Happy birthday to you!

Fruit tart cake that my mom used to always make.
Sugar cookie dough, cream cheese, and fresh fruit... Delicious!

After eating dinner at Felix in Orange Circle we had our dessert in the park.

Happy birthday to my amazing sister, Summer. She turns the big 2-8 today and spent half of the day in Cali and the other half in az. In order to celebrate, Summer, Steve, Anne, Jesse, Kipp, and Nickee all came out to visit and go to Disneyland with Jessica and me. It was an amazing weekened filled with laughter, creeping, hugs, beaching, walking (sometimes running from ride to ride), eating (lots of eating), and much much much more.

We did Summer's birthday dinner in Orange and had dessert in the park right next to the restaurant. I had made a fruit tart (two actually) for my sisters bday, but forgot to bring the candles and toppers that I had made for a special effect. (I designed them to my liking inm Illustrator and then printed them out, folded,  and glued them to some tooth picks). So we got to eat the tart in a park in Orange, but my presentation was lost! To make up for it, I set up the second tart tonight and snapped a couple photos for you to enjoy! So let's just pretend these pictures are from the same night and I didn't forget the candles, ok?

And here are some fun photos from the Disneyland adventure. It truly is a very happy place. :)

7th wheelin it :)
From front left to back: Kipp, Nickee, Anne, Jesse, Summer, Steve, & Me.

Birthday girl got drenched on splash mountain... happy birthday?

We creeped in every picture that we could... it made for some pretty entertaining photos! 

My ride buddy, Jessica! Nothing but blue skies!

Love this picture... gearin' up for Thunder Mountain!

EXPECTO PATRONUM

If you know me personally, then you know that I am a huge Harry Potter nerd. My friend Cortney sent me a message today with a link to this image (which is a take off of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters) and I loved the idea, but wanted to try my own take on it. Although Gryffindor is my obvious favorite  house, I wanted to be fair so I included Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw in the mix too. Enjoy and let me know which poster is your favorite, if you have plans to see the movie, and how you are celebrating the end!

Mim-a-palooza

Took some time to make a birthday card for my mom, but alas... the printer is broken. I get to be in AZ with her today, but if I can't hand her a hard copy of it I guess I will just give an electronic version. How green of me, right?

Well, Happy Birthday to my beautiful-caring-kind-loving-silly-sweet-lilfella-mother. Let's get this Mimapalooza started!!!

Star Spangled Banner

For me, July is an exciting month (I don't think there is a month that I am not excited about, but this one is just a little more special). It's the time of year when Summer has completely kicked in, my mother and sister's birthdays are both this month, and the fourth of July is celebrated.

As a kid,  I remember 4th of July parades, swimming, bbq's, popsicles (the red, white, and blue ones), my mom's famous American Flag Fruit Tart (yum), sparklers, light-rope/glow-sticks, and family and neighbors joining together on blankets spead over the golf course  to watch the firework's show.

As I've gotten older, I made it a point to be in California for the 4th. There have been a couple trips with all my girlfriends (some of my favorite memories are from our huge CA girl-trips), a trip with Kipp and Summer, and last year it was the first weekend after I moved out here and Kimmy was out to visit me.  This year's celebration will be in Newport again and I am excited, but I love to think back over all the past years and the memories that I hold from this one Holiday.

Anyways, I'm rambling now and really all I meant this post for was that I made a new desktop image for my computer at work and wanted to share. If you'd like to place it on your desktop background please feel free to! Just save the image and then change your desktop settings.

11 Songs I will never-ever tire of:

All I Need - Radiohead

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Chop and Change - The Black Keys

Claire De Lune - DeBussy

Dog Days are Over -Florence and the Machines

Funeral - Band of Horses

Hang Me Up to Dry - Cold War Kids

Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon

Smile - Michael Jackson

Wake Up - Arcade Fire

Why 11 songs? Because 10 is just not enough! Off the top of your head, what are 10 or 11 songs that you will love and listen to forever??

P.S. In case you were wondering... Yes, I did put this list in alphabetical order... just another side-effect of being an obsessive compulsive graphic designer. 

Hope you're having a great lil' Wednesday!

Let's Get Cookin'

About a month and a half ago I decided that it was time for me to challenge myself and begin grocery shopping and cooking (in order to avoid a quarter-life-crisis I set random little challenges for myself). I had previously been buying pre-packaged meals from Trader Joe’s, which I still love, but decided that I needed to introduce new habits in my daily routine. What started off as a small challenge has now become a healthy habit. 

I began grocery shopping, and noticed myself buying only fruits, veggies, protein, grain, and dairy items. If you know me, you know that I can be quite stingy with money at times which is actually a good thing for when I am grocery shopping. When I reach for the chips, soda, or desserts, I then look at the price and think to myself, “well, I don’t really need this... and what could I really cook with it?” I walk around with it in my hand for a couple aisles and then as the cart starts to really fill up, I’ll return the unnecessary and usually over-priced items back where they belong... on the shelf. 

I try to buy ingredients that I can use in several different meal variations, and I only use vegetable oil, minced garlic (learned this trick from my friend Amanda), or soy sauce to cook with.

The perks of this challenge: I actually enjoy cooking and trying to think of new ways to cook and combine ingredients (I may have yelled out “MacGrubber!” a few times when a new creation is made haha). I feel that I am getting the right nutrients and actually make a conscious effort in eating healthy snacks. Lost an inch or two around my “inner-tube” or “love-handles” area and actually think my skin is healthier looking. And the greatest of all perks, the food actually tastes pretty good and keeps me satisfied!  

I forgot to mention that this cooking challenge is only Monday through Friday. On the weekends I give myself a break and enjoy the social aspect of going out to eat, indulge in a drink or two, and make sure to get my weekly burger (hey, I’ll forever be a member of the burger club!)

P.S. If you have any cooking ideas or suggestions let me know. I am always looking for new and easy recipes! And if you see anything of mine that you like (sorry that the pictures are not the best quality or lighting), let me know and I can give you my recipe. 

Myk-a-palooza Continues

My mother (mim) is the craftiest and most caring person I know. She can take a simple box and create a masterpiece that will warm your heart. Knowing this, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to get a package today-filled with amazing goodness!!! She made me a birthday banner and boxed it in beautifully crafted boxes. I tried to take pictures, but my camera phone/house lighting doesn't do the gift justice. It's so cheerful and bright, I can't wait to wake up to it tomorrow.

This myk-a-palooza is amazing so far and my birthday hasn't even happened yet!!! Thanks mim for such an amazing package, it really brightened my day and house!

Much love!

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