Thursday, February 28, 2013

Ellie-Style, biking Sonoma

Yikes, is it the last day of February already, how did that happen?? Time really flies, speaking of, this Ellie-Style is from a few weeks ago when Andy and I biked around Sonoma tasting wine. It was a wonderful day spent in wine country, so I wanted to be sure to look the part. Knowing we would be biking, I had to dress practical (ie: no mini skirts), but I also wanted to look nice enough to be in a variety of tasting rooms acting like I know the ins and outs of wine, ha! I knew that the day would start and end with fairly cool weather, but mid-day would be quite warm. I chose this combination of rolled up jeans and a cotton knit sweater with a scarf, and was happy I did so. I could take the scarf off when I was warm, the sweater allowed the breeze through, and the rolled up jeans kept me warm and cool at the same time. Presto, perfect! I would also highly recommend the bike ride through Sonoma that we did. It was easy and beautiful, oh and the wine was amazing.

Trek bike, Korean scarf, street fair sunglasses, Tommy Hilfiger (similar) sweater, Gap jeans, 
Lands End Canvas (similar) loafers, Target camera bag



Wednesday, February 27, 2013

healthy, easy to make, Baba Ghanoush Recipe


Back in my days living in South Korea I had a roomate who introduced me to baba ghanoush. She made it once a week and the three of us roomates enjoyed it together. It was a lovely time of hanging out and gorging ourselves on the Middle Eastern eggplant dip. She'd roast the eggplant in our little toaster oven and later while it was blending together with spices, she would heat up some french bread. We'd hover over our little kitchen table taking turns dipping the hot crusty french bread into the baba ghanoush. Those were good times!


Now, as a quick healthy meal at home Andy and I often resort to making baba ghanoush. Aside from the time it takes the eggplant to roast, everything else is really quick and simple. We like to chop a bunch of vegetables for dipping along with bread or whole grain crackers. The leftovers make for a wonderful snack too.


Ellie's Baba Ghanoush Recipe
-1 eggplant (poked all over with a fork)
-1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste)
-juice of 1 lemon
-1 Tablespoon garlic
-1 Tablespoon olive oil
-1 teaspoon cumin
-salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a pierced eggplant on a sprayed pan in the oven. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, making sure to rotate the eggplant mid way through. Once the eggplant is roasted, take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes. Once cooled, peel the outside peel off the eggplant and put all of the insides straight into a blender. Add ALL of the other ingredients and blend on high until everything is creamy. That's it! If you serve it as a dip, add some olive oil and sesame seeds for decoration.


You can eat the baba ghanoush on sandwiches, pitas, tortillas...etc. Or, just use it as a dip. Baba ghanoush is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet, since it is about 90% vegetable and then you dip more vegetables into it. I usually can't get enough it! It is like a lighter, healthier version of hummus.



Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Slot Canyon Hiking, Palm Springs


Last week I wrote about our trip to Palm Springs. I mentioned that we had gone slot canyon hiking and I am finally posting about it.


What an adventure we had! Before going to Palm Springs Andy mentioned that he wanted to do some slot canyon hiking. Once we got there, we acquired a lot of information on trails through the visitors center and hotel. After sifting through a lot of information we ended up settling on a trail that Andy picked. Andy had found a rough map along with some written directions for a trail into a slot canyon that we would be hiking. (I honestly don't know where he found the trail information, but I don't think it was from the visitors center or the hotel.)


The next morning we woke up at the crack of dawn and left for our slot canyon hiking adventure. We found our way to a dirt road that said 4 wheel drive cars only...oops, we weren't driving a 4wd but took the road anyway. Luckily it wasn't too bad. At the end of the dirt road were huge rocks and boulders, that was where the hike was to begin...according to the random directions that Andy had.


After glancing at the rough trail directions, Andy took us into the first rock entrance that he found. (Sure he was following directions...) We quickly found ourselves in a very tight slot canyon. In some places we were en-caved by the rocks and had to get on all fours to crawl along the trail. Other places we had to climb 20 feet of rock and disintegrating rope to get to the next part of the so-called trail. It was definitely an adventure, but all the while I kept thinking of the movie 127 Hours and how he was trapped in a slot canyon until he sawed off his own arm to get out. Yikes, maybe I was a little paranoid.


We climbed the last and longest rope up the rock to get out of the slot canyon and were in the middle of the desert. We chose a direction to go (based on Andy's version of the directions) and over an hour later we quickly realized that we were lost. Great, lost in the desert with only 1 water bottle for two people and a dog! Andy and I fought over the directions for a while before deciding to back-track to the slot canyons and find our way back via the way that we had come. Luckily, we were able to find the same slot canyon and retraced our steps back. I have to say, climbing down the 20 foot ropes was a LOT harder and scarier than climbing up them. I never want to do that again!


