I cooked Pistachio Cardamom Sea Salt Brownies.

Last year, when Matt, Malachi, Keiko and I made a trip to Portland for Stumptown, I was 7 months pregnant and in need ofsomething with protein, something with chocolate, and something that would be commemorative of that particular need in that particular place on the particular trip.

And that is how I managed to sniff out some arbitrary (however highly pretentious and forgettable) coffee shop that sold the illustrious pistachio cardamom sea salt brownies.
It seems only right that on the anniversary of this discovery last year, I endeavor to recreate the awesomeness that is the pistachio cardamom sea salt brownie.

Now, having made and enjoyed the entirety of a single batch in one night, I do have some added notes:

1) I'd cut the salt in half or at most 3/4 of what is called for IF you intend to sprinkle salt on top.

2) Sprinkle SOME pistachios on top before baking and some AFTER if you want the pretty green color in your final product

My favorite place in the world: The Huntington Library's Succulent Gardens.

The summer of 2009 (the roughest summer of my existence), Matt & I serendipitously stumbled upon the Huntington Library on Free Day while job hunting around town. Even though we had an entire day of desperate employment hunting planned, we seized the moment and took advantage of the free entry to the gardens. We spent the entire afternoon on the grounds and barely made it through the incredible cactus garden before closing.

A year later, my parents visited (to see their pregnant daughter up close) and I returned to the Huntington with them to show them the birthplace of my found-love for these plants. They encouraged me to get a membership and patronize such a beautiful and important nonprofit, as well as engage in the important, regular ingenuity provided by the timeless grounds and changing exhibits.

Now, 2 years and a kid after that first visit, it's time to renew our membership and reflect on the inspiration that first came from losing ourselves in succulent maze.

(best pregnancy picture ever)

I cooked rainbow pancakes!

This morning I somehow awoke 30 minutes before Petra. Since I've been playing on Pinterest with much of my free time, I decided to put my new found inspiration to work over breakfast! I wanted to make a rainbow cake, but rainbows seems more like a breakfast treat!

'Twas a pretty simply concept to execute, all I did was added food coloring (about four drops) to 3/4 cups of pancake batter and víola! Instant breakfast party!

I learned that it's record cold in Michigan this winter! And that means there are icebergs on Lake Michigan...

My parents recently moved to Michigan after finishing seminary in MIssouri and Kansas. Both of them are California, born and raised, as are their daughters. Their adventure to the midwest has been a family-wide experience and even their brothers and sisters, intrepid as they are, cannot admit to ever having visited (or even wanted to ever visit) any part of the country beyond the Sierras! But thanks to my pioneering parents, we've all fallen in love with middle America (St.Louis is one of my absolute favorite cities!)

Michigan, however.... might just be a whole other animal. I have some friends from Michigan and they have shared some breathtaking images of weather like I've never experienced and palettes that I'm more akin to seeing in Los Angeles' contemporary art galleries than across trees and foliage. The same goes for incredible crystal expanses left behind by blizzards and ice storms - or, in the case of the photos below, by the frozen ebb of Lake Michigan's towering waters after a record cold. Apparently, it was so cold, the waves would freeze upon contact with the air!

This is video of a lighthouse on Lake Eerie. I couldn't find the lighthouse my dad saw on Lake Michigan, but this still gives you an idea of how cold it was this last winter: