Walters Press

Progress on our house

2010-11-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've been missing from the blog lately because all my time is focused on our home renovations. I will post some before and after photos later but I wanted to share this recent picture of our house. We took the big black screen off the front and it has really opened up the front of our house.

From Our first home

Riley loves our new house

2010-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Riley is enjoying having more room at our new house. He can run around the back yard and down the driveway at full speed! Our house is much larger than our last apartment so sometimes I can't find him, so I have to search through the back yard and in each room of the house. The other day I was calling his name with no response. I finally found him in the front of the house, quietly stalking something out the window. I assumed it was a cat (he loves to hunt the cats in our neighborhood!). I took a picture of him because I thought it was so sweet.

As I walked closer to him I saw the object of his affection. It wasn't a cat, but instead a stuffed animal in our neighbors front yard!

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

Look at those ears perked up. Poor thing, I felt bad laughing at him, but we had a great time making fun of our dog that night!

We are homeowners!

2010-10-05T10:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been gone for a while, my time has been filled with moving and remodeling! We are homeowners!

From New Album 7/9/10 4:19 PM

Pacific Grove and Monterey, California

2010-09-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we drove to Pacific Grove, California to spend the weekend with our friends, Eddie and Jessica. I had never been to the Monterey area and a visit was long overdue.

We woke up one morning to a deer in the next door neighbor's back yard

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

I was of course obsessed with this deer and came to the conclusion that he must be hurt because why else would he stay in the next door neighbor's backyard when we were so close? I later saw him walking away with a limp:(

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

Some of the charming houses of Pacific Grove

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

We took a drive down Highway 1 past Carmel

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

We kept driving south of Big Sur on Highway 1 to Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to see McWay Falls, a 80 foot waterfall on the beach

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

On the way back to LA we stopped at Pinnacles National Monument so that I could get another stamp on my National Parks Passport. The "pinnacles" are eroded leftovers of an extinct volcano.

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

We took backroads home through cow fields. Cows were grazing along the roads, not many cars come by here.

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

We stopped by Carrizo Plain National Monument to see what it looked like in the middle of summer. A very big contrast to what it looked like covered in wildflowers just two and a half months earlier

July 2010

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

March 2010

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

July 2010

March 2010

From Pacific Grove with Eddie and Jessica July 4th weekend 2010

Soda Lake dries up in the summer and leaves behind a crust of sodium sulfates and carbonates.

St. Pete Beach, Florida

2010-08-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

June began with a wedding in St. Pete Beach, Florida. Southerners love Florida. California natives don't seem to get it. I see why: they have to fly across the country when they can drive to the Pacific at most in a few hours. However, the water is SO different. The Pacific is COLD. The Atlantic is like bathwater!

I grew up going to Ft. Lauderdale, which is on the Atlantic side of the state, but St. Pete Beach is on the Gulf side. The water is much more clear here and little to no waves.

I had to get another stamp on my National Parks Passport so we went to DeSoto National Monument. In May of 1539, Spaniard Hernando de Soto landed here and set off on the first extensive organized exploration of the southern United States.

That night we met up with the bride at the resort where the wedding was taking place, the Don Cesar.

The next night was the wedding. Several of my sorority sisters from college were in attendance that weekend. It was great to see everyone!

The bride and groom, Dr. and Dr. Gielow! They both just started their residency in Philadelphia!

LeeAnn has traveled the world, even snatching up a Spanish boyfriend, Ricardo!

What event would be complete without jumping pictures?

The next morning we went to Waffle House. I can't get enough of it!

I am jumping for joy because I'm now mayor of this Waffle House on Four Square!

San Francisco Bay area--my favorite!

2010-07-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in the San Francisco Bay area a few weeks ago. It is so beautiful up there! Chris and I stayed in the city of Tiburon in Marin County.

Paradise Beach Park looking out at the San Francisco Bay:

The Lyford House in Tiburon. This beautiful home sits on the Richardson Bay Audobon Center's land. The Lyford house was not built here, but sent over on a barge from another part of the bay.

We had fun at a wedding in Sonoma on Saturday night

On Sunday our friends Eddie and Jessica came from Manteca to meet us and we drove to Point Reyes National Seashore so I could get another stamp on my National Park Passport!

This beautiful ship is located behind a general store in Inverness, California

We had beautiful views on our hike to the lighthouse

We had unbelievably clear weather that day!

I love lighthouses and was able to mark another off my list: The Point Reyes lighthouse

This was in the living quarters for the former keepers of the lighthouse

The next day was Memorial Day so we drove to The Presidio in San Francisco. American Flags were everywhere!

Tennessee in May

2010-06-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to Tennessee for the weekend at the beginning of May. Chris asked why Lebanon was called "The Cedar City", so I showed him.

This is Cedar Forest State Park. Shana and I went camping here as little girls many times. Lebanon has a lot of wild cedar trees, hence "Cedar City".

I got to meet Violet at 2 weeks old. She was tiny!

Violet and Margie, future best friends and now neighbors. Pictures like this will surely be shown at their wedding

The whole group

Lunch on the patio in Lebanon with the family

From Professional Ceremony Pictures and Reception Pictures

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-20T13:37:00.000-07:00

We wish our two great fathers a Happy Fathers Day today! We love you both!

This is my dad on his 3rd birthday

From Daddy

From Non-Professional Wedding Ceremony and Reception Pictures

Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

2010-06-16T00:09:00.000-07:00

Today we are celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. It has been a wonderful 3 years and here's to many more.

All of these pictures were taken by the fabulous Michael Norwood.

From Professional Bridal Portraits-March 31, 2007-El Matador Beach, Malibu, California

From Professional Pre-wedding pictures and wedding ceremony pictures

From Professional Ceremony Pictures and Reception Pictures

Visiting Boise

2010-06-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Chris and I visited his family in Boise at the end of April. Spring was just as beautiful as fall in Boise.

