Off the Beaten Path

There is a secret in Zion, and it's off the beaten path. There are petroglyphs in some of the mountain sides, but it's off an un-marked trail. Once you get there, signs are posted about the petroglyphs...you just have to be "in the know" to see them.

Just think about it. People were roaming around Zion 7000 years ago (some even earlier). That's a looong time ago. It's hard to even fathom what that must have been like, or what the people were like. Crazy thought; blows my mind. And they left us signs and cool drawings of their lives. 

These petroglyphs are very clear, which I found amazing. Here we have towering mountains created by the erosion of water, wind, etc and yet these survived. They are in a overhang, and sheltered area, so that probably helped. Look at these:

You can see rivers, people, sheep, and a series of circles (of life?). There were hunters, and some others we couldn't quite pinpoint. Check out the bigger pictures of the petroglyphs on my Flickr page.

Speaking of "off the beaten path," we did something else that fits into this catagory. We had a picnic on the top of mesa in Zion at sunset. To get to the mesa, we had to go onto a dirt path (again, not really marked), and up the side of the mesa, on a single car, dirt road. Yikes!

Don and Nada found this special spot exploring one day. What a great find! We certainly enjoyed our meal, and the view. Not to mention, a beautiful sunset.

Need a closer look at that gorgous view. Oh, well try this:

That's us. Trail blazers. 

Ghost Town and a Tractor

All my life I assumed a ghost town had ghosts; that it was haunted. I don't think anyone has ever told me this directly, but I just assumed with the word ghost. I guess I assumed incorrectly. Apparently it's just a town that has been abandoned. 

Or so they think, how could a town that was first flooded, and then attacked by Indians, not have ghosts? I'm pretty sure there must be a ghost roaming somewhere, right? Think about it.

When I was there, I didn't get goosebumps, or feel a cool breathe on my neck, but I did see a neat cemetary and a few houses at Grafton on Friday.

Here's the town. (This awesome panaramic was taken with Josh's iPhone using the new iOS6.) 

 

There is a church-schoolhouse, a two-story home, and an older, single home.

 

Just a short jump-skip away is the cemetary. Ohh, spooky. Any ghosts here? Maybe. I just didn't see any. The cemetary is relatively small, but the graves are cool. They seem to date mostly in the 1800s. Unfortunately, I hear there were headstones that were stolen not too long ago. But some still remain, like the Ballard family. I think they passed away due to diphtheria. Others killed by Indians, or fallend off a swing. Crazy to think about their stories. (got this info from the sign, and this site...if you need me to quote sources).

 

And in the field nearby, we came across a tractor. Maybe the ghosts are running the tractor? Probably not. But it made for some great photo opps.

Here's a cool close up.

Do you believe in ghosts? If so, you might want to invest in a app for it.

But to end on a calmer note, here's the beautiful Grafton view.

Flip Flopping in Bryce

On Wednesday we took a day trip out to Bryce Canyon. What's cool about Bryce is you get immediately "wow" factor when you see the canyon. You look out and you see red hoodoos popping out everywhere...it's just...wow.

From what I can tell, Bryce is more popular than Zion. When I told people we were going to Zion, many didn't know where it was; however, they always seem to know Bryce. And yet, Bryce is smaller than Zion. It's gotta be that immediate wow-factor. Anyway, I like them both as they are both quite different. They may have the same stone, but the way they eroded over the years is different - Zion has high, towering walls, but Bryce dips down. Zion is more flat surfaced, and Bryce more curvy. In my opinion. 

I have to say, I was wow'ed by Bryce. In fact, I think I said, "oh wow!" when I stepped out of the car. I mean, look at it:

We stopped at several points around the park. My favorite was Sunset where there is the most awesome trail, The Navajo Loop Trail. You hike down into the rocks and see everything up close - trees and rocks soar upward. 

 

Then you get to points where you just look out into the canyon. In this picture, I peek out from a rock "window." The colors are awesome.

At this point, you might be wondering why I chose to call this "Flip Flopping in Bryce." Well, I forgot to change out of my flip flops for the Navajo Loop hike, so I hiked in my flip flops. I'm talented like that. 

We topped off our visit with a stop at Ruby's Inn for a lil' snacky-snack.

 

Oh, and on the way out, we were sure to get a glimpse of Red Canyon. It's also pretty "wow" too.

In a nutshell, it's all just WOW. So you should go someday and be "wowed."

