Zippin' in Santa Cruz

 I highly recommend a visit to Mt. Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours near Santa Cruz. Jeanine, Colin and I had a blast, thanks to the beautiful redwood forest, the thrill of the zip lines, and our energetic yet chill tour guides, Jim and ... I forget the other guys name, but he was great! He took the great photo of us above by trying out lots of different angles. It was a photo shoot amongst the redwoods.

 Here I am zippin'. Colin really perfected the "leisurely zip."

 After all that exertion, we treated ourselves to a delicious slice at Pizza My Heart on Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. Delish!

 Then for dessert, with much anticipation on my part, we hit up The Penny Ice Creamery! I read about Penny a year or so ago, perhaps in Sunset magazine, and have been waiting to try it ever since! The Bitter Caramel (the special of the day) certainly lived up to Penny's hype!

Colin got the special topping of the day: Toasted Marshmallow Fluff!

All in all it was a great day!

Babies, Brides and Bundts

It's been a busy week+ prepping for my presentation at work, but now it's over and I can get back to blogging!
There is lots to catch up on! I did tons of gluten-free baking over Father's Day weekend, and attended a beautiful bridal shower for a dear friend. One week ago my lovely cousin Liesl gave birth to an adorble little baby girl. Gary and I attended a swanky event supporting the American Cancer Society on Friday night. And then this past weekend Jeanine (Gary's cousin) and I started our summer of adventure by zip-lining with Colin in Mt. Hermon, near Sana Cruz. It was great fun!
Other summer adventures to come:
-Paddleboard Yoga
-Aerial Fitness Class
-Hike Half Dome!
-White water rafting and camping
-Intense 4th of July baking

 BABY, BUNDT CAKE, and the BRIDE-TO-BE

Party Prep

I have big plans for the Fourth of July. I want to make a pretty dessert table complete with red, white and blue bunting, a flag cake, sprinkle-spangled cookies, and some gluten free options such a red velvet cupcakes or cake pops. Maybe even homemade popsicles. Oh and fruit skewers. There are so many ideas out there! I compiled a bunch of them on pinterest, of course.


Photos via Hostess with the Mostest and HGTV Blog

The Future Me

This is my future. Right here. This is what I want. In order, I want...
a. That Jadeite Cake Stand
b. A Frenchie!
c. A Yellow Lab
d. This entire kitchen - mason jar oats & honey and all.
Thank you Erin for the inspiration!
This is kind of embarrassing but this photo is the background of my work computer.
One day my friend Rebecca saw it and said that it looks like me- the hair, the body type.
Compliment!

Jadeite Cake Stand

 

I am obsessed with Miette right one. One just opened here in Marin and I haven't spent nearly enough time (or money) there. I blame that on the diet (which ends this Friday). 

More specifically I am obsessed with this Jadeite Cake Stand. It is on my wishlist for whatever holiday is coming next. Birthday?! It's for sale here. I also saw it here. (This shop is so darn cute but I'll save that for another post).
I have been dreaming of bakeries lately and if I were to open one I would certainly use Miette as inspiration. It is so colorful and whimsical. I would go for "rustic charm." (Not unlike Moss & Daughters!) But with baked goods. Now I'm on to something...

Feeling the Neon

The day after the S.C.H.I.T we still hadn't had enough cornhole, so we played a few games in the yard. Turns out Ryan and I were an UNBEATABLE team! (I think it was my neon powers!)

The S.C.H.I.T

This year Gary and I (aka Baggin' and Braggin') participated in the 5th Annual Sausalito Cornhole Invitational Tournament (S.C.H.I.T) for our second year. Last year we made it to the semi-final round, and I was named the long-standing woman in the event's four year history. We had big hopes for this year.

 It was a beautiful day in Sausalito. About forty or fifty teams entered the competition, including Gary's parents, Team Holesome Couple.

 And my Dad and brother, Ryan- Team Bagadellic, Baby!

 Gary and I made it to the Sweet 16 round with a 2-1 record and one amazing nail-biter game finish in which Gary holed all FOUR bags in the final round (=12 points!).

 Here I am baggin'. Unfortunately in another close game we lost to Bombs Over Bag'dads. They went on the win the whole tourney! (That made us feel better). The same thing happened to us last year. We were eliminated from the semi-finals by the Cornfathers, who became the champions.

 Overall it was a great day and we were proud of ourselves! (But determined to kick butt next year!)