GIRLS WEEKEND

Two weekends ago I was able to fly up to Utah to spend a couple of days away with two of my most dearest friends. Over 5 years ago we started a xmas tradition of giving ornaments as our gift to each other. We each buy 3 ornaments, give two away and keep one of our own, so every year we get 3 new ornaments. It is so fun to have this collection of ornaments with my friends. We only got a few pics of us due to not having people around to take pictures for us. We hit up Cafe Rio, the Spa, Park City outlets, Zin Bistro, Hot Tub and had some fun late night conversations. Love these girls bunches.

Staycation

When I think about who I want in our lives forever I automatically think of the Beck's. They truly are the greatest people and friends. Lucky for Aaron and I they came to visit this last weekend. Last April Ash and I bought tickets to the U2 concert and I had been looking forward to this weekend ever since. The weekend was full of great times. Aaron and I were so excited to show them around LA and take them to some of our favorite spots i.e. Kogi, Sprinkles, Yogurtland, and Mulberry. We made some trips to the beach and the boys got to surf to their hearts content. We went to U2 and enjoyed such an incredible treat, I had been wanting to see U2 for so long and it really was amazing. The short of it all is that we loved it, just hanging out was perfect. Aaron and I felt like we were on vacation for the last 4 days. This evening when I got home from work we were cuddling up and just chatting about the weekend and both said how great it is that even though we have moved away from our friends we feel just as close as ever with them. What a treat to have life long friends.

Moving

No we are not moving, but experienced a moving photo exhibit today. It is called POYI (Pictures of the Year International). This exhibit is currently at the Annenberg Space for Photography just a mile away from where we live. The photos are of 2008 telling stories of all over the world. It was emotionally overwhelming as many of the photos were of people who are in despair, yet it was also such a gift to be a witness of what was captured. I gained a lot of respect for photo journalists as they often put themselves in such dangerous and devastating situations in order to deliver to the rest of the world the truth that is occurring. For those in SoCal the POYI 2008 exhibit will be on until Nov 1st. However the KONA gallery in San Clemente which just opened Oct. 7th is the POYI archive and they will be having shows as well. I highly recommend if you are in the area you check these out.

This pic is of Obama at a high school gym getting ready for a rally

Photo left: Is of the lawer revolt in Pakistan they were getting covered in tear gas and the photographer just captured at the perfect moment this lawyer jumping away from an explosion behind him.

Photo right: A man in Afria is surrendering after being beaten by the police

A beautiful African kid at a refugee camp

This picture is of the "untouchables." They are preparing a man to be cremated.

A police officer in Ohio clearing a home that had received an eviction notice.

A recent Vet who had both of his legs amputated watches tv with his son.

While these are just a few there are so many more that give you at least a paragraph story about the picture and people. They are incredible, be prepared to shed some tears as it is extremely moving. There is a 30 minute film about the photographers and the different situations captured that is for sure a must see while there.

Rack of Lamb goodness

Well it seems that my last post has brought some fall our way here in Los Angeles. The weather has turned a bit cooler the last couple of days and today was an absolutely beautiful day.

To bring in the fall we made a yummy dinner. We both love cooking so much and never have time during the week to make super yummy meals. We do the usual grill a meat, steam some veggies, maybe a rice dish here and there, but nothing too inspired. So while we were out the other night Aaron thought for us to start doing a Gourmet Dinner Night, where we take turns choosing what we want to make, usually some amazing recipe from our favorite cooking magazine SAVEUR.

Tonight was the first night (Aaron's night) and we started it off with a RACK OF LAMB, with red potatoes and spaghetti squash. While the red potatoes and spaghetti squash were not the gourmet aspects, the RACK OF LAMB was. It was incredible and as you can see a pretty easy recipe. If you are not a big lamb person I think this is a great mild introduction. We used a rack of Australian Lamb, can be found at costco, which is known to be a milder flavor. Recipe is from Saveur this month. Can also be found online and you will find that their website is incredible however may result in you wanting to stay home all day and just cook and cook.

1 1 3⁄4-lb. frenched rack of lamb
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,
to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh rosemary
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme, plus 4 sprigs
10 cloves garlic, smashed

1. Heat oven to 450˚. Season lamb with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12" cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add lamb fat side down and cook, using tongs to flip and sear the bottom and sides of the rack, until browned, about 10 minutes. Turn lamb fat side up in the skillet and scatter herbs over the top.

