Sedona

We headed up North for a short day trip to Sedona on Sunday. Mission: Hiking in the Red Rock State Park. Status: Failed. Well, kind of.

We made the 2 1/2 hour drive only to find out that they don't let pets in the park. Oh, and it costs $10 to get in. To a park. Lame. The lady told us to go down the street where there was another small park where they allow dogs. We went to check it out and ran into a long line of cars waiting to get in. The ranger said it was full and we could wait 15-30 minutes (or maybe more) to get in and then it was $9 cash or Arizona check only. Washington checks only here, man. Fail again. 

Attempt number three at finding a pet friendly, free hiking spot was finally successful when we parked on the side of the road and found a random trail head. It ended up being pretty clutch as we had full panoramic view of the valley with red rocks all around us. It was super super windy while we were hiking and thankfully, not too hot. I was worried about running into scorpions/rattle snakes/tarantulas, while the hubs and the BBoy were all about climbing mountains. 

My little mountain dog...

Love his floppy ears and his question mark tail. :)

No, we didn't follow the sign. We're rebels like that.

Yes, sometimes my dog looks like the Joker. Creepster.

This one's for you dude... ;)

Sedona is so beautiful! I love all the red rocks. And can we please talk about all the vortexes (vortexi?) and auras. Just kidding. Totally not into that crap. :)

Tomorrow I'll share about our little detour to Jerome on our way home!

Happy Memorial Day!

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I hope you all are having a great long weekend - enjoying some BBQ and cool beverages. :) The hubby and I had some yummy homemade cinnamon rolls this morning and boy were they tasty. Buster has been conked out since 8am so I was actually able to get a little bit of packing done without him chewing up every box. I think he is recovering from our hike yesterday (I'm not complaining).

Just wanted to say a big thank you to all our troops and those that have fought for our country! Today we remember you!

Happy Weekend!

I'm SO looking forward to the long weekend! Plans in the Kane household include watching The Hangover Part II (pssst - if you like this kind of movie, I would highly suggest you go see Bridesmaids. It was hilarious!), taking a day trip to Sedona to go hiking with the BBoy and to get some sweet photos of red rocks, packing for the big move, planning our Europe trip, and relaxing. We only have a few more weekends of sunshine before we head back to the rain, so we are going to make the best of it!

What are your plans for the long weekend? Braving the traffic and traveling? Staying home and chillin' like a villain? Have a great weekend!

So You Think You Can Dance... (dance)... (dance)... (dance)

I'm so excited that my favorite reality show (ok, tied with Project Runway) is back on for the summer! I love me some sytycd. It's just so good! I love watching dancers that are so talented. Pretty amazing if you ask me. Oh, you didn't? Well too bad. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite dances from past seasons. Check 'em out!

Sabra and Neil

Jason and Jeanine

Kayla and Kupono

Courtney and Mark

Buster's New Bed

Isn't he a sweetie? We caved and bought Buster a new bed this weekend. It was only $15 at Costco, so we couldn't not get it. This is the third (yes third) bed we've been through in 9 months. The other two suffered a slow and painful death after meeting Buster's teeth.

So far, so good with bed #3. It's a different size and shape than the previous two beds, which I think he likes. He can sprawl out and relax with his bone. Here's hoping this bed lasts longer than the last two!

(P.S. Remember Buster's birthday present? Well, that was an epic fail. Turns out he doesn't like a bone unless he can actually rip it to shreds.)

Carl the Camry

Last night Carl died. :( He just straight up stopped working on the freeway on my way home from work. It was a very sad day.

Carl was my first car. I got him 10 years ago when I was 16. (I can't believe I'm old enough to have owned a car for 10 years). Carl is very special to me because I got him from my Grandma Phyllis after she passed away. He has always kind of been my link to her. It may sound silly that I think of a car like that, but it's true. I have a little gold butterfly that she gave me that sits on the rear view mirror and every time I see it, it reminds me of her. Wasn't she beautiful?

