sarah marie p.

Memorable Moments of 2011

2012-01-04T00:50:00.000-08:00

I absolutely loved 2011. I had such a good year! I hope you did too. In somewhat of a chronological order, here are 12 of my favorite moments from this past year. Some of the photos I've already shared but the majority of the moments I meant to blog, but never got around to.

1. Planning and attending Morgan's baby shower for baby Jack ...

and Jimaie's shower for baby Moriah

2. Racing on the speedway during my 27th birthday party at Blackbeard's!

And dinner afterward at the Old Spaghetti Factory

3. A perfect day at the beach with my boy and our pup

4. Our Southwest Road Trip -- including our first camping trip on our own, hiking in Zion National Park, our 10-hour drive to Santa Fe, John's 30th birthday dinner, our adorable bed & breakfast in Santa Fe, driving to Sedona & Britt's graduation dinner. As you can tell by all of my road trip posts, I loved just about every moment of that trip!

5. Waiting in the hospital all night with Jimaie for Moriah's arrival at 1:55 a.m.

6. Our annual camping trip with my parents on the East Side of the Sierra

7. Our 4th anniversary weekend in Cambria <3

8. A day spent crafting puppy costumes with Britt. We then entered Abbie and Izzy in the Tower District's Halloween Pooch Parade. (They were a tooth brush & tooth paste. We went as dentists!)

9. A rainy picnic and afternoon at Millerton Lake. The day was pretty magical because we had the whole place to ourselves (plus Abbie, of course)!

10. Filming Kill Bill for Swede Fest 7 ...

and then making our version of the Jackie Brown trailer for Swede Fest 8.

11. Seeing My Morning Jacket rock our socks off in San Francisco. (And dinner beforehand at this cute Mexican restaurant.) This was one of the best shows I've ever seen in my life! After Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' killer opening set, MMJ played for two and a half hours. It was crazy good.

12. John and I ended 2011 by spending the afternoon of New Year's Eve walking and hiking along the coast and then watching the last sunset of the year over the water.

Have A Holly, Jolly Christmas

2011-12-26T22:50:00.000-08:00

Hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful holiday! And a Happy New Year! xoxo

How to make a yarn wreath in just 365 or so days

2011-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

Last year I was so inspired by the yarn wreaths other bloggers were making that I headed to Michael's to gather supplies to make my own yarn wreath. Everyone else must have been inspired too because all of the straw wreath forms were sold out except the very smallest size. I took one home but ended up exchanging it for a huge straw wreath ... which I exchanged for a Styrofoam wreath form, which I again returned. After a while John refused to come to the craft store with me, even when I bribed him with homemade lemon cupcakes. Every time I went to Michael's or Jo-Ann's the wreath I wanted was always sold out so I finally ordered the perfect size online -- not too big and not too small, the Goldilocks version of a wreath form. I bought yarn and - you guessed it - ending up exchanging it for another type of yarn. Yes, I know that I'm ridiculous and really good at returning/exchanging crap.

Some girls say you can wrap a yarn wreath while watching a TV show or two. And maybe that's true. But, it can also take you an entire year to finish if you're super skilled at procrastinating. To be fair, this was a 14-inch wreath rather than an 8-inch wreath, but I guess that's not really a good excuse. When I didn't complete it in time for Christmas 2010, rather than just finishing the dang project like a normal person, I put the wreath away in a closet and forgot about it until November. After finally finishing wrapping that darn yarn, I set it aside for a few more weeks until I finally got out my felt last weekend and made some flowers using Mrs Priss' genius felt tutorials.

But, one year later, I did it! Ta da! I made a wreath!

Felt goodies!

Have you made anything crafty recently?

Don't leave, leaves!

2011-12-07T23:35:00.001-08:00

I'm not ready to say goodbye to fall yet. Which is kind of funny because I didn't want summer and its gloriously long days to end. Now that I've come to terms with being greeted by pitch darkness when I get out of work, I'm really enjoying scarves + boots + pumpkin-flavored goodies and candles + reuniting with jeans + cuddling under blankets + cozy slippers + soup + cider + hot chocolate + new jackets and all of the other wonderful stuff that everyone can't help but adore about fall.

Although technically the first day of winter isn't until Dec. 22, to me it seems as though the first day of winter is really when the leaves are gone and we're left with naked trees and gray skies.

