Our date in LA

 It has been a few months since I have updated the blog, so there's a lot of catch up to do.


Nicholas and I made our drive back up to Santa Barbara from San Diego
after Christmas into a date extravaganza.
It was really wonderful!
First we stopped for some yummy kabobs at a little restaurant off santa monica blvd.

Then we went to the Getty Center, which I had never been to.
If you are ever in the LA area you have to go it is amazing!

view of LA from one of the decks at the Getty.

although I posted a lot of pictures of the grounds, we did see a lot of gorgeous artwork, this was one of my favorites.

We left the Getty when it closed and found ourselves in major traffic on the 405

But our night ended with a drive on the 10 to Venice Beach 

where we got Intelligentsia coffee. 

The picture above is of the outside of the shop, 

it was a really unique coffee shop. 

In my opinion, the best coffee there is, but the most uncomfortable seating imaginable (inside there were just concrete slabs in rows to sit on).

Currently.

Seen this on a few of my favorite blogs and thought it was fun.

Obsessing over: TJ's peppermint hot chocolate with whipped cream, all the beautiful brown boots this season, white Christmas twinkle lights, fried egg and cheese sandwiches.

Working on: our Christmas card, my last two finals for Fall quarter, a few crafts for this event!

Thinking about: my dreams for next year, Nicholas, where we will live when I graduate, when we will have little ones.

Anticipating: wintery date nights, giving meaningful gifts, more quality time with our families!

 Listening to: Hotel Cafe (so good).

Drinking: coffee.

Wishing: I was better at slowing down, I had more time to experiment with meals, we had more to give to others, next quarter wont be as busy as I think it will, Nicholas was not so tired when he comes home from work. 

GF Cookie Craze.

On Sunday night we went cookie crazy.
I had been gone all weekend at the Reality Women's Retreat and so all I wanted was to cuddle up with my love and eat cozy food. Nick made us tea and I looked for a recipe...
This is what I came up with... On pinterest thepinkandblueblog.com posted this.

Supplies:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I used GF Bisquick)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat.

Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is warm, but no longer very hot, about 5 minutes.

Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth and well-mixed. Stir in chocolate chunks.

 Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center.
 

golden brown... YUM!

Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Pinable.

Thats right! These sweet quotes and photos are down right pinable!

Source: janefarr.blogspot.com via Kristen on Pinterest

Source: leslinlulu.tumblr.com via Kristen on Pinterest

[tonight is date night for us-- I think we might get lost somewhere]

Source: loveveggiesandyoga.com via Kristen on Pinterest

[I've made this every day since I pinned this last week!!! YUM!!]

ramblings.

There is so much for me to write in order to keep the blog world caught up on the haps of the Pope family... instead of rambling for the next 4 hours here's my week in a brief 7 bullet points!

-last Friday I took my last final (aced it!) and then slept for 2 days so I could go to work on monday and not feel like death.
-Sunday hubs and I had a very romantic date night! He made bacon wrapped filet mignon and grilled veggies while I worked on roasted potatoes and roasted apple and vanilla bean souffle yum! (Aran knows what shes doing over at Cannelle et Vanille!!)

-Monday I went back to work and felt like death... lame! I taught all my little kiddos about how God made them beautifully unique--which was a great reminder for myself...
-Tuesday, we celebrated a good friend's birthday by going to see Josh Garrels play here in town. You can take a listen here, his album is free to download =)

-Wednesday- work, then came home and made progress on the baby blanket I started back here... at this post... which  I'm knitting for a special little girl! pictures to come...
-Thursday I had a doctors appointment and then we had dinner with some of Nicholas' friends from work. Amazing taco bar! My love made award winning homemade corn tortillas... all night people raved about them! Recipe found on the back of the masa bag-- 1. add water. (haha)
-Friday night Nicholas worked so I did laundry, and worked on the blanket...
-Today we slept in and then went on a walk to grab coffee, had dinner with some pals and now im catching up on my real simple mag.

How was your week?

this week in rewind.

This week was a doozy!
-Researched and wrote 3 final papers... and took one in class exam
-Had three separate meltdowns thanks to such papers
-I took a study break a few days ago and worked on this painting...

-Fell in love with pinterest (my Autumn board makes me so excited for this Fall!)

-Nicholas and I had a date night in I.V.

- I started my first day of subbing, I loved it so much!

-Tonight I got creative with my nails... what do you think?

-Now, I know know this was news like months ago but seriously Kate Middleton is gorgeous!

-Yesterday I started to get sick and today it's in full swing, so I'm planning on sleeping in late and resting this weekend while my hubby is on a surf trip.
-Also my sweet friend Chelsea over at walk with me darling posted pictures of Macha Jewelry and its amazing! check it out!

How was your week? What are you plans for the weekend? I hope you have plans to enjoy the last few warm summer night before the fall chill sets in!
Have a wonderful weekend!

Drive in.

[we got really creative at the drive in and created a really comfy bed on top of the 'green chicken']

[doesn't he look cozy?]

 Have you ever been to a drive-in theater? We have one in our town and we love it not only is it way more fun to watch a movie under the stars but it is so much more affordable! ($6 something!)

tonight

husband and I rode our bikes to the beach so that he could catch some wave and I could take some pictures of the sunset. It was surprisingly chilly considering its September 2nd, but we were bundled up so it was bearable sitting on the bluffs while I watched him enjoy the water.  

It was a beautiful sunset.

 Hope you have a great night and a good weekend, husband and I are going to watch a movie and get cozy on the couch! What are your plans?

date night.

tonight was unusual in the best way!
usually on monday nights we have dinner with some friends or i get caught up on homework i didnt do from the weekend... but tonight...
the weather was beautiful and i was feeling a little blue, so instead of company, or pages and pages of reading, nicholas made me an amazing dinner and we ate it out on our balcony as the sun set!
[my man is pretty awesome]
then we bundled up a little, made some coffee and headed across town to the frisbee golf course...
have you ever been?
I hadn't...
I was HORRIBLE!
but it was such a fun date night chasing my frisbees all over the park!

horrible form, horrible!... seriously bad.