Gwyneth and I had a wonderful trip to California. Gwyn makes a great little travel companion and I really loved this time with her.

The main thing I discovered on this trip was that we really have some wonderful friends in California. It is really amazing when your friends open their homes up to you and your silly, squirrelly, sometimes-tantrum-throwing, one year old. It meant so much to me to be welcomed into our friends' houses for a night, a week, a cup of coffee, or a shared meal. Everyone was so excited to meet Gwyneth and loved her so much. We are very happy to be home but are already missing all of our wonderful CA friends.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our trip...

Gwyneth with Hadley and Deborah. Gwyneth and I went over to visit Deborah and Co. twice, once to cook dinner for them and once for coffee. I wish we could have spent even more time with this lovely family.


We met up with Whitney of Eat Sleep Cuddle for lunch on our way from San Diego back to LA. I really love her blog and it was so nice getting to meet her, I only wished we lived closer so we could cook and eat together all the time!


We spent almost a whole week in San Diego with Steph and Andy and their kiddos, Harrison and Lucia. Steph and I are so similar and every time I get to see her I just feel completely understood, fulfilled, and loved. She's a great friend.

There's also this little blossoming romance.



We spent a great day with Steph and Co. at the San Diego Zoo. I have wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo ever since I was a little girl. I wanted to either be a zoologist or an actress and was obsessed with a promotional CD/game from the San Diego Zoo. It was a blast with the kids. It was one of those perfect days where not one of them cried and everyone was happy.

(In case you were wondering, Gwyneth is licking the flamingo fence in the photo on the right. It's good for her immune system, right?)


We stayed with Tara and Cole for the majority of our time in LA. They were so welcoming, accommodating, and loving. Gwyneth loved playing with them, and I loved having helping hands. They were amazing. They even babysat for me while I went and visited the film set of one of my favorite directors for half a day.

We did a lot together: trip to Venice beach, lunches and dinners out, a morning at The Getty Center to see the Herb Ritts exhibition, and Tara and Cole took the time to put together a sweet Easter basket for G too!

We also got to visit with our lovely friend Romi Dames (a very talented actress), my wonderful agent Carlyne and her daughter Joell, our friend/casting director Rene, our friend Karman, and our friend Darren. It was two weeks packed full of friends. 

We had so much fun together on this trip. Gwyneth is a total California baby!

This trip has been really fun so far. Gwynnie and I are getting ready to head down to San Diego to visit our friends, Steph and Andy. This first part of the trip has been wonderful but has involved a lot of juggling and visiting lots friends. I'll do a more detailed post on all our busy activities when we get settled in San Diego.

I have learned on this trip that having flexible expectations is key. I thought I'd have time to settle down and work, to watch movies, go to the beach, have picnics at parks, to read, etc. But traveling with a 15 month old is kind of a goose-chase. I've been staying the last couple of nights with Tara` and Cole. Tara has been a nanny for years so she totally gets it and has been just wonderful! She's helped me baby wrangle here at their apartment, and out at meals which has meant I can breathe and finish my sentences. You don't realize how squirrelly a one year old is until you travel with them by yourself!

I'm amazed at how much we've done in the past few days and how much fun I've been having with my little sidekick. She's been a trooper with all the changes in location, routine, sleep habits, meal times, etc. She's a good girl.

Once we're in San Diego it'll be me and Steph hanging out during the days while our three little ones play quietly together and nap in tandem, and all sleep through the night. Right?

Our dear friends, Heidi and Ben, have left for their next adventure and we are a little sad. It's so rare to find another couple that shares all your interests, has the same sense of humor as you, has similar hobbies and creative ideas, and appreciates the same things you do. Our few days with them were so much fun.

Now... back to real life! I have lots of photos to share from our time with Heidi and Ben. Unfortunately, they will have to wait for next week. I'm spending the day catching up on emails, and phone calls, and school work. Then I've got to pack a bag for me and G and get ready to head for Seattle. I'm photographing a big wedding with my sister this weekend. I'm trying not to stress out about the whirlwind of things that need to get done today. See you next week, friends!

One more thing: Google Friend Connect is no longer going to allow Non-Blogspot/Blogger blogs to use their Google Friend Connect service. There are lots of other ways to subscribe: RSS, Bloglovin', email or via Twitter or Facebook.

Last week we got together with many of our food loving friends to watch the Superbowl. Only problem was that Kyle was really the only one who likes football. It was fun to have everyone over for the great game food...

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe from My Father's Daughter) and Kyel's fresh bread.


Cilanto and Lime Chicken Wings (recipe from Tyler's Ultimate)


Mini-Wedges with Blue Cheese dressing.


Our friends, Kristin and Colin, enjoying the wonderful food.

And, there was the game too...

Kyle caring. Gwynnie pondering why her parents dress her up in ridiculous outfits every chance they get.


Gwyneth and Waylon playing. Gwyneth is clearly ready for some football.



Now we are off to enjoy our weekend. Gwyn has been really sick the last couple of days so we may end up taking it easy. I'm hoping we can manage a little wine tasting and a dinner out for my birthday but, if we end up staying home, that'll be okay too. (If you want to see more food photos from the weekend they're here.)

Oh, and finally... This is for whoever found my blog last month by Googling: "baby crying wearing a Seahawks outfit"

For the past four years we have spent Thanksgiving at my Dad and Stepmom's house.  Our friends, Kurt and Scott, who just happen to be fantastic chef's at the Chateau Ste. Michele in Woodinville, WA come down and cook up the most fantastic Thanksgiving meals you can imagine!  Our good friend Bill always brings wonderful cheeses and wines and champagne!  This year there were sixteen of us, including my awesome brother and his roommate, Kevin.

