White Christmas

  I just got back from spending a week in Michigan with my family for Christmas.  Justin and Charlie were missed but it was great to see everyone.  We decorated the tree, baked cookies, played games, and made the best snowman we could out of the snow we had.  Since my grandparents live on the water the wind usually blows the snow out of their yard.  :(  I also worked very hard to keep my crown as hula hoop champ on the wii.  One of my favorite things was when my grandpa got out his old movie reel and showed us films he made from years ago.  We got to see my grandparents wedding day, their first Christmas, and my mom and her siblings growing up on different trips they took.  I guess traveling runs in the family!  That was really cool to see and it was amazing how much Olivia and I looked like our moms when they were little.

Thought I would share this recipe so you all stay warm : )

Hot Buttered Cider

3 cups apple cider
1/2 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
10 whole cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup spiced rum (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine cider, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes

Uncover, return to medium heat, and add butter.  Stir until melted.  Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice and rum if desired.  Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves.  Enjoy!

  Justin and I leave in two days for our new home in Connecticut!!  Looking forward to exploring a new part of the country and making new memories.

Keep you posted,

<3 L

The Grove

  Yesterday Justin and I took our last trip to LA to see Sarah before we move.  We had yet to experience food trucks so that was definitely the first thing I wanted to do.  Sarah took us to Danny's Tacos (where they may or may not speak English depending on the day) for the most amazing quesadillas.  After that we walked around LA Live and got to see where the red carpet events take place.  Turns out it is just an ordinary street that gets deck out for big events.  Who knew? 

  Sarah is one of the few people in this world that shares a love for the little things that make me SO happy.  She knows me so well and knew I would love The Grove this time of year.  I am not a good enough writer to describe how cute this place is to you but I will try.  Picture a Christmas tree that reaches the clouds, Christmas music played by a live quartet, a train going by carrying families, the most perfectly decorated store fronts, and sipping hot chocolate.  This place has a farmers market AND a Pottery Barns Kids!  Like I said before Sarah is one of the few that shares these things that make me so happy. 

  We ended the day by driving by the Paramount Studios gates and finally eating at Bottega Louie.  Such an adorable, delicious restaurant, and we had a celebrity spotting.  Billy Crystal walked by us and Justin and Sarah made the connection right away.  I on the other hand was "McKayla Maroney not impressed".  They had to go through and list for me some things I would remember him being in, then I thought it was pretty cool and fitting that we saw a celebrity on our last night in LA.  We will miss having Sarah so close :(  And we appreciate her showing us tourists around while we were here, <3


I leave for Michigan on Wednesday in hopes for a white Christmas :)  Looking forward to spending time with my family and especially my mom.

Keep you posted,

<3 L

The Cozy Couch

  My blog has Christmas spirit and so do I :)  This Christmas Justin and I will be on opposite sides of the country.  Before I get on a plane and head to Michigan next week, I am soaking up all the little holiday moments I can with him.  (Don't feel too bad for him, he will be skiing in Big Bear with his friends the day after I leave).  We have been spending a lot of time on our comfy couch, in our new cozy PJ's, sipping hot chocolate, and watching our favorite Christmas movies.  Justin's pick was The Santa Clause and mine was The Polar Express.  A Christmas Story has got to be next, ah such a good one.  This time of year just makes me oh so happy!!

 Next post I will be recapping our favorites from California and road trip plans to our next location!

 Keep you posted,

<3 L

 

Las Vegas

  This weekend I had a fantastic girl's trip to Las Vegas with Aunt Annie and Olivia.  The first thing we did was take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon.  Ah-mazing!!  I'm not going to lie, I was extremely nervous about doing this since I am not that great with heights but it was SO worth it.  We flew over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead as well.  The views of the Grand Canyon were unbelievably gorgeous and I survived my first helicopter ride! (Not sure if I would ride one again).

