Bertagna Family

Wedding

2011-02-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

My sister Katrice got married to John Dewey Mackay on December 22nd. It was a beautiful wedding. Here she is with Dewey and her two children Elle and Finn.

Here are my sisters, we are missing Tabitha :(

The list goes...me (I am terrible at pictures and my posture is horrible) Myleka, Stephanie ( just had her second baby boy, we were so happy she could come) Katrice (the beautiful bride) Tatjana, Natalye and Sarah (married to Teancum)

4 Months

2011-02-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

Evey is now 4 months old. She enjoys squealing and thinks she can sing and talk. I am lucky enough to get to listen to her all day long!

I love this cry face, makes me want to kiss her all over!

Holiday Photos

2010-12-23T15:52:00.000-08:00

Now that Evey has arrived, we feel like we are officially a family. Hence, we needed family pictures. We got our first set of photos from someone who actually knows how to operate a camera. Below are some of our favorites.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-29T22:09:00.000-08:00

This weekend, we took Evey for her first airplane ride -- we went to Utah for Thanksgiving. She did fantastic. Both my family and Blake's family got to see Evey in person. She got a lot of attention. On Sunday, Blake blessed her at church and gave a beautiful blessing. We had a great trip and can't wait to go back for Christmas.
I thought this picture of my father was so sweet

One Month

2010-11-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

I took Evey to her one month check up today.

She is 21 inches (50 percentile), 8 pounds 11 ounces (30 percentile), and her head is 14 1/4 centimeters (25 percentile). After nearly a month with her, we have realized her early talents are (1) grunting; (2) wrinkling her foreheard; and (3) stretching.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T17:03:00.000-07:00

Two Weeks

2010-10-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our little baby girl has been with us a whole two weeks, and we think she is simply adorable. We moved to San Diego last week, and we have been touring around with her. She has been a pretty good baby so far. She likes to wake up and eat every hour during the middle of the night, but we are still loving every second with her.

Evey Wren

2010-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

So Blake and I are officially a mom and a dad!

For the last month, I have been in and out of labor. I was admitted to the hosptial at 34 weeks, and then again at 36 weeks. As of October 7, I was 37 weeks. I had been having frequent and powerful contractions all day and night on Thursday and Friday, October 8. Around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Blake woke up and asked me how I was doing. Almost right when he asked me that question, I felt my water break. So we decided to make a trip to the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 4:30 a.m., and by that time, my contractions were getting really bad. The nurse told me I was almost dilated to a 4. Because my water had broken, they admitted me. My contractions were quickly going from bad to worse. I had been worried about getting an epidural because of the medication I was on, but after a couple of hours, my contractions were so intense the baby's heart rate had dropped to 60 and was in distress. I then was told that an epidural would relax me and help the baby, so I opted for one.

After the epidural, my pregnancy went surprisingly well and quickly. Shortly after the epidural, I dilated to a 7. Two hours later, I dilated to a 10. After that, I pushed for about 15 or 20 minutes, and our little baby Evey came out. She arrived at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday, October 9. So from my water breaking to the baby coming, about 7 hours passed, which was much quicker than I had expected. Evey weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces; she was 20 inches long. She is looking healthy and happy.

I am so happy to be a mom!

Baby Shower

2010-09-14T09:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my friends Anjuli and Brooke threw me a baby shower. The shower was at Anjuli's house. Anjuli and Brooke did such a great job with the decorations and the food! Everything was beautiful and so yummy! All the girls thought everything looked perfect. My sister Tabitha and Brooke, as well as my friend Taryn (who totally surprised me), drove all the way down from San Francisco to be at the shower. I feel so lucky to have such a great sister and friends.

Brooke, Taryn, me Anjuli
Tabitha and me

Thank you to everybody who came!

More Evey

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

Here I am at eight months pregnant
This is a closer look at Evey at 33 weeks

Evey Wren Bertagna

2010-07-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted in a LONG time, but we have some exciting news.

Blake and I are very happy to announce we are having a baby girl! I am about six and a half months pregnant. Things are going well and we are due on October 28 2010.

Here is Evey Wren at our Six months appointment the doctor says she is measuring normal. We are so excited to have this little girl in our lives.

Here are some of the toys I've received for Evey. At the Renegages Fair my sister picked up this adorable sock monkey. And from my mother I got a duck and panda bear made by Emily Sparks.

2008-12-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted for a while. We have been busy and have had a lot going on. So, I am guilty of being a lazy blogger.

This Christmas I have received many wonderful gifts. Recently though, I have received a couple of gifts that mean a lot to me and have made a big impression on me (not to say other gifts weren't wonderful too, please do not get offended) Both of these gifts took a lot of time and patience. Those who know me well know I was not blessed with the gift of patience. Patience is probably the thing I ask God for help with every night in my prayers. Nor did God bless me with much talent in the area of art. I can draw a pretty mean stick figure, but that is about the limits of my talents. If I were to have to draw clothes on the stick figure, for example, I would make a big mess out of it. So I am amazed when someone is patient or artistic (and even better, both). So, I felt I had to blog about my gratitude for these gifts.

Taryn Merkely made this stocking below. You should see the fine stitching she used. The Fairy's arms, skirt and legs are lifted; the gingerbread men are stuffed and raised. The detail is incredible.

Also, my friend Shauna Lewis surprised me with this painting of me and Blake. She is super talented! Unfortunately, I only have this one picture I stole off her blog, but she drew this picture of me and Blake and is currently painting a neat background. I can't wait until I can hang this picture on our wall. (She sells these painting so if any of you are interested let me know.)

