Mini Vacation

The only two downsides going to Oceanside in February are the rocks on the beach and Pappy's Market has weird hours. That's how great this trip was. (No really, click the Pappy's link. It will take you to their Facebook page and inform you when they are open and whether or not they have limes.)

My good friend (and June's new favorite dancing buddy), Carli, has a family-owned beach house that we frequent. I feel like I can finally go to Oceanside wearing my "Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local" t-shirt. We have loved every single stay at that beloved Porter house. And of course my good (and new!) friends all came along. It's terrific to surround yourself with people who know delicious food and delicious times. (See more about it here. Thanks Andrea.)

We were excited to take June to the beach for her first time. We thought her reaction would look something like this.

But instead, it looked like this:

June wasn't impressed with the ocean, but we're relieved she LOVED the sand.

 She's obviously a desert girl.

The weather was perfect. I didn't have my infamous California hair (aka "Seagull Nest") because it wasn't humid. But apparently, June has a m a z i n g beach hair:

The above picture are the Stevensons showing off their cartwheel stunts.
The below family picture is our ride back to Gilbert. We'll see you soon, Oceanside.

A useful list of "Last Minute Cat Puns Halloween Costumes"

So this year for Halloween, I chose to be a...

... because really, without the cat ears I'm just a plain old cat burglar.

But then I started brainstorming all of the other Halloween costumes you can do with a set of cat ears. My pals, Natalie and Daphne, gave some excellent ideas as well. We came up with the greatest "Last-Minute-Cat-Puns-Halloween-Costumes" collection you've ever seen.

I mean really, have you ever seen those articles for "Last Minute Halloween Costumes", only to find that their definition of "last minute" is 2-3 hours? In addition, you better have an entire craft store in your closet?

These seriously only take a couple of minutes... you just need a set of cat ears and one or two other supplies.

Oh and sorry but there are no sexy cat costumes here (I would probably break the internet posting such pictures of myself). 

This is just good ol' fashion cat puns. 

Cat ears + Trash =






































Cat ears + 'TOM' name tag =






































Cat ears + Pajamas + optional "Jazz Hands" or cool dance moves =






































Cat ears + Pajamas + Sleeping after partyin' =






































Cat ears + Looking like you're scared all the time =






































Cat Ears + "STEVENS" name tag + optional guitar =






































Cat ears + A friend who likes cat puns and is also wearing cat ears =

Other possible costumes:

Cat Ears + A scratch across your face + a thermometer = "Cat Scratch Fever".

Cat Ears + Walk around the party grabbing other people's tongues = Cat got your tongue.

Cat Ears + Bum clothes = Feral Cat

Cat Ears + Carry around a fish = Cat Fish

Cat Ears + Steal stuff from the party = A REAL Cat Burglar

There you have it. Have a happy and lazy Halloween.

Happy Trees

Greer, AZ

I've got a list of a thousand things to do, but I'm going to stop for one minute and share to everyone how much I love my family and friends right now.

Here's why:

· He loves to eat waffles at least twice a week, and plan fun outings, and drink soda late at night, and watch scary TV shows, and listen to music all the day long, and plant luscious green winter grass, and go for walks to look at holiday lawn decorations, and record an a m a z i n g album that I am so proud of.

· She has cute pigtails and curly hair, and loves "bubbus" and "doggies", and loves to chase around a ball, and give kisses with delayed 'smack' sounds, and obsess over new shoes, and push grocery carts, and eat an entire apple on a stick, and have dance parties.

· They invite us over for Sunday dinner every Sunday, and prepare us 72 hour kits so we don't have to, and take June to the carousel to ride at least 6 times, and they sew us curtains and blankets, and buy ten different kinds of cheeses, and challenge me to Tetris to which I win triumphantly or lose terribly.

· They throw parties at the last minute that look like it took weeks to prepare for, and serve soup in bread bowls, they recommend good music and TV because I'm so out of the loop, and they have pizza ovens in their backyard with every pizza topping you can dream of, and they are talented and help me to remember to push myself and, most importantly, they make me laugh.

This is terribly written, but it's true.

Pinata Time.

We had a good May 5th this year. We spent the evening at Debbie's and this is basically what happened:

- Amazing Mexican Food

- Homemade Churro's

- Fried Twinkies

- Super Moon

- Pinata

I named the above Pinata, "Fuerte". Making Pinatas is becoming my new favorite hobby. And it's an interesting one: spending hours cutting, folding, and glueing, only to have your masterpiece beaten until candy bursts into the air. It's truly a blessing. 

Here were my favorite images of Fuerte's final moments:

We let the children go first... Gracie was a champ.

Robs was unaware that William
wasn't aiming for the Pinata.

The first incision was across the chest.

Debbie was afraid of Fuerte, even though
it should be the other way around.

Fuerte surrendered during the fist fight portion.

