highlight #75

Well, it was time for another blog make over.  I get the itch every so often, but this time I'm really pretty happy with the simple and clean layout.  I may or may not have spent 3 hours filtering through my ideas on Photoshop and watching episodes of Bones yesterday, but hey, we all have our own creative processes ;)

Now here are a few things from around the web:

I have an itch to make this necklace

a great kitchen addition

interesting

consider these wishlisted

baby girl's names throughout the years

prettiest IKEA hacks

why we need sleep

cute little lady

good reminder

and a Jane Austin quiz, you know, just for fun

xo

frank & stein

Tuesday night was time for our annual frank and stein party!  It's the only time of the year I bust out root beer in glass bottles, we eat completos, and watch cheesy Halloween movies.  This year it was Ghost Busters. 

It's a delicious tradition. 

And as an added bonus, I made apple pie for the first time yesterday!  Perhaps a new tradition in the making...?  I'm new to this pie making business, but I'm all ears to any tried and true recipes that anyone has to offer.  I've just started using our handy dandy little personal pie maker and I'm itching to use it again - maybe some homemade chicken pot pies.  Oh the possibilities...

Happy day before Halloween!

highlights #74

I don't know if it's just me, but making homemade bread has been in the air this week.  My friends are posting their favorite recipes on their blogs.  Facebook status updates.  All sorts of stuff...Is it the crispness in the air?  Is it the new it thing to do?  Who knows.  But I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make my own batch of homemade bread this afternoon.  It's currently rising on our counter top and I am crossing my fingers and toes that it turns out.  Also can't wait to make our whole apartment smell like baking bread.

Serious bonus.

While I go wash my hoards of dishes (seriously, so many - flour can make a huge mess when it's feeling frisky), here are some posts from around the web:

seriously, this is hilarious

take me away to these beautiful places

Zupas copycat recipe?  I'm there.

I want every dress please

10 best Halloween candies

guide to cockney rhyming

and while we're feeling British, I love this Cath Kidston sweater 

ok, one more for Great Britain

how to get the most from mascara (genius)

a sweet thought

10 ways to travel cheap

and, find out where you're supposed to live - Dave and I both got Georgia.  Maybe that's a sign...

xo

a star-studded weekend

When you live this close to LA (35 minutes if there is zero traffic - a rare thing indeed), you gotta take advantage of it every once in a while.  This was one of those such times.

My schedule Friday morning:
5:30 - wake up
7:15 - leave for Hollywood
8:35 - get to The Grove
9:00 - get wristbands to Clinton Kelly's book signing that night
9:09 - back on the 5 back to Santa Clarita
10:00 - job interview

It was a busy five hours.  And it was interluded by frantic meal and lesson planning before hopping on the road again back to LA for that night's book signing.  But, hey, we got to meet Clinton from What Not to Wear.
I'm not complaining.

And, yes, I most definitely thought long and hard about my outfit.
I know I wasn't the only one.

It was a fun night, and Clinton was a gem.  I could have listened to him tell stories for much longer.  So, thanks Barnes & Noble.  It is due to you and your lovely low key book signings that my famous people tally has made its way all the way up to two.  I'm feeling more like a real Californian already.

To keep the weekend in theme, Dave and I headed back down to Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday afternoon to play tourists.  When we moved here this was one of the things Dave wanted to do, and (a year and a half later) we finally got down to doing it.  I still want to hike to the Hollywood sign...
Another Saturday perhaps.

I felt like I needed to warn Dave...a lot.  Hollywood Boulevard seems like it should be all glamorous and lovely - the Oscar's are here, all the movie stars, the big, grand theaters - but it's mostly not.  Out of all of it, my favorite is Grauman's Chinese Theater with all the star's hand prints and signatures (the Harry Potter's stars and their wands?? I die).

All that being said, it is a Southern California must do, and Dave needed to be initiated into the club.

Sometimes it's fun to spend a Saturday just exploring your own backyard.

highlights #73

Yesterday was such a fun day with my mom.  We met up in Pasadena, caught a matinee, and had lunch together.  This is why we need to live closer to each other...now we just need to work out those pesky logistics.  We saw Gravity, and I honestly walked out of that theatre emotionally drained.  It's pretty amazing that I was so captivated by a movie that consists of only two actors (two really good actors), and a whole lot of space.  What I'm trying to say here is, this is a good movie.  You should go see it.

In other news, here is what I've been snooping around the web:

how well do you know The Little Mermaid?  I got a 7 out of 20.  Shameful.

and as long as we're on the topic of Disney Princesses, these are pretty neat

I want this coat, oh and this one too...

I need to send more letters

I would be so scared to take this picture

how to get more bang for your buck at Chipotle (genius!)

the dancers among us

a part of me wants to own this skirt...and rock it all the time

made me laugh

and another quiz!  Because, hey, why not?  Can you read people emotions?  I'm pretty proud of my 30 out of 36 on this one...

xo

an october weekend

This past Saturday it felt so good to have nothing set to do and no scheduled engagements till the sun went down.  Thus leaving us to meander, run errands, eat out, and generally do our own thing all. day. long.  That's my kind of Saturday. 

