fantastic mr. fox

How have I not heard of this?! Wes Anderson made a stop-motion animated film based on a Raul Dahl book, with the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray, which comes out this weekend. My head almost exploded when I saw a trailer of it this morning. I've been listening to the soundtrack while photo-editing and I think its another classic Wes Anderson soundtrack.

My step-mom read all the Raul Dahl books to us when we were kids but we somehow missed this one... I really want to pick it up today and read it before I find some kids to take to the movie.

haylie & ross

This is very late, but, you know... life. I was in Portland a few weeks ago for my cute cousin Haylie's wedding. The wedding was gorgeous and I had such a wonderful time helping Haylie plan it. I even got to be the one with her in the bride's room at the temple. Here are a few snapshots I took, even though she gave me the day off...

You can see more photos of the day by the talented Rachel Thurston right here. I got the day off because Haylie wanted to me to be a guest at the wedding after all of our planning, and it was such an honor! I shot their engagements (which you can see here) as well as her bridals (coming soon), and then recommended Rachel because I am a fan. She did a fabulous job and I anxiously await an excuse to book her for another event or family photo.

Also, some of you may remember the dress from a few years ago. =) Haylie gave me the compliment of all compliments and borrowed my wedding dress. I really like the veil and shoes that she choose, she totally made it her own (and I love that someone else wore it, it justifies the price a little!).

I am seriously bummed I'm not helping anyone plan any weddings now and am wondering if I have found a new calling... Anyway, congratulation Haylie and Ross, you guys are the best and I love you.

Happy Halloween

Eventually, one of us will get you.

money buying happiness

After 4 months of searching and test driving 15 different wagons... we found The One (the same week our truck died, thank goodness). Its a 2007 VW Passat station wagon with only 25,000 miles. It has a salvaged title which is why we got it for about 40% off what they normally sell for... otherwise theres no way we would ever own something so new or so nice. We already got Thule racks for it too!

We've had it for a week and I still find myself thinking about it when its not around...

in the past two days...

Our truck died and got sold for parts (it was the one car to our "one car family") and our brand new laptop crashed.

I have nothing more to say.

I'm still in the Pacific Northwest helping with one more family wedding before heading back home. Its been a fun and busy vacation!

My Mom just emailed me this photo of my dog back in San Diego. I love it.

G and I made our way south on a train yesterday from Northern Washington to my Dad's house just outside of Portland. The beauty makes me sigh (and the housing market makes me cry).

So many more photos to follow!

seattle day

When visiting Grant's parents we must always spend a day in Seattle at Pike Place Market. And we must always eat our way through it.

... Taking the monorail into town from the Space Needle.



We started with some incredible macaroni and cheese from Beechers. Then moved on to some authentic tamales, russian piroshkys (my very favorite), and then fish'n'chips and clam chowder. Topping each little meal off with gourmet sodas and assorted pastries is the only way to go if you are really going to be a glutton!




7 grandkids under the age of 6...


The flowers at this market have a style all their own... my mom knows about it because I'm always trying to arrange my flowers at home the "Pike Place Way."



I took a really fun series of photos of our niece feeding the seagulls...
(click to enlarge, but you knew that already)



Yeap.


... If only I could convince myself I walked off all that food. Its so worth it!

Ryan & Claire

This past weekend Grant's youngest brother got hitched. It was a beautiful day in Seattle and an even more beautiful wedding. It was a blast to be Claire's bridesmaid and help out a little with the planning. The Mann family made an awesome showing and its been a crazy fun trip. Definitely lots more photos to follow.

I was really hoping to see some fall colors before I go back to the land of eternal summer and the Pacific Northwest definitely came through.

The cutest couple ever...

G and his brothers...


Darci, my cousin and one of my favorite people in the world...




As if you couldn't tell they are siblings...



Stunning.

Fatty & Sara

This weekend we went to the first of three weddings in my family in the next three weeks (I'm so excited!). This one was my cousin Zach's wedding at the Newport Beach California Temple. It was fun celebrating the cute newlyweds and seeing so many of my mom's side of the family.

I fell in love with the Newport Beach Temple. My dream home would have doorways like the ones in that temple (I have such a one track mind).




My sweet grandparents, Harold and Lila...


My cousin's little girl... sometimes I dream of having little girls with curly hair.

Now we just have to focus for a couple more days until we leave for Seattle for the next wedding. Yeah!

(Someone tell Lindsey to email me so I can send her the rest of those cute Finnley photos!)

Have you ever been looking through old photos on your external hard drive and saw something that made you laugh?

I think it was seeing them in quick succession that did it...








I think the poor guy has had my camera in his face one too many times.

Have a nice weekend.

vive la révolution

I remember learning about Croque Madames in French class my freshman year of high school, then tasting one for the first time while on vacation in Paris, and then praising my mom when she added them to the dinner rotation. I just saw this recipe on the Williams-Sonoma website (I know I'm partial as an ex-employee but they really are a great source for recipes) and now I feel a croque madame révolution coming on.

I'm not sure if its against the rules but we like substituting the Bechamel sauce with Hollandaise sauce sometimes, which is especially great if you have a Trader Joe's nearby because their Hollandaise is great. And don't listen to people if they say you need a panini press, you don't.

(image from williams-sonoma)

push the pram a lot

We haven't been doing much these past few weeks besides working and house hunting and a little surfing. BUT I did get to see another play last week with my parents and my big brother (the hubby had to work late that day and my sister in law was out of town). We think it was the first time it was just the four of us, like it was in the old days, for at least 12 years. The play was fun, too. My brother and I were huge Monty Python fans as kids and felt like we could've recited most of the play verbatim. We went to Extraordinary Desserts afterward where we ate lots and I learned I'm really going to have to get a point-and-shoot because my 3.2 megapixel phone camera is not as awesome as I thought it would be. This year I also learned that parents with extra theater tickets are awesome.

veg & cream

Its not everyday I get a request for one of my recipes, so I thought I should post one that did. This is a great summertime dinner and one of the few pasta dishes the men in my life really like. I love the simplicity of the ingredients... I wish I was eating it right now.



Fettuccine Primavera
Yields: 3-4 servings

4 Tblsp unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1/2 lb green beans, cut into ½ inch pieces
1 cup asparagus tips
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup heavy cream
freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Fettuccine or other pasta

some fresh italian boule or french bread to go with it!

Boil water for pasta. Add a little olive oil and the pasta to cook while preparing the veggies.
In a 12-inch frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the carrot. Let sauté for a few minutes and then add the onion, green beans, asparagus, and red bell pepper. Sauté the vegetables until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and add cream, simmering until thickened, about 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Mmmmm... Enjoy!

(photo by How to Make Pasta)

all in due time

This is such a cool video. I have been saving some inspiration photos for a couple of years for a nursery mural. I'm going to commission my mom to do it with me because, and you may not have known this, she is a really talented artist.

Th Big Boy Room from Creede on Vimeo.

(as seen on designmom)