Chris's mom is moving her office into a beautiful historic building in downtown Boise

While visiting Chris's grandmother she gave us a beautifule glass carafe that I have always admired. She brought it back from Venice many years ago

It wouldn't be a complete post without some animal pictures:

Parker and his beautiful blue eyes

Lync

Spike

Gabe

Sam

Finn

Chris and his Tia Missy

France Day 10--Paris--last day!

2010-05-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day in France. We didn't have much planned so we left our hotel, grabbed a croissant, and walked toward Ile Saint Louis and Notre Dame. We passed some people running a marathon

We walked around the Ile Sainte Louis (an island in the middle of the River Seine) because I read it was largely residential and non-touristy. There were a lot of Parisians walking around with their baguettes (really) and window shopping. Of course when we made it over to Notre Dame we saw lots of tourists.

It was Palm Sunday so the queue to go in the cathedral was very long. We had both been in before, anyway

We walked back over to the Centre Pompidou near our hotel

I loved that the metro was like an underground city. We don't have anything like this in LA. There were full on bands entertaining people while they waited for the trains

We went to Pierre Herme, one of the best chocolate stores in Paris. A pastry chef friend back home wanted us to bring him some chocolates so we gladly made this stop. Just outside of Pierre Herme was the Church of Saint Sulpice. I didn't get a good picture of the outside because of all the construction, but the inside was interesting. The church contains a gnomon, or meridian line--a brass strip--in the floor leading to an obelisk. The meridian line is a fascinating astronomical instrument of the 18th century, used to study the planets and determine the date of Easter each year. The sun's rays enter the church through a small opening in the south transept and rest on the line at various points throughout the year. On the winter solstice, the rays hit the obelisk; on the spring and autumn equinoxes, the bronze table. Those of you who have read or see The Da Vinci Code will recognize this

Next, we took a stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg. I was amazed to see the amount of people just reading the newspaper and eating baguettes while laying on the green grass. We need to do more of that here!

That night we rode the metro out of the city a bit to La Defense, a business neighborhood outside of the city center. I wanted to go here because La Grande Arche de la Défense is located here (a kind of 20th century Arc de Triomphe) and it marks the western end of the "Axe Historique". The Axe historique ("historical axis") is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris, France, to the west. It is also known as the "Voie Triomphale" (triumphal way).

La Defense:

This is a very very bad picture, but this picture is taken along the Axe Historique looking from La Defense to L'Arc de Triomphe in the distance (and the Louvre is beyond that)

We rode the metro back to the Arc de Triomphe

We said goodbye to the Eiffel Tower one last time

From Rehearsal Dinner-Sambuca Restaurant Non Professional pictures

Finally, over a year later, I'm done blogging about France! Now I've got to get to Spain.

In case you missed all my posts about France click for Day 1--Normandy, Day 2--Normandy to Loire Valley, Day 3--Bourges, Sancerre and Chambord, Day 4--Puy de Dome, Clermont-Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region, Day 5--Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn and Beziers, Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou and Les Orgues, Day 7--Cathar country and Carcassonne, Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier and Paris, Day 9--Paris and Day 10--Paris.

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to the best two moms in the world! We love you both! We wish we could be with you both today.

From Labor Day Weekend 2009--Tennessee

Happy 4th Birthday Ben!

2010-05-03T05:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Ben's 4th birthday! He is my second favorite dog in the whole world!:)

From Victoria Van Ryn's 1st birthday and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

France Day 9--Paris

2010-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up and had a croissant again for breakfast. We had booked a segway tour of the city so that we could see a large amount of the city in little time, then go back later and see more of what we wanted. Segways are so fun! Many large cities now have segway tours. We picked up our segways near the Eiffel Tower.

Here we are on our tour crossing the street like little ducklings

The church at Les Invalides

We crossed over the Pont (Bridge) Alexandre III. The bridge was built in 1896 and is the most ornate of all the bridges crossing the Seine in Paris.

In the middle of Place de la Concorde stands this obelisk, a gift from Egypt to France in 1833 with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of Pharoah Ramses II.

Next we went through the Jardin des Tuileries

Looking back at the obelisk you can see L'Arc de Triomphe in the distance

We crossed back over the Seine and you can see Notre Dame in the distance

Padlocks on the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor bridge over the Seine River--people put the padlocks on bridges as symbol of their love. Musee D'Orsay in the distance

Musee D'Orsay

Riding our segways back home

We ate dinner at a great restaurant, Hotel du Nord. After dinner, while walking around the city, Chris tried to get into one of the public toilets that you must pay to enter. A homeless man had rigged this toilet so that you must pay him to enter.

At the end of the night we went to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur, my favorite building in Paris. It's very touristy but so beautiful and has a great view of the city.

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

To see all of our pictures from Day 9 in France, click here.

France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, arriving in Paris

2010-05-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up and said goodbye to Napoleon the great dane. Some pictures of our hotel, Le Clos de Maussanne

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

The restaurant in the b&b

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

We had a few hours to spare before our flight to Paris so we asked Bruno, the owner, where we should go. He suggested we go to Montpellier, where he is from. We first went to the Pont du Gard, an aqueduct constructed by the Roman empire in 1 A.D. I had been here before in high school, but wanted to show Chris since it is such an impressive sight.

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

When I visited the Pont du Gard in high school, I was able to stand on top of the second level, but we were not allowed to go on top this time. This was the door I went through 10 years ago!

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

Next we drove to the coast to Maguelone to see the cathedral there built in the 11th century.

