I am a professional cake-decorator!

What a busy weekend! 

On top of new tattoos, I helped host a dear friend's baby shower.

I was in charge of dessert, so I decided to bake my 3rd ever fondant cake!

I think it turned out quite wonderfully, if I do say so myself!

It was a lemon/strawberry cake with cream cheese-raspberry frosting,

& a bright pink, aqua, green & purple paisley design:

 [I really liked the bright colors, & was pleased with how the paisley pattern turned out]

 I got the fondant and dye from Michaels & the cake & frosting from Ralphs. 

I cut all the shapes with a small knife and adhered them by painting vanilla on the back.

The writing was done with melted-chocolate from Michaels.

Our Co-ed shower was full of laughter, good food & even better company :)

[& thankfully no silly shower-games]

Congrats to my friends M&A on your new addition :)

What a nice end to a crazy weekend!

xoxo

“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak”

I realize that my posts on this blog are primarily cheerful ones, 

but life is not always easy or joyful,
so this post is one with an undercurrent of sorrow.

This weekend J [bro-in-law] & I got memorial tattoos for someone dear to us ['M'] that died in a tragic car accident this winter. M was my first love, the absolute love of my life & also J's cousin and dearest friend.   

This tragedy was the hardest I have ever had to face. 

Words cannot describe my sorrow.

J & I have felt we wanted to pay tribute to M in many ways, one of which was to get tattoos that we know he would love, & that are special reminders of all the joy & love M gave us.

The experience of getting my tattoo, & watching J get his was very emotional for me, & I will always cherish the memory :)

M- I miss you terribly. I will always love you. 

You will forever hold my heart & complete my soul...

This was for you:

My tattoo is a portion of a beautiful story that M wrote for me in high school, 

which I had translated into dutch. M was a proud Dutch :)

J's was a windmill built by his family with the [Dutch] words from M's headstone.

J's is still unfinished...so I will post an update after his next 3 hour torture session ;)

Without J&J, I never would have made it through the last 5 months. 

It has been the most painful time of my life.

I love you guys.

Thank you.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, 

love leaves a memory no one can steal"

Paso Robles

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit some of my favorite family [B&L] in 

Paso Robles.

Wow...What a beautiful place!

J&J [my sis & brother in law] tagged along with me,
& we all had such a wonderful time.

Our little road trip began with a stop in San Luis Obispo to have lunch with a cousin & his [brand new!] fiance.  We ate at a place called Broad Street Tavern, let me tell you- best fried pickles ever!

They also had pitchers of mimosa! Which we unfortunately did not order [why?!]

After lunch, we were back on the road, making it up to Paso mid-afternoon
 where we were greeted by 2 deer!

Deer, quail, wild pigs, [and who knows what else!] come right into the back yard!

We had such a relaxing evening catching up & enjoying each others company.

There was laughter & tears. So many memories...

Thanks to B&L, we had the most amazingly delicious dinner 

[Thai crunch salad, flame-grilled ribeye, artichokes- my fav! and chili-pepper jumbo shrimp!]

After we were stuffed to the brim, we took a little driving tour around 

Lake Nacimiento.

We saw SO many deer! & wild pigs too!

The rest of the trip consisted of more gabbing, good food & plenty of laughs...
It was a wonderful couple days.
Thanks again, B&L...I can't wait to come back & go out on the lake!

On our drive home [which felt like the longest drive EVER!!]
we stopped in Morro Bay to eat an early dinner
& pick up some Salt Water Taffy :)

What a crazy huge rock formation, huh?

This was the nicest weekend I have had in a long, long time...
I am going to be sad to leave this beautiful state,
as well as my family & friends...

But we all must move forward into the future, I suppose...

"Every moment before this one depends on this one." 
xoxo 

Pillow Talk

Remember in my very first post when I mentioned all of the things I wanted to find/make for my future Portland apartment? 

Well...I actually finished one of my DIY projects!

Last night, my wonderful grandma helped me finish my
table napkin throw pillows!

[Note that this was  not so easy for me, really, because I don't have enough patience to sew on a button, 

let alone a bunch of pillows!]

As I mentioned previously, I had already picked up a couple cute patterned napkins from World Market:

& yesterday I picked up a couple more solid-color napkins to make 

a total of four pillows.

Sewing was pretty easy once the machine was threaded
& my grandma taught me:
"It's kind of like driving, you just have to press the peddle and drive straight!"

Needless to say, there was some drunk driving that occurred,
but luckily no casualties. 

(besides a small burn from the iron, hah)

 Speaking of ironing- did you know you can steam, iron and stretch fabric so that it's all the right size? I had no idea, I would have just sewed them crooked, hah.

They ended up turning out very cute!  And in just a short evening :)

Most importantly the supplies cost less than $30 (for all 4 pillows!).

[$1.99-$2.99 per napkin from world market, $8-$10 for stuffing from JoAnnes]

I couldn't have done it without the help of my lovely grandma [Thanks Gma!!], and I am pretty sure I will be wrangling her into more projects before the big move in August! 

Stay tuned! 

xoxo

Diddy Riese

I realize that I have been slacking, so I will be sharing a special California favorite this week...

This time it is in LA, rather than SD.

____________DIDDY RIESE!!!!_____________

I feel as though I must scream DIDDY RIESE because it is THAT good.

Seriously, this place serves the most off-the-charts, ridiculously-amazing, magnificently-fantastic homemade cookies you have EVER tasted in your WHOLE LIFE.

Nestled in Westwood [which is WAY to close to my lab at UCLA],

this place always has a line out the door & down the block...

You can pick up a dozen cookies for [literally] a few bucks, 

& the most delicious cookie-ice-cream-sandwich you have ever tasted will only 

set you back $1.50.

My personal favorite is two chocolate chip cookies with either vanilla or mint chocolate chip ice cream in the middle.

I will really, really miss Diddy Riese when I leave, & I might just have my friends ship them up to Portland for me ;)

If you are ever in LA, I highly recommend you stop by this joint.  Don't let the line scare you, it is worth the wait, trust me.

xoxo