Well, I clearly have some highly talented friends who were kind enough to use their talents and time to give me some amazing presents this Christmas.

Myleka's Wedding

2008-09-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

On September 19th I went up to Utah for my little sister Myleka's wedding. Blake wasn't able to come because he was too busy at work so it was a girls weekend for me. I had lots of fun with my sisters and it was super great getting together with my family! Anyway I wanted to post some pictures but I forgot my camera so I only have limited pictures from my sisters. Myleka's dress looked stunning she was a beautiful bride! The wedding was absolutely beautiful also! I just wish I had more pictures so I could show how beautiful it was.This is my Mom, Myleka and my sister Tatjana. I couldn't get the picture to get any bigger :(

Myleka and Tabitha looking Beautiful!

me, my Dad, Tatjana, and Natalye

(Sisters!!) Katrice, Natalye, me, Myleka, Tatjana, Tabitha, Stephanie

me, Tatjana and Tabitha

my brother Dieter (Teancum couldn't make it) Katrice, Natalye, me, Myleka, Tatjana, Tabitha, Stephanie

Tabitha and my dad dancing

Tabitha and me

Myleka's Cake (which I did not make)

Updates

2008-08-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have decided to post some after China updates. After returning from China we stayed at my parents house for three weeks. During this time we hung out with friends and family and I did some baking with my mom.

My adorable niece Elle and nephew Fin helping me bake a cake

Here is a Birthday Cake I made for a friend

Here is a cake I made for a barbeque

Here is me, my sister Katrice and Blake eating out during our first week here in Vegas. We were so lucky that Katrice had a work conference here in Vegas the same week we first moved in. Katrice and I were able to enjoy the Tom Jones show, which was a riot, he had so many famous songs that I had no idea he originally wrote. Songs like Pussy Cat and Kiss. There was a point that I was enjoying the music so much that I had to stand up and shake my body…LOL. We also went to Phantom of the Opera, which was phenomenal, and spent a night dancing at the dance club Prive, where even Blake shook his booty. We had such a good time.

Here are some cupcake I made for Blake to take into work his first week. They are white cake with Lemon and Lime frosting.

China

2008-08-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, Kayla and I took a little vacation from the blog since we moved from D.C. about two months ago. But, we have finally settled down in Las Vegas, and things are getting back to normal again.

We spent much of the last two months at her family’s place in Provo, Utah. We had some good times visiting family and friends and some of our favorites Provo eating spots (e.g., Happy Sumo, Café Rio, Rumbi’s). However, the highlight of the past two months was definitely our trip to China. We spent two weeks in July traveling around China and loved it!

We began our trip in Shanghai. Shanghai was kind of like a New York City, but ten times bigger. The sky rises went for miles, and traffic was terrible, but we got to see some cool things there. We walked along the Bund, which is a nice walk along the main river in Shanghai. One of the main sites in Shanghai is the TV tower in Shanghai. It kind of looks like a tall disco ball tower, but it is actually the third tallest TV tower in the world. We were able to go up to the top and have a great view of the city.

TV Tower

One of my favorite parts of our time in Shanghai was when we visited an ancient water town called Zhujiajiao. It was how I pictured a lot of China villages would be. It is almost two thousand years old and is called the Venice of China because it has a canal that runs throughout the village on which you can travel on little boats and see the entire city.

two ladies doing their laundry

China has a lot of beautiful gardens and temples. In Shanghai, we visited a beautiful Chinese garden that was built in the Ming Dynasty called the YuYuan Graden. We also visited a very famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai called the Jade Buddha Temple.

love this picture, there are so many bikes

After a few days in Shanghai, we flew to Yichan. From Yichan, we boarded a small cruise ship on which we spent three days sailing down the Yangtze River. We would make a stop each day. One day we saw the Three Gorges Dam; another day we visited the city of Fengdu; one day we got a tour of a local stream on some tiny Chinese boats. The cruise was very relaxing, and we saw some beautiful scenery of the Yangtze River and the Chinese countryside. At night, the crew attempted to entertain us with some cheesy skits and concerts.

I thought this car was hysterical

This is Lucy our tour guide, we loved her!

We finished our cruise by docking in Chongching, where we visited some panda bears and a war museum. While at the zoo, some Chinese girls approached Kayla to take a photograph with them. She was a little uncomfortable with it, but said okay. Little did she know that she would be doing a lot of posing this trip. From Chongching to Beijing, she ended up getting asked to take pictures with people. I thought it was hilarious and always tried to snap a photo of her getting her picture taken.

From Chongching, we flew to Guilin, which was beautiful. While there, we took a river cruise down the Li River where we were to see close up the limestone peaks that make the city so breathtaking. We had never heard of this city before our trip, but it was incredible. Of course, Iloved this city because he was finally able to get his first American meal at a McDonald’s near our hotel.

After a few days in Guilin, we flew to Xi’an, which is over 3,000 years old. We began our time there by entering through one of the gates of the city wall that used to surround the entire city. We were even greeted there with a fun Chinese dance ceremony. The highlight of Xi’an of course was the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibition, which is where the first emperor of China had his servants build over 7,000 life-size statutes of warriors to for his army in the next life.
Guangxi Reed Flute Cave

Xi'an city wall

Giving the key to the city

Dim Sum Lunch, it was so good!

