Fun in the sun

As I'm looking back over the photos to decide what to write about, it appears that all we have done here is eat. That really is not the case, but no one would know it from the documenting we have done. I guess when you're on a trip eating does become one of the central things to do, but really, is that all we do? Anyway...

Friday morning we hit up Lucky Boy for the world's best breakfast burritos before the beach. (Side note -- I've been going there since high school and yet somehow overlooked the fact that you there are more options than just bacon or sausage burrito. You can also choose ham! Good thing I finally read the menu..)

We spent Friday at Manhattan Beach, followed by a brief trip through Old Town. I really wanted to take Courtney to Melting Pot just for the cheese and chocolate but we were still dressed in our beachy-hobo-ish attire. So she popped into H&M then made a quick change on the street, in front of Tiffany's.

Friday night we met up with Kristin and her date at the Dodger vs. Red Sox game.

Saturday was again spent at Manhattan beach. Such a beautiful, warm day. It's much easier to be happy about life's complications when you're sitting in the sun don't you think? After our play time was over, we headed to the infamous Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles (why not right?). It's a strange combination but their waffles are actually very good.

The Wiley's have been so nice to let us stay with them! They have a beautiful home and it's been so fun to be in La Canada. It makes the driving very easy because I know my way around pretty well.

Mmmm...

Day one of trip to CA (henceforth known as Base Tan Weekend):

Today I had frozen yogurt twice.

First at the Salt Lake Airport (as my breakfast, it had fruit in it so that counts right?) then again after dinner at my dearly beloved Penguin's in La Canada.

I love vacation.

30 things in the last 30 days...

1. Monday, January 28 - I completed my full personal financial analysis of the last two years, partially in preparation for doing my taxes. This involved lots of spreadsheets and lots of staying up til 3am organizing transactions. I also created a complete budget and decided to start living by it to prove to myself that I actually can live on a budget instead of just thinking and saying I can.
2. Tuesday, January 29 - Skip class to curl my hair. What?
3. Everyday – Miss Guitar Hero… The Wiley xbox is out of commission. I haven’t played in weeks.
   
   
4. Saturday, February 2 – Go with friends up to the Park City Freestyle International ski show. So fun! SO cold.
   
   
5. Sunday, February 3 – Attended Super Bowl party. My contribution was spinach artichoke dip, pot stickers (thank you for your recipe IeLi), baked beans, and sour cream and onion chicken bites.
6. Monday, February 4 - Rock climbing at the Quarry with Sarah’s family. I LOVE rock climbing. I’m not very brave so I don’t always like going to the top, and I’m not an adrenaline-seeking-thrill person, but I love trips to the Quarry.
7. Thursday, February 7 – I was asked out by a complete stranger while walking home from school carrying a tray of cinnamon rolls.
   
   I had to give a How-To presentation for my corporate communication class, so I chose cinnamon rolls. I had a tray leftover after handing out samples. I was walking home later that day, all dressed up in business professional dress, carrying a million books and bags. This nice guy walking near me stopped and asked if I wanted some help. I accepted and offered him a cinnamon roll when we got to my car. He asked me to go to dinner with him the following Friday. In any other city but Provo this should have creeped me out but I figured why not so I went! Crazy huh. This kind of stuff so doesn’t happen to me normally.
   
   
8. Friday, Feb 9-Saturday, Feb 10 -- DC visit! I was lucky enough to join Zack, Mom & Dad in visiting Steve and IeLi for Stephen’s baby blessing! It was a quick trip, but so much fun. I had a great time watching little Mei Li walk around and play and chat and laugh. She brings so much joy to the room. Steve and Ie Li live on the cutest street! I could definitely live in DC.
   
9. Saturday, Feb 10 -- Lost my favorite $5 pashmina grey scarf from Paris. I’m not sure when it actually happened, but it is no longer with me. RIP.
   
