We're having a Cake!

In class this week we made a baby shower cake. I have been wanting to make this cake for a while; you can see how the occasion for a baby shower cake may be a bit more frequent than a Bart Simpson cake. This cake was a bit labor intense but I think it turned out pretty cute. I decided to make my cake blue for a boy for my sister Holly and my sis in law Heidi who are both expecting boys. I know neither of you are close enough to partake of this goodness so I guess I will sacrifice and have a piece for each of you myself. Yeah for more boys in the Allen family.

A Root Beer Birthday

On Saturday we celebrated Morris's 28th Birthday! For my husband--the lover of root beer I thought a root beer tasting party would be perfect. We sampled 12 different flavors of brew and rated each on flavor, aroma and bite. We had a great time and thanks to everyone who came and made Morris's birthday a great day.

January Dive

This last Friday we had our almost monthly "Dive of the Month" with our friends from church. This Friday's selection was Taqueria Chihuahua--Morris was in heaven and I would go back again for another enchilada. Thanks to Marissa for always finding new local hot spots for us to check out.

Return of the Cakes

My friend Marissa and I started our cake class again this week. We have now moved from beginner to intermediate. I can't believe it has almost been almost a year since our last class. Our first assignment was a bit strange but I am glad to know the technique. I never thought I would ever make a Bart Simpson cake but stranger things have happened. Here is the first cake from our 8 week course.

Christmas Holiday

I know Christmas is now a distant memory for many of you but I am just now finding time to post about our wonderful vacation spent with family over the holiday. Now that we are home in California it seems very weird to be posting pictures of us all bundled up in snow gear when it is a warm 75 degrees outside. We were able to spend time with both my family as well as Morris's family on our Christmas break. We spent the first part of our vacation with the Poole's and had a great time visiting with family, puzzling, and eating crepes and other delicious treats. We spent a week there and I managed to not take any pictures the whole time.

Next we were off to Idaho to spend some time with my family. With my family growing at such a rapid rate it is difficult for us to all get together anymore. All of my siblings were able to make it to Idaho for a quick visit with the exception of two--6 out of 8 is not bad. We had so much fun with my family. First activity on the agenda was some sledding at Bogus Basin Ski Resort. Group shot of all of the sledders.
Addie was such a good sport in these frigid temps. She had a grin on her face the whole time. I love this little Addie Cakes.
Morris and I waiting to get on the lift for another run.
After everyone arrived in Boise we headed to the mountains and more SNOW! We had a cabin with a beautiful lake view and plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained. Isaac was a master of the ping pong defeating all of his opponents while Reagan kept the Air Hockey table warm. The men spent most of their time watching movies in the theatre and way too much football and the ladies worked together to complete newborn baby kits for charity. I also face planted into the ice while attempting to show my nieces and nephews how to take the hill, it didn't work out quite like I planned--sorry no picture of the damage done. I was so happy finally got to meet baby Claire, she is a treat and to see Heidi's baby bump.

We had so much fun with our families, we wish every visit could be longer. Can't wait until our next trip.

Happy Reunion

Over the Christmas holiday my good friend Bridget, from high school got married. I am still very close to my friends from high school so it was fun to see all of them and to spend some time catching up on each others lives. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant--The Beanery, the day before the wedding and then got together that evening at my parents house and chatted and laughed until way to early in the morning. This was the first time in a very long time that all of us were able to get together. We are all living in various parts of the country and between school, kids and careers we don't get to see each other as often as we would like.
Bridget was a beautiful bride and the day was perfect. I am so happy for her and Casey. I hope that it is not so long until we can all get together again. We missed you Talane, it was not the same without your cute face.

Dali...Finally

It seemed like months that I had been waiting for the Dali exhibit to arrive at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Saturday night Morris and I finally made it down to check out the exhibit. It was so neat. The exhibit was not only many of his art pieces but also film. The films were crazy Dali paintings come to life and very interesting to watch.

After the museum we headed to our favorite LA eatery--Farmer's Market. We had no idea what kind of a treat we were in for when we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. After dinner we decided to walk around The Grove for a while. The Grove was so magical and the Christmas spirit was everywhere you looked.

There was a Dicken's esque quartet.

Rockettes dancers--well not the real Rockettes, but these ladies were quite entertaining.
And a HUGE Christmas tree. This tree was so big and so beautiful.
It was such a fun magical Christmas night.

Nutcracker

On Saturday night Morris and I went to the Nutcracker. I have wanted to see the Nutcracker each Christmas but this was the first year I have gone. I found some seats at a small theatre near our house for a great price so I decided to go for it. It was put on by a small young company but I loved it.
Morris and I have been so busy the last couple weeks we have not been able to go out and celebrate his acceptance to his residency program. Although going to the ballet was not Morris's idea of a celebration for him we did have a fun night together. I love this time of year.

Nothing Better to Say

I have been trying to come up with a post for the last week and as you can see I have not come up with anything. I was tagged by Heidi yesterday so here it goes.

Little known and not so little known facts about me...

