hungry?

The last few weeks, as told by food pictures on my phone.  Now excuse me while I go eat another pumpkin cookie.

Saturday's cinnamon rolls - before & after.  This was the first time I made cinnamon rolls from scratch so I was feeling pretty accomplished about the whole thing.  And they turned out pretty darn delicious (but how can you mess us cinnamon sugar & icing, really?).  Also I'm sorta embarrassed to say that these were demolished by this morning...by only me and Dave.  Four cinnamon rolls a day is a totally viable food source, right?

David brought home a mangosteen from  work on Friday that his coworker gave him.  They're called the "queen of fruits" and, while it tasted like candy, the texture was a bit slimy...

Also we are making weekly batches of pumpkin cookies around this household because, well, do I really need a reason? 

This picture of a Dodger dog is seriously making be hungry and it's not even 10 in the morning yet.  Who cares, those things are the best.

Also David made the most delicious banana cream pie a week or so back.  Seriously.  We had plans to call friends and share it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Instead we ate a piece of pie for dessert every night that week.  Best.  Week.  Ever.  He may have dirtied just about every bowl in our kitchen to whip this guy up, but I just am not complaining over here.

happy dad day

Father's Day and Mother's Day are such happy days in my book.  I've got the best set of those two people, and it's a treat to set aside time to love them a little something extra.  Plus it's the sweetest thing to watch my Insta feed fill up with pictures of people with their pops and why they love them.  Call me a sentimental pregnant lady, but I not only teared up at church yesterday, but also while scrolling Instagram.  Embarrassing.

With us living just a little farther up north than my parents it's tough to make it down and back from Orange County on a Sunday afternoon.  When we try, it always feels rushed.  Instead we invited my parents up on Saturday to stroll Pasadena's annual chalk festival and grab a bite at one of our neighborhood eateries.  It was delightful.

We are loving checking out our new stomping grounds, and Pasadena hasn't disappointed us yet.  We've been to the chalk festival before, and it was just as impressive this time around.  Pretty cool what some talented people can do with pigment and pavement, right? 

For our evening escapades, we decided to park up by the festival on Colorado Blvd, and then take a stroll a few blocks south to our restaurant, and I'm so glad we did.  It was such a treat to explore the streets and enjoy the neighborhood night life.  Plus walking everywhere feels so urban and cool, especially on a warm June night.  I'm a huge fan.

(anddd I should probably get those wobbly pregnant legs of mine hitting the pavement a little more often...)

My ever talented, David, is currently our go-to restaurant guy.  I swear, he can decipher Yelp reviews like no one else I know, and he always picks the yummiest places for us to try out (the Thai place we went to on Friday??  Soo so good).  But for our Pre-Father's Day Celebration he picked a real winner.  I'm pretty sure I wrote down our entire order in my journal and then a description of how crazy yummy each thing was.  Suffice to say, the deviled eggs and brussel sprout salad stole the show.  Also we took home a few of their English muffins they make daily in house...I think we'll have to go back to get a few more of those soon, because - ahem - they were long gone yesterday...

All in all, it was a completely lovely Saturday evening spent with a few of my favorite people.  We continue to feel so lucky to live close to some portion of our family and enjoy all the time we get to spend with them.  Baby Nemrow is going to be one spoiled little grandchild with these awesome people close by!

another year older

I gotta tell you, there needs to be some sort of rule that says you shouldn't have to go to work/school/real life on your birthday.  You should just have free reign to play all day and celebrate!   You know, if those sorts of things were up to me...

To start off Dave's b-day, I whipped up some superb scrambled cheese eggs and maple bacon (normally it's oatmeal, so be impressed ;) and then sent him out the door to brave the 405.

We had originally planned to grab lunch together, but what with some other things I had to get done that day (insert buying flowers - lots and lots of flowers), we decided we'd grab dinner together in Santa Monica after going to the temple.  By some miracle from the birthday gods, Dave got off work at 5:00 during busy season (what????) so we had plenty of time to celebrate.

We meet up at the temple (after I breezed through a freeway sans-traffic at 4:45 on a Friday night - another miracle) and lo and behold...it was closed.  Till next week.

What?  Fail.

A for effort, right?

We salvaged the night with a delicious dinner of tempura fried green beans (swoon), fried chicken, and Texas toast.  And topped it all off with an order of sticky toffee which they brought to our table and we both stared at it wondering why on earth we ordered dessert when we were already so ridiculously full from our meal. 

But it was Dave's birthday.  You have to order dessert on your birthday.

It was a lovely night and now this boy is 27!  I'm married to an old man.  Just kidding.  But it's crazy to think we met when he was 23 and now we've celebrated 4 birthdays together.  Time sure flies...

Happy birthday handsome man!

an LA day

Saturday morning we became an apartment of three with my little sister, Brooke, coming up to spend the weekend with us.  Unfortunately we only have the couch to offer her, but she's a trooper and didn't even complain (Note to self: get an air mattress).

We didn't have any plans for Saturday, but what with Brooke coming up and David not having to go into the office (cue happy music), we definitely had to scrounge up some fun plans.

