8 years down, forever to go!

Today marks 8 years since Bobby and I first started dating! 8 years! I can't believe it. We were 16 at the time, junior year of high school. It's been a fun ride to say the least and we've gone through a lot of life together. Here are some highlights:

 High school: Junior year. 03-04

 High school: Senior year 04-05

High school graduates. 2005

Freshman in college. 2005

Shell Beach.

 Sophomores. 2006.

Paris, France

Juniors. 2007.

Oahu, Hawaii

Seniors. 2008

Point Dume, Malibu.

Graduates. 2009

2010

Wedding.

2010.

Honeymoon. Jamaica.

2010. 

Alaska.

2011. 

Yosemite.

2011. 

SLO

Thanks Bobby for 8 wonderful years. Looking forward to many more adventures together!

argh, matey!

Tonight was our annual Halloween costume party at work! For those of you who don't know, Bobby and I work at Transitions-Mental Health Association which provides services to people in the community who have mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, etc). It's such a joy being part of their lives and being able to throw a party in which they can let loose and enjoy the night. It's a great time for the employees and clients to get together for some good ole' fashion fun. Unfortunately, I can't share any photos of our clients due to confidentiality laws (boo) but they come up with the best costumes. When you have Harry Potter, a vampire, a princess, a Laker fan, and a jail bird dancing all out to Thriller you know it's a good party (mind you, these are grown adults!). Bobby and I set a high standard for ourselves last year with our costumes and now we have a reputation to keep. Here is a picture from last year:

Bobby had bought these masks when he went to Venice and so we created costumes (all from thrift shops) resembling Carnivale masqueraders. 

So I don't know if we'll ever top those costumes but this year we decided on being Pirates. We created some pretty great costumes (again, all from thrift shops) for the party.

Another highlight of the party was that there was a photo booth! People were lined up to take photos with their friends all night and it made for such good memories! 

Another successful party and a fun time had by all! 

Happy Halloween :)

estero bluffs trail

Today was a beautiful day in SLO! We got up and made some pumpkin pancakes (yumm! Trader Joes is the best) and then decided to get a bunch of our friends together to go for a hike. Bobby and I have this great book called "Day Hikes Around San Luis Obispo" and we've slowly been going through the book and checking off the one's we've done. So we were looking through the book today and came across the Estero Bluffs State Park Trail. It starts in Cayucos and goes along the coastline for a few miles. We decided to go for it and it was beautiful!

 

 our fearless leader, Sequoia

 the gang.

I don't know what this was, but I'm glad I wasn't swimming with it.

I'm so thankful for the all the beauty along the Central Coast. There is always something new to explore!!

Thank you God for creating a beautiful world.

oakland madness

Bobby and I did something we've never done before this past weekend... we went to an NFL football game!! and let me tell ya, it was quite the experience. Oh, did I mention it was a Raiders game? yea, we didn't really think that one through. The reason we went was because they played the Jets and the quarterback, Mark Sanchez, was a friend of ours from high school and we have always wanted to watch him play. Seeing him play was awesome (even though they lost...boo) but being in the mix of Raiders fans was out of control. Let me just say, I'm SO GLAD we didn't wear any green or other clothing that associated us with the Jets. Every time a person wearing a green jersey walked through the sea of black Raiders fans, they would get booed and people would yell "break his leg!", "get outta here!", and other not-so-nice phrases mixed in with a slew of cuss words to top it off. Bobby and I slid under the radar, wearing black (Roxy and Quiksilver shirts) and slyly giving each other a fist pump when the Jets did something good. Yes, I did feel kind of like a traitor, but we didn't want to cause any problems. I have never seen any fans more dedicated and die-hard than Raiders fans, and not gonna lie, it was intense! Bobby and I left the game a few minutes early hoping to beat out everyone else and it literally felt like we were running from a stampede of black. Yes, we are wimpy but we stood out like a sore thumb against the hardcoreness (word?) of Oakland.

    I set my camera to only show 'green' and notice the only green is the field.

 Sanchez #6

Overall, we had a blast! Granted it'd be more fun if we could have jumped and cheered for the Jets, but you gotta watch your back in Raider Country.

I think we will stick to watching football on our comfy couch from now on :)

fall is here!

Fall is such a wonderful time of year. Leaves changing color, crisp air, and pumpkin spice lattes (my fav!) just to name a few highlights. Another thing that I love about fall in SLO is all the local apple orchards are open. My mom and sister were up to visit recently and went to See Canyon Fruit Ranch and picked some apples for us. Here's a tip: Ask for "seconds". These are apples that may be bruised or "not pretty" but are awesome for baking, juicing, etc. and are half price!

We decided to make a batch of homemade applesauce. So easy. All you do is peel and cut apples into chunks, throw into a large pot, add about a 1/8-1/4 cup of water and cook on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir and mash in the pot until you have the desired consistency. I like mine chunky and unsweetened but you could add cinnamon or sugar if desired. We canned it in mason jars and it makes the perfect snack!

I was trying to think of something creative to do with some of the left over applesauce and I found a recipe online for applesauce muffins and decided to make them. They turned out so fresh and delicious and very moist. Bobby even ventured to say, "This could be the best muffin I've ever had! Seriously!". He's a keeper, right? Here's the recipe for this perfect fall treat:

Applesauce Muffins: Makes 1 dozen

6 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (can use all-purpose if desired)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chunky applesauce (homemade is the best!)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease or line a muffin tin.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix eggs and brown sugar. Melt butter in microwave and stir in. Add applesauce to mixture.

Pour applesauce mixture over flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon.

Spoon into muffin tin.

Bake 20 minutes. (This is what the recipe calls for but I baked mine for about 16 min and they were perfect)

This is the first of many fall recipes I'll be making this year and I'll be sure to share. 

Do you have a favorite fall recipe??

Happy Fall everyone! :)