July: hello and goodbye

is it really the end of july?!
it seems like just yesterday i exploring the wonders of europe.
maybe this month has flown by because it's been a busy one.
here's my july recap.

 went on a life-threatening camping adveture with these ladies.

 last weekend, my freshman year roommate traveled north

to celebrate a very special lady and her newest addition.

not only did we have a great time partying,

we also took deanna to her first giants game!

an amazing weekend with some incredibly special people.

this past weekend was destined for greatest.

it all started with a visit with kimber.

our friendship has been long distance for the past two and half years,

so spending time together in person is absolutely treasured.

friday was my sister's birthday

and what better way to spend it than at the yard?

club level, toms, and corn dogs.

all was well until the "varsity blues" speech on the jumbo tron.

never a good sign at a giants game.

 on saturday, we decided to adventure.

we drove to tiburon in the north bay 

and took the ferry to angel island.

we hiked the five mile perimeter of the island.

a very doable, paved hike on an absolutely beautiful day!

on sunday, laura and i took our sisters out for their birthdays.

it's one of my favorite adult life traditions.

we took the sunol wine train.

even though we don't know much about wine,

it was still a super fun day!

this summer has been fabulous thus far.

europe in june,

stay-cations in july.

i can only imagine the fun that august will unlock!

cincerely,

cindy

three year friendversary

The summer of 2010 marked one of the 
best summers in my 27 year history. 
One of the factors influencing its greatness 
was meeting new friends. 
A couple of us like to celebrate when we met. 
Last year, we slept in a yurt and hiked in Yosemite. 
We weren't sure that this year's reunion would 
happen since one of us is living overseas. 
But we were so grateful that it happened!

Our rules:

1) spend time together

2) do something outdoorsy and adventurous

3) not shower 

Pretty simple, yea?

We met up and headed to Pescadero, 
a quaint coastal town between San Francisco and San Jose.

We explored the town a bit, 
but were sad that the goat farm was closed. 

We made our way to the campsite in memorial park. 
We dominated camp set up. 

 

To celebrate, we headed out on a short hike 
and took some time to explore. 
The redwood trees were amazing!

We spent time catching up,

eating s'mores, and scaring away raccoons.

maybe potentially being scared by them, too. 

it rained overnight, so we forwent the 

longer hike the next day.

we cleaned up camp, had some breakfast in half moon bay,

and spent the afternoon just kickin' it. 

all in all, an amazing time!
grateful for such amazing friends
and can't wait for more potential fun later this month!



cincerely,


*wanna-be rugged* cindy

10 on 10: a midsummer's day

happy 10 on 10!
i love this day.
day shift 10 on 10's are hard
and not very interesting.
all the fun stuff can't be photographed 
because of this little thing called "hippa."
so rude.

anyway, hope you enjoy a glimpse into this crazy day!

early morning salad making

split pea soup fog-

in july

messy is a way of life

i took the last piece

day shift "c" crowd

hangin these signs suck

 mid shift pick me up

i don't think the fog lifted once today

commuter jams

best way to end a work day.

happy mid summer y'all!

cincerely,

cindy

Post Vacation PinterTest Kitchen

welp, i just got back from vacation.
i know it's the fourth of july and all,
but i didn't have much interest in making something patriotic.

instead, i thought i'd go with something inspired by my time overseas.
in italy, i ate the best lasagna i have ever consumed.
so i decided to attempt true, italian lasagna.
but in order to do that, i'd have to make the sauce from scratch.

this homemade pasta sauce looked so promising,

but, guys, it wasn't good. 
stay away.
buy the jar stuff.
it's the most patriotic thing you could do.
this recipe earns itself a measly one blonde.

i was so disappointed, that i needed to try 
something that i knew would taste good.
so i went with bananas foster from 
the "all recipes dinner spinner" app.
(which, by the way, you need if you don't already have it.)

the picture doesn't do it justice.
i give it four and a half blondes
(deductions for being a little too sweet).


i hope you get a chance to try the easy bananas foster recipe.
if you have a good recipe for homemade pasta sauce, please enlighten me!


happy fourth!
be patriotic and link up with Jess:




cincerely,

*a still jet lagged* cindy