House Hunters International air date is set!

Hear ye, hear ye!

We have just learnt of the official air date of our House Hunters International episode! Keep in mind, HGTV could change the schedule at the last minute, but we know what the plan is as of today and that is:

17 MAY 2012 @ 9:30PM CDT on HGTV

Guys, this totally stinks though, because most of you will see it before us! Although we have access to mom & dad's DVR over here, that's 3:30AM in England! We don't mind, though... we will probably get up and watch it anyway! They said they plan on sending us a DVD a few weeks after the episode's been aired so we can watch it again and again.

For the official HGTV blurb about our episode, click here. :) Our episode is entitled, "Searching Out a Picture-Perfect Country Cottage in Buckinghamshire, England." How fun!

(If you're totally confused about what we're talking about, go to this post to learn about our exciting adventure in TV land!)

Baking at the Cottage

My thanks goes out to the doughboy

Lately I have craved cake, like, after every meal. Actually, I crave sweets all the time. It's beautiful how boxed cake mix is on sale at the Commissary almost every time we go... not to mention how easily it just sits in your pantry until go time. It just makes all my cakey dreams come true.

Pinterest has definitely given me a few ideas in the desserts department. Most everything I "repin" is some sort of food or meal that looks fun or downright delicious.

For St. Patrick's Day I dyed white cake batter orange and green and made an Irish trifecta cupcake display. This Pin gave me the idea. Bryant even picked all the orange and green sprinkles out of the container so we could have an appropriate representation on top as well as inside the cupcake. Everyone kept questioning the choice of including orange into the color scheme. I really didn't know that Ireland actually had somewhat of an orange vs green rivalry going on until after the cupcakes were eaten. Besides, they were topped with icing infused with Bailey's Irish Cream. Can't we all get along over a bit of Bailey's??

See the fun things we find in eggs? Twins!

The remainder of my baking has been an attempt to eat up what we half already sitting in the fridge or fruit that is about to go bad. We had loads of leftover Bailey's frosting and I had a half dozen bananas on the counter (I wouldn't actually let Bryant eat those even though he wanted to). I really actually planned ahead on the banana bread and watched those yellow guys turn brown for like, two weeks. It's amazing how long the banana bread craving has to wait before being quenched.

I find that mixing all the ingredients together and popping them into the oven is almost therapeutic for me. Not that I need more outlets because "omg, my life is so crazy" because I'll be the first to admit that Bryant and I are pretty much living the dream.  I just really enjoy decorating cupcakes and wrapping up our little breads to give to friends. It feels good to be proud of what you just created and to give away for others to enjoy, even if it is mostly made by a factory in Pennsylvania or wherever. That cake could not have been made if it wasn't for those eggs that I cracked and the 1/2 cup of oil I poured in that bowl!

Birdy helpers for that much-loved parchment paper!

The banana breads (or banana cake as they call it here) I baked the other day were 100% from scratch and I was pretty proud of my ingenuity of making it a fun and hassle-free process. Mom gave me these adorable birdy clothes pins for Christmas I have no idea why because she knows I am a bird lover and they come in handy! I decided that I was going to make mini loaves and used parchment paper to ensure their cuteness to the very end. My birds made the paper stay put while I poured the batter and the paper just stays there after I remove the clips! I hoisted those loaves right out of their hot pan with zero trouble after they were done baking. I didn't have to tip the loaf pans over and hope that more than half of the loaf would plop out.

We like ours warm with a bit of butter. 

How do you eat your banana cake?

So, with four perfectly shaped banana breads and my inability to eat them all, I wrapped up two of them in brown paper (Jo March style) and gave them to our mates from church. The other two were enjoyed by B & me.









In other news... This stuff is amazing. Cream Cheese and Chocolate?? Wow. My mom says they have something like it in the US. Go get a bag of pretzels and a tub of this magic and you'll have a tasty treat:

PS--You're going to want to click that Parchment Paper link because there is a coupon for $1.00 off a package of Reynolds' Brand Parchment Paper! :)

National Trust & Pemberley

Do you ever watch period dramas that show off grand estates and gigantic mansions and think, "Do those places even exist? Who owns them, anyway?" I don't think I ever thought that because, duh, the Darcy family owns Pemberley in Derbyshire and Emma Woodhouse is from Surrey and lives in a house called Hartfield.

