Belated birthday celebrations and Summer prep

(Trav and I at the Rancho Bernardo Inn for my birthday last weekend)

Wheeeee! We are keeping so busy lately!

I came to the realization that we have been spending so much time working lately that we haven't seen many friends in months! How sad.

That being said, I think we are enjoying each others' company a lot lately, even if it's just the little things like having a nice, home-cooked meal together or going for a bike ride on the Strand.

This weekend was full of fun! Friday was Travis' day off, so he went for a nice, long bike ride and I went to work at the bakery for most of the day. When I came home I had an interview with a Brazilian woman on skype for Middlebury this summer. It was an hour-long interview to record my speaking ability pre-program and to place me in an appropriate language level for the summer. She finished our interview by telling me I would most likely be placed in level 4, the top level that is offered! She also gave me some more details as to how the program is run, and it sounds amazing! I may even have the opportunity to take some grad-level courses!

After the interview I met up with our neighbor Jess for a belated birthday happy hour at the pier. I have missed her tremendously the last few months while she has been prepping her students for AP exams, and I have been working and doing the same with my Spanish Lang student. It was nice to have a girls' night out!

Saturday Trav and I woke up bright and early and braved the cold mist outside to get breakfast nearby at the Wildflower café. Trav found a 50% off coupon through some online sleuthing and we had an excellent half price feast!

After breakfast we hung out at home for a bit and then headed out again for lunch at Mitsuwa market, a big asian grocery/bookstore/china shop with a very popular food court. We got big udon bowls for cheap and stocked up on a few pantry items that we can't find elsewhere.

We followed Mitsuwa up with a lovely bike ride to Hermosa beach, and I faced my fear of riding on the street! Only one person tried to run me off the road, surprisingly. And I am probably the only person in a hundred mile radius to wear a bike helmet while on a cruiser bike. Pshaw, what do I care? Trav has been riding pretty long distance (as far as Marina del Rey) on his roadbike, and is much more skilled on a bike than I am at this point.

We finished the night up with a homemade dinner of margaritas and jalapeño popper grilled cheese sandwiches. The first bite of mine nearly killed me, however, due to the heat of the peppers! I scrambled to the fridge and pulled out the milk the second I realized I couldn't swallow and my mouth was on fire! I took out the peppers and finished the rest, but it was a pretty painful dinner.

Today I worked an extra shift at the bakery and Trav caught up on some housecleaning. Another lovely dinner of pear gorgonzola pizza followed by homemade limoncello and we are ready for the week...maybe!

Well, that's the latest on us...we have an exciting summer ahead, but for now we will just be work work working and trying to fit in some good food and friends where we can.

love to all!

E & T

p.s. maybe I can convince T to write the next blog post since he has recently switched projects and has some fun travel for work coming up...but I'll let him tell you all about it!

Spring has sprung!

(I never get sick of this view!!!)
Hi everybody!

After a few months' hiatus I decided an update was in order! We have both been keeping extremely busy; Trav with a project at work that is nearing its end, and me with various part-time jobs, and now two part-time jobs that give me full-time hrs!

We have had a great few months catching up with family both here and in Colorado. We have seen Wes and Aleta quite a few times, and we made a quick trip out to Palmdale to see Trav's family and catch up, and we also went to Colorado and had a nice birthday celebration/baby visit with Ryan and Shannon.

A few weeks ago we visited the South Coast Botanic Gardens for a little time in the outdoors and later that night went out downtown with Aleta and Wes and a couple of their friends to "The Edison" a 1920's speak-easy inspired bar in what used to be L.A.'s first power plant. For some reason I didn't take any pictures at the Edison, but here are some from the botanic garden (built on top of a landfill!!!)






A few weeks later and spring is in full-swing here!!! The flowers are blooming, we are getting fresh asparagus, strawberries, etc in our CSA box every couple of weeks, and the beach was packed this weekend as the weather was gorgeous. I have started a little "garden" with some herbs, and I've been very excited to see their growth as the days are getting longer and longer.




I also am very excited that Trav has a bike (a road bike he got for cheap on Craigslist) and I finally got my own this week!!! It's a pink cruiser bike, and pretty big, but a beauty. I plan on giving it a nice tune-up and maybe adding a basket and a light before I take it out for a spin. Very exciting!



We are going to celebrate Easter this weekend with a nice brunch on Sunday with friends, and it will be the first time we really have any group of people over. Belated housewarming? We'll also be starting my birthday celebration early with a trip to the beach on Saturday. Should be a great time.

Well, that's the news for now. We'll be keeping busy with our bikes and the beach, friends and family, work and play, and I'll be crafting and baking for Easter! Hope everyone is enjoying the new growth of spring, wherever you may be!

(crafting supplies and decorations! A holiday necessity!)

love,

E & T

A New Year!

Dear blogosphere,

We have returned from our 10 day sojourn in Colorado for the holidays! It is a new year, and with that must come a reflection upon the year behind us. This was meant to be a Christmas letter, but one thing led to another and I never sent it, so for those of you who might be curious what the heck we were up to this year, enjoy!


A year in Review (2010)

-In March we flew to California to look for a place to live and ended up signing a lease for an apartment in Redondo Beach.
(house-hunting!)

-I ran my first 5k in March and Trav followed suit as we both ran the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in San Diego in November. Us, runners?


(after the first 5k in March, San Diego was a breeze! Post-race photo with Kristina and fellow Engineer Matt)

-We both graduated from CU in May; Trav with his Masters in Aerospace Engineering, and me with a BA in Spanish and Portuguese language and culture


-To celebrate graduation, we made an impromptu trip to Miami (South Beach and Key West specifically) and enjoyed delicious cuban and haitian food...yum!

(catching up with my Semester at Sea family in South Beach)

-I was in my first wedding as a bridesmaid Memorial Day weekend.


-In June we embarked on a 33 day trip through mainland Greece and the greek islands. It was quite the adventure, and a beautiful country.

(Santorini)

(Trav in front of an ancient Greek theatre)

-At the end of our trip in Greece we hiked the Samarian Gorge in Crete..only 16 km of uneven rocky terrain!


-In July we packed up all of our things and moved to Redondo Beach, part of the South Bay of Los Angeles. We live next to the beach and enjoy listening to the waves from our balcony.

-In August we drove 6 hours to June Lake and spend a weekend with Trav's family fishing, eating, and enjoying the mountains. They were a sight for sore (and homesick) eyes!


-In September we were visited by a few friends from Boulder and spent the weekend at the Getty Center, Getty Vila, and getting ice cream in Malibu.

-In October Trav and I both got to go home for the weekend, me for my first American Translators Association Conference and him for some R&R!

-In November we both worked hard, cooked and baked, and visited the L.A. Auto show.

-In December we headed home to Colorado for the holidays and enjoyed warm weather, visits with friends, and even got a little taste of winter with a snowstorm. After ten days of R&R we are back in Redondo, which feels a little bit more like home each time we return. Also, we were surprised when Trav's sister-in-law went into labor early and we got to meet the baby early! Congrats, Ryan and Shannon!
(Trav holding baby Evan, his first nephew!)

It was a year full of adventure and travel, and we are both so blessed to be able to do/see so much cool stuff! This year we are planning on making a little trip to Vegas to see what the fuss is all about, maybe a trip to the Big Apple so trav can experience the rush of Times Square, and in the fall we hope to make it back to Europe to see some of my family in Germany, and hopefully visit my "family" in Lisbon after almost two years. Other plans? We shall see!

Love to you all,

E&T