The Lederman Kitchen

Our trip back to the US was too short to do everything and see everyone we wanted.  But it was all the time we had so we tried to make the most of it. After Lauren & Ryan's wedding in Seattle , seeing and spending time with friends and family in Portland and the Bay Area was our priority.  Along the way, we squeezed in eating the food we miss and running some essential errands - you know Costco, Target, Banana Republic. We were busy.  And I was pretty bad about getting out my camera.  I know, I can't believe it either.  It just felt so normal being home, spending time with our friends, eating at our favorite restaurants.  I'm full of regrets now. How cute are our Nephews? Seeing some of my besties in Portland Portland Boys photo, with Clara - there are a few playmates for her on the way in this group! Pho - I miss this so much in Ireland, it's hard to look at the photo Beautiful fall trees in Portland Mom's amazing homemad...

Brian here.  I know, I have been absent from the writing side of the blog recently, but Michelle is doing a great job keeping everyone updated on our lives.  So here we are in Dublin on Thanksgiving.  Strange not to be at home with the family on my favorite holiday.  I love Thanksgiving because there is no religion, and every American is included (the rest of the Jewish kids know what I am talking about).  There are no expectations of gifts, or services to attend.  It is simply a time to take a break with the people that you love, have some drinks and laughs, and eat what is quite possibly my favorite meal of the year.  The past 6, almost 7 months have been some of the best of our lives, but also some of the most trying.  Living abroad is not without its challenges, but we'll save that for another post.  Still, I find myself today with a lot to be thankful for.  After spending a week back in the States earlier in the month we were re...

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since Brian and I arrived in Seattle for my best friend Lauren's wedding!  The Bride and her maids. It was a great weekend, filled with spending as much time as possible with 2 of my best childhood friends, my parents and of course, Brian.  The wedding was fabulous and I couldn't be happier for Lauren and Ryan to finally be able to call themselves Newlyweds. We arrived in Seattle exhausted after a trip so long I don't even want to calculate the hours it took.  Jet-lag hit us pretty hard for the first several days. We were up, showered, caffeinated and out the door on our first day by 6am.  Which gave us some time to wander around Seattle, swoon over the fresh produce, flowers and seafood at the Pike Place Market, and stroll through some stores that we really miss over here in Europe - you know, Target, Sur La Table, Nordstrom. Good Morning Seattle! It's quiet in the market in the morning. Yum Massive...

Back in the Bay Area, after a few knee surgeries and a recovery that was way too long, I had finally started playing soccer again.  Every Wednesday, a group of co-workers would go out at lunch and play pick-up for about an hour.  It was easily what I looked forward to most during the week. I wasn't too concerned about finding a team or people to kick around a ball with when we moved to Ireland, I mean, we would be living in Europe, you would think that finding a team to play football (soccer to us) with would be easy.  It wasn't.   The problem here is that soccer isn't that big of a sport for girls in Ireland.  Girls tend to play field hockey, hurling and GAA football (the national Irish sports).  And, they don't play co-ed.  I'm typically fine with playing with boys, but here, the boys are not okay with girls on their team. Part of the team, we're never all there at once! Everyone I met over here, I brought up soccer and asked if t...