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.

Baseball and Fireworks

My sweet BF and I were gifted amazing seats to the game Friday night. Even though our team was painful to watch, the fireworks were amazing!

Has anyone made this?

I found this recipe and really want to make it. Has anyone attempted it? How did it turn out?

No Knead Bread

Time: About 1 1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours rising
Yield: One 1 1/2 pound loaf

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed


1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.