So many posts, so little time!!

 Ugh, I have not officially updated my blog in ages!! Although, I have started about five potential posts I have yet to finish one since my birthday weekend.  This is so ironic to me since I have been preaching at Charlie to "FINISH STRONG" during these last three weeks of finals!  Today, is fairly slow at the front desk so I decided I would make myself post something! :)  It's more like a conglomeration of all of my potential posts, so I apologize in advance for the randomness. 

It seems like our lives lately have revolved around eating! Because we worked on Thanksgiving Day, we did not get to be with our family.  However, Dean Sturgeon and his family prepared a delicious feast for us and other students who couldn't make the trip home. I contributed two of Charlie's favorite dishes, Strawberry Pretzel Salad and Squash Casserole.  There was SO MUCH FOOD.  I got home at 6:00 that night and went straight to bed and didn't wake up until work the next morning! :) 

So, besides Thanksgiving Charlie and I have been in full blown exam mode! I made this calendar to help him stay focused and motivated during this intense study time.

Since he doesn't have much time for breaks, we have made meal times our break times!  When we lived in Birmingham, Charlie and I found a list of the Top 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die. We had SO MUCH FUN traveling all over the state just to cross a restaurant off of our list.  When we got to Malibu, I soon realized that an important part of our job was to make dinner recommendations to guests so Charlie and I decided to keep the tradition going of eating at as many new places as our budget would allow.    

Our latest find is a small Thai place called Cholada in Malibu.  It's right off PCH and looks like a simple, small blue shack, BUT the food is amazing!  I told Charlie that I wanted us to become 'locals' at this restaurant 1) Because it's Thai food and sounds exotic and 2) because this restaurant is one of the few in Malibu that is actually in our price range!!!  He begrudgingly agreed. :)

Another great breakfast stop we have recently tried is about a two minute drive from Casa Malibu and is called Country Kitchen.  As you can see, it's nothing fancy and is just a walk-up window restaurant but the breakfast burritos and breakfast sandwiches kept us full until mid afternoon!! I was a little skeptical of eating a sandwich with mayo/lettuce/tomato before 10:00 in the morning but I was SO wrong.  This was another hit!

As I reflected on why Charlie and I love sharing meals together and have made it a point to eat together every night (even if it's at the front desk) I was reminded of a chapter in Pilgrim Heart that is called 'Feasting: Memory and Mealtimes.'  Darryl Tippens talks about how a meal uses so many of our senses- the aroma of food cooking, the holding of hands as the food is blessed, the sight of the food that has been prepared, and the sound of other's voices as you engage in conversation and how these all work together to make such deep memories.  He also talks about the many references in scripture to meals both secular and sacred.  I love this verse he quotes,

"Day by day...they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people." Acts 2:46    

This verse reminds me of the importance of having others into our home to share a meal AND to not forget to praise God for the 'simple' blessings like food we enjoy too much of! :) 

HERBS

 

I am trying to keep my  herb garden alive but it is really difficult!  Thankfully, the lavender we planted back in early October is doing well so I used this to make Lavender Butter.  I found a recipe with only three ingredients.  This was a hit with our small group:

1 cup Salted Butter
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh lavender
Mix these together and serve on hot rolls!

Charlie and I are so excited to watch the Iron Bowl in just a few minutes.  Then, we plan on spending the rest of the day with him studying and me compiling his packets to send out for judicial externships for this summer.  Thankfully, I have some pork in the crock pot that I will use to make my first batch of Brunswick Stew tonight!!  I never thought I would think of 60 degrees as cold enough for soup weather, but I officially do! :)  RTR!
  

Birthday Weekend!!