Buffalo, Sheep, and a Tree

Thursday we took a day trip from Zion and headed out to Bryce. I'll write about Bryce later because right now I want to tell you about the buffalo, some sheep, and a tree.

That might seem like an odd mix, but this is exactly what we saw on our way home from Bryce. First we were driving along and saw just a herd of buffalo munching on the grass. Don did a U-ie (aka a U-Turn), and we hopped out of the car. 

These buffalo were super close to the fence; it was crazy. And the light was perfect. It was the "magic" light time. This is really, no joke, a photography term and is a photographer's dream time of day. So, Don, being my photography teacher for the week, thought this would be an opportune time for some lessons. 

Here's the buffalo shot I got:

We kept driving, and around the Checkerboard Mesa area, we saw some cars pulled over. This is a telltale sign that there is some wildlife present. So, we stopped. And I look out the car window, and standing right there is a huge heard of Bighorn Sheep. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn't get a good shot, but in the distance was a big ram with the horns that circle around. This is one of the photos I got from my window. They look so unreal...crazy.

Lucky for us, it was still the "magic" hour when we passed by this super cool, twisted tree. Don and I hopped out and climbed up to get some shots of the tree. My favorite is the close up I got from the tree:

Here's another angle of that same tree. Isn't that light great?

And that, my friends, is the story of how a buffalo, sheep, and tree are related.

Walking in Water

Yesterday we walked in water. Okay, it was a hike and it was through Zion's Narrows. It was a breathtaking hike with the walk off the canyon stretching way up above your head. The canyon twists and turns following the Virgin River. 

We had to rent special water shoes (although there were some fools that just went in tennis shoes, bare feet, or sandels...idiots). Don't I look stylish in these shoes. Not to mention, my even more stylish board shorts in Hawaiian print.

We started off in the morning around 9am (after taking a tram to get to the trail head). The hike starts off as a leisurely sidewalk hike, then the real fun starts when you reach the beginning of The Narrows. While the tourists behind us stayed on the trail, we walking straight into the water to continue the hike.

The start of The Narrows

Yes, you heard me, you walk through the water. There are bits of land here and there, but for the most part you trek through the flowing water, which mind you, is pretty chilly in the morning.

But you bare the chill, and walk because you get great views:

The towering walls are so majestic.

Gosh, did I say how beautiful it was?

         

I might have to say, this was my favorite hike ever. And we had such a great time. Here's the happy hikers:

                

P.S. If you've noticed, I've also been practicing my photography with the help of my dear father-in-law, Don. He's such a talented photographer and I'm learning lots (more to come on that though). He also has a blog - great photos so check it out. I've been an obsessed maniac taking TONS of pictues and then editing on Aperture in the evenings. I've begun uploading to Flickr, so be sure to check out all of The Narrows (and more!).

What Happens in Vegas...

Does not always stay in Vegas. For instance, this post. I'll pretty much tell you what we did because I'm cool like that. No secrets from my blog buddies. ; )

Saturday was the beginning of our "big" vacation of the year. Most of the trip is to be spent in Zion with my in-laws. However, we decided to take on Vegas at the beginning since were were flying in/out of the LV airport.

We arrived Saturday afternoon (just in time for the late-night party-ers to be getting up). We decided to make our base camp at the Venetian. We got a pretty good deal on Priceline (go us). I think I said, "oh wow" as I stepped into the lobby. Very grandiose stuff here. And our hotel room was like a small apartment. Not too shabby.

 

Now, before I go telling you about our visit, let me remind you, I have not been to Vegas since they were building the Luxor. Yes my friends, it's been that long. So, you can imagine, when we stepped onto to the strip, it was like a whole other world. It was sensory overload -- lights flashing, music blasting, people pushing...everything is just IN YOUR FACE. Pretty wild.

The afternoon was spent walking from hotel to hotel. I think we visited practically every hotel (except the ones at the extreme ends of the strip...my feet can only take so much walking). I have to say, my favorites were the Bellagio and Cosmopolitan. We had our first Vegas cocktail in the Aria, which was also quite nice.

 

Dinner the first night was at a newer, up-and-coming buffet called The Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan. We heard it was cheaper and better than the Bellagio buffet. I think we tried everything offered there. Just bites of everything, people, we're not total pigs...gosh. My favorite, though, was dessert. It was so fun to grab each thing and taste - the coconut flan, the brownie pop, and the peach cobbler were among my favorites.