He wasn't done yet.

My favorite thing is watching grown
adults dive into candy piles.
Lindsey, you made my night.

A Festivus

Here's a story:

Before I even met William, I saw this video of him and his brothers:

I knew two things about William Bradford: (1) He likes apples. (2) The man can lip-synch. 

So when I met him for the first time ever, I said, "Hey I enjoyed your video." 

To which he replied, "Ummm.... yeah thanks." and then he completely changed the subject. I thought I had said something wrong. (He later told me that he didn't know how to respond.)

It was a really awkward first impression... it's a good thing he was cute and played the drums, otherwise I would have just walked away.

I learned real quickly that the Bradfords love making awkward videos. Thank goodness we have friends who do the same...

My lovely/talented friend Andrea has a very funny/creative husband named Camaron. He's putting on an Awkward Film Festival. Everyone should participate... The BradfordCollective have a great film up their sleeve for this event.

Hurry! It's on June 15th. And if you haven't already, watch the '80s Video Dating Montage' on the film festival page... It's incredible.


P.S. The guy in the above video with the mickey mouse hands is moving back to AZ. June is thrilled to have another uncle live nearby.

Here's a tip.

When the weather looks like this...

... do this...

... and eat food like this...

... and don't forget the French onion soup, Smores, and caramel apples.

"Christmas Morning" Suppa Club

Carli hosted Suppa' Club in December, and it didn't disappoint. We did a breakfast theme, paired up with a Christmas morning theme. Of course, we came in our PJ's and lined up in the hall (by age, notice the boys are in front)...

dashed upstairs...

and opened up our "gifts". (Carli wrapped our plates and silverware).

(I love Daphne's intensity in the above photo. If she's this intense now, I can only imagine what she's like on Christmas morning.)

And Carli even gave a little Christmas gift to June. It's a book called "You Will Be My Friend!" It's seriously the funniest book I've seen in a while. If you like forest creatures and bears that like to hug, you should really get that book.

Here's Carli reading it to a very attentive June:

As for the food, everything was AMAZING, of course. We served up yummy pancakes (go Ashlee), Bacon monkey bread (go me), fruit salad (go Carli), these maple scones (go Daphne)...

... AND Spinach Bacon Quiche. I didn't get a picture of the quiche because it was in the oven while I had my camera out. But it was amazing. Here's the recipe. It's a Paula Deen, so of course it's creamy deliciousness. William even loved it, and he's not a fan of quiche. Good job, Natalie.

Merry Christmas, Suppa' Club! And to all, a good morning!

P.S. My apologies to Ashlee for not getting any photos of you. I'm just going to handcuff the camera to my hands so I remember next time to get a pictures of everything and everyone.

Oh and I'm still amazed with Suppa' Clubs knowledge of Quiktrip food and the Kardashians. We are seriously destined to be together.

Thanksgiving Suppa' Club

This month was my turn to host Suppa' Club.

Dinner included: Quinoa with Vegetable Melange, Winter Salad with Lemon Poppyseed dressing, Spice-rubbed Turkey with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce, and Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake. It was probably my favorite Suppa' Club meal so far.

Want proof of our delicious food? Well, you're just going to have to take my word for it. We forgot to take pictures yet again. I'm tellin' you, when that food enters in, we can't help but reach for our forks (instead of our cameras).

I will post recipes another time. You better believe that I will be makin' those dishes again.

So instead, here are pictures of the party itself. This time, I decided to go with a Thanksgiving Native American theme. As foodies, I thought we owed it to them, since they showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn and all.

I just hope we weren't offensive in any way.

Yikes.

The guests arrived in their Native attire. We listened to "Sacred Spirits" internet radio station, which set the mood for the evening. We may have sang "Savages" from the movie 'Pocahontas', and "What makes the Red man Red" from the classic movie 'Peter Pan'. Following our feast, we played Bonanza (a game about planting beans... get it?). What an adventure.

The banner I made unintentionally became the "photo booth" backdrop. I just tore large strips of fabric, then sewed fabric scraps to make Native American-y designs.

The little ball garland is actually for my Christmas tree (an early Christmas gift from my mom), but I thought it went perfectly with the banner.

Sweet wolves (a perfect Goodwill find):

Dinner Table (I need to find more excuses to use that lovely dinnerware):

Centerpiece:

I know, the little pine trees look like Christmas. But I really wanted to capture the environment the Native Americans lived in when the pilgrims paid them a visit. And I'll be using them for Christmas too. (See? I'm killin' two birds with one stone, just like a Native American would.)

Suppa' Club, thanks for a super time. I did the math, and I'm in charge of the next Suppa' Club meeting in March, which just happens to be the same month Hunger Games is coming out in theaters, which probably means we'll be having a Hunger Games Theme. You know what this means: fighting to the death for our meal.

May the odds be ever in your favor.