Fine dining.

Last night we put Michael on a plane back to the east coast. I then ate my sorrow.

And today we trekked to the coast again to eat at Duarte's Tavern.

Not quite figuring out how to draw/scribble but loving the experience nonetheless.

It'll be good for my waistline to get back to a more normal diet but it sure won't be as delicious as our days on vacation. It's been so nice to be "home" and visit all these favorite places and restaurants, as well as spend time with family and friends, obviously. Little babe is handling the crazy days pretty well though we miss her papa and it will be nice to get us all back on a normal schedule.

Beauty.

Today we drove to Half Moon Bay to check out the coast for a bit.

Though a bit breezy, it was actually quite warm once we sat down and let the sun do its job.

Hanna Lu didn't like the sand at first {she cried} but it could've been that she's just been whipped around the country and done much more in the past week than ever in such a short span that she's just a bit done with it all.

 

The baby warmed up to it all pretty quickly and especially enjoyed peeking around at everyone when we went out to eat afterwards; oysters and clam chowder for grown-ups and buttered bread for baby.

What a beautiful state that we up and left; hopefully we'll call it our home again one day soon.

Driving back.

We got back to my grandmother's house around 5 this afternoon and after a busy time of visiting & getting the babe to take a nap/bedtime, we packed up and are on the road to the airport for our red-eye flight back home...though we have what I anticipate to be a joyful layover in the Dallas airport. Wish us some much needed luck.
xoxo, natty ♥

A theme.

Beach soccer kicked off the wedding day for our friends; what a gorgeous venue!

We then had lunch in the beach town of Mendocino {quinoa and kale cakes with salad...and two pieces of pizza poached from the larger group's lunch - yum!} and then tried to get the baby to nap - her sleep is all sorts of off which is OK considering the people willing to hold and entertain her here.

A beach ceremony awaits us as well as a night of dancing under the stars in an adjacent field {not beach}- congrats to our friends!!!



xoxo, natty ♥

Hello Mendocino!

Mikey and the babe and I are winding our way up the state for the wedding of a dear friend. We probably won't have any service up there so I'll take note of what's happening and post it later on...for now, here's to beautiful views and gorgeous weather!!!
xoxo, natty ♥

Back in California ♥.

We {me and babe-o}got here late last night after hours of plane time; yea for family and a California late heat-wave
xoxo, natty ♥

Alma Mater.

The little one and I visited my old high school today, a.k.a. my first job after college and where I taught for six years. A place I find it hard to be away from.

And we had so much fun visiting and walking to get lunch!

What a lovely visit we're having so far, and how few pictures I'm posting as well! Hopefully more in the next few days will find their way up here.
xoxo, natty ♥

Pre-requisite temperature shot.

We're staying up a bit later than we had planned to because we got wrapped up in the BCS championship game. In other news...

1. Here's what I mentioned in the post's title:

 

I sincerely hope that those without a warm home are able to find shelter this evening and that people stay safe tonight. I am very grateful for our little apartment and the furry dog that helps to keeps us warm.

2. Is this nesting? I'm feeling some major motivation to actually get baby-related things done. Note the "baby-related". #ihatemultitasking

3. We all three made it home safely from Arizona; I always breath a deep sigh of relief upon returning home.

4. My dad and stepmom are safe after their brush with a large and unfortunate buck last week; this was a big scare and could've turned out much worse than the minimal car damage that happened and we're all relieved.

5. Michael, Guinness, and I had such a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time visiting out families and friends in California and Arizona. We are so lucky that we had the time and were able to fly to those faraway {to us, at least} places to spend time with those who love us {and whom we love dearly!}. This was a true blessing and, again, we are very grateful. 

How are you today Reader? Wrangling with nasty cold temperatures as well? Happy to have had a bit of a respite over the holidays?
xoxo, natty ♥

Travellin' travellin'.

I'm here {Oakland}; soon to be there {DC}.

