dang it

When we were in Seattle last weekend we had the best burgers in the entire world. Not exaggerating. When you go to Seattle, you MUST go to Red Mill Burgers. I demand it.

Anyways, so at bootcamp* this morning, my trainer informed me that the reason my belly is so fat is because of all the cheeseburgers I eat. (also the Pizza and Burritos which I've eaten at least twice this week). So I've sworn off cheeseburgers and pizza until the vacay.

Why is it that the second my trainer tells me I can't eat cheeseburgers, all I can think about is Cheeseburgers??

5 weeks without one? I'm not sure I have the strength. Good thing I don't live in Seattle, that's all I've got to say.

PS: Not to fret, Seattle will be covered in another post once I finally download our pictures

*Yes, Patrick and I are a little crazy. We started an early morning bootcamp (we're waking up at 5:30 am which you know is a crazy impressive feat for Mr. Larsen!!) last week and are hoping it's gonna turn us into Grecian Gods before our Grecian vacation. Wishful thinking but at least we're trying, right!?

sometimes...

...the best thing is just a big bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.

Napa/Sonoma Extravaganza

It felt a little strange to be telling people we were going to Sonoma for the weekend--I mean, if you don't drink what is there to do, right?

Such a silly, naive question (if you know the Larsens or Paredes, that is)

You eat the world's best gelato and incredible baked goods from Dean & Deluca

You eat famous cookies and "Bouchons" from The Bouchon Bakery

You eat Kobe Beef burgers, ribs, fried chicken, Onion Rings with spicy homemade ketchup, coconut cream pie and ice box sandwiches at Boon Fly Cafe


You go to see Star Trek at the little theater in town (loved it!)

You eat "homemade" waffles and bacon a la Sarah Larsen and Kyle Paredes

You have a picnic on the front lawn with fresh baked bread, rotisserie chicken and leftovers from above mentioned culinary extravagances



And then you sit on the front porch and embrace the absolutely perfect summer weather while reading John Grisham's "The Testament" for 3 or 4 hours.

Talk about a great weekend! Thanks Bekah and Kyle!!

I have a sunburn on my neck

It almost (ALMOST) makes me wish I'd worn sunscreen to Sea World on Saturday. But I laugh at sunscreen. I'll laugh all the way until I get skin cancer and then I'll cry.

I am not sure exactly why I think I am the only person in America who won't get skin cancer, but I do. It's a terrible thing. And it's even more terrible that I LOVE the feeling of sunburns. It reminds me of summer and the beach and come on, who doesn't want to remember that?! I get annoyed every time yet ANOTHER person has to comment on my "poor" sunburn. It's like, OK PEOPLE I GET IT. Yes, I know it's burnt, yes, I know you think I need your opinion on the pain. But I don't. I'm happy so leave me alone!! Besides, it turns into a tan in just a few days.

Ashley's wedding was wonderful. I wish I had pictures to share. But what a surprise, I forgot to charge the camera...stupid Sarah. Sea World was fun too but I have to say I'm not sure it was totally worth the $100 admission for the two of us (you get 20% off with your Southwest Rapid Rewards card). It's gonna be a long time before I go back. ALTHOUGH if you were trying to find a gift for Mr. Larsen, he would love to be a "trainer for the day". Hint, Hint.

We're entering into a very busy May--once again, we have plans every single weekend! At least they are exciting plans though. I'm counting down to Napa and The Boonfly Cafe this Saturday with the Paredes already :)

The ideal online store...

Would have Zappo's shipping policy, Anthro's return policy and Nordstrom's customer service. Right?

How am I supposed to be okay with spending $20 to ship and $10 to return? That's like half the price of the dress I wanted to buy! I don't think so!

I've been known to spend just enough at Gap.com to get the free shipping and then turn around and return the extra items in-store so I don't have to pay the return fees...

There's a reason Nordstrom and Anthro have gotten over 80% of my shopping funds in the past 10 years. I like to buy a bunch of things, think about it, and then return it 6,8...12 months later (if I never wore it, of course. I'm very honest) And they let me! Now that's a shopper's dream come true! (and a Husband's nightmare).

I know that I'm the bane of every commissioned employee, however, I will say this. Give me a good return policy (that I admittedly overuse) and you will get more of my money than anyone else. I think it balances out.

Which reminds me. Let me know if you're planning a purchase at VictoriasSecret.com any time soon. There's some bathing suits I'd like to split the shipping charges for :)

You know they're gonna be ugly

When they even look fat on the Model!

