life of a small wooden flute

Aaaand I'm off to the fair.

2009-12-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

So super stoked to walk out the door and 5 blocks down the street to a conglomeration of crazy clever people. Wishing that some of their smarts will rub off on me while I peruse the aisles upon aisles of magnificence.

Hope I'm adequately prepared:

Over the shoulder purse.
Camera in hand.
Checkbook (had to dig that one out).
Comfy boots.
Bottle of water.
Notepad for ideas (will prob take photos anyway; faster).

I will be sure to give a full report upon my return!

To have so much time + creativity....sigh!

2009-12-19T01:04:00.000-08:00

Tiny gingerbread houses to perch on the edge of your hot cocoa mug....

I mean, are you kidding me? They're so stinking cute.

check them out here!

Favorite role = Crazy Auntie Leslie.

2009-12-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

---Photos totally stolen without permission from Devon.---

les looks like she's in heaven!

(i was totally in hog heaven)

she was cracking des up!

(he was cracking ME up!)

How cool is it that so many of my friends have or are having babies right now?? I can't help but fall in love with every one of them and it gives me such happy feelings in my tummy to know that I will get to watch each of them grow up in their own unique way.

This is the ultimate favorite role that I've had the opportunity to play so far in my life. I've been:

rebellious daughter
awesome older sister
fair-weather friend
gold-star student
defiant employee
compliant patient
and rambunctious girlfriend/fiance.

But the role of CRAZY AUNT LESLIE is the very best; getting kiddos all riled up, making faces, dealing with yucky diapers, and giving their parents their much needed break? Sign me up.

We are choosing not to have any children at our wedding and I'm feeling sad about that decision as I stare back at little Desmond's squishable face. The secrety-secret venue is simply not conducive to little munchkins running around and we don't want to make any kiddos uncomfortable. Also, I tend to flat-out ignore any adult conversation when in the presence of friends' kids and that doesn't seem to vibe with this whole "wedding etiquette" thing. Talk to guests? Fine.Miss.Manners. If you insist.

Extra hugs + smooches to Des and Ben today.

On the 5th Day of Christmas, Devon's dad gave to me....

2009-12-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

After I implored Frank to change his profile picture to one Devon posted on her blog the other day, I noticed this little message from him:

Leslie, take a look at my Facebook page.

My little Christmas gift to you.

So I went to his facebook page with baited breath.....

YES!! YES!! YES!! Thanks, Franks. That made my day.

To all the kids who read this blog.

2009-12-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

From a t-shirt I like: click here for purchase.

Getting some work done around the office.

2009-12-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

While in Southern California, we got a mess of wedding stuff taken care of, including a YUMMY cake tasting. Obviously, ya'll know this "task" occupies the #1 spot on the fun-things-to-do-when-planing-a-wedding for me. The fun baker had us taste four happiness-making flavors and I had a perma-grin on my face the rest of the day....mmmmm.....kinda want to go back.

Here are the four types we tried:

Apple Crumble
Burnt Sugar Cake with Roasted Apple Filling, Burnt Sugar Buttercream and Crumble. The apple filling was shipped in from this little farm in Vermont and was ah-mazing.
Chocolate Caramel
Chocolate Cake with Housemade Caramel, Sea Salt, Dark Chocolate Frosting and Carmelized Rice Krispies. Shut up, caramalized rice krispies??
Bananas Banana Cake with layers of Housemade Toffee Crunch and Milk Chocolate Frosting. Duh, had to try the banana one, right?
Vanilla Gorilla Vanilla Cake with Tahitian Vanilla Frosting and Sugar Sparkles. So simple, so pretty.

She was so sweet!

We're hoping that our guests are already planning to demonstrate extreme wildness and a general lack of restraint, but we certainly don't need to set them up for out-and-out rioting behavior. In order to quell the masses, we'll plan on limiting the cake options to two; hopefully this decision will create less of a logistical nightmare.

