ringo.

i've had this photo of ringo (which can be found all over the internet) on my desktop...it makes me happy.

the it crowd.

the newest show i've obsessed about:

tres leches cake.

my church group is having a 'fiesta' activity saturday night. therefore, tomorrow i will be making three pans of tres leches cake:

cook yellow or white cake mix as directed on the box. once cake has cooled, poke cake all over with a fork. mix 1 can evaporated milk, 1 can sweetened condensed milk and 1/4 cup of cream. pour mixture over the top of punctured cake and refrigerate overnight. just prior to serving add whipped cream (and if desired strawberries).

yum yum yummy.

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soiree.

i typically like to just chill on my 'jour de naissance' but my roomie, nycole, and i have birthdays about a week apart and she came up with the brilliant idea that we should have a party where we get to do/eat all our favorite things.

um...yes please. very much looking forward to this :)

so there might be dancing, cupcakes, blind man's bluff, etc. anyway. i want to incorporate 'sweet' dance moves. maybe like the ones above.

p.s. r-sqaured. i would very much love if you came to the party :)

crafty determination.

mark my words (or just ask me later) but one of these will be done...oh yes, one will be done.

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black bear diner.

matt told nycole and me about a new diner that opened up, black bear diner. we decided to go saturday night and loved it. the place was packed but they got us a table of 3 within 5 or so minutes. the food came quickly and the service was great (although we waited just a bit for the check). the atmosphere is what sold me.

the place is decked out (cabin-y style) with wooden bears everywhere. the servers wore funny teeshirts, our server's said 'bear with me' and they all work suspenders with bear prints. the menu looks like a newspaper with actually news on the outside circa 1976. the menu has something of everything available.

matt got breakfast which was huge. we're talking buscuits the size of burgers. nycole got a bacon cheese burger and i got a sourdough bacon cheeseburger. get this. my burger had parmesaen cheese toasted on the outside of the sourdough bread. then swiss cheese inside the burger. the fries had the perfect hint of seasoning. nycole and i split a shake (the server told us they come with the overflow in a tin and would be plenty for 2) and it was delish.

i'm always on a good quest for chili which they had available and i'll probably try next time. they also have small portioned pies (blackberry, cherry and peach...along with cream pies). as they say, the pies are generous for one and perfect for two. i just love that they're cute tiny pies :)

anyway. we loved it. we'll definitely be going back.

spots vs stripes.

pushing daisies.

i have been going through some down time which now includes lots of stretching, toe pointing, and other random exercises i do every couple of hours. i keep myself entertained, and sometimes distracted, by watching pushing daisies (which never should have been cancelled).

i love the mysteries, the witty comments, the gorgeous sets and a pie shop?! yes, i'll take it.

while watching the series through again i've decided that if i could dress up my older sister...it would be along the lines of chuck's outfits in the next few pics:

historically my older sister has always been a little bit retro/bohemian. in high school she rocked plaid pants, she has almost always sported long gorgeous hair, and wore peasant shirts before everyone else jumped aboard.

so if i could dress val up it would be in high waisted pants, bright colors and feminine details. because as my sisters can attest...i sometimes like to dress them :)

p.s. if the pics are blurry...my bad. they're screen grabs from the dvds, from my computer.

butter burgers.

i left texas to attend university and at some point after my departure they opened a culvers in flower mound. i think that every single time i would come home to visit i'd go to culvers with colton and polly.

specifically i'd get a scoopie kids' meal. it includes a butter burger with cheese (oh yeah...), crinkle cut fries, drink and frozen custard with a topping.

i even got to the point that when i grill my own burgers i add a little slice of butter at the end...mmmm so good.

well, color me surprised, i'm driving up i15 today and see that a culvers is listed as a restaurant option...in midvale. only 15 to 20 minutes away. granted it's not in flower mound, texas but butter burgers are now within reach :)

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a fine frenzy.

love a mix.

