i saw the theme for this week on iheartfaces and immediately thought of these photos. these were taken at the renaissance fair in san luis obispo. fantastic colors and great belly dancing!

be sure to go check out all the other amazing photojournalism entries at iheartfaces!

but really…how does it happen? it goes by so fast. when you ask her how old she is, she says “i’m free!!!”. i ask her a lot, because it is so cute.

we didn’t have a major party this year. just a few friends at the park. i didn’t even get good photos…too busy playing hostess.

i will be taking some big 3 year old photos this week. hopefully she will oblige.

happy birthday, my sweet stella. we love you!

click the picture below and go read about it on her blog. enjoy!!

are you still with me?

it’s amazing…truly.

i decided it was time to try and replicate this famous french toast at home.

this recipe is not for the weak. it has half & half and eggs and butter and more butter.

you’re still with me, right? ok. good.

i think if i’d had the patience, i would have let the bread harden another day and i would have tried to soak the bread over-night. old bread – that’s really where french toast came from…did you know that? true story.

ok, back to my french toast. here it is in all its glory…recipe below. enjoy!

tower cafe inspired french toast

ingredients

1 loaf french bread (day old is best)
8 large eggs
1 1/2 cups half & half
1 teaspoon good vanilla
1 teaspoon grated orange peel (optional)

preparation

take the loaf of bread and slice on a diagonal to get about 8 1″ slices.

next crack the eggs and pour half & half into a large backing dish (i use a lasagna pan to fit all the bread in one). whisk to combine the eggs and half & half. next add the vanilla (and orange peel if you want) and stir to combine. you should have a custard-like mixture.

now comes the fun part. place all of the slices of bread in the custard mixture. let them soak for a minute and then turn them all over to get the second side coated. leave the bread in the pan for at least 15 minutes or so. go make some coffee and bacon to go with your french toast. let it hang out in the mixture to get nice and soaked up in custard.

heat a griddle or skillet (or sauté pan) to medium-high heat. smear butter to coat the pan. place bread slices on the pan and let them cook for about 4-5 minutes until nice and golden brown. flip the slices and cook until golden brown on the second side (probably about another 4-5 minutes, it just depends on your pan.)

remove slices from pan and serve immediately. i like my french toast with just butter and powdered sugar sprinkled on top, but you can put syrup on there too.

i should warn you, this meal is known to put you in a food coma for the rest of the day, so make sure you have no plans!

enjoy!!

i’ve been wanting to try recreating my all-time favorite burger at home for a while now and since sliders are sort of the trend these days, why not make them cute and bite-sized?

i was recently sent this link to a recipe for making a double double animal style. close enough. there’s not much to this recipe but the “spread” is key. and this recipe is pretty darn close to the real deal!

the onions are key too…you can’t rush. it takes a good 15-20 minutes to get them good and caramelized. so you know what to look for, here’s my onions in process:

here are a few more photos of the cooking process…

for the patties, i like to use a 1/4 cup scoop and then form them in my hands – put a little thumb print in the middle to avoid the “burger bump.”

put the mustard on one raw side while the first side is cooking. (i used my griddle…i think this is the closest i’ll ever come to flipping burgers!)

here is the delectable finished product. i served mine with some sweet potato fries.

here’s the recipe…enjoy!

in ‘n out animal style sliders
recipe yields 16 sliders

ingredients

i love san simeon. it’s one of the first places john and i went on a road trip when we first started dating. it has great memories. we headed to jade beach which is filled with tons of rocks. i love sitting and just watching the ocean and helping the kids find “treasures” on the beach.

after the beach, we went back to the motel and decided to take the girls to the pool. (i have no photos because i didn’t feel like risking my camera around the pool.)

the pool made us all hungry so we made plans to have dinner with our niece natasha in slo. i’m so glad we got to spend a little time with her!

the next morning (my birthday!) we got up early and decided to pass on the continental breakfast at our motel – how do they get pastries to be that color? i swear they had turmeric in them – they were yellow! anyway…natasha also works at a great cafe, sally loo’s. so, off we went and had breakfast there with jessie! our other lovely niece – so great to see her too! i’m so glad those girls are doing well and enjoying their college life. we miss you though!!

now, the “ren faire”. wow, such great people watching. this is a total lifestyle choice for some. again, i didn’t get a ton of photos (too busy watching the kids.)

we had a great time – i think the kids really enjoyed it. they each got to ride on a horse (we were informed numerous times that the horse stella was on was NOT a pony but a miniature horse – well maybe you should take down your “pony rides” sign!)

anyway we also watched belly dancing and a jousting match. stella fell asleep in the stroller, so i didn’t get up close to see the jousting, but john took anya up close and she loved it!

it was a fun weekend (except the driving part) and i’m glad we are so spur of the moment sometimes!

so, off we went to the dollar store for our supplies:

corn starch
plastic cups
foam brushes
food coloring (which i already had)

to make chalk paint, just use equal parts corn starch and water (i used 1/4 cup of each) and mix them in a plastic cup. then add as much food coloring (the cheap drops work just fine) to make the colors you want. i made basic rainbow colors.

pretty!

i love the way the blue turned out.

i just put the kids in their swim suits and let them go to town. it seriously occupies them for over an hour. and don’t worry, it totally washes off – everything. i have the pool nearby for them to wash off in (and to cool off in this 100° heat!)

we sat outside and had snacks and painted. what a relaxing afternoon…

ah yes…so relaxing. i won’t mention the part about me walking in the house to bring my camera and iphone inside and my girls decided to get out the hose and spray the entire table (where my camera would have been sitting) and spray the back door – which is a screen – which means the water went all over the kitchen and i slipped and fell on my knee on my way outside.

oops…did i say that outloud?

(please don’t say i look like kate gosselin. that wasn’t my intention.)

it was a very successful night all around. i even sold one piece! yay!

courtney featured locally grown food for the reception – which was awesome!

BFD did great and sold lots of things during the opening reception. i’m so happy for them!

congrats tim and courtney. i think this is going to be your year!

(photos courtesy courtney clark)

our friends courtney and tim are having their official opening reception of their new shop brew ferment distill (BFD) on second saturday, so our photography will be hanging on their wall. i’m nervous and excited all at once. i have to drop off the work this week to hang on the walls and make gallery tags and hopefully my business cards come in time as well!

best of luck to my wonderful friends on their new store and here’s to seeing if i can do this for more than just a hobby!