Ciao Bella!!!

I'm leaving for Italy tomorrow!!

My itinerary is as follows:

September 8 - fly to Rome

September 9 - 11 Rome

September 11 - 13 Cinque Terre

September 13 - 16 Florence and Chianti

September 16 - 18 Venice

September 18 - 20 Sardinia

September 20 - 22 Rome

September 22 - fly home

Bring on Leonardo and Michaelangelo! Bring on the wine, cheese and scooter riding!

Summer Lovin'

One of the hardest things about graduating from college was coming to terms with the end of the annual "summer vacation." There's still something inside me that equates summer with sleeping in, visiting new places, and general all around relaxation. While I'm not a teacher nor a student and therefore I don't have a true and official "summer vacation," I had a pretty fantastic one this year.

Because I work in an industry that is tied to the school system, summer time is a time without business travel. Because Daniel's schedule is also dictated by the school system, he too was on a different schedule for the summer. The result is time spent together, which sadly, is quite a luxury for us throughout 9 months of the year. This summer, I got a double bonus - my boyfriend AND my best friend, as Jessica came to live with me for 6 weeks.

I said a tearful goodbye to Jessica 2 weeks ago and I, in a sense, said goodbye to Daniel yesterday. When glorious June, July and August rolled around, I realized just how much of a lone wolf I'd become and spending time with those who I love the most brought me back to life. Spending my days with people who make me laugh and who are kind, genuine, spontaneous, adventurous and so even keeled was incredibly refreshing. As I think about my farewell to summer (though here in the Central Valley the summer temperatures linger til October), I am beyond melancholy and can't help but feel nostalgic. But, instead of remaining sad, I've decided to think back fondly on the people and experiences that have made this one of the best summers of my life...

* i saw the entire west coast from the front seat of a car, with my best friend beside me

* i made some not so nutritional choices that tasted soooo good

* i witnessed mt. rainier on of it 90 days of visibility

* i ate oysters and clams and fish til i burst

* i played in the ocean... over and over again

* i watched fireworks with my feet in the sand

* i sang karaoke with all my might

* i line danced

* i made peach cobbler from scratch

* i shopped the farmer's market in the sunshine

* i traded shoes with a 4 year old

* i caught up with old friends on a horse ranch

* i played wii mario party for hours on end

* i teased my parents over board games

* i sipped wine and gulped homemade sangria

* i pet a sea slug

* i pet a donkey

* i hiked

* i saved a banana slug

* i bravely shed 12 inches of my hair

* i learned to play tennis

* i went on bike rides

* i was perplexed by the mystery spot

* i finally created the room i've been dreaming of for years

* i drank my morning coffee by the pool

* i walked and ran with marley

* i spent too much money

* i slept too late

* i spent wonderful quality time with my mom

* i enjoyed hours of girl talk

* i dreamed about the future

* i ate a frozen lemonade at a dodger game

* i cheered at an outdoor concert

* i danced

* i played minigolf

* i took pictures

* i ate A LOT of ice cream

* i laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed

* i took the time to understand my relationship better

* i fell more deeply in love

I'd say, that's a pretty sweet summer :)

breakfast of champions

I'm on a Quinoa kick. I've had it for 3 days in a row, in different ways and I don't see any sign of stopping!

This morning, I enjoyed the delicious, protein packed super food for breakfast. Here's what I made (I apologize; there are no pictures and I speak in handfuls, not in teaspoons - bear with me.)

Bring 1/3 cup dry Quinoa (this is one serving)

a couple sprinkles of cinnamon and

a handful of dried cranberries to boil in 2/3 cup water in a saucepan (dried apricots are great too!), then simmer until water is absorbed (about 10 - 15 mins).

With a fork, stir in a couple chunks of brown sugar to taste and a handful of toasted, slivered almonds. Top with a splash of soy milk.

Breakfast is served!

change

... i just thought it was time for one

you'll have to excuse the poor lighting and dorky smile. it's hard to be sly in the cube.

your eyes don't deceive you... my hair really IS that short!