   
10. Feb 13-22 – Took midterms. This reminded me I am actually in school and should probably spend more time on that area of my life.
11. Wednesday, Feb 13 - Oliver’s CPK birthday party. Always a treat to go out to dinner all together. It was fun to have mom & dad in town as well.
12. Thursday, Feb 14 – Made some Valentine’s bouquets. A friend of mine wanted to give flowers to his girlfriend but wanted to be super cheap about it. I offered to help him buy flowers at the wholesaler. Then 3 of his friends wanted in too. It was fun, but definitely a case of saying yes to too many things. I think the arrangements turned out nicely, very untraditional which was the idea.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. Thursday, Feb 14 - Received several Valentine’s bouquets. From different people. I may have a problem on my hands…
    
    
    
    
14. Thursday, Feb 14 -- Made a fantastic Valentine’s meal. I have gone crazy over this website Pioneer Woman Cooks. I love that woman’s blog and this cooking website is an offshoot from it. She had step-by-step photo instructions for each recipe. It’s amazing and gave me the courage to try a Roasted Beef Tenderloin. I’m not known as great when it comes to cooking steak but with her help it was a total success! The steak was accompanied by Twice Baked Potatoes, Olive Cheese Bread, Veggies, Gravy, and Hot Fudge Cake (recipe from Annee’s realtor). Way too much food but such a success!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. Feb 1-26 – Watched almost 2 full seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. I finally caved in and started watching it. I’m aiming to finish just before the April 25^th return of the show.
16. Saturday, Feb 16 -- Fell in love with Sarah’s popcorn maker. This machine makes the process so lovely. It’s been added to the must-have list.
    
    
17. Monday, Feb 18 – Wednesday, Feb 20 – Park city visiting. Not my best skiing days but fun nonetheless.
    
    
18. Everyday – Gym time. It’s been a good month as far as that goes!
19. Wednesday, Feb 20 -- See a guy flagrantly cheating in the testing center worse than I’ve ever seen. A great internal debate followed about whether I should say something. In the end I did…
20. Thursday, Feb 21 -- Ballet West’s Cinderella with Sarah. It was an enchanted evening!
    
    
    
21. Thursday, Feb 21 – Decide I hate living on a budget.
22. Friday, Feb 22 -- Spend 3 hours fixing my TV. This involved many tools, screws, instruction manuals, and calls for help. In the end, I got the lamp changed and the TV is back in working order.
23. Friday, Feb 22 – Find out my IT band is hurt/tight/damaged. My trainer helped me diagnose the nagging pain on the outside of my knee. Rest, foam rolling and improved stretching is to follow.
24. Friday, Feb 22 – Finally make bran muffins! I needed a good running-out-the-door breakfast option. I have this super healthy recipe that required a trip to whole foods for the ingredients. Turns out they’re not too bad!
25. Saturday, Feb 23 -- Tubing at Soldier Hollow! I love this place. We had a good time (as my sunglass tan clearly showed for the rest of the week).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
26. Thursday, Feb 21 & Saturday Feb 23 – Got to have a Hires Big H veggie burger!
27. Saturday, Feb 23 – Attended a Golden Birthday party! We love any excuse to dress to a theme.
    
28. Sunday, Feb 24 - Got my visiting teaching done! Isn’t it great to check that off?
29. Monday, Feb 25 - Threw out everything in my cupboard with High Fructose Corn Syrup. Did you know how bad this stuff is for your body? Sadly, it meant parting with my beloved Frosted Mini Wheats (ingredient #2-sugar, #3-HFCS, wow!).
30. Tuesday, Feb 26 – Finally updated my blog.

Saturday morning breakfast delight!

One of my favorite things to do a Saturday morning is go to brunch with my friends. At a close second to going out is taking my time in the kitchen making a big, delicious, homemade breakfast. I have fond family memories involving breakfasts. I can remember many weekends when we would all gather for a late-morning meal, which is still a big part of our annual Beach Week gatherings.

Some of my favorite meals are breakfast burritos-Lucky Boy style, crepes, cinnamon crunch french toast, spinach and tomato omelettes, ham egg and cheese croissant sandwiches, buttermilk pancakes, etc.

