Weekend Trip

Jason & I planned a little camping/surfing trip up the coast.

driving PCH from Malibu to Santa Cruz.

unfortunately, the waves were blown out and it was FREEZING

so poor Jason didn't get to surf on our little trip.

 we stopped in Solvang, the cutest little Danish town just North of Santa Barbara.

we are both Danish, so it was especially fun for us.

aebleskiver: a famous danish pastry

as our drive continued, we saw fields and fields of agriculture & vineyards. Obviously we learned about that in history in the 4th grade, but seeing it for yourself is another story.

so cool.

Morro Bay, CA

we found a sweet campsite at Avila Beach. (just north of Pismo)

which was fortunate because EVERYONE seems to camp Memorial Day weekend & every other place i called was fully booked. 

from what a woman told us, these seals come here to "molt"

aka shed their fur-ish skin.

hundreds & hundreds of them.

Big Sur

(my favorite)

Last stop - Santa Cruz.

our trip was delightful & carefree.

did whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.

plus, we saw some of the most beautiful & best sites to see in CA:)

be smart

ever since i started my career in skin care, the number one rule we learn is

sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!

i have since gone a day without wearing it & this video is why...

caution: this might make you tear up (at least i did!)

so, since summer is just around the corner, look out for yourself & put some spf on :)

Arizona

this past weekend was filled with weddings, driving, hot weather, swimming, family, & good times.

after the Steele wedding on friday (sad i didn't take any pics) we made our way to the desert & spent the night at my grandmas. She made us her famous french toast as soon as we woke up & then we were on our way to AZ. 

First stop: Megan & Brandon's sealing.

it was AWESOME & they were glowing.

they are adorable together & we were so happy we got to be there for their special day.

love you megs!!

it was 95 degrees..we were dying.

 Next Stop: Kyle & Kylee's house!!

my brother & sister in law live in scottsdale so we stayed at their house & had so much fun with them.

we played mad gab (my FAVORITE game) & it was hilarious. we were cracking up the whole time.

& we got to play with these two cuties.

having a picnic inside before church

Luke loves saying our names. & he LOVES jason.

watching the boys play pool

Luke was modeling for me..this was just one of his poses

Luke is really good at imitating what you say..here he is copying jason

Next Stop: the pool!

Lily in her CUTE suit

jason LOVES this little lady. 

i can only imagine how our little girls (if we have any) will be wrapped around his finger.

playing in the water

Last Stop: Church

kylee & i before church. 

so lucky to have such an awesome sister in law. 

and last but not least, we discovered the coolest thing

LeSueur St & Kimball Ave are cross streets right by the temple.

we parked on a random street & had to change in the car into our clothes for the sealing.

i looked up and was speechless! so cool! seriously what are the odds?

DESTINY!

dark chocolate buckeyes

these babies are too delicious for my own good.

RECIPE: 

1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth, but you can use chunky if you are looking for more texture)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
Salt (a pinch)
3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter, and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Make the coating: Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid while you shape the peanut butter centers. 

Assemble the candies: Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling (i did a little less than a tablespoon) and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated. 

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.

my two cents: i let my chocolate cool longer so i can get a thicker coating..BUT when i did that, it made it extremely hard to keep the peanut butter center in tact when rolling it in the chocolate, it would just fall apart (hence the reason they are not so pretty). next time i will use the coating when still a little runny.

"our city, our home"

last night we went to the LA Galaxy game.

we had a fun :)

we watched them dominate Kansas City

we watched David Beckham kill it

(but for reals, if you know me well, this is the reason i went) ;)

then becks took his shirt off & gave it to a screaming fan. 

i had to hold myself back from hunting her down & ripping it out of her hands..

one of my favorite parts was sitting in front of a soccer team of 9 year old girls screaming & yelling at the refs for making back calls..they must get it from their parents on the sidelines at their games.  

hilarious. 

we will be back!!

new favorite

i've been counting down the days of the opening of this restaurant

a m a z i n g.

this Santa Monica location opened on monday & we had dinner there last night.

i loved everything about the place. the decor & ambiance was my favorite.

the menu was simple, yet colorful. 

they had so many gluten free, vegetarian, & vegan choices to choose from as well.

(& they use local produce)

all their ingredients are fresh & pure, and seriously so good.

Jason ordered the Steak Tacos

he said it was the best tacos he'd ever had..only negative: he wish there was more. 

I ordered the Spring Chopped Salad

Mmmm Mmm Mmmmm

no complaints.

we already decided that we are going to be food critics on the side..

(so stay tuned for more)

there are 2 locations in CA & 2 in AZ..so if you are in either place, go try. 

it will not disappoint.

can't wait to go back & try their breakfast/lunch menus :)

We love our Moms

we are so grateful for both of these wonderful women who have taught, cared, protected and helped us learn and grow from the moment we came into this world.

we feel lucky that we get to call these two our MOTHERS.

being the youngest of my family, i can remember always being my moms little tag-a-long while everyone else was at school.

i would run all her errands with her, come with her to her nail appts (she would let me get mine painted), showing her when i learned to tie my shoes (she cried), going to everyones soccer games, and talking her ear off while we were in the car (i was a little chatter-box).

...we were best friends since the beginning :)

there is no one else like your own mom & im glad we have a weekend to celebrate & acknowledge all the amazing moms in the world. :)

photo giveaway

my sister Jill is having a giveaway for a free photo session!

she's got skills.

check her out here & enter to win!!