The cakes were SUPER DELISH. Come wedding day, they'll look super homemade and be styled in a simple, old-fashioned manner. Mostly because while our personal dessert palate is diverse and open to a mess of influences (fancy! mousse! french!) , our ultimate FAVE is a good old-fashioned layer cake with gooey frosting. I'm hoping the cake will go with the laid-back approach to our wedding.

Post-tasting, we were in a predictably massive sugar coma. This state of being worked in my favor as I pretended to navigate Jamie (driving at the time) back to the freeway. I totally took him a cockamamie way that first led us to a random residential area and its maze of cul-de-sacs. Whoops. Unintentionally hilarious.

L: It's ok, Jamie, I think I've got it now. Hmmmm...whoops. Dead end, again. Let's see. Try turning here. Ya, here. Go straight for like 3 miles.

J: (10 minutes go by) Uh....it's looking kinda industrial around here.

L: Crap. Ummmmmm....turn around, NO! Left! Turn left here! Damn.

J: (5 minutes later) Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?

L: Yes.

L: (3 minutes later) Turn right. STOP!!! STOP HERE!!! PULL OVER!!!

"Recognize this building?"

What about from this angle?

Nothing yet?

Will it help if you listen to a song hint? click here

Jamie = so super stoked to have been surprised with a field trip to where they film the Office.
Stock cars under the blue tarps, complete with Pennsylvania plates!
We could see Phyllis's car from the locked gate!

that's where michael scott was going to jump on the trampoline into the bounce house!
this is where oscar tried to say jim was racist for thinking the cleaning people spoke spanish!
and there's the spot michael totally hit meredith with his car and broke her hip!
etc.

That's about when I stopped listening to him prattling on.
You see, I had arrived to this building with my own agenda.

If I keep my eyes shut really tight, will Jim be standing behind me?

-----

No?

-----

What if I peek juuussst a little?

Damn.

Nothing.

Now I have to stand here and pretend this is a worthwhile excursion.

Maybe Hudson will have better luck?

jim?!

JIIIIIM!

dude. JIM.

ji... 

look crazy lady,   

that jim guy ain't here.

can we go now?

Next time you're in the Burbank area, holler at me and we can get you to the building where the cast of the Office does their magic. It's a non google-mappable address, but the legwork is done for you and we can easily get you right in front of the building. With one condition, of course... If you see Jim Halpert, slip him my number, ok?

Hey baby, it's cold outside.

2009-12-15T21:16:00.000-08:00

Happy 6th day of Hanukkah and

WOAH, Christmas is next week.

Also....excuse my language, but....

Shit, I'm THIRTY next Saturday.

Wreath can be ordered from SF's Flora Grubb.

We found the secret to happiness.

2009-12-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

There are always fun things to see on a road trip; especially the populated highways of Thanksgiving weekend. This find, however, was the ultimate:

I'd like to flash back to 1995 and quote one of my favorite movies, "As If !!"

On Hanukkah....pulled pork sandwiches?

2009-12-14T12:56:00.000-08:00

The last few years, I have been much better about the holidays. We had the menorah out early, lit candles on appropriate days, and set out the Christmukkah tree with much enthusiasm. This year? Eh.....well....let's just say that this year, the holidays have taken this girl a little bit by surprise.

Perhaps it's because the past 4 years, the Jewish calendar did not bring about Hanukkah so early in the month? I think that one year it even started the day AFTER Christmas, making it much easier for me to meld the two holidays. This year, however, the first night went without recognition in our household and, inadvertently, marked the first night I've ever made.....pulled pork sandwiches.

And while I certainly feel guilty for my blatant slap in the Jewish face, it was DELICIOUS + celebratory in our own way, and I'm hoping to combat the bad with the kindness of sharing the yummy + really easy recipe with ya'll. We're totally making this again...and again...and again.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwich.

