my birthday

so i turned the big 2.5 this year. holy moses. 25 seems so old to me! 24 was a great age. but 25... man. and it only goes downhill from here.. haha totally kidding! 

my birthday was wonderful this year, and i still have two more days of celebration to look forward to at the end of this week. 

my birthday was on saturday, and the hubby and i decided to lay low and spend a relaxing day together. however, the night before i went over to some new friends' house and a big group of us ate some pizza and had some homemade red velvet cupcakes (my fave) and some of the hubby's margaritas (oh my goodness so amazing. i actually hate margaritas but these are delicious!) and then afterwards went out dancing at this place near us called madrone. it's a tiny little dance bar and that night they were playing only 90's music. it was so fun because i knew every single word of every song. while i am an infant of the 80's, i am most definitely a child of the 90's. so that made the night even more fun.

then the next day the hubby and i went out to breakfast and he gave me the best gifts.

aren't these flowers gorgeous? he handpicked every flower too! 

and then i got my favorite chocolates in the world. see's caramel covered patties. mmmm

and then we went down to this cheesecake store that makes, literally, the best cheesecake i have ever had. i am a big cheesecake lover and this quickly moved to the top of my list after a patient from work gave me a piece. i just had to have it! it's from this little store a little bit south of san francisco called zanze's. and the cheesecake is light and fluffy with the crust on the top, not the bottom. oh man! jonathan also claims this cheesecake as the best he's ever had. it will definitely be our go-to for special occasions. 

and i don't know if anyone noticed the basket that my flowers and chocolates were sitting in? yes, it is a bike basket for my new bike! it hasn't come in to the shop yet, but when it does i will jump for joy. i can't wait to go on bike rides around this beautiful city and soak in the fresh air and sunshine. and to name it too. i have a thing where i name big appliances or things i use. weird, i know. 

isn't she a beauty? i need to think of a good name pronto!

all in all, it was a perfect and wonderful birthday. irregardless of material gifts i felt loved and special. and i can't wait to spend my birthday with my best friends in southern california this weekend! 

good night.

copeland

for my birthday this year (more on that later) i saw copeland in the city. it was actually part of their farewell tour, and i can't tell you how sad i am that they are breaking up! copeland is one of my favorite bands. and not only that, but their songs have been kind of like a soundtrack to my life, since i was a freshman in college! all of their songs are so beautiful and their lyrics just grab my heart. some of them are like poetry. not to mention that aaron, the lead singer, has a really cool voice. needless to say, i love them, i'm sad they're going to stop making music, and this past show was wonderful and so good and the perfect ending to a birthday day. the following are some of my favorite lyrics (which was actually really hard to pick because i love almost every song)

and i just know that she warms my heart
and knows what all my imperfections are
and she says that i am the brightest little firefly in her jar

there's a brilliant sky above
and a jealous moon in love and they are
starved for our attention

there's so many things i have to say

i'll stay up all night to hear about your day
we do the best we can in a small town
act like kids in love when the sun goes down

you have my attention
like you’ve had all the while
since that first day when you made my heart smile
with loving eyes and tired sighs that flow
you have my attention

 your love is a fast song
and i'm dancing 'cause i'm loved again
whoa...my heart is in motion
for the rhythm inside you
whoa...your love is a slow song
it's resounding through my world again
whoa...my heart is in motion
for the song inside of you

i think i'm safer on an airplane
(i think i'm safer on an airplane)
  ithink i'm safer in the sky up above
  i think i'm safer on the jetway
than a world without love

you see love is a drink
that goes straight to my head
and time is a lover
and i'm caught in her stead

could you be happy to fall like a stone

if you'd land right here safe in my arms?
it's fine, lock all your doors through the night
keep it all right here, safe in my arms
it's fine, it's fine

travel bug

all of a sudden, i have a HUGE urge to travel. i don't know what has come over me, but i just want to get on a plane and go somewhere beautiful and breathtaking. i'm not the type of person that is very comfortable traveling in a country that i don't know, especially if they don't speak the same language as i do. i usually feel awkward and for some reason pretentious. like people are looking at me like some spoiled american girl. suffice it to say that traveling can make me a little uncomfortable sometimes. but i want to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations and i want to travel the world and see all of God's amazing creations and understand different cultures and their ways of life, which i know are incredibly different than the american lifestyle. 

for our one year anniversary, jonathan and i are going to spend a few days in seattle. neither of us have been there and we are both very excited about it. 

here are some of other places that i am dying to go to. 

cinque terre in italy. jonathan has actually been here, when he lived in italy for three months (so jealous!) but from all i've heard, it is one of the most beautiful places in italy. 

istanbul, turkey. i have been dying to go to turkey for a while now. i actually have some turkish blood in me too! 

argentina. a friend of mine went to peru and from looking at her pictures and this one i can't believe how beautiful and green it all is.

santorini, greece. anywhere in greece actually. i'm sure i would get fat off the food too

and last but definitely not least, scotland. my love affair with scotland started with this series of books and it is definitely on the top of my list of places to go. can you believe how beautiful it is?

man. i've got to start saving some money if i want to go to these places. thankfully, i live in an awesome city that will tide me over until i can go. :)

oh so cute

isn't this little one just so cute? this picture really doens't do her any justice. 

seeing her and her momma today reminded me how grateful i am for friends that i count as family. friends that are sisters. friends that i know i'll be friends with forever. 