Ok, I knew those weren't real places. Or ARE THEY???

Those are real counties, actually, and when I fell in love with the famous Jane Austen novels and their film adaptations I had no idea that I would ever be able to visit such a place.

Well, since moving to England I must admit that my first desire regarding travel involved a little book and a National Trust Membership. These days, large estates still pass down through the family line, but keeping up with property tax is probably a bit rough. Many of them are given to The National Trust and if you become a member you can visit any or all of them for free free FREE!!!

"No, no. The green one. Yes, that'll do."

Last week, we went to a house called Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire. It was just over 1.5 hours from our house, not far from what is called the Peak District. This place was of particular interest to me because according to that neat book I bought in Bath some scenes from Pride & Prejudice were filmed here! ...Some of the best scenes in the whole movie, actually.

The Queen's Bedroom was also Mr. Darcy's bedroom  

Ok, so I am a movie junkie and the romantic ones are definitely the favorites, especially the Jane Austen novel-based films. If you aren't into that sort of thing, that's ok, because the history and grandeur of the house is amazing just by itself!

We learned that they filmed the interior shots of Pemberley (Mr. Darcy's home) at Sudbury Hall and the exterior shots at a different house called Lyme Park (we plan on going there soon). Sudbury was built in the 17th century by Lord Vernon and you can learn more about it here.

The Hall was converted into a Museum of Childhood on one wing and preserved in its original ornate beauty on the other end.

Enjoy these highlights and their respective Pemberley scenes!

The Grand Staircase 

"I have heard much of your master's fine person," said Mrs. Gardiner, looking at the picture; "it is a handsome face. But, Lizzy, you can tell us whether it is like or not."

The Long Gallery

Homeward Bound (for a week)

Well, folks, we have wrapped up our House Hunters International filming in Minnesota. It was so great that we got a flight home and were able to see family out of this deal! Thank you SO MUCH Jared & Skyler for taking care of us while we were in MN. I am not sure what we would have done without you.

We also got to go to the Mall of America while we were there. I picked up a new favorite sweatshirt at J. Crew with a Christmas gift card. Thank you Terin! I am wearing it right now (it was perfect for our afternoon stroll).

Getting some Saint Paul shots on Harriett Island

Bryant is a great interviewee

While we were in the US we got to visit Rachel, Grant, Katherine and Eleanor Walker in Washington on Whidby Island! Rachel is my sister and you may remember she and her hubby had twins the weekend we left for England.

Our favorite little Star Wars fans! They are getting big!!

We had so much fun with Katherine and Eleanor. Five months is such a good age for big smiles and sweet, sleepy cuddles. Rachel and Grant are such good parents!

smiley girl! 

Katherine's first taste of Rice Cereal! 

Eleanor wasn't so sure about the cereal.

While we were in Washington we got to take a day trip to Seattle and hang out at Pike's Place Market for a bit. It was such a treat! :)

The fish throwers!

This Alley was intriguing. We did not add our own gum to the wall. it was gross!! 

The coffee fanatic had to go to the First Starbucks ever! :) 

Believe it or not, we actually planned the travel and our sleep schedules PERFECTLY. We barely suffered from jet lag at all. Because I had to work the day after we arrived back to the UK I was very thankful for that.

We promise to let you know when our episode will air! We can't wait!

TV show stars?

For those of you who might have noticed the Facebook or Twitter comments I've made about camera crews, TV shows, producers and house hunting... here is what's been happening.


We are going to be featured on House Hunters International! :)

*cue theme music*

We aren't buying a house in England, but recently there has been such a demand for more shows that they started taking on stories of renters relocating internationally! We definitely fit that category and we were chosen for the show! Last weekend we had a film crew follow us around for three days while we toured three houses (one being our own), walked around our village, and made the "decision" on which one we wanted.

If you are really confused why our house would be one property that we toured, I have to let you in on the not-so-secret secret HGTV has on how this show is filmed: It's all backwards!

I wonder about this house...

