bloomin'

If I could have fresh cut flowers on my bedside every morning I'm pretty sure I'd be the happiest person on earth. No joke. There is something completely and utterly wonderful about fresh blooms that just makes me smile.

Yesterday I took care of things with our leasing office, got the oil changed, and talked shop with the mechanic about my brakes and tires.

I earned these babies. Thanks Trader Joe's.

My only regret is not being married in peony season...

highlights #60

It's starting to feel like summer around here.  I'm just waiting for Dave to come home from his last day of school, um, work for the summer vacation, right????  If only that were how it went down. 

Highlights below:

Great NY Times article about BYU's animation department

summer uniform

I'll be making a version of this soon

celebrity doppelgangers

I've used this TWICE now and it really works!

LA drivers will laugh

xo

gateway to summer

Our long weekend started Friday night when we hopped in the car and headed down to Orange County to stay with my parents.  I know I sound like a broken record, but it rocks to live so close to them.  We honestly see each other every other week at least.  It's great.

The boys were up bright and early Saturday for a 7:45 tee time down in San Clemente and we ladies got our beauty sleep.  We decided to head to the beach for the afternoon around 12:00, but upon entering the freeway on ramp we realized our mistake.  Duh, it was Memorial Day weekend!  Everyone and their dog were on the 5-South on the way to the beach.  We waded slowly through the sea of traffic, but around San Juan we decided we'd try to shoot down to PCH...with 100 of our closest friends.  Turns out everyone else had the same idea.  It was at that point we decided to jump ship, turn around, get some lunch, and salvage the afternoon.

We ended up in downtown San Juan for afternoon tea at The Tea House on Los Rios and had a great time sipping tea and eating cucumber sandwiches.

We had a pretty great time trying on all their hats while we waited for a table...

We were a tad bit under dressed for the occasion - ahem, swimsuit coverups and minimal makeup - but we decided we'd just roll with it.  This was a spontaneous afternoon.

 PS they served scones with clotted cream...I was in heaven.

After tea we walked around the charming street of downtown San Juan where, it so happens, we took pictures on our wedding day.  This house look familiar to anyone...?

May 2013

August 2011

Time flies...

Sunday was spent quietly with the family attending church in my home ward, and getting to hear Brooke sing in Sacrament Meeting was a special treat. 

Monday was planned for a beach day, but after Saturday's fiasco we decided to play it safe and lounge by the pool.  The morning was brisk so we caught a matinee of the new Star Trek movie and came home to hop in the pool.

Quite literally...

It was a lazy afternoon in the sun and a day well spent with good company.

This long weekend was over too soon, but we're starting to get excited for the Tobler family 4th of July on Balboa Island!  It's only a month(ish) away!  Let the countdown begin.

time flies

One year ago this holiday weekend we were loaded up in our U-haul cruisin' down the I-15 towards sunny CA.  Honestly the most memorable part of that trip was trying to figure out how to park our huge truck, staying at Buffalo Bills for the night (leaving much to be desired...), and waiting in bumper to bumper traffic for over an hour to drive less than a mile to our pit stop.  Oh and then unloading the contents of said truck into our apartment...on the 3rd floor.  Thank goodness for our elder's quorum and the missionaries.  They were LIFESAVERS.  Literally.

Needless to say, I'm really pretty glad we're not driving too far this weekend (cough cough, please be kind LA traffic).  We'll be hanging out with my fam down in Orange County, and, weather permitting, we're planning to be soaking up some rays at the beach.  Fingers crossed.  Sunscreen packed.

Three day weekends are really my favorite kind of weekends.  Waking up Monday morning and knowing you have no responsibilities is bliss.  Can't wait.

Pictures via Pinterest: left, right

web highlights #59

I think I need to get back into the groove of posting more...these highlights posts are becoming every other post on this blog!  Oh well.  To be honest I've been looking forward for this week to hurry up and be over so we can spend a very fun long weekend down with my parents enjoying some CA sunshine and Memorial Day.  Come oonnnn Friday!

Until then here are some fun posts:

I SO want to make one of these for both me and Dave

I'm making a book like this for my kids

this is real life

always be uplifting

a list of fave Insta editing apps

a party lifesaver

FREE vintage printables here (for real)

gorgeous

faux taxidermy (??)

and really simple pretty makeup (too bad the sites all in Russian...)

And in other news, I actually really like the changes Pinterest has made to it's new format - I don't think I've ever said that about a site update before.  Props to Pinterest.

xo

locals

Last week I asked Dave if he wanted to meet up with my parents on Saturday to go to my mom's, cousin's, son's wedding open house...confused yet?  (we figured out later that he is officially my full second cousin, but would have been too easy to say)

So on Saturday we hopped in the car and drove down the 405 to Mulholland Drive, got lost once (thanks a lot Google Maps...) and finally found my cousin's house.  They live on a lovely cliff side with a view to kill for and it was such a lovely California evening to spend eating raspberries and bundt cake with the newlyweds.