since 2001 i've been making valentine's day mixed cds. some years there's a theme...some years its just a mix of music. this year it's a mix of songs i've come to like over the past year (isn't itunes fantastic for sorting :)

valentines mix 2011:

francis and the lights - darling, it's alright

rosie and me - bonfires

coeur de pirate - comme des enfants

ellie goulding - your song

camera obscura - french navy

kings of convenience - boat behind

sarah jaffe - better than nothing

angus & julia stone - big jet plane

blitzen trapper - furr

lissie - everywhere i go

a fine frenzy - blow away

friendly Fires - kiss of life

pacovolume - wolves

sarah jaffe - clementine

beach house - zebra

ari hest - hallelujah

if you don't think i'd naturally send one to you (did i in the past?) and would like one. email me your address! i'm mailing them later this week :)

happy valentine's day

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swimming!

i might just have warmer weather and swimming on my mind...

the top pic is from lands end canvas, next four anthropologie, the bottom three jcrew. eek!

raised eyebrow.

i think the niece and nephew might enjoy this :)

hehehe.

montana the christmas tree.

sometimes i post pictures on facebook and then forget about them. however montana the christmas tree needs proper lauding.

back in december (obviously) our friend jon agreed to help us procure a christmas tree. we went to the lot on state street and 90th south where we met matt who ran the place (former fisherman from alaska). the lot had a santa kids could visit, fires to stay warm by, and a hot tub which matt said customers were allowed to use. he also explained the different kinds of trees he had...such as lot vs natural grown trees, some from the dessert, etc. nycole wheeled and dealed to get the price lowered on a natural grown tree from montana. he eventually agreed to her price as long as we brought him back some food later in the week.

here is our tree, dubbed montana :) she smelled fantastic, shed a ton of needles (probably because we kept forgetting to water her) and she consistently made my heart swell with excitement.

we went back to the christmas tree lot, brought matt some food and decided to hot tub. that's right...hot tubbing at a christmas tree lot on state street. kind of awesome. santa stopped by and the alaskans kept offering us beers. epic evening.

texas.

this would be an awesome little surprise for sister missionary. or any of my sisters. maybe even co co :)

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humbugs

striped icebergs...without having come across this before, my (too tall) brother would probably be able to tell me why the icebergs formed this way:

for the rest of us...the white of the iceberg occurs because tiny bubbles become trapped as the water freezes. the blue stripes occur when the ice melts, the bubbles are released, and then the water quickly refreezes. green stripes are from salt water and other colored stripes include different kinds of sediment.

bottom line...nature is pretty amazing.

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reconnaissant

a little list of gratefuls:

*cream of broccoli soup from the brick oven

*finding a piece of scrap paper that my missionary sister typed on before she left. it included comments about boys, lyrics, messages in french and that she loved me :)

*an amazing roommate who refilled the ice machine, made me food, drove me to the doctor, and did a thousand other little things

*having wireless internet in the studio...huzzah!

*the pretty snow that i didn't have to venture out in

*a voicemail from my sister that included an unusually funny voice

*videos of my niece and nephew!!

*clean flannel sheets

*rookie blue

*the crazy robotic-like brace that i'm wearing but that lets me walk :)

*ma mère merveilleuse

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francis and the lights.

now that i'm off my leg for awhile i've never wanted to do crazy dance moves so badly :)

cheesecake + caramel + snickers

i believe that these snickers caramel cheesecake cookies might just be the cure to loneliness. this will shortly be confirmed through scientific tests...performed in my kitchen.

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dancing on my own.

some new dance moves for our repertoire :)

la lune.

as i go round and round the internet...this moon chart is absolutely beautiful.

not that anything i made personally could compare but drawings with chalk could be a fun experiment. again...totally separate :)

fighting ninjas.

i have quite a bit of down time right now and have rediscovered my love for the internet (btw nycole and i officially receive internet in our little studio...just in the nick of time). introducing:

the desktop wallpaper project

there is something for everyone here.

just a few that i saved to my wallpapers folder.

just chilling with my bestie.

aunties and uncles just can't get enough of the babies!!