Turkey - A Fabulous Adventure

Istanbul, In front of the Blue Mosque

  We feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to travel as much as we do.  When we got married almost eight years ago, we set some goals for ourselves and for our marriage.  Travel was at the top of our list and dare I say, we've been successful in fulfilling this on-going goal thus far.  Travel is a bug we can't quite shake and it's something that draws us closer together, puts life in perspective and provides us with a greater sense of global responsibility and understanding.  I can honestly say that Turkey is the most eye-opening trip that we have had and stirred feelings in me that I didn't know existed.

Delicious and fresh food

Yummo!

Throughout our seventeen day trip, we did our best to absorb the rich culture, interact with the Turkish people, and indulge in the fresh and flavorful food (can you say baklava!).  The weather couldn't have been better and we left feeling that we had truly experienced as much of Turkey as our bodies could physically handle.

Hotair balloon ride above Cappadoccia

What you can't hear are the whistles he's getting!

The extremely turbulent Bosphorous River fish boat

Ephesus

In front of Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

As an overview, we began our journey in  the metropolis of Istanbul, then caught a flight to Cappadoccia where we experienced the unique and majestic natural terrain (via hot air balloon and hiking).  After a couple of nights sleeping in caves (cave hotels are big in Cappadoccia), we flew back to the west coast and rented a car in Izmir.  We maneuvered our little Fiat down the coastline to Kusadasi and drove out to the ancient city of Ephesus.  Nothing can explain the feeling of standing in the same location where St. Paul stood (and was thrown out of) so many years ago!  We then made our way down the turquoise coastline where we explored the small and bustling beach towns of Bodrum, Marmaris, Fethiye, Kalkan, Kas, and ended our Mediterranean adventures in the Old Town in the city of Antalya.  After a much-to-late night with the locals, we drove through the countryside to the Unesco World Heritage Site of Pamukkale and then onward to Istanbul for some last-minute shopping along the Bosphorus River and of course, more baklava.  It was an ambitious trip but we left feeling satisfied that no rock had gone unturned and that we had seen the best that Turkey had to offer.

Pamukkale (it's actually hot water and calcium deposits that look like snow)

I have a lot of other thoughts that I'd love to write about but perhaps at a later date.  Some of  the topics I hope to explore further are:

• The role of women in Turkish society - their oppression was palpable
• The role of the Muslim faith in Turkey - and how this influenced us, as Christians - - particularly during the call to prayer (5x's/day)
• On a lighter note - the FOOD = delicious
• The history - incredible and moving
• The nightlife - particularly in Istanbul and Antalya

Blogs, Blogs and More Blogs

Ever since discovering the power of a "blog", I/we've taken full advantage.  Most recently though, we started a blog to track our progress on a major home renovation.  The primary focus of this new blog is to share with the "world" our adventures in renovating a major fixer in the heart of LA.  I will continue to update our "couple" blog but not as frequently as I only have so much time.  Maybe Mr. Kerwin will grace us with a post or two but until then....you can folllow the house specifically at http://www.arealrenovationreality.blogspot.com/

3800 square feet +, 10,000 square foot lot, big ol' project - - Priceless

This picture will give you a pretty good idea as to the scale of this house...it's a beast.

Praise the Lord for providing us with a house and with able bodies to fix it up!  God is good.

Tightening our belts and cooking a bird.

Most of you know the continued saga of us attempting to buy a home in Los Angeles.  Our lender keeps telling us, "it's gonna close tomorrow".  It's actually become a joke to us.  Good thing we are so easy going...or, so I've learned to be :)  We have been assured that we do own the house but there is one remaining technicality left to resolve.  I am reluctant to pop the champagne just yet as we don't want to count our chickens before they hatch (thank you mom for this saying it's perfect).  Let's just hope that it's ours soon especially since we've re-roofed the garage, tore up the upstairs floors, purchased two refrigerators, a stove and planks of new hardwood floors are lying everywhere! 

