my favorite veterans.

are these men.  i'm being biased since these are my brothers (by marriage).  actually, all veterans rock.  because of them, we're free.  we're free to vote- or not vote.  free to talk openly about religion, criticize the government, read anything we desire & have unlimited access to tons and tons of information.  and that's totally cool.

i didn't grow up in a military house, so while we appreciated and admired the dedication of the service members, we didn't live with the day-to-day commitments that are part of the job.  as matter of fact, when a. decided to join the army, i was less than thrilled.  we were dating at the time and deep down, i knew he was the one.  but committing to him & the military?  now that was asking way too much.  but love conquered all and as the stories have told, a. & i began our life in the military.  it's been a wonderful and rocky road.  full of adventures and challenges, deployments and togetherness.  it's opened many doors for us and for that, we'll always be thankful.  


veterans day hits very close to home for us and our families.  as you can see, there's a few fantastic men serving & sacrificing for us from this family.  but it's something they love doing and a job they're happy to have.  they're part of a united group of people working together with a similar mission: to keep this country safe, to keep this country free, and to do their part in making the world a better place.  without all the veterans and those still serving, these seemingly simple ideas that we so often take for granted, wouldn't be possible.  

so for every veteran out there, past & present- thank you.  seriously.  thank YOU.

keep the u.s. weird.

it's our national duty, doncha know.  for the most part, as a. and i drove across the u.s., all we saw were miles and miles of trees, farmland, and desert.  every now and again however, we'd stumble upon a true american anomaly: the tourist trap.  & fall for them, we did.

two of these traps in particular are worth noting.  about 10 miles into minnesota we drove by franconia sculpture park- actually, the farthest thing from a tourist trap.  i suggested we stop and a. surprisingly, agreed.  we walked past tons of unique structures and sculptures made from found objects, some more random than others.  the park was bright and inviting- despite the 35 degree weather- with walking paths, an outdoor amphitheater, and open air studio.

we strolled through the moguls of grass to the graffiti panels, past the suspended house and radio tower.  one of my favorites sculptures was made with found letters.  first, because i love any and all things text and second, the stark white against the blue sky, was gorg.  we walked through the park taking pictures (of course) and marveling in the uniqueness of it all.  totally a true american relic.

the next day, after hours and hours of nothingness, we started passing some interesting attractions throughout south dakota.  ready for a break and eager to make more memories, we settled on 1880 town; a quirky replication of a town in the late 1800's.  since we were there off-season, it was quiet so they weren't offering reenactments   regardless, we were suckered into the mysterious-ness of the place and paid to enter.

more than any place we've ever been or seen throughout our travels, this was the real deal.  a real tourist trap deal.  we made the most of it by walking the empty street, taking plenty of random photos and of course, made our own duel in the middle of said, empty street.  we had fun regardless of the tackiness & massive amount of feral cats.  because that's just how we roll.

let's be honest, road trips aren't road trips without quirky americana.  both of these stops added so much to what could have been an otherwise normal, cross-country trip.  what about you?  are you up for keeping america weird and if so, what's your favorite stop?

bake 20: pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling.

my sister, is a rock star.  knowing i needed some serious help to finish my bake 20 challenge, she offered to teach me a new and fantastically yummy fall recipe.  this pumpkin bread is not only delish, but so versatile   it makes a great bread, bundt cake, or even muffins.  despite the amount of ingredients & steps, it's also surprisingly simple.  one last awesome factor: it's perfect for the holidays.

pumpkin bread with cream cheese filling

for pumpkin bread:
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (or learn how to make your own)
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans (optional)

cream cheese filling:
1 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

streusel topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 stick of butter

directions:
preheat over to 325.  sift dry ingredients and set aside.  beat eggs in large bowl, slowly adding oil and sugar.  cream well.  add pumpkin puree and vanilla.  slowly add dry ingredients, mixing well.  add nuts.  chill batter in the fridge while making cream cheese frosting and streusel.

for the cream cheese filling, beat egg in large bowl.  add sugar and beat until combined.  add cream cheese, vanilla and lemon juice, beating until smooth.  set aside.

for streusel, mix dry ingredients together.  cut butter into the mixture.  mixture will be crumbly and sandy looking.  set aside in a cool, dry place.

spoon pumpkin batter into the bottom of buttered pans (two 4x8 inch loaf pans, one bundt pan, or four muffin tins), a little less than halfway.  create a well in the middle of the batter and add cream cheese frosting with a spoon.  add more pumpkin mixture on top of the cream cheese filling, filling the pans 3/4 of the way.  add streusel to the top of the bread/muffins and bake for about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean.

note: when cooked, cream cheese frosting shouldn't be seen from the sides, only the center of the bread/muffins.

a huge thanks to lindsay for helping me get one step closer to my goal!

this was #9 of the bake 20 challenge.
............................................................................................................................................................

over the next five months i'm going to try my hand at 20 different baked goods.  there's no specific order and no plan.  just making things that look good and hopefully in the process, finding a new appreciation of baking.  feel free to join me in the Bake 20 Challenge.

the color run // san diego.

by now, you've likely heard of the color run.  you know the one.  where droves of people dressed in white, tutus, and rainbow wigs come together to run a 5k, all the while being assaulted with tons & tons of colored powder.

well. last weekend, i was one of those crazies.  & i loved every minute of it.  when i found out we were officially moving back to san diego, i called my sister and asked if she wanted to participate.  without hesitation, she said yes.  and our team was born.

introducing team colorburst.  without hesitation, this is hands-down, one of the best 5k's out there.  it's not timed, so we were able to enjoy the race as a team & they allowed strollers.  originally, we weren't going to bring the kiddos, but man, were we glad we did.  they made the race.  we would have enjoyed ourselves without the kids, but it would have taken us much less time to finish, we likely wouldn't have stopped to make powder angles in the colored dust, or had a random color fight in the middle of the course.  yep, we were totally those people.  

after crossing the finish line, we joined all the finishers in a color festival.  we re-learned the cupid shuffle (one of those dances that once learned and after a brief refresher, comes back to you in no time) & danced together in the morning heat.

the last hoorah was a final color explosion.  after counting down from 10, everyone shot their color packets high into the sky and soon, brightly colored dust was everywhere.  & it was awesome.  we cheered and danced in the colored smoke, willing it to land on us to finalize our personal colored masterpiece.

by the end, we were a fantastically colorful, hot mess.  so much so, it took days for some of the powder (mostly blue) to finally come off...but that's beside the point.check to see if you have a color run coming to your city (the color run or color me rad).  then sign up!  trust me, you'll be so glad you did!

octob-stagram

i'm still obsessed with instagram.  i can't help myself, it's my absolute fave social media medium.  my favorite part?  recapping each month in these little insta-grids.  there are so many days when i wonder why i blog.  when i think, my life really isn't that interesting & why would people want to read these little thoughts.  but then, then- i pull together my instagram feed (and stumble upon other subtle reminders along the way) & it all comes back to me: i'm doing what i love and loving what i do...so why wouldn't i want to share such awesomeness (even on the smallest scale) with you?