Worth the wait

I have learned my lesson... if you ask for something on your blog... you get it. Next I'm going to post that I want a house. 

So a few days after I posted about really wanting some of those cinnamon hearts, only found in Utah, I got a call from Stacey. As I'm checking my message I'm thinking, "Hmmm.... we haven't talked in awhile... wonder why she called?" No offense Stacey. Next thing you know, she is telling me she has a present for me after reading my blog. We drop by her house (during her daughters birthday "late over") and she hands me this super cute wrapped bag full of cinnamon hearts. You rock Stacey!! By the way Robi, you do a great Seacrest impersonation. 

Next... my mom let me know she was mailing me some cinnamon hearts way back in early February. Yeah!! We waited by the mailbox for days and they never showed up. My mom even came into town last weekend and she was wishing she just would have brought them with her. I was so mad that some weirdo was probably munching on MY cinnamon hearts. Well... big suprise when I opened my mailbox on Friday and there was a package from my mom! They arrived safe and sound and they were delicious! Thanks mom!! 

Happy 27th!!

It's Cameron's birthday! Happy birthday babe... we are celebrating this weekend!

A Visit From Mom

My mom came in town for the weekend and it was so fun! She was excited to get away from the snow in Utah and lucky for her... she came to Cali for the rain. Here's some of the highlights: 

Eating at El Nido in Danville.. although we like to call it El Stinko. Not because the food stinks but because you have to walk past by a very LARGE dumpster to get to the restaurant. Why would they place a dumpster there, are they trying to drive away business? However, we do have to credit Taylor, Addie, and Avery Aplanalp for coining the phrase El Stinko! 

My mom taught me how to cook hard things.. like pie and cinnamon bread. My mom is an awesome cook so I figured it was time I learned. Baking takes serious skill and involves washing many dishes (not my favorite). My mom is going to be stoked that I posted this picture of her in this robe thing. 

Me and Cam... 

We met up with Cameron's friend Amanda who was in town for the weekend. They were good friends back in their BYU days. 

I'm Done With Lemons

Here is the update on the lemon cooking... I know you are dying to know. I actually made 3 "things" with the lemons and I still have a giant bag left. Anyone want some lemons?? I was very dedicated to this project, considering I had to buy a strainer and a pie tin. 

Loved the lemon ricotta pancakes... very light and fluffy and easy to make. My kind of recipe! 

Don't try and guess what this is... its lemon curd. I've never bought or eaten this but Carolyn, the lemon giver, heard it was good. So as a thank you for the bag of lemons I made her the curd. Um... this required a strainer purchase and lets just say it might be easier to buy this stuff. On the other hand Carolyn said it was awesome and she saw it in a store for $8. Are you kidding?
I know.. I made a lemon meringue pie. But only because my mom was in town and I felt like it was time I learned how to make a pie... from the crust on up. Talk about a stressful process and no wonder people buy their pies at Thanksgiving. But homemade... um, um, good! 

Definitely, Maybe

Go see this... its super cute (and Cameron liked it too)! 

We miss the Tanner's!!

Brandon, Brittany, and Jake left us a few weeks ago for Southern California!! We miss you guys and craft night will just be the same without you Brittany! Here we are at our goodbye party for them a few weeks ago at Gay Nineties... sad!!

A Sweet Day...

What a fun Valentines Day!

Brooke definitely won the contest for the best valentine (not that there was a contest- but if there was, she would have won)

My hubby came up with the more creative and thoughtful gift... I thought mine was good till I opened his (I hate when that happens.. but I also LOVE when he is so thoughtful!)

 

We ate yummy food here

And ate these kind of yummy cookies later (Don't make these if you don't have about 4 hours... what a pain!!) And I'm pretty sure mine don't look like Martha's... go figure. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day! The only thing I'm missing this year are those yummy cinnamon hearts covered in sugar. I would pay someone $20 if they found me a bag of those. Apparently... they are sold only in Utah. The cinnamon hearts and Cafe Rio... definitely reasons to think about going back.

