Technologically advanced

Now I can post from my phone! Maybe Erica will be proud of me now!

For Erica

There. I did it.

LOL

I will do a V-day post I promise!!

xoxo everyone!

In Business!

 

I am now an Independent AVON rep! I have always loved AVON and have always thought about selling it.. and now I am! It’s so fun! I’ve got a ton of samples coming in the mail, so if you loves samples of great product as much as I do… let me know!

What I love about AVON is it’s not just for your Mom and Gma anymore! They make it so easy: you can order ONLINE now and it COMES STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOORSTEP! How’s that for instant gratification?

Check out  my website:

http://www.yourAVON.com/juliececil

Let me know if you have any questions on product, or ordering, etc…. xoxo!

road trippin’

This is a little belated (little is an understatement!).. Way back when on July 28th Josh and I took a trip up the coast. We were ultimately ended up in Tahoe for the wedding of our friends Dave and Grace Lindberg on August 1st. We packed up the truck with clothes, a tent, a cooler, our camping box, the guitar, and of course Josh’s surfboards and we were off!

We had originally planned to stay in Jalama for two nights, but if any of you know that place, it is SO crowded in the summer and there are no reservations… so they do a lottery for campsites. yeah right. Instead, tuesday night we stayed at El Capitan Canyon Resort. We had a charming cabin with a fluffy queen bed, a kitchenette, bathroom, loft, front porch, and private fire pit. HEAVEN!

We rode bikes and took a hike on Paradise Trail above the canyon. The bikes are available for free! And what a spectacular view up and down the coast when we made it to the top.

 

We spent Wednesday at Jalama State Beach. We did get a # for the site lotery: #63! And I think when they did the lottery later that day, they announced that there were 15 sites available.  And we were off again! We decided that since it was 3 in the afternoon, we’d better get a move on to find a place to set up camp for the night. We drove north on the 101 to Lompoc and headed east towards Buellton. On the way, we saw a sign for the La Purisima Mission and decided to stop and take a look. It was 4:45pm and turns out that the gates close at 5, so we decided to run (quite literally) to see the Mission. It was across this huge pasture, so we focused on the corrall with a Long-Horn Steer (or Bull or whatever!) and a gorgeous horse that came running up to me as soon as I got the camera out to take a picture of the Bull! I wish we would have brought the apple core from in the truck… Dangit.

 

That night we stayed at the Flying Flags RV Park. They had plenty of room and welcomed us with open arms! Most everyone there had RV’s, and since we were tent camping and no one else was, we had the whole open space to ourselves! There was plenty of room for us to play a couple games of distance Bocce Ball. So much fun! And of course we had to venture across the street to Split Pea Andersen’s

Pizza Night!

On Friday, July 24th, we had a visitor… Josh’s 7 year old cousin Taylor (or Ham as the family calls her), was spending the night at Grandy’s house. After trying to wear her out in the pool- which I do not suggest doing with a 7 year old; it will have the complete opposite affect and YOU will be the one that needs a nap afterward!- we decided to make homemade pizza for dinner!

 Taylor helped mix the dough and I’ve included the recipe because it was so easy and yummy, I will continue to use it for pizza night- It sure beats Pizza Hut! I copied this recipe from a food and cooking blog: http://simplyrecipes.com/.

 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (I used Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast)
3 1/2 cups bread flour (can use all-purpose but bread flour will give you a crisper crust)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

MAKING THE DOUGH:
1   In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. If you only have a hand mixer, this will work, too.  Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2   Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand, just make sure to coat your hands lightly with flour! The dough is sticky (and a little fun to play with!)

 3  Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you don’t have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise. Okay, it was hot in our house but not 75°F , so I just put it on the counter and it was fine.

*At this point, if you want to make ahead, you can freeze the dough in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

BAKING:

Set oven temp to 450°F and let pre-heat for about an hour (if you’re in a hurry, then no biggie). Divide dough how you want, depending on the size of your pizza, and shape into rounds. Top with your favrite sauce and toppings, brush olive oil on the exposed crust and ake 10-15 minutes or until crust is nice and golden brown! Yum! Let it cool off before you eat it though- the roof of Josh’s mouth is still hurting because he was too hungry to wait!

OUR FAVORITE PIZZAS:

BBQ Chicken– Red sauce, freshly BBQ’d chicken, diced sallots (or red onions), red pepper flakes, and BBQ sauce drizzled on top!

Julie’s Veggie– Alfredo sauce, lot’s of fresh basil, jalapeños, sliced mushrooms, and diced shallots (and tons of cheese!)

And what’s pizza night without an original pepperoni pizza? Red sauce, tons of cheese, and pepperoni! ENJOY!

Angels in Diamond Club

2 years ago...

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. 2 years ago last night, Josh took me on our first date to an Angels game! It was the perfect first date. Hot Dogs, Beer and Baseball and his family’s season tix in the Diamond club 3 rows directly behind home plate. What more could a girl ask for? More games of course!

We went with our friends Nolan and Rosie, and we had a blast like always! The played the Minnesota Twins (yuck) and the Angels were losing 4-2 when we left in the bottom of the 8th…. We listened to the game on the way home and they tied it up in the 9th, struck the Twins out in the 10th, and then the Angels won! 6-5. Woo Hoo! I love going to the games! And I love you babe! Here’s to many more years and many more games…

7/23/09