All in all, we got out safe and were not trapped for 127 hours, phew! It was a fun adventure, but next time we will be sure to pack more water and leave our dog at home. I would also prefer to take a legitimate trail, rather than one that someone half ass created and then put out there on the internet for Andy to find.

This was the way we transported our dog up (and down) the ropes and rocks. He was a trooper of a pup!

A self-timer family picture in the desert before we got lost and cranky.


Monday, February 25, 2013

Baby Talk...how do you know you are ready for babies?

 Image Via

Oh my, the baby talk has begun in our household. (eeks!) Or rather, Andy has been bringing up the subject nonstop. In fact, he has been announcing to the world that he wants babies. I feel like the embarrassed apologetic parent trying to hush him up before anyone hears, or we make a scene. Yes, it is that bad. (Let it be known, Andy is my husband, not my child.)

When Andy and I got married over 3 years ago we both wanted kids. With all of the excitement and love that marriage brought, we decided that we wanted to have kids right away. (So glad that didn't happen!) We didn't use any birth control for the first 6 months of marriage. We weren't trying, but we weren't not trying, if you get what I mean. Nothing happened after 6 months, and by then we had gotten our senses back about us and decided that we needed to be on birth control asap. Since then, we have been blissfully child free and thoughtless of children. In fact, we even went through a year long phase of just not wanting children at all, ever.

It seems things have changed now...at least for Andy. I'm sure the fact that his younger brother and wife are about to have a baby is a huge contribution to the way Andy is acting. In 9 months Andy has gone from being completely against children, to wanting his own immediately. It is hard for me to grasp all of this in such a short amount of time. Usually I am the one to adapt to life changes more quickly, but in this case I am not. I am quite happy living life without being at the beck and call of a little rug-rat. (As cute as the child may be.)

It feels like the more Andy wants children, the less I want them. Does that even make sense? I have wanted to have babies most of my life until now. In fact, when I was about 22 years old, my ovaries ached for a baby so bad that some days I wanted to go hump the first man that I saw, all for the sake of procreating. (I'm telling you, I was a crazed hormonal woman!) Things have changed since then though. Could my hormones be depleting? Or maybe I have no more eggs left, therefore I don't feel the need to procreate? Or maybe I read too many baby blogs and only take away the bad things rather than the good things. Who knows, I certainly don't! Someone get me a shot of tequila, maybe that will help.

I do know that things are going really well with Andy and me. In fact, things are great! We have moved to a new place and are getting adjusted. I would hate to throw a baby into the mix right now. Our weekends are filled with non-baby adventures and our weeks are beginning to settle into a nice routine. We also don't have an established community here yet, and quite honestly we've been too busy adventuring that we haven't even tried to find one. Am I silly to think that we should have a community of people around us before having a child? Because that is the #1 thing on my list of things to be in place before having children. At the rate that Andy and I move and change jobs, we may never be in one place long enough to have a baby. This is all just my opinion though. There are two of us in this marriage, so I can't be the only one calling the shots.

How did you know it was the right time to have a baby? Did it feel right? I really just have no idea...


Saturday, February 23, 2013

Strong Arms Saturday!

This Strong-Arms-Saturday is brought to you by slot canyons and desert hiking outside of Palm Springs. We were in Palm Springs last weekend and did some pretty amazing slot canyon hiking. The canyons are cool in contrast to the hot desert, so it was a good Saturday option for us.

What exciting things do you have planned for Saturday? Feel like snapping a picture of your own Strong-Arms-Saturday, send me a picture and I'll post it:  E-mail Me!


Friday, February 22, 2013

Simple, Classy, Coffee & Wine Stand

One of my new years goals was/is to live a more minimalist lifestyle. I am gradually minimizing and organizing the things that we have around our apartment. Andy and I initially did a huge purge of our things when we moved in, so now it is mainly down to organizing.

We have this small Ikea kitchen cart that has been used in the kitchen for a variety of things in the past. We have stored fruit and veggies on the bottom shelves, while using the top for food prep to maximize space in the kitchen. In our current kitchen we don't need it for that, so we put it to better use. We created a coffee and wine stand.


Rather than crowding our already crowded cabinets with our coffee stuff, we now have a special place for it. The mugs and bean grinder go on the bottom, while our french press sits on the top. There are also sweeteners and tea on the top for preparing your tea or coffee however you like it. Not only is this convenient, but it frees up some counter space and is an attractive way to serve coffee and tea.


The middle shelf on our kitchen cart is reserved for wine and wine glasses. The wine rack that we had been using didn't always fit the width of our wine bottles (frustrating!), so we decided to keep them on the kitchen cart instead. Out of convenience, our wine glasses slowly started to pile up on the kitchen cart as well, so we decided to make a spot for them. We bought a wine glass rack from Ikea and installed it underneath the top of the kitchen cart. That way our stemmed wine glasses could slide right on. Then, we screwed in some wire cooling racks to the sides of the kitchen cart, so that the wine bottles or glasses wouldn't fall out.


