A Braun Family Tradition

Here's a little glimpse at our (this would be technically our third but we were back home for the holiday last year) 2011 Thanksgiving. We had some friends up from San Diego who were with us for our first Thanksgiving in California and are moving away soon as he begins the Interim Manager process. It was a treat to have them with us again, as well as my mom, who was also with us our first Thanksgiving in CA (a little deja vu :). Another operator and his wife, as well as his parents also joined us for dinner :) It may have been a bit cramped with nine adults and two dogs in our apartment, but definitely cozy and yummy! We have so much to be thankful for this season, and always. Praise the Lord for His bountiful blessings and saving grace!

I tried to set the table simply with a little bit of Fall flare...I got all the little decorations at Hobby Lobby (the first one built in CA just happens to be in Rancho! Woot! Woot!).

Our delicious spread :)

Yea, football was definitely on :)

It has kind of gradually become a tradition for Corey and I to cook the Turkey...Corey loves to make the stuffing, which is his dad's stuffing recipe that we've modified with our own special twist, mostly so he can eat it out of the turkey pan :) We had a Thanksgiving celebration with our group of friends the Saturday before Thanksgiving that we cooked the turkey for as well...needless to say, we had our fair share of turkey this Thanksgiving ;)

Our dear friends, Mark and Laura.

Fellow Operator, Justin and his wife, Audry, who we have grown quite close to :)

One of the best cooks I know :)

Banished from the kitchen :)

They're not spoiled, just loved :)

You'll Know at the Finish Line

This adventure begins nestled in the rolling hills of Malibu, California. At 7:30am. It's not usually "cold" in southern California but on the coast, in the early morning, under cloud cover I would definitely have classified it as "cold". Corey and I were originally set to run in a "Muddy Buddy Race" (a 5K race with a buddy switching off between running and biking with a few obstacles thrown in there) in early November but decided to go with a Spartan Sprint Race (mostly due to the fact that some friends suggested we all do it together). With the help and encouragement from our CFA trainers we had been training off and on for few months in preparation for the race. I'm not actually sure how much good the training did us - it's kind of hard to prepare for something like that without knowing exactly what you're getting into. The Spartan Sprint consisted of about 3.5 miles of steep hill running with lots of "fun" obstacles sprinkled throughout. By "fun" I mean we began by fumbling through cold creek water and ended by crawling through muddy gravel under barbed wire, with hoisting a bucket of cement to the top of a tree some where in the middle. It's hard to actually explain all that the race held for us but I will say that it was challenging, crazy, cold, muddy and rewarding. It's one of those situations where you're thinking in the midst of it "what have I gotten myself into?" but afterward you feel pretty hard core :) I can say with confidence that we will definitely do another Spartan Sprint - and that I will train a little differently for the next one. I don't say all of this brag about what we've done, it's not like we finished with a great time or anything, only to share with you something that we really enjoyed doing together and with friends. It was a great alternative to the mundane running and working out - it gave us something to work towards together and it was an engaging, unique experience :) Next time we hope you'll join us, you won't be disappointed (just a little sore, and maybe bruised).

(I'm supposed to be getting a picture that a lady took of us at the end of the race and I'll post it as soon as I can, but for now I just have one from that morning.)

http://www.spartanrace.com/

Happy Fall Y'all!

As promised, here are my attempts at craftiness/creativity :)

It's a Hoot!

These owl items have been in my Etsy favorites for a while :) I know I have no babies yet but all of you out there who do might enjoy a few of these :)

Owl Trivet by Etsy shop tartLA
(Love cast iron trivets! This would have been perfect in my kitchen but it's already been sold...and my kitchen may be in owl overload right now :)

Baby Quilt by Etsy shop TheTrunkShow

Mobile by Etsy shop CarrotFever

Cake Toppers by Etsy shop Claylicious
(I SO wish I had known about Etsy before our wedding!)

Newborn Hat by Etsy shop Prolesik
(I need to start stocking up on these things that I love for the future :)

ps...In an attempt to be more crