why i love the tri-cities: a photo essay

zips. it's a greasy burger joint.

tri-cities' finest. oh how i love thee, zips.

{that's susan's little gus in the background. adorable!}

home grown apples.

crisp, juicy, dee-lish. no, seriously...REALLY good.

i've eaten 10 in the past 2 days.

m'parents. doi.

aren't they just the cutest ever?

good peoples.

the jalapeno.

this is a little beater car that my dad sometimes

commutes in. it's like drivin' a go-kart.

confession: i LOVE it!

there's more but that'll do for now!

i'm enjoying my time in the motherland.

hope your labor day weekend is fabulous!

just married!

it's official!

m'baby sis got married last night.

it was a good time. yes, indeedy.

congrats to the happy couple!

{photo by bruce nguyen}

last night as a single lady.

last night, to celebrate my baby sis' last night as a single woman,

my family went bowling. good good times.

susan joined in on the fun.

she's adorable and oh so hilarious.

the perfect woman, really.

oh and in case you were wondering,

yes i'm absolutely and completely obsessed with

my little nephew, jayden.

can you blame me?!

doesn't look like much...

...but it's home.

i'm in washington for the long weekend.

baby sis is gettin' hitched.

lookin' forward to: bowling with the fam, yard sales with susan and

kissing jayden's face off...to name a few.

see ya in awhile!

susan petersen is my favorite.

susan is my washington homegirl.

she's incredibly talented and oh so hilarious.

i covet her style and crafting skills. true story.

we're rendezvousing in the evergreen state in t-minus 2 days.

i'm excited. it's gonna be a good GOOD time.

she and her deliciously adorable daughter, hattie, made a paper chain.

i love my friends.

{image via freshlypicked}

the men in my life.

{l to r: brice, popsicle, benny}

aren't my popsicle and bros so handsome?

i think so.

they're good men. yes, indeedy.

the bros both have lovely little families of their own.

popsicle is just busy bein' rad.

yep, it's what he does. be's rad.

i'm glad to have such strong, righteous men in my family.

i'm a lucky lucky gal.

laguna sunset.

hit up laguna beach with m'ladies.

thai this and gelato paradiso were on the menu.

it was delicious.

almost as delicious as the evening's gorgeous sunset.

did you happen to catch it?

i love where i live.

burnt.

apparently the "i never burn" mentality

is no longer applicable.

m'peanut came and here's what she left me with.

red skin and nasty tan lines.

and yes, i know this pic is a little scandalous.

quit judging me and pass the aloe vera.

like manna from heaven.

after 5 days of hell

this was the delight that awaited partaking saturday

morning for miss christa's birthday celebration.

omelette with spinach, zucchini, peppers,

onions, sausage, ham and jalapenos.

side of cottage cheese and fresh pineapple.

dee-lish!

las brisas' breakfast buffet has got it goin' on.

$13.95 for all you can eat breakfast!

yes, please.

i don't usually do this but...

...i feel like you should know.

i've been eating nothing but

grapefruit and fish for the past 4 days. it sucks.

today is day 5. the LAST day...hooray!

my trainer says that fish is really good for you

and that it's one of the best sources of protein.

something about fatty acids and fat breakdown.

fat breakdown. those were the magic words. reeled me right in.

{get it? reeled? FISH?!}

and here i am at the start of day 5, dreaming of the birthday

breakfast i'm attending tomorrow.

tomorrow. the day that WON'T start with

grapefruit and drag on with the consumption of

copious amounts of fish.

still high protein and low carb, mind you...but NOT fish!

it's good to have something to look forward to.

laguna hills' best kept secret.

miss katie and i decided to try something new

and ended up at natraj cuisine of india.

delish.

miss katie loved it all.

{'cept for the cheese fritters. bad idea.}

i played it safe and ordered the chicken curry.

umm...yum.

{i apologize for licking my food, mama. yes, i know it's not polite.}

beach day with m'peanut.

and yes, that is a sponge bob tattoo you see.

i'm hardcore like that.

seven. zero.

{ hanauma bay. december 2006.}

isn't my gram the cutest thing you ever did see?!

it's her birthday today.

happy birthday, gram!

joy cometh in the morning.

took on joy's espresso chocolate sandwich cookies.

minus the espresso.

i don't have a kitchenaide mixer.

it was a disaster...at first.

i had to REALLY get my hands dirty to get the dough

where it needed to be

but it all turned out alright in the end.

yes, quite alright.

yum.

love love love.

go see it. now.

this just in: m'peanut is coming to visit!

yes, i actually did a fist pump when the news was delivered.

oh i'm just so excited! eeeeeiiiiiiiiii!!!

see ya next week, peanut!

save the drama for your mama.

druggies. dreadlocks.

nobel prize winning vma attendees.

too much drama already.

but i DID love...

irina{!!!}, christopher and althea's designs.

{in that particular order}

did you SEE heidi's pimp ring?!? holy hannah.

what's with the new "insider look" at the models?!

i spit upon that ridiculousness.

all that said...can't. stop. watching.

slip slidin' away.

'member slip and slides?

well, we busted out some plastic, soap and water

and rallied the peeps at salt creek for some

slip and slide action.

me and my PIC pre-soap.

the man behind the madness: mr. chris keneipp.

quite a turnout for some good, clean fun.

{get it? soap...CLEAN?! bahahaha!}

oh heyyyyyyy.

action shot.

doesn't this just look like the most fun ever?

yeah yeah, it was. the MOST fun!

tonight, we're makin' it work.

are you as obsessed with project runway as i am?

{peanut, don't answer that.}

set your tivos. season 6 starts tonight!

eeeeiiiiiiii!

{can you tell i'm excited?!}

we'll debrief tomorrow.

auf wiedersehen.

wild thing!

are you super excited about the

where the wild things are movie? i am!

but wait, there's more!

i found a blog with a collection of works

that pay homage to sendak's life and legacy.

it's called terrible yellow eyes.

so great!

:: casey o'connell ::

{when freckles collide}

naomi at rockstar diaries blogged about 

casey o'connell awhile ago. 

she obsessed over when freckles collide.

i find myself obsessing as well.

here are a few of my faves.

{crab and jellyfish sittin' in a tree}

the emotion.

tender without being sappy. 

abstract yet soft. 

{snowglobe}

the colors. 

brilliant blues. ravishing reds. 

{good red, good purple, call me if you need me}

and this one. yes, this one has my heart. 

simple yet sassy. 

i need it. yes, NEED it.

home sweet home.

saw this at {mormon in manhattan} last week.

well not this exactly. natalie's from utah.

but me, i'm a washington gal through and through.

seriously, i'm obsessed.

14k gold with a little bling in the southeast corner.

yes, please.

dear jayden.

auntie la la is comin' to visit very soon.

prepare to have your face kissed off.

in the nude.

seems like everyone is talkin' about nude heels lately.

i do so love a good bandwagon.

these beauties are sittin' in my closet right now.

might have to take 'em for a spin this weekend.

aren't they fabulous?!

i think so.

i propose...

...that the proposal wasn't as bad

as some people said.

but just so you know, there are naked bits.

forewarned is forearmed.

there's a first time for everything!

today, i uploaded my first video to youtube.

i know, right?! so exciting.

miss angel and i let the creative juices flow and ended up

with a masterpiece.

and now for your viewing pleasure, i present:

happy birthday from a couple of old bags!

i'd like to thank melissa for having a birthday.

without her, i never would've had the inspiration.

and thanks to angel for that super sweet high voice.

it's something i never could've done.

true story.

uh-frayed.

caught the fray at irvine meadows last week. 

uh-mazing.

p.s. aren't they just the cutest group o' dudes ever?!

{image}

spot on.

 it's on with alexa chung.

i'm obsessed. 

alexa chung.

hee-lariously witty. 

incredibly stylish.

weekdays at noon on mtv.  

set your tivo. or come over to my house. 

{not at noon though 'cause i won't be home. come later than noon...like maybe 8 or 9.}

{images}

roll call.

this film is definitely on my to-do list for the weekend. 

right up there with doing the dishes and cleaning my bedroom. 

above those, actually.

going to the movies is the one task that always seems

to get checked off the list. 

what're your plans for the weekend?

dear jeanine.

i want you to know that i voted my little heart out. 

all for you, m'dear. 

you're beautiful. you're sexy. you're fabulous.

oh, and you're a great dancer!

hope ya win!

{visitors welcome}

jason and tisha flora.

aren't these two the cutest couple ever? 

answer: yup.

here are their six little ones.

jennekah, jaedon, matisse, saryn, jerrick and bryant.

adorable. 

these cuties stopped in for a visit. 

it was a full house to be sure. 

we had a BLAST!

can't wait for the next visit!

street legal.

been drivin' around with expired tabs since march.

{what?! have you SEEN the DMV wait lines?!}

now i won't have to live in constant fear

of a police officer getting behind me, pulling me over and 

impounding my car.

{yes, i've had nightmares about it}

thank heavens for AAA!

girl crush.

backwards moonwalk?!

janelle monae is the shiz.

{good share, trevy}

:: charmed, i'm sure ::

i received an unexpected surprise last week. 

birthday box from delicious peanut!

{yes, my birthday was a month ago. that's just how we roll.}

movies were a big part of together time. 

besides, who WOULDN'T want a movie bag of 

gummy treats?! 

and where there were movies,

there was usually poppycorn (!) and chews.

throwback to a fan fave.
pauly bleaker IS totally boss, y'know.
{the tic tac box says "pauly bleaker's only vice"}


amen.

and the piece de resistance.

{that's french!}

season one of flight of the conchords.

thanks, peanut! you're the best! i love you so!