freestyle walking to straberries

 

For the past several weeks Blake and I have driven, biked and walked by the corner strawberry stand without purchasing a single berry. Today was the day to change that.

We enjoy walks.

We enjoy strawberries.

We enjoy each other.

 What a splendid way to spend an afternoon.

 We had a bit of added fun by free style walking to the stand.

 The lovely strawberries smelled so fantastic that we couldn’t wait to get home to try one. So we didn’t rinse them... Oh well!







Yum.

Then we got home and it was one of the rare occasions when it is warm out and the pool is empty.

 We took advantage of that.

Strawberries and iced tea with our legs in the pool. Perfect.

And I still have an hour till I work.

Happy Monday everyone.

potterness

An end of an era has arrived. Blake and I had a wonderful time at the midnight showing for the final Harry Potter last week. It is so strange that there won't be anymore. I'm not going to get upset or whine or anything. It is just odd that we have now seen all that there is to see (until probably around Christmas when they have special box sets with additional footage... and then again a couple weeks later when they make you regret getting them already since now they have the longer, director's cut or whatever else it is that they do to get all of your dollars).

Several years ago we went to a midnight showing and got all dressed up with our friends. We didn't try to dress up as characters since we knew there would be an abundance of Harrys, Rons and Hermiones. Instead, we dressed as wizards trying to blend in with muggles. In other words, we wore normal clothing but in odd ways that made us stand out just as much as those in costume. It was a memorable night for sure.

This time around we didn't really dress up (aside from a gryffindor tank top I happened to have and a gryffindor colored scarf that I made the previous day) and we didn't go with a large group. We still managed to have a wonderful time. Although I miss all of the fun to be had with a group of friends in line, it was kinda nice not being in a large group. Blake and I usually ended up being the ones who got there early and saved everyone seats. Instead we just had to grab two seats (a lot easier to come by than 10!) and we didn't have to make sure everyone got to sit by who they wanted to sit by. Much more relaxing. We took a bunch of games like the Settlers of Catan dice game with us and played a lot in line. We were right outside the theater doors (the line for our theater started inside) and that meant we were allowed to eat non-theater food! Score! So Blake ran across the parking lot to In-N-Out AND Chick-Fil-A... Boy did we feast. Later we even grabbed some starbucks to help keep our weary eyes open.

When we weren't playing games we enjoyed the rich environment for people watching. Some people are just nutso. We saw some seriously weird costumes... including the most awkward golden snitch EVER. It looked a bit like a gigantic nutshell had been painted gold and then a girl decided it would be a good idea to wear that instead of pants. I can't imagine how she managed to wait in line for 6 hours let alone squeeze into a theater seat... but I guess that's what happens when you dress up as a ball with wings.

The cutest were the junior high girls inline behind us... I snuck some photos... There was self-proclaimed "Hipster Harry", Hedwig, and a girl who had used (probably) a marker to draw a beard on her face to be Hagrid. Hagrid was my favorite. She was so cute and quiet and spent more of the hours just sitting and reading her book while the other girls gabbed on and on. I did some crocheting in line and Blake sketched. All in all it was a lovely event... O yeah, and the movie was brilliant.



A Potter inspired treasury I created in Etsy with some fun and fantastic creations.

that time we found ourselves in the ocean

Recently my husband and some of his friends completed their second annual tour d'beer. What is that? Well, a handful of guys ride their bikes (Not motor, mind you. Bike as in bicycle.) from Long Beach to Escondido's Stone Brewery. The ride is about 90 miles. Luckily the end of the ride means delicious food and drinks which can be a lovely motivator. Like last year, I tagged along as "support vehicle". The food was amazing and everyone survived despite the best efforts of unaware motorists. From there the guys ride down the hill to a train station and take that back to Long Beach. Since I had a car there Blake and I loaded his car up to drive home.



Every Summer Blake and I try to find the license plates of all 50 states while driving around. We're pretty strict. No large trucks and we have to be together for it to count. Well, on the ride to Stone Blake spotted a New Hampshire plate, one that we happen to need still. So on our drive back we tried to find it in a random neighborhood that the bike path took them through. Blake was pretty tired by this point and had had several tasty beers during lunch and we had a bit of trouble finding it. We took some wrong turns and ended up at the beach! Oh darn! We never did find that New Hampshire plate... but I think the detour was still a success.

independent at the bowl

Blake and I had an absolutely splendid 4th of July. Our wonderful, lovely friend, Abie, is (for another week or so) the vents coordinator at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.

We sat up in there!

A lovely suite that we shared with Abie and her family.

 She was kind enough to invite us to partake in the festivities at no charge! We were given all access passes that got us in EVERYWHERE. We also had tickets to the VIP dinner/snack bar for all of the event sponsors and got tons of free food and drinks. Not too shabby!

Th little old ladies with the power rangers!

Homemade and delicious!

 On top of all of this we enjoyed the marching band, motorcycle stunts, bands and other entertainment from a private suite on the top floor of the press box. It was so amazing and perfect.

 As if this wasn't enough, we were part of the handful of people allowed on the field to watch the fireworks. We were actually laying down on the incredibly manicured and soft grass near the 50 yard line.

The sunset made the sky look pretty and meant the fireworks were getting closer!

The whole day was fantastic. We got there early and walked around the booths and bounce house spectacular set up outside of the gates. Then we headed in for the free food and shelter from the blazing sunshine.

 I got the meet the power rangers and the little old lady from Pasadena contest finalists as well as the city manager of Pasadena. Pretty neat, huh?

Best grass ever!