I guess it could have been a lot worse. Thank goodness there was a big shoulder where I could pull over, although the cops did stop by to say hi and then literally pushed my car to a better, safer spot. Thank goodness for my awesome husband coming to my rescue. And thank goodness for AAA. Although I learned that they will only tow your car 5 miles, then it's $5/mile after that. 

Needless to say, this is not the first time Carl has had problems. The check engine light has been on for a couple few years (I'm like Penny from Big Bang Theory when it comes to cars), I've gotten a flat tire while going 80 on the freeway, new starters and batteries, this car's been through a lot. He's got 208k miles(!) and I guess I knew it was inevitable that this would happen sooner rather than later, but it's still sad.

Anyways, Carl is in the shop now and hopefully we will find out today if he needs just the timing belt replaced, or possibly a new engine (hopefully the former)? Look at me pulling out the car talk. Don't be fooled - I got it all from the hubs. 

Medical School Situation

I realized I should probably explain a little bit about why we are moving back to Washington for those of you that are thinking "Wow, med school only lasts one year?" The answer is no. The hubby's med school is unique because for the first year it is primarily classes only down here in Arizona. For the last three years of the program, each student gets placed in a campus in different locations around the country.

We (thankfully) got placed in the Seattle-area location. (Only 10 people out of the 100+ in his class got placed in the Seattle campus.) Other locations include Portland (our second choice), California, New York, Alabama, South Carolina, and a lot in Arizona.

This means that for the next three years, hubs will basically be doing online classes mixed with clinical experience, which is awesome. Plus, of course we are super happy to be back in our home town and closer to our families and friends.

So there you have it! No, Zach didn't drop out of med school. No, I'm not pregnant. And no, we both didn't have mental breakdowns and have to move back in with our parents. Glad I cleared that up. :) Just another med school move!

It's Official

I officially told my work that we're moving back to Washington(!) So now I can shout it from the top of a mountain blog. My last day is June 24th and then we will hit the road yet again to make the 1,500 mile journey across the country. Seattle here we come!

I'm so excited to move back, but not at all looking forward to the moving process. Probably one of my least favorite things to do. Ever. Although, I do like the opportunity to get organized and do some re-decorating. :)

When we moved down to Arizona last year, I ended my job on June 30th, which was also the day we had to be out of our apartment, which was also the premiere of Eclipse, of which I most definitely went to the midnight showing. Crazy? Um, yes. But you only live once, right? This time, I'm allowing a little more time in between job ending and moving out. Hoping for a little more of a stress free moving experience.

We're also trying out POD type moving. Have you heard of it? They deliver the POD, you pack it up, then they move it and store it for you. I think it'll work out really well for us since we'll be in Europe for two weeks during July. It's a little more expensive than a moving truck, but by the time you factor in all the gas and a month's worth of rent, it made sense for us. We figure we can just bum with our parents and wait to find a place until August. Perfect! Only one month to go until the madness begins!

Suggestions?

Boy am I glad the world didn't end on Saturday, because that means my Europe trip didn't get postponed yet again! Our plane tickets have been purchased and now we are trying to figure out the rest of the details. We leave July 11th and arrive in London on July 12th (yay for 24 hour plane rides in coach...). The plan is London for 5 days,

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Paris for 5 days,

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and Germany for 5 days to see my baby brother play some football! I've asked some friends, but does anyone have any suggestions on places to see/stay/eat in London or Paris? I'd love to hear any advise you have (what to skip, what's a must see)!

Seattle

I just got this poster with some of my birthday moolah. Love it! I've seen it around and think it's such a cool idea for art. They have a lot of other city neighborhood maps on the website too. Now I just need to get a frame and find a place to put it!

Home Is Wherever I'm With You

Lately I've had the itch. The itch to get artsy. I really like to paint - don't get me wrong, I'm not an artist at all. I basically just like to paint basic shapes and geometric figures, nothing too fancy or abstract - just simple. But it's really fun for me. I honestly haven't done any painting since we moved down to Arizona since Buster has a tendency to chew everything all the time. But lately I've been getting the urge, mostly thanks to my lovely new friend, Pinterest.

I keep finding such awesome inspiration on Pinterest. It's such a great place to keep track of all my inspirational findings. I first got the idea for using this phrase for art when I found this from apartment therapy.