Topped with COLD + COLORFUL cole slaw and a side of COLD + unadorned cucumber chips.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork by Tyler Florence

Dry Rub:

3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt

Other ingredients:

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt
12 buns (I used Orowheat Sandwich Thins)
1 recipe Spicy Slaw, recipe follows (highly recommend this recipe!)
Pickle spears (switched out for thin slices of COLD cucumber)

Directions:

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F. Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes. While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other. Put the shredded pork in a bowl. Pour 1/2 of the sauce (recipe below...I made it, but then decided to use a bottle of bbq sauce instead) on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.

To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun, and top with the spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side. Fyi, on the telly, Tyler Florence served his sandwich with a side of kettle chips.

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Flavorful Cole Slaw

1 head green cabbage, shredded (I did one bag each of shredded green and red cabbage)
2 carrots, grated (increased to 3 carrots)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1 red chile, sliced (forgot to pick it up, so didn't include)
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Creole mustard (what's a Creole mustard? used dijon)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed (omg, SO glad I remembered to get some of this. YUM)
Several dashes hot sauce (went with Tapatio...was the only hot sauce we had besides Sriracha)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the cabbage, carrot, red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar; stirring to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix. Season the cole slaw with celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Chill for 2 hours in refrigerator before serving.

This is one happy dog.

2009-12-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

While I'm freezing my tookus up here in SF*, I hold onto fond memories of just a few weeks ago in Southern California. Lazing about at the dog park the morning of Thanksgiving in the gloriously warm sunshine. Mmmmm.

*and yes, I realize how ridiculous it is for me to discuss the cold of 40 degree days when you guys are suffering through sleet and snow and ice and storms of less than 15 degree temperatures.

Uh...Happy December, Guys!!

2009-12-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

---more on thanksgiving week in a bit--

I'm a few days late...ok, so it's already the 9th day of December, but I am just ankle deep in the holiday cheer and felt I ought to acknowledge the season with ya'll. Spending the weekend over at the Greens' fully immersed me into the seasons; with loads of old fashioned Christmas music, holiday baking, pot roasts and baked potatoes! We decked their halls, watched Pooh+Friends Christmas with little Jack, and observed Pete move their lawn ornaments into 89 different configurations before getting them just so. I returned home with jinglebells and silentnights on the brain and have been rocking the holiday tunes the past couple of days with loud vigor.

Luckily for the non-Christmas celebrating folk in our household, I'm open to all sorts of holiday music. Away in the Manger never really did it for me like a Christmas CanCan can, you know? What are your fave holiday tunes?

And for your listening pleasure, the aforementioned Christmas CanCan.....

Thanksgiving Crafting.

2009-12-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

I saw PINECONES, you guys. Like, wild and raw and out in their natural state. Seriously, I saw PINECONES and they had to be Mine! What.....are the naturally large and holiday appropriate beauties not as much of a novelty to you? Let me put it into a little bit of perspective for you. I think the last time I saw a pinecone just hanging out, all natural-like, at the base of its parent-tree was at a NationalPark or maybe on TV or something (like maybe in that Jon+Kate episode where they actually went to a NationalPark). They just don't frolic in this concrete jungle neighborhood of mine and I certainly haven't been down to Yosemite or up to Tahoe anytime recently.

See? Even Jamie's nephew was mesmerized by them.

Granted, he just moved from Costa Rica....

Poor Jamie's stepmom looked at me all sorts of crazy the entire week we were with them, but you should have seen her face when I veered my car around in a circle (screeeeech!!) and jumped out with my arms open wide, car motor still running, long-stride leaping towards the little nuggets of happiness. I kept gathering and gathering and tossing and tossing them into the trunk of my car.

Poor, poor Terri. She is always forced to look at me all sorts of crazy.

Little does she know, I usually have some sort of cockamamie plan brewing in this over-sized noggin of mine.

Like, what I had planned for those silly little pinecones!

3yr old Cole says, "CRAFT, lady, CRAFT."

"Make me a pine cone turkey!!"

You guys know I have a hard time saying no to a kid.

Well, hello there.

Did ya'll have a good thanksgiving?