 

Then, we topped off the day with the foutain water show at the Bellagio. Okay, I lied, slightly, we saw it twice - one in the day and then we ended the night with the show again.

 

Sunday we spent more time shopping, mainly in Caesar's Palace. Have you noticed that all the Vegas hotels seem to have the same set of stores? You really only need to visit one's shopping area and you've seen them all. Heck, you don't even need to let your own hotel if you don't want to...everything is everywhere at anytime in Vegas.

The in-laws drove out and met us for lunch at Holsteins for some burgers. We toured some more hotels like the Wynn. Then we went our own ways for the evening. Josh and I went off to celebrate our 1 year anniversary with dinner at Joe's. It was a classic restaurant known for it's stone crab and fish. Let me tell you, these stone crab claws are huge (and we got the small ones). If you ever need to try crab legs, go here. I had halibut and Josh had steak. We finished with awesomely delicious pie (which seemed fitting for our anniversary--why? because we had pie at the wedding).

 

The big event of the Vegas trip was Sunday evening. We had tickets as a gift from my in-laws from my birthday to see Cirque du Soleil "O" at Bellagio. Oh my, it was so great I don't even know how to describe it. It didn't hurt that we had front & center seats - literally we were 7 rows from the stage (Thanks Don & Nada!).

The acrobats were fascinating. They diving from about 50 feet high, they swung from hoops hanging from each other's feet, they were contorting into crazy positions. I was entranced the whole time. Absolutely recommend it. Sorry, they were uber strict about photos. Check out the video!

 

We ended our evening with drinks at the hip and trending bar at the Cosmo hotel. Then Monday rolled around, we had breakfast with the Browns, did some more shopping, and headed out for nature at Zion.

Total flip from chic urban city Vegas, to nature filled Zion. Fun times though. Vegas is really a Disneyland for adults. And my new term from the trip: Vegafied. Take something normal and Vegafy it.

  

Check out more of my Vegas photos. : )

Remembering

Today is a day of rememberance. Eleven years ago today was a day our country will never forget. A day full of tears and saddness, and yet we united and grew stronger. Just take a moment to stop and think. Think about how lucky we are to live in our great nation. We're pretty luck, huh?! I think so.

Hard to believe eleven years ago I was a sophomore in college. Getting a morning call from my dad informing me our nation was under attack. I went to Santa Clara's Benson center and watched the tradegy unfold on the television. It still gives me shivers.

Just the other week I was visiting NYC. I got the chance to walk by ground zero, and see the new buildings rising from the rumble. That too gave me goosebumps. It was amazing to see the new towers rising upward. It's going to be beautiful.

That's it. I just wanted to stop and remember. I hope you did too. 

Business in NYC

This week has been long. I started the week off in the office on Monday, then Tuesday through Friday I was in New York City. The purpose was for a 2-day meeting with my Verizon client. We discussed some good stuff - information overload, but good. Most of my time was spent in meetings and hanging with the client, but I did get to sneak away for a little bit to be a tourist in NYC.

My only tourist thing on Tuesday was taking a picture from the taxi as we crossed over the bridge towards downtown. And dinner (with the client) near our hotel, the Sheraton Tribeca. Dinner was quite tasty at a cute Italian restaurant called Pepolino - we sat outside, ahh warm weather.

Wednesday was all client even breakfast and dinner. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant called Dos Caminos. I have to say, the prickly pear margarita was darn tasty. It made my day better. And we took a small walk to Washington Park. It had a fake Arc de Triumphe and a cool fountain (if you look, you can see the Empire State Buildling between the arch). Check out the photo.

Luckily, Thursday the meetings ended early and we were freeeee. I grabed my co-worker, James, and made him walk around town with me. We walked from our hotel down to Ground Zero. Unfortunately, you had to pre-purchase tickets to see it, but we peeked in through the fence and got glimpses. It's amazing to stop and think about that day - where you were, what you felt, being there gave me shivers. But, the new towers that are being built look gorgeous and will be great addition to the NYC skyline someday.

 

We pasted by Saint Pauls, but unfortunately they closed the gates on our faces. Yes, seriously, they closed right when we were walking in. The nerve. I put my camera through the fence to try to get some pictures of the old gravestones. I hear they date back to 1700s even. Could have been cool. Ahh well, next time.