  Being the huge Ellen DeGeneres fans that my family are we decided to do some of her lyric and dance dares while in Vegas.  There is something to be said about being in a town full of weirdo's and drunks and somehow managing to be crazier than them, but we accomplished just that : )  Watch the video below and enjoy a good laugh!  It certainly entertained the many people who watched us do these dares.  So embarrassing.  We got to eat at Sugar Factory and Taqueria Canonita, my favorite restaurants in Vegas.  Did some shopping and we were lucky enough to meet Elvis and Allen from the The Hangover this weekend, too.  For shows we picked David Copperfield and our minds were blown.  I'm still trying to figure out how he went from being on stage to appearing in front of our table to high five us in three seconds.  How does he do that?!  So many great times and memories were created this trip, love my family <3

Ellen's Dance and Lyric Dares Video

Keep you posted,

<3 L
 
 

Malibu

  Today Justin and I went to see the sleepy beach town known as Malibu.  We did not have the best luck with weather as it was cold and cloudy all day.  Other than going to the beach in Malibu the only other thing there is to do there is eat seafood (or go hiking, of course, seems that is all people do in this state)  We had lunch at Duke's which is known for its fantastic view of the Pacific.  The view was nice but would have been better on a clearer day.  This place is very similar to the Sandbar back home to give you an idea.  While in the area I wanted to check out the Venice Boardwalk and the famous Muscle Beach where body builders work out (even Arnold back in the day).  This place was SCARY!  Filled with drug addicts asking you for money and medical marijuana shops.  Justin was thrilled we payed the $6 for parking to find this out, but hey, not all travel experiences can be great ones, right?  It did give us another opportunity to drive the PCH which is always a lot fun.   

 Oak Glen

 Justin's work friends suggested a few weeks ago that we go to Oak Glen.  When Justin asked them what that was, they responded "only the cutest town ever!".  So this week we checked it out, and while clearly his friends have never been to Lakewood Ranch or Celebration, Florida, the town was pretty cute.  It is a very small town comprised mostly of apple orchards.  Apple picking is what people go to Oak Glen for and they grow all kinds.  We choose Riley's Apple Farm to do our picking because they grow organically!  Greeted with delicious apple cider and we knew we made a good choice.  As I said before they grow all kinds of apples, but we picked Granny Smith.  They are my favorite and just want we needed to make an apple crisp recipe Justin wanted to try.  Our trip to apple country was a lot of fun, and peeling our apples for our recipe was quite humorous with our limited kitchen supplies.  Here is the recipe we made (and don't forget ice cream!):

Cinnamon Apple Crisp

1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 450°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in large bowl. Add apples and toss to coat. Transfer apple mixture to prepared dish.
Combine flour, 1 cup sugar and butter in medium bowl. Using pastry blender or fingertips, blend ingredients until coarse meal forms. Spread flour mixture evenly over apples.
Bake crisp 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake crisp until apples are tender and topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Bradenton

  Last weekend we made a quick trip back to Florida for the first time since we moved to Cali.  While the trip went by way too quickly it was great to see family and friends.  We were so excited to get to participate in Amy and Nick's birthday celebration, a tradition for the past five years.  Also great to celebrate a milestone for my father-in-law as he turned the big 5-0.  Glad to see that everyone is doing well, we miss you all everyday, and please don't forget about us while we are gone!!

 Halloween has come and gone and with it went stoop kid.  All day on Halloween he packed a moving truck and left late that night.  Justin and I would have never imagined actually missing him but he turned out to be the best neighboor we have ever had. 

Next location information coming soon :)  

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Northern California

Yosemite National Park

   Wow, I did not expect this to be my favorite part of our trip north but it just may be.  The sheer size of this park and its natural beauty is absolutely stunning.  I had no clue how big it actually was until we got there and asked the lady at the entrance for directions to Bridalveil Falls and she said "turn left and you'll be there in about an hour."  I guess I was picturing a place where you could ride your bike around for the afternoon and see pretty much everything.  I was wrong.  We drove all around and spent about five hours there and still did not even come close to seeing everything it has to offer.  While there a quote by Jane Austen kept coming to mind, "What are men to rocks and mountains?"  The enormous mountains and water falls around you really make you realize how small you are compared to mother nature and the thought gave me a great appreciation for the things I was looking at.  A few of our favorite sites were Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls.  I was looking forward to seeing Mirror Lake, which is supposed to have a great reflection of the trees in fall colors, but after an hour hike to get there we discovered that the lake was dry.  Nevertheless, I highly recommend a trip to Yosemite because my pictures just do not do it justice.        

Napa Valley

    Napa was also a much bigger area than I expected.  It is broken up into different sections but we spent most of our time in Napa and St. Helena.  Obviously Napa is best known for its wine, but not being a wine lover myself that isn't what I liked most about the area.  Second to their wine Napa is known for their food.  And food, as I have told you before, is my favorite thing about traveling.  Delicious!  What impressed me most about Napa however was not the wine or food, but the people.  The staff at the hotel, wineries, grocery store, and everyone else we came across were extremely friendly.  A few highlights from the trip include a picnic at Alpha Omega Winery and cupcakes from Sift (winner of "Cupcake Wars" on The Food Network!).  While I could do without the wine I do love the beautiful manicured vineyards that are Napa. 

