Well, It's Happening!

"Say what you will, I am free..." --Lyric from "After the Flood" by Honeymoon

[The Hollywood sign as seen from the Observatory]

So excited that I finally get to announce that I'm moving to LA in July!! It's been in the works for a long time now, but now everything's really coming together. I told my family, friends, boss, and landlords...so it's REALLY official. I can't even express how excited I am about this. I can't wait to be completely on my own and starting a new life.

[The Observatory]

Hanford is a great place to live...very slow-paced and home-y, but I can't wait to not be here. I've lived here all my life (except for my little blip of living in Fresno) and I really just want to be anywhere but here. I feel so closed off from the rest of the world and pushed into this 1950's lifestyle of owning a home, having a husband, and 2.2 kids. Which is just SO not me. I want to live in a place where people know me for ME. Not who my parents are or where I work. I want to live my life not worried of whether someone's going to tattle on me to my dad for having a glass of wine with friends (because seriously I can't tell you how many times that has happened.) Everyone knows everyone in Hanford. Some people like that. And sometimes I do too, but when it comes to being me, I just can't do that here. There's always someone to judge and someone to say it's not ok.

[Venice Beach...obvi]

In LA I can be me. I can wear whatever I want, get tattoos or piercings, be friends with whoever, go to bars, and do what I want without having to restrict myself just because I'm worried someone will judge me. I can't WAIT to be free!

[LA as seen from the Observatory]

I'm going to be living with my 2 friends, Melinda and Lindsey. They're such great girls...they've accepted me with open arms and have been so welcoming. We're planning on living in Culver City (which if you don't know LA, it's kind of by Santa Monica and Venice Beach.) It's like a 10 min drive to the ocean without the insane Santa Monica price tag.

[Chinatown]

The best part is that Sam and Brieanna just moved into a new apartment in Culver City, so I'm going to be living right near my cousins. Brieanna's prego right now, so when Evan makes his arrival, I'll be right there to smother him with kisses and snuggles. I can't wait.

[Cinespia...movie in a cemetery. SO AWESOME!]

I haven't found a job yet, but I've applied to a bunch of places and gotten a lot of good feedback. I've set up phone/Skype interviews and in-person interviews for when I'm doing there visiting in a  few weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to find something BEFORE I move there, but if I don't, that's ok. I'm sure it'll be 100 times easier to find a job when I'm actually THERE. We've got a few apartments lined up to check out. They all look really great and are in our price range!!

I'm just so excited, I could burst. I wish I was down there NOW.

[LA as seen from the Observatory]

Sorrrryyyyy....

Hey all! Sorry I've been so absent lately! I've been so busy....doing....things? Yea, I really have no excuse. BUT to make up for it, here are a series of pictures from this past weekend. I went up to Fresno to my friend Saprina's to see her, her hubs, and of course my baby nephew Tanner!! I had such a great time (as usual) playing with the baby, having a BFF sushi lunch with just me and Prina, and watching movies.

[Messy Tanner after eating a bean burrito...so happy haha]

[Oh how I love this woman. Walrus face? Amazing.]

[Our feast. So bomb.]

[Tanner mean-muggin' in the pool. He LOVES the water!]

[Hanging out with the dogs in the backyard while Rick BBQ's]

Summertime Necessities

There are a few items I love to wear all throughout summer. They're closet staples that every girl should have.

A Good Ol' Maxi Dress...of course.

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Some cute sunnies...

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A simple bikini...

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A hat...or two or three...

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Classic Converse is a MUST.

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And you can't go wrong with a simple cotton dress.

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Now get to shopping. I know I'm going to!

Must Have Monday - iPhone Cases

In light of me getting my first iPhone ever...these are some cases I've found on Etsy that I completely adore.

