Sushi Night

This past Tuesday night one of my friends Ashley came over and we made home-made sushi. We've done it once before but the first time was a big adventure. We didn't know where to go to get good fish or any of the supplies and guess where we ended up getting it all in the end? Albertsons! haha. this time we prepared a little more. I went to Whole Foods and got some tuna, salmon, and crab. We also BBQd chicken. We made all sorts of rolls. Here are some pictures!

Fun Visits!

This last week we were able to see my mom, dad, Kendall and Jared. Last weekend they all came out to Palm Desert and we went out there with them for the weekend. Then my mom and dad drove out here to Long Beach on Thursday to stay with us for a few days. They came to work and we got to go out to lunch on Thursday, then we hung out around here Friday, then went to the Chocolate Festival on 2nd Street yesterday with Megan, Michael, Emily, Marco, and Galel. It was soo much fun to have them here. As always, they spoiled us by cleaning the apartment and doing dishes and helping do other things around here. It was hard to say goodbye this morning but we will see them again in a couple weeks! Love you mom and dad!

Kyle and Sarah's Wedding

A couple weeks ago Jeff's cousin Kyle got married. He married Sarah who he met at Biola. Their wedding was great! We are so happy for them! We were also able to see some of the family's really close friends Serina and Steve...it was so good to see them!

It's Christmas Time!

Wow...have the last few been busy. Jeff has been in the middle of a smaller shut down at work and has been working at least 6 days a week, and I have been working about the same. It's been super fun but we're both ready for our upcoming vacation. Here's our cute little Christmas tree! It has been an interesting Christmas season this year for me at least. With my new job I have a lot more "holiday" responsibilities. I helped oversee both the Thanksgiving in a Bag and the Giving Tree events this year, which took a lot of work. This week I will be busy making sure we have the correct amount of volunteers to help out with the Christmas Eve services and organizing them as they arrive. We'll leave Wednesday night after the last service to drive to Arizona. I look forward to this busy week and to celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Prepare Him Room

This is the title of the new series at church. We were able to go to church this morning and the message was an awesome reminder of what Christmas is about. The series will talk about ways to prepare room for Jesus throughout this crazy holiday season. This weekend Mike talked about humbling ourselves and living in humility. One of the things that really stuck out to Jeff and I was that God is "looking for people who aren't going to mistake themselves for the treasure instead of the vessel that contains the treasure." After reflecting on this there are definitely times when I think I am saving people and I am what others need, when what they need is the treasure I have in me. I look forward to continuing to explore the ways I can prepare my heart to celebrate Christmas this year. The countdown is on as Kaelyn reminded me tonight...25 days! :)

Yummy Cupcakes

This weekend Jeff had to work on Saturday, so I decided to spend some time baking. I found this recipe on the Bakerella Blog, which is one of my new favorite blogs. I changed it up a bit, so here's my version.


Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa, natural unsweetened
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 cup shredded zucchini
3.5 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º F
2. Line cupcake trays with 18 baking cups.
3. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda with a wire whisk. Set aside.
4. Cream butter with a mixer in a large bowl. Add sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
5. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour)
6. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips until combined.
7. Fill baking cups 2/3 full and place in oven immediately.

8. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups confectioner's sugar, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
heavy whipping cream

1. Sift sugar and set aside.
2. Beat the goat cheese, cream cheese and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
3. Gradually add the sugar, mixing and scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl in between additions.
4. Add cream to get correct consistency


Chocolate Ganache

2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1. Place chocolate and whipping cream in the microwave. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Blend thoroughly.
2. Add sugar and stir until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour ganache into a small plastic squeeze bottle.


To assemble:

* Insert opening of squeeze bottle halfway into cupcake center and squeeze ganache until you see it start to surface.
* Then, spread creamy goat cheese frosting on top with a knife or small offset spatula.
* Chop up any leftover semi-sweet chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of cupcakes.

Washington Part I

We traveled up to Washington this weekend for Brandon's memorial service. I was able to leave on Wednesday morning and Jeff came on Thursday night. We had such a great time hanging out with family and friends. We spend a lot of time with Stacy and Peyton! She's 9 months old now and we hadn't seen her since she was 3 months old. Jenny and Lucy also came up to visit. The girls had a great time together.