Gorgeous right? 

After leaving the open house it was Dave's and my job to find a local spot for dinner.  We Yelped and found a few promising spots, but Dave thought he may have found the winner in a gastropub off Ventura Blvd called The Local Peasant.

Turns out the place was so local they don't really even have a sign on the front...so yes we walked up and down the street several times totally lost and almost gave up, but we finally found it, and we were so glad be did.  

This was the only advertisement of its existence...I don't feel too bad about missing it (and then getting mixed up with addresses, but that's another issue all together)

Dave had high expectations after introducing my dad to his new favorite LA restaurant, so it's not like there was any pressure or anything.  However, after deviled egg appetizers and seeing an heirloom tomato salad on the menu they were pretty much sold.  Oh, and pear, blueberry, raspberry crumble for dessert?  We weren't complaining.

Too bad we don't like spending time with these guys at all...

It was a fun local find and on a Saturday night around 6:30, the said locals started pouring in.  Always a good sign.

Perhaps we'll have to come back soon!
Adios! We're goin' back to the suburbs (where there's parking...)

sweet teeth

Last night Dave and I ate dinner (which was really pretty good...), and then, at 7:30PM, we wanted dessert.  And we wanted cake.  So we grabbed a bundt pan and a box of cake mix (we're not quite make it from scratch cool yet) and we stayed up intentionally late just to let it cool, frost it, and eat it.

Worth it?

Why, yes.  Yes it was.

Now we just need a few more friends because we've got a big cake...and just 2 of us.
It's already started to be a problem. 
Cake for breakfast?  Why not!  We just need to get rid of this thing!

P.S. I'm pretty sure I've never really baked a cake before...too bad this one was so delicious.  Now I'm going to have to make more.
Darn.

adventure is out there

While the rest of the Tobler clan was off in the Midwest celebrating a certain brother's graduation from dental school (Woohoo Dr. Tobler!), Dave and I were determined to have a fun Saturday of our own.  We packed up a couple PB&H's, filled the car with gas, and headed out on the 126 West toward Ventura to go exploring.

On the way we stopped at a little honey farm just off the side of the highway that I'd heard about. 

Let it be known that I really hate bees, but I'm a sucker for honey.  We go through way too many of bottle a month (ok maybe like two), and Dave has just started to come round too.  We're honey lovers, and this was just the place for us.

They had a little tasting station where you could try all different kinds of honey collected from different plants like eucalyptus, sage, orange, cactus, avocado, wildflowers, buckwheat, and, of course, the classic clover.  Dave's favorite was sage, and I was a tie between wildflower and clover.  Who knew honeys could taste so different?  Both of us agreed, surprisingly, that orange was the loser - it was too bitter/herby for our sweet loving tongues.

After that we hopped back on the freeway highway towards the coast. Oddly, it was a beautiful sunny and warm day until we were about 3 miles away from the beach and then we hit a foggy cloud that didn't lift up the whole time we were there.  Weird, right?  Good thing we didn't come to get in the water.

We drove around the quaint little beach houses, and found a little park on the sand to eat lunch and roam around.

 

When the ocean air completely and thoroughly tousled my hair beyond help, we headed for Ventura's little downtown.  There were lots of fun looking eateries, boutiques, and more than a one street's fair share of thrift shops.  We strolled around and peeked in here and there.  Oh, and of course stopped for a little gelato.  What's a day trip without a little gelato?  And hazelnut and chocolate gelato at that.  My favorite combo.

On the way home we found the sun again (a few miles from the coast, so weird) and stopped at a little fruit stand in the canyon with the intention of picking up strawberries to make jam, but at $10 for half of a small flat, I wasn't impressed.  Don't worry, we still got a few macaroons as compensation.

And we called it a day when we rolled back in to our 80+ degree Santa Clarita.  Well deserved naps were taken (we're such party people) and a nice evening was spent together. 

Sometimes, these are my favorite kids of days.

highlights #...?

So...it's been for-ev-er since I've done a web Wednesday post...so long in fact that I can't even remember what number I'm on anymore!  I'll have to go back and check.  But since I've had a little more time on my hands I've been finding fun things on the web and haven't had anywhere to share them (Dave can only take so much you know?), thus the necessity to get this post series back up and running was born.

We'll start slow:

Dave and I really need to make it down to this LA hole in the wall

heard of Tinder?  This is funny

the Pregnant Husband

pictures of sisters over 30 years (makes me want to go get my camera)

arranging pretty flowers on a budget

the Bluths are in London (wish I was too)

and just for laughs (and because I love John Krasinski)

xo

PS - Dave and I watched (an edited version) of ARGO last night and...it was crazy intense.  I very much enjoyed it, but it was over at 10:00 and my adrenalin wasn't done going till about 11:00/11:30.  That was one pretty crazy TRUE story.

a lovely long weekend

David's Grandma passed away last week and we were lucky enough to be able to come to her funeral this past weekend up in Provo.  All David's family lives in Utah, as well as most of our friends, so trips to the beehive state are always welcome in our book.  And they are most especially welcome when Utah is in full springtime mode, aka: my favorite Utah season.