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

Montpellier is the 8th largest city in France and a big university town. This is the Place de la Comedie, the heart of the city

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

We drove to the airport and got on our plane to Paris. We had reserved a hotel in the Marais neighborhood of Paris near the Centre Pompidou, which is ironic, because I didn't like the Centre Pompidou when I had been to Paris before. It turned out to be a wonderful neighborhood full of locals and I would totally recommend it. Our hotel was called the Hotel St. Merry and it was very unique. Totally gothic--reminded me of Dracula--but so unusual and I wouldn't have it any other way. We were on the 6th floor and there was no elevator so we definitely got a work out! This hotel is connected to a church and it used to be part of the presbytery. Some of the rooms even have flying buttresses going through them!

From France Day 8--Pont du Gard, Montpellier, Paris

To see all our pictures from day 8 in France click here

France Day 7--Cathar Country and Carcassonne

2010-04-30T00:10:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, I am still determined to blog about every day in France. I have even been to Spain for a week since returning from France almost a year ago so I've got all of that trip to cover as well!

Today's breakfast was the first on our trip that did not include a croissant. I was really unhappy about this. Instead we had bread, grapefruit, tea and coffee. Simple, but the typical French breakfast.

After breakfast we went back to our room to get ready for the day. Chris was transferring some pictures off our memory card onto the computer when he accidentally deleted all our pictures from the first four days! He felt terrible and spent the next two hours trying to recover our photos while I accidentally took a nap:) I suggested downloading a recovery program to access our deleted pictures and it ended up being $40 well spent. It worked!

By this time it was nearly noon. We went south to drive to the Cathar chateaux we had missed the day before. We stopped at McDonalds to try something new for lunch. They didn't have the chicken selects so I ordered a cheeseburger and Chris had "Le M" which was a nice looking burger with a special bun. The fries tasted a bit different (not as good) and the ketchup was a bit sweeter (as are a lot of things here). After eating, we felt terrible. I realized that we had been eating all fresh ingredients since we were in France, and this processed stuff from McDonald's was not agreeing with our bodies. It was a real eye-opening experience for me.

We headed south toward the Spanish border toward Chateau de Queribus. The Cathars were a Christian religious sect in western Europe, but concentrated in southern France, in the 11th-13th centuries. They were eliminated in the Albigensian Crusade in 1209-1229.

The Cathar Chateau de Queribus

The drive up to the Chateau de Queribus was a 15% grade. We met this boxer, Bella, on the way

We didn't get out of the car to explore the Chateau de Queribus because we wanted to see another chateau in the area. The Chateau de Peyrepertuse was on the very top of the spine of a mountain with steep cliffs on either side. We paid 14 Euros to hike up to the chateau and use an audio guide. As we were hiking up we saw a couple with their dog, a Great Pyrenees! It was ironic because we were IN the Pyrenees. I thought that was pretty cool. The hike up to the chateau was very steep and it was raining so that made it even more treacherous.

These are pink marble steps cut out of the mountain that connected the lower half of the chateau with the upper half. These were extremely slippery in the rain! I wondered how this chateau was built being so steep that supposedly mules could not even climb it. I later found out that the chateau was actually built into the mountain. Stones were cut out of the mountain and then used to build it! I thought that was fascinating!

This is the view from the top of the chateau looking down. You can see that it really is on the very spine of the mountain!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

As we left the Chateau we drove through one of our favorite parts of France, the Corbieres Hills. This was one of the least densely populated areas of France. Unfortunately I don't have any great pictures of the area because it started raining pretty hard.

We made our way up to Carcassonne which is the third most visited site in France after the Eiffel Tower and Mont St. Michel. We did not plan to go there and we were also told by Bruno, the owner of our B&B, not to bother because it is a rebuilt city--not an original--and overrun with tourist. Well, we were literally going to be driving right by there and we had time, so we stopped.

Bruno was right. The city was like a perfect remake of an ancient city. Not authentic at all. We stayed for 10 minutes. Why do people flock here? Just because something is in a book doesn't mean it is something to be seen. In fact, I recommend going places that aren't mentioned in books!

From France Day 7--Cathar country and Carcassonne

Chris and I stopped in the city of Narbonne for dinner.

From France Day 7--Cathar country and Carcassonne

I had heard about a restaurant there that had great creme brulee. By the time we got to the restaurant it was pretty late so there weren't many people there. We ate our meal and when it came time for dessert the waitress fired up the grill. I thought this was odd because there was no one left in the restaurant and surely no one else was coming in. After a while she brought out my creme brulee to the grill and scooped up a bunch of ashes and dumped it on top! I did not understand what she was doing at all. She dusted off most of the ashes and then served it to me. I took a bite and I have to say, it was one of the nastiest things I've ever tasted. It was like I was eating a campfire. I couldn't even fake it. I felt so bad for not eating the food so I gave it to Chris so he could make a dent in it (this was a common occurrence in France) and he couldn't even eat it either. I never understood why this place was famous for their creme brulee!!

To see all of our pictures from day 7 click here

Happy Birthday Eddie!

2010-04-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today is our friend Eddie's birthday. Chris and Eddie have been friends since Kindergarten as you can see in the pictures below. Chris is on the far left and Eddie is next to him.

From Scanned pics from Chris's childhood

We took Eddie and his wife Jessica (my travel parter in Spain--more on that soon!) to the Smoky Mountains during the peak fall leaf color. Eddie really loves photography so this was a great opportunity for him to take some great pictures! Here we are on the Cherohala Skyway in Tennessee.

We then took Eddie and Jessica to a Vols game and I think I can officially say they are both UT fans now!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Here is Eddie with his boy, Ben

From Manteca High School class of 1999 10 year reunion

From Victoria Van Ryn's 1st birthday and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

Eddie and Jessica came to LA to celebrate my birthday with me!

I have really only known Eddie since last August but he and Jessica are already some of our greatest friends. We're so lucky to call you a friend, Eddie! Happy Birthday!