One of my favorite shows

We got to see the Olympic bird nest

After Xi’an, we flew to Beijing, which was probably our favorite part of the trip. The coolest site in Beijing was the Great Wall of China. The day we walked the wall just happened to also be my birthday! We had a few hours to walk along the wall, and we tried to go as far as we could. It was so hot and humid, and there were so many people on the wall, we eventually got tired and came back down. The wall was amazing. It appeared to go on forever in both directions. Another cool site in Beijing was the Summer Palace, which was an ancient garden for royal families. It stretches for almost 1,000 acres, but it has a bunch of beautiful halls, corridors, pavilions as well as a beautiful lake.

Here we are dressed up like the Emperor and EmpressI told everyone it was Blake's birthday so we had a super time, one lady on the tour wrote Blake a poem, it was great!

We also visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was so cool to walk though the Forbidden City and to actually see this ancient site that was the home of China’s emperors for hundreds of years. On that same day, we visited the Temple of Heaven, which was the temple for the emperors and was built in the 1400s.

Here are some girls who wanted a picture of Blake, he was so embaressed, it was cute!

Some interesting food we saw on the streets

inside a local home

Overall, Kayla and I had a great time. We learned to love real Chinese food (not P.F. Chang’s “Chinese” food). Except for a few meals where we ran off to McDonald’s, we ate Chinese food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which we always ate family style with our tour group. We learned that we are grateful for Western-style toilets. While much of China is converting to Western-style toilets, many of your public places still have the old hole in the ground. We learned to love airports. In our two weeks, we flew from Los Angeles to Beijing, Beijing to Shanghai, Shanghai to Yichan, Chongching to Guilin, Guilin to Xi’an, Xi’an to Beijing, and Beijing to Los Angeles. We also learned that America is a very young country compared to countries like China that have a history spanning thousands and thousands of years. We loved our trip and hope to do another fun trip next summer!
food we ate

Bathrooms!

Changes

2008-06-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

We are all packed up and have offically moved out of our apartment. We are staying in a hotel called the Red Roof Inn in Alexandria. I have attached a picture of our luxurious new temporary home. Don't let this picture deceive you. You might think the red flowers look nice and comment on the nice lush green lawn. I will only say it was the cheapest hotel we could find and I hope to never stay in another hotel like it.

Our last day here is Friday and then we drive to Utah. After spending a few weeks in Utah we take our 2 week trip to China. I AM SO SO EXCITED!!! My most favorite hobbie is traveling! We were also supposed to stay one more week to go to Tibet but the Chinese government is currently not letting tourists in, so we might replace it with a beach trip. We shall see.

The places we are going to in China are: Yangtze River cruise, Shanghai, Yichang, Three Gorges, Guilin, Xi'an & Beijing

Excitements and Surprises

2008-06-02T08:18:00.001-07:00

Saturday night I had an interesting experience. My friend Chareese was moving apartments and needed to move her queen size bed, unfortunately the bed was too big to fit into the 4 runner so we actually put the mattress on top of the vehicle and Chareese and Nicole hung out with window and held onto the mattress, while I drove. It was quite a sight! Nicole holding the mattress from the inside

Chareese holding the mattress from the outside

My weekend surprise came from my lady friend Brooke! Saturday I opened up her package and it consisted of two wonderful cake cooking books. Although I have taken a break from making my cakes (because all my cake materials are packed away) I am just as excited as ever to continue my cooking in Vegas. I cannot wait to try the new recipes and cake decorating in the books! Thanks Brooke, love you and miss you!!

Busy Weekend

2008-06-02T08:04:00.001-07:00

This weekend was busy. On Friday night, Blake and I went to the Fish Market in Old Town with the Horrocks. The food was yummy. I ordered 2 lbs of crab and ate it all; it was delicious. I think I ate more than anyone else there . .. even the guys. We had a great time with the Horrocks. We had not been out with them in a while but it was good to see them and we will miss them. We have had some great outings together.

The remainder of the weekend was mainly spent packing. We have to be out of the apartment by Sunday, the 8th, so our time is dwindling. We cannot believe that we have less than two weeks in DC. We will be on the road driving out west before we know it.

Second Anniversary

2008-05-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

This Monday Blake and I were able to celebrate our second year anniversary. These past two years have been a blast! I love looking at our old wedding pictures especially because I loved my wedding dress so much! So here are some pictures. You might notice that I had three different bouquets in my pics, lol...that is a long story, anyway Blake likes to remember how we meet four years ago so here is his recollection below.

Kayla and I recently celebrated our two-year anniversary. We cannot believe that these two years have passed by so fast. We met in November 2004 thanks to a date arranged by our mutual friend Anjuli. We had a wonderful double date with our friend Devin, dining at Tepanyaki and then playing games back at my place. Kayla looked especially hot that night, but I could not allow her to think she was too hot, so I gave her a little of the cold shoulder at dinner and did not walk her to the door at the end of the date. My plan obviously worked because she was left wondering whether I liked her or not, and she needed to figure out more about me. Since that time, we have been able to have a great time together, spending time with our friends, traveling, and of course, eating. We get to spend our third year together in Las Vegas and cannot wait to get started in our new temporary home.

Splat

2008-05-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

This weekend my little sister Natalye came to visit, we had a blast! We slept in til 12:00, walked around D.C., spent the day in Annapolis and Old Town Alexandria, and went to Six Flags where Blake had the unfortunate experience of dropping his cell phone and his flip flop on the batman rollercoaster....lol.....it was quite heartbreaking. Thanks for coming Splat!