here's to great friends.

well, we did it. we successfully made bread! granted it took forever and finally around midnight the project is complete. but it was definitely a fun process. and the end product is super delicious. i'm hoping to make some cute bread bags to keep our bread fresh in. both of us want to continue making homemade bread, especially since the process was fairly easy (with my awesome kitchenaid to help with the kneading!). the recipe for this bread is pretty easy and straightforward and i definitely recommend it. the bread is very dense and hearty, which i love. and there is a nice, light nutty flavor that isn't overwhelming. try it out!

whole wheat bread- from williams sonoma's baking book

makes two 9x5 loaves

ingredients:

1.5 tbs active dry yeast

pinch of brown sugar

1 cup warm water

1.5 cups tepid buttermilk (we used 1.5 cups of regular milk with 1.5 tbs of 

white vinegar since we didn't have any buttermilk on hand... works the same!)

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup canola oil, plus extra for greasing

1 tbs salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

3.5-4 cups bread flour, plus extra as needed

directions:

in a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and brown sugar over the warm water and stir to dissolve. let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. 

in a stand mixer, combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the whole wheat flour. beat on medium-low speed with paddle attachment until creamy. 

beat in the yeast mixture and the remaining cup of whole wheat flour and beat for one minute. beat in the bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides. then switch to the dough hook. 

knead on low speed with the dough hook, adding bread flour 1 tbs at a time until the dough is smooth and only slightly sticky.

* we had a little issue with this part and because the dough already started pulling away before we had even added the 3.5 cups of flour we had to switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour one tbs at a time. very tedious! for us, we used 3.5 cups of bread flour and it was definitely enough

{kitchenaid in action!}

transfer to the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn the dough once to coat it in oil. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in size, about 1.5 hours.

next, lightly grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans and form the loaves. *hang in with me here it can get a little confusing. 

first, you place the dough on a floured surface and pat in to a long, even rectangle.

then, imagine your dough is a piece of paper. fold one short end over to cover 2/3 of the rectangle, and fold the other side up the remaining distance. exactly like folding a letter.

flatten this bundle with your hands.

then, at the shorter end of the bundle, tightly roll up the dough. 

then, using your palms, roll the dough into a log that is the same length as the pan. 

then pinch together the open parts, the center seam and the side seams.

place the loaves, seam side down, in to the pans. cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until approximately 1 inch past the top of the pans, about one hour. 

preheat the oven to 350 F. bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the pan sides, about 35-40 minutes. turn out onto racks and let cool completely. 

{these look like two different types of bread huh? i floured one a little more than the other oops!}

{aren't they so beautiful?!}

{mmmm delicious irish butter and my hubby's homemade raspberry jam}

mmm!!! after typing all of this out i do realize that this recipe seems a little daunting. but it's really not that bad! and look how beautiful the bread looks. how can you not want it? :)

glorious days

we have been experiencing some of the best weather here in san francisco the past couple of days. bright blue skies, cool ocean breeze, and just the right amount of warmth. the hubby and i have definitely taken advantage of these gorgeous days by hanging out in the park. we are so lucky and have the golden gate park literally a block away from us, and we try to go there as much as we can. not to mention, this girl is whiiiiiite. i really need some sunshine! 

there really isn't anything better than laying on a towel in the sunshine with a book in my hands and my love at my side. 

{green green green}

{he landed right next to me}

{isn't he just so cute?}

{love love love}

to end a perfect day we are going to try our hand at making bread. eep. i'll let you know how it turns out!

homemade granola

jonathan and i are on this kick (which i guess is not so much a fad but more like a lifstyle change) where we make most of our food (not just meals) and buy organic. i don't necessarily feel "so much better" because of eating these types of food, but i do feel better knowing what is in my food and knowing that i'm not consuming tons of pesticides and chemicals. some of the things we've made so far that aren't whole meals are raspberry jam and i made some homemade granola tonight. we are really lucky and have an amazing whole foods store right around the corner from us, where they sell all organic food (they have the yummiest granola!), but i thought it would be great to make my own granola since i eat it so much. 

i got the recipe from here. and i did change it up a bit. i don't like dried fruit in my granola because i always eat it with yogurt. but that's just me. and i think our granola turned out a little too salty for my taste, so i would add less salt and more brown sugar. next time though!

easy homemade granola
from "baked: new frontiers in baking" by matt lewis and renato poliafito

ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds. 

directions:

preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

in a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. whisk until completely combined.

pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them. repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.

pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. spread it out evenly.

bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip the granola. sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.

bake for 15 more minutes and then allow to cool completely. transfer to airtight container and enjoy! the granola will keep for one week.

let me know if you try this recipe and if you created it with any alterations.

my fresh start

well, i am finally back in the blogging world. it has been too long! i've decided that i need to start blogging again because i feel that i lack a steady and creative outlet, and blogs are just perfect for that! so i'm starting it up again, with high hopes that i won't completely ignore this one like the last one.

so many things have changed in my life that i feel if i tried to summarize them all it wouldn't do it all justice. so i'm just going to go forward and add to this blog day to day. fill it up with things that inspire me, such as quotes or beautiful pictures; things i experience or wear or create or bake or cook; and things in my life that make me better.

i'll leave off this first entry with this wonderful quote from some anonymous person who loves.

{borrowed from}