I also love the song by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, even though it was so last summer. But I have to admit, I'm still in love with it. I love the folks-y sound, the playful romance of it. It's perfect. Last summer I was also obsessed with it, seeing as it was kind of perfect for where we were in our lives - moving across the country to Arizona.

I happened to have some blank canvases laying around and only had to pick up some acrylic paint from Walmart in the colors I wanted (navy, vintage white, and red) for about 97 cents a bottle. I also had some wooden letters lying around from past projects that I used as stencils for the words.

First, I painted the background navy. I ended up having to mix some colors since Walmart didn't have the navy color I wanted. I just used a royal blue mixed with a little bit of black.

I forgot to take pictures in between, but next I used a ruler to measure two inches wide so the lettering would be straight and then stenciled the letters onto the canvas. Here's a photo of what it looked like, but while I was in the planning phase. (I didn't have every letter, but made do with what I had.)

Then I used my smallest paint brush and painted in the letters. It was actually kind of difficult, but very relaxing at the same time. Trying to paint in the lines is a lot harder than it looks! (Psst... see the chevron canvas in the background? That's another one coming up soon!) And the result....

Next up, I might add some state outlines? I have two more blank canvases plus the chevron canvas I started, so I'm thinking something with states and hearts since I'm obsessing over maps lately. And because I'm always slightly homesick for Seattle. Maybe something along the lines of this (except with Washington and/or Arizona?):

For now, I'll leave you with a little video in case you haven't heard one of my favorite songs that's the inspiration. :) Have a great weekend!

Minnie Mouse & Emersonmade

I thought I'd share a few pics of my birthday celebration. Can I just say that I have the best husband ever? I know I'm biased, but seriously. It's true. Not only did he get me a plane ticket back to Seattle to see my friends, he also got me this awesome present... A Minnie Mug!

A little back story. For our first wedding anniversary we went to Disneyland (happiest place on earth!). So. Much. Fun. One of the souvenirs we brought home was a Mickey Mug for Zach. I have no idea why we didn't get a Minnie Mug for me, but ever since then, Zach's Mickey Mug has become his favorite mug ever. It is pretty awesome. And every since then, I've wanted a Minnie Mug to match. Pretty much since we left the park for the last time. Anyways, I finally got my Minnie Mug to match the hubby's Mickey Mug! We are complete. :)

My wonderful husband also made me dinner - salmon, rice, zucchini and squash, zucchini bread, and my favorite Confetti Cake! Mom and Daddio got me some pretty flowers, and Schmevin and Renee (I'm guessing mostly Renee) got me my coveted Emersonmade clutch!

Isn't she purrrrrrrrty?!?! I fell in love with Emersonmade a while ago and have long since wanted something from her line. If it wasn't so expensive, I would have bought everything by now!

The cake was so yummy!

Overall, it was a great birthday! Thanks everybody!

Spritz Cookies

A couple weeks ago I whipped up these bad boys. I had forgotten (sorry, Bethy!) that I got this amazing Martha Stewart Cookie Press for Christmas from my even more amazing sister-in-law, Bethany. I spotted it in the cupboard and knew what my next batch of cookies would be!

I myself am a big fan of Spritz Cookies. My mother-in-law makes them every year at Christmas and they are literally gone in seconds. They are so small and easy to gobble up. Yum!

This was my first time making them, so here's my recipe for Spritz Cookies (from the good old Better Homes & Garden cookbook):

// 375 degrees // 8 minutes // makes 84 cookies //

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

Beat butter on med-high for 30 seconds.

Add sugar and baking powder.

Beat in egg and vanilla.

Beat in flour as much as you can.

(sorry no pics... it went pretty fast. and... I forgot.) :)

Don't chill the dough.

Once the dough is done, you can put together your handy dandy cookie press. 

I have to admit, I am in no way shape or form a master of the cookie press. To be frank, I kind of sucked at it. But, I did get the job done. Maybe there's some kind of secret I'm missing? I basically just shoved the dough in there and then shot it like a gun. Kinda fun and so many choices!

It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I think they turned out pretty good!