Where we went: Noodles

My new found love for ramen continues as I discover the myriad of toppings and textures that can be combined in one extra large bowl of hot broth and noodles. One rainy night after a trip to Ikea Blake and I found this little ramen place in Costa Mesa called Yamadaya.

Yamadaya is a small, informal restaurant, perfect for impromptu rainy day date nights, a weekend lunch, take out, or really any reason you can come up with to eat delicious noodles and broth.

Monday Menu- Getting back on track.

Happy Monday! We are home from visiting family and friends but we brought lots of treats with us. If your kitchen is still full of cookies, candy and other temptations that you usually don't keep around I feel your pain.

Friday Five

Hope everyone had a joyful holiday! We spent lots of time with family and friends but mostly we ate. Eating was the theme of December and I think running will be the theme for January who's with me?

On Friday I talk about five things I've Pinned though out the week. This week I've been thinking about 2015 (shocker) along with all the usual DIY, outfits, recipes etc.

Where we went: Home Depot & Lowe's

A few weeks ago I posted this picture. I am happy to report that our big project is finally complete.

Monday Menu- Christmas

It's the week of Christmas! Like many of you I will be spending much of this week eating with family. Most of our meals will be pot luck style so I'll be sharing some of the items I'm making along with some recipes from our regular menu.

Are you making any special recipes with family this week? Do you have any holiday traditions you can't wait for or could live without?

My family always makes Christmas candy. The recipes have been around forever and they are amazing. We always have fudge, English toffee, and peanut brittle. One of my aunts has my great grandmother's pizzelle iron and I will eat more than my fair share over the next week. The anise flavor and smell reminds me of my childhood with great grandma and the light, crunchy texture of the cookies is a perfect complement to a hot cup of coffee.

Friday Five

I hope you all took my advice yesterday and enjoyed this holiday season with things that make you happy. For me that's good smells, holiday sounds and of course coffee. So whatever makes you slow down, smile and look at the blessings around you I hope you find them today as we move into the weekend before Christmas. 

On Fridays I discuss five things I've Pinned throughout the week. Mostly, I pin recipes, DIY projects, outfit ideas and home decor. inspiration. 

Thursday Threads- Holiday staples

So it's one week until Christmas guys! Can you believe it? Are you ready? If you answered no to those questions than you are in good company. If you follow me on Instagram (@carissacrane) you know that we just bought and decorated our tree this week. If my blogging is any indication, I am bad with deadlines, timing, etc.

But I am determined to not let stress get the better of me over the next few days you should stay stress free with me. Just light that holiday candle, put on your favorite holiday Pandora station and drink more coffee!

Currently:
Candle- snowy pine
Music- Charlie Brown Christmas Medley
Coffee- Trader Joe's Costa Rican with Hazelnut lactose free creamer

Monday Menu on Tuesday, naturally.

I'm back! Some what. My apologies again for the long and unexplained silence. As I navigate the world of being a new blogger and the holiday season I am thankful to those of you who still stop by and wait patiently for me to figure this thing out.

A big thank you to my friend Jeff for commenting! As I get this blog going the more feedback the better. It helps to know what you think of me so far and what else, if anything, you would like to hear from me.

Monday menu- Thankgivng edition

We are on the road this week so our regular menu is out the window. If you are like me holidays are a free pass to "eat bad." More specifically all the sweets and carbs. I normally avoid are free game and watching my portion size is laughable. This holiday season I've been thinking more about why this happens and the effect it has on my body.  My thoughts on food and nutrition get more intentional and purposeful as I get older. I don't have it all figured out yet but I hope by being more aware of my choices this holiday season I'll fill my plate a little less and feel a little better the next day.

*image via Pinterest 

Friday Five

On Fridays I talk about five things I've Pinned from the week. I love to cook, shop and DIY. I'm constantly dreaming of what new recipe will wow my husband for dinner or dessert, what item I "need" for my wardrobe this season and what shapes and textures I will put in my dream home some day.

Thursday Threads (I know it's Friday let's just go with it)

This week has really felt like fall in Huntington Beach and its been fun to start wearing sweaters and boots.

Where we went

As I've mention before, my husband and I are beer nerds. 

We like to find new beer, taste, analyze, nickname, judge, critique, rate, oh and buy. We were excited about moving to California because of the well known beer culture and we have not been disappointed.

Monday Menu

It's the week before Thanksgiving and while the rest of the country seems to be covered in snow, we are just feeling like fall around here.

Friday Five

Let's get real... I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest.

Love- so many ideas for any and everything, inspiration for outfits, food, decor, etc. and major cut back on magazine purchasing

Hate- I often find myself saying "how have I been on Pinterest for an hour," constant brain overload, and indecision from so many choices

On Fridays I'm going to be posting five of my pins from the week and thoughts about how or why I'm going to use them in my life. Let me know what you think.