Now we have a simple, yet classy way to store and serve our wine and coffee items. Keeping them out and away from the kitchen also frees up more space in the kitchen and keeps things from getting cluttered. Things look and feel more minimalist in our kitchen/dining area all because of this simple coffee and wine stand. How do you keep things simple and organized in your kitchen?


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Palm Springs

Last weekend Andy and I headed south to Palm Springs. We had an unexpected 3-day weekend (Presidents Day), so we opted for a spontaneous trip. On Thursday night we quickly planned it out and made reservations at a hotel. We got lucky with hotel reservations because once we were there we found out everything had booked up really quickly due to the holiday weekend. Lucky us!


Andy left work at 4pm on Friday and we started the 7 hour drive. Most of it was in the dark, so we had no idea what the surrounding landscape looked like. The next day we woke up to crisp clear blue skies, and a plethora of palm trees. Palm Springs is truly an oasis in the desert.


We did some slot canyon hiking (more in a future post), and relaxed by the pool. We also visited a date farm. We thought it was a palm farm, but it turns out that dates grow on palm trees. I had no idea! Did you know that? There was a great date center with information on how they are grown, samples of dates (12 different varieties!), and a restaurant full of date dishes. We decided on their famous date-shake and enjoyed it outside among the green lawns and date trees, aka palm trees.


It was a fantastic weekend! Taking this spontaneous trip to Palm Springs was the best idea that we have had in a long time. It was neat to see the California desert and the oasis in it, not to mention all the relaxing we did there and the fun that was had.

He's always willing to pose for a picture...just not in the most graceful way. :)

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

What am I doing with my life?



Ahh, the age old question, what to do with my life? I don't know about you, but this is something that I am struggling with.

In high school I was very confident, probably too confident. I knew who I was, what I wanted, and what I didn't want. I went after the things I wanted and I accomplished them. I made sure not to be distracted by the 'popular' crowd and not to get into things like 'drinking'. I felt that I was too good for those things, therefore I did not need them. Wow, I was a cocky young person!

I entered college with a different attitude, maybe that's where I went wrong...? Upon entering college I decided that I wanted to do and try everything. So rather than working towards a goal (career) I wanted to experience life and just have fun. (I should have traveled instead of going to college to get that.) I did just that though, I tried everything in college and had a fun time. (Maybe some things I shouldn't have tried, but no regrets...right?) I also received a great education, but that part didn't matter as much. I majored in something I thought was fun, rather than something I thought I wanted to pursue as a career.

After college my mindset went from wanting to try everything, to wanting to experience the world. Finally I was on my own, which meant I could go wherever I wanted and do whatever I wanted. Having that feeling for the first time as a young adult is phenomenal! You feel invincible. So once again, I did just that. I road tripped to LA, lived there for a while, road tripped back to Virginia, lived there for a while. I took care of old people, managed a fitness center, worked in a coffee shop, worked in a greenhouse, led childrens activities on a farm... Then, I went to South Korea to teach English, did that for a while. I came back to the states (got married- another story) I worked at Rosetta Stone, then I managed a Pilates studio for a while. Then I started my own chocolate business. I did that until Andy got a too-good-to-turn-down job offer in California. So I closed my business, and here I am.

All of that brings me to my current unknowing position. What do I want to do with my life?? I have traveled, learned new skills, helped people, taught people, learned about plants... and Pilates, and started my own business. Shew, that is a lot...is it time to retire yet??

I feel like I am starting all over again. Picking my major as a freshman. Except I am not going to college, I am just living my life, deciding what to do next. I wish it was as easy as having a set career and looking for the next job position in that career. Instead, I have to figure out what I am good at, what do I want to spend my days doing, what am I qualified for...do I need or want more education? I feel lost, I really do. Those are hard questions to answer. When the sky is the limit, how do you pick just one thing? And where do you start?

The outtakes were too funny not to post. 
PS - What you don't know is that I am wearing yoga pants and slippers in the bottom part of the picture.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Ellie-Style Backpacking


This Ellie-Style post is a little different from most. Here in California (Bay Area to be exact) there are tons of outdoor things to do. It is impossible not to spend most of your free time out in nature. Between the beaches and the mountains, the outdoor possibilities are endless. It is good to have some staple clothing items for these adventures. While I love to look pretty, I also enjoy functionality. Being outside hiking most of the day requires more functionality than pretty...but it is possible to have both! At least in my opinion. I chose a girlie pink wicking top, so that not only would I look cute, but I would have the functionality of my top wicking away the sweat and keeping me dry as I hike. My pants are light and quick dry so if I hike through a stream and get wet, they will dry quickly. They also roll up and button, so if I decide to wade into the ocean they won't get in my way. Everything else is pretty basic for hiking. Despite how far out in the wilderness I may be though, I always try to keep a feminine touch, in this case my pink top, and my pearl earrings.


What are your go-to hiking pieces? Do you try to keep femininity while playing outside, or do you let it all go out the window for the sake of necessity?