First we headed down into the city to best the iconic Hollywood sign.  Both Dave and I have been saying we wanted to go explore those Hollywood hills and now we can check that off our LA to-do list.  Plus Brooke had already done the hike before - sometimes it's nice to have a veteran with you, if not only for her to tell us where to park.  We had a great time ogling the homes on Beachwood Drive (and accidentally getting stuck on Hollyridge Drive) and enjoying the lovely scenery.  Those views from the top?  Pretty fantastic.

After our 3 mile hike we trekked back down to the car and went out for hotdogs at Pink's.  You know, to negate any possible health benefits from exercising.  Logical.

The half-hour long line was around the side of the building and the hotdogs, as we were told, were just fine, but the experience is worth it.  This little hotdoggerie has been in Hollywood since the 1930's and there are pictures all over its walls of the rich and famous who have stopped there for chili dog.  Truth be told, I'm kind of craving their onion rings right about now...

And that was a wrap!  We came home exhausted, took showers and naps (not necessarily in that order), and then made the most delicious margarita pizza.  I will be happy if more Saturdays are spent like this one.

fressssh

I'm pretty sure I need more homemade mozzarella and fresh basil in my house ASAP.  Last night was a I'm not sure what to make for dinner kind of night and ding, ding!  I remembered we had these supplies in the fridge.  Just as easy as a grilled cheese and infinitely more tasty.  I'm diggin' it.


Recipe inspiration via Full Fork Ahead

favorite

Has anyone else ever had a Cara Cara Orange?  I just discovered them this weekend and I think I've eaten one every day since.  They're a hybrid cross between an orange and a grapefruit and they are oh so tangy, sweet and juicy.

David peels his like an orange and I cut mine like a grapefruit.  To each their own right?

P.S. Did you know that you can get samples of the produce at the grocery store?  You learn something new everyday.

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!

nemrow date night

This past weekend we had a particularly fun date night.  After a day of cleaning the house and preparing lessons for Sunday, Dave and I headed down into LA to eat at a cafe called The Pie Hole...and oh baby, we were two happy campers.  First of all, I instantly loved this place per its name because it made me think of this beloved show, and secondly, David is an avid fan of all and any things pie.  We were basically made for this place.

It was 

So. 

Stinkin'.

Yummy. 

Dave got himself a cheeseburger pie (which was way better than it sounds, I promise), and I got a cornbread and chicken pot pie (melt in your mouth deliciousness with green chilies).  And we, of course, shared a decadent dessert of maple custard pie, which basically tasted like creme brulee in pie form.  We were so enthralled we almost bought their overly priced t-shirts.

Now when it comes to pie, Dave is pretty partial to those of the berry variety, which they had none of this past Saturday.  Upon inquiry we found out that they were going to start rolling out their seasonal berry pies the very next day!! Blast you timing.  I guess we'll have to go back.  (oh darn)

After so much good food we strolled a little around LA's art district, which we quickly found out wasn't very strollable.  So back in the car and off to Griffith Observatory we went.

The observatory is up on a hill that looks over the whole LA basin and the drive up is no mean feat.  First we had to get past the crowd thronging to see Barry Manilo at the Greek Theatre, and then there were a million other cars looking for parking...what??  Seriously, when did so many people go hang out at the observatory?  Turns out the LA Sidewalk Astronomers and Planetary Society were holding their monthly public Star Party that night and people were flocking in throngs up the hill.

The guy that took this last picture of us was kind of my favorite.  I saw him and his wife struggling with the tricky conundrum of trying to take a good picture of yourselves without having to ask someone awkwardly to take it for you because no one is making eye contact and you will just be fine with this sub par photo of the two of you.  It's a conundrum I often find myself in as well.  So I offered to snap one for them if they'd do one for us.  When I gave him my phone I told him I was sure he had mad photo skills and his wife laughed and said he's a professional photographer!  He got all down in front of us all serious like and snapped three or four pictures which were all framed so nicely.  And then I felt all self conscious about the few pictures I took for them...

It was a really fun date night, but I think I'll have to take Dave back when a) there are not so many people there and b) we weren't so pooped.  Somehow right when we walked into the museum we both looked at each other and sighed in exhaustion.  I didn't really read a single exhibit, but we did watch a presentation narrated by Lenard Nimoy, and if that doesn't make the trip up there worth it I don't know what does.

I found my happy place

On Sunday afternoon my visiting teachers were kind enough to inform me that there is an ice cream & Italian ice joint in Santa Clarita that Dave and I have not tried... wait, what??  I make it a point to know about every good dessert place within 20 miles of our apartment - how had I missed Rita's??  Thank goodness for visiting teachers.  That's all I have to say.

And double thank goodness that we ran into one of our friends there who could give us the lowdown on their unique menu.  It turns out she grew up in Phili (where Rita's was born) and is pretty much an expert on all things delicious.  We were advised to start out with their gelati, a concoction that has a plop of custard at the bottom, is filled with Italian ice, and has another plop of custard on top... and, it was, you know, okay...

Lies.

It was amazing.

Turns out this is a beloved East Coast chain that is making its way westward, and now we've got one right in little ol' Santa Clarita.  I can say on good authority that it will get put to good use (the line was out the door when we left).

We'll be back...