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Lake Tahoe: Where is all the Snow? February 20, 2012

Filed under: California,Family,Friends,Lake Tahoe,Travel — Kelocity @ 11:24 pm
Tags: California, Family, Friends, Nevada, Tahoe, Travel

We had an excellent weekend up in Lake Tahoe. The weather was amazing…blue skies and not ridiculously freezing. In fact, it was so nice that Tahoe has barely any snow! Usually by this time of year they have at least a four foot base, but sadly there was not much white stuff to be seen.

Irving went up skiing on Saturday with a group of friends who were up there for a Bachelor/Bachelorette party and Erica and I got an awesome tour of the area by Jake and Janie.

A lot of the roads that are usually closed off this time of year were open because of the dry conditions. We got a (normally off-limits) view of Emerald Bay!

Still got a taste of the snow though. there were patches of it throughout.

Thank you to J&J for the history behind Tahoe and all the little known secrets of the area. So fun!

From there, we headed down to the beach to see the lake up close. So strange to see snow along the sand.

I think these ducks were a little confused though. That water was near freezing!

Get warm, little ducks!

Later, we headed into town a bit. First stop, a cute bakery that smelled delicious. I didn’t get anything, but next time, for sure!

And then a pitstop for lunch at the Red Hut Café.

Such a cute place! There are three locations in Tahoe now.

Everyone ordered salads…. and I ordered the grilled cheese (with tomato and avocado, of course).

To digest, we headed over the border to the Nevada casinos to get a view of the village.

A little while later, Erica and I went back to the village to window shop and then stopped for some hot cocoa right under the Gondola.

Can’t beat the view!

This was also the stop for yesterday’s bump photos!

Once the sun started to set, it got cold so we started to head back to the hotel.

It was an awesome day, felt like a world away from LA.

Stay tuned for part 2!

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Fluffernutters For the Win! February 18, 2012

Filed under: Food,Friends,Travel — Kelocity @ 6:29 pm
Tags: Fluff, Food, Friends, RoadTrip, Travel

This weekend, Irving and I roadtripped up to Lake Tahoe with our friend Erica. We also met up with Jake and Janie and a bunch of Irving’s high school friends who are all up there for a bachelor weekend! It is going to be one big party and we were stoked to get up there for a few nights away.

But let’s back up to the ‘road trip’ part. It’s an 8-hour drive from Los Angeles, and we didn’t want to loose too much time stopping to eat dinner on the way. Don’t worry guys, I got it covered.

Erica and I were VERY excited about fluffernutter sandwiches. But Irving is a little crazy and isn’t quite aboard the Fluff Train yet (I’m working on it though). So I put my ‘mom pants’ on and whipped up some sandwiches for the road.

Three PB&Fluff…

And three PB&J…

Served alongside some fresh fruit Erica brought, some snacks from Trader Joes and Juice Boxes (essential).

So tell me… are you ‘Team Fluff’ or ‘Team Jam’?

Discuss.

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I Flew Across the Country for Hoodsie Cups! January 17, 2012

Filed under: Babies,Boston,Family,Food,Friends — Kelocity @ 7:44 pm
Tags: Babies, Boston, Family, Food, Friends, Hoodsie Cups

This past weekend I traveled back home to Boston for a few days. Flights were SO CHEAP! I scored a deal on Jetblue that came to about $99 each way plus tax! Couldn’t say no! I was so glad that I did. It was nice to see family and friends and have absolutely no plans. There was no big event or reason for my visit, so everything was relaxed and fun and I got to spend some time with some of my favorites.

I crashed and took a 2 hour nap when I got home, and then met up with my mom, grandmother and sister for lunch at an Irish Pub nearby. It was so fun to have a girls lunch and catch up. That alone was worth the plane ticket.

And for dessert… I ordered a Hoodsie Cup!!!! If you’re not from New England, you have probably never had one of these, but it’s SO GOOD! I crave them on the west coast and was happy to introduce the baby to the joy of Hoodsies. =)

In the afternoon, Mom and I ventured to Buy Buy Baby to do some research. I was numb by the end, so many decisions to make! How do you know what kind of crib/car seat/stroller/high chair/bottles/etc/etc/etc you need?! I walked away with the Baby Bargains book (it was on my to-do list this week anyways!) so hopefully that will help in some of those decisions. It was so fun though and got me so excited to meet the little one.

On Sunday, I helped my mom clean up her computer (she downloaded a virus. sigh). It took all day to get it all straight again, but it was nice because in between we played games of scrabble and went shopping. Things I really never get to do with my mom when I come home for Christmas or something.

In the evening I met up with my high school friends for an awesome dinner at a place a few towns over. I miss these girls so much and it was awesome to spend a whole night with them. Hi Steph and Court!

Katie is 6 weeks ahead of me and it was fun to compare notes. =) Wish we lived closer! But maybe our kids can be pen pals some day!

After dinner, we watched the Golden Globes…. and had another Hoodsie Cup!!!!! Yes. They are that good.