It really doesn't happen that often, and it certainly happened more when I was cooking for Ken on a daily basis. But this morning I decided to break out the waffle iron and make myself a delicious treat.

I am posting about it because I have the most fantastic Buttermilk Pancake/Waffle recipe that I must share with you all. I've done extensive research surrounding pancakes. I've tried dozens of recipes, every one I could find, even paying to get access to Village Inn's pancake recipe. The one I am sharing is the result of all this research. The recipe comes from Elaine Frame which means its been refined to perfection. The pancakes come out fluffy and flavorful. I can't say enough good things about it.

So here it is! The same recipe can be used to make pancakes or waffles. Give it a try..

Buttermilk Pancakes & Waffles

2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. butter, melted

Combine the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until moist. It'll still be thick and a little lumpy. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes giving the buttermilk and baking soda time to mix and react. It'll be a little bubbly and frothy when the time is up. The recipes makes quite a few pancakes but I find they're still good when you freeze and reheat them.



***The buttermilk I like to use best comes from the BYU Creamery, but it's only sold in 4 cups containers so I have a bit leftover. If you find yourself in the same situation, here's a great way to use it up!!

Texas Sheet Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup water
1/4-1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine dry ingredients. Melt margarine in a medium saucepan. Add cocoa and water and bring to a boil. Add melted cocoa mixture to the flour mixture and beat well. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into a greased and floured 11x17 jelly roll pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Ice with Chocolate Fudge Frosting.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting
1 stick margarine
1/4 cup milk
3 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 lb. powdered sugar

Combine 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup milk and 3 T. cocoa in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 pound powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat well. Add additional powdered sugar if necessary to make a creamy frosting.

Park City - A Love-Hate Relationship

This year I decided to get a season pass to Park City ski resort. Last winter I had one at Sundance which was great. It’s very close and convenient and I could pop up there in about 20 minutes. So after proving to myself that I would actually use a season pass, I went all in again this winter.

I have had a love-hate relationship with Park City over the last 5 years. First of all, I don’t like going places that require an hour long car ride. I know it’s weird and hard to understand but I even avoid trips up to SLC. One would think I would love to get out of Provo and into a bigger city with more things to do and see but it usually ends up being more of a hassle than it’s ever worth. If I have to make an excursion up to Salt Lake I usually treat it like a “pack a lunch we’re going to be gone all day” sort of thing. Or I’ll bribe myself to head up there by promising to stop for a Hires Big H veggie burger. (SO DELICIOUS) Anyway..

If SLC is too far, Park City has been way too far. I am quite a fan of the Sundance Film Festival and have attended each year I’ve been in college. In the beginning I used to see the films in PC which, I believe, is where my hate for the city began. During those 10 days of the festival, that city is a mad house. There is no parking anywhere, stupid people cover the streets, it’s freezing cold and dark, 4-wheel drive is always needed, it’s a mess. I’ve had my car towed several times from various PC parking lots, each costing over $200 just because they think they can charge that much. After my first couple terrible experiences with the film festival in PC, I only see movies at the Sundance Screening Room (best kept secret of the festival) or the various SLC theatres.

All that said, I decided to give the city another chance this winter. Saturday I went up skiing with Courtney. It was a great time—perfect weather, great snow, not too many people, etc. We met up with Charlotte who lives at the edge of the resort parking lot (which means we can park so conveniently at her apartment complex and warm up after we’re done).

I ran into Christine while on the mountain too. It was a great day overall. The film festival starts Thursday and I might brave the madness of the city one more time for a film or two. I’ll let you know how it goes.

test test is this working?

Here are some quick photos...

Note the nice Yule Log we have burning on the TV screen. Crackles and all.

Here is where we ate dinner Christmas Eve - The Goring Hotel.

Searching through Harrods for signs of Christmas
Dinner Christmas night at Angus Steak House in Leicester Square - one of the very few places open.

