Wordless Wednesday: A Visit to Ostrich Land USA.

If you're driving up/down the central coast of California, stop by Ostrich Land USA. ...

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A Year Ago Today.

A year ago today I was coming off of a three-day, bowel-cleansing bender. I was waking up early and making an exciting-slash-nervous drive into Santa Barbara. I was sitting in a waiting room with Eric, my mom, and sister. I was getting needles jabbed into my arms, pulling up dopey-looking grippy socks, and cracking jokes with people wearing scrubs. I was getting wheeled down long hallways and looking around at Dr. Frankenstein-looking medical equipment. I was trying to look alive as my mom and sister snapped drugged-out photos of me,...

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Odds and Ends Related to Food.

I have three important food-related things that need to be shared with you. 1. Do you like California Pizza Kitchen? Of course you do, who doesn't. Last night, while Eric and I were looking over a CPK menu, our very polite and well-informed server notified us that the Tricolore Salad will be discontinued starting this Tuesday, July 23. And I was like "WHAAAAAAAT???" And he was like "I know. Our manager just told us this morning. Lots of people are going to complain." And I was like "Yeah, I'm one of them. I'll have the Tricolore...

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National Tequila Day.

With National Tequila Day just around the corner, I felt it was key that we all have a really solid margarita recipe on hand. You know, because it's important. First things first, throw out those crappy, premade, sugary-sweet margarita mixes. They suck. Then, follow the directions below. PITCHER-PERFECT MARGARITA  (Recipe found on Chow.com) Ingredients 8 cups cold water 1 liter 100% agave tequila, chilled 2 (12 oz) cans frozen limeade, thawed in refrigerator 1/2 cup frozen concentrate orange juice, thawed...

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Sangria Castaneda.

Do you like sangria? Me too! Next time you're at World Market, grab this stuff. It's la caca.  That's how you say "the shit" in Spain. According to the World Market website, the pricing may vary. But I'll tell you we only paid $4.99 for this beauty and it was worth every penny. Maybe even more. If you're going to try this drink, prepare it the night before by adding a ton of sliced fruit and letting it sit in the fridge overnight. That makes it extra Spanishy. We used peach, apple, pear, and...

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Engagement Shoot: Photography by Melissa Bergen

Several weeks ago, Eric and I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with our friend-slash-wedding photographer, Melissa Bergen. Since this was the first time that Eric and I had taken legit photos, we were both pretty nervous about how the day was going to go. Neither of us really knew how to "make love to the camera" (Remember when Tootie said that on The Facts of Life?) and we were both sure that we did NOT want staged, fakey, prom-like poses. You know the kind I'm talking about. Borrrrring. We knew how we wanted our photos...

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Recipe: Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Salad

I first tried this dish when Eric and I went to our wedding menu tasting. It was so good! We immediately fell in love with it and knew we had to have it again. But since it was offered as an "upgrade" option at our wedding venue, we nixed it. Sorry, wedding guests. A few weeks later, I decided to attempt to replicate the recipe at home. The dish seemed pretty simple and didn't involve that many ingredients. This is what we came up with. Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus Salad Ingredients Prosciutto Asparagus Balsamic vinaigrette Sliced...

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Irrational Fears: Underwear

I have an irrational fear that something is going to happen when I'm at work, or somewhere else in public, and everyone will see my underwear. This fear haunts me every time I wear a skirt or dress. I think about it when I'm getting out of the car: What if I accidentally flash someone?? I think about it when it's windy: What if the wind blows my skirt up?? I think about it when I'm exiting the ladies room: What if my skirt accidentally gets tucked into the back of my underwear*?? I think about it when I get up from my desk: What...

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