Ciao California, it's been an amazing two weeks and I miss You already.
xoxo, natty ♥

Planes, minus trains, and automobiles.

I woke up in DC this morning and one flight later plus a smooth car-ride I'm SO ready to go to bed in beautiful Lake Tahoe.

Have a great week folks!

xoxo, natty❤

Good to see you.

We're all three here in San Jose and its been nice to be back. The weather's lovely and we're seeing many people and doing lots of things.

And I saw these artichokes on my run today.
xoxo, natty ♥ 

Sleepy.

A great Sunday night.

We celebrated Christmas early with some family here since we're heading down to Phoenix on DX-Day.

Then Michael got tired.

It was a fun night and we love our family so very much!

xoxo, natty ♥ 

Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Today we drove my grandmother and some of her friends the 45-or-so-minutes to Carmel for a funeral.

It POURED rain on the ride over and I am forever grateful to my husband for braving the roads. When we pulled into the parking lot of the mission the skies miraculously cleared up and we were greeted with what you see above. 

Carmel is a beautiful place and the mix of eucalyptus, ocean, and just-rained was an intoxicating scent. I'm glad we got a chance to get in this little drive, even if it was harrowing and for a sad purpose.

xoxo, natty ♥

Now that's what I call a vacation.

I've been home several days and I'm thoroughly enjoying some glorious downtime that has included both Monday AND Tuesday crossword puzzles as well as the Jumbles.

What do you do to enjoy some easy time off? Does it also involve newspaper puzzles or are you a bit more virtuous and do you get out and about?

xoxo, natty ♥

Sneaky sneaky.

I still haven't upped my Google/Blogger storage capacity but I HAVE figured out that I can post pictures straight from my phone to a blog post without being denied.

Score one for me.

Me & Bo.

In other news...

1} I'm safely ensconced in the Bay Area. On Saturday I flew Virgin America for the first time and it was a lovely flying experience. Granted, it wasn't a full flight so there was an empty seat next to me and I had an aisle seat {thanks sweetie!} but I legitimately loathe air travel and the extra space {non-airline-related} paired with my own personal TV that had lots of free things {Portlandia!} to watch {very-airline-related} made for a Happy Me.

2} I got to see some former coworkers today.

3} I got in a good five mile run today after a few days off for travel and overeating. I'll need to keep this up considering that the heavy holiday gastronomic indulgences haven't even really begun.

4} I'm home so there's a real live Christmas tree in the house! The smell is intoxicating! We ended up fir-less in DC and this tree has made my days since being home.

5} So.much.stuff.to.do.in.the.next.week!

What's going on about town for you? Did you recently wrap up some Hanukkah? Perhaps you are paying homage to a Festivus pole? Whatever it may be, I wish you joy and peace in it all!

xoxo, natty ♥

Back to California.

I'm here! It's great to be home ;) and I'll have more to report soon I'm sure.
xoxo, natty ♥

Indiscriminate # of days of cookies.

Since I'm going home to California this Saturday and I can't take my kitchen on the plane with me, I'm choosing to do all of my baking here.

• I kicked it all off last weekend with Seasoned Oyster Crackers; not exactly a sweet treat but they count as a holiday thing.

1. Ingredients: one bag of oyster crackers {12 oz} , one pack of powdered ranch dressing mix {1 oz}, 1/2 tsp dried dill weed, 1/4 tsp lemon pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 3.4 cup vegetable {or anything mild} oil.
2. Preheat oven to 275 F.
3. In a bowl, mix all ingredients except the crackers together and then fold in the oyster crackers until everything is well coated. I used whisk to do this.
4. Spread crackers on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. I prefer the 20-minute option because the crackers get a bit crunchier.

• On Monday I made Snickerdoodles since those are Mike's favorites.
• Today I made Hershey's Peanut Butter Blossoms which are some of my favorites.
• On the agenda for tomorrow? Raspberry Jam Thumbprints and maybe some Shortbread Cookies. 
• I am also being tempted by Key Lime Meltaways but I think I might save those for next year.

