downtown

So one of my favorite thing about working downtown is the abundance of cool shops, fun restaurants, and antique stores all within walking (or short driving distance). Yesterday I took advantage of and spent my lunch hour wandering around Woolworths, my favorite antique shop. My parents used to take us here when we were younger, so they could shop around and we could eat at the old fashioned lunch counter. It is a very charming place. While I could have spent well over an hour there and purchased many things, I was looking for something specific. A small bedside table for the guest room.

shown in the front room while the bedroom is being painted

I found it. Not sure how "antique" it is. But is the perfect size, shape, and finish. Needless to say, it was a successful lunch hour.

Piece by piece, the room is coming along!

november

The beginning of every month I write in my planner things I want to accomplish or fun events I am looking forward to that month. I thought I would share them here as well.

November....in no particular order

Finishing the ceiling/walls of guest bedroom (maybe this week!)

Trying new soup recipes

Reading third Twilight book (thanks Jill!)

Twilight movie (ahhh...Edward Cullen)

Thanksgiving in Vancouver/Portland

Carrie Underwood concert

Sean and Allie's wedding!

USC game with friends

Making my Christmas list

Deciding what colors to decorate my Christmas tree (last year was red and gold)

Pumpkin anything (pie, muffins, bread, cake, coffee…)

Colored leaves

My Birthday!

fall back

Thank you daylight savings time. Not only did I get an extra hour of sleep this morning. But tomorrow (and for the next couple weeks at least ) when I have to leave at for work at 5:35 am, it wont be pitch black outside. And I appreciate that. Maybe I can trick myself into thinking I actually start work at a normal hour....

baked goods

So I have been on a baking kick lately. Which is not exactly a good thing. I would be much more proud to say I have been on a grapefruit for every meal kick, or a salad with no dressing kick, but that will probably never happen, so moving on. I usually make chocolate chip cookies every couple weeks, but all these yummy recipes floating around have tempted me even more.

I saw these pumpkin muffins on her site a couple weeks ago and thought they looked scrumptious. And then she made them too, and I know I just had too. The recipe was simple (I used pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, instead of all the individual spices) and added the optional streusal topping. Except I didnt have any nuts, so I used oats instead and it worked great. So, thanks Sharon for the inspiration!

ready to go in the oven

I am hoping this method of freezing fresh pumpkin Pioneer Woman talked about works for canned pumpkin too. Because I have a feeling I have a couple more batches of pumpkin muffins in my future and I need that baby to last

I also made a Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf this week. It was also very good. I dont have any pictures but here is the recipe. I added more lemon zest and juice for a stronger lemon flavor. The addition of plain yogurt makes it super moist and keeps the butter consumption a little lower, which is always good. No matter what Paula or Ina say...

Lemon Poppy Seed Loaf

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup lemon juice

3/4 cup plain yogurt

3 tablespoons lemon zest (I used about 5)

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Heavily grease and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2.	Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3.	In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
4.	Mix lemon juice and yogurt together and add alternately with the sifted flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in lemon rind and poppy seeds. Pour mixture into prepared pans and smooth tops.
5.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 minutes or until browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before turning out of pans.

happy halloween

Peter's office gets wild and crazy on Halloween, complete with a costume contest. Those of you who know Peter, know he is not really a costume kind of guy. But he is a good sport, so last year he went as a Dodger fan. Not exactly a costume (more like his everyday wardrobe from April to October) but it was free, so I was all for it. Well this year he decided to up the ante.

Instead of Dodger Fan '08, Peter transformed himself into the one and only Manny Ramirez. He even removed the dreads from and old Jamaican hat and carefully sewed (thats right, sewed) them into the lining of one of his old Dodger hats. Sunglasses and a baggy Dodger warm-up outfit made the transformation complete. He was definitely an office favorite.




As for tonight, we are staying home and passing out candy, hoping to see lots of trick or treaters from our little neighborhood.

6 years

On October 28, 2002 Peter and Toni became boyfriend and girlfriend. Well, technically we never really said those words, but we had our first kiss together, which, you know, basically means the same thing when you are in high school. It was after Bible Study in front of our youth pastor's house. Scandalous, I know. While leaning on my old turquoise Mustang. We were so cool.

Our first date happened 4 days later. We went to see The Ring. Such a fun and light-hearted movie for our first date.

Here is a look back through pictures of our dating years. It was fun looking at these again, and there are sooo many more. Just let me know if any of you would like to create a cute scrapbook for me for free. I will pay you with moral support, of course.

high school beach retreat

first of many, many Dodger games

snowboarding in college

making fajitas in the ghetto ranchwoods in fresno

Disneyland

Christie's wedding

torrey ridge apartment in fresno....shudder

the beach

all of that (and so much more) led to this...


and here we are, 6 years after that first kiss. which led to more than I could have even imagined.

plates

I am horrible about remembering my camera and did not take any pictures of out time at the beach. So to make up for it I will take some pics of what I bought! Um...thats just as good, right? I couldnt wait to unpack my new dishes and try them out. I am definitely happy with my purchase. As if the $3.50 price tag wasnt good enough, they actually look great on their own or paired with my green PB dishes. And they compliment the black table very well.

So if you are in need (or want) of some cute accent dishes, check out Pottery Barn. They are on clearance and come in a few different designs.