Of course you can still enjoy scarves + boots + soup in the winter, but what about the oh so happy, delightfully colorful LEAVES?!

I suppose the good news is that next year we'll have another summer and another fall. So cheesy but it's true! :) And if the leaves didn't fall off we wouldn't be able to look forward to spring and all of the pretty blossoms and flowers. This reminds me of one of my favorite books from my childhood -- Over and Over. Does anyone else remember reading that as a kid? I love the darling illustrations in that book! So sweet.

The other good news is that after Dec. 22, the days start getting longer again! Hurray! In the meantime I think I'll try and enjoy these long nights while they're here -- put on some cozy socks and a Christmas CD, layer another blanket on the bed, show off my new scarf, and sip another cup of hot cider. Who knows, in a month or so I may be saying that I'm not ready for winter and these cozy nights to go!

All of the trees in our condo complex were a big part of our decision to move here. (I can't believe it's been almost two years!) I think we lucked out and live in the section of the complex with the best trees!

View from the kitchen/dining room. That tree makes doing the dishes way more enjoyable!

What is your favorite season? It really is tough to pick just one!

Gray Suede Shoes

2011-10-24T22:16:00.000-07:00

summer version (from Urban Outfitters)

fall/winter faux-suede version (from Old Navy)

The Southwest Road Trip: Moccasins, West Hollywood & More Pictures Of Food

2011-08-23T00:44:00.000-07:00

Day 8: Sedona, Ariz., to West Hollywood, Calif.
489 miles

All right, guys. Believe it or not, here is the last recap post for the super-duper Southwest Road Trip! (Don't you almost feel like you've been on the road with us for 9 days? Or, maybe you feel like you've been road tripping for a month in the time it's taken me to write all of this up!) Day 8 was another long driving day. I think we were in the car for eight and a half hours. This was another day that we needed to get an early start because we had to make it to Los Angeles by dinner time to help celebrate our BFF Britt's graduation from UCLA.

After grabbing coffee and a bagel to split, we were on our way, bright and early!

It doesn't get more southwest than a bunch of cacti in the middle of the desert!

My one souvenir wish was a pair of Minnetonka Moccasins. Although you can order these online, I thought it would be more fun to bring some home with me. After checking a few stores and driving by a number of signs advertising Minnetonkas along the highway, we stopped at this stand somewhere in Arizona. It was located pretty much in the middle of nowhere (but they still took debit cards!).

I browsed stacks and stacks of moccains and walked away with my very first pair of authentic Minnetonkas. I was a happy girl.

California here we come, right back where we started from ... Californiaaaa

Hi mountains!

And hi there L.A. traffic!

Once we made it to Britt's cute apartment in West Hollywood the first thing we did was take Abbie and Britt's pup Izzy for a walk. The pups were happy to be reunited! And I was happy to enjoy the cool breeze and perfect Los Angeles weather after Arizona's desert day.

After getting dressed up we met Britt and her family at The Glendon Bar & Kitchen in Westwood.

So proud of our little librarian for earning her master's degree! A cause for celebration, indeed!

Britt's grandparents generously treated us to dinner and drinks. I ordered The Marc (minus the grilled chicken) and ohmygosh it was one of the most delicious dishes of all time. This flash-irific picture doesn't do it justice at all. I'd love to create this recipe at home! I don't normally like martinis but my drink was also pretty much perfect. I think I ordered the Saint Strawberry martini. Oh, everything was just so good.

Day 9: West Hollywood, Calif., to Fresno, Calif.
224 miles

Last day of the road trip. Before heading home we walked to a cute breakfast spot with Britt.

We all shared bites of (vegetarian) Eggs Benedict, Huevos Rancheros & stuffed French Toast. Again, everything was super tasty!

We said goodbye to Britt and Izzy and headed back on the road for the last time (for now). I think Abbie was pooped!

I can't wait to plan our next road trip!

The Southwest Road Trip: Fry Bread, Dinosaurs & Sedona

2011-08-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Santa Fe, N.M., to Sedona, Ariz.

413 miles

On the road again! Compared to 10 hours of driving on Day 4, six and a half hours felt like nothing! This was a pretty leisurely day because although we wanted to check out Sedona before it was dark, we weren't all too concerned about what time we got there. It was nice not to feel rushed at all!