Six Flags

Weirdness at Old Town

Friends

2008-05-12T05:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, we dined out with the Englands. We hit up our mutual #1 restaurant -- Carlyle's. Since the Englands were leaving for Salt Lake City the next day for the entire summer and we are moving to Las Vegas soon, it was kind of like our farewell dinner. Less than six months ago, we did not even know the England's and now we are very good friends who have some wonderful memories together. We look forward to having additional good times and fun laughs with them in Utah. We are going to miss them.

Friday night, we kicked it Italian style at La Piazza with the Merkelys. The restaurant has a small neighborhood restaurant feel and has yummy Italian food. Although Brendon maintained that he was better than all of us since he had lived in Italy and could speak Italian with the Italian-born restaurant owner, Blake and I enjoyed their company (as always) and the food. We had a great time.

The Boyces

2008-05-05T08:12:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we got to spend some quality time with our good friends Anjuli and Brandon Boyce. As background, Anjuli is the reason that Blake and I are married. Anjuli and Blake were friends for years before she became friends with me. Although Blake and I were both friends with Anjuli, we never met each other. One night, Blake asked Anjuli if she had any cute friends and, of course, she thought of me. She set Blake and me up for a first date and the rest is history. In fact, Blake whittled a mini-Anjuli out of a bar of ivory soap that we give a little love tap every day before we walk out the door each day.

Anjuli and me

This weekend was a real whirlwind. Thursday and Friday were spent running around DC -- the Smithsonian, the memorials, Mount Vernon, Arlington Cemetery. Saturday was super crazy. We drove up to New York City super early in the morning, walked around Manhattan all day, saw the musical Mary Poppins, (which was awesome) and drove back down to D.C. at midnight. We were very tired. We learned that New York City now has a law that requires all restaurants to disclose the number of calories that are in each meal. We were all excited to eat lots of yummy food until we saw that we would consume 5,000 calories each. We still got donuts and ice cream afterwards J For the first time in our two years of marriage, Blake consented to me snuggling up to another half-naked man. I was so embarrassed as both Anjuli and I got our pictures taken with the Naked Cowboy! I think he may have liked us a little too much. We had so much fun! We miss you Anj and Brandon!

Blake, me, Anjuli and Brandon

Going Private

2008-04-29T06:08:00.000-07:00

For professional reasons our blog needs to go private, so if you would like to continue reading please leave a comment with your email or email me at kcwb03@gmail.com so I can add your email to the list.

Charleston

2008-04-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we had a wonderful time visiting Charleston, South Carolina with Blake's parents. Charleston is gorgeous! The first day, we visited the Magnolia Plantation, which had picturesque gardens and a beautiful southern mansion. The next day, we enjoyed some history lessons by visiting Fort Sumter and then visiting some old Charleston mansions. The third day, we were able to tour a submarine and battle ship. We had a great time with Blake's parents.

Blakes wonderful parents
Magnolia Plantation Mansion

I thought this was so neat an alligator and two turtles together

Beautiful birds all over

tons of turtles

I loved the alligators

I loved walking through the mansions, but we couldn't take pictures

Fort Sumter

Jackson Family

2008-04-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

After my mom and Katrice graced us with their presence, my sister Stephanie, her husband Blaine, and their little boy Cade came to visit. Our first day we spent time at the zoo and did some paddle boating in front of the Jefferson. We marched across D.C. once again to see the museums and the monuments. We also tried out the Spy Museum, which was very cool. Thank you for coming to visit we miss you!

Visitors

2008-04-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

My mother and older sister Katrice recently visited us in D.C. We tried to show and give them a nice taste of D.C. Like most tourists, we walked our feet off around the Smithsonian. We also took them to Annapolis. While visiting the naval academy, we made a discovery that made Blake very happy - Blake Road. We had to pull him away from hugging the sign. We also enjoyed Intercourse together! We were surprised by how cute the town of Intercourse, Pennsylvania was. The country was beautiful up there and we were able to meet a very kind Amish family. We enjoyed some delicious food together. Katrice fell in love with an appetizer at Thai Shirlington. Katrice was also surprised to learn that the Pentagon was not made in the shape of a hexagon, but a pentagon. We has so much fun!

Baking weekend

2008-04-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I was busy baking. My friend Taryn sent me a Martha Stewart recipe called Hi-Hat Cupakes to try out. The cupcakes were a success and were delicious.

Lately I have been in search for a good white cake recipe. I have tried several, but all of them so far have been terrible. Well, the search ended this weekend. I tried a new recipe and it turned out great! I made a new cake this weekend, which had raspberries in it. This cake is white and chocolate layered with butter cream and raspberries. It is one of my best yet.

Girls just want to have fun

2008-04-03T11:44:00.001-07:00

People who know me well know I love to be active and that I love food. A while ago, one of my best friends, Brooke, and I had some fun in San Fran. During the entire time there, we were either on the go or stuffing our faces, and usually on the go while stuffing our faces. Just writing this makes me miss her.

