It's fun to share!

     As you all know, Jeff and I love going to gardens. We've been to the Arboretum a few times, the Huntington Library once, and to Descanso about a dozen or more times. The one thing we haven't done, is invited our friends to come too! So, when Julia and Mike suggested that we should all go together one of these days, I jumped at the chance!

     So, we made plans to meet for lunch in Pasadena and then on to explore the LA Arboretum after. After a teensy wrench was thrown at the original plan, we decided to skip lunch and meet at the gardens around 1pm. When we arrived, the sun was high and blazing, and due to the heat (it was beastly hot!), we decided to stick to some of the shadier areas. We traveled first to the prehistoric forest and the lake, passing the citrus orchard and rose gardens along the way. It was so great just to walk and talk out amongst the trees and flowers. And, despite the heat (it must have been at least 85F), we had a great time. Julia and I would get distracted, taking photos of the peacocks or occasional hummingbird or duckling, and instead of J getting a bit bored (as I'm sure sometimes happens when I get super snap-happy), he just walked on, chatting happily with Mike. It was great! 

    Speaking of photographs, it was nice to be able to take photos of other people without it being awkward (I've been trying to practice my portrait-taking, etc).. and it was equally nice to have a friend to take a photo of J & me. So, without further ado, here are some of the amazing snaps taken on this joint adventure!

 
     When the day was done, we were fairly worn out and very hungry, so we decided to stop for dinner at the diner M&J had suggested for lunch earlier. The place is called Pie 'n Burger, and as you may be able to guess from their name, they are known for their burgers and homemade pies. It's a cute little diner, started in the 60's, and tucked away and so small that J and I missed it the first time we drove past. Once inside, we collapsed into the bar seats and ordered up some milkshakes (and a diet coke for me) and burgers. I ordered one of my all time favorite foods: a patty melt. The patty was juicy and the cheese and onions melted to perfection on deliciously crispy rye bread - it was wonderful.
     With a plan in motion to meet back at the apartment for drinks and board games, we ordered a boysenberry pie to take with us. On the way home M&J grabbed a carton of vanilla ice cream - because hot pie deserves to be served a la mode, of course. And so it was, at the end of our adventure, that I served us all a slice of hot out-of-the-oven pie topped with vanilla bean ice cream, and we finished our day in a tasty reverie, until the very last bite was gone.

Apologies! Long time no write!

Apologies everyone!
     I know it's been a while since I last posted anything here, and for those of you who actually check this page regularly, I am so sorry for disappointing you. I promise, I will do better in the future.
     April turned out to be a very busy month - I traveled to the bay area once again to visit my family. The main purpose was for my mother's birthday (a milestone this year!), for which we threw a huge party for family and friends complete with homemade goodies and many a fruity drink (and lots of iced tea, which I am now apparently addicted to). The other purpose was to take a second look at a potential wedding venue for J's and my future nuptials. Nothing has been finalized yet, but it's looking as though we may actually have a venue and, more importantly, a date very soon.
     Because of all of the excitement, I ended up coming home with an almost full camera, which I have only just unloaded onto the computer (finally). As such, I don't have too much to share yet, although I'm sure there will be plenty on the way - including an impromptu shoot of a huge Red Tail Hawk who decided to lunch on a pigeon right outside my apartment. I'm super excited to share those photos, since I was definitely engrossed (and a bit grossed out) by the subject at hand, and the photographs came out spectacularly.
     Those shall make an appearance soon (I hope) - with a warning attached, since the subject matter is a bit graphic. I will hopefully also have photographs to share of the weekend ahead (J and I are taking a few friends to the gardens! either Descanso or the Arboretum). For now, I'll leave you with a few photographs I took while visiting the family. While there, my mom asked if I could please take a photograph of my sister to send out with her graduation announcements (yay!), and of course I couldn't say no. So here are a few of the shots, as well as the one she will be sending out (top right).

     So proud of my little sis! College graduate, and future student at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).