fears: conquered

So I have used to have a fear of handstands, as in, handstands against the wall or free-standing. Weird, seeing as I used to do gymnastics and all sorts of flips on the trampoline.... It's like as soon as I "grew up", these fears developed. Well, as of a few weeks ago, thanks to Crossfit and Brian and some of his friends, I conquered the handstand.

 Even though it's just up against the wall... for now...

  I am damn proud of it!

oh, and i'm slightly obsessed with the instagram app on my new iphone. I just love all the different color tones you can use to change a photo!

nectarine the size of a softball!

deeeeeelicious pizza for dinner 

from Eclipse Pizza

my superman

spontaneity

Yesterday was the perfect Sunday.

 After seeing Crazy Stupid Love Saturday night and making dinner in my home town with Brian, a relaxing day was a good way to end the weekend. 

First idea? spend the day, lounging on the beach in beautiful Lake Tahoe.... 

Second idea? hiking somewhere near Caples Lake, California....

Third idea? mini-road trip to where ever we ended up. 

And, yes, that's exactly what we did! Packed a lunch of sliced turkey, nectarines, and plums and hit the road!

 Of course, I took pictures of everything and it's amazing how much you get to know somebody when you spend the day in the car. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

home

kona

dinner...mmmm!

aaahh-mazing salted chocolates

sibling rivalry: kona, kiva, annie, shadow

Dark Chocolate CHerry Cashew Kind Bar

(my current addiction)

oh baby :)

Almond meal waffles with crabapple jelly

made with love from brian

Hope Valley

from the spill way at Caples Lake

Caples Lake

It was a little windy!

looking down..

Geese at Silver Lake

uhm, dead snake?

Brian at Silver Lake

mini waves!

delicious plum for a snack!

Driving down the road from Silver Lake... Breathtaking view!

Alright, Dove, we were one step ahead of you!

Future Home.

clock tower

Brian just had to pick one of these "fruit" to take home.

 he doesn't believe me, but I'm pretty sure they're lemons, just not ripe yet!

It was a looooong drive home, but I wouldn't want to spend a sunday any other way.

Now, we're home..... Kona is exhausted :)

so productive, i'm on FIRE!

this is what my life has been like the past two days:

paid bills

studied for summer class

made doctor appointments

cleaned/reorganized entire apartment

dominated final exam

killed the job interview

(no not literally, c'mon people!)

Now, I'm eating a big bowl of cheerios!

so much for paleo, I will start tomorrow! haha

ice cream, ice cream!

But, wait...... What do you mean there's no milk? or sugar? What's the fun in that?!

PALEO ice cream!

ingredients:

1 frozen banana

handful of sliced strawberries

dried, flaked, unsweetened coconut

1 tbsp almond butter

coconut milk

how to:

Use a blender. add ingredients. slowly add coconut milk, small amounts at a time so that you don't have too much and miss out on the ice cream consistency! Eating it right out of the blender mimics a soft-serve type ice cream, or freeze it for a few hours and it's just like store bought, sugar-filled, we-all-scream-for-ice cream!

celebrate!

My mom just passed a major milestone... Happy 50th Birthday Mom! So to celebrate the special occasion of course we went to dinner. 

Location of choice: 

The Stone House Cafe

please excuse the darkness of the picture,

 but it does capture the cozy atmosphere very appropriately!

On the menu:

Steak with prawns and veggies

 Crab-stuffed salmon with lemon capers sauce and veggies

the crab added a flavorful touch to the already rich tasting salmon

 and the sauce was perfectly lemon-y!

Not to mention the service was fantastic (the waiter told me to give him a shout out!) and the atmosphere was fancy yet comfortable with lovely, live background music!

 I would highly recommend this as a place to go on a date, take the family, or treat yourself to a dessert like this one....

once again, excuse my poor photography skills, I was overly excited to start eating the cheesecake and was less worried about how my picture turned out!

7 random things

I found a really cool idea on my friend's blog italktofood.com that included 7 random facts about her.... so i thought I would share some facts about myself! Oh I'll probably throw some pictures in there too :)

1. I'm secretly afraid of jumping into deep water....actually, any water for that matter. It seriously FREAKS ME OUT. The idea of jumping into the unknown where I could possibly drown or suffocate is my worst fear. 


2. I sit in the same exact chair, in the same exact location in every class, whether its by the window or the door or the very front of the room. That's where I'm most comfortable!


3. I'm a hopeless romantic... I melt for roses and chocolates and cheesy pick up lines and home-cooked dinner. I'm going to go ahead and blame my parents on this one for being so old fashioned... sorry mom and dad ;)


4. In kindergarten, I managed to make a home-made lever out of a stick and launched a rock at myself. I failed at the catching it with my hands part, but my face did a nice job! I had to get three stitches between my eyes and got to miss a week of school.


5. I have never been fond of school. Until college. I liked the actual school part, but the social aspect has freaked me out ever since first grade. It's not that I don't have friends... I just don't like all the pressure to look cute or act the right "cool" way. 


6. I don't have a constant need to be with people. I like my independence and would much rather spend a day by myself at the beach reading a book rather than going shopping with all my "girlfriends". And on that note, I'm a total, undeniable bookworm. I spend hours in Borders.


7. My mom is my best friend.


So there ya go! what are seven random facts about you?!


I just realized I don't have any new pictures to post.... SHAME ON ME!