1. I like to brush my teeth with warm water, I think it kills more germs. My husband, the dentist tells me this is not true but I still do it, I like the frothiness from my tooth paste.

2. Water is my beverage of choice but I can not drink it in the morning. I have to first have a small sip of OJ or other juice before I can drink water. And I prefer the taste of water from a plastic cup over glass. I also don't drink milk but that is all day every day. I have a problem with liquids that are so thick they coat a glass, even skim milk is too thick for me.

3. I hold the record for the flexed arm hang from my elementary school. I used to practice at recess. When word got out I could hold myself there for over 2 minutes I started to draw crowds when I was practicing.

4. I have 2 different thumbs. I have one that curves back like a hitch hiker thumb thanks to my dad and one that goes straight up that matches the thumbs of my mom.

5. I owned my wedding dress for about 4 years before I got married. When my wedding day came, I didn't love the dress like I once did so I had some major alterations made so I didn't dislike it as much.

6. I wanted to change the way my name was spelled in middle school. I wanted to spell Ashley like this Ashleigh. I could never get my y's to look right and I thought Ashley looked prettier this way. After 10 years my family will still not drop it. They still call me Ashsleigh pronounced like sleigh. I also practiced my signature changing my last name with every guy I ever dated or ever thought was cute. When the time came for me to give up my last name it was very hard to let go so I decided to keep it as my middle name.

I tag anyone who has been tagged several times and has not done this.

Next Stop...Richmond, VA

We found out early this morning that Morris was matched at Virginia Commonwealth University for an orthodontic residency. We are so excited for this new adventure. The program begins July 1st so we have a month after graduation to make our way from one coast to the other. Morris has already emailed his co residents and he is so excited to work with all of them. GO RAMS!

That's Assault, Sister!

Last week I was on my way home from some church service and I decided to stop at Ralphs market to pick up a few things. I normally do not shop at Ralphs, although it is closer to my home than Vons (my regular supermarket). Since it was later in the evening (9:00 PM) I decided just to stop at Ralphs--Big Mistake. As I was checking out a woman came into the store shouting at the top of her lungs for someone to give her a cigarette. After getting no replies from her shouting she walked over to the check out line where I was standing, she looked at me and said "what b*#@% you don't smoke?" To which I replied "No". She then asked me if I wanted to see her naked and then she began undressing herself. The Ralphs security guard is nowhere to be seen. I was trying to divert my eyes so I did not have to stare at the naked crazy lady while she undressed and had a few more choice words to say to me. She then kicked my shopping cart into my stomach and nearly knocked me to my feet. While this is happening to me, the 3 men standing next to me, including the checker have done nothing to keep this crazy woman for attacking me further. Finally the crazy lady turned and walked out of the store. About a minute after she walks away, the security guard moseys up from the back of the store and no one mentions to him that any of this has happened. I did not receive an apology from my checker, the manager on duty or anyone. I walked away from the incident with two black and blue toenails that are about to fall off (sorry for gross description) and the last groceries I would ever purchase from Ralphs. So to all Ralphs shoppers beware you may be the next victim of a crazy naked smoking lady.

Double Header

Disneyland twice in one week! Monday night Morris and I headed down to DL to spend some time with our good friends Melinda and Robbie and feel some Christmas cheer. It was so fun to spend a couple hours with Robbie and Melinda. Disneyland at Christmas is so much fun.

Wednesday was our second dose of DL for the week. This time we met up with the Allen crew that was in town for Thanksgiving. My sister Erin and her family came into town from Utah and my brother Greg and fam came in from Texas for a week of So. Cal. fun. We had such a good time our family and we are already looking forward to our next visit.
We had to stop for a picture in front of the castle. I love all of the lights on the castle this year.

American Girls

My sisters have been planning a trip to the American Girl Place for their daughters for months. This day was such a dream for my nieces. It was so fun to be there with them on this fun day. I had to work so I only was able to join the girls for lunch. I had so much fun having lunch with all of my nieces and the dolls of course. I can't wait to have another day at American Girl with my daughters one day.

D.C. Weekend

A couple weeks ago Morris and I traveled to Richmond,VA for his last interview for residency-YEAH! When Morris was offered an interview at Virginia Commonwealth University; I immediately started planning a weekend in our nations capitol. But first we had to spend two days in Richmond at VCU for Morris's interview. We have no pictures from our time in Richmond, it was pretty uneventful. Morris was at interviews all day and I relaxed in the hotel and caught up on some reading.

Morris and I began our tour of DC with a visit to the White House. Morris's Aunt Jackie was a wonderful guide. Each room we had more and more people following behind us to listen to all of Jackie's stories about the White House.

Next stop, the Air and Space Museum at Dulles. This was the highlight of the trip for Morris. He could have stayed there for hours. He wanted to stop and look at all of the planes. I managed to drag him out of there after 4 hours so we could move on.

We spent the night walking around the city and visiting the memorials at night.

The highlight of the trip for me was visiting the National Gallery of Art. I just could not get enough of this place. I could have spent days just viewing all of the amazing art at the National Gallery.