In the spirit of the leaves changing colors (elsewhere, not really here), I hooked my man into coming with me to this cute ranch on the other side of our little valley.  Despite the fact that is was in the 70's I still tried to wear a sweater.  Not the best of ideas, but my warm cuddly clothes have been calling my name since September 1.  I'll take any excuse to pull them out.  Anywho, It felt good to see so many pumpkins, and if the quarter mile long line (literally) didn't bring us back to our senses (A. we don't have a porch, and B. I don't much care for pumpkin carving), we might have walked out with a few.

Ah, October, you are great.

And obviously I get a little shutter happy around gourds.  The truth comes out.

happy fall y'all

Yesterday it was so delightfully fall-ish in Santa Clarita (I got to wear boots!  Simple pleasures my friends), and this morning it was fall-ish and again.  However it's forecast to be in the 70's by 1:00 so...I'm seriously considering going out to run errands this morning wrapped up in my sweater and busting out these babies again before the sun gets too warm:

Confession: I love the seasons and I love wearing warm, cozy clothes. 

In celebration of the fall-ish mood I got our decorations up, out, and dusted off.  I'm really digging these fun bats on our back wall (tutorial here) - and those damask pumpkins?  I die.  Truth be told, I'm not really that in to Halloween, and my fall decor usually consists of things that can get us through October and November too, but this year I couldn't resist a few bats and skeletons.  So sue me.

Now I think I'll bake some pumpkin bread - does this recipe not look so delicious?  I thought so too.

highlights #72

Today I wore boots and drove in the rain and it was 59 degrees in Santa Clarita.  Can you say happy camper?  I can.  And I'm one of them.  Of course tomorrow it'll be back in the mid 70's and sunny, but today I wear my sweaters, drink hot tea, and leave the windows open.  Ah, seasons, how I miss you so!

And here are some fun finds from around the web:

did someone say pumpkin?

a fun read

genius

this girl's work is lovely - this is one of my fave's

hilarious 

the cutest baby Halloween costume - followed closely by this

and a great card

conference weekend

Due to the lack of cable in our little apartment and the fact that we make sure to take advantage of any and all excuses to spend time with our close(ish) by familia, we spent this last weekend down with my folks watching General Conference.
A quick trip - down Friday night and back up Sunday night, but a fun one indeed.

We listened to modern prophets, ate giant blackberries, played with cute puppies, rode a ferris wheel, played Carcassonne, Skyped with a few of our other favorite people, oh and...David's brother got engaged!!! We're pretty excited about that last one.

I also cut out some new festive fall decor for our living room - updates to follow, if all turns out as cute as I'm planning...

highlights #71

Somehow this has felt like the longest week in the world...how is it only Wednesday??  On the plus side, at least it is finally October and I can start pulling out my festive fall decor.  There are few things much sweeter than burning a pumpkin spice candle on a crisp fall day (now hurry up with the crispness please Santa Clarita!).  Dave and I are also both excited to mosey on back down to Orange County this weekend to watch General Conference with my folks (PS - look who's quoting LDS apostles), but until then here are some fun finds around the web:

the first signs of fall (why doesn't it get cold enough is California for tights???)

zombie chase?  The new 5K trend perhaps...?

you are awesome if you get 100% on this test (my score was 12)

six words to say to your child - I thought this was so cool!

the best hair trick

I'm all about the fierce gentlemen

I say yes to this shirt

this is all sorts of cool

great laundry room quote

new winner in our house

cute prints

and if you haven't smiled today, skip to minute 8 of this video.  Problem solved.

xo

BEACH BOUND

It was soooo good to get Dave home again (even if picking him up at LAX at 8PM on a Friday was a little bit of craziness).  And it was doubly great because my in laws were in town for the weekend as well!  They hopped the very first flight ever directly from Provo's tiny airport straight to LAX.  We're pretty stoked about maybe putting that route to good use in the future!

The Nemrows were in CA because a good friend of theirs was turning the big 6-0 this weekend and they came down to celebrate - and we were so happy to see them!  Now back up.  This good friend of the Nemrows is also a good friend of my family as well.  Long story short, through the mom grapevine, David's mom knew we were dating before he even told her.  Just another funny connection between the Nemrow and Tobler families (and there's plenty more - I should make a list...).

So on Saturday we met up with them in Laguna Beach, had some great Mexican food, gave lots of hugs, and sang happy birthday more than a few times (of course the Nemrow happy birthday song had to make an appearance).  It was some good fun - except we somehow didn't even think to bring our swimsuits!  And it was the. perfect. day. in Laguna (hand slapping forehead).  Oh well.  Next time.

We walked up and down Main Beach and that cute boy held my hand and my shoes.  He's a keeper that one...

We sure wish these two lived closer!  Us to them or them to us, we're not really that picky.  Good thing they love California's warmer winters, and it's just starting to get chilly up in Utah...so hopefully we can steal them away to the sunshine state again soon!