Have you kicked off baking yet this season Reader? What are your favorite holiday treats? Any holiday traditions out there?
xoxo, natty ♥

Storage Space.

I'm still without more storage for pictures for this old blog, but I'll hopefully get on that in the next few days...until then, some niceties?

1} Though still drizzly outside {see YESTERDAY}, it's up in the 60s today.
2} I've been trying to cook my way through our perishable pantry since...
3} we're going to be heading out West for quite a while very soon!!!
4} Back to #2; we've had SO much soup {several butternut squashes, watercress/pea soup, sunchoke soup} but I've also been stockpiling almost half of it in the freezer so that there can be some easy dinners in the future. The best thing about the squash soup, in my opinion, has been that I don't even have to follow a recipe, I just crockpot chopped up squash {& usually an onion or two} along with spices {salt, pepper, nutmeg, & minced garlic} and four to six cups of water, leave it on low all day, and then blend it using our immersion blender {wonderful wedding gift!}.
5} Did I mention that California and Arizona are in our very near future??!!! 

What's lovely in your neck of the woods today Reader? Any SNOW?!?!?!

xoxo, natty ♥

Bright lights, Big city.

On Friday my aunt, my cousin, and my grandmother {and I!} went to San Francisco. 

We slummed around the Haight/Ashbury thrift shops. I got four old 99 cent paperbacks at Goodwill and a Jcrew dress for $12.

We walked around a fun grocery store too. I admit that probably only I and a certain subset of other folk consider grocery stores fun. It's weird, kind of, since I loathed this errand growing up and now I could get lost in a grocery store for hours just looking at everything. My favorites are big and traditional supermarkets where canning goods like sealing wax and mason jars are sold an aisle over from aqua net and frozen pie shells.

Later we enjoyed a savory Korean dinner in the inner Sunset. 

Clean & Pure!

I even had a cold beer because nothing goes better with bulgogi.

It was chilly but not bad and even though it actually started to rain a bit during dinner, it was so refreshing and LIGHT considering  were in some of the longest days of the year.

Even though I've never been head over heels enamored of the city, I admit that I do like it. I'll miss it, even. We won't be able to just drive up on a whim to have dinner or run along the bay or do whatever. Will we at least be able to get Korean food in DC? I'm guessing yes but it won't be in the City by the Bay or with my family.
#thingsIlikeandwillmissaboutCalifornia.
xoxo, natty ♥

California on my mind.

After waxing poetic on what I might miss about California after we move I mulled over a few other things today. In no particular order :

• The San Francisco Zoo; as a youngster I spent many very happy hours in its walls with my dad. He took me to tons of museums and parks when it was just us two and these memories are priceless to me. I haven't been in a few years and I think he and I will make a trek before Mike's and my BIG trek.
• Vineyards; it's not like I got out to do much wine tasting in the years since I came of age {seven, in case you're trying to do the math} but I like knowing that I can. Isn't that always the case with what we take for granted?
• San Francisco; this city is kind of on my list. It's beautiful and cosmopolitan for sure. I like to run along the bay because the people watching is supreme. But. It's also frigid most of the year and I never feel cool {no pun intended} enough to be there. Now I've said it and I don't mean to offend anyone and we don't ever need to mention it again.
• Palm trees; these dudes aren't native to California, actually, but they're everywhere and a palm tree in the skyline means you're in the Golden State.
• Death Valley; I've not emoted about my favorite national park but that's just because I haven't gone there in the lifetime of this blog. I love this place. As you know, I adore the desert, and Death Valley holds much barren charm. And history which I love {especially when it's pioneeral}. I doubt we'll make it there before we leave so I'll have to plan a future trip.

I'll keep you updated as my list grows. How's your Tuesday? Mine was fairly uneventful but I've been feeling tired nonetheless. That can only mean one thing; early bedtime!!
¡Hasta mañana!
 xoxo, natty ♥