So there's a little preview! I will post pictures of other family Christmas events soon. :-)

Brown boots

Here is what I've settled on for boots:


Aren't they nice? They're from JCrew. I had a few requirements... I wanted a heel that wasn't too tall, 2.5 inches was my maximum so that I can wear them to school and function. These are exactly 2.5 inches. Second, I wanted a heel that was a little thicker so it wouldn't wear out too fast. You can't really tell from this picture but the heel is more than your basic stiletto. Lastly, I wanted a pointed toe without being witch-toe pointy. These fit all the criteria! And more than that, JCrew has a calf-extended size which adds an extra inch around the top making these boots all around perfect. It was an exciting find.

P.S. If anyone is looking to go into the patent shoe trend, these are super on sale for $20 at the Nordstrom half yearly sale. Check it out!



I wouldn't have posted this except there was expressed interest. My life does not revolve around my shoes. But wouldn't it be nice if that was really all one had to worry about? ;-)

I love Pasadena.

A few weeks ago I got to head back to Los Angeles for the weekend (thank you Deloitte). I flew down Thursday evening and stayed at the Westin Bonaventure downtown. It was so fun. Friday I had interviews and lunch at the Deloitte office. It’s a nice place and I could definitely work there but I’m a long way from making a decision about that.

Friday afternoon I rented a car and headed back to La Canada. It was so fun to explore “my hometown”. The flowers in the median were in full bloom which made for a beautiful drive! I browsed through Botanicals and stopped into Penguin’s for some frozen yogurt. I’ve been dreaming about that frozen yogurt for months! I have never found a replacement in Provo that is quite as good.

On Friday evening I headed down to Old Town. Pasadena has really stolen my heart, I’ll always have a soft spot for it. I’m glad Sarah spent some time in South Pasadena because it helped expand my awareness and appreciation for the darling city. I spent my time in Old Town browsing and actually solved my great brown boot dilemma of the season at JCrew.

I love the details of the Old Town shopping areas. They fully decorate the area for every holiday or season. I thought these planters with pumpkins were so cute! I met up with Rachelle, Elijah and baby Eli Jr. for dinner at Cheesecake factory, just like we used to do in high school. It was great to catch up with them.

On my way back to my car I walked past an ice cream place (I can’t remember exactly what it was actually) and noticed this adorable wall design. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my bedroom wall and this looks like a great idea! Isn’t is darling?

On Saturday I went running around the Rose Bowl, ate a Lucky Boy breakfast burrito, got a haircut from Veronica, bought some Green Street salad dressing & zucchini bread, ate some In n Out and headed back to the airport. It was a wonderful weekend.

P.S. I'm finally free to play guitar hero again! :-)

Harassment

Ok ok... I know it's been waaay too long since I posted. I even have lots of pictures and stories stored up to share! I went to Dallas for goodness sake, there's lots of good photos about that! So what's the delay you ask? Why haven't I updated my lovely family on what's going on in my life? Here's a glimpse:

• Due Tuesday, 10pm -- MBA 540 Organizational Behavior midterm due. (Budget 2 hours in testing center, 6 hours min of studying)
• Due Tuesday, midnight -- MBA 520 Finance midterm due. (Budget 6 hours to complete)
• Due Wednesday, 9am -- MBA 550 Marketing Pharmasim project due (Budget 6-9 hours from what everyone has been telling me)
• Due Wednesday, 9am -- Acc 523 Tax Research Project 3 due (Budget 3-5 hours for research, 1 hour for writing)
• Due Wednesday, 9am -- MBA 520 Finance homework problems due (Budget 2 hours to complete spreadsheet and submit answers).

So as you can see... I'm a little swamped. I need Steve to comment and back me up about how much work this is cuz he vividly understands. But I will make this promise--before I play Guitar Hero again (and you wouldn't BELIEVE how much I love playing that game) I will post an update about Dallas. Yay! Here's a little teaser..

Thank you to my sisters for the harassment.
In a twisted way it makes me feel quite loved. :-)