Baking for Dummies

I think I've mentioned this before but I am no baker.  Any baking recipes on graceface are therefore foolproof.  

A good friend of mine alerted me to this David Lebovitz recipe.  I would recommend that you bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  You can use any jam.  Raspberry is my favorite so far.  Strawberry is pretty good too.  


I had some dough leftover so I made cookies and it was delicious!  An accidental discovery of a good polenta cookie!  

Summer Getaway #2

Summer Getaway #3:  Seattle and Vancouver.  

Seattle night sky taken by John on our Canon PowerShot...not bad, right?

Taken by Kelly

The W Lobby.  Daily complimentary coffee, yummy iced teas and herb/fruit infused waters.

Dinner at Serious Pie - Mozza like pizza joint without the LA tude.

Kelly especially enjoyed the yukon potato rosemary pecorino pizza.  

This was my second time in Seattle.  My first trip was during my senior year at Cal.  This trip was vastly different but just as memorable.  

Granville Island in Vancouver

One of the best things about this trip was the time my kids spend with my parents.  Kelly and my dad had many heart to heart conversations.  I'm glad for the time together.

Summer Getaway #1

We've got a busy month ahead.  Getaway #1: Palm Desert.

Summer in Palm Desert has become somewhat of a tradition - this year marks Palm Desert Summer #5.  The first year, we had two kids to look after.  This year, there were nine!

It was hot (but not crazy hot) and the grounds were beautiful and empty.  Empty is a good thing when your group is almost twenty.

We had the theater all to ourselves (temporarily). 

The kids freely roamed the empty golf course chasing after jack rabbits.

There were three pools and we had one all to ourselves!

What better way to end the day than in an empty parking lot with an ice cream cone. 

One Bag a Day...

Remember the Blue Diamond Almonds commercial?  "One can a day is all we ask."  Well, I  found my "can a day."  I can't tell you how many bags of tortilla chips John and I have gone through since we discovered Tacupeto (locally made and available at Sprouts and Whole Foods) via a foodie friend (I don't like the word, "foodie" - gotta coin another).

Ripe avocado + salsa = instant fiesta!

Easy Peasy

Easy Party

Easy Dinner

Easy Decorating

In the Thick of Summer

Summer is in serious full swing. John laid down the law for Kelly and Katie on the first day of summer vacation. No Love = Horrible Summer!!! A massive fight between the two precipitated the equation. He also limited their TV/Computer time to 4 hours. 4 hours?! Seems like a lot. Growing up, my dad limited tv viewing to one hour. He would hide the tv cables before he left for work in the morning. Luckily, my sisters and I were adept at seeking out all of his favorite hiding places (i.e. the fireplace). I was not so good at hooking up the cables so thank God for Susan, the handy dandy sister. As soon as we would hear the garage door open, we would quickely place the cables in its hiding place and everyone was happy.  

A few days later, Kelly edited John's rule.  I like the positive spin!

We finally purchased a grill!  We are going to grill all summer - and perhaps into fall and winter. After all, the possibilities are endless. 

No summer is complete without a trip to the happiest place on earth!

Scenes from a Birthday

Did you hear?  38 is the new 37.  

This was one of my favorite presents.  My baby sister framed an old picture of me and her (when she was about Katie's age).