Colorful Stripes and Polka Dots - $16.90

Aztec Geometric - $18.00

Pink Glitter - $14.00

Vintage Airmail Envelope - $6.99

Tribal Pattern on Wood - $19.99 (LOOOOVE this one)

Pastel Watercolors - $24.00

Dandelion Carved on Wood - $39.00

Pink & Teal Circles - $14.95

Antique World Map - $15.00

BOWS! - $24.00

Wood Geometric Aquamarine - $16.99

Mint "Hello" - $35.00

Retro Floral Print - $7.70

Vintage Camera Engraved on Wood - $28.70

Geometric Triangles in Mint and Gray - $18.00

Vintage Victoria Peony in Pink with Teal Bird - $17.99

"Not all who wander are lost" Beach Scene - $33.00

Mint Green Floral Print - $18.00

"Let's Run Away" Beach Scene - $31.26

The Little Mermaid Ariel Silhouette - $19.99

World's Best Chicken and Garlic Roasted Asparagus

I've been really trying to eat dinner at home as much as possible. Not just to save the money but to help my waist line. I have a serious laziness problem and I'm constantly giving in and just going to pick up fast food. I'm wasting a LOT of money that way...and eating way too many calories.

Last night, I decided to try out a recipe I saw on Pinterest a while ago. It's called "World's Best Chicken" and it's basically baked chicken with a Dijon Mustard, Syrup, and Red Wine Vinegar sauce on top of it. The recipe was very reminiscent of the Crock Pot Honey Dijon Mustard Shredded Pork I made a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd give it a go.

You guys.....hands down. BEST chicken recipe ever. And seriously so simple. Mix the sauce and pour over the chicken and bake.

[Screenshot of the recipe from rachelschultz.com]

I paired it with some simple Garlic Roasted Asparagus and a glass of Tobin James Riesling. YUM-O!

Garlic Roasted Asparagus:

15-20 Asparagus spears (trimmed)
1-2 tsp. Minced Garlic
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle spears with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
2. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
3. Sprinkle minced garlic evenly. Bake for 15-18 mins or until spears are crisp but cooked through.

Makes 2 servings

I'm so SMART!

Last night, I decided to be good and have roasted veggies for dinner. I threw in some asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. I was so excited. My house smelled amazing. (I might be the only person left on the planet that actually LOVES vegetables.)

Well, once they were done, I pulled the tray out of the oven and set it on top of the stove. As I was putting the veggies into a bowl, the tray started to slide off the front of the stove. So I (the smart one) GRABBED the 400 degree tray. Yea. OUCH.

I'd never burned myself this badly before, so I really didn't know what to do. I immediately put my thumb under cold water...then I did what anyone would do and called my firefighter dad. :-\

He said cold water, ice, and neosporin. So I did. My thumb STILL freaking hurts and there's blisters all over it. I've heard from a few friends that mustard gets the burn out. So I've gotta try that next time I have a lapse in judgement. I have a picture of my thumb, but I won't show you guys cuz it's really gross looking. I don't want to scare you all.

I just wanted to put on blast tell you all about my stupidity.

I'M SUPER SMART!

Random Beach Trip!

This weekend turned out to be AWESOME. Saturday, my sister got a phone call from her friend who said that he had his grandparents beach house to himself this whole weekend! And that we should come over!! So we immediately hopped in the car and hit the road. The house is in Shell Beach and it's literally RIGHT. ON. THE. CLIFFS. Like house...road.....water. It's amazing.

We stopped off at Jack Ranch Cafe and I saw a squished snake (which when I said I found it Danette replied, "Not a real one!"....what other kind of snake would it be?!)

[Gross, right? But so cool....Danette touched it!!]

Danette thought I was looking really cute in my comfy Saturday outfit, so she wanted to take a picture of me.

[This maxi dress has WAY too much boobage going on, so I tied my Chambray shirt over it.]

Sandi is seriously the best road trip dog. She just lays on laps, sleeps, and sticks her head out the window every chance she gets...

When we got to the house, it was more beautiful than I remembered. This is the view from the balcony on the 2nd floor:

Gorgeous, right? That night, after BBQing, we all needed to walk off that food, so we went for a quick stroll....with wine, of course.

We decided to walk down to the little local bar and play some pool.

The next morning, I awoke to the most beautiful view....this is from the bedroom I stayed in.

Right?! I slept with the windows open, so I got to fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing. Amazing.

That day we all went into Pismo and walked around for a while, then went down to the water. We found SO MANY freaking sand dollars. Fully intact sand dollars!! And one giant awesome shell!

It was such a great trip. I'm so glad we went on a whim. So relaxing. No drama, no craziness. Just pure bliss.