 

Then, we walked to Battery Park. Here we saw the glorious Statue of Liberty off in the distance. She seems so small from land. We didn't have enough time to take a ferry over, so we just admired from afar. On the way, we also admired the cool old buildings...

 

Our dinner (because you want to know all about the food, I know) was at Saxon and Parole. We enjoyed cocktails, tasty entrees, and dessert. This was the first time I truly had a "deconstructed" dish. When it arrived, I was like, "uhh, we got the fruit tart...." It was basically a dish with splotches of custard and crust sticking out of each glob. Then fruit was scattered around. I was doubtful, but it was delicious. I think this was my favorite dish of the week. (Sorry, no picture. I didn't think to take one, silly me).

Not wanting to miss a chance to see as much of NYC as possible, we ended the evening with a quick trip to Times Square. As we stepped out of the taxi, it was suddenly daylight again (or so it seemed) because of all the lights. Crazy. Branding overload. 

 

Friday was wrapped up with one last meeting. Then I grabbed a taxi and rushed to meet good friends James and Melissa for lunch. Yes, a random meet-up in NY. We had a great meal together at ABC Kitchen - so posh and hip. It was really great to see them and wish we lived closer. Sigh.

I hurried back to the hotel, and my coworkers and I grabbed a taxi and headed back to JFK. A great week of work and fun, but now I'm ready to sleep-in. Business travel is exhausting!

Josh's New Job

Before you read, start the theme music...Celebration.

The title of this post is pretty indicative of what I'm about to say...Josh is employed! Woo hoo! We are both so very happy. I think this is a great, new start for him. It's with a company called Logic 20/20 -- it's Seattle-based, and a smaller company. He'll be a Senior Consultant. Yes, he'll be doing consulting again, but on a more techincal level. We think this will be a much better fit for him, and hopefully a better work/life balance.

Of course, when it rains it pours because he got to decide between two offers. It's always nice to be wanted. It was a tough decision though. He will start the Tuesday after Labor Day (9/4), so he has a week to decompress (and find more work clothes). 

Thanks to everyone for being a support throughout this process. Now, it's time to celebrate (play that theme song one more time).

Baker's Corner

Dearest Readers,

I want to share with you a secret. A delicious secret. It's my Grandma Ruth's peach pie. She calls it Sour Cream Open Face Cake. However, I'm going to call it Sour Cream Open Face Peach Pie because, sorry grandma, it's not a cake. Definitely pie - buttery, flakey crust with sweet peaches on top. It brings back childhood memories of Grandma coming to visit us in Encinitas during the summer.

Whenever my Grandma visited us, she would bake up a storm - cookies, pies, cakes - we all loved it! Now, Grandma doesn't bake much, so I am carrying on the recipes and traditions. And, today's your lucky day because here's the recipe for you to create some peachy memories:

Grandma Ruth

Grandma's Sour Cream Open Face Peach Pie

Adapted from my Grandma Ruth's recipe

For the topping: 

• 6-7 peaches, peeled, sliced
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour

For the crust:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cubed
• 3 tablespoons sour cream 

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9x13-inch square baking pan. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter using a pastry cutter (or, you could do this all in a food processor). It make be a bit loose. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until crust is pale golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool.

Once the crust is cooled, arrange the sliced peaches in 3 rows lengthwise.

To make the topping, slight beat egg yolks, stir in sour cream then add sugar and flour. Spread evenly over th peaches. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy with some vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Notes: Are your peaches not ripe yet? Try putting them in a paper bag. Want to make peeling easier? Drop the peach in boiling water for about a minute. The skin should peel right off (psst, you might want to let them cool a wee bit before handling).

Hey, don't go yet! There's more!

I also made something totally wild and awesome: Pillow Cookies. Say what? It's a brownie inside a chocolate chip cookie. Crazy right! Crazy awesome. Brownie + CC cookie = Genius.

Basically, you bake brownies, cut them up into small squares, and then wrap them in cookie dough. Then bake and voila!

Small Side Story: As I was finishing up the pillow cookies, Josh strolled into the kitchen. I am taking the cookie off the pan, and he says I should wait. You know what I said. I said, "No! I am the baker, and I get to decide sh*t!" It's true just as a driver get to control the music, the baker gets to decide what goes down in the kitchen.

And you can imagine, I was a bit heated up at the thought of Josh taking over my cookies, so he told me I was a bit loud. You know what I had to say about that? "I'm not yelling, I'm whisper-yelling!" So there.