San Francisco

   Well we certainly visited at an exciting time, as the city was buzzing with all the success the San Francisco Giants are having.  When we checked into our hotel and I realized they did not have central air I threw a small tantrum, but eventually got over it.  It didn't help that the high temperature was only 60 degrees outside and I had left my favorite travel blanket in Napa. : /  Our first day in the city we spent seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street (the "crookedest" street), rode a cable car, and of course the Full House house.  This city is also broken down into different sections and one of our favorites was Fisherman's Wharf.  A very touristy area, but that is what we are, right?  A boardwalk right on the bay and lined with shops and restaurants.  Also home of Bousin Bakery which has been making sourdough bread since 1849, impressive and smells amazing.  North Beach is the "Little Italy" section of town and handmade pasta raviolis was one of my favorite meals.  Another favorite place to eat was in Chinatown, which is the largest outside of Asia.

   Charlie really liked Golden Gate Park where she got to meet lots of new friends.  Our first observations of the people at the dog park were that the locals were insane.  There was maybe 10 other people there but about 60 dogs.  Do the math and that is A LOT of dogs per human.  But then my genius husband realized they were dog walkers and not crazy at all, oops.  The park is also where we got to see our first Redwood trees!  And bison.  That's right, at one end of the park they have a large fenced-in area with bison just walkin' around.  Interesting to see, but a bit strange.  We ended our trip the second night seeing Neal Brennan (co-creator of the Chappelle's Show) at a comedy club and had great laughs.  We drove home along the Pacific Coast Highway which is just a really pretty drive on the edge of a cliff with the Pacific Ocean down below, which is a nice way to make the long drive back south fly by.     

Homefront...

   In case you have been wondering how stoop kid is doing I have an update.  Justin has gotten very close to him and we found out that he was in a motorcycle accident a few years ago.  He cracked his skull open and lost an eye and that is probably the reason he does not leave home much.  It is a very sad story, especially considering how nice of a guy he is.  He sold his tattoo shop to his employees and is moving to Colorado at the end of November to be closer to his grandchildren.  Justin and I have gotten to love having him as a neighbor and are going to miss him, maybe we will follow him to Colorado.  Who knows?

Keep you posted,

<3 L

10.13.07

  Normally this time of the year means celebrating another year together for Justin and me.  Typically it is spent at The Melting Pot; where we always get the same thing; spinach and artichoke dip, caesar salads, mojo cooking style and the original chocolate fondue. Sometimes Matt and Steph would join us since their dating anniversary is the day after ours.  While I will have to wait until June 30^th to celebrate our new anniversary date, it has left me reflecting on our past years together.  From our first little apartment in Bradenton, which remains Justin’s favorite to this day, where we had zero furniture to our name but thought it was a good idea to get a dog.  I generally like to think of us as having good common sense but buying a dog before furnishing our home seems to negate that.  Needless to say Charlie was brought home and the furniture came later.  I am a true believer in couples raising a puppy before getting married because they are WORK.  Sleepless nights, messes, training, and parenting styles are all involved and if you can survive that then you are in good shape.

  As it turns out Charlie is one of the best decisions we have made as a couple and she could not be more perfect!  We got through school, worked hard and had a blast while doing it.  I am always saying how lucky we are for the great people and opportunities we have in our lives but Justin reminds me luck has nothing to do with it, we are blessed.  Before we left Florida we had a gorgeous apartment filled with new gifts we were lucky blessed enough to receive from our wedding.  All of which was left in Florida and we packed the car with Charlie and a few clothes when we headed to California.  Now we live in an apartment that is practical but nothing special.  Our kitchenware consists of four plastic plates, two bowls, one pot and one pan that we bought when we got here.  The funny thing is that we have never done as much cooking as we have here with our limited tools.  But some of my favorite memories have been made in our little kitchen. 

  We have changed and grown a lot since we were seventeen, together.  Now we have gotten to see so many things that I never imagined myself seeing in the short time we have lived in California.  I look forward to what lies ahead for us and the places we will travel.  I am excited about our new anniversary and the traditions yet to be made.  And whatever else come our way :)

I love you Justin,

<3 L