My edible treasures before
And after...ready to enjoy all week!
And after...ready to enjoy all week!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Summer Goodness
We are home from our weekend in Charleston and today I stopped by what has become one of my favorite places to shop in Pasadena, the Lake Avenue Produce. It's only a few blocks from our apartment and sells fresh locally grown produce at incredible prices. Together Chuck and I have made a commitment to eat as healthy as we possibly can for the summer and to exercise several days a week, and Lake Produce is going to be a key piece of this for us! I used to buy produce with the intention of eating it, but it would inevitably go bad. Then I discovered the key to ensuring the delicious vitamins and antioxidants actually make it into our bodies! It's all in the preparation and storing of the food. I'd buy peppers with the intention of dipping them in hummus for a great afternoon snack, yet when I was actually hungry I never wanted to take the time to wash and slice the peppers. I'd want to make salads, but got lazy and wouldn't want to take the time to chop everything. Someone suggested to me that if you take about an hour when you get home from the store to wash, peel, slice, chop and store all the veggies and fruit in accessible containers then when it is time for that snack or that salad to be made everything is ready to go. Plus, storing sliced veggies in tupperware of cold water actually helps keep most of them crisper and hydrated (veggies dehydrate as they sit in your fridge and that is what makes them limp and unappealing, but keeping them in water keeps them crisp for a good week). I've made it my routine the last several weeks to stop by Lake Produce on Monday or Tuesday and load up on fresh fruits and veggies, and then I have spent about an hour prepping everything. I cannot tell you how fast dinner prep is now, we've enjoyed large salads each night of the week, and we're snacking on fruit salad during the day. Plus, the bonus of finding a farmers market or a local produce stand is the prices! Today I got a watermelon, red grapes, 2 red peppers, a green pepper, 2 avocados, 3 tomatoes, 3 apples, a bag of spinach, a head of broccoli, 2 bananas, 2 zucchini, 1 cucumber, 4 nectarines, and a package of strawberries for $15--which you definitely cannot do in a grocery store!
Heading back east
We just got back from a very quick trip to Charleston to enjoy a couple days of celebrating various occasions with Chuck's family. The main reason for the trip was for our east coast wedding reception to take place on Saturday, but we also had the chance to celebrate several birthdays, my graduation, and an anniversary. It was great seeing everyone again and we were very honored by the number of people who came to celebrate with us--both on Saturday at the family party, and on Sunday at a bbq the church threw us. I don't have any pictures from the parties since I was busy meeting a ton of new people! But here are a few from hanging out with the family!
My graduation cheesecake
There are a LOT of birthdays in May-July! We celebrated Diana, Jon, Chuck and Carroll!
The birthday kids
Goofing off
Good thing Jon likes Bionicles! 
Family photo at the party on Saturday. Left to right: Jon, Rodd, Teddy, Chuck, Ed, Rodney (Audrey's brother). Front: Diana, Helen, Carroll, me, Audrey, Linda
Saturday night we had a kit kat tasting party with kit kats Rodd & Carroll brought back from Japan. Over there kit kats come in all kinds of flavors--strawberry, white chocolate, green tea, lemon vinegar (kind of a sour lemon flavor), apple cider and I'm probably forgetting some. Some were decent...some were not.
I think this is the strawberry one getting a thumbs down from Diana.
the lemon-vinegar got a so-so from Uncle Chuck!
There are a LOT of birthdays in May-July! We celebrated Diana, Jon, Chuck and Carroll!
The birthday kids
Goofing off
Good thing Jon likes Bionicles! 
Family photo at the party on Saturday. Left to right: Jon, Rodd, Teddy, Chuck, Ed, Rodney (Audrey's brother). Front: Diana, Helen, Carroll, me, Audrey, Linda
Saturday night we had a kit kat tasting party with kit kats Rodd & Carroll brought back from Japan. Over there kit kats come in all kinds of flavors--strawberry, white chocolate, green tea, lemon vinegar (kind of a sour lemon flavor), apple cider and I'm probably forgetting some. Some were decent...some were not.
I think this is the strawberry one getting a thumbs down from Diana.
the lemon-vinegar got a so-so from Uncle Chuck!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Crazy Beautiful
This is pretty much the only way to describe the things we saw this past week--Chuck kept saying "wow, this is beautiful...crazy beautiful..." over and over again as we drove through the coast of central California. I won't argue with that, it truly is one of the most spectacular parts of the country. We are back from our honeymoon after a long day on the road, a little tired, but relaxed after a beautiful and VERY fun week exploring together! We did a lot, indulged in some scrumptious meals, and took a bazillion pictures! (this post is just photos from Sunday and Monday--I've broken them up by day to make them a bit easier to create!) It was very fun to show Chuck a part of California I adore, and to experience some new places myself. Our trip really was made possible by the gift of a free place to stay--which allowed us to take a portion of our wedding money and enjoy some fancy dinners and a few fun tours/trips in San Francisco. For those who care to read/see more, the story of our week together is below--enjoy the photos, although a picture can't do this scenery justice!Sunday--the drive north
Ok, some of you may think this is very strange, but throughout the trip I had fun taking various pictures of my feet in different locations. If you think it's strange...well, sorry!