Monday morning I got the pleasure of having breakfast with this guy!!! I can’t believe how big he has gotten, he was a little man, entertaining us while we ate. I gave him lots of kisses and hugs and in return he gave me tons of smiles and giggles.

His momma and I also enjoyed a morning of scrabble, laughing and trying on maternity clothes (I’m a lucky girl, she gave me so many shirts!) One morning is never enough, but I was happy to be able to hang out!!

And that was it! The weekend went by way too fast but it was one of the best.

Living far away is tough, but if you scoop up good deals when you can, it’s do-able. Although I think my parents were much too sad to see me leave this time. I’ll be back soon though!

My flight was an hour delayed leaving Boston, but Jetblue made up for it with free movies on board. Add that to the free checked bag and empty seat next to me and all was forgiven. (Take note US AIR!)

I skipped Yoga last night. I was so sad because I had been looking forward to it, but I was jetlagged and just exhausted from the trip. I have to start listening to my body I suppose. Plus it was the kind of night where you break a glass in the sink and then have to fight back tears (yea, I was tired). But I feel much better today and all is right in the world.

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Baking with Bieber December 13, 2011

Filed under: Christmas,Cooking,Friends — Kelocity @ 5:06 am
Tags: Christmas, Clevergirls, Cooking, Friends

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

I love to bake. I’m not very good at it per se, but I really like it. Especially this time of year! When my friends Erika and Timmy invited us over for a holiday soiree, I was psyched to have a reason to break out the pans and get to work.

I found a super easy recipe on Duncan Hine’s website that only had FIVE ingredients: The Apple Cinnamon Cake. I usually go for chocolately desserts or anything with frosting, but I was intrigued by the Apple Filling. I knew there would already be cupcakes, brownies and chocolate already at the party, so I was happy to make something a bit different for variety.

The recipe was so simple and it came out pretty good! **pats self on back** It was definitely sweet, but had a savory feel to it as well. Perfect for an evening get-together with friends.

There ended up being almost 20 people at the party! Lots of new faces we hadn’t seen before, and so much great conversation. I love that the holidays give people an excuse to get together, share a meal, relax, and celebrate.

Once everyone had a pretty good sized sugar coma, it was time for the annual Yankee Swap gift exchange. And with so many people, it was a blast picking numbers and swapping gifts… though there wasn’t too much swapping this time! The gifts were so good, almost everyone was stoked with what they ended up with!

What did I score? A Puppy Calendar, Justin Bieber Notepad and a giftcard. I was laughing so hard. Awesome!!

Now in addition to the baking itch… I have Bieber Fever!

Irving scored an awesome photo ornament that holds 100 pictures.

Such a fun night! We stayed up way past our bedtime, but it was totally worth it. It’s our last Christmas just the two of us, so we’re totally soaking it all up and doing everything we can to make it special.

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

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Thanksgiving in the Mid-West December 11, 2011

Filed under: Chicago,Family,Friends,Indianapolis,Thanksgiving — Kelocity @ 12:40 pm
Tags: Chicago, Family, Friends, Indianapolis, Thanksgiving

I know, I know, Thanksgiving was weeks ago. But we had a fantastic trip to Indiana and Illinois so I had to share some of our photos. On Thanksgiving Day, we flew from LA to Indianapolis where Irving’s sister picked us up and brought us to their gorgeous new house. We arrived just an hour before dinner was served (good timing, right?!) We all got straight to work preparing the remaining side dishes. It was so fun to chat, cook and catch up since we don’t get to see them often!

They went all out with the most amazing, unique dishes. My favorite was the corn bread stuffing (amazing)! Per usual, there was not enough room on our plates for everything. They even had homemade pies with matching homemade whipped cream on top. I die.

We dined in their new formal dining room that was so welcoming, homey and filled with family. It was the perfect setting for a Thanksgiving celebration.

We spent the night cleaning up, hanging out and relaxing all together. And there was LOTS of playing with the kitties involved too. This little one slept with us each night all cuddled up close. It was adorable. We miss her!

The next day, forget Black Friday, we spent our time sightseeing around Indianapolis instead. We stopped at the Lily Estate, which is an Americana mansion built in the 1920s. We visited the Newport Mansions over the summer and were excited to see some more.

There were a lot of similarities, but the Lily estate seemed more like a home rather than an entertaining venue, which was nice.

Then we hopped over to the Indianapolis Museum of Art right next door.

We were so impressed by the exhibits they had inside. It was mostly contemporary art, but some really cool stuff. Lots of interactive displays and art that utilized unique mediums. Afterwards, we stopped to enjoy some beer, hot cocoa (for me!) and some hot pretzels in the museum café. And then we were just in time to see a gorgeous sunset off the balcony.

As we walked back to the car, we stopped to look at some outdoor displays as well. This one was meant to represent a basketball court and the motion of the ball when it bounces. So creative!

We ended the night at a craft beer bar. Everyone else had a flight of their signature brews while we played a bunch of games at the table.

I might be getting my days mixed up now, but I think we then stopped at a fro-yo place right after this too. We had excellent hosts while we were there!

Saturday morning, we woke up to do a tour of the downtown area. Starting with a stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (home of the Indy 500).