Eh-hem, there still more...

Lastly, I made Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chipsters. These are good, but a bit more crisp (maybe that's why they're called chipsters). It might have been because my kitchen was super hot and they just melted in the oven. I need to re-try the recipe to be sure. But, they are worth a bake if you feel nutty.

Good Stuff

I'm online a lot, it's my job. Okay, it's not my job to find fun links and stuff, but I do come across some cool / funny / awesome things. I thought I'd share:

• Our Earth is pretty amazing. Seriously, watch this.
• Have I ever shared The Oatmeal with you? When you need a laugh, go here. I think the Seattle one is hilarious.
• If you're aiming to go hipster, you can start with Cuppow. They are plastic lids for your mason jar. It turns the mason jar into a travel mug. So hipster.
• I love latte art. It makes your coffee all that more special. Check out this cool 3D latte art. And it's a cute bear. Love it.
• This is how I dance when nobody is looking. Hint: Wait till the end, that the best part. 
• Maybe I should gift this to my dad this Christmas. A pet vacuum. Now, that'll get some hair. (If you know my dad, you know what I'm talkin' about).
• Miss the Olympics already? Check out Gold Medalist Gabby in the air! Or, for some laughs, check out the diver's faces. Think that's funny, which do you think is funnier, divers or figure skaters?

 Enjoy!

Little Bavaria in WA

Deep in the mountain of Washington, there is a cute village that brings you to your very own Bavaria. Right when you see the "Welcome to Leavenworth" sign, you leave the US and enter into a mini-Bavaria. A little bit of Germany right here in the states.

This past weekend my parents visited Josh and I. Instead of going around Seattle, we took them to WA's little Germany, Leavenworth. And we didn't even have to go on a nine hour flight! We enjoyed pretzels, brats, beer, spaetzle, you know, German fare. ;)

   

The buildings are adorable and so pretty with the flower baskets hanging. But the heat, oh my, the heat. Of all the weekends my parents were here, we have the hottest weekend of the year. But, I guess it's not as hot as other areas of the country (we're not really used to the heat here in WA).

   

We stayed the night at the Enzian Inn which carried on the Bavarian theme. In the morning, we also had our very own Alphorn play as we enjoyed breakfast.

All in all, it was a great mini trip. Next up, Solvang!

Fried Goodness

About two weekends ago, Josh and I along with my friend Beth, went to the annual Ballard Seafood Fest. Given it's title, we excepted there to be tons of seafood. We envisioned booths and booths of seafood - seafood to eat, seafood fresh to buy (like at Pike Place), seafood gadgets, etc. Right? Wouldn't you except seafood at a seafood fest?

Okay, so there was seafood. Just not tons of it. I would say that there was a higher than average number of seafood food booths in the food vendor section alongside the traditional fair food. Basically, it was a street fair. Don't get me wrong, I like street fairs, but my expectations were all out of wack.

I think what we'll really remember most from the Seafood Fest is the fried twinkie experience. There was some debate as to what fried food to get - there was so much! There was fried candy bar, fried PB&J, fried oreo, even fried rootbeer floast (say what?!). 

The decision was...fried twinkie. It had to be done. And Josh stepped up to the plate (pun intended). (Believe it or not, Josh had NOT had a fried twinkie in his life yet).

Here's the Twinkie and Josh as he received the twinkie (look at that smile).

 

But then it consumed him (yes, it consumed him). Look at that bite. Like I said, it consumed him.

And that was the memory we took away with us from the Ballard Seafood Fest. Fried twinkies. 

Baker's Corner

Here's the deal. I'm going to start sharing more of the recipes of things I make. It's not necessarily a recipe I created, but a recipe I tried (and enjoyed). Sometimes I make tweaks to the recipe, somtimes I'll give a tip, or just tell you how delicious it was. Just like a cookie exchange but I get nothing in return ... hmm, maybe I need to re-think this whole idea ;).  

1. Muffin: These were a Joy the Baker recipe. The original recipe is a Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed muffin. However, I made these for 1 sole reason: I had extra cherries and raspberries from the galette. Honestly, these were the best muffins I've made, ever. The key thing to this recipe was browning the butter. I'd never done that before. The other key to this recipe, was the topping. I was doubtful of it being sweet enough for my tastebuds given it only had 2 Tbsp sugar, but I was wrong...perfectly sweet. My recommendation is to use this recipe as a base to whatever fruit is in season or that you have on hand. Add coffee and this is the best snack or breakfast.

