Lake Calavera Hike

Beautiful flowers greeting you at the start of the trail...
 

The trail was marked as moderate to difficult, but I thought a good portion of it was pretty tough!  The trek up to over look the lake was very steep, which did end up being a good workout.  I didn't love, however, walking back down the trail, with nothing really to hold on to.  We encountered a few mountain bikers and people walking their dogs, but mostly the trail wasn't busy at all.

 

 

Awesome panoramic pic of the lake & surrounding area

 



Bridge through the creek crossing - very peaceful with trees all arounnd

 Have a sunny day!!

 

Fun Stuff Friday!

Hello and happy Friday to you! I am super glad it's the weekend (of course)!

Does anyone have a fun activity or trip that you're getting ready for?

Our weekend weather should be sunny skies with temps in the 70s, so my husband and I plan to be outdoors! We're taking a hike and exploring a new trail system close by. We'd also like to go for a bike ride, but that probably depends on the distance of our hike! Reading a good book down by the beach is just about one of the most relaxing things to do, so I'd love to squeeze that in, too. I wouldn't complain, either, if I happened to have a lazy nap, letting the sound of the waves lull me to sleep!

Here are a few fun Friday things, that I am totally loving!



Ampersand art (handmade by me)



Colorful cacti



Fossil's Blog






Madewell Transport Tote

 

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Hello Again!

It’s been almost three years since my last post! Wow, how the time has flown by! I was looking back through some of my posts and thought, why did I ever stop blogging?!  I'm excited to get back into the groove - a lot has changed for me, with the most recent being a new address in a new state.  I'm super happy to be living close to family now, and within a five minute walk to the beach.  There are so many new, fun things to see, experience and appreciate, and I hope you'll enjoy sharing in my journey!!

Have a sunny day!!

Sisters!

I adore my lovely sisters and their extremely cute and squeezeable kids!  I have a sister visit coming up this month, and I'm so excited to spend time with two of my three sisters.  We usually stay up way too late talking, doing crafting projects, eating (too much junk food!), and just generally being silly.  I'm sad that our oldest sister won't be able to join us, but we'll be thinking of and missing her, for sure!  I am so blessed to have wonderful siblings that I am close to and view as my best friends.  Please take the time to tell your sisters and brothers how much they're appreciated and loved! 



Dishes & Verrines

Yesterday I went to one of my favorite craft supply stores, Archivers, and was feeling very creative.

If your household is anything like mine, we always have dishes in some state of either washed or not, in our dishwasher.  I decided to make it easy and fun for us (okay, really me!), by creating a little magnet with arrows to point to either Clean or Dirty.  Here's what I made:

  



Here it is on the dishwasher

 

Dishes are clean!  I guess I better unload the dishwasher...


Do you know what a Verrine is?  I heard of it for the first time on our PBS station on TV, the other evening. 

"A verrine is an appetizer or dessert that consists of a number of components layered artfully in a small glass. (The word verrine refers to the glass itself; literally it means "protective glass.") Intriguingly composed, they're a study in textures, flavors, colors and temperatures. A beautiful glass might be filled with a layer of mushroom flan, sautéed wild mushrooms, a julienne of prosciutto, parsley gelée, wild mushroom emulsion and topped with a potato and prosciutto galette. Another will have clementine and mint syrup, fresh clementines and a gingerbread "crumble." American chefs are just starting to catch on to the verrine. But in France it's a culinary trend that's captured just about everyone's imagination — including home cooks."  *Taken from Serious Eats

 



Don't these look yummy?!  I am going to try the one that the chef, Hubert Keller, made.  It was a dessert version that he created in one huge glass.  It was beautiful to look at and I'm sure tasted just as wonderful!  His website doesn't have the recipe yet (sorry!), but here's what I remember him using for the layers, starting from the bottom up -

pecans
shortbread round (soaked in coffee)
chocolate mousse
raspherries
whipped cream
small pieces of chopped chocolate
strawberries
and then he continued to layer, ending with whipped cream on the top, more raspberries and a drizzle of chocolate syrup

Can you say stomach ache?!  In the best kind of way, though, of course!

I think it'll be fun to make cute servings in the individual glasses, true to the verrine!

Here are some other ideas:  http://www.easy-french-food.com/verrines.html

Have a happy, sunny day!

Mid-week Montage

Hi everyone - I hope your 4th of July holiday was as enjoyable as mine!  We ended up grilling out and having friends over on Monday.  We made too much food (I think that always happens, though!), but one of my favorite things that my husband makes is with fresh pineapple.  He puts a glaze of agave nectar and cinnamon on them and then warms them on the bbq for a bit - they are so super yummy!  It was crazy hot outside, but a few of us braved the sun, to play washers.  Most of all, I was just happy to be able to spend time with friends and was thankful for the freedoms we enjoy.  Here are some pictures from the last week and what's been going on with me...



On a walk with Chris



Not ready to use it yet, but my new tote for fall



A card I made for a friend



Cute little lakeside bistro set from World Market



Feeding the ducks down by the lake