Breakfast for Dinner & Birthday Celebration for a "Star"

The preparation for last night started yesterday afternoon with Emily and me running around Ralph's (which, btw, I think I like better than Vons....but it's further away - boo!) getting things for dinner.

Tortillas, salsa, peanut butter? Check!!
Cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil? Check!!

She and I made some totally ghetto cupcakes and a little funfetti cake for the festivities of the evening. I hadn't ever heard of funfetti before, but it might be my new favorite!! And why is it that batter tastes so darned good?? Almost better than the actual cake itself??

Anyways, I digress. A group of us got together, and all worked together, to put together the most wonderful dinner of breakfast! We had eggs, bacon, fruit, pancakes, and so much more.....and it all tasted so good!!

We watched DWTS in between the fun, and then ended the celebratory evening with Happy Birthday to a star.....Jasmine Star. Check out her blog for some great pics!

I was having too much fun being part one of the many cooks in the kitchen, so the only pic I got was at the very end....and of course it was my favorite kind. AND, I believe that this is a personal record for me. FIFTEEN awesome people in this one!!



Happy Birthday Jas!!!

A Daddy Story | Dave & Grady

So, I already told the story of how I know Dave, and that he and Grady came to Santa Barbara yesterday to meet us for breakfast....so, here is the good stuff.

We went to the park and found a few good spots. It's so neat to see Dave in a different light, as a great and loving father to Grady. The little man was a champ, and was up for whatever we wanted to do....he even climbed a tree!! Well...not really, but give him a few years, and I'm sure he will be.

Dave...thanks again for coming up here to see us! It was so wonderful to meet Grady, and see you again. I hope you love your story!!!










For more of Grady and his cute cheeks, check out the slideshow.

Sunday....I wish I had a more creative title!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ERIKA (my sister) AND TERRY!!!

Brett and I met up with Dave and Grady this morning for breakfast at Jeannine's. Dave and I worked together at Dell back when I was in Corporate Sales. We recounted this morning how I taught him everything he knows (ha!!). I hadn't seen him since Grady was born, and because he happens to live less than an hour away, they made a trip up here to see us. It was a great breakfast, and then we headed over to a park for some pics of the two of them. They are coming soon!! So check back to see the cuteness of little Grady!!


I came back home afterwards and hung out for a bit with Danielle. I learned today how to clean the chicken coop, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We only have to do it once a week, so it's really not that bad. Kit (the dog) and Shadow (the cat) are much simpler, and more cuddly too!! I am seriously loving having Kit around - he's so cute! He's a 3 legged border collie....and you'd fall in love with him too! Trust me! I may just have to have a photo shoot with him too!!

For the next few months, Reality is having a night service to alleviate some of the crowding at the earlier two, and so we've been really enjoying the night service. Britt (the pastor) was back tonight, and he was on fire. I really do love hearing, watching and learning from him. Next Sunday is Easter service and it's outdoors at the local HS. We're expecting over 1000 people, and I'm really looking forward to the celebration!! Woohoo!!

After church, we were hungry. Since we start at 6 and get out at 8, there isn't really a good time to chow until afterwards...but it makes for a great time of fellowship together. We went to Los Arroyos (heehee...it's so good that I didn't even mind it being my 2nd time in a week) and had a fabulous time! Since I'm really missing my girlfriends right now, it's wonderful to be able to meet and spend time with such amazing people here in Santa Barbara.

Not everyone knew of my ability to capture large groups in self portraits (thank you wide angle lens Canon P&S), so I wowed the crowd when I nailed it on the first shot. (Disregard the blurriness...at least we are all in the pic!).

Beauty of Santa Barbara - Farmer's Market & Beach Cruising

There are so many things to see and do in Santa Barbara....and I had the chance to do two of those today!!

This morning I went to meet Laura at the Farmer's Market. This market gathers everyday, twice a week in downtown SB, and is filled with flowers, fruit, veggie and other vendors. I didn't have anything in mind to get this morning...but I had a great time walking around and seeing all the beautiful things. I thought about bringing my big girl camera, but didn't want it to be awkward. When I got there, though, there must have been some students doing a project for a photography class or something because there were about 10 people out there with their own big girl type cameras, all snapping away. I managed with my P&S, and snapped a few shots of the fun.




Afterwards, Laura and I took a stroll around downtown, and just happened upon a Starbucks. Ok, it was where we were headed, but there are 3 on State Street, so even if you're not trying you'll run into one eventually. I haven't had caffiene in almost 3 weeks.....but I've been really missing the flavor of my favorite White Chocolate Mochas. So, I got one, and had them prepare it decaf. Go me!! It was nice to run into Katee there today too....first time that anyone at Starbucks has ever spelled my name right on a cup - thanks Katee!! :)

As soon as we got in our cars, I realized that I forgot to snap a pic of me and Laura!! Doh!! Next time. :)

Activity for the afternoon?? Bike riding along the beach - yay!! We went to rent some beach cruisers with Erik and Danielle, but when we got there.....all the single bikes were taken.....so we ended up with two tandem bikes. This turned out to be a great idea!! I got to look around while Brett steered the bike. I DID help pedal....and I know that I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Notice the cute little basket on the front of the bike too!! This came in real handy for when I wanted to take off and put back on my jacket. Hee hee.



