baby showers...

a lot of these are thrown at BYU

none of them by me

yet...

I'm more in the bridal shower, wedding reception phase right now 

but I digress

we got to throw one for a lady back home a week or so ago

please enjoy this delicious little creation my mother and I put together:

this, my friends, is what we affectionately called 

the diaper cake

and I'm pretty sure it's the most darling thing since baby showers were invented

stacked and rolled diapers tied together with ribbon and and decorated with silk flowers

the cutest?

I think so too

definitions

this 

{ free concerts in the park }

is 

{ wandering around the bay }

summer

{ soaking up vitamin D by the pool }



i miss you already.

the happiest place

Last time we came it looked something like this:

 This time it looked something like this:

Please note the distinct lack of humidity and humanity 

Congratulations on redeeming yourself Disneyland

Cheers to a day of 

running from ride to ride, 

eating frozen lemonade,
avoiding parade routes,
having childhood flashbacks

and never waiting in line for more than 20 minutes

I do still have one small quibble however...

How can it be that my mom scores 65,800 less points than me on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and yet we both still get the same measly rank of Planetary Pilot...??

This system seems slightly skewed if you ask me

I've decided I'm like a goldfish...

{ but not in the 5 second short term memory kind of way }

i once heard that a goldfish will grow to be as big as the bowl it's living in will allow...

well,

if i'm sharing a room 

and a bathroom 

and i only have half a section of closet space

yeah.

that's all i need.

that's all i use.

BUT

when i come home

and little sister is out of town for the week

and older brother's room is vacant

and i have two bathrooms at my disposal...

things change.

her closet becomes my closet,

his room becomes my laundry room,

my bathroom is used to shower, wash face, put on make-up,

her bathroom becomes all things hair-care...

and some how i still have the same amount of stuff as when i shared 

a room, 

a bathroom 

and a closet...

a thursday afternoon

spent wondering the Getty Villa in Malibu and meandering the Santa Monica pier?

great success.

no sea-side view from these lovely Roman gardens?
quickly remedied by a stroll down the pier.

!!!

look what I found!!!!

Stroopwafels!

I'm all sorts of the most excited

balboa

 

{ now }

{ & then }

it seems they just can't keep me away

if somebody wants to lend me a couple million I think I'll just move in

movie night

yesterday The Parent Trap.

tonight Notting Hill.

guess who's feeling a little nostalgic...? 

home again, home again

jiggety jig

should we...

take the

{ TRAX }

 

down up to Salt Lake for the night?

...

yep.

we should.

we did.

done.

i guess the UTA will just have to compensate for my missing the Tube and all other convenient European-style public transportation for now.

but i don't think i'll be tackling the Provo bus system any time soon...

that'll take a while to work up to.

the best Chinese food...

in Provo.

at least that was what the sign said.

{ think  }

tacky decorations

empty booths 

and full dinner dishes for $6.50

and you know what?

i don't think i've ever had such tasty sweet & sour chicken

we even got our picture taken to put up on the wall if you feel so inclined to look for us

p.s. - according to these two gents who lived two years in Taiwan I hold my chopsticks in the authentic Chinese style and here I had no idea all these years...maybe it's the Asian eyes...?

  

sweet teeth

i've got a few more of these than i care to admit, but i found some great new favorites that are:

fast

easy

delicious

big crowd pleasers

and i just had to share them...

#1 oreo balls of deliciousness

{ what you need }

-one package Oreos (or i prefer the (cheaper) knock-off brand that tastes just as good)

-8 oz creme cheese

-chocolate chips

-white frosting (mix up milk and powered sugar) if you want to drizzle on top

{ what you do }

mash up the pack of Oreos in a plastic bag while you set the creme cheese out to soften.

put the whole mashed up mix in a bowl with the creme cheese and stir together until combined.

roll into balls and set out to harden.

heat up the chocolate chips on the stove until melted and drop a generous dollop on top of each ball.

sprinkle some of the white frosting on top if you want.

enjoy!

#2 pretzel-m&m-kisses

{ what you need } -- even if it is kind of self-explanatory

mini pretzels

chocolate kisses

m&ms

{ what you do }

heat oven to 170 or warm, whatever the lowest setting is.

cover cookie sheet in tin foil (for easy clean up) and stack pretzels and kisses.

slip into the oven for 5 minutes or until the kisses are soft.

take them out and stick an m&m in the middle.

let harden and bon appetite!

p.s. i promise this isn't going to turn into a cooking blog, i'm far too incompetent in the kitchen to keep you interested with my culinary skills, unless you guys want to hear about my pasta creations and salad concoctions...?
the choice is yours.

time flies

...but Zupas' Caribbean chicken salad and Hawaiian barbecue paninis stay the same

then

summer 2008

 & now

summer 2010

southern california + utah

summer.

there's this:

and there's this:

bad?

no.

different?

yes.

but i tend to be more partial to the former

i can still remember my first summer in the beehive state (gosh that was 3 summers ago) being a little confusing...

examples:
 

when someone wanted to have a bonfire and everybody grabbed a bunch of wood pallets and head up into the mountains...?  

the mountains?

bonfire = beach doesn't it? or am i going crazy?

i guess it doesn't matter where you burn the wood as long as there's chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers, but i DID find i missed that salty sea air, smoky smell afterwards

or

when we wanted to go to the pool, whereupon a huge thunderstorm decided to roll in and stay parked over Utah County for the next 3 days...

rain?? 

in the summer?? 

this is craziness.

although the smell of rain on hot pavement has started to grow on me...

so besides the fact that my summers seem to be defined by a handful of very distinct smells, i am inclined to say that summer, no matter where you are, is the most bestest time of the year and we should all just smile and love it because we don't have to go to school!!

Well, except some of us do, so maybe scratch that...

fortunes

some how the fortune cookie gods knew I was going shopping yesterday afternoon:

"You shouldn't overspend at the moment.  Frugality is important."

but if I just bought two new blouse that's still being thrifty

...

isn't it?