Sorry, folks! It's true! We moved into our house in November, Remember? We had been communicating with HGTV since October and they really liked our little trans-Atlantic fairy tale story. A casting producer name Claire told us to wait until we found a house and had moved in before we started talking about dates for filming. They wanted to make sure we actually had a house to show us living in England so you Americans could get that warm fuzzy feeling of seeing a successful international house hunt story! We created a casting video right after we signed a lease and sent it over to the producers. I am not sure if I am willing to post the casting video. I am really dorky!


We felt a little cheated at first when we first learned that HHI stages the whole thing, but I have to admit, we L-O-V-E this show, and I don't think I would like it half as much if the folks touring houses didn't pick one at the end. (Come on, it only takes 30 minutes to find the house of your dreams, right??) It's all TV magic!

I have heard so many stories of people not liking this show because they get fed up with the couple or individual touring the potential homes. I hope this will cast a new light on how it's created because chances are, they aren't that rude or picky or mean... the directors are looking for extreme opinions and the editors pick the direction of the story to make it all fit into 22 minutes of film (8 minutes of commercials). The people who are on it already have the house and choose to create opinions about everything for TV. We just hope the editors choose to make us look laid back & reasonable and not picky & stuck up.

Is this acting or the real thing? Our "letting agent" was so great!

We had two sets of dates for filming: 4-6 Feb for the hunting and decision making scenes and 19 February for the back story. They gave us a travel stipend to cover the cost of flying to Minnesota for a couple days for a bit of filming of our life before we moved (we are filming at a friend's house because we don't have a house in MN anymore!). On Friday we are flying back to the United States and while we're there we are going to Washington state to see my nieces! :) We will get some time with family in Minnesota and then it's five days of Walker baby twins! :)




This weekend we get to meet these adorable rollie pollies!!

We are pretty sure that if you have been keeping up with the blog you will not be surprised which one we end up picking, but we will still keep you posted on when the episode is supposed to air on HGTV! We were told at least a couple months, so we expect it'll be around June 2012. Stay Tuned!

English Walkies

I am not sure if we should call them Walkies, if we do not have a dog to go on them with yet, but we do enjoy taking the Saturday Morning stroll on the walking paths. Last weekend had a particularly chilly morning which led to dainty frost-fringes and cool foggy air.

Hosting friends!

Heya!

While Bryant watches Top Gear in the kitchen I thought I would peel myself away from Pinterest and post an update on the DittmerDigest.

Life is going along swimmingly at our cottage and we have even made several successful meals in our foreign kitchen. Bryant and I have been feeling so confident in our skills that we have invited over friends. But not just any friends, mind you, English friends. Well, Stella is technically Welsh, I think, but that's getting a bit technical.

The young pals from Church we always sit with at our Freedom in Christ course are coming over tomorrow for a Chili Dinner! Bryant has cooked up a spicy bean-less chili recipe and also a beany, boring version for those who like to taste their food without heartburn (me). You can find the recipes here and here although Bryant thought his wasn't spicy enough and I thought mine was rather bland. :( Super disappointing, Martha Stewart! Tomorrow when we heat it up for our guests I plan on adding some brown sugar, more chili powder and a bit more salt.

Boilermaker Tailgate Chili (spicy)

Martha Stewart's 30-Minute Chili (not spicy)

I have a recipe for a yummy cornbread casserole that a coworker gave me that I think you'll like, and hopefully our guests will, too. I don't have a photo because I haven't made it yet, but it's just a big yellow dish that tastes better than it looks. Most yellow foods are like that, aren't they?

• 14 oz can of whole kernel corn (drained)
• 14 oz can of cream style corn
• 1 box of 3.5 oz Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 stick (melted) salted butter
• 8 oz of sour cream

• Mix together & Bake in 9x13 pyrex dish @350ºF for 45 minutes or until lightly browned

In other endeavors, we have made another Coconut Pumpkin Pie for tomorrow and managed to find ice cream sandwiches to introduce to our English friends. Who knew that the UK didn't have these? Our friend confessed he thought it was ice cream between two slices of bread when he first heard of the idea. I am SO excited to show them that they are SO GOOD!!

...make that two coconut pumpkin pies.

Well, do you think our guests will enjoy their American meal and paper-wrapped dessert? We do plan on sending one of those pies home with them, by the way. If they like it well enough they shouldn't go home hungry!