Stir-Fry

Today, for some reason I got the urge to make stir-fry. Oh, I remember why - I saw a bag of edamame in the freezer and thought "YUM! Let's do Asian food tonight, so I can eat that." You all know sometimes even just coming up with an idea for dinner can be a chore, so I was pretty proud of myself for thinking of it. And even more proud that I would finally get to use our stir-fry wok. Yes, we got this as a wedding gift in 2006 and I've never used it, let alone taken off the wrapping. It was such a mometous occassion that I even decided to take a picture.

After a little trouble with the "New Easy-Tear Bag" (yeah right!), I began by following the stir-fry directions and heating some vegetable oil in the wok. I was letting it get nice and hot as I started on the rice. Within a couple minutes the oil started smoking like crazy, so my first thought was to run over and turn off the smoke alarm. It's sensitive so it goes off really easily and the cat REALLY hates it. As I reached up to unplug it, I heard a POOF! and saw a reflection of orange in my picture frames. I gasped (and possibly said a swear word) as I realized the oil in the wok had actually burst into flames. Every fire safety tip I have ever learned escaped my memory. I knew I couldn't throw water on it, but what was I supposed to do?!!

I grabbed the wok and ran outside, as that was the only place I could think to avoid burning up the inside of our home. I let is burn for quite awhile and when the flame got small enough, I blew out the fire. I think the wok is ruined. The non-stick coating no longer exists. But I ended up cooking dinner in a normal pan (which turned out quite delicious, I must say.) However, the more incidents like this I have, the more I'm convinced the the kitchen and I were not meant to be.

Day Trip!

We took a great little last-minute day trip yesterday with all the friends for Hubby's birthday. We gathered together early in the day and made our way up north. It was a fairly rough start - we left late, we had a sick passenger, we got a speeding ticket. I wasn't sure how this going to turn out.
We stopped in Santa Barbara for some eats and since we were already running late, we didn't get to spend much time there. We had wanted to hang out and eat ice cream and shop, but we had other places to be, so we pretty much ate and ran. We drove up a little further to Los Olivos where they have the prettiest scenery and some really nice wineries. I think each of us mentioned at least once how nice it would be to move there. We could start a winery of our own and be rich and just live in the beautiful area. Good idea, huh?

Anyway, our first stop was Firestone Winery. I've been there a few times (due to the nature of my last job) and wanted everyone else to see it, since they have such a nice tasting room and they do a pretty decent tour. You get to see the vineyard, where they crush the grapes, where they store the wine and get some history and how it all began. Its a really cool little place. After Firestone, we had time for just one more winery, so we went up the road to Fess Parker. That winery was beautiful! They have a big open grassy area where you can sit and relax or maybe have a picnic. Everyone seemed to enjoy the wine and the atmosphere. I think this may be something we will have to do again.

The next location on the list was Chumash Indian Casino. It's about 20 minutes from the wineries and once we got there, we had some mixed luck. A third of the group ended up winning, a third ended up losing and a third ended up about even. We only gambled for like an hour and decided to quit while we were ahead (or not) and go get some dinner. We drove into Solvang, a very charming little Danish town. All the buildings look like something you'd find in Europe - windmills and all. We ate at an adorable little place called Little Mermaid. I say adorable, but let me explain. When we first walked up, it looked a little scary and dumpy honestly. We all sort of looked around like "Are we sure we want to eat here?" I know everyone was having second thoughts. But the women working inside were very sweet - Danish costumes and all - and the food seemed almost home made. We ended up having a lovely time there.

It was the perfect ending to what turned out to be a great day. PHEW!

BFF's (Blonde Friends Forever)

I have one of those rare best friends - we met senior year of high school. She was a fellow boy-crazy blonde. We had a blast together for a short while, headed our separate ways and didn't meet up again until 8 or so years later. But somehow we were able to pick back up right where we left off.

On paper, we might not even make sense as best friends. All I know is that when we are together, we always have a good time. And this past week was no exception. She came to crazy LA for a short little spring break of sorts and I'm pretty sure it was a success! I picked her up at the airport on Wednesday and we headed straight for a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory and shopping at my happy place, H&M. Soon after, we got in our comfy clothes and settled in for some movie watching.

On Thursday, we spent most of our time in Hollywood. Went up to the Hollywood sign, had lunch at Bossanova, shoe shopping at Off Broadway, a little photo shoot at LACMA, and then a taping of the Jimmy Kimmel show. We actually had tickets to sit in the green room, where we caught glimpses of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and the Millionaire Matchmaker. (Yes, Zac & Vanessa are ADORABLE in person. *sigh*) After the taping we headed back to Burbank for a classic dinner/dessert at Bob's Big Boy. Then settled in for some Thursday night TV watching.

On Friday, we were pretty wiped and got a little bit of a late start. We headed out to Santa Monica around noon and it took almost an hour to get there with the traffic. So it didn't give us much time to play before her flight left at 3:10, but we made the most of it. Walked around, got some pictures, ate a banana split (except for the part that ended up on the pavement) and headed back. I was expecting it would take us about 30-40 minutes to get back, but I was way off! We didn't get to the Burbank Airport until 3:00! Luckily her flight was a little delayed and she JUST BARELY made it on the plane. Phew! It was like a race against time.

So as you can tell, it was a short visit, but well worth it. I feel like I just gave her a sneak peek of LA, but all the more reason for her to come visit again.

Shout Out

I just have to take a moment and give major props to my hair stylist. I have always had a hard time trusting people with my hair. A couple bad experiences, but mostly it just makes me nervous to see someone new.

When I lived in Utah, I used to drive to Vegas to see my hair gal. When I moved to California, I hadn't gotten any good referrals. So for the next year or so, I continued making the trip to Vegas to see the stylist I trusted. Unfortunately (?) she got married and moved to Provo, leaving me with no choice but to find someone new. Luckily a friend recommended my new stylist. I've been seeing her for a couple years now and she never fails to impress me.

My whole life, I have been told that if you have a round face, then first of all - you should never have bangs. Second of all - you should never do a short hair cut, let alone a bob of any kind. But here I am, with an a-line bob and cute little bangs to top if off. Somehow my stylist can really pull it off and make me feel like this looks was MADE for me. The cut isn't all the different from cuts I've had the last couple years, but its more than that. Plus, the color is just fabulous. Like seriously sooo good!

So thank you Sommer! And hey, let's all take a moment today and appreciate someone who makes us feel good about ourselves. We all need that boost once in awhile.

Jacuzzi Shmagoozi

The weather here has been beautiful this week. (I'm sure as I type this, the giant rainstorm they've predicted is brewing right outside my door). The only disappointing thing about the gorgeous, sunshiney days is that I end up standing on my balcony watching and loathing the neighbors across the street. They live in IDENTICAL condos as us, except for one very important thing - they have a pool. We just have a broken jacuzzi.

Even when its working, our jacuzzi is old and it smells. I have seen girls laying out there as early as February - when its a scorching 65 degrees. Why would you layout by a jacuzzi anyway? That's like torture. You get hot and then what? There's nowhere to cool off. I guess whatever floats your boat.

I always tell my husband when we get a house, we HAVE to have a pool. It would be such great exercise! Surely if I had a pool, I'd swim every day! (Just like I jump rope and use the fitness ball and walk with my hand weights, right?)

Well I want that pool anyway, dang it.