Monday, October 18, 2010

julian saturday

this weekend we made our annual afternoon trek to julian. the weather was perfect. it's the closest thing i can get to northern california down here. it has about 1/100 of the awesomeness of apple hill, but i'll take what i can get. i desperately want to stay in a b&b there one night this winter and i think aaron might grant me that wish. aaron was such a good sport. i'm pretty sure he sees this whole trip as pointless, but agrees with whatever i want to do when we go. i love it.we had a gift card for mom's pies and took home an apple crumb, but sampled a slice of cherry apple crumb with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream while in the store. i'd like to try one of their apple dumplings (which you can watch them make through the window). maybe next trip. i've been gorging on delicious pie all weekend. i'm not much of a fruit pie person, but this is an exception.
cute boxes of local apples decorate the store.
on the way home we stopped at dudleys, a local bakery specializing in bread. they carry it at costco and local stores, but it doesn't get more fresh than stopping at the place that baked it that morning. they have an amazing variety of flavors. we decided on jalapeno cheddar and cinnamon raisin. the rosemary and olive oil loaf caught my eye, as well. we immediately began snacking on slices as soon as we hit the road. all in all a yummy weekend that will last until all the provisions are gone.
ps- aaron's flock of seagulls hair was created from driving through the back country with the windows down. he was rocking an adorable side part before that.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

is anyone else as captivated

by the Chilean miners rescue as i am? i could barely put on my makeup this morning because i was crying so much while watching the news. i'm crying every 60 minutes viewing the live coverage at work. all i have to do is think about that being my husband, father or brother and i lose it. i will be so thankful when the last one is out.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

i'm preparing for christmas

by dreaming of gingerbread house designs and digging deep for my creativity bone. not sure i have one in my body, but if i do, i'm going to find it. i signed up for a gingerbread chalet class where you learn how to design, make, and decorate a gingerbread house. can't wait. being able to make a fantastic gingerbread house is along the same lines as having the cookie recipe everyone requests or being the lady in the ward where women have babies just to get one of your quilts. maybe that's just in my mind, but i think a fine gingerbread house is pretty awesome.
after two classes in december, i should be able to make something like this one, right?
ps- this house is not on a table, but rather taking up most of a hotel lobby. yes, it's almost life sized. dream big.

Monday, October 4, 2010

sweet potato advice

can anyone help me with this spud? after hearing all the health raves it has received, i'm eager to begin incorporating sweet potatoes in our fall collection. i think i'll be fine with sweet potato fries or roasting them, but many questions have arisen in my mind regarding mashing them. every recipe i see has so much sugar/syrup/butter in it. no thanks! there goes my nutritional value. i'm fine adding cinnamon and other spices, a little sugar or butter, but would rather not make it a fat/sugar bomb. does anyone have a favorite mashed sweet potato recipe?

air show

saturday we went to the miramar air show and had a great time. we weren't planning on going, but got some great free seats at the last minute and quickly made plans. our box seats were literally in the front row. you can see how close the plane is to us. it is an all day event, but we went only for the afternoon. it was blazing hot and i cannot imagine hanging out in the sun all day. the planes were amazing and so loud and brought up lots of questions like 'how much pollution does this show generate?' or 'why does the government need planes that can hover like a helicopter?', but we sat back and enjoyed the show anyway.
thanks for coming, friends! and a HUGE thanks for thinking ahead and bringing the ear plugs!

so hot and past wanting to take a picture.