2. Add garlic to skillet and transfer to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of the meat reads 130˚ for medium rare, about 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before slicing into chops and serving.

Here is a pic of the final product. Aaron did a fabulous job, I must say having a husband who enjoys cooking and is great at it is a great bonus.

Now off to decide what I will choose to make this next week...if you have any ideas feel free to send them my way.

It's that time of year

We got a problem people...a big one. What is it you may ask. I MISS UTAH. It is official I am going through the usual it is fall time in Utah, but not in California, withdrawals. In Southern California Fall does not really exist. It comes around December. Sept/Oct are actually the warmer months of the year due to the Santa Ana winds. Anyway, so I am missing Utah as a result of this. And the problem is once I start thinking about one thing I miss about Utah the list starts to get super long. I was talking to Aaron tonight and I think the problem is that my heart is still in Utah. It is where I moved after high school and started out with such a rough start in terms of liking Utah. But then I made it my home, grew so much, fell in love and started my life with Aaron there.

So just to rub in my sadness as much as possible I am going to make a list of all the things I miss tonight about Utah.

1. -Our house
2. -Bombay House
3. -Matt, KT, Liam and George
4. -The crisp fall air
5. -Sugarhouse Park
6. -Eggs in the City
7. -Our neighborhood
8. -Dilworth elementary park
9. -Walks through the tree lined streets
10. -Leaves changing
11. -BBQing in our back yard
12. -Playing in the front yard with neighbor kids
13. -Bikram Sugarhouse studio
14. -Ash
15. -Mazza
16. -Mountains
17. -Watching the dogs play in the backyard
18. -The charm
19. -Aims
20. -Utah Utes Football
21. -ARTEC and my friends there
22. -Snow

(okay not a ton of it, but I do like the change, I know remind me of this if I ever move back)
23. -Cutler's
24. -Great Harvest
25. -Rivers
26. -How close everything is
27. -REI on 33rd

So I know this list seems long and may make it seem that I do not like Los Angeles at all, which is not true at all because I really do love Southern California. It's just the fall is a really hard time to not be in Utah. Luckily me and my girls, Ash and Aims, have a girls trip coming up in Utah in November so I can squeeze some Utahness in to hopefully fill me up.

Santa Barbara with the fam

Last weekend we took a Steenblik vaca up to Santa Barbara. I must say that I had been wanting to go to Santa Barbara ever since we moved to cali and I am so glad we finally made it there. The town of Santa Barbara is just as charming as can be and the scenery is not too shabby either. We stayed in a home that was on top of the hill overlooking all of Santa Barbara and the beach. The location was just perfect and the home was beautiful. We made trips to the beach, the local farmers market, the old Mission, the Natural History Museum, the Pier, and played many of games of Hide and Seek with Liam. It was just great being with the family and I will admit I cried when I got in the car to drive home. Life is stressful right now and our weekend trips are making things more manageable. I am so happy that we were able to do this trip together.

I am so glad we were all able to get together for a few days. I know I say this often after time with my family, but really and truly spending time together is the greatest.
I am so thankful for the family I am a part of.

Weekend away in AZ

Aaron and I headed to Arizona for this past weekend to enjoy some time away. It was a great weekend to head away from Los Angeles, as the fires have been making the air here so nasty. I really wanted to have a nice lil summer monsoon while we were there and my wish was granted Saturday morning. We had a great weekend away with my parents. We hiked Camelback Mountainn 2 times, which is a crazy nice workout. It is the mountain (like a hill when compared to the Wasatch Mountains) that my parents live at the base of. We were able to meet up with the Johnson's who moved to AZ this last year from grad school. It was great to catch up with such great people. We of course spent time in the pool, one of Aaron's favorite things to do. Bear became proficient and retrieving his bumper from the pool and he loved playing fetch to his hearts content. The only problem was on Sunday it was pretty hot, so we found him laying down in our shower to cool off. We went to the Hale theatre in Gilbert and saw a nice local production of She Loves Me, which is the broadway show that You've Got Mail was written from. We took a nice 3 hour nap on Sunday and it felt so great. We didn't come home until the early evening on Monday so we were able to enjoy almost 3 full days in the Valley of the Sun. I always love going home. Now it is back to life again meaning back to work. But I am not feeling too bad for myself since I had Monday off and we leave for Santa Barbara on Friday for a weekend getaway with my family.