2. Galette: Or should I say Crostata? What's the difference? Let me tell you...nothing! Surprise! It's just French vs. Italian. Let's just say Galette. I used a combination of recipes for my galette. The crust was Two Peas & their Pod and was delicious with the addition of cornmeal. The filling I based off Tyler Florence's crostata. Basically, I stemmed and pitted cherries and mixed with raspberries, the juice of half a lemon, 1 tea vanilla, 2 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp flour. Mix it and plop onto the crust. Wrap the crust up, blush on egg, and sprinkle sugar. I didn't have turbinado sugar, so I used regular sugar. No biggie. Josh's review: "I think this might be the best thing you've ever made!" 

3. S'mores: I'm getting a reputation at work. A reputation as the girl that bakes and brings in goodies. There could be worse reputations. I think the fact that I entered the Whoopie Pie contest at the restaurant below our office nailed that reputation home. Anway, it was a co-worker that came up with this recipe. and the idea that I should make these. And I'm glad did, they were a hit! A good alternative to making a campfire (or making them on the stove). Here's the recipe I used (although this is the identical recipe here). My tips: use a 9x13 pan first. I just used a jar of marshmellow fluff, then when scooping out the marshmellow fluff, spray a spatula with cooking spray, then scoop. (note: I microwave the jar for like 15 seconds, and then read afterwards on the side you're not supposed to do this. Oh well, we survived. Make it easy though!). And here's the big tip: lay the base dough on plastic wrap. Then put another piece on top. Roll it out to be about the size of your 9x13 pan. Take off one piece of the wrap, and then carefully and quickly flip it so it lands on top. Then make any little nudges where needed. Whoola! It's marshmellow, it'll be messy but always good. I mean, it's SUGAR! Can't go wrong.

Good Stuff

I've seen it recommended to write out lists on your blog - Joy suggests it, but I've seen it recommended on some of my professional marketing blogs, too. It's a classic blog-posting thing to do I guess. And who doesn't like lists? I know I do. I'm a list-maker - ask Josh. I thought I'd give it a go. Here are some random findings I've come across the last week or so. I hope it makes you smile.

1. Sweet : Today is going to be awesome. Need some daily inspiration? Check out 365 Days of Hand Lettering, a project by Lisa Congdon. Cute little drawings of sweet words and phrases everyday. Be kind to yourself!

2. Funny : I think my parents said my first word was "cookie." I wouldn't be surprised. I love cookies. This song from the Cookie Monster has been stuck in my head all week. Hey, you have cookie, Share it maybe?

3. Goofy : Have you ever heard a song about IKEA? Well, Josh has been listening to Jonathan Coulton and he has a song about IKEA. Listen to it, it's pretty funny.

4. Cute : Need a daily dose of cute animals? Check out Cute Overload. I had lunch with a friend over the weekend, and her boyfriend was wearing a shirt from this blog.

5. Laugh : A squating dog...no kidding!

6. Wow : Check out some of these crazy-good pictures for the National Geographic photo contest. Wow. Just wow.

You Belong in the Zoo

...The San Diego Zoo.

Do you remember that jingle? If you grew up in the 80s in San Diego you would. And I'd totally play it for you if I could find it online, but I can't, so sad.

This jingle comes to mind because last weekend Josh and I finally visited the zoo in Seattle - its the Woodland Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day; a day meant to be spent outside. The zoo was the perfect place.

Being at the zoo made me feel like a kid again. I was so excited when I saw an animal, especially up close. The new excitement, as an adult, was if I could grab a shot of the animal. I got a few - see below!

Although, going to another zoo made me realize how freakin' spoiled I was growing up going to the San Diego Zoo. I realize now that my moaning about "going to the zoo again to see the same animals just older" was really bratty. I should visit again!

Anyway, it was a lovely day strolling at the zoo. Good times.

Makin' Whoopie

And the crowd roars!!!!!

...because Tuesday I was winner of the Crowd Favorite award in Oddfellow's 3rd Annual Whoopie Pie Bake-off. I can now say I am an award-winning baker.

I was pleased as punch at the turnout of all my friends and co-workers (my office is right upstairs!). But if I don't say so myself, the lemon lavendar whoopie pies that I entered were pretty darn tasty. Like unicorn rainbows in your mouth!

