Wednesday's Wine.

One of my favorite wines makes a Moscato d'Asti. To my surprise our local Target carries a great selection of wines these days. That is where I found the Cupcake Moscato. I hope the next time we make it to Monterey Cupcake Vineyards is open to the public for wine tasting and tours. As of right now they are not :(

One night we had breakfast for dinner so I thought a Mimosa would be perfect. It was delish.

Summer Concerts.

Over the last month we have been lucky enough to make it to a couple concerts. That means a couple date nights. The concert last week was on Ryan vacation so it was nice to get a babysitter for the night and go out to eat before the show and not have to rush home for bedtime. The concert last month was on a work night so poor Ryan only got about 3 hours or so of sleep.
Last week we went and saw Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich, and Cowboy Troy. It was an awesome show. The best part was it was a smaller venue so you could see pretty good from every seat. The way they had their play list set up was pretty cool. The kinda went back and forth, Gretchen Wilson would play and sing in their songs and they would do the same with her songs.
And I could definitely people watch there all day long. For sure some interesting looking people;) I almost started taking random pictures of people because it would have made for an awesome post....hahaha.
Sometimes I just can't get over what some people wear. It's mind boggling.

Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich.

Last month we went to see Sugarland. I LOVE Jennifer Nettles! She is so freaking HOT! Next time I told Ryan we are going in the front row, whether he likes it or not. I order the tickets anyway so I will just surprise him once we get there. Plus it will give me more room to dance...hehehe.  We couldn't see all that great from where we were sitting, eventually we moved and ended up standing (that way I could shake my booty). It was just too far away. But we also saw them a week after that horrible accident in Indiana where a wind storm came and their whole stage collapsed ending in tragedy. So we were thinking they probably didn't have their usual stage set-up that might have had some jumbo tron screens. It was still an awesome show and I would for sure go see them again.

Sugarland.

And these pictures were taken with the phone. Oh how I love my new iPhone! And I am loving Instagram. I am totally obsessed with both;)  The last concert we went to before these two was Nickelback and that was last fall so we were over due for a show.

Have you been to any good concerts lately?

Oh and a random question.....Does anyone have the upgraded Picnik? And is it worth getting?

Family Fun.

Last month we took the kids to Marine World (that's what I call it). I think it's really called Discovery Kingdom Six Flags or something. Growing up it was always Marine World to me but when they started adding roller coaster rides to the park it became Six Flags. The boys had a blast and Cameron is still asking to go back;)

 Looking at the dolphins. Why can't he look at the camera?!

 Watching the sea lion show, it was cut short because Cameron had to take a potty break.

 Easton did not want his picture taken.

 The cute little dolphins.

 Standing in line to ride the go-carts.

 All buckled in and ready to go.

 He absolutely loved the go-carts and talked about it for days.

 Poor Easton couldn't go and he was pissed! Maybe next year he will be tall enough.

 Checking out the tiger.

 He wanted to see the giraffes so bad, he probably asked about them like a million times.

 The butterfly exhibit, one of my favorite things there. Couldn't take many pictures because I had both kids with me. Ryan stayed with the stroller (no strollers allowed) so it made picture taking difficult.

 Feeding the sea lions.

 We could have stayed here forever. The boys were so content watching the dolphins and the best part was there was hardly any people here. They had the whole area to themselves. I wish I had this at home.

 Easton was so cute chasing them back and forth.

 They would swim towards the glass and he would run away, it was so funny.

 Cameron called this the little monster truck ride. We were both surprised he wanted to ride it. He even said he wanted to go on a big roller coaster ride.....YEAH RIGHT!

 Dad had to ride it with them so I could take pictures;)

 There was a huge playground (we did this last) and of course they didn't want to leave.

 We were still there for the last whale show of the day. The first show Shouka the whale was not listening and the show was cut short but now the sun had started going down and it got chilly real quick.

 This was the second show we saw. Much better jump than the first show.

 Easton taking a cat nap during the first show. It kinda worked out good that we came back for the second one so he could see it too.

Why can't he look at the friggin camera?!

We will for sure go back next year. Maybe even more than once. Both the boys had a blast and as the get older they enjoy things like this so much more. I love seeing their reactions and I love hearing what Cameron has to say about it all.

Hello.

HELLO! We are back from our little trip. I feel like I have been gone forever and I have lots of catching up to do. We had a great time on our little getaway. And the rest of the week is pretty full too. Can't wait to type up a "real" post and share some pictures from the beautiful northern California coast. I also have some stuff from the past month or so to share.  I hope you will stick around and bear with me. Getting on the computer isn't my number one priority...sorry folks.
Stay tuned.......

Saturday Sweetness.

This recipe I posted last year when I first started this blog and thought I would share it again since it's one of our favorites. My Grandma makes this only once a year around the holidays. On New Years Day her and my Grandma have the family over to celebrate the New Year and EAT. My family loves to eat {Italians....what can I say?!}.

My Grandma makes some salads....pasta, potato, and a bean salad. She has meat and cheese trays to make your own little deli roll sandwiches. My Aunt usually makes the lil smokies in the crockpot and of course we have the usually chips and dip. It's a huge feast and everyone always looks forward to it. We just hang out all day eat and watch college football {Grandma is obsessed with college football}.
A few years ago I made this cake for the first time and now I have the recipe so every once in awhile Ryan puts in a request for it. It's really easy and hecka good!