At some point I started vainly taking pictures of myself for fun. Hiiiii :)

Abbie didn't look so pleased about being back in the car

Vroom vroom!

We spied a sign for fry bread and decided that must be our lunch!

I don't remember exactly where this Indian reservation was located. I do remember that it was SO HOT out there. We ended up eating in the car again (with the A/C blasting) because it was 100 degrees outside (and there was nowhere to eat inside). You order your fry bread from a little window on the left side of this building. I was tempted to buy some little kachina dolls or pottery inside but didn't end up leaving with anything except for the fry bread. I was also tempted to order some dessert fry bread (with powdered sugar) but I was way too full!

The stuffed fry bread (or Indian Taco) was delicious! The fry bread was so light and crispy.

Oh, so good!

Back in Arizona!

And we found some random dinosaurs at a gas station!

We almost had to sacrifice Abbie but the nice dino changed his mind at the last minute

TREES! This is near Flagstaff, Ariz. After living in the desert for the past week I was so amazed to see so many trees. I realized I had missed all of that green.

I definitely want to come back to visit Flagstaff. The air smelled SO good outside!

It was so beautiful that I felt the urge to take the wheel ... and then I proceeded to give it back after three miles when the road suddenly began twisting and turning and I was scared that I was going to drive the car off the side of the mountain. Kind of funny I never had the urge to drive when the road was nothing but empty and straight for hours and hours! So, grand total of miles driven over the road trip = Sarah: 3.6 miles and John: approximately 2,272.

Thankfully we made it to Sedona without falling off of the mountain.

We drove around looking at the sights including The Chapel of the Holy Cross ...

... and took an evening stroll through town. We met a bunch of random tourists thanks to Abbie being so gosh dang cute! Oh, and we also split the best strawberry ice cream. Dessert before dinner is the way to go on vacation.

The night ended with some Seinfeld (it was kind of weird to watch TV again) & some amazing organic pizza. I meant to take a picture beforehand but we ate every single bite! We got our favorite combination: pineapple, red onion & olives. YUM! You're right, Picazzo's -- we *did* make the smart choice.

The Southwest Road Trip: Santa Fe, The City Different

2011-08-08T23:56:00.000-07:00

Days 5-6: Santa Fe

As I mentioned in this post, the smoke-filled sky really bummed us out when we first arrived in Santa Fe -- and we were worried that the wildfire in Arizona would ruin our entire stay. When we woke up our first full day in Santa Fe and checked out the window, the smoke has magically drifted away. We were thrilled!

We fell in love with Santa Fe. I love that the city has a small-town vibe and lots of history, art and culture. You can't go wrong will all of that cheerful turquoise & sunshine! Also, everyone we met was super nice. I don't think we'll ever leave California but if we did, I could see us living in Santa Fe. (If only Santa Fe was a bit closer to the ocean -- then it would be just perfect.)

After breakfast the first day we took Abbie for a walk to the plaza.

We spend some time wandering around Saint Francis Cathedral

Later on John and I stumbled upon this French breakfast/lunch spot called Saveur. We split a veggie sandwich that was so delicious that we came back the next day!

Next we hit up the Georgia O'Keefee Museum & a few galleries

We ended the afternoon by taking Abbie to an off-leash dog park that was a nice 20-minute drive from our B&B. We thought she might like running free after being trapped in the car for more than 10 hours the day before. Before the trip I had looked up the park online and read that it was little-known and large. I had no idea it was going to be this large! The park went on and on!

It was such a beautiful day. Love those fluffy clouds!

Abbie had such a blast. Here she is chilling out under a tree after running to her heart's content.

At night the smoke rolled back in. The air smelled like a campfire.

The manager at the B&B laughed at us when we told her that we planned to check out this place called Lulu's Chinese for dinner because Santa Fe isn't exactly known for its Chinese food. But I guess it makes sense for us -- we were the people that went out for Chinese while we were in Paris! Although there was a bit of a mix-up when trying to explain that we wanted veggie chow-mein, the fried rice and egg rolls were delicious!

The next day we spent the afternoon walking around town again, starting off with a visit to the "Oldest House in the U.S."