We sure did!!

Watched a lot of football and tried to keep an eye on the little kids.

This guy helped out a ton with the baby watching.

We definitely introduced the kids to making turkeys out of handprints and did a lot of "Turkey in the Hay" singing. Gotta love the holidays with the little guys, right? Gives me an excuse to rock the holidays, Leslie-style.

Sorry for hiatus!

2009-12-07T23:31:00.000-08:00

Just getting around to sorting through our Thanksgiving week photos, blogger was out of service for me the past couple of days (you too?), and our wifi is totally lagging here. I could type out all sorts of reasons for not writing to you guys and all you'd hear is, "wah.wah.wah."

Don't worry, tons of stuff coming up soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this shot of Jamie hangin' with his little niece last week.

Melt.my.heart.

Some Wedding Related Pics

2009-11-26T01:42:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have received a postcard recently that looked like this.

The picture was taken right about....there.

With the help of our camera's self-timer and this little fire hydrant.

I loved this little guy and wondered how many fires he's helped put out over the years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T01:23:00.000-08:00

Mmmmmm....turkey.

Let the tryptophan inducement begin.

The Pacific Ocean in November.

2009-11-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

Hudson brought a little friend with him on our annual trek down to Southern California for Thanksgiving. A week full of romping in the grass, sunshine, and strong Santa Ana winds required a playmate that could keep up with his puppy-like energy level and Annabelle is powering through just fine. Doesn't she look so happy in the bottom corner there? Just a happy/happy dog.

The jewel-toned Pacific Ocean was in full splendor as we cruised down the coastline and it was totally ROCKING MY WORLD. I was desperate to dip my toes in the crisply clean water; to pull up a rocker to the cliffs and sit for hours as that sun made its way below the waterline. Those big pelicans in the corner, however, were wildly.wildly.wildly stinky and we weren't about to go anywhere off the beaten path. Like.So.Incredibly.Stinky.

Steeeenky birds!

It didn't matter though. We sat and watched the majestic birds, rippling of the ocean water, staring out at the flocks of seagulls cruising through the cerulean skies.

The Pacific Ocean makes us happy.

Need to go on a major diet.

2009-11-20T00:03:00.000-08:00

I spent 25 minutes staring at kids' clothing today at BabyGap. 25 minutes. Not that you need to be reminded, but JAMIE AND I DO NOT HAVE A CHILD. Hudson counts as our kid for now and he certainly can't look decent in anything from BabyGap.

What was the reason for this spontaneous calling to the racks of a kids' clothing line? Uh.....

Stella McCartney?? More affordable than her regular stuff? What? Brad and Angelina have nothing on this pack of kids.

You can bet your ass that I spent 21 of those 25 minutes trying to figure out how to fit my adult-sized arms and boobs into a 18-24 month old jacket. The next few minutes were spent trying to convince the salesperson to give me an opportunity to take some into the fitting room. And the last minute was spent pretending to only be kidding as I sheepishly shuffled out the front door.

I mean, LOOK at this kid!!

I wonder if I can Atkins into fitting into that jacket....and the pink ruffled skirt. That pink ruffled skirt is KILLING ME.

Planter Shopping with Jen.

2009-11-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

I mean. REALLY?

Is this planter for real?

We found this planter in a funky furniture store in Hayes Valley and I got the biggest kick out of it.

Check back with me after I've been held up.

Might not find it quite as amusing.

She who steals babies.

2009-11-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

If I couldn't stay in Oklahoma, I figured I could try to take a piece of it with me....

If I start running now, I might get away with this.

Ohhhhh, you're watching me?

Ha. Ha. Ha.

I was totally kidding you guys.

Whyyyy would I take two babies. That's just crazy talk.

Give Auntie Leslie a kiss instead.

Maybe next time, boys. Maybe next time.

Let me make this implicitly clear, while I would love to see Jamie's face if I came home from a trip with a couple of children (can you imagine??), there's nothing that would ever cause me to steal a child from its rightful guardian. NEVER. EVER. EVER. Borrow, maybe. But never outright steal.

