BATES NUT FARM

Bates Nut Farm is the perfect description of Fall in San Diego; people walking around in shorts & flip flops while choosing huge pumpkins amongst the dry hills of Valley Center. Over the weekend, we headed up to this farm to revel in the 85 pound pumpkins, dried fruit and goodies from the general store, and spend time with friends. We had a great time watching our friends little ones pick out their own pumpkins, ranging from monsters to tiny "baby pumpkins" as Lexi & Henry called them. Of course we couldn't leave empty handed, so some Sarsaparilla & Salt Water Taffy were our take homes from the patch. It was such a fun afternoon celebrating one of the greatest seasons, even if we were sweating a little in the 90 degree heat! 

INDIAN SUMMER TURKEY CHILI

Growing up, and now living in Southern California, gives you a skewed idea on weather and seasons. Normally, May and June are some of our cooler months, leaving us with high temperatures and hot days long into September and October. I never remember a year growing up when we actually bought jeans/pants to wear back to school. This strange weather phenomenon has come to be known, “Indian Summer”; where our Fall becomes more of a deep autumnal summer of endless warmth and sunshine. This chili, much like the weather, is a perfect world of warm days that can be spent at the beach, and cool foggy nights snuggled under blankets by the fire. No wonder I have always loved these months so much! 

FABULOUS AT 50 SURPRISE PARTY

Can I just say, I totally lucked out in the in-law department. I'm not just saying that. I married into such a wonderful, loving, and FUN family. In January, my sisters in laws decided that we should try to surprise my sweet mother-in-law Trina for her 50th birthday in September. We managed to pull off a total surprise by corresponding via texts, e-mails, and phone calls, all while being long distance from each other! Between Katie, Whitney, and myself, we managed to shop, create, decorate, and figure out all the fine tuning, while sweet Grandma provided her lovely yard, Aunt Tanette and Tami gave us lists of friends to invite, and ALL of us for keeping a tight lip for about 9 months, we totally pulled off the surprise without a hitch! Alright, I might have slipped a couple times, but HOW do you not?! 

GETTING OLDER IS S'MORE FUN WITH FRIENDS

My sweet friend Mandy and I have birthdays about a week apart. We are both major fans of the beach, bon fires, and s'mores, so we decided to celebrate our birthdays will all of the above! We invited friends for a night under the stars, roasting mallows and just hanging out. The weather was perfect (we had been battling HOT weather earlier in the week!) and the ambiance of the cool breeze, smoky fire, and warm treats was the perfect way to ring in a new year. The saying is true, getting older is much s'more fun with family & sweet friends to celebrate!

25TH BIRTHDAY CHALLENGE: ONE YEAR LATER

Last year for my 25th birthday, I made a list of goals I wanted to accomplish within the year. I had a wonderful year and loved having these goals to keep me occupied and to challenge myself. Although not every goal was accomplished, I learned so much about myself in the days I spent exercising, exploring San Diego, and trying to fulfill myself in both mental and spiritual ways. So, let's check in and see how I did... I'm pretty darn proud of myself! Oh, and cheers to 26! Let's see what this year has in store for me!

• send a hand written note to someone once a week
• I actually did pretty good with this task! Not all of them were handwritten, but I tried to text, call, FB message, e-mail, someone every week with just a fun memory I had about them, or just to see how they were doing. It was really fun, and I hope to continue with this! 
• participate & journal a 3-5 day juice fast/cleanse
• So, this did not happen. I am planning to do a cleanse in December of this year though after the holidays. 
• take an overnight trip somewhere in Southern California
• Does Carlsbad (ahem-- my parents house) count? We could NOT justify spending money on a hotel to get away when our own bed is right here in the city near everything. We did discover a lot of San Diego this past year, and you can see some of our favorite places on this list.
• read the Book of Mormon 3 times 
• I'm really sad about this one, but I only read it once. I need to be better about reading my scriptures on a more regular basis. I am going to start a new rule-- I cannot read my book until I read my scriptures! We will see how this goes and if I am a more dedicated personal scripture reader.
• eat & journal a list of favorite local San Diego restaurants 
• Yes. Yep. Done & done. I could eat my way through this city! Here is our growing list of favorite San Diego restaurants. 
• host a dinner party once a month
• This is another success! Whether it was with friends, family, parties, or as simple as hosting the missionaries, I was able to accomplish this goal. But, really? I can think of ANY and EVERY excuse in the book to host a party! 
• complete & journal 5 exercise "challenges" 
• This was one of my favorite goals to accomplish! I participated in two Jillian Michael's exercise programs (30 Day Shred & Cardio Crush). I started stretching again every night, and have noticed some flexibility come back from my years of dancing. I also did home yoga for a couple of weeks and really loved that. I still do some of the moves in my nightly stretches. And, my most accomplished was running and finishing my first 10K in July!
• practice new photography/Photoshop techniques
• I don't know if I really improved, but I can see a difference in my photos from the past year. I'm gonna chalk this one up as a success!
• bake a pie from scratch 
• I am hoping to accomplish this goal sometime this Fall. I am dying to bake a pie, but this summer has been too hot for the oven, and I just lost track of time!
• attend the temple once a month
• We were pretty good with this one as well. It might not have been every month, but it was every 4-6 weeks or so we got a temple date in. 

COCONUT ALMOND GRANOLA

Last Fall, after living here in San Diego a couple months, my friend Lela introduced me to her family favorite coconut granola. Ever since my first taste, I have been making up a batch every two weeks or so for Derek and I to crunch on. I like to use Lela’s recipe as a base, and then add as much or as little extras to my batch.  A couple Christmases ago, I made a yummy cinnamon cranberry granola for gifts, and it was a major hit. Using that as inspiration as well, this recipe for coconut almond granola came to be. This recipe is not exact, as I very rarely measure, but the mixture of sweet coconut and spicy cinnamon and nutmeg give this granola such a wonderful flavor. The added crunch of almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and caramelized cranberry turns this into a breakfast staple. Paired with Greek yogurt, berries, and a drizzle of honey, this delicious granola parfait has become a go-to in our house. So, turn those ovens back on (it’s September after all!) and pull out the spices that remind you of all things wonderful and get baking!