There were about 7 contestants total, and we had 2-3 whoopies on display then a bunch of tasters in front. They were labeled A-G (mine=E). The crowd went through, tasted, and then voted.

There were lots of tasty whoopies pies such as:

Strawberry Shortcake. This one taste liked summer and was quite delicous. I found this guy works at Oddfellows as a baker/server. Oddfellows has some pretty tasty treats in the pastry case, so no wonder I liked thie one.

One of my favorites (besides my own, of course), was the sweet potato spice with caramel filling. It was all the fall flavors that I love. I got the chance to chit-chat with the baker and get the recipe. Friends, I'll make these for you sometime this fall - so tasty.

Another whoopie was the scortched s'mores. Very cute though with it's campfire decoration, and quite deserving of Most Inventive.

Mine, Crowd Favorite, was the most loved by the people ... also the most delicious (in my humble opinion). If there was a reward for best decorated, I think I would have won that too. I had down to the fine details like candied lemon peel on top, a cute sign, actual lemons, and lavendar - looky here. I'm awesome (again, this is said in the most humbly-speaking voice possible). Ahh, I've let it get to my head. Seriously though, they were ALL delicious whoopie pies.

 

The best part of the whole experience was ... I had a blast. I really enjoyed trying to make whoopie pies for the first time. Trying to get the recipe just right was a fun challenge that kept me busy in the kitchen. Plus, I got to enjoy some time on a nice afternoon with fellow bakers and friends. Who can beat that? Thanks Oddfellows!

Here's some more info for your reading pleasure:

The Judges:

• Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce’s Michael Wells
• The Wandering Goose's Heather Earnhardt
• Crumble & Flake Patisserie’s Neil Robertson
• Surly Gourmand, Blogger
• Babeland Seattle's Audrey McManus
• Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream Molly Moon
• Trophy Cupcakes's Jennifer Shea
• Robin Wehl Martin & her lovely assistant Eliza

The Results:

• #1 Whoopie Pie: Strawberry shortcake by Curt Waller
• #2: Vegan chocolate with cookies 'n' cream filling by Aaron Valdivia
• #3: Sweet potato with caramel filling by Emily McClory
• Most Inventive: Scorched S'mores by Owen Curtsinger
• Crowd Favorite: Lemon-Lavender by Heather Brown (Me)

More Things to Check Out:

• My Flickr Album for awesome pictures
• Oddfellow's FB photo album
• Capitol Hill's Blog post about it

A Sneak Peak

I alluded to this in my previous post, but I am in a baking competition this Tuesday. In fact, it's a Whoopie Pie bake-off. I've entered into the home baker non-traditional category. I've been testing out my recipe in the kitchen the past few weeks. I think I've got a winning recipe!

It's at Oddfellow's tomorrow from 4-6pm. There are about 10-12 bakers competing and we're bringing samples for the crowd. They have judges but the crowd gets to vote too.

Come and join me and my whoopie pie friends!

P.S. Of course I'll take pictures and write a post.

Celebrate USA

 

Not only is the 4th of July a great day to celebrate our wonderful country, but it's also a holiday and we get the day off work. Woot Woot. 

I have to say getting a Wednesday off was a bit random, and sort of threw me off a bit, but hey I'll take the day off. And it was a lovely day at that. The best part, I got to sleep in. Ahh, sleep. 

Josh and I had a pretty low key 4th. We went for a walk at the Arboretum in the early afternoon. Then later in the afternoon I tested my whoopie pie recipe. Yes, whoopie. I am entering into a bake-off competition on Tuesday (more to come on that).

Then for dinner we BBQ'd some hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn. And enjoyed that with some juicy watermelon. Can a meal get any more American? Yes, add whoopie pie for dessert! 

The day ended with a walk up Queen Anne hill to view some fireworks. Hurrah for America!

 

Just Sayin'

Sometimes I just go onto Etsy to just browse around. Often it's for jewerly, pillows (did I mention I love pillows? pillows and blankets - it's cuddle thing), or just cute posters or signs. I get lost in the next > next > next nature of website browsing. What if, on the next page, is something I absolutely MUST have?! Not that I'll buy it or anything, but it's always good to know what I like. 

So just the other day, I was doing just that, browsing Etsy, and came across this poster. I thought it perfect, not that I'm going to buy it, but I thought I'd share especially since I apparently think I'm some sort of big deal. Or maybe I am? I mean this is MY blog isn't it?

And I definitely want to give credit to this artist, ParadaCreations.