from hot pavement and into the grass.

i've been workin' on a new project lately: a food blog.

chase jokingly came up with the name during church one sunday, & i have yet to come up with anything better. that boy.

it's still in its infancy, but i hope for it to grow lots.

check it out when you're hungry!

ringing like a bell.

our marriage day was so much fun.

chase's friend from san clemente, elise capener, took our wedding photos for us,

& they came out beautifully.

we were married december 28 in the salt lake temple,

surrounded by family & friends.

i wept like a baby, of course.

chase did too--of course.

it was perfect.

in my heart there's flowers growin'.

happy valentines day kids.

hope it's a good one.

don't wanna work in a building downtown.

we've been eating some good food around these parts lately. i told chase we're getting ethnic this week, so we stocked up on seaweed for making sushi, & fish sauce, chili paste, rice noodles & all those yummy thai spices. we also got a bunch of plums at costco yesterday (after passing by the salted caramels samples probably six times).

this semester has been so rad, largely because i'm only taking 8 credits. and, for the first time in my life i have my own kitchen & my own fridge.

(i couldn't count the number of times mag & i opened the fridge last semester and yelled, we have a shelf system people! come on! and removed a mug of blue goop supposed to cure acne from our respective chilled territories.)

anyways, cooking in your own home is a joy.

but it's my last semester. so somedays i worry about graduating in two months, & trying to find my place in that big scary real world out there.

all i wanna do is cook & feed my loves,

lay in the sun & surf,

& paint pictures

all day long.

if i could make a job outta that, shoot-- i'd be good at it.

lighting bolts a glowin'

i woke up today feeling like it should be my birthday.

so, i started acting like it was, & chase followed suit.

i woke up,

made a smoothie,

drove to castles with freezing inner thighs

surfed & laid on the beach until it started pouring

and came home to a clean house & a sweet note (chase's doing).

i jokingly declared that today, i'm doin' me (been listening to too much drake lately)

so chase insisted on doing the dishes & rubbing my back,

since today is my day.

then we had a perfect lunch

{shrimp, avocado & pineapple salad}

(seriously make this: cut up shrimp & mix it with pineapple, lime juice, red onion, salt & pepper. we fried up some chips to scoop it up with. soooo yummy.)

from now on, i'm just gonna start treating every day like my birthday.

although chase just called to tell me he got a perfect score on his physics test, so i guess tomorrow we celebrate him!

life on mars.

lately chase & i have been on a veronica mars kick.

actually, it's only just begun. we just started the first season last week & chase is addicted. i love it. my best friend samantha introduced me to it a few years back, & since then i've seen every episode at least twice. now it's sweet because i get to be the mysterious, withholding, ominous girl while chase begs me to tell him who killed lily kane, or if duncan & veronica ever get back together. it's fun knowing all the answers.

i just love crawling in bed with my love and a mug of warm cocoa & watching my favorite high school detective make the world a better place. so what if veronica rocks choker necklaces or uggs & denim mini skirts all the day long? the girl is a bad ass. i forgive her.

ships are launching from my chest.

last night was my first without chase since we've been married.

he went to kauai for the a student leadership conference,

& i held down the fort at home.

okay, he was barely gone 24 hours. but i was a sad girl!

luckily i had mags & dennis around to prevent me from doing something crazy, like lazing in bed all weekend, watching the entire first season of veronica mars & singlehandedly polishing off a pint of ben & jerry's (as would have likely happened if i didn't have rad friends).

last night i watched mags perform at the school talent show,

& this morning we ate delicious breakfast at ted's bakery

& laid on the beach for a real long time

then we thrifted

& we got opal's thai

(& waffle cones)

& then i came home & made banana bread

& now chase is on his way home

& i'm a happy girl.

p.s. my friend brennan just showed me this rad song,

appropriately titled

welcome home by radical face.

listen.

have a little jelly, have a little jam.

last sunday our new next-door neighbors, matt & lacee, had us over for dinner. while we were over there, lacee starts cutting up some homemade bread, & ten minutes later our other neighbor, rebecca, comes over with a loaf of piping hot cinnamon bread. duh, i tasted both of them, & duh, they were both delicious.

uh oh, i realized. apparently real wives make homemade bread.

once we got home i started hinting at chase; "do you wish i made homemade bread?"

he must've sensed that i was feeling inadequate & assured me no, no;

but really, who doesn't love warm bread fresh out of the oven?

so this week i earned my first wife merit badge:

the bread badge.

i made two loaves--one was plain french bread, the other rosemary.

seriously, this bread was so good that we ate most of it plain. but the rosemary made super yummy brie & asparagus sandwiches.

and the french bread was lovely topped with parmesan & paired with my favorite butternut squash soup.

it also made perfect peach french toast with whipped cream.

we both have been getting buff lately whisking whipped cream by hand for french toast & hot cocoa & strawberry shortcakes. but the stuff in the can just doesn't compare.

french bread

(makes 2 small loaves or 1 big one)

2 1/4 tsp. yeast

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbs. honey

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbs. olive oil

cornmeal

1 egg white

1 . mix the yeast with the water & honey. let sit for a couple of minutes.

2 . combine half of the flour with the salt & olive oil. add in the yeast mixture. add in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. now would also be the time to add anything like rosemary or garlic or sunflower seeds or whatever sounds yummy.

3 . knead the dough on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes, until smooth & elastic. place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, & let rise for 30 minutes.

4 . punch the dough (best part of the whole process) & form loaves. slash them or braid them or do whatever you want to 'em. sprinkle corn meal on baking sheet & place loaves on top. cover & let rise for another 30 minutes.

5 . preheat the oven to 400 degrees. beat the egg white until foamy, & brush over the tops of the loaves. bake for about 25-35 minutes, depending on size of loaf. just watch 'em & take them out when they look perfectly golden brown.

next i'm workin' towards the macaron merit badge. fingers crossed that this hawaiian humidity lets it happen.