Sunday evening we arrived about 8, unloaded, bought wine, cheese & crackers from the local store, and enjoyed a fire in the fireplace while listening to classical music & reading Narnia--a perfect evening after a long day in the car!
We left from church on Sunday afternoon and headed north up the 101 from Los Angeles to Boulder Creek, which is in the mountains just above Santa Cruz.
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We had been given a cabin there from Sunday through Thursday which was perfect! It was isolated, quiet, a short walk to town for groceries, wine, and restaurants, and perfect for our first few days away! We drove through some gorgeous valleys, fields, and vineyards on the way.View Larger Map
Ok, some of you may think this is very strange, but throughout the trip I had fun taking various pictures of my feet in different locations. If you think it's strange...well, sorry!
Sunday evening we arrived about 8, unloaded, bought wine, cheese & crackers from the local store, and enjoyed a fire in the fireplace while listening to classical music & reading Narnia--a perfect evening after a long day in the car!Monday--exploring Santa Cruz & Half Moon Bay
Monday we got up and headed into Santa Cruz to spend time wandering the town. We watched waves, surfers, walked around the town a bit, and ate lunch on the Santa Cruz pier before driving northward towards Half Moon Bay (another hour or so up the coast).
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We decided not to explore the beach boardwalk with all the rides and carnival games, that didn't seem relaxing to us at all!View Larger Map
This is the boardwalk & the pier.
No, those aren't seals--those are surfers. Lots and lots of surfers off the Santa Cruz coast
One cool place we stumbled upon was a garden dedicated to St. Joseph (the father of Jesus). It was connected to a Catholic church, and was absolutely gorgeous. We didn't know, but St. Joseph is the patron saint of the unborn, so the whole garden is dedicated to his journey as Jesus' father--the joys and sorrows that must have gone with that. It's also a prayer garden for people to pray for newborns, and grieve and remember miscarriages, aborted babies, and stillborns. From a pastoral care perspective we loved that a church had such a space for people to go, we were both really touched by our random visit here.
The statue of St. Joseph sits in the center with a tiny baby in his hands. Those rocks you see on the wall each had a name on them, where parents could remember their unborn who didn't make it.
Lunch time at a seafood restaurant on the Santa Cruz wharf
After lunch we decided we were done in Santa Cruz so we headed north up highway 1, stopping along the way to take pictures of the stunning vistas. We also hiked down to a beach at one point.
The rock we were hiking to had a heart on it! Made of some type of grass...
From this random stop we made it to Half Moon Bay, and the world famous surf break, Mavericks. It's apparently quite impressive, and we both wanted to see it, so we went in search of it. It required a bit of a walk, and we found it, but the waves weren't that impressive today and there were no surfers out.
On the walk to Mavericks we found a very randomly placed prayer labyrinth, which was very cool!
After going to the beach at Mavericks we hiked up the trail above it to see the beautiful scenes below.
Dinner Monday night was back in Santa Cruz--actually Capitola, the town just south of Santa Cruz, at a restaurant called The Shadowbrook. It came recommended from a couple different people, and was a fabulous and romantic spot for our first dinner out! There was a tram you took down the hill to the restaurant, which was nestled into the side of a hill and surrounded by gardens.
No, those aren't seals--those are surfers. Lots and lots of surfers off the Santa Cruz coast
One cool place we stumbled upon was a garden dedicated to St. Joseph (the father of Jesus). It was connected to a Catholic church, and was absolutely gorgeous. We didn't know, but St. Joseph is the patron saint of the unborn, so the whole garden is dedicated to his journey as Jesus' father--the joys and sorrows that must have gone with that. It's also a prayer garden for people to pray for newborns, and grieve and remember miscarriages, aborted babies, and stillborns. From a pastoral care perspective we loved that a church had such a space for people to go, we were both really touched by our random visit here.
The statue of St. Joseph sits in the center with a tiny baby in his hands. Those rocks you see on the wall each had a name on them, where parents could remember their unborn who didn't make it.
Lunch time at a seafood restaurant on the Santa Cruz wharf
After lunch we decided we were done in Santa Cruz so we headed north up highway 1, stopping along the way to take pictures of the stunning vistas. We also hiked down to a beach at one point.
The rock we were hiking to had a heart on it! Made of some type of grass...
From this random stop we made it to Half Moon Bay, and the world famous surf break, Mavericks. It's apparently quite impressive, and we both wanted to see it, so we went in search of it. It required a bit of a walk, and we found it, but the waves weren't that impressive today and there were no surfers out.
On the walk to Mavericks we found a very randomly placed prayer labyrinth, which was very cool!
After going to the beach at Mavericks we hiked up the trail above it to see the beautiful scenes below.
Dinner Monday night was back in Santa Cruz--actually Capitola, the town just south of Santa Cruz, at a restaurant called The Shadowbrook. It came recommended from a couple different people, and was a fabulous and romantic spot for our first dinner out! There was a tram you took down the hill to the restaurant, which was nestled into the side of a hill and surrounded by gardens.
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