Our last day in D.C. we spent most of the day walking from museum to museum and stopping for an occasional picture.
We loved our time in D.C. and we are crossing our fingers we end up in VA so we can spend every weekend in D.C. Ok maybe not every weekend but at least once a month hopefully.

So Long UCLA

Last week Morris was offered a spot as a UCLA Orthodontic resident. After many prayers and lengthy conversations we have decided it is time for us to move on from Los Angeles. Morris and I had always talked about moving on after graduation but when the offer was extended it was much harder to walk away from than expected. UCLA would have been a great opportunity for Morris but we are looking forward to seeing another part of the country before we settle down to practice. We are very excited about the next step in our life and are crossing our fingers we will be able to match at a program that will be a good fit for us.

T.G.I.F.

This has been the longest week of my life! I have been a day ahead of myself all week. All day at work on Tuesday I kept thinking I had to hurry home to pass out candy. Thursday I was looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning. Well Friday finally arrived and I could not be happier, well maybe a little bit happier if it had been yesterday. Morris has been out of town all week; from Dallas to San Fran to Houston and finally back to LA tonight for a few hours before he leaves on a red eye Saturday night for Florida. I am ready for residency interviews to be over and ready to have my husband home again.

Violated

On Friday I received a call from Circuit City .com wanting me to verify my shipping address for an order. I had not placed any orders with Circuit City so I logged on to our credit card account on line to find out that there were 4 charges from Circuit City totalling nearly $10,000. We cancelled our credit cards immediately and hopefully caught the thief in time so we are not left paying for some criminals big screen TV.

Pasadena Fun Day

During college football season I have to beg and plead to get Morris out of the house on Saturday--Game Day. For a week I had been talking about "Pasadena Fun Day" so when Saturday came around he would not be surprised that I wanted him to spend the day with me in Pasadena. Every time we went to Pasadena there was never enough time to see any of the great landmarks in this city. I decided the only way to see all of the things we wanted to see was to devote a whole day there and this brings us to Pasadena Fun Day.
Our first stop was Huntington Library. This place is huge, it is over 200 acres of gardens, art museums, and an amazing library that has a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. The weather held out just long enough for us to get through the Japanese garden before it started to sprinkle on us so we were on to our next location.

Lately I have been missing my life as an interior designer and I had heard about a great Arts and Crafts home in Pasadena built for the Gamble Family of Proctor and Gamble. The house was built in 1908 and is in its original condition. The house is now owned by USC and tours are given on the weekends of the interior. I love Arts and Crafts style homes and this one is beautiful. The home as well as all of the furniture was designed by the architects Greene and Greene. I can't wait to design my own arts and crafts home one day. You must go see this house if you live in LA.
Last but not least we ended at the Norton Simon Museum. I now have a new favorite art museum in LA. This is a small museum located on Colorado Blvd. and is so absolutely perfect. I love Degas and the Norton Simon has one of the largest collections of Degas's work. Morris and I both love Impressionist art and this museum has a great collection. The museum store was not my favorite but Morris was with me so I couldn't really do any shopping anyway.
My favorite pieces of the day. Vincent Van Gogh--Mulberry Tree
Edgar Degas--Waiting
I had planned a trip to the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain to put the cherry on top of our wonderful day but I thought I should let Morris catch at least one of his football games so we headed home. I guess we will need a Pasadena Fun Day part II with a second helping of the Norton Simon.

Brandy visits LA

For two years Brandy (former Rainey Homes co-worker) and I have been planning her trip to LA. Last week she finally made her appearance, she stopped here for a day and a half on her way home from Hawaii. We had a great time shopping, eating and catching up. I love having visitors because I get to visit new sites and some of my favorites I could see over and over again. I recently read "Night" by Elie Wiesel for the second time and have been anticipating the opening of the Holocaust exhibit at The Museum of Tolerance. Brandy was up for a depressing afternoon so we decided to visit the exhibit on WWII, we spent a few hours there before we headed over to The Grove for some shopping and dinner. While Brandy was here we also spent an afternoon at the Getty--an LA gem that every visitor must see. We spent the majority of our time in the museum store-that is always my favorite part of any museum. Thanks for coming Brandy, it was so fun to see you.


Favorite piece of the day:
Edgar Degas---The Milliners

Getty Villa

Ever since we moved to LA I have been wanting to visit the Getty Villa in Malibu. Ever time I would find a day that worked for us it seemed to be a day that worked for everyone else and I could never get tickets. It was a prefect afternoon to spend at the Villa. We took a tour of the grounds and learned about the history of this beautiful place. The gardens and architecture were so amazing. The Getty Villa is a replication of an ancient Roman villa called Villa of the Papyri. The Villa has a lot of Greek and Roman sculptures and reminded me I need to brush up on my Greek and Roman mythology(I bought a book the other day to get me started on this, I am not sure I am ready to tackle the Iliad and the Odyssey again). It was a wonderful day to live in LA.