The house, which has been turned into a museum and gift shop, includes the remains of Juan Espinoza. Once upon a time Juan paid two brujas (witches), who lived in the house, a bunch of gold to mix up a love potion for him. When the potion didn't win him the girl he tried to kill the brujas, but they ended up cutting his head off with his own sword. Aren't you glad you now know that story too?! Don't worry, I don't think those are really Juan Espinoza's remains. The lady running the gift shop didn't necessarily say they weren't though.

We also strolled down Canyon Road, which features more than 100 galleries and studios

So much to see!

The rest of the afternoon was spent souvenir shopping, checking out the Loretto Chapel & the miraculous staircase and grabbing another sandwich at Saveur to eat in the B&B courtyard. And of course we couldn't miss tea time!

We were *this* close to ordering a pizza for dinner but decided we had to wrap up Santa Fe right with a Southwestern meal. After randomly reading a copy of "New Mexico Magazine" and seeing that Rancho de Chimayo had won the award for best vegetarian meal, we knew that's where we were going. I had gone there with my family when I was maybe 10 and was looking forward to trying it again. The restaurant is located about 40 minutes from our B&B in the community of Chimayo.

That night the smoke from the wildfire once again rolled in, making for some amazing,eerie photos.

John and I had a great time enjoying the gorgeous scenery and skies on our drive

Rancho de Chimayo

We split the vegetarian plate with a tamale, enchilada and bean burrito. Everything was SO good. Definitely the best meal we had in Santa Fe and one of the best of the trip. I only regret that we didn't get to the restaurant before the gift shop closed. I'm quite tempted to order some salsa or chile from their website! Oh, and the sangria wasn't half bad either!

One of the books we read before the trip, "The Insider's Guide To Santa Fe," claimed that the flan at Rancho de Chimayo "may be the best version of this dish in the world." We laughed about the description and thought the authors must be exaggerating a bit. Of course we had to try it for ourselves.

Guys -- it really was the BEST flan in the world. Before trying their version, I didn't even really like flan! Now I'm dreaming of returning to Rancho de Chimayo for some more! And next time I might have to have a piece of flan all to myself!

The Southwest Road Trip: El Paradero

2011-08-04T01:27:00.000-07:00

We spent our three nights in Santa Fe at El Paradero Bed and Breakfast. This was our first time staying at a B&B and I absolutely adored it! El Paradero is a converted 200-year-old farmhouse described as Santa Fe's oldest inn. One of my favorite things about the inn was its location in the historic downtown district. I loved that we were within walking distance of the Plaza, galleries, museums, shops and restaurants.

I also loved all of the adorable decorations throughout the inn. Even the back side door was all decked out! Because Santa Fe literally translates in Spanish to "Holy Faith" and is named after St. Francis of Assisi (the patron saint of animals and the environment) it makes sense that there are statues and painting of St. Francis, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe, all around the city, including the inn. I grew to be quite fond of the imagery and we brought home a little wall plaque of Our Lady of Guadalupe to hang by our front door. I think John's Catholic mama would approve.

We stayed in room No. 9

Our little adobe room had a viga ceiling and brick floors.

Although it was too warm to use the kiva fireplace (and probably would have been a bad idea with all of the wildfire smoke), it still made the room extra cozy and cute! The room was missing one thing -- a TV! I think it helped make the vacation seem extra relaxing & like even more of an escape.

Eating breakfast and reading the local newspaper in the garden courtyard was the perfect way to start our day

It was so peaceful out here. One day we even brought lunch back to the inn to eat in the courtyard.

El Paradero's Southwestern breakfasts were always super delicious. I wanted to bring the cheerful dishes home with me!

And the staff were happy to make vegetarian meals for us. That green chili sauce (over a poached egg & potatoes) was so good!

I miss having someone make me breakfast every morning!

Here's the breakfast dining room. Do you spy St. Francis?

Every afternoon the inn hosts tea time between 4-5 p.m. Along with tea and coffee, there's homemade treats such as flourless chocolate cake and an apple jalapeno tart. I also miss tea time!

It looks like Abbie liked the inn too. I hope that we can return to Santa Fe soon, and when we do I'd love to go back to El Paradero!

What are your thoughts on bed & breakfast inns? What is one of your favorite places you've ever stayed?