Everything is going to be Terrific!

2009-11-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

I am such a lucky girl.

devon and little desmond schatzel.

oklahoma Nov 09

No, seriously. I'm a very, very lucky girl and I want ya'll to know that I fully recognize how awesome my life is. Sure there are the handful of those challenging times we all face; the ones that make you chant WHY ME, WHY ME, WHY ME over and over again. And recently, even amongst an extraordinarily happy engagement and weirdly satisfied dog (he's a weirdly happy dog!), those challenging times have been coming on a little stronger than I've been particularly comfortable.

And now? Now, it doesn't matter. Tough times, I'm telling you, I'm SO ready for you. Bring it on. After this past weekend, I feel like I'm ready to take just about anything on right now. "Feeling invincible" doesn't even begin to sum it up.

Talk about feeling confident?

That's what happens when you have friends like these.

happy faces typically sprinkled all over n.america.
represented: oklahoma - chicago - vancouver - connecticut - san francisco - oregon (ish)
oklahoma Nov 09

It's taken almost a full week for me to sort through the clutter of emotions and words that piled into my brain last weekend in Oklahoma. Add in a constant barrage of old songs (lots of BackstreetBoys and SlimShady for some weird reason) and girl-screaming and streaming tears and BABIES! and it has been more than the little pipe between my brain and my fingers could handle once I returned home. I've made several attempts, but haven't yet been able to type out how much this past weekend meant to me because it was so.overwhelmingly.good. Like chicken soup without all the work. Just so good for my soul.

We laughed SO HARD.
Like, SO HARD.
oklahoma Nov 09

I got face cramps and loads of extra wrinkles from the constant grinning and I may have even sprained a rib from laughing so hard. From remembering crazy camp stories to, omgosh, realizing that Oregonian Brad adopted an ACCENT over the past few years! Like, a full-on really strong Oklahoman accent that is so super sexy on him. Complete with real ostrich cowboy boots, a manly scruffy chin, and that ever-so-serious scowl when telling us girls that we're staying up way past our bedtime. Hot.

Let me backtrack...

Somewhere in Pennsylvania

Summer 2000

We all met each other 9 years ago at a summer camp in the Poconos. It was a magical summer where we formed lifelong friendships in the fast 8 weeks together. These are good people I became friends with that summer; adventurous, giving, loving, and kind. I wouldn't trade them in for anything.

That was 2000; Brad was a student in Oregon (goducks) and had returned to CampCayuga, unsure of how the second summer could possibly be as great of an experience as the first. Ha...little did he know. The first week all the counselors gathered in those mysterious hills of Pennsylvania, in blew an Oklahoman beauty who took his breath away and changed everything he thought he understood about life. I mean, this girl FLIPPEDHISBRAIN. Over the next 8 weeks at camp, you could sit back and watch as his head literally spun around in circles, his heart melted into a big ole puddle, and I repeatedly bawled at how incredible it all was to witness. The next few years involved cross-country, long-distance, college love. I remember staying up super late on the phone with Brad (me in my sorority house, he in the big blue Oregon house), trying to work through his thoughts and his discomfort with being so far away from his soul mate. I jumped up and down with joy when he signed up for a semester “abroad” at Lauren’s school (goOrangeteam). More courting, graduation, WEDDING!, a move to Long Beach (ca), several months back on the east coast (including some time in Manhattan), and spending a year playing all around Europe. These kids have LIVED and somehow continue to build so many more memories with each other. And as I got to witness firsthand this weekend, that girl continues to FLIPHISBRAIN.

Don't be alarmed, her leg's just bent.

Summer 2000

With Lauren that summer, I also found a personal inner calm I didn't even knew existed. She is nothing short of the sweetest girl I know and she cultivated this strange inner peace in me. I, too, fell in love with this girl. She was comforting and calm and gave me the warm and fuzzy feeling that Everything is going to be Terrific! Together, she and Brad taught me more about love than any book or website or cheesy romantic comedy ever told me I ought to strive for. They were all of 20 & 21 years old that summer and I fully understood that what they had together was one-of-a-kind.

