Day 92

Just some lazy Toby lovin today :)

Day 91

Went for an awesome hike Christmas morning.  It was a little wet but everything was so GREEN!  And all the salamanders and banana slugs were out... my favorite :)

Day 90

Christmas Eve!  It was a little awkward pulling my phone out to take this picture at the midnight service... but better than falling asleep I suppose.

Day 89

The Mack's came over today for our usual wild Christmas festivities, and it was a blast!  The dogs had their cute little Christmas outfits on, and we built the annual gingerbread house.  Well some of us built it.  Others mostly ate all the decorations.

Day 88

This is the reason why I love California... DELICIOUS citrus in December :)  Thanks Bryan's grandpa!!

Day 87

I have the greatest coworkers!!  Here's to 11 days of vacation :)

Day 86

Sales people are the reason obesity exists.  This are my weakness.  Among hundreds of other things :)

Day 85

Today I made candles!  I've had a bag of wax from amazon sitting in my room for the past week, so I finally made it to Michael's to buy wicks.  Emily and I also saw the Hobbit and it was pretty good.  I think I had more fun with the candles...

Day 84

This may look like just a normal yard filled with clovers to you, but two weeks ago this was a patch of dusty dirt.  The rain does magical things!!!!

Day 83

I finally gave Bryan his Christmas gift!!  Guess what it was?  Tickets to a symphony... no just kidding but I gave him those first and he was so confused.  LAKERS TICKETS!  Yippeeeee :)

Day 82

Breakfast - huevos rancheros, specifically - for dinner!  I wasn't blogging then, but after watching Julie and Julia I got a weird obsession with learning how to cook eggs perfectly all different ways.  It was fun.  This one is obviously fried!

Day 81

Today Bryan and I decided to go to La Super-Rica for lunch (delicious taqueria on Milpas St, made famous by Julia Child.  Also recently visited by Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield).  We were cut off by a REALLY pathetic Christmas street parade.  We were worried that it would be really crowded, but it really wasn't, probably because the parade really sucked.  The coolest thing were these low rider cars with hydraulics... lol.

Day 80

Went to a lovely and VERY classy (for IV especially) Christmas party at Jenny's house tonight.  The apple cider and baked brie were delicious!!  Also the Christmas attire was great.

Day 79

Dreaming of the Sierras.  And of new frames.

Day 78

Now that's a sky!

Day 77

Today's post just HAS to honor my cousin Kelly's new baby Norah.  She is literally the cutest baby I have ever seen.  Ever.  Do I feel creepy stalking all of her photos from hundreds of miles away?  Yes.  Don't care.  She's adorable.

Day 76

I know this photo isn't anything special... but today we finally gave Sam away to a better home where people will actually want to take care of him.  Ciao snakey!

Day 75

Beautiful hike up Tunnel Trail today... I just about died.  Sitting at a desk all day every day is killing me!  Maybe I'll start doing squats while answering the phones.

Day 74

I got a bedside table!! Anyone sick of seeing pictures of my tiny room yet?

Day 73

Pho!!

Day 72

I know its a weird blog post today... but I always get excited about actually DOING things that I see on Pinterest!  It's too easy to just pin away and never execute.  Anyway, I made herb cubes.  Genius!! Just pour olive oil and chopped herbs into an ice tray.  They stay fresh for a long time and you just pop a cube in the pan when you're ready to cook... yum.  I call this one "Saving Thyme."  Bohoho

Day 71

Two trees in one day!

Day 70

So this is what happens when I have a thrift store coupon and need to spend a couple more dollars.... CATS!

Day 69

All the toys for our work Santa party arrived today... my desk is basically the north pole!  Time to wrap :)

Day 68

Made the first thing from my Smitten Kitchen cookbook today... DUTCH BABY!! Yum.  It was amazing.  This one (the first one) looked slightly deformed... the second one was perfect but I ate it immediately.

Day 67

I have new curtains in my room, and a wreath, and a crazy male!

Day 66

Okay.  So the truth is.  I took zero pictures today.  I'm pretty embarrassed about it... but to be fair I was busy going from work to a potluck and I just didn't think to take a picture of the delicious goat cheese log appetizer that I contributed!  Besides, these caramelized onions from Tuesday deserved some representation.

Day 65

Today it rained all day and I saw these amazing dew drops!  I'm also going to bikram yoga tonight... but trust me you won't want to see a picture of that.

Day 64

Today was a momentous occasion!!  Augie started moving in.  Which means I'll no longer be locking myself in my adorable little room - we will soon have a living room and actually be able to HANG OUT together!  Anyway, tonight we moved some things, cooked dinner, and had a toast.  First Augie went to the market next door to get champagne.  Forgot his wallet.  Then I remembered I had my special Belgian beer in the fridge.  Poured our glasses.  Cheers.  Sip.  Disgusting.  Regardless, it was a blast!

Day 63

Beautiful sunset today!  Very reminiscent of one of the best sunsets of last year... not quite as pink though!

Day 62

I finally biked all the way from my house to work today!  But this little thing was broken so I can't brag about exactly how far I went... luckily it was surprisingly easy and only took just over half an hour... definitely doing this more.

Day 61

Drove back to Santa Barbara today and got the greatest birthday gift ever from Bryan... self explanatory.  Can't wait to open this baby up and get cooking!

Day 60

We planted herbs!! My parents have an AMAZING new garden, complete with a fire pit and a beautiful rock river surrounded by mounds of native plants.  Ahh :)  But I was most excited about the planter boxes, which we filled today with little herbs and planted seeds for a few different types of lettuce and some sweet peas.  Can't wait to see sprouts!

Day 59

The obligatory cute-Toby-every-time-I-go-home photo.

Day 58

Guess what I decided to do for my birthday?  Fam, blanket, snacks, LOTR.  It was THE BEST!!

Day 57

TURKEY DAY!!!!!!!!

Day 56

Today I drove home for the holiday!  The drive went surprisingly fast... maybe it has something to do with the fact that I now sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, so a four hour drive is nothing!  Or maybe it was thanks to this hilarious nonchalant pug hanging out the drivers side window of a truck we drove by.  Pure genius.  Zoom necessary.

Day 55

Today I made an early Christmas present for my aunt Lynette!!  It was way too fun.  Also Emily gave me an amazing necklace and I broke it already.  Whoops.  Picture to come upon repair :)

Day 54

My first birthday treat! Way better than pumpkin pie...

Day 53

Went for a beautiful bike ride this morning with Bryan to the Bacara... no pockets for a camera.  So today's photo is what I did with the second half of my day.  Too soon for a matchbox advent calendar?  I think not!

Day 52

Today Emily and I had a fun day of mulled wine making and crafting!  In between we went to Arnoldi's, this adorable secret Italian place downtown.  I say secret because it's not on State Street.  Also, they have bocce ball courts!! So I can quit my complaining about not having a place like the one in Los Gatos :)  Anyway, I spilled the balsamic vinegar on the tablecloth and tried to cover it up with my plate, but that only worked for a few minutes.  I'm so mature.

Day 51

My coworkers bought a $500 blender... yikes... so today we had a smoothie party!!

Day 50

Finally it rained for real!!!!!!

Day 49

For everyone who's wondering what I do with my life when we have guests at work... this is it!  Haha, the almond poppyseed bread is sooo goooooood :)

Day 48

Honorary photo today... the yard!!!!

Day 47

Beautiful modest sunset at Goleta beach today after work... always pinker in person :)

Day 46

Definitely missed that camping hair...

Day 45

Hiked 7 miles to the beautiful Manzana Narrows... so good!

Day 44

Reunion begins tonight!