. Do you like the card and rose? The rose is a rare blue rose that only grows on Neptune! May you please read to me on the deck?
Thankful for my family! I treasure these times we have together. I am blessed.
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The price to download these books is currently $0.00 (although the price may change at any time, please confirm prior to downloading). The ebooks are specifically for Kindles, however, you can click here and download the free application that allows you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.
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Travel & Vacation: Road Trip Snack Container
Have I mentioned before how much we enjoy traveling??? 🙂 We have been blessed with a number of opportunities to travel over the past few years. On a quick side note – While it is great to get away and explore new places it is always wonderful coming home.
You may have noticed one of my previous posts about these Road Trip Snack Containers here or here, but I want to encourage anyone with kids who take roads trips to try these out. These have come in very handy over the past few years at our house.
The girls are always super excited to see what I have packed in their snack containers. It helps with the “I’m Hungry” statement you hear in the middle of a road trip and it allows you to pack a little container for each kid instead of bringing the whole box of crackers or nuts or whatever it is you typically bring. Plus it gives the kids a variety of snacks to choose from, kids really do love having choices!
The girls have yet to finish an entire snack container on the trip so usually it provides snacks throughout the time you are away too. It always surprises me what they choose to eat first. I cannot count the number times that they go for the nuts or fruit over any of the sweet treats.
One Child’s Road Trip Snack Container
Items that we packed for this road trip:
- Animal Crackers
- Raisins
- Whole Cashews (without shells)
- Fruit Marshmallow Bites
- Cheesy Bugles
- Fruit by the Foot
- Peanuts
- Sweet Tarts
- Chocolate & Mint Swirl Marshmallows
- Golden Raisins
- Chocolate Covered Raisins
- Whole Peanuts (with shells)
- Fruit Chews
- Whole Pecans (without shells)
- Ritz Crackers
- Whole Pistachios (with shells)
- Organic Applesauce (in a squeeze bag)
- Flavored Peanuts
- Cheese & Peanut Butter Crackers
- 2 Packs of Flavored Fruit Drink Packs to add to their bottled water (1 Kooleaid Fruit Punch & 1Mixed Berry)
- Rainbow coated Sunflower Seeds
- Ritz Bites Peanut Butter Crackers
- Rice Krispie Treat
- 2 Million Dollar Mints
All packed and ready to close up so we can put them on the girls car seats before we go to bed!
We don’t stop a lot on road trips unless we need gas, go to the bathroom, or for a quick meal (a lot of times we’ll pack a picnic lunch to eat on the way). The kids are content to read, work on workbooks, play games, or occasionally watch a movie if it is a long road trip (our rule is that the trip needs to be 5 hours or longer before a movie is part of it).
We picked up the containers at Walmart for a couple of dollars. The stickers were at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook section and we used a 40% coupon. We have used these Road Trip Snack Bins for several road trips with our girls and they have held up well. Once the trip is over and they have finished eating the items in the bins all you have to do is wash them and store until the next family adventure. It is a blessing to be able to travel with our family. We have created many amazing family memories on the road together.