Here we are at a delicious cafe called Mama's, this place is SO popular that there was line out the door and leading around the block to get in. While we were there we stopped at several bakeries, these cupcakes were from Kara's Cupcakes we just had to try everything so here were 6 cupcakes we tasted. The Banana with caramel in the middle was the best.
Here I am at miette patisserie, I ordered one of each of the pastries sold, boy am I a glutton..LOL Here we are at fisherman's wharf

Brooke had never been to fisherman's wharf and seen the seals so I made her take a picture with them.
I convinced Brooke we needed the mini cinnamon and sugar doughnuts that I love, they are a San Fran must have

Next we went to Alcatraz, here I am stuck in a cell

Here is the area where prisoners would meet and talk with their visitors, Brooke was the prisoner

Whoooo hooo!! Aren’t this woman hot…..well, look again because those woman you are looking at are actually men….LOL. Brooke and I had a great time going to Asia SF. We enjoyed the food and watched these “HOT” trannies dance and perform for everyone. It was a crazy night!

The next morning we took a hike, thats Brooke working on her Kung Fu

Here we are in China town

This guys was so cute and funny I had to take a picture

The House of Nanking- best Chinese food in SF

We stopped at the fortune cookie factory and ate a cookie

Here is Brooke and her husband Christian, our last night we had an awesome dinner at an Italian restaurant.

2008-04-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

The past three days I have been working on making three cakes for an order. I think they turned out pretty well. I tried each of them and thought they were all so good, I couldn’t decide which was my favorite. I am now selling my cakes so if anyone would like to place an order they can email me at kcwb03@gmail.com

The first one is a chocolate cake with Italian butter cream, strawberries and cream center with chocolate gauche on top and chocolate shavings.

This cake is a yellow cake with sour cream fudge between the layers and a vanilla butter cream on the outside of the cake.

This third cake is my amazing carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

Cherry Blossoms

2008-03-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Blake and I decided to take a trip to see the Cherry Blossoms. We were unable to go last year. The place was packed, but the trees were beautiful. I do not ride the metro often, so I started feeling ill on the way home. About halfway home, I felt like I was going to vomit on some little kids, so I made Blake get off the train. I laid down on the comfy cement bench in the metro station for about twenty minutes and then was able to get back on and go home.

Tandoori Nights

2008-03-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finally found a great Indian restaurant. The restaurant is called Tandoori Nights. It is located it 2800 Clarendon Blvd 900 Market Commons, Arlington VA. The food was marvelous. I ordered the chicken makhani, which had a delicious creamy tomato sauce. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Family

2008-03-26T06:45:00.001-07:00

I have enjoyed living in D.C., but I still sometimes miss my family. When I was younger and still lived at home, I used to love when family members that lived in the area would all get together. I always knew it would be a fun day of laughter, great food and playing games late into the night. A little while ago my sister put on a birthday party for her son Cade and my brother-in-law Nate. It made me think of those moments I miss. Here are some of the pictures.

My little Nephew Cade

My silly dad....I have no idea what he is doing, probably trying to entertain the kids....lol

going around the table starting the with girl in yellow....my sister Tabitha, her husband Nate, dad, mom, sister Myleka, Myleka's fiance Chris, Brother-in-law Blane, Natalye (aka splat) and I have no idea who the last girl is...probably Natalye's friend.

Cade and Nate blowing out their candels.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T08:26:00.002-07:00

For Easter Sunday, the Merkleys came over. We had a delicious dinner - ham, twice baked potatos, salad, warm out of the oven rolls, carrots, and chocolate pie for dessert. We then watched the Bee Movie and decorated eggs. Blake was embarrassed by how pitiful his egg looked next to the others. We had a great time.

This picture was funny....lol...I think they thought I was silly taking a picture.

Chocolate pie for Dessert

The cute eggs Taryn and I made.................................Blakes ugly egg....lol

Showers and Birthdays

2008-03-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

This weekend was so busy!. After my fabulous surprise birthday party on Friday night, Taryn, Nicole and I threw a baby shower for our friend, Melanie. All the girls appeared to have a great time, eating, chatting, playing fun games, and watching Melanie open cute presents.

Saturday was also my good friend Chareese's birthday. As usual, we celebrated by eating at 2amys. We then shopped at Georgetown and had cookies and ice cream later that night. Happy Birthday Chareese!

Golden Birthday

2008-03-21T20:10:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful day today! I left work early and took a nice nap. Blake came home early as well so that we could hang out in Chinatown for a little while before we met the England’s for dinner at Matchbox (I love their sliders!).

After dinner, we decided to “play games” back at our place. As soon as I opened the door, I saw a bunch of strangers hanging out in our apartment. Then I realized it was all of my friends, even monty was there. They all screamed “SURPRISE!” Unknown to me, Blake (with some help from Erica and Taryn) got sneaky and had been planning a surprise birthday party from me for a few weeks. Blake had actually ordered a bunch of yummy cakes for the party and hauled them on the metro on the way home from work. Blake was eager to hang out in Chinatown to get me out of the apartment so the England’s could drop off all the goodies.

Rachel, Erica, Taryn, Nicole, me, Chareese, Laura, and Lindi

All the boys were on the couches I don't know why we didn't get a picture of them.

While we were at dinner, Taryn got everyone together and decorated the apartment for me. We had a great time talking, laughing, and eating cakes. We especially had a great laugh about a story from the dating lives of TJ and Erica. No matter how bad things got clogged up in their relationship, they were able to work through it and be happy. What great examples! Thanks everyone for the wonderful party!

Easter Treats

2008-03-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Last night, Erica and I decided that we would get in the Easter spirit by making some Easter treats. We toiled in the kitchen making delicious desserts while the guys did what they do best - sit on the couch and watch TV. Blake had his bunny suit on for a few minutes, but then TJ made fun of him and made him feel bad.

birthday cakes and cupcakes

2008-03-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I spent my time making St. Patrick’s day Cupcakes for Melissa Stevenson‘s St. Patrick’s day party they have every year.