Where we went: Apples, Apples, Apples

This fall Blake and I made a list of fun things to do and of course one of them was apple picking. It is so easy to take day trips in southern California and I was excited to explore a little area known for apple picking, fresh cider and our course apple cider donuts.

Thursday Threads

The weather in Huntington Beach is kind of a dream after three years in Washington, DC and about twenty-seven years in Las Vegas. My closet has experienced some major identity crisis moving from the desert to the swap to the beach but I'm hoping we can stay put and find ourselves a style that will last.

      

Where we went.

Exploring our new home has been so fun these past few months. On Wednesdays I'm going to share thoughts and recommendations on the places we've tried or areas we've explored in and around Huntington Beach,

Monday Menu

Every Sunday I sit down with the essentials to plan our weekly menu.

1. note pad 
2. calendar
3. seasonal produce list 
4. Pinterest/websites/cookbooks

That time I took October off...

So life happens. In the month of October a lot of life was happening and some of it may venture onto the blog. But, for now it's November (SERIOUSLY) and I'm ready to crawl out from under a rock and do life.

Here's to November! 

I love baking, but...

If I could bake cookies, cakes and pies everyday I would. I love experimenting with different ingredients but there's nothing better than the traditional chocolate chip cookie.

  
However, the problem with loving to bake is what to do with everything once it's made. I don't just love making the treats I love eating them too but if I ate a dozen cookies and a cake every week well... you get it,

Thoughts on meal planning for two

A few places we like to shop for groceries: 

TJs- canned food, cereal, juice, coffee, snacks, in season produce
Whole Foods- hard to find items and the occasional vegan baked good or lunch on the go.
Sprouts- produce, good bulk bins

Rain in Huntington Beach!

It rained yesterday guys. Slightly unbelievable and big news for most in the area and a sweet surprise for me. 

Last year was an overly rainy and humid year in Washington D.C. Each time it rained the air became sticky and thick in a way that reminded me that I lived in a former swamp turned major metropolitan city.

Thankfully, rain in Huntington was a pleasant and welcome addition to my morning. The sky was slightly gray as the rain fell and filled the salty ocean air with the sweet smell of fall.

Week 3- September is for salad

I can't believe it's actually September already. Most of August I was living out of a suitcase and the days were passing at an alarming rate. September is always a memorable time of year for so many reasons. Today it's the beginning of new fitness and healthy eating goals. Some of the things we use to achieve these goals are...

 

Labor Day Weekend

Over the weekend my parents came down to visit. Everyone in our family is very excited that we are living at the beach, can you blame them? I played tour guide in downtown Huntington Beach while Blake was at work on Friday.

We checked out Sandy's for lunch and the fish tacos were just as amazing at the view.

Make sure you sit on the patio!

Blake and I love baseball and are on a mission to see a game in every professional park in the United States, more on that later. My mom got us tickets to see the Angels Friday night and we sat right on the third base line.

Of course what is a trip to the beach, without a trip to the beach...

 

Week 2 - finding balance

After so much transition and inconsistency it was nice to have some time to settle into a routine.
Breakfast on the patio, lots of time at the beach and healthy eating really helped to get life back to some sense of normalcy.

Week 1- Unpack

On Monday the reality of the move had not quite set in because we still did not have our pods. I was at home with the few things we brought in the car and no internet so I decided to walk to the closest coffee shop in search of free wifi and caffeine.

Our first weekend in Huntington Beach

We got our keys 8 days after waving goodbye to this view on a cloudy Thursday morning. Now we have 2 days to relax before Blake started his new job. I still can't believe it guys.

 

We Made it!

The last day of driving had finally arrived! We got in the car and drove straight to what we hoped would be our new home, Huntington Beach.

 

The Drive- Day 6

On Wednesday morning we packed up the car and continued our drive. We have driven to Durango from Las Vegas and back several times so we knew what this day would entail. But, for the first time in a long time we would stop in Kingman,Arizona, the first place with an In-N-Out Burger on our route!

The Drive - Day 4 and 5 (NO driving necessary)

On day 4 and 5 of our adventure west we stayed in Colorado. My brother, sister-in-law and two nephews live in Durango, a quiet little town full of hippies, cyclist, and outdoor enthusiasts. We played, biked, explored and eat many delicious meals. It was a much needed rest. The kind of rest you get when you are with people who know you and love you and enjoy just being there with you.

 

The Drive- Day 3

We finally slept in and had a great breakfast getting to know some new friends over homemade waffles and coffee. Then we headed a quick 4 hours to Kansas City, MO to meet Blake's Aunt Sandy and explore another new city. Sorry not so many pictures from this portion of the trip...

When in Kansas City you must eat barbecue, so we did.

Quite the experience... this is not for the dieting types. 

The Drive- Day 2

Friday morning we were up early again and continued west to St. Louis. First stop, The Arch. It is so big you guys! Seriously, I was not prepared. We underestimated the popularity of the arch experience and ended up being there all morning.