Hiking in the Park with Two Names

About a month ago Brandon and I decided we wanted to take a low key hike in the late afternoon. We decided on heading to Peña Adobe (less commonly referred to as Lagoon Valley) Park in Vacaville. Both of us grew up near the park, but I hadn't spent very much time there, so luckily it's kept its novelty.

We originally planned to climb to the highest hill and watch the sunset, but we totally overestimated how long it would take us to get up there, so we chose to take our time, enjoy our little hike and not put too much pressure on our fun.

We stopped to take a water break and soak in some of the views.

I enjoyed my view...

...while Brandon enjoyed his!

I saw this enormous oak tree and had a need to see it up close, so we ventured off the main path for a bit.

The tree and I quickly became best friends.

Brandon got in on the fun, too!

My very fancy hiking equipment.

A cool almost optical illusion photo for kicks

And a couple selfie with personality.

We walked until we didn't feel like it anymore. Then we turned around to head back home. But being me, I tried to make another friend on the way down.

I tried crouching down to get a better angle of her but she freaked out and ran away. Either she thought I was a mountain lion or she sensed my friendship with the tree. Regardless, my friendship with the cow worked out just as well as Cady Heron's first crush...which is to say it didn't (10 points if you got my obscure Mean Girls reference).

Spending the afternoon outside with my favorite person in the world was wonderful. It gave me wiiiiiings!

♥  A

My Week in Coffee

As many of you know, I love good coffee. I'm all about the locally roasted, organic snobbery because I really think it tastes better than anything else. I've gotten to the point where I can note the subtle taste profiles in the espressos from different roasters/shops. Some are nuttier (hey oh!) while others are more acidic.

How far I've come since considering this mocha slushy with a chocolate cookie straw coffee...and this shot as a decent photo. Seriously Alex?

Anyway, I'm dubbing this past week my week in coffee. I scored some delicious craft coffee six times in eight days. I only displayed one of them on instagram, which is honestly a huge deal, because I have a visceral urge to share pretty coffee with the internet every single time I enjoy it. Hence this post.

Saturday

UC Davis had it's annual Picnic Day celebration on the 18th. Brandon and I didn't know exactly what Picnic Day entailed and I definitely thought it was an afternoon event, so we ventured downtown to our favorite coffee and tea spot: Mishka's Cafe.

Mishka's is a total study spot, but since Picnic Day is basically a holiday, there was plenty of seating. I did some blogging while Brandon caught up on some work for the literary magazine he's working on for one of his classes.

Sunday

Brandon and I were able to sleep in on Sunday and I chose to celebrate with a new coffee spot called Journey Coffee Co. on our way to church.

The coffee is great, but unfortunately the barista was less than friendly. Also I felt like a total hipster walking in to church with my independent coffee shop coffee instead of the ever popular Starbucks, but that's not really a bad thing to me.

Monday

I had the longest day at work, which is kind of ironic since I got to work an hour late thanks to some absolutely terrible traffic. It was the first time I've ever crumbled (and by that I mean cried) due to the stress of everything. But I did some confined space yoga in a closet and calmed myself down. My cousin Rachel pointed out how yogi of a thing that was for me to do, and I totally agree.

I treated myself to some solo decompression time at Mishka's that night. I wrote in my journal, I got on Pinterest, I read some blogs and listened to music. It was the perfect way to drown out the day's negativity.

Tuesday

I got coffee with Barbara at a recent Davis find, Common Grounds Coffee. I found this coffee shop on Yelp and have really enjoyed the couple of times I've been there. The coffee is incredibly well priced and well roasted. Plus this time I got an elephant!

Fun story about this night: I'd pumped gas the night before and put my debit card into my pocket, then forgotten to grab my card before leaving for work the next morning. So I show up at the counter and order my drink only to realize I still don't have my card (even though I'd swung by my apartment to change my shoes and grab a few things) and no cash. I stumble through letting the guy behind the counter know I can't pay them and before I can say "let me ask my friend if she can pay," the barista -- who looks nothing like what you'd expect from a local coffee shop -- tells me not to worry about it, that they'll still make the drink for me.

Thursday

I was particularly sleepy this morning and I figured the best cure would be some pre-work, pre-commute caffeine. I chose to give Journey coffee another try, thinking that maybe I caught them on an off day and they'd be cheerier this time around. I was wrong, this time was worse. I think the barista said hi to me. She definitely didn't smile once. From there the only times she opened her mouth were to tell me how much my coffee and scone cost and then to call out my order when it was on the bar.

Keep in mind, I was pre-caffeinated here. How in the world was I more friendly sans coffee than the girl working surrounded by caffeine?! I even went as far as to thank her for my coffee when I picked it up and she didn't respond. Not a smile, not even a nod. She just turned around.

I'm giving that place one last chance before I decide to write a review on Yelp...and I never write reviews on Yelp!

Saturday

I closed out the week in coffee with Mishka's, of course. It's sort of become my Saturday tradition with Brandon. We wake up slowly, stay in our pajamas extra long, then get dressed specifically so we can get coffee and tea at Mishka's then walk around the Arboretum. It makes for perfect Saturdays.

On a similar note, I was lucky enough to get an espresso machine that was being replaced by a Nespresso at work! Now I can actually brew espresso and steam milk in my own home. I'm simultaneously excited and intimidated by the legitness (not a word, I know) of this thing!

Stay caffeinated, amigos.
♥ A

Miserable, Magical Monday

1. I was going through the photos on my phone after my nap on Sunday (first nap in a looong while) and could not remember when or where I got this photo. After a bit of recall, I remembered I took this one morning pre-coffee. The sunrise was particularly vibrant that morning as I walked to my car to grab my shoes. Yeah, my shoes. Sometimes my feet get really claustrophobic while driving home. And then I also get too lazy to just pick up my shoes and bring them inside. It makes no sense, but hey! At least my neurotic tendencies got me this shot!