In light of this major purchase and the fact that only one of us brings home the bacon (I know, you're shocked - the South Beach Diet commercial from over a year ago did NOT pay me $1 million dollars) we do have to be a little more conservative.  I'm not going to lie, I've been informed that I might need to start tightening my belt (ughh) and worse yet maybe get a "real" job.  If by real we mean working from home and/or starting my headshot photography business then we are in luck!  Honestly though, it's about high time we started coming back down to reality and getting our priorities in order.  Oh, I had you didn't I?!  I can just see my mom muttering "ya" and pumping her fist in the air.  But I'm just kidding.... reality shreality (is that a word?) we're gonna keep rockin it like it's 1999 until we can't party no more.  Yet, our definition of "kickin it" may be more like a six-pack and a sander than a bottle of Cristal at a club (who am I kidding, we've never had Cristal but it's the only drink I could think of that starts with a "c")

In all seriousness though, I am quite a bargain shopper (thank you again Kathy Brink - - she's getting a lot of props in the entry).  And, in the spirit of saving money on groceries I purchased a big ol' 10 lb. turkey at the Ralph's day after Thanksgiving sale.  With an impending move date of January 15th and our lack of desire to have one more thing to transport to the new (not to be confused with "great potential") house, I decided to cook that darn turkey.  Heck, I even made the infamous Aunt Jo rolls (by way of Carol Abo, by way of Nancy Kerwin), stuffing and a salad.  I know, sometimes I even impress myself.  Just when Russ thought he couldn't eat another bite, he gets a second Thanksgiving meal.  And to that I say bring on the leftovers!  Cold turkey, turkey sandwiches, turkey noodle soup, turkey quesadillas and anything else that I cook over the next two weeks to get rid of this turkey!

Life is exciting right now and you'll be happy to know that I purchased a great little lens to help document the home renovation and all the other glorious little events that will continue to happen - - otherwise known as our lives. 

Lastly, Happy New Year all you crazy people we love you mucho!  And in the vain of Garrison Keillor (a shout out to Dave-O)  "Be well, do good work and keep in touch".

Please keep in mind, I had to use my stupid camera phone on these pictures (remember I broke my lens).  Have no fear though, you can prepare yourself for some better photos in the near future. I'm not sure how buying a lense fits into my newly tightened belt but it's an investment right?  Hello my little 1.8, 50 mm lens I'm coming to get you!

Sydney's 3rd Birthday

I love that our niece Sydney's birthday happens to fall on the 22nd of December because we've made all three of her special days!  I only wish that our other nieces and nephews birthdays were close to major "Brink" gatherings too because Aunt Angie and Uncle Russ LOVE cake (whether it be Dora the Explorer cake or Hot Wheels cake) and we especially LOVE snuggles and kisses from our little tribe of nieces and nephews. 

Note: I had a little incident with my SLR camera in LAX...namely, I tripped over my own foot (typical) and broke my lens so these pics have been generously sent to us by my sister-in-law and I do think they are quite cute :)  More pics to come of the Holidays - - I managed to use my point and shoot and manipulate my camera so a few pics actually turned out.

Baby Maddox!!!

Perhaps the cutest thing about Sydney is her love for her uncle Russ.  She's going in for a "movie star" kiss...he's getting more comfortable with the smooches.  I have to say too that I love Russ more and more because he is such a generous giving person and uncle to all of our nieces and nephews.  Russ really "took on" the "Brinks" with gusto and love.

Thanksgiving in San Diego

We are spending a great weekend in San Diego with the Kerwin's.  Yesterday, we started off our day with the Father Joe's 5k run, which was perfect because the big meal didn't feel so fattening.  We'll post more about the weekend later but thought we'd share this adorable little link for ya'll to take a look at.  Do you recognize the dog?  Beba is more of an "actor" than her mommy.

Click here to see Beba's big television debut

We are thankful for our friends and family!

With the Kerwin's listening to reggae in the Gas Lamp District (San Diego)

This is probably one of my favorite photos to date...it was taken with my little point and shoot.  Russ and Beba -- my greatest joys. xo

To see more pics of our big weekend click here.

Halloween Weekend in Sonoma with Friends!

Halloween 2009 is sure to go down in the books as one of the best in history.  We traveled with the Hills down to San Francisco last Thursday and met up with the Abo's, Von Stroh's, Williams', and Fraser's on Friday in beautiful Sonoma, California.  The weather was gorgeous and the leaves were at their peak.  The vineyards were picturesque and we were ready for some wine tasting. 