30th birthday part 2

2010-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks after I returned from Spain I had another birthday weekend! A few friends helped me celebrate in Malibu:

At the Pepperdine Heroes Garden overlooking the Pacific with my friend Michelle

The whole group (L to R) Jason, Michelle, Jon, me, Chris, Jessica, Noah, Eddie, Jessica (my travel partner in Spain) and Erin

I love jumping pictures!

The girls got our hair done at Drybar in Brentwood

Chris and Eddie have known each other since kindergarten!

My friends Jon and Michelle

With my birthday dessert

At dinner with our friends, Jason and Michelle

My 30th birthday

2010-04-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging, but I'm determined to not miss a thing. My 30th birthday was a great day (month) of celebration! I spent a week in Spain with a friend--I will definitely post about this later! I also had some friends come in to town to celebrate with me during a weekend that I will never forget.

The weekend before my birthday Chris surprised me with a trip to Santa Barbara to the Bacara. We spent a few days at the Bacara after our wedding so this place has a lot of meaning to us.

On Saturday we visited the La Purisima Mission. For those of you not familiar with California history, missions were built by Spanish Catholics between 1769-1823 to spread the Christian faith to Native Americans. There are 21 Franciscan missions in California and I hope to visit them all eventually. La Purisima was founded in 1787 and what remains today is a few restored buildings and some animals.

This is Brea!

This black and white turkey was so beautiful!

That night we had dinner at San Ysidro Ranch which was delicious! The next morning we had breakfast in bed--my favorite!

California Poppy Reserve

2010-04-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the California Poppy Reserve in the Antelope Valley. The poppies were at full peak and absolutely amazing.

From California Poppy Reserve

In this picture you can see a new poppy about t bloom

From California Poppy Reserve

Wildflowers at Carrizo Plain National Monument

2010-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

Chris and I have been looking forward to seeing some wildflowers this spring. Even though we live in a desert, there are many opportunities to see wildflowers this time of year. Within a short drive any any direction (except west, obviously) we can see so many different things!

The Carrizo Plain National Monument is about 3 hours north of our house in LA. This area was established in 1988 to protect habitat for endangered species and to restore native ecosystems. It is the largest contiguous remnant of the San Joaquin Valley system.

As we were driving down the grapevine (a mountain pass on the 5 Interstate) we saw acres and acres of blue flowers!

Obviously my camera does not do the colors of the wildflowers justice! As we turned off the main interstate we started to see more yellows and golds

We turned down a dirt road called "7 Mile Road". It wasn't long before we saw this jackrabbit with the biggest ears I've EVER SEEN--at least 5 inches tall (not a great picture, but I had to include it)

We got out and let Riley sniff around. Here is my new favorite picture of him

Here he is looking like the Joker again:

This is the Temblor Mountain Range. We drove over these mountains to get into the Carrizo Plain and at the base of them lies the San Andreas Fault Line! Look at the wildflowers covering the mountains.

This is Soda Lake. It is a (mostly) dry lake throughout the year with a surface crust containing about 82% anhydrous (lacking water) sodium sulfate, 9% sodium chloride (table salt) and 9% miscellaneous salts.

Before the Carrizo Plain became federally protected area, there was to be a working ranch on the plain and some of the machinery is still sitting here

These ponds are directly on top of the San Andreas Fault

We drove back home through the Los Padres National Forest where there was still snow on the ground!

Riley snoozed the whole way home

From Rehearsal Dinner-Sambuca Restaurant Non Professional pictures

If you'd like to see all our pictures from Carrizo Plain National Monument click here.

Thanks Y'all!

2010-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

Some thank you cards that I printed for myself on Sunday. This is brown ink printed on recycled chip board.

From Letterpress

Happy Birthday Cozette!

2010-01-25T03:30:00.000-08:00

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family! She is a great mother, wife, daughter and friend. Hope you have a great day!

From Scanned pics from Chris's childhood

In San Francisco

From Scanned pics from Chris's childhood

From Jessica's Bridesmaid album

At my graduation from Pepperdine

From Jessica's Bridesmaid album

From Professional Ceremony Pictures and Reception Pictures

In Boise on the greenbelt

From Visiting family in Boise in June

Huckleberry picking in Idaho

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-25T09:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Tia Missy's house making gingerbread houses and dinner

Cousins Joseph and Emily

Sibling love

Family picture

Bud and Cozette

The view from Tia Missy's house

We also spent the night before with family watching a movie at Jessica's place

Christmas 2009

2009-12-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

Chris and I celebrated Christmas last Saturday and you can see my excitement over my unexpected gift--a photo scanner! I love old pictures so now you will be seeing more of them on this blog! My letterpress was my Christmas gift back in September so I was not expecting this at all.

"Christmas night" we went to dinner at the Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles

On Monday we drove to Chris's hometown to stay the night with friends on our way up to Idaho and beautiful Ben was our gracious host, along with his parents, Eddie and Jessica! Ben in a santa suit is about the cutest thing I've ever seen!

On our way to Idaho I planned our stops around Pilot truck stops since I am a Vols fan and love Pilot!! This is in Winnemucca, Nevada

Snow in the middle of nowhere in northern Nevada

We finally made it into Oregon where I noticed these interesting rock formations

Finally, Idaho! There is just a bit of snow here and it looks like we won't get any more before we leave.

Soon we are heading to Utah!

France trip review Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

2009-12-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up at 9am and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. We were still the only guests at the bed and breakfast which was due to us being there at the end of March. The owner, Bruno, told us they are booked solid through the summer but the winter is very empty. I personally prefer to travel in the off season so that you don't have to deal with notorious European summer crowds. Breakfast this morning was a croissant with excellent apple jelly, a mango fruit salad, tea and coffee. Napoleon joined us for our meal again!