Unfortunately, although she left me with all the right tools, I was only capable of holding onto the "Everything is going to be Terrific!" mentality for a short while after and more recently, I've been kind of tapped out. I didn't even realize it, but I missed that feeling of a squeeze-your-brains-out emotional embrace that only Lauren+Brad are capable. I was incredibly overdue for some serious in-person time; for a refill on that squishy, happy feeling.

Their wedding day - 2002

Last weekend couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

Together with their new babies I immediately fell for, they reminded me that if you’re lucky enough to find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, just hang on real tight and do anything, ANYTHING, for love. Abandon apprehension, let go of gripes, just fall into it and love HARD. It will no doubt pay off in more ways than you can begin to calculate and with this strategy, Everything is going to be Terrific! They deal with life's hardships just like everyone else, but they dance and smile and hug and love through it all. I can do that. I can dance and smile and hug and I can certainly love.

Me + Des

oklahoma Nov 09

I think it can best be summed up by a quote from Brad in response to me whisper-shouting to him in the kitchen, “DUDE! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! YOU LIVE IN OKLAHOMA!!” He said, with the calmest smile and a twinkle in his eye, “I don't really know how it all happened, but I honestly believe that I am the happiest person I know.”  

I got my self-prescribed refill. I feel confident that together with Jamie, I can take risks, I can make moves, I can be open to change and challenges and different things. I just know we'll get through it all. So.super.confident.

And those aforementioned tough times? They'll have nothing on us.

I've got a secret weapon in my pocket:

Bring it on.

Ahoy there.

2009-11-13T15:32:00.000-08:00

Horsing around on a canal boat in Oklahoma.

Wish you could see the boat I illegally climbed aboard in front of Trish and Amanda! All for some pictures. Devon wasn't interested in my shenanigans at all.

Dedicated to My Sister, Amy.

2009-11-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

That's me, an only child for one more year and one more month.

February 1988.

Seisen International School - Japan

Come March 16th, the very next year, Amy came around and completely modified my concept of "family". Yes, we are almost ten years apart, but that never mattered to me. Amy was the greatest gift my mom and dad could have given to me back then and continues to be the greatest family member a girl could ever ask for. She inspires me, teaches me, and will forever be part of me.

So, it goes without saying that this crazy girl HAS to be one of my bridesmaids, right? Similar to my dilemma with asking Devon to be my MOH, Amy's all the way in Barcelona until the end of the year and I hadn't figured out how to ask her until.......

spontaneously last week.....

Why do I feel like I keep asking these girls to be in our wedding party like I'm asking them to marry me? Sheesh.

Back from Oklahoma.

2009-11-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

Over 11 months of.....

planning, scheming, emailing
navigating flight patterns from 4 separate areas of north america and monitoring rental cars
hiding "truths" from loved ones....let's call it what it is, FLAT OUT LYING
and decoy blog posting.

......culminated in the BEST.SURPRISE.AMBUSH.EVER. Thank you so much to everyone who helped us throw off the scent on this blog, on facebook, and especially to those who had to "lie" directly to someone's face (our first email to each other was on 12/23/08). You helped us pull off an incredible weekend of fun times in Oklahoma.

Don't mind my cry-face.

I was sososo sad to leave my pretty friend.

As I have just walked in the door from the airport, I'm having difficulty formulating words on how moved I was to spend the weekend with some of my ultimate favorite people in the world.

yay!

I should probably head straight to bed to sleep on it; dream about moving Jamie and Hudson to the beautiful state and try to formulate some language on how to describe our trip. Simply Wonderful are the only ones that come to mind in my sleepiness.

devon, trish, me, and amanda.

In the meantime, Lauren and Brad Schatzel, we have one last surprise for you:

Look who we hung out with!!!