These two wines were amazing!  The Columbia Crest Reserve 2008 was so delicious, well balanced and flavorful.  I'm a huge fan of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  This particular bottle was from 2000 and was really peppery and rich.  It's such a treat to get to share these incredible wines with people who know about wine!  Educational and delicious!


My Stepmom, Nance, is the most amazing hostess.  She always sets the table with uniquely made name tags and personalized gifts for each person who attends.  My Dad likes to put in his "teeth" whenever people are coming over.  Gwyneth was not quite sure about Pops.  Later in the evening she took me aside and asked me if she was related to him.

Ham and blue cheese.

Triple Cream Brie.


My Dad.  All dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

Lots of beer brought by Kyle from Double Mountain Brewery.  My special place setting made by Nance.


Kurt and Scott wearing their place settings.  Nance's bug collection.

Stuffing made by me and Kyle.  It's so good.  It has fresh herbs, pine nuts and craisins.


Butter and silky mashed potatoes.  Technically they are riced potatoes since Bill used a ricer when preparing them.


Our heritage Turkey.  Kurt gets this bird from his friends that have a farm.  It was killed on Monday, picked up on Tuesday, brined on Wednesday and enjoyed on Thursday.  Doesn't get much fresher or more organic than this!


The chefs.


Scott's amazing caramelized carrots and the expertly carved turkey.


I made this Salted Caramel Cheesecake for dessert.  These are Nance's beautiful teacups for after dinner coffee. 

Once we were finished eating we played games.  Charades was... interesting.  There was a very explicit acting out of the book/film The Firm as well as some other odd interpretations of things.  We were in stitches throughout the game playing.  Most people headed home around 10:30 but we were persuaded into gambling with Kurt, Nance, Scott, Ryan and Kevin.  I've never gambled before and let me tell ya... I had way too much fun (even when I was losing).  We finally threw in the dice and headed for home.  We didn't get to bed until 1 in the morning! 

We spent the rest of the weekend digging up the yard for raised beds (Kyle) and sewing (me) and sleeping (Gwynnie).

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend!

We had such a nice weekend!  On Saturday we got up early and spent the day cleaning and cooking and getting ready for our friends to come over for a potluck-style early Thanksgiving!  We were in charge of cooking the turkey and we also made green beans with garlic.  Everyone brought amazing food including, home baked bread, mashed potatoes and Chanterelle gravy, delicious stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad and pumpkin pies made from scratch!

We shared good wine and beer and had a lovely evening.  I feel so grateful to have such wonderful friends.  For so long it was just me and Kyle.  We moved around so much that we have never really had a core group of friends.  It was such a blessing to have them all over together enjoying great food and our new kitchen!

On Sunday we went for a nice walk, got eggnog lattes and picked up the house.  I headed to Portland for a fun dinner/movie date with my friend Lauren.  I picked her up and we went to Park Kitchen for dinner, which was really yummy, then we hopped across the street to the Portland Art Museum for the NW Film Fest screening of Bucksville. 

I got home pretty late last night and I'm a bit tired today but this weekend was so fun!  I'm spending the day picking up ingredients for real Thanksgiving (we are making stuffing and cheesecake), doing laundry and cuddling with Gwyn.  Hope you all have a great Monday!

Lauren is a blogger, food lover, preschool teacher and stylish mama to be.  She lives in Portland and I totally love her blog.  After a few months of following her blog it was obvious that we had way too much in common not to meet up for a little date.  It took a while to coordinate but yesterday we finally made it happen and I'm so glad we did.  Lauren is completely lovely and I highly recommend that you check out her blog The Little Things We Do and her posts over on Babble on her pregnancy experience.  I promise you'll find her charming, warm and super sweet.  We definitely hit it off and I am happy to have her as a new friend.  Here's some photos from our little date (that lasted longer than some celebrity marriages).

Grabbing coffee at Heart.  Amazingly delicious coffee and I loved the style of the coffee house (I snapped the photo below to add to my kitchen inspiration folder)!

I went back on my way to the car and impulse purchased a couple of these mugs to decorate the new kitchen.

We took our coffee and headed down the block to Alder Pastry.  We both got ham and gruyere croissants and shared an amazing caramel and sea salt pastry... and some macaroons.  We also sampled their gelato.  They have odd but amazing flavors like sesame, muscavado (raw sugar) and cardamon.  Both of these spots were Lauren's recommendation and they were awesome!

Lauren holding G (above) and me and her (below).  Lauren's baby girl is due just after Gwyneth's first birthday!

As you all know, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this week.  I had lots of errands to run and things to do.  But instead of doing them we decided to just have a BBQ instead!  I went for a long walk with Gwyneth, filled the house with lilacs, invented a accidental cocktail (I'll have the recipe perfected for you all next week) and invited some friends over to relax and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather.

Tracey holding G and sipping a glass of Little G.  Perfect!

Kyle playing with Ella.

Collin sipping on a margarita.  

Kristen and Gwyn.

We finally get to use our deck!

boys + grill / charcoal x meat = happy boys.

Making Grilled Kale Caesar Salad.

Ella, Greg, Kyle, Kristen, Collin, David and Tracey all ready to eat.

It was such a fun, relaxing evening.  After our lovely BBQ (on Wednesday) I was feeling totally reengergized.  I got up on Thursday and ran the rest of my errands and even got the car serviced, I skipped class and sat outside with Kyle and my friend Danelle having a beer.  Now I'm ready for the weekend.  Time for more grilling and relaxing.  

Do you all have fun plans for the weekend?