It was raining so Bruno suggested we go to the city of Narbonne, about 30 minutes away. Narbonne has a very large cathedral that was intended to be the largest in Europe, but only 20% of it was finished (it is still huge with only that part being built). When we got to the cathedral it was closing for lunch so we didn't get to go inside. Because the cathedral is surrounded closely by buildings we could not take in the vast size of it, but later when driving home we were able to see it from a distance and get a sense of the enormity of it.

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

In front of the cathedral was an exposed part of the Via Domitia which is the first Roman road built in Gaul that connected Italy with Hispania. I thought this was really fascinating! You can see exposed portions of the Via Domita in various places in France and Italy. The Via Domitia was constructed in 118 BC! and here it is today:

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

We left Narbonne and drove south to Catalonia toward the Spanish Border and the Pyrenees to try to see Gorges de la Fou, a slot canyon I had researched which claims to be the narrowest canyon in the world. Today was April 1 and it was the first day that the canyon would be open for the year, weather permitting. Thankfully, it was open! I was so afraid the rain would have closed it. We paid 6 Euro each to get in for the 2 kilometer walk through the canyon. We were given helmet's to wear and since no one there spoken English the people tried to act out slipping and falling for us, telling us that there was a danger of slipping. It was pretty funny.

As we walked into the canyon I noticed that we would be walking on a narrow metal bridge the entire way

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

This picture was a balancing act with our camera on the wet metal bridge

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

The canyon floor where a quick stream of water was constantly flowing

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

A huge boulder that has fallen in the canyon. At some points the canyon was only a meter wide.

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

After leaving the Gorges de la Fou we drove through the tiny hamlet of Arles-sur-Tech. We stopped at the 14th century St. Sauveur church which has a tomb with "l'eau miracle"--miracle water. The tomb has no contact with the ground, yet water collects in the bottom. Some people believe this is holy water.

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

Next we drove to the village of Ille-sur-Tet to see Les Orgues. These are pillars of rock that look similar to organ pipes and are essentially the same formations found in Bryce Canyon, Utah. These pillars were at the end of a 1 kilometer hike and seemed to come up out of nowhere. Geologists believe that these formations will only be around for about 50 more years due to erosion.

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

Another balancing act to get a self portrait at Les Orgues

From France Day 6--Narbonne, Gorges de la Fou, Les Orgues

On our way back to our hotel we stopped for dinner at a place that was Tex-Mex and Italian. An odd combination to us!

To see all of our pictures from day 6 click here.

Happy Birthday Michelle!

2009-12-17T01:41:00.000-08:00

Today is my friend Michelle's 30th birthday. I met her my freshman year of college when we both pledged ADPi together. We have shared so many memories so I just wanted to do a birthday tribute to our friendship!

Fall 1998

Smokey's Howl, Fall 1998

Visiting Michelle in Knoxville after I had moved to LA, with her (then) boyfriend, Jason

Spring break, Ft. Lauderdale 2000

With Smokey VIII. UT vs. Arkansas in 2002. This game went into 6 OT and Jason made the winning TD!

The same game

Our sophomore year in college, living in the sorority dorm

At the Pro Bowl in 2006

Pro Bowl 2006

On the field after the game at the Pro Bowl 2006

Pro Bowl 2006

Cowboys vs. Oakland Raiders 2006

From Professional Pre-wedding pictures and wedding ceremony pictures

At our wedding

One of my favorite pictures from our wedding. Two of my favorite people, Jon and Michelle, getting down!

From Professional Ceremony Pictures and Reception Pictures

UT vs. South Carolina 2007

In Oxnard at Cowboys training camp, 2009

We threw Michelle a surprise party in Dallas last weekend. She was totally surprised!

Chris and I went to the Cowboys vs. Chargers game this past weekend

In Cowboys stadium

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-08T10:53:00.001-08:00

This is a blurry picture but we got our Christmas tree Saturday night and this is the only picture I got of the boys with it.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A fall weekend in the Smoky Mountains

2009-11-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

Chris and I spent a long weekend in the Smoky Mountains over Halloween with our friends, Jessica and Eddie Cardoza. They had never been to TN and wanted to see the fall colors so what better excuse to convert some new people into TN Vols fans?

Eddie has an excellent camera that I'm so jealous of, so we got some great pictures!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Chris and I on the balcony of our cabin. We only stayed here one night because it was infested with bugs! Very nice cabin, but a big bug problem

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

This is the view from Look Rock. I would recommend going to the Look Rock observational tower over Clingman's Dome. It's just as beautiful and no crowds! Look Rock is on the Foothills Parkway near Townsend.

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

With our travel buddies on Look Rock

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

We drove the Cherohala Skyway that runs from Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC. Cherohala gets its name from the combination of the words "Cherokee" and "Nantahala", the two national forests that it connects. I highly recommend this, especially later in the year when the trees have lost their color on Newfound Gap in the Smokies. The Tennessee side of the Cherohala Skyway is at a lower elevation than Newfound Gap and therefore the leaves change later in the year. Also, we didn't have to deal with any traffic here.

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Driving along the Newfound Gap in the Smoky Mountains National Park

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

On Saturday we went to the UT vs South Carolina game. Here is Chris playing some cornhole at a tailgate

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Someone made a pumpkin out of the rock since it was Halloween

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

UT has a letterpress studio! I wasn't into letterpress when I went here, but I'm so glad to know they have a studio!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Smokey!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

Lane!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

The team wore black jerseys since it was Halloween. They looked great!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

It was raining and freezing, but we were happy!

From Smoky Mountains and UT vs. South Carolina October 29-November 1, 2009

We successfully converted Jessica and Eddie into Vols fans....who is next??? To see all of our pictures from this weekend, click here.

France trip review Day 5--Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

2009-11-15T13:07:00.000-08:00

This morning we came down to the formal dining room for an excellent traditional French breakfast-- croissants, many types of jams (all made by Monique, the owner), cured ham, salami, ambert cheese, st.nectaire cheese, ceilloux cheese and st.dieu (the next town over) cheese.