Keep looking.....

Your MOM and DAD.

Papa and Gaga with their favorite Cayuga girls at the airport.

Gotta hit the hay. xo.

Surprise Visit!

2009-11-07T09:20:00.000-08:00

Obviously, Devon being in town for a visit is no surprise to anyone who follows this blog...

Look, Brad!

We found that Portland-exclusive coffee shop that you were talking about.

There are so many places around the city I've been able to take Devon to, including a extra-long stint at the paper store to work on some wedding invitation stuff (thank goodness for my MOH!). She's gotten to spend some quality time with Hudson (they're in love), Jamie, Holly Vetterli McCarthy, and even Ali (from camp). Many hours staying up late, chatting and catching up like no other. I so wish she lived here.

Fun night out in SF.

But, since she doesn't live near me, it's so fun to create a ton of fun surprises for her for when she gets to visit!

including....

Look!

It's Amanda!

All the way from Vancouver!

It's been incredibly tough to keep my big mouth shut for so long, but since Amanda finally has weekends off now with her new job, she needed a getaway and what better timing than a weekend when Devon was in town! Oh goodness, so many food places to take them to...

First stop, to get some authentic SF sourdough bread!

And then we decided to take a walking tour.

Little did Amanda know....

Devon and I had a surprise for HER!

Look how cute we are - - Cayuga girls together again!

Keep your big mouth shut for one second longer, Leslie.

Hee hee hee.....

just a little bit longer....

Look who we found around the corner!!!!

It's TRISH!!

All the way from Connecticut!

So exciting!

A reunion in the streets of downtown!!

You see, once Trish found out that Amanda was coming all the way from Vancouver,

she was jealous of our time together and knew she HAD to make the trip out from the east coast.

It totally worked!!!

SUCCESSFUL SURPRISE VISITS ABOUND!!

This has been so.much.fun.

And wait! There's more....

Look who we found, just walking around the neighborhood!

An Random Guy with an OSU hat!

Thinking of you Lauren + Brad!

We're totally dorky, but this self-made video had us giggling for hours.

We were REALLY thinking of you guys.

Oooh...I almost forgot.

One more surprise......

Can you figure it out?

Perfect Food Thursday!

2009-11-05T13:30:00.000-08:00

With my meat-loving fiance out of town and my veggie-loving friend hanging out for the weekend, there's plenty of opportunity to enjoy a mess of great meat-free dishes for a few days. This one was a super easy and relatively hands-free one to pop in the oven for a quick and easy lunch!

A tray of firm brussel sprouts, drizzled in extravirginoliveoil.

Course sea salt and freshly ground pepper coat the exterior of these little gems.

I used to totally HATE the bsprout because it was one of those things you're "supposed to" hate as a kid. That and forced naptime and cleaning my room. As a young tyke, I seemingly understood that sleeping during the day was a luxury...I secretly loved naptime. As for cleaning my room, it gave me pleasure to organize and archive the items in my room, finding new ways to hide those notes we passed around in the classroom instead of paying attention to the subject at hand. But for all intents and purposes, I HATED brussel sprouts, forced naptime, and cleaning my room.

It works both ways. I LOVED things you were "supposed to" as a kid as well...ie, saturday morning cartoons.

I digress.

Look at the yummy granules of salt waiting to be roasted in.

My appreciation for the veggie didn't come about until last year when a work friend pried open my jaw and shoved a pan-fried sprout down my throat. First of all, omg it was HOT! Once I got over the 2nd degree tongue burns I was able to cherish it's naturally mustardy spiciness, the tender individuals leaves melting apart all over my mouth. Mmmmm....sold.

Some of you may remember last winter when bags upon bags of those things went through this household. I have since discovered COSTCO SELLS BRUSSEL SPROUTS. Yes! So when Dev was going through the fridge today and saw a HUGE bag of bsprouts she said, "Hey, let's roast these for lunch."

Ain't she so smart?

20min @425degrees.

Perfectly delicious in every way.