a love letter to tucson.

by Hollyanne Posted on May 19, 2012


dear tucson,

it’s hard to believe that in just a few short hours, we’ll be leaving you behind. three weeks ago when we found out we’d be moving to omaha, we were ecstatic. we knew we’d be sad to say goodbye to some of our friends, but we never thought we’d be sad to say goodbye to you.

three weeks later, on the eve of our departure, you’ve humbled us and as it turns out, we’re actually feeling pretty bittersweet tonight. we spent our last day here doing many of our favorite things…tamales from tucson tamale, cupcakes at cafe poca cosa, ice cream at hub, drinks at pastiche, watching your beautiful sunset.

it’s not a huge secret that we’ve wanted to leave here for awhile, but now that it’s time to go, we can’t help but reflect on all the amazing things and memories you’ve given us over the past four years.

you lured us in with your year-round farmer’s markets, sonoran hot dogs, and minor league baseball. you gave us our master’s degrees and our first big kid jobs.

you gave us some amazing friendships — friendships that we pray and trust will transcend time and location.

and let’s not forget, you provided the beautiful sunset backdrop under which we got engaged, and you gave us our first place together as a couple.

it turns out that the only thing you really have going against you is well, you’re not omaha. we’re sorry, but you really just can’t compete. after all, it’s where we met each other for the first time, and most importantly, where we got married. it’s where we grew up – maybe not physically but it’s where we became the people we are today. and (we think) it’s where we’re meant to be, where we’re supposed to have our careers, have our adventures, and have (someday) our family.

so please don’t get mad at us, tucson, because we’d like to come back and visit sometime. not too soon, but sometime. take care of everyone we’re leaving behind while we’re gone, ok?

until next time.

h&k

Posted in adventures. | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

the road trip.

by Hollyanne Posted on May 16, 2012

it’s hard to believe we’ll be leaving tucson in just four short days. the movers come tomorrow, our last day of work is friday, and on sunday morning we head out and arrive in omaha next weekend. when we first found out we were moving, we went back and forth about whether to hire movers or do it ourselves, whether to do the trip quickly in two days or take our time and stop along the way, etc. eventually, we decided to hire movers and take a much-needed vacation. even though we’re ecstatic about moving to omaha, we know the upcoming couple of months are going to bring a lot of stress and adjustment, so we wanted to take some time for ourselves and make a little trip out of it.

here’s where we’re stopping:
1. the grand canyon – kevin went a couple years back, but i’ve never been. we’re only going to spend one day here, but i just couldn’t leave arizona without seeing this.
2. albuquerque, new mexico – yeah, it seems a little random, but it’s not too too far of a drive from the grand canyon and somewhere that we haven’t been before / probably won’t visit any other time, so we figured why not. we’ll probably venture up to sante fe one of the days that we’re there or on our way out of town.
3. denver, co – for all of the times i’ve flown through denver between nebraska and california, i’ve never actually been outside of the airport, or anywhere else in colorado. i’m so excited for the drive from new mexico to denver, to spend a couple days in the city, and to travel up to fort collins to tour the new belgium brewery!

if anyone has any recommendations for places to eat, shop, hang out, etc. in any of these places, please let us know! recommendations for road trip songs/mixes are also appreciated :)

Posted in adventures. | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

the good life.

by Hollyanne Posted on May 1, 2012
image source

we’ve known for a few days, but we can now officially announce some pretty big news: WE’RE MOVING TO OMAHA! as many of you know, we’ve been hoping to move out of tucson for quite some time, and the cards just never really seem to line up for us. this last month and a half has been quite an emotional rollercoaster, but we can now say that it all worked out for the best: kevin has accepted a position at creighton university as the resident director of mcgloin hall and director of the cortina program, creighton’s living-learning community focused on service and social justice.

we’re still working all the kinks out, but we’ll be leaving tucson within the next 3 weeks-ish and are planning to be in omaha by around memorial day.

as for me, i haven’t found anything yet, and am just starting to focus on job searching, so if anyone has any leads for the omaha/council bluffs area, pretty please send them my way!

posts may be a little sparse on the blog in the coming weeks, and may include random pictures of our apartment filled with boxes and/or us pulling our hair out because we’re trying to move across the country in less than three weeks.

omaha friends, we’ll be seeing you soon.

Posted in adventures. | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

let’s get lost.

by Hollyanne Posted on April 24, 2012

image via jules

life has been a little bit of a rollercoaster around here lately. do you ever have those times where life is so crazy and emotional that you forget to breathe for awhile? it’s been one of those times. i wish we could just pack up and get outta here (especially since it’s 100 degrees already) and forget about all our worries for a few days, and find some beautiful place to get lost.

Posted in adventures. | 1 Comment

{recipe of the week} rice & lentils with caramelized onions, carrots and toasted almonds.

by Hollyanne Posted on April 20, 2012

A couple of weeks ago we got takeout from an amazing Mediterranean restaurant, and one of the dishes we tried was called mujaddara, aka rice and lentils mixed with caramelized onions and toasted almonds. It was so delicious and unique, so this week I attempted to recreate it at home. It turned out pretty well, but still needs a little tweaking in terms of spices and such. Feel free to use this recipe as a base and try it out with your own favorite ingredients mixed in!

ingredients:
-1 cup dry lentils (any color)
-1 cup uncooked brown rice
-1 bag carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
-1/2 white or yellow onion
-1/2 cup sliced almonds
-2 cups vegetable broth
-bay leaf
-salt, pepper, and other favorite spices to taste

directions:
1. prepare the lentils. add 2 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup dry lentils to a medium-size saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. once boiling, turn down the heat to medium-low and let simmer until lentils are tender, at least 20 minutes but up to an hour or so, depending on how fresh your lentils are. if you have one, add a bay leaf to the broth-lentil mixture for extra flavor, as well as some salt and pepper and any other spices you like. (i added a little bit of chili powder and garlic salt to ours).
2. prepare the rice (and carrots). if you have a rice cooker with a steamer basket on top, that’s perfect. if not, prepare your rice however you prefer (or even use minute or instant rice), and steam the carrots on the stovetop until tender.
3. prepare the onions. add 1/2 of a white or yellow onion, diced, to a small skillet and again, add your favorite spices. add garlic, too, if you have some. (i didn’t because i was lazy, but it would have been a great addition). sauté the onions on low heat in some olive oil for 10-15 minutes until they are tender and begin to caramelize.
4. toast the almonds. using the same skillet you used for your onions, add 1/2 cup of sliced almonds to the pan and heat on medium for about 5-7 minutes, until they begin to brown and are more crunchy than soft.
5. add everything from steps 1-4 (lentils, rice, carrots, onions, and almonds) to a large serving bowl, mix together, add salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Posted in bon appetit. | Tagged , , | 1 Comment