In other somewhat related news, Bekah P. and I went shopping last night with my Anthro 15% off Birthday discount (sign up for their "insider" card to get it!) We got some GREAT stuff and to top it off, the store credit I'd been saving for who knows how long was worth about 5 times as much as I remembered. Always a thrilling discovery.

Plus, we topped the evening off by meeting up with the boys at CPK. Which means I have leftovers for lunch today. I love CPK but I love CPK leftovers even more!!

Vacation anyone?

I realize I've been bad at telling everyone what's going on in my life. But to be fair, I have to say I feel a little embarrassed spilling the news about this one*

So without further ado...

We're going to Greece in June!! Woohooo!!!

Athens for three days, Crete for 7 (give or take a few hours)

We're so so so excited. I've always dreamed of going and now we finally get to! And now that I've got the flights, hotels, rental cars, and scuba figured out it really feels real.

Except that now we have to wait two whole months. ARRRGHHH. I don't think I can do it!!!

And yes, those who saw my gmail/facebook status last month, it's also true that we're going to Australia in October. Yes, my life is a fantasy. No, it's not normal so please don't hate us too much :) What can I say, us Cowans (+ 1 Larsen) like to travel!

In case you wanted to know, everyone but Amanda is going to Greece, but only my dad, Robert, Patrick and I are going to Australia. Poor mommy and lex :(

Since I'm going on my dream vacations this year, I only hope you're going on yours too. Let me know where you're traveling to this summer!

*I hate when people brag on their blogs. Yeah, yeah, yeah, your life is SO wonderful, barf. But you'd be mad if I didn't share too, right?

There's a new wave of missionaries...

As everyone knows--Amanda is on a mission in Charlotte, North Carolina. She loves it, she's doing great, her letters are wonderful...

The thing I did NOT expect from her being on a mission (not that I mind at all) is all the facebook requests I've gotten from people in her area with notes saying how fabulous she is. I mean, DUH, I know she's great but it's awesome to see so many young people getting to know their ward missionaries and wanting to share their love with her family. I know I was never in a singles ward outside of college, so maybe this kind of love is normal, but I doubt it. Just makes me so happy she's in a place where so many people care so much. Not to mention how technology has changed things so much. I mean, she goes to church, someone takes a pic on their phone, uploads it to facebook and then I get to copy it and paste it on my blog. Sheesh!

In other news, Ashley's getting married in a week and we're going down to Laguna for the wedding! I can't wait!!!!

Mommy Mommy Mommy! I found what I want for my Birthday.

I really hope it isn't too late to order these. They're just my style ;)

You know you're a bad blogger when...

...you visit your friend's blog and it says "The Larsens" last update was 3 weeks ago.

Instead of talking about the important things like how fun (and fattening) it was to have Daddy and Grammie come visit two weekends ago, let's focus on the fact that it's my birthday on Tuesday!!!

I love birthdays. Especially when it's my own :) And when my besties throw me a little surprise party on the Friday night before.

AND especially when I saved my employee-made "Good for any item, no expiration" Baskin-Robbins coupon from last year's birthday to redeem for a free $40 ice-cream cake and it actually worked!! I still can't believe it.

With all that happiness, it makes it a teensy-tiny bit easier to forget that I lost my Chanel wallet on Friday after work and someone spent $500 on my credit cards at Safeway. I'm so materialistic, it's the wallet I'm sad about more than anything else. I'm trying really really hard to not think about it. Really hard.

Ta Da!

I know it's not an ideal shot (I look crazy and I don't even have my glasses on!!), but I also knew if I didn't get one up soon there would be hell to pay.

I love it!!!

Sleep Talking

I absolutely love it when people talk in their sleep. The joy of trying to egg someone on to say weird stuff when you hear some mumblings is fabulous. Sarah hardly ever talks in her sleep or when going in and out of consciousness. Recently she did and it was classic.

Sarah: Conked out on the couch.
Me: Ready for bed bed?
Sarah: What? You want blood on your nachos?

Then back to sleep until I proceeded to make sure she got into bed. Next day, no recollection of asking if I wanted blood on my nachos. I bet you all have some funny experiences of your own late night ramblings or those of spouses, children, and friends. Please reply and share!

So what?

So what if I have ZERO self control and demanded that we open Valentine's Gifts last night.

