I'm BAACCCCCKKKKK!

Well, hi! Not sure if you remember me… Once upon I time I had a blog. Then life happened and I slowly but surely lost the time & motivation to keep it up. My little blog has been on my heart lately though, and I’ve really missed it.

I’ve been wanting to post again for a while now, but was back and forth on whether or not I should. After a few months of internally battling self-doubt and a bucket full of excuses, I’ve decided to go for it. This time around I want to use my blog (moreso) to share what the hubs and I are up to, and as a creative outlet to express myself. Before, posting became challenging as I grew too concerned with what other people thought. I worried how I would be perceived, and if other people were judging me. I could get 100 positive comments or responses to my blog, but would dwell on 1 negative comment. I let it get to my head. But now, as I post, I will try to remember that is blog is not for them. I want to have the freedom to post & share as I please. To share whatever is on my heart or my mind.

And so, with that being said, it’s been a year and a half and I have lots to catch up on. :)

I thought I’d kick off by sharing a little bit of what we’ve been up to. The photos below are from my instagram account.

1. Shopping at the Americana at Brand in Glendale. 2. Gorgeous day by the water in Huntington Beach. 3. Wakeboarding this past summer in Lake Mead, NV on a church trip. 4. Macarons at SweetSalt in Toluca Lake 5. Date night with the hubs. 6. Another shot from Lake Mead, NV 7. View of LA from Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. 8. Irish coffee at dinner from our trip to cancun. 9. Farmer’s market in Glendale 10. Girls night out with my lovely friend Valerie. 

Santa Barbara & Santa Ynez Valley

    Several weeks ago Ryan and I had the luxury of going to Santa Barbara/Santa Ynez Valley with some friends to wine taste & explore. It is so stunning there that I couldn’t help but take a ton of pictures. The rolling hills & mountains are majestic enough to take your breath away. We had the opportunity to tour Saarloos & Sons on the first day of harvest. The owners explained the winemaking process and even let us try some of the grapes! AHmazing. Here are some photos from the trip. ♥

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

   Fall is my favorite time of year, and I love anything pumpkin flavored. Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin loafs, pumpkin pies… you get the idea. This year I decided to make pumpkin cupcakes! I’ve seen this two ingredient recipe for pumpkin muffins/cupcakes floating around Pinterest and it sparked my interest. Two ingredients? Sounded too good to be true, but I had to give it a shot.

I decided to make homemade cream cheese frosting to go with it (similar recipe here). The verdict: they turned out moist and yummy! Granted, they probably aren’t as delicious as gourmet cupcakes that one might slave over for hours, but they’re still pretty dang good. 

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350. Combine 18.25 oz. package of cake mix (classic vanilla or spice cake work best) and 15 oz. can of pumpkin. Mix well and spoon batter into paper muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Once completely cooled add cream cheese frosting, if desired (see link above).

This video has been making its way around the blogosphere, and I, too, wanted to share. I love how it shows how fashion has evolved through the years, but it does it in such a fun and inspiring way. Very well done, folks. 

 Have a beautiful weekend! Xo

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Thick As Thieves

                                                              [Aren’t they cute?!]

   Last week our very dear friends Jake and Dana came into town. They were two of our best friends when we lived in Orlando, and on the exact same day that we moved to LA, they moved to Atlanta, Georgia. They’re both amazing and we had so much fun spending a few days with them. We ate lots and lots, laughed till our bellies hurt, and had a blast exploring together. Can’t wait for our future adventures. ♥

                                                       [Magnolia Bakery, Los Angeles] 

    

                              [Dana and I hiked to the Hollywood sign for the first time]