2. I can't remember the last time I took a nap but man are they wonderful things. I slept so well I even did that thing where you wake up all disoriented and forget what day it is. I thought I'd woken up late for Monday morning work! Silly me. On a sort of sweet note, having Brandon back has done wonders for my sleep. I really missed having his obscenely warm body in bed with me. I bet you it's his heat that lulls me to sleep half the time.

3. So I had five whole days to myself last week. And I did maybe 30% of what I said I was going to do to fill my time. I bought avocados but saved my nacho night dinner idea for Friday once Brandon was home. I did not paint my nails or have my spa night like I planned because I did laundry instead. But I did do some writing and uploaded my photos from Costa Rica onto my cloud and computer, so I guess I was sort of productive. I didn't even bake Thursday night because I got caught up in picking up after myself. Confession: I am a messy person. I never think to put my clothes away after I take them off in general, and the fact that my dresser is in the spare bedroom  doesn't help. I leave my shoes everywhere. I have a shoe basket at the front of our apartment so I have no excuse to leave my shoes anywhere else, but of course I still do. I'm looking down at a pair I wore to work just chilling in the dining room right now. All of that to say that baking took a backseat to my annoyance with myself Thursday night. Apologies to anyone who has ever lived with me ever for being the roommate that leaves her crap everywhere.

4. Saturday was a blast. I should warn you I did nothing spectacular or mildly interesting but vegging out with Brandon after several busy weekends was exactly what we needed. I woke up around 10:30am and just chilled with my coffee until Brandon got up. He then played his video games while I finished writing my second post on Arenal. After that we watched New Girl all.day.long. We munched on chips and salsa/homemade guac and had a CPK frozen pizza for lunch (at 3:00pm). After finishing season 2, we decided we wanted macaroni and cheese for dinner and walked over to Safeway. We picked up some Golden Grahams and Fruit Loops and juice while we were there. Seriously, we looked like we were buying food for a kid. By the time we got back and sat down to eat dinner it was somewhere around 9:30pm. That didn't stop us from watching Magic Mike.

//

For the record, it was Brandon who brought it up. Also, yes, there was so much male body rolling in this movie and  I kind of loved it.

5. As if sitting through the sausage fest and male thong-ridden movie wasn't enough, Brandon even sat through the pilot of Sex and the City with me since the whole show is on HBO Go. What a trooper, right? I don't plan on making him watch that with me, mostly because I don't want to force him to sit through the "girl talk" dynamic. I, as a woman, love that dynamic and understand it fully. I think he'd get over it quick. Besides, I'd rather use my political spousal capital on getting him to watch West Wing with me.

Thank you, Leo.
//

6. To make up for the non-existence of baked goods welcoming Brandon home from a week at camp, I decided to bake some blondies while he was still snoozing. I've never made them before so I was a little nervous to taste them. The recipe I used called for tons of M&Ms, of which I had none. What I did have were white chocolate chips, so I tossed about a cup into the batter and called it day. Honestly, they don't compare to my chocolate chip cookies, but Brandon seems to like them enough even if they are rich.

7. Sprout update! A while ago, I told you guys that I planted some of the wedding favor seeds. I was ecstatic when I saw them sprout up. Good news: I've actually been consistent with watering the plant! Go me. Anyway, the sprout (is that still what it's called? I'm such an amateur at growing things) has grown a little bit and I took a semi-artsy photo of it...so I obviously have to share.

The weather here in Davis is so weird. It looks super stormy and the wind has kicked up. I guess we've even had a teensy bit of rainfall. The temperature has come down to a comfortable high 70/low 80 which I'm loving, but the clouds make me want to pull out all of my autumn sweaters and never get out of bed.

Arenal part II will for sure be up tomorrow.

Happy Monday, friends.

♥ A

Happy 7th

I'm very intentional about not being what I call a "we" couple. For me, maintaining a sense of individuality within my romantic relationship is really important. I love Brandon so freakin much, but my world doesn't have to revolve around him or vice versa. It's one thing I really cherish about my relationship with him. We have completely separate interests, yet somehow we've been lucky enough not to run out of things to talk about over the last 7 years.

That's what brings me to what I'm about to post. I'm almost nervous to share something that's so personal to me and B because I don't want anyone to think I'm a part of a "we" couple or that I'm being weirdly pushy about my marital status.

Also, I'm not pregnant. I hope you weren't hoping I was.

But enough stalling.

Ever since we were teenagers with raging hormones (as my sister so dully noted in her Maid of Honor speech/song), Brandon and I have avoided saying "happy anniversary" to each other. Instead, we say "happy seventh," because we officially started dating on September 7th, 2006.

Seven years later, we got married. That was eight months ago today. It blows my mind to think I've been with this guy since I was 16. Anyway, I'm in a particularly sharing mood, so I thought I'd post some photos of us through the years. Is that okay? I hope so. You have every right to not read on if you can't handle the romantic indulgence I'm about to embark on.

WE WERE CHILDREN. Homecoming c. 2007/8

2009-ish. On our way to a date at Buffalo Wild Wings.

Hanging out in PB on Brandon's surprise visit to Loma in 2010.

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, September 20

Better together, 2012

Newly engaged.at the movies. December 2012

Proper engagement photos, March 2013 (Thanks, Ryan Doyle)

Graduated and unphotogenic, May 2013

Married and kissing because little kids find wedding bells super amusing.
September 2013. (Thank you, Ryan Doyle)

Thanks for powering through that. 10 points to whatever house you've been sorted into!

♥ A