Lemons

My friend gave me a GIANT bag of lemons and told me to make something with them. First problem... I've only used fresh lemons on 3 occasions: diet coke (my personal fav), asparagus. and fish. She mentioned making fresh lemonade and my feelings on that: too much sugar and I only like to fill my body with fake sugar. I have the day off today (the one advantage to being a teacher) and I'm determined to do something with these lemons besides squeeze them on top of something. Any ideas?? 

Picnic In The Park

The groundhog was wrong... winter is going away and it is beautiful here in No. Cal!! Sunday called for a picnic in the park with the Halls. The best part was sliding down the concrete slide on old Huggies cardboard boxes. I'm sure those boxes were filled with germs and the little kids thought we were crazy... but it was super fun!!

The funniest part... the boys didn't dare to go down. Or maybe just too embarrassed?? 

Pleasanton Ridge

Cameron and I went hiking on Saturday at Pleasanton Ridge. It was such a beautiful day we had to get outside. The view was great and I was sweating... which I don't typically like to do unless I'm at the gym. Another bonus on this hike were the views of the wildlife. Nothing exciting like lions and monkeys.... just innocent cows. 

Every Girl Loves A Deal

First- make sure you are sitting down. 

I love a deal... I'm not really one to go scout them out... but I just love it when I'm out and come across one. So I drop by Loehmann's the other night in San Ramon to see what they have, or don't have. That place is a total hit or miss. I'm walking around and I come to the clearance shoes. I see a pair of black heels which I have been needing (or maybe wanting) for awhile now. So I try them on and they are pretty cute and meet my shoe criteria... although a little tall. I think it has about a 4 inch heel and basically I'm taller then almost any guy while wearing them. So I'm about to put them back when I see the price... $175.00 down to $23.00 on clearance. I hear Cameron's voice in my head... "You didn't save $152.00, you spent $23.00." I quickly pushed his voice aside and went to buy them. Here's where you need to sit down.

Come to find out... all clearance items in the store were 50% off. It is true, I bought those shoes for $12.99. It is 3 days later and I'm still excited about it. At this rate they might be passing out free clothing in front of their store.. so go check it out!! 

In Loving Memory Of...

President Gordon B. Hinckley

June 23, 1910-January 27, 2008

The beloved prophet of our church passed away yesterday. He was such a wonderful man, prophet, and example and I celebrate his life and the legacy he left behind. 

Valentine Crafting

Scrapbook paper, wood, and mod podge... it can keep you busy for hours! 

These squares are about 9 1/4 inches... somewhere in the ballpark. Thanks to Nicole and Jason for cutting all the wood!! 

I made small squares for gifts... 

My sister-in-law did a similar project with 'Autumn.' Thanks for the idea Anya! I found the letters at Michael's. 

Just Call Me Brittany

Last weekend we met up with our friend Erica (and her date) in the city. After being stuck in major traffic and getting lost for about an hour, we finally made it to the de Young Museum 1 hour before closing. Ends up... an hour is plenty of time. I like being cultural... but not for too long. You definitely see some interesting things at museums... here's a few pieces I found interesting:

A splatter painting, why didn't I think of that and become famous? 

A very large man? 

 A table... flowers on top and a dog on the bottom... sweet. 

A woman giving birth. Please say it is not like this... 

So after being culturally worn out, we headed to Khan Toke, a Thai House. You walk in and they take your shoes... I'm a bit nervous since I'm not wearing socks. The ambiance was super cool and the tables were low and you sat on pillows. Cameron and I of course struggled getting into the table because we are so tall... our legs just wouldn't fit. After getting situated we started seeing ants crawling around. After we killed about 12 we asked to move tables.. which led to our legs getting stuck again. The next table was a bit taller and getting in was not as dramatic as the first. The food was pretty good and we were hoping that dead ants weren't cooked in with our curry. Now... before we left I had to use the restroom. Please remember that I'm still barefoot and I'm wondering how this was going to work out. As I neared the bathroom I see that there are 4 pairs of sandal type things by the bathroom door. So now I'm faced with a decision... be Brittany Spears and go into the bathroom barefoot or wear some sandals that have been worn by about a million people. I choose the sandals and thankfully have not broken out in some strange foot fungus yet. 