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

We were so sad to leave, but we had much more to do! On our drive out of the Domaine de Gaudon I shot this picture with the Domaine in the far distance

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Monsieur had suggested an abbey to stop at on our way to Le Puy en Velay, the 11th century Le Chaise Dieu Abbey. This was in a tiny town but the abbey was really special.

The tapestries you see in this photo above the pews are from 1501 are in excellent condition

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

One of the tapestries up close

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

This abbey had a very special relic: a 15th century fresco of the "Dance of Death" or the "Danse Macabre"

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

From the abbey's website:

Death was an everyday occurrence in the 15th century as the Black Death and War particularly the One Hundred Years War had decimated the population which was reduced by fifty percent between 1350 and 1450. Because of this the church focused on preparing for death as very important and worthy of reflection. The main aim of the Dance of Death, which was initially illustrated in the cemetery of the Holy Innocents in Paris at the beginning of the 15th century, was to display the uniformity of all people faced with death and its inevitability. This is shown by emaciated beings needing something from the so-called powerful of this world whether clerics or laymen as they are dying.

We left the abbey and drove further south, passing the town of Polignac, France

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Just past Polignac was Le Puy en Velay, a starting point for the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in Spain. We were still in the volcanic region of central France and so there were some very interesting formations, including this 10th century cathedral

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Can you imagine building this on top of this volcanic rock?

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Le Puy en Velay has a giganitic statue of Mary and baby Jesus

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

As we drove further south we entered the Parc National des Cevennes. I love National Parks here in the U.S. so I was eager to see one in France. We drove through the Gorges du Tarn, a gorge cut by the Tarn River.

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

A very narrow road!

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

As we left the Gorges du Tarn we drove into Millau, the town with the famous Millau Viaduct. I thought we were going to get to drive over it, but we took a wrong turn. That ended up being better because we realized it was better to see the highest bridge in the world than actually drive over it

I also noticed that the French Department of Transportation is a Tennessee Vols fan!

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

We finally arrived at our hotel in Beziers, for our southern France part of our trip. We decided to stay in the Languedoc region as opposed to Provence because Provence is so touristy! I have also been to Provence before so I didn't really want to go there again.

Our hotel was Le Clos de Maussanne. This used to be a convent and 20 nuns lived here and grew vegetables to give to the poor. The hotel was very nice, but after staying at an amazing B&B the night before, it seemed a little plain. The hotel was very Mediterranean and quite simple, but it went with the area.

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Again, the owner invited us for tea after we got settled and we were greeted with this!

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

Napoleon, a great dane! Napoleon lived in the attached restaurant along with two cats

From France Day 5- Le Puy-en-Velay, Gorges du Tarn, Beziers

I am not kidding, the French do not seem to care if their pets live among their eating establishments, and I loved it! Napoleon was with us everytime we ate. We were again the only guests in this B&B so they cooked especially for us. The owners asked us what we wanted for supper, fish or lamb. Since I definitely don't eat fish I had the lamb (which I don't eat either, but I'll eat that before fish!) They ended up serving us scallops or proscuitto to start, lamb, ratatouille, a cheese plate and then chocolate cake! We enjoyed it very much, despite the fact that we had no idea how much it was going to cost since the restaurant just opened for us and there was no menu. We didn't find out until we checked out but I think it ended up being about 100 Euro.

To see all of our pictures from Day 5, click here.

France trip review Day 4--Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

2009-11-14T15:27:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to finish the France trip review for several months now. I have a real motivation to do so now--I'm going to Spain in February! A friend, Jessica, is joining me to Madrid, Barcelona, and hopefully the Basque country for a few days. So, without further adieu...

We left the Chateau de Reignac after having the same breakfast as the day before. Our next destination was the little visited Massif Central region in the center of France. I am always looking for non-touristy places to visit and this was definitely it in France.

The Massif Central is a volcanic region of with the most popular being the Puy de Dome. There is a road going to the top but it can be closed because of snow. Since we were there in late March there was some snow that had closed the road.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Our next stop was the city of Clermont-Ferrand. On our way in to town we stopped at a wonderful overlook

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Notice the cathedral in the middle of the picture. The cathedral in this town is black because it is made from local volcanic rock.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

After visiting the cathedral we made our way out into the country to our bed and breakfast for the night. On the way we saw some ruins on a hill

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

There was no one around and it looked totally deserted. Chris wanted a closer look so he jumped a fence that I'm sure he was not supposed to. We found out the ruins are the Chateau de Mauzun. We can't find much about these ruins except that they were built in the 13th century.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

We got back on the road to our B&B for the night, the Domaine de Gaudon.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

This place was so out in the middle of nowhere! When booking this hotel they did not take online payment, so they had to mail me a reservation form and I mailed it back to them with our reservation and we paid cash when we got there. We were completely in awe when we drove up to this place. It was truly French country living with animals all around. We were greeted with two energetic dogs, Rascal and Oscar.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

We quickly learned that the couple who owned it did not speak a word of English.

This did not stop them from treating us like honored guests. They sat with us immediately at their dinner table and made us tea. We had a conversation that consisted of my limited French and sign language. They wanted to let us know that they were so happy our country had elected Barack Obama (this is the third time so far we'd heard this on our trip).

While we were having tea we were greeted by Zissou, a 23 year old cat! This place was VERY animal friendly, which was great with me. I do realize, though, that some people would not want a cat on their dining room table, but I did not mind! And after 23 years, don't you think Zissou should be able to do what he wants?