With the Hill's at St. Francis

In total, we hit up about a dozen or so wineries over three days and it was a blast.  On our way to pick up the Abo's, we hit up Gloria Ferrar and St. Francis wineries.  Gloria Ferrar, while good bubbly, was pretentious and snooty (skip it) but the folks at St. Francis were awesome and the wines were delicious...especially the Chardonnay.  We were running a little late to pick up the Abo's so we met up with them at Woodenhead and then we all headed over to Iron Horse, stopped for a quick pit stop to Porter Creek (a shout out to our precious little godson Porter Abo) and ended at Twomey Cellars.  Then, it was off to the grocery store and then to our great little house on Dry Creek road.  We got settled and relaxed a bit and then it was off to Barndiva for a delicious dinner and to meet up with the rest of our crew.  We wrapped up the night with some shuffleboard at John and Zeke's.

Twomey Cellars

Saturday was a riot.  After a morning run, we all loaded the party bus/limo at 10:30 am and toasted the start of our wine tasting adventure with some champagne.  We hit up White Oak and Stryker wineries and then enjoyed a nice tour and picnic lunch at Medlock Ames.  We capped the day off with a visit to Hanna and Field Stone wineries. Kudos to JJ and Dod for organizing such a wonderful day!  All in all, we loved Hanna and White Oak wines the best but we also appreciated Medlock Ames' small sorganic/eco friendly approach (complete with goats, vegetable garden and solar power).  We wrapped up our tour at about 5:00 pm and then it was "go time" for our Halloween themed dinner that Piper organized.  Each couple had to dress like their course and it was such fun.

10:30 am "Before the wine tour "

5:00 pm "After the wine tour"

Appetizers - Hill's - Greek Appetizers - They dressed like Sandy and Danny from "Grease" ha!
Salad - Von Stroh's - Sauteed spinach  - The dressed like Olive Oil and Popeye
Primi - Fraser's - Spinach/Cheese Fondue - Also dressed like Olive Oil and Popeye (so funny)
Main Course - Abo's and Williams - Mini burgers and french fries - Dressed like 50's
Dessert - Kerwin's - German Chocolate Cake - Dressed like Germans :)

Other than the ribbon and socks, I had everything at home to put this German thing together!

Despite Russ' dislocated thumb, it was a super fun night of friends, food, wine, hot tubbing and dancing.  You know it's a good night with the cab driver decides to come in for a quick dance party right?  I know we are all adults but sometimes its nice to pretend we are still in college.

Bella Winery, in the Cave

Sunday was pretty low-key.  We had a lazy morning and then headed out to Yoakum Bridge, Unti and Bella wineries.  I absolutely loved Bella and their wine cave is pretty cool.  We said good-bye to everyone after a quick stop to the Dry Creek Store and then it was back to LA with the Hill's.  We are already going through withdraws (both from our friends and good wine) but we were sure to stock up and are already looking forward to the next gathering. 

Thanks again to the Abo's and Fraser's for organizing such an incredible weekend!  I think Tuscany should be our next stop :)

I took a lot of photos so I had to post a few more below:

Russ' Birthday Weekend

October is a month full of birthdays!  Two weeks ago we celebrated my sister, Tricia's, birthday at Musha in Santa Monica (pics posted soon) and this past weekend, we celebrated Russ' 31st!  I remember when I took him out for his 20th...wow, time flies! 

Hiking is Russ' favorite thing to do and so I thought it appropriate to find us a hike in the San Bernardino Mountains.  Only one short hour away from LA, we may as well have been across the country.  We hiked the Momyer & Alger Creek Trail.  It's a short hike but it was pretty tough...the altitude made a big difference (about 7,100').  We hiked in about 4 miles to Alger Creek and spent the night in a great little spot right next to the creek.  We spent the better part of Sunday morning taking baths in the freezing cold creek and hiked over to Dobbs Peak.  The hike offered beautiful views of Mill Creek Canyon and Yucaipa Ridge - - it was really beautiful.  While the country is dry, there are many trees and with the fall colors changing, it was a perfect time to go.  The best part is that Russ woke up on his birthday in the woods, a place where he feels most at peace. 

We managed to make a quick pit stop in Oak Glen to buy all things apple.  We bought apple cider, apple butter, apple pie...I only regret that we didn't make it in time to buy apple cider doughnuts...next time.

We made it back to LA to meet up with a small group of friends at Spring Street Smoke House to enjoy Russ' favorite...burnt end ribs with lots of sauce!  The perfect ending to the birthday weekend was the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake...again, Russ' favorite.  I feel really blessed to have such a wonderful husband and while, he doesn't like making a big deal about his birthday - - he's a big deal to me and deserves a day/weekend that is all about him.  I'll have to start planning next year's adventure soon!