It was a beautiful afternoon. We went all the way up to Shoreline Park, and then back down to the bird refuge near the zoo. We rode for about an hour, and then grabbed some lunch at The Habit. It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon...with great company!!! I'm getting more excited day by day for Danielle and I to get our place, and now for Erik to move here also!! He's in the process of getting himself here to SB right now - fingers are crossed for him on his job opportunity!! :)

Sunset, Spaghetti and Some History

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!

For the last few weeks, Brett has been trying to teach me the ways to be a "California Girl". One of the things that gives you the creds for this label, apparently, is flip flops. Evidently the ones I already have don't fit the bill, so he's been trying to get me to get some new ones to fit in. Whatever. :) Oh, and the other thing......sweatshirts. So, when Brett said "Why don't we go take a walk on the beach", I decided to don the appropriate apparel. Flops and a hooded sweatshirt.

On a side note, I do have to get used to the weather here. I'm used to it being hot when it's hot, and cold when it's cold. Now, those two in Texas could be one day apart....but you pretty much get what you get. Here, it could be cold in the shade (or indoors), and then you get in the sun, and it's real hot. Herein lies the necessity of the sweatshirt, jacket, or fleece.....especially for me since I get cold at anything below 70. It's warm during the day, but as soon as the sun starts to go down, it gets pretty chilly. Oh, I'll get used to it I'm sure. I know you're all thinking "yeah, real tough work, Annemarie".....so I'll stop rubbing it in how beautiful it is here.

Anyways....we took a walk on Butterfly Beach tonight...and hung out until the sun went down. It was a wonderful start to a Friday evening.





After, we stopped by Vons, got stuff to make a yummy spaghetti dinner, and then watched The Other Boleyn Girl. Whoa, times were WAY different back then. I commented at the end, that if we had been shown movies like that in history, I might have actually remembered some of it. :)

Dinner for Two

I racked my mind to figure out what I wanted to cook for my dinner tonight with my new roomie. I decided on Pesto Chicken Pasta, and picked up the necessary ingredients this afternoon.

I knew that she'd be back after 715, so I started to cook around 7, and perfect timing....she walked in right as I'd put the finishing touches on the food, and poured us both a glass of wine.

We, surprisingly, finished ALL of the dinner....yeah, no leftovers....and then devoured the pudding dessert too!! Our appetites were probably on overdrive due to all the chatting we both did during dinner. We worked it off even before it had time to start digesting.


I had such a great time with Danielle, and look forward to many more dinners like tonight in our future. :)

Who's hungry???

One of the things that I've really been enjoying about being in a new town, is getting to enjoy all of the new dining options!!! Here's a list of what I can remember that I've enjoyed so far!! (Ok, seriously...I need new words. I just used the word ENJOY three times in two sentences.)

Breakfast
Jeannine's
Summerland Beach Cafe
Esau's Cafe
Sharkeez (Sat and Sun $4 breakfast!)
Cajun Kitchen Cafe

MMM......sandwiches!!!!
Cantwell's Market & Deli
Daily Grind
South Coast Deli
Fresco Cafe
Panino

Burgers
In N Out
The Habit
Carl's Jr (they don't have these in TX...wait, I am lying...they do evidently, but I never ate at one there, so I associate this place with CA)
The Spot

Mexican
Los Arroyos
El Paseo
Little Alex's

Italian
Aldo's Italian Restaurant

Pizza
Taffy's Pizza

Sushi
Sushi Teri

Chinese
China Pavilion

Ice Cream
McConnell's Ice Cream (the Brazilian coffee chip is SOOOO good!)

Other
Natural Cafe

Oh my....after putting together that list, instead of being hungry....I feel so FULL!!! I can't believe that I've been able to squeeze anything else in while I've been here besides eating. Geez!! And yes, I am putting on the pounds.....Brett keeps talking about we both need to get in shape, and he wants to ride bikes. I'll keep you all posted on how that works out.

And yes, I AM cooking dinners, from time to time....I need to do that more, but I need new (and super duper easy) recipes. I'm getting bored with my oldies but goodies.

The reason I started this post was because I was thrilled to meet up with Haley today after her meetings in SB. She and I were colleagues when I did licensing at Dell, and worked on quite a few deals together - she was so awesome to work with, by the way. Gosh, it was almost 3 years ago when we met for the first (and only other) time, when she invited me along on a team dinner in Austin. We reconnected when we found each other on Facebook a little while ago. Just yesterday, she let me know that she was going to be in town visiting with customers (ones that I remember working with her on deals too - how cool!!) for meetings today, and asked if I wanted to meet her after. I said "YES!" and we met up at Los Arroyos.

It was so wonderful to hang out with Haley again....I quickly remembered why I liked her so much when we met the first time. Not only is she so smart, but she radiates joy! She's a VERY happy wife and mother now...had it really been 3 years?....and I was smiling the whole time when she was recounting her stories. I'd SO love to get her, Gerry and baby Reef in front of my camera one day - here's to hoping that can happen soon!!!

And....as everyone always says..... "Posts are better with pictures"...so here's Haley and me.


(Side note, as I'm posting this picture....I am noticing that I am really hating my hair lately....it's just so gross. I think that it's trying to get used to the CA water and it's not cooperating. Ugh. Tara - help!!!)