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

After we had tea the couple showed us to our room. In France, in order to be classified as a bed & breakfast you must have 5 bedrooms or less. We were their only guests that night.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

The room was impeccably clean and we were so happy. Since it was a Monday, many French restaurants and businesses are closed, so madame offered to cook for us (we were also 45 minutes away from the closest restaurant, too. We felt like guests in an old friend's home. We were in the middle of nowhere but yet felt so at home. We had several hours to kill before dinner so we went outside to play with the dogs. That time playing with the dogs running around the country was my favorite time of our entire trip. There wasn't a care in the world. The dogs were so happy and so were we. At that moment I decided that I really do want to live in the country some day.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Despite the very cold weather the dogs wanted to go for a dip in one of the ponds

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Rascal was such a....Rascal. He brought a tree limb to us to chew

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Supper time! Madame made us salami sandwiches, with three different types of local cheeses and the best apple tart I've ever had.

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Notice Zissou in the background? He kept getting closer and closer...

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

Most of you know Chris is not a cat person, but who can say no to a 23 year old cat jumping in your lap?

From France Day 4-Puy de Dome, Clermont Ferrand, Domaine de Gaudon--Auvergne/Massif Central region

To see all of our pictures from Day 4 click here.

The Pride of the Southland Marching Band

2009-11-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

The pride did a halloween themed halftime show on Saturday night at the UT/South Carolina game. It was awesome! Here is the part where the entire band put down their instruments and did the Thriller dance!

Happy 8th birthday Riley!

2009-11-01T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Riley's 8th birthday (observed). I do not know his actual birthday because I rescued him at about 3 months old in January 2002. I do know that the dalmatian rescue agency I got him from rescued him from an animal shelter in San Diego. I can't believe that someone wouldn't want my boy and send him to a shelter:( I like to joke that maybe Riley was born in a back alley in Tijuana and thats how he ended up in San Diego.

When Riley came to me he was named "Bart" by the woman who had rescued him. I remember the first time I saw him. He was in the back of this woman's SUV in a crate. She told me that he was crate trained and almost 100% potty trained. I had already bought a crate for him. The dog never went in a crate after that. He would not go in at all! So much for the crate training! The woman sat him at the bottom of the steps to my apartment and told me he had never seen steps to her knowledge, so he wouldn't know how to climb them. He was definitely big enough to climb them (25lbs) but was so clumsy he couldn't do it! He came into my apartment and immediately pulled out all the ant traps from the previous tenant.

This adoption agency always came to your place to check it out to see if it was suitable for a dog, etc. before releasing the dog to you. I remember I still had the Christmas tree in my living room and so I had been rushing to get it out so my place would look bigger (the woman only gave m about 30 minutes notice she was coming). I honestly thought the woman was just coming to look at my place, not give me the dog. After about 10 minutes of talking to me she said, "ok, that's $35!" I thought, wow, this dog is really mine? She didn't even ask me if I wanted him! Well, I guess I did (I'd been looking for a dog for a while)!

I lived on the beach so I immediately took Riley down to the sand. I am guessing he'd never seen the ocean before because he ran right out into the water and a big wave crashed over him! He ran right back to me and scratched my leg (I still have a scar to this day) and has been afraid of water ever since! Every time I'd take him to the beach after that he'd run underneath the houses to be as far away from the water as he could!

I had a game that night and I wasn't supposed to have a pet in my apartment so I figured I'd take him with me. I didn't know what to do with him so I gave him to one of Chris's friends to keep and Riley pee'd in his apartment!

Our first day together:

Some more puppy pictures

Riley after bathtime. Not happy.

Two years old

Riley and his friend Brodie

We tried an automatic feeder for a while. Riley was confused.

Coming home from a trip to the desert

Riley will do anything to make his dad happy

Good cheek sugar

Riley makes people smile. When he rides in the car with me he sits in the passenger seat like a person. When we stop at red lights he always gets a smile out of people from other cars.

Riley has lived an exciting life. He has been stolen by a homeless person and run away countless times. One time, he ran about 5 miles of the LA Marathon (by himself)! If you want to hear these stories, you'll have to ask:)

He is my best friend and I love him so much!

Carving our pumpkin 2009

2009-10-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Our annual pumpkin carving was last night. We used to always carve a "T" into our pumpkins but this year decided to try to carve the checkerboard end zone into our pumpkin. For those of you not familar with the checkerboard end zones:

Here is our project:

From Halloween 2009

Riley LOVES pumpkin. The vet told us it was good for him because of the fiber:) He also likes to chew on the stalk.

From Halloween 2009

Riley patiently waiting for any pumpkin scraps we threw his way

From Halloween 2009

Coolhaus

2009-10-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

You know we have thousands of taco trucks in LA. Sometimes you have to have a taco from that particular truck, so you race to the street corner where you know it is at that time of day to get your fix.

With the popularity of Twitter it is now easier to find those trucks as most will advertise their location on twitter each day. Other types of food trucks have been popping up in LA getting on the twitter bandwagon. @BarbiesQ has pulled pork sandwiches, ribs and veggie burgers. @letsbefrank sells organic grass-fed beef hotdogs in trailers in LA and San Francisco.

Last night @coolhaus was parked in front of a restaurant across the street from our house. It's a mobile Diddy Riese (SHANA!) except better! They serve handmade ice cream sandwiches made from homemade ice cream and cookies. I had mint ice cream with chocolate cookies and the ice cream had real mint leaves in it, not chemicals that make it taste like mint. It was really good!

Labor Day Weekend 2009

2009-10-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

Chris and I went to Tennessee for Labor Day weekend this year. We went to a Vols game and celebrated my mom and sisters birthdays.

A house on the UT campus that I've never really paid attention to but have walked past thousands of times

A sea of orange during the Vol Walk--our first sighting of Lane Kiffin!

The Pride!

My favorite thing in the world! Running through the T!

If you look closely you can see Smokey running across the end zone after a touchdown!

I never knew that UT had these beautiful gardens on the Ag campus...but of course I never had any reason to go over there, except to look for the body farm!