I also made a couple of birthday cakes for my friend Nicole.

Monday night Nicole's friends all gathered at Thai Shirlington to celebrate her birthday. Happy Happy birthday Nicole! She is the cute one in the white.

Friends

2008-03-10T09:54:00.001-07:00

Saturday night, we were fortunate to spend some time with some of our best friends Christian and Brooke. Christian's mother got married that day, and we were lucky to attend the reception at his mother's home. We had a wonderful time, the home was beautful and the food was delicious.

Weekend Fun

2008-03-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

Blake and I spent Friday night with the Horrocks. We began the night with some of D.C.'s finest dining at Bailey's. We started the meal with some delicious wings.

Blake chose a particuarly rare meal. I called the meal Cheesy Meat Mush since it basically consisted of several pounds of melted cheese and some type of meat. Blake said it was quail. I think it was horse.

After treating ourselves to our fine dining experience, we watched the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. We were skeptical about the movie, but it was actually quite entertaining. I'd give it an 8.

Cakes to come

2008-03-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would show you all what I am in store for….cake wise. My little sister posted her favorite cakes for her wedding on facebook. I thought I would let you all see…..this is going to be interesting….LOL

This is Myleka's favorite cake out of the "favorites" she says....."my #1 cake i'd like it in white with silver and all the gorgeous layers this is my favorite"

Whats your favorite?

How I spent my day

2008-03-05T13:45:00.001-08:00

This was the best conversation of the day…..

Tabitha: so I have this tear in my gum
and it is swollen but only under the skin so iI can feel this really cool lump
me: ouch
Tabitha: I keep playing with it
me: sick
Tabitha: people probably wonder what I am doing
hee hee
me: lol
you crack me up

This was the song I wrote for Tabitha...

Oh my tobby, oh my tobby…you’re a turtle without a shell, yes you lost it to the monty, because you’re a turtle without a shell.

First the worst second the.....

2008-03-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

I also took a stab at my second wedding cake. It turned out far better than my last one. I also thought my Italian buttercream was pretty amazing.

After baking all week and refrigerating the cakes, I got my first layer out of the fridge to cut in half. I had seen this cake knife online and bought it because I have been in need of a good cake knife. What caught my attention about this cake knife was that you could change the height of the knife. So what is supposed to happen is first you measure the knife against your cake and then because the knife is leveled against the table it should cut your cake evenly. This was a complete disaster…..worst cake knife in history.

Here is a closer picture, just you so remember what NOT to buy.

This cake turner on the other hand is amazing! It helped so much! It makes icing the cakes easier and smoother.

This next step was a great improvement to my cake. It is called a crumble coat. You ice the cake with a very thin layer of frosting and then refrigerate before you put on your final coat of icing.

Here is what it looks like with the final coat of icing

This is the final tiered cake, with dowels and cardboard in-between the layers

1. Top layer - chocolate cake with a chocolate mousse filling -this took third place
2. Second layer - white cake with Italian butter cream filling – I thought the white was gross so I didn’t serve it
3. Third layer - Lemon/yellow cake with Italian butter cream filling – AWESOME! Clearly the winner
4. Four Layer – Chocolate with Italian butter cream filling – Second place and very good

Here is the final cake, I decorated with fondant, its simple but at least it is a start. I don't think I took a very good picture because in the picture the cake looks a little bit slanted.... lol......oh well.

My goals for the next cake:

1. Cover the whole cake in fondant

2. Focus on decoration - try something more difficult

3. Find an amazing cake knife

Deux Bichon

2008-03-03T11:07:00.001-08:00

This weekend we also have had the pleasure of taking care of the England's dog, Charlie. Monty and Charlie have had a great time playing with each other. Sometimes getting a little too friendly, if you know what I mean....LOL.

Here they are going at it......

oh....and Charlie takes a swing at Monty....

Neither dogs would leave Blake alone all weekend, they followed him everywhere.....it was funny

Leap Year Party

2008-03-03T11:03:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was filled with all sorts of fun. On February 29th we went to a Leap year party at the Watson's. There were lots of friends, yummy banana splits and fun games. Blake thought he has pretty funny telling jokes.

Naughty Monty

2008-02-29T11:15:00.001-08:00

I take great pride in having such a well-behaved dog. Generally, my little Monty is such a good dog. He never poops in the house, is very sweet to visitors, and even puts the toilet seat down after using the toilet. Well, last night, I found out that his sweetness may not be so genuine.

When I arrived home after a relaxing pedicure, instead of walking into a pristine apartment, I walked into a heap of garbage. Monty had decided that him and the garbage bag would become best friends and take a trip all around the apartment together. Monty made sure to cover the apartment thoroughly with our leftovers from the last few days, leaving some carpet stains for me to clean.

Instead of the usual kiss and pat on the head, Monty received a number of ferocious spankings. (not really) I then locked him in his kennel to make sure the lesson was learned.

After the doggy discipline, Blake and I ate dinner with the England’s at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington. It was a very nice, quaint place, with great food. Blake had a special way of handling the buns of his sandwich. He took several minutes to break in his bun so it was just right for him. As he was doing so, TJ jealously remarked on Blake's nice hands….LOL.

Cupcakes and 2AMYs

2008-02-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to work on my frosting and decorating skills. I made some chocolate cupcakes with a butter cream frosting. I tried some new flavorings in my frosting. I usually use an extract but this time I tried some lemon orange and lime oils.