Favorites

As Jessica's time in California began to come to a close, we hurried to do all the things that were still left to do while she was in town. While our list included some pretty ridiculous things (like trying to color my dog's hair with Kool-Aid) we also had some pretty big events in mind. One of my "must-do's" was spending time in Half Moon Bay with one of my best friends from college. Last week, Daniel remembered that he had asked for some days off so we decided to all take advantage of the situation and take an impromptu vacation to the bay. 

We took a beautiful drive to Santa Cruz to visit the infamous Mystery Spot

Which proved to be a mysteriously hilarious trip... these faces are a pretty accurate indicator of what we thought of our tour

We took a leisurely hike through the hills behind Amy's house

And arrived at this view

There was a lot of Catch Phrase, Mario Party and  Wii American Idol accompanied by good wine and even better laughs. We relaxed, caught up on celebrity gossip and spent wayyy too many hours in comfy pants. We chowed on sea food, enjoyed the ocean breeze and beautiful scenery. It was truly rejuvenating to share such a wonderful time with my most favorite people!

And as we left, this banana slug gave us a most pleasant send off :)

My kind of summer weekend

The past 4 weeks have been full of fun adventure and plenty of hustling and bustling. From my roadtrip with Jessica from Seattle to Avila Beach, a 4th of July weekend on the coast, a concert in Berkeley, a day in Monterey, a weekend with our amiga Amber in Long Beach and a mini road trip down to a San Diego horse ranch, Jess, Dan and I have been BUSY and we decided that last weekend was going to be a slow one... well sort of. 

We decided to stay close to home for some R&R. Who wouldn't want to kick off the weekend with Friday night karaoke at a local dive??? My mom, Jess, Daniel and I loved the people watching and even sang a few tunes ourselves :)

Saturday morning, I perused the local farmers market and munched on figs, the sweetest corn on the cob and a plum tart with my sweety all morning long. The afternoon was reserved for my favorite pastime - sunbathing with homemade white sangria! Around 6 pm we fired up the grill for our Chipotle burgers with pepper jack, roasted corn and homemade peach crisp. It was old fashioned family time in the pool til well after the sun went to sleep.

What's a summer Sunday without baseball? My dad took Daniel, Jess and I to a Dodger game for a swelteringly wonderful day game. Dodger dogs, garlic fries, frozen lemonade and a soft pretzel were all part of the day as well as our sweet Manny hat. 

The 3 amigos. My favorite people on earth. Yes, she's eating his hair

Thanks Dad!

beat the heat with a jellyfish!

Back in April, I bought 3 tickets (knowing that Jessica would be here visiting) to see Death Cab for Cutie at the Greek in Berkeley. Saturday, it was finally time to rock out - and get out of the valley heat!  Despite a fierce cold that plagued Jessica and me, we were determined to have a fabulous time. On Saturday, Jess, Daniel and I (we're becoming quite the fun filled triple threat:) drove to Berkeley for the concert. We took advantage of our early arrival and our general admission tickets and sneaked our way into the pit and staked a killer spot. Ra Ra Riot and Andrew Bird were the openers (both very pleasant surprises). There were no cameras allowed so I have no pictures of the show, which exceeded all of our expectations!

We crashed in Half Moon Bay at my friend Amy's house, though she was gone for the weekend :( The next day, we had a lot of couching, sneezing and runny noses, but we refused to let that hinder a good time. We took the long way home... via Monterey. 

None of us had been to the aquarium in the recent past and we figured it was time for a visit. Just in time for the "Secret Life of Sea Horses" Exhibit in fact! 

The Splash Zone

Sea Anemones

I'm kind of obsessed with jellyfish, though I know - first hand- how painful their sting is

Touch Tank

I love these little guys!!

This is a Sea Horse!! Look at that camouflage!

Everyone's favorite Monterey attraction

Minus the stuffy nose, the day was perfect :)