The Vol Navy

Celebrating mama and Tracy's birthday on Sunday

From Professional Pre-wedding pictures and wedding ceremony pictures

Look at this face

2009-10-10T01:25:00.000-07:00

This is Ben. We are visiting his parents this weekend and he got a bath for our visit! Looks like he's saying "oh the things I go through for you"

More letterpress

2009-10-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

I did some printing today and took pictures of some of the steps. Here you can see my hands on the movable type that creates the impression on the paper. I am adding "furniture" (the pieces of wood) around the type so that I can "lock it up" for printing.

From Letterpress

Putting the chase (the metal frame that holds the type) into the press

From Letterpress

Putting blue ink on the press

From Letterpress

Manually turning the flywheel to test out the press

From Letterpress

I mixed blue and black ink to make navy

From Letterpress

This is a close up of the type. Each individual letter is a piece of lead. I worked on the type for several nights this week. It takes a lot of patience to set this type--this is how entire newspapers used to be printed! I can also print from magnesium plates if I want to print something like a design for an invitation, etc. (that is much less time consuming, but more expensive)

From Letterpress

The type in the press with the rollers with ink below it

From Letterpress

A video of me printing!

It's here!

2009-09-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

The move went very smoothly thanks to a mover who knew exactly what he was doing. He is the director and curator of the International Printing Museum

From Letterpress

Chris unloading one of the type chests

From Letterpress

Mark used a pallet jack to get the press off the trailer and on wheels

From Letterpress

Pushing it around the garage

From Letterpress

I am trying to confirm this but I believe my press is actually 1250 pounds and was built in 1895!

From Letterpress

Getting ready for the 1500 pound baby

2009-09-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Change of plans...the letterpress is coming TOMORROW (Friday) instead of Saturday. We had a lot left to do to the garage so tonight we hung the drywall. The garage we have is just a one car garage that is purely for storage--it's not anything special. We took out all the old, moldy insulation and hung drywall. All of the stuff on the right has got to find a new home, also.

From Letterpress

Chris let me drill some of the screws so that I could say I helped:) I was unsure of using this thing...

From Letterpress

I told Chris is was kind of like getting a nursery ready for a baby thats coming earlier than expected. He said it was a pretty bad nursery! Good enough for my 1500 pound baby, though!

Sneak peeks of my new baby

2009-09-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

My friend Erin, the current owner of the letterpress, sent me some pictures of the press this morning. I have to share!

From Letterpress

This is a picture of a chest of type

From Letterpress

A drawer of type. Each drawer is one font and each little compartment is one letter

From Letterpress

A close up of the type

From Letterpress

These are some pictures of our wedding invites, inserts, programs and menus....all printed on this press!!! These were not made by hand setting type like you see above. A photopolymer plate was made from a digital image and pressed into the paper. I found the best calligrapher EVER in Massachusetts, Maria Thomas at Pendragon. She wrote out our invitations and then I had the plate created to press from and here they are. They were my favorite thing from our wedding (besides Chris, of course!) Check out more of her amazing products on her online store, Maria Thomas Online.

An exciting announcement!

2009-09-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

Many of you know of my love of letterpress. It started while planning our wedding. I really fell in love with it and with the help of a friend, we ended up printing our own invitations, programs, menus, etc on a letterpress.

That friend has recently had a baby and is ready to pass on this beautiful machine to another owner....and that owner would be me! I am thrilled beyond belief. The move will not be easy as the press weighs about 1500 pounds. I am also inheriting a chest full of type so that I will be ready to print! For those of you that do not know, letterpress is an extremely old form of printing with moveable type. Early newspapers were printed this way as well as the Gutenberg Bibles . The process is very slow and labor intensive, hence the expense of letterpress goods, but I love it and hope someday to make a side job out of it.

Chris and I went to the International Printing Museum a few weeks ago and took some pictures of presses. Letterpresses are no longer made and about 25 years ago was almost a complete lost art. It has had a resurgence in the past few years, but is very limited by accessibility to the presses.

This is a picture similar to the press I am getting

This is a Heidelberg Windmill press

A room full of type chests

This press is similar to the one Benjamin Franklin used

A room full of presses

Jessica's surprise birthday weekend

2009-09-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

I went to Boise a few weeks ago to surprise Jessica for her birthday. Surprisingly, I did a good job of keeping the secret and we had a great weekend! I got to meet Lync, Jessica's new cat, who really loved my suitcase

Hanging out by the Boise River

I got some of her friends together for a surprise get together on Saturday night

On Sunday, Cozette, Tia Missy, Jessica and I drove a few hours north to go huckleberry picking. I was excited to see a part of Idaho that I had never seen. It was beautiful!

This forest burned a few years ago so most of the bark was peeling off the trees

We had a picnic beside this creek

The huckleberries proved to be very elusive. We searched for hours, it seemed. We had been told they were everywhere, but we couldn't find any. What we DID find was a blue tick coonhound! In the middle of nowhere in Idaho. His owner lived on a horse ranch in what appeared to be a Yurt. He had never heard of the famous bluetick, Smokey. He even has an orange collar!

Finally we found huckleberries! These berries sell for $15/quart and they cannot be bought fresh. They are basically Idaho's version of a blueberry.

Cozette in a field of huckleberries

The dirt road we followed for several miles in search of huckleberries

The girls with huckleberry fingers

Happy Birthday Tracy!

2009-09-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

Today is my sister's birthday. She is the best sister and I am so thankful to have her in my life. I'm so glad that I got to celebrate her birthday with her today. Her birthday is two weeks after my mom's, so we got them a cake

Here is my sister with me and my fat cheeks

Pushing me on a swing

At her wedding, March 2, 1996

Muir beach near San Francisco my junior year at Pepperdine

With her two sons, Will and Witt

Thanksgiving 2006 with Grandmother Davis, Will and Witt