Poor Dave, I made him go on a walk almost every day we were there so I could soak it in.  California is a beautiful place, don't get me wrong, but we don't really get a full on spring, or winter, or fall...we do summer pretty well though.

Utah was also kind enough to send it's springtime snowstorm the week before we came (thank goodness), and it was beautiful sunny days the whole time we were there.  Score. 

We flew in Thursday night (around midnight - thanks Peter & Aileen for getting us!) and Grandma Marion's funeral was the next morning.

Before the funeral I got to run over and see one of my best girls who was leaving for PERU later that day - talk about bad timing!  But at least we got to see each other for a little bit in passing.  And I finally got to see her little newlywed nest - so fun.

Grandma Marion's funeral was lovely and it was so great to spend the day with family celebrating her.  It had been a long time since I had lived close to a grandparent when I married into the Nemrow clan, and I loved getting to see her almost every week at Sunday dinners.  She was spunky and sweet and wore more bling than anyone I've ever met (except maybe Cindy...).  In fact one of the sweetest things at her funeral was that all of Grandma's jewelry was displayed out on a table for each granddaughter (and granddaughters-in-law!) to pick a piece to wear for the day, and then keep in remembrance of her.  And let me tell you, she had A LOT to choose from:

Rings and earrings (clip on of course) and broaches and necklaces, it was all rhinestone studded and sparkly, just like Grandma.  I chose a fun sparkly necklace and have already worn it twice since the funeral!  It has been so fun to think of her each time I put it on.

There was also a display of all Grandma's grandkids and great grandkids when you walked in with Christmas card pictures, wedding announcements, and the like that she has kept over the years.

It's so crazy to marry into a family and become part of them.  I saw myself multiple times on that wall and had to smile - I was a part of her life too!  That picture of her on the left was my favorite on the table - she was one fun lovin' lady.

I was also lucky enough to marry the man with the golden pipes, who Grandma has asked to sing at her funeral for as long as I've been a part of the family (and longer I'm told!).  I actually think that was one of the first things she told me when David introduced us.   "Oh, you're dating our David?  He's going to sing at my funeral."  Well he finally lived up to his promise and sang a beautiful arrangement of "Smile Though Your Heart Is Breaking," "Because I Have Been Given Much," and "Love At Home."  It was very touching, and there were few dry eyes in the crowd. 

Grandma loved the 4th of July (a love that has trickled down into her grandkids - it's Dave's favorite holiday) and she asked that we put out the flags when she died to celebrate her.  There was a bucket of over 200 flags for everyone to take and wave that day in remembrance of her.  The kids loved it and we found flags everywhere all day long.

 Haha, baby hungry much?  We've just got the cutest nieces and nephews around.

It really was a day of celebration and even when I talked to Cindy later about her mother's funeral she just kept saying what a party it was.  And it was!  It was a great day and I know that makes our Grandma Marion smile.

Saturday morning we got everyone out of bed and down to Communal, Dave and my favorite Provo restaurant.  And it did not disappoint.

 We had crepes and johnny cakes and the most delicious biscuits with homemade jam.  It was kind of funny calling the night before to ask if they please had enough room the next day for a reservation of...15?  As luck would have it, they did and it was so much fun.

Saturday afternoon was full of golf for the men and shopping for the ladies (a Nemrow tradition of sorts), and then that night we got to hang with a few of our favorite people.

That above smiley picture took a few tries to get (and this isn't even all the outtakes)...

We love the Cases and wish we lived closer!  Good thing they're moving to Cupertino this summer for an internship with Apple - at least we'll be in the same state again!  We tried to make some yummy sounding s'mores cookies via a Pinterest recipe and...it was an adventure.  From Stephen accidently mistaking the powdered sugar for flour and adding 2 1/2 cups of it to the dough, to watching these cookies become ginormous...we had a good time.

 
Don't worry, they were delicious.   And, yes, we split one into fourths to share among us - there's no way I could eat one of those things by myself.

The last day of a trip is always a little bit depressing.  We went to church and took Sunday naps and then me, trying to squeeze out every ounce of springtime before we left, asked Dave if we could go on another walk.  He's too good to me and gave in.  We drove to the neighborhoods south of BYU campus and took a stroll around our old stomping grounds.  I felt a little old, and then felt silly about feeling old.  We still could completely pass as college students, heck we pass as laurels and priests in our California ward right now!

 It was a lovely long weekend and we already miss everyone.  Flying back home is always bittersweet, but now it's back to real life - xo Utah friends!  Hopefully we'll see you again real soon.