So what if my present was a little ghetto fab. (Mine is silver, not gold though)
So what if Patrick drank two of his present (cane sugar DP from Dublin, TX ) last night



So what if we're doing our "romantic V-day dinner" at The House with BFFs instead of alone.

So what if this is like the best Valentine's EVER. I LOOVVVEEE my necklace. oh yes, and my husband. I love him the most.

Amanda FINALLY Came!

What better thing to do while on your drive to Laguna Beach than blog, right? I don’t have a too busy excuse this time! Especially thanks to the MBB Card that lets me browse the web while sitting in the passenger seat. Except that means I have no pictures to add to the post. And it's REALLY long. Sorry!

So Amanda FINALLY came to visit last weekend. I’ve been begging her to come out since we moved here and since she’s leaving for North Carolina (in like 3 days!) she didn’t have much time to keep putting us off ☺

Friday
First stop, the See’s Candy FACTORY by SFO. We were assured the chocolate we consumed was in fact THE freshest candy available. The entire pound we consumed was proof.

After that, we proceeded to Costco where we indulged in Super Bowl size samples. Yes please, I’ll try the nachos. And the hot dog, and the popcorn and the potsticker and the chips…

For dinner, we went to THE best Mexican place in San Francisco. El Farolito. Hands down best Carne Asada tacos I’ve ever eaten. Between the three of us we consumed 9 tacos and two orders of chips.

What’s a Friday night without a trip to Bi-Rite, right? We finished off the evening with San Francisco’s finest artisan Ice Cream. Flavors indulged in: Coconut, Chocolate, Cookies & Cream and Vanilla Malt w/Peanut Brittle. All topped off with a little homemade hot fudge and whipped cream, of course.

Saturday
We started the day off right by sleeping in and wandering down to the Farmer’s Market. If I haven’t told you yet of my obsession with the Ferry Building’s Farmer’s Market, apparently we are not very good friends. We absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE going down to the Ferry Building on Saturday mornings to sample all the delicious fresh fruits, cheeses, toffee, etc. We left with a bag of chocolate covered almonds, a few tangerines, a Cara-Cara Orange (Never heard of it before, but really great), some lemons, some fresh parsely, and of course small-batch butter (so so so good). We also ate lunch at Rolli Roti. Incredible Porchetta and Carmelized onion sandwiches and fresh rotisserie chicken just like in Florence (and that's coming from Miss I spent a semester in Italy, Amanda, so you know it's true). I highly recommend stopping by when you’re down there. Mmmmm…

After a brief detour at the De Young Museum and the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit, we ended up at Burgermeister in Cole Valley for dinner. Yes, we had been warned it was overpriced and mediocre, but did we listen? No. It won best burger in SF we reasoned. Still, lesson learned, trust your friends. They know better than the awards people any day. Not that it was terrible, but if I’m going to spend $13 on a cheeseburger, I want it to be the best dang cheeseburger. And quite simply, it wasn’t.

Anyways, if you’re a true Saraceno, you can’t leave SF without a stop at Mitchell's—which rivals Bi-Rite as our favorite SF Creamery. While Bi-Rite’s Coconut is incredible, I think Mitchell’s Toasted Almond is my hands down favorite flavor ever. None of that almond extract crap from Fenton’s either. This tastes exactly as it should. Mix that with a little Mexican Chocolate and you’re in heaven. If you’re Lia, Linda, or Amanda that is ☺.

Sunday
Wrapping up the trip with a bike ride through Golden Gate Park with stops at the roller bladers and swing dancers, we took Amanda home just in time to miss the delicious Super Bowl food. Patrick and I grilled Ribeyes and fresh Jumbo Prawns in celebration of the big game. Not that I could have cared any less about the actual game, but spending the afternoon with our good friends made it a fabulous day. Not to mention Patrick’s commercials (1 & 2) airing!

Amanda—we’re definitely excited for you to go on your mission, but I have to say, I’d much rather you come and live in SF with us!! Thanks for visiting!

True Birds

It's about time I posted about Heather and Heidi's fabulous headbands!

I've just been waiting for the right moment to share--when I actually remembered to take a picture of myself wearing one. And now that I'm feeling more comfortable with photobooth, I've finally taken the time to do it!

I've gotten lots of compliments every time I've worn this. Love it, Love them. True Birds forever!! (FYI Gals, I'm dying for the peacock one Heather's wearing and the soft band Heidi is wearing on the homepage!)