Dia de los Muertos

After a fun filled Halloween, the BF and I attended the Day of the Dead event at The California Center for the Arts. A huge interactive installation was set up and everyone from the community was encouraged to bring objects in memory of their loved ones to leave and in turn, become a part of the installation.

They also had arts and crafts projects for kids and the museum was also open for the evening. We had a fantastic time and will be attending every year from now on.

Of course we took a million pictures...

Halloween!!!

It is one of my most favorite holidays. Not only because it gives you free license to run around like a crazy person, but also because you are encouraged to channel your inner kid.

The BF and I went to an amazing, epic Luchador themed Halloween party on Saturday night where there was a photo booth for all the party goers. We had a super spooky time and have the pictures to prove it too!

I climbed a huge mountain

and lived to blog about it.

My sweet BF and I have been doing a lot of hiking this year. I seem to be quite content with hikes that don't test my will to live, but (thankfully) my better half likes to make sure we are always challenged.

Our newest conquest was the big Mt Woodsen and it proved to be the challenge we were looking for.

About a little less than a quarter of the way up we passed this huge water tank.


Okay, my legs are already tired. That water tank is getter smaller though...


By this point I have considered laying down and letting a wild animal make me his lunch.


That water tank is really small now and I kind of feel like I'm on top of the world.


And as soon as I think I can't take another step - I reach the huge 2600 foot payoff.



Yes, I may have shed a tear or two. I also may have threatened to turn back before reaching the top of the mountain, but I didn't. I was exhilarated and exhausted all at the same time once I reached the summit.

We took a few minutes to feel what it was like to stand on top of the world and then turned around to make the trek back down.

Almost too cute

This just screams joy and happiness. I love that they don't take themselves too seriously and dive into celebrating the occasion. I'll admit that I've watched this several times in the few days I've known about it. It is beyond sweet and makes me smile.

Do not disappoint me

Quite possibly the funniest thing on Youtube right now. In my humble opinion at least.

The bread is here

and it was really tasty. Crunchy on the outside, warm and spongy on the inside. I will admit that this loaf was not my first attempt. I originally tried to make the bread with white-whole wheat flour and it absolutely did not work out. It was dense and couldn't property rise, but it still tasted decent. So for the second go around I gave in and just used all white flour. (oh well, just live a little Lauren).


I made a few adjustments to the recipe which helped the flavor and texture:

- I only used 1 1/2 cups of water instead of 1 5/8 cups
- I bumped up the salt from 1 1/4 teaspoons to almost 1 tablespoon

I suggest serving the bread right away after it initially cools, as it will be at the height of yumminess. If you decide to bake the bread and save it for a later date, plan on re-heating it in the oven for 10 min at 350 degrees. Because there is such a high water content, the outer crust will lose it's crunch which is one of the best parts of this bread.

I hope you take the plunge and make a loaf for yourself! I guarantee that if you share it with your friends and family they will never want to eat store bought bread again.

Goodbye Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest today. I am in total shock and can't believe it. Completely devastated. He made music magic and was truly the king of pop.

I was lucky enough to meet Michael and several members of his family when I was a little girl. My parents owned an exotic plant shop in Los Angeles that was next door to the Jackson recording studio. Many times Michael shopped in our store and was beyond kind. I once went with my dad to deliver a cactus to one of the Jackson's home. They gave me a juice box and let me watch cartoons on a giant movie screen.

I feel awful for his children and hope that they are well taken care of during this entire experience.