Better Than Sex Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of german chocolate cake mix

14 oz. can Eagle sweetened condensed milk

14 oz. bag Kraft caramels (these are hard to find. This year I used an 11 oz. bag of melting caramels and they worked just fine. Anywhere between 10-14 oz of caramels should work fine)

3/4 cup butter
1 cup walnuts
12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350

I line the cake pan with parchment paper, make it a little easier to get out. Make cake mix according to directions on box and pour half into cake pan.

Let cake cool.

As cake is cooling make caramel sauce.

Pour caramel sauce over cake. 

 Then add walnuts.

Then add chocolate chips. 

Then add the other half of cake batter. As you can tell I misjudged the first half that was poured on the bottom and didn't have enough to cover the top.....oh well it tasted just as good.  And bake for another 20 minutes or so.

 Of course we had to have a piece fresh out of the oven so it was nice and gooey.

 Cut into squares after it has cooled.

YUM!!!!

Directions:

Make cake mix according to directions on box.
Line 9x13 pan with parchment paper. It doesn't have to be perfect. Usually one long piece will work, just makes it easier to remove when all done cooking.
Pour half cake batter into pan and bake at 350.
Melt caramel w/milk and butter.
After cake cools pour caramel mixture on top of cake then add the nuts and chocolate chips then pour remaining cake batter on top, bake for about 20 minutes.

Cut into small or large squares to serve.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Vacation for us starts today probably around 4:00 or so when Ryan gets home from work....WHOOOOHOOOO. I love having him home on vacation. He is always so rested and much happier;) plus this time we are getting away and have lots of other stuff planned for the week as well. We will be busy busy all week long but it's all good.

Oh Pinterest.

I am so in love with Pinterest. Before I had an iPhone I had never gone to their website or really even knew exactly what it was. I had seen other bloggers post about it but never really paid attention until I got an iPhone. Now I am so obsessed with it. I could look at pictures for hours. I just started making some boards and repining pictures. It is such a great idea!

I have seen so many cool ideas for organization, activities to do with the boys, DIY home decor, and lets not forget all the yummy food. I have been obsessing over getting some boots and have seen a ton of different pairs paired up with super cute outfits.

Source: twotwenty-one.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

I love wine corks so much. We save our corks and I just love this idea. I created a board named "Ideas for Wine Corks", I have found a couple other great ideas as well.



One day I wish to have a little craft corner. So this picture is posted on my "Craft Corner Inspiration" board. I love all the pink but doubt I would do it in pink since my little corner will be out in our living space.

Source: madebylova.wordpress.com via Jessica on Pinterest

This little creation I just absolutely LOVE. I so wish I could pull off wearing this. Isn't it so pretty?! I am really thinking about getting one. I just have no idea where I would ever it....date night maybe?

Source: etsy.com via Lauren on Pinterest

This picture is just AWESOME.....I LOVE IT! I am waiting for my BFF's boyfriend to pop the big question. Hopefully it's any freaking day now and when she finally does get married this is what we will be doing.

Source: momentjunkie.com via Sarah on Pinterest



I have "liked" so many pictures and just started to create boards and I am having so much fun. And I love that I can do it from my phone. I wish I could post all the pictures I have liked. Such great ideas. I can't get over how much I love Pinterest!
Anyone else obsessed?!

One Week Away.

One week from today I will be enjoying a nice relaxing day in Mendocino. I will be well rested and ready to enjoy a round of golf, hopefully a massage, a little shopping, a few cocktails and glasses of wine, nice and quiet meals, and most important some QUALITY time with the hubby.

Sunday My husband starts vacation and we are going on a little getaway without the boys. It has been one year exactly since our last getaway to Mendocino. We were there the same week last year {kinda weird how he picked the same week without even knowing it}.


Of course as you can tell this map was provided by Google.  I have never tried inserting a map in a post before, so that's probably why it looks funny. I have no idea what I am doing half the time. I hope I was allowed to use it on my page. Please forgive if not;)

Mendocino is about a 4.5 hour drive from where we live {Sacramento area}. The first hour is all freeway but then after that it goes down to a 2 lane road all the way there. And about 2.5 hours into the trip we start going through redwoods, which is so awesome and beautiful, especially when the sun is shining through.

I am so looking forward to this little trip but I am already thinking of how much I will miss the boys. We will only be gone 2 nights and 3 days but the boys will be going to Grandma's a day early because we made plans with some friends. We are meeting them for breakfast and a day of golf to celebrate our friends birthday. So we will be dropping the boys off bright and early at Grandma's Sunday. We will probably go back over there later that day because that's like 4 full days without seeing them, I have never been away from them that long. It may not seem long to some but it is for me when I am with them ALL the time. And yes I do need a break {a major one} and they do drive me insane most days but that doesn't mean I won't miss their crazy butts.

Here are a few pictures from last year's Mendo trip.

 Playing a little golf {gotta love those pictures you have to take yourself}

 Another self took picture:) The damp foggy weather is NOT good for my hair. It makes for a very bad hair day. Anyone have any hair product recommendations for curly frizzy hair that gets flat ironed?

 This was the view from our hotel room balcony.

This is at an awesome winery, I would have so had my wedding here if we lived anywhere near here.

 A view from the winery.

And another view from the winery. We are hoping to maybe have a little picnic here or at least a little snack;)

Keeping our fingers crossed the sun decides to shine this trip:)
I am so excited. This time I will have my new camera. And I can't wait to take pictures. I am going to have so much fun taking all sorts of pictures. I am so going to look like a tourist walking everywhere with my camera around my neck but I so do not care at all. I think it's so neat to take pictures of random things so you can tell your story through your pictures.