The difference between the oils and extracts are:

Oils - Citrus oils are natural essences that are cold-pressed from the rind of the fruit. The folks at the Boyajian company, makers of premium-quality citrus oils, say it takes 220 oranges, 330 lemons, or 400 limes to make 5 ounces of oil. The good news is that those fruits have not given their lives in vain — a little citrus oil goes a long way. In some recipes, only a drop or two of oil may be needed to give a substantial boost in flavor. In denser dishes or those with stronger flavors, you may need more. Boyajian recommends 1/2 teaspoon of citrus oil per cup of dry ingredients plus 1/4 teaspoon per cup of liquid. In many dishes, if you have the option, you will want to stir in the oil just before serving, so that the flavor does not dissipate. (ochef)

Extracts - Citrus extracts — like vanilla extract, almond extract, and chocolate extract — are highly alcoholic. Generally, 80 percent or more is alcohol, diluting the citrus oil. (Some extracts also include water.)

My friend Nicole was daring and gave my cupcakes a try. It was decided that the amount of oils I had used was too strong. We decided that next time, I should try mixing the oils with some fruit zest or juice, or maybe try the flavors with a cream cheese icing. I hope to try both soon.

After eating cupcakes, Nicole and I dined at 2 AMYs. We had a great time talking, laughing, whispering our secrets, and enjoying our food. We have been to 2 AMY’s so many times that our waiter even recognized us and gave us a free dessert.

Clyde's

2008-02-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Blake and I got a lil' crazy and grabbed some late night food with the Englands. The late hour restricted our options, but we ended up going to Clyde's. Although it was only in Alexandria, as soon as we set foot into the restaurant, we felt like we were transported to a cabin in Sundance or Park City. We got nice and cozy sitting right next to the fireplace and underneath a large moose head.

We shared some stories about the good ol' days and poked fun at a nice elderly couple seated next to us (who we learned later were blind and so we felt really bad - especially TJ). On the way out, we noticed a sinister bear looming in our path. While everyone was alarmed, Blake decided to appease the bear by whispering sweet nothings into its ear and giving it a kiss on its furry snout.

After our near catastrophic controntation with Mr. Bear, T.J. and Blake decided to have a hand modeling contest. Blake and T.J. both showed the full range of their hand modeling talents, but Blake's strapping hands won the prize. Not really he just wishes.

Sunday night dinner

2008-02-25T06:04:00.000-08:00

This recipe is really is great, so I thought I would post it.

Seared Lamb chops with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction

Here are the ingredients you need to start with, extra-virgin olive oil, parsley leaves, rosemary leaves, garlic, salt, 6 lamb chops, black pepper, onion, balsamic vinegar, butter. Also preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Start with 3 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl

finely chop 2 Tablespoons parsley leaves

finely chop 1 Tablespoon rosemary leaves

add chopped parsley and rosemary to olive oil

mince 1 teaspoon of garlic and add to olive oil

season olive oil mixture with salt to your taste, stir and let mixture sit until you need it

Now season the lamb with 1 Tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil to a saute pan that can go into the oven. Get the pan hot. You want the pan hot enough so that you cook the outside quickly, searing the outside of the meat will help make sure the meat is juicy and tender inside.

Sear the lamb until skin is golden brown, about 3 minutes each side

This is what the meat will look like when it is seared

Baste the lamb with the herb and oil mixture.

Tranfer to the oven for 10 -15 minutes depending how rare you like your meat

While meat is cooking, get a small sauce pan and add 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, let oil get hot

While oil is getting hot, finely chop 2 Tablespoons sweet yellow onion

Add to oil, also at this time add 1 teaspoon miced garlic

Cook until golden brown, this is about 3 to 5 minutes

Now add 1 cup balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil.Add a couple rosemary sprigs and boil for abut 10 minutes until there is about 1/4 of mixture remaining. At this time don't forget your meat is in the oven, make sure you check on it. I like my meat rare so I would turn off the oven before the balsamic vinegar is done.

Once the mixture has boiled down, take out the rosemary sprigs and season with salt and pepper. At this time also add 2 Tablespoons butter and mix.

You should have taken your meat out of the oven by now, pour balsamic vinegar mixture over the meat.

Meat is ready to serve, eat and enjoy!

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves

1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary leaves

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt

6 lamb chops

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped onions

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup balsamic vinegar

1 large or 2 small rosemary sprigs

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, parsley, rosemary, and garlic. Season with salt, to taste. Set aside.
Set a 12-inch oven-safe saute pan over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the black pepper. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil to the saute pan and place the lamb in the pan. Sear the lamb golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Baste them with the herb and oil mixture. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook until the lamb is rare, about 10 minutes. 15 minutes is your want the meat well done. Alternatively, you can grill the lamb chops.
Make the balsamic drizzle while the lamb is cooking: Set a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat and add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan and cook for about 1 minute. Add the garlic to the pan cook until golden brown. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan and bring to a boil. Add the rosemary and allow the balsamic to gently boil and reduce until only about 1/4 cup of balsamic remains, about 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Remove from the heat and swirl the butter into the pan. Remove the rosemary sprigs before using. When the lamb is rare, remove from the oven, pour balsamic mixture on top and serve.

Heritage India

2008-02-25T05:53:00.000-08:00

My favorite food to eat is Indian food, I constantly crave it. Friday night, we went with Ryan and Lindi Haws for dinner at Heritage India, which is located at Dupont Circle. The food is good, but certainly not the best that I have ever had. I would give the place a 6. At least we had great company to spice up the meal.