Last Friday my MOM came to visit us in Malibu!  We had the BEST time celebrating my birthday!!  Since there are so many things I have never done in L.A. I thought it would be fun for us to go to the "Farmer's Market" dowtown that I have heard so much about. There is a good one here in Malibu every Sunday, but I have read so many great things about the one in L.A. that I thought we had to check it out.  Well...it wasn't exactly what we expected.  :)  I so wish we would've taken a picture...there was only ONE tiny tent of someone selling fresh fruits and the rest of this place was a full blown outdoor mall.  It also had a plethora of unique restaurant options.  I think some people really enjoy this kind of food/atmosphere but to me, it felt like we were at the county fairgrounds so I was unable to get too excited about the menus!  :) After this experience we were in serious need of something sweet!

We hopped over to Beverly Hills and stopped in at Sprinkles Cupcakes.  Now these definitely met and exceeded our expectations!  Their famous red velvet cupcake was our favorite and although we only ordered one, they threw in an extra cupcake when my mom told them she had flown in all the way from Kansas JUST to taste one of their cupcakes! :) We also tried a carmel cupcake that was good, and got a chocolate one...unfortunately Charlie devoured this one along with his red velvet cupcake so I can't comment on how delicious the chocolate tasted!

We delivered the cupcakes to Charlie while he was at school so he took a quick study break and gave us his tour of must-see spots on campus.

The next day Charlie spent studying which left ALL day for Mom and me to shop, shop, shop!  First, Joel took our picture on the beach then we were off.

We had such a successful day shopping that the sales ladies started asking us if we wanted to put our bags in a dressing room while we looked around!! Haha that has never happened before!

Of course an intense shopping day is only complete by coming home to a delicious meal!! We had mom's famous fried chicken, strawberry pretzel salad, mashed potatoes, and salad!  Plus, she brought some special edition dark chocolate and mint chips which we used to make Charlie's favorite cookies.  Not only did he love them, but the cookies also helped calm him down from the intense LSU/BAMA game.  Thankfully they pulled out a win...we won't even talk about this Saturday.  So sad.  (I had to give Charlie the 'It's just a game speech' so he could get back to memo writing.)

Sunday we heard a great lesson at University Church at Pepperdine then went to eat at Tra Di Noi in the Country Mart!  We ordered at the to-go counter and got to enjoy the gorgeous weather outside!

That afternoon we went to Zuma Beach before my birthday dinner at Geoffrey's which was AMAZING!

For my birthday breakfast Monday, Mom made my absolute favorite thing in the world...coffee ring!!  Not only does it taste like a slice of Heaven, but the smell lingers in your house for hours!
I'm sad to admit we consumed the entire thing by Tuesday morning.

A big thank you to everyone who made me feel so loved and special on November 5th! :)  I can't imagine a better family!!!

Trick or Treat - Remix

This Halloween was unlike any other!  Instead of trick-or-treating after dark, we began at 4:30 in the afternoon.  Rather than going to houses, we went to vendors in the Skid-Row area around 7th and San Pedro.  Instead of the orange pumpkin buckets I remember carrying as a child, a local elementary school donated AMAZING bags for the kids to carry, complete with a hand written note of encouragement on each one. And although no one wore a new costume, these kids couldn't have been prouder of the ones they were wearing!

Wednesday was spent with my sweet friends downtown.  We began our afternoon with these festive treats! I was thrilled to finally put Pinterest to good use and actually make some of the goodies I had pinned.  The Mandarin oranges with pumpkin faces were a big hit!  And while the hot dog mummies seemed like a good idea, most kids tore off the bread and only ate the hot dog because the mummies were a little "too scary to eat." :) Precious.

After snacks, the students who did not have a costume and those needing to add a little extra punch to the one they had, got to go 'shopping' thanks to a few students from Pepperdine who donated Halloween costumes for the kids.  They were ecstatic and loved trying on everything. The most popular item on the table: Fake Blood!

Now for the best part- These are the awesome bags!!!

 

 

School on Wheels distributed candy to the vendors in the area so we were able to trick-or-treat everywhere from the Fire Station to the Smoothie Shop!  What a special memory for these precious kids!!

 



 



Truly inspired! :)