Friday, July 30, 2010

Knott's Berry Farm

On Tuesday, Zack and I went with the Pasadena Covenant youth group to Knott's Berry farm! Knott's is sort of a cross between King's Island and Cedar Point. We only took two students, but we still had a really great time! We got there right as the park opened at 10am, so we were able to ride many of the rides with little to no wait! Here are some pictures from our day:



The X-celerator- similar to Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster...terrifying!



Waiting in line for the Pony Express ride! A unique favorite of the day.



In line for the X-celerator...seriously rethinking this life choice :)



Ryan and Zack aren't scared of the X-celerator. So brave!



Finished the day with dinner at Johnny Rocket's!

It was a wonderful, tiring day! So glad we got to know some students in the youth group!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Best. Muffins. Ever.

I've never really enjoyed baking. I've always been more of a "cooking" person- constant activity, lots of chopping, all that good stuff.

Rewind life to our wedding shower. If you were there, you know that we received an abundance of cupcake ware. Perhaps it was a sign?

I've been baking frequently since we arrived in Pasadena. The first thing was White Chocolate Chai cupcakes, which were pretty excellent. The next "experiment" was blueberry muffins. I made these as a child, and always enjoyed the subtle sweetness. Unfortunately, my first attempt at making these muffins didn't quite meet my expectations. They were not sweet, and very, very small.

But then, today, I happened across a blog that changed my (baking) life.

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/

Joy the baker- she's just a normal girl, close to my age, who lives in LA and loves to bake. And does she know how to bake! I had a hunch that these muffins were going to be awesome just by reading the reviews, so I documented the whole experience.







You can (and should) visit Joy's blog to get the recipe, but I will let you in on the key: BROWNED BUTTER. I've never done brown butter before, but oh my. It pretty much makes the muffin taste like caramel, but not overly sweet. Just the perfect, most moist, incredible blueberry muffin I've ever tasted.

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into our kitchen! Don't worry, we'll be heading outside of the apartment (and outside of Pasadena!) for my next entry. Can't wait to share our next adventure with you!


Saturday, July 24, 2010

Apartment Gardening

In case you've missed the news: Zack and I are still unemployed, and living in one of the most expensive places...ever? Or at least that we've ever lived! It's been easy to dwell on the negativity of the situation, but it's more enjoyable to be innovative and find less expensive things to do.

That said, today we created an indoor herb garden! Small pleasantry, but still a lot of fun. I've never really gardened before but I've always enjoyed mud and today was no exception. Packing the soil, watering the plants (and the table, and the floor...we forgot to get a watering can!), and seeing the plants all lined up on our table was such a relaxing experience. Of course, it makes me crave some personal yard space, but that will come later! For now, we have our small window garden to keep us content.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Greetings

Hello all-

I'm trying this again. Stick with me, and encourage me to stick with you! I'm looking forward to sharing the next two years with you via my humble blog!

First "real" entry coming soon.