Cupcakes

2008-02-22T06:03:00.001-08:00

I love cupcakes, so last night I thought I would have some fun making and decorating cupcakes. Take a look...

Cafe Rio Night

2008-02-19T18:08:00.002-08:00

On Sunday night, Blake and I hosted Café Rio night (a.k.a. we are all from Utah night). Everyone contributed to the fiesta and everything was muy delicioso! We, of course, dined on pork burritos and salad. We finished off the night with some fried ice cream. Erica and I toiled over the dessert to make it a beautiful masterpiece. In fact, there is a rumor going around that two of the guys, who had never before tasted fried ice cream and who will remain anonymous (i.e., TJ and James), were so overwrought by the miracle of the fried ice cream that they had what can only be described as a spiritual experience. Overall, I think it was a successful night.

Monticello

2008-02-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Blake and I took a road trip to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Since we were not sure how long we would be gone, and in order to avoid stepping in Monty's poop upon our return, we took Monty with us.

After a two hour drive, we were saddened to hear that we would have to wait another 2 1/2 hours to actually take the tour of the home. The ticket lady assured us that there was so much to do around the grounds of the home before our tour. Unfortunately, we did not know the ticket lady that well and therefore did not know that she thinks walking through a dead vegetable garden and in a circle for two hours is really really fun. I guess they don't get out much in that part of Virginia.

After we had walked around Thomas Jefferson's home fifty times and got our exercise for the next two weeks, we finally entered the home. The home was impressive. It was very beautifully designed and decorated. We liked it a lot more than George Washington's home at Mount Vernon. The tour guide told us that we could not take pictures inside, so you will have to use your imagination for what the interior looked like. Thanks to the nice ticket lady who told us about all there was too do up on the grounds of the house, we did not eat before and therefore were forced to survive on some stale candy bars from the gift shop that probably date back to the time when Thomas Jefferson still resided in the Monticello. We were lucky to find a Red Robin on the way home. To end our patriotic day of spending time at the home of one of this nation's Founding Fathers, we did what Americans are so good at doing - we stuffed ourselves with fatty, greasy food until we were about to vomit.

Comedy Sportz

2008-02-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

Friday night we went with the England's and Merkley's to comedy sportz and enjoyed a night of laughter. The show itself wasn’t the funniest but the company was highly amusing. Due to some loving husbands comment and an uncontrollable laugh it was quite a funny night. There was also this guy who was sitting behind us who had to wear the potty mouth bag, he just sat there with the bag on…… he didn’t even take it off. Here is a picture, tell me that is not hilarious.

My First Wedding Cake

2008-02-16T19:01:00.000-08:00

I love cooking! I recently decided to undertake the challenging task of making wedding cakes. It just so happens that at the same time that I decided to make wedding cake my new hobby, my younger sister, Myleka, decided to get married. This fortuitous clash of events has led me to aspire to proving myself a fast learner to the craft of wedding cakes and be able to do a cake for my sister’s wedding in the fall.

A lot of the inspiration for my desire to make wedding cakes is my good friend Jen. In fact, she did the cake for my wedding and is very talented. Here the cake Jen did for my wedding, I loved it! Not only was it beautiful but it was also very good.

With some great advice from Jen and some great tips from a book given to me by my friend Taryn, I just decided to begin my new career this last Saturday.

For the first layer of my wedding cake, I made a chocolate cake that my mom makes and is delicious. For my second layer, I did a lemon poppy seed. For my third layer, I did a white chiffon with lemon filling.

I toiled all day Saturday and Sunday making the different layers and decorating the cake. By the end of the day Sunday, I was proud to present what one observer called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One person who was honored to be one of the first to taste my first wedding cake said the white chiffon layer looked and tasted like a soaking wet rubber sponge!

Lest your imagination does not run too wild, here are some photos:

Here is where I went terrible wrong, there is way to much lemon filling...lol

You can see it is already starting to tip

Cake is looking pretty good...........................

Cake has serious problems........

It was decided that the lemon filling needed to be shaved

At this point my cake is looking quite sad.....but I was also laughing hysterically :) As you can see lemon is ossing out and we gave up on decorating.

Needless to say, my first wedding cake was not adorned with any blue ribbons. The lesson I learned is that those cooks on TV make it look a lot easier than it really is. So it’s back to the drawing board (or kitchen) for me as I try to make a cake that is a little more presentable.

Le Paradou - Valentines

2008-02-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Blake took me to a DC restaurant called Le Paradou . The restaurant was beautiful and the food was excellent. We started out with the crab raviolis, which had a lemon butter sauce and lobster meat. For our meal we had their filet, medium rare with grilled artichokes and for dessert the chocolate mousses. All in all I would give this restaurant a 9.

Valentines Cookies

2008-02-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

On the 13th I invited some girl friends over to make and decorate cookies. It was so much fun! There is Something wonderful about girl time :)

Here is cute Rachel, she was cutting out the cookies, she has a super cute apron on but you can't see it in the picture

Here is Laura showing us her fabulous cookie and Taryn concentrating hard.

Here are some of the cookies....they were a hugh hit at my office. No this was not a dare but it was hilarious. :) My friend Erica made a brownie tower (three brownies) and tried to bite. Her mouth was just too small......LOL

i'm a [blog] virgin

2008-02-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

i'm jumping on the blog train years lightyears behind everyone else.

blah blah blah blah blah