Inspiration

It's day three of Will's and my four day vacation.  We celebrated three years of marriage on Wednesday.  I still have moments, days, where I am astounded with how lucky I am.  Will is my best friend and truly my perfect match.  God has really blessed us. 

On Wednesday, Will surprised me with the best home made dinner, the same pasta dish he made me when we were still in the first years of our dating relationship ... nearly eleven years ago.  Pasta, sausage and garlic cheesy bread made on these great gluten free buns we found at Simply Gluten Free.  We'd had the hamburger buns before, but this time Will got their hot dog buns which he sliced and made into scrumptious garlic bread.  The buns are from Charlotte's Bakery and they are oh-so-good!  They have a faint sweetness that reminds us of Hawaiian rolls (Will's favorite!).  We topped the meal off with home made strawberry margaritas--yum!  We had such a great evening.

Thursday we went up to Santa Barbara for the afternoon/evening.  Spent an hour or so wandering State Street which I haven't done in years.  The best part was walking through Sur La Table together.  Such fun looking through all the gismos and gadgets for the kitchen.  We enjoyed what we both agreed was the best meal we've ever had at Outback Steakhouse.  Outback has been one of my favorite restaraunts ever since we found out they not only have a gluten free menu ... but they have an absolutely DIVINE gluten free desert, a pecan brownie with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce.  When we go to Outback near home we always take the brownie to go so I can enjoy it for desert over the next couple of days.  

Yesterday wasn't a flop, but was a little bit of a bummer since I was in an uninspired mood.  A free Friday and I just felt like I wasn't using it to its fullest potential.  Will saved the day once again as we went to the Thousand Oaks mall to walk around and headed to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  The mall has changed dramatically in recent years and we wandered the mall looking at all the new shops and reminiscing on the stores that were there all through our childhood ... like Tilt and Round Table where you could get a slice of pizza at the walk up counter. 

This morning I've been on the hunt for some new inspiration as I want to decorate my house for fall this weekend.  I'm having my first ever "Craft Day" party at our home next Saturday and I want our house to be fall inspired in time for the ladies to come over.  I first had the idea for a craft party a couple years ago when I lived in what is now affectionately known as the hobbit house.  A small apartment with ceilings so low that my brother-in-law couldn't stand up straight in.  As I've mentioned before, I love the fall ... and what better way to celebrate the changing of seasons than with your girlfriends creating holiday cards and various crafts ... all while eating yummy fall food and sipping on tea, hot chocolate and chai?  Now that we're in our first house we finally have plenty of space for a party.  I can't wait!

I've spent part of the morning browsing the web, searching for inspiration, and finally found some at this blog:  http://keepnthesunnyside.blogspot.com/.  You simply HAVE to check it out!  Grab a cup of coffee, tea, whatever your pleasure is and spend some time browsing!  

Today we're heading across Simi Valley on a bike ride, with a mid-ride stop at Green Acres for delectible tri tip.  Tonight we're going to BJ's for their gluten free pizza.  Yes, you heard me right!  BJ's has gluten free pizza on the menu now!  Woo hoo!  Will's had it a number of times and always comes home telling me how great it is, now it's time for me to try it for myself.  Apparently the theme of this year's anniversary vacation is FOOD and lots of it.  I'm sure we'll be cringing as we get on the scale tomorrow, but heck, you're supposed to gain weight on vacation, right?  Looks like I'll be spending lots of time at the gym in the weeks to come.

Hopefully all my bottled up inspiration will pay off tomorrow as I decorate our home and clean for next week's event.  Great way to spend a football Sunday if I do say so myself.  I'll be posting pics as soon as the house is decked out.  Oh, and I've finished a few more layettes I need to photograph and share so keep coming back!