The Proposal

Cameron proposed about this time last year, clearly I can't remember the date. Now if I only I was blogging last year... We were planning on going to the temple but as we were driving he missed the exit. I'm thinking, "typical," but Cameron had other plans. We ended up at Skates in Berkeley for an ocean view dinner- so beautiful! After dinner we walked up and down the pier. I was a bit suspicious considering that he had given me a dozen long stemmed roses earlier in the night and we just had an awesome dinner... and now we were walking down a pier. But to my suprise there was no proposal on the pier. We then sat on a bench in the freezing cold and talked for about 20 minutes. After I was almost frozen he got down on one knee and proposed. It was so fun!! The best part was yet to come though. We went back to my apartment and he sang and song he had written for me- it was so great!! I LOVE getting proposed to!!

FINALLY!!

Ok, so who is excited for the new episode of Grey's Anatomy tomorrow night... we are approximately 12 hours away. It is about time!! 

Family Pics

Gotta love family pics, especially in the freezing Utah weather!!!


It's kind of like another engagement shot...

Christmas in the Snow

Cameron and I headed to Utah for Christmas to see my family... it was so fun and SO cold. I think I have barely defrosted. We had a blast seeing everyone, hanging out, eating, going to the movies, and just relaxing.

I can't remember the last time I saw it snow... it had to be at least 3 years ago. We had a white Christmas... it snowed on Christmas Eve. It was so snowy and slippery that we even got in a fender bender driving home from the movies on Christmas Eve. Hey... we needed to spice things up!


Our family tradition that has lasted as long as I can remember is to eat fondue every Christmas Eve. It was delicious... and it is such a treat to have it once a year. My mom even took a fondue class this year so we had new recipes (which I should post), a new fondue pot, and new dippers... it was a good fondue year!!


We got to see our nephew Lucas for the first time... he was so cute in his little Santa outfit.


Like most families... we open one present Christmas Eve which is some form of pajamas. We also exchange gifts with our siblings and we open those Christmas Eve. My favorite Scott's gift to Cameron...a dancing cactus with Arizona on it... hilarious. A few comments were made about this catcus but I will not be posting them.


I loved my R cup... which I was coveting from Anthropologie for quite some time. I especially loved the bow on top of the package... good job Em!

Brent loved his camo BYU hat- I thought it looked like baseball players on his hat... apparently it is cool to have camo school apparel now?

Christmas morning.. oh the memories. I have to admit it is just not the same as when you are little.. rushing down the stairs to see what Santa brought. But, it is still fun. My mom made me an apron after I had been eying one forever at Anthropologie. I love it and I just love the meaning behind homemade gifts!!


The annual brunch at my aunt's house... it wouldn't be Christmas without brunch.


We went skiing with Brent... it was FREEZING. We had to borrow everything to wear so thanks to all the lenders! Cameron and Brent did the hard runs while I took my first lesson. I was feeling pretty confident after my lesson and even went down a green run only falling twice. Cameron and I went up the lift again... only to find blue and black runs. Feeling very stressed we headed down very steep blue slopes. Cameron was just cheering me on as I did the biggest pizza I could... and then rolled down the rest of the hill. This is when I began to cry and the snot began freezing in my nose because it was so cold. There were only about 3 more hills like this and I must say Cameron was very patient and encouraging. Moral of the story... stick to green runs your first time skiing.

Cam's Surprise...

After many holidays of surprising Cam with dress shirts and hoodies (ok, not surprises).. I thought of a great Christmas gift that he would not suspect. I went to great lengths to keep it a secret- I even hid it at Brooke's house until we exchanged gifts. I got him a guitar and it was so fun to see him open it... he had no clue what it was until he literally tore off the paper and saw Martin written on the box....he was so surprised and I was so impressed with myself that I could pull off such a task. The best part... he is not returning it and he loves it. Merry Christmas babe!

Hiding the gift under a blanket as to not give away the gift by the size of the box... come to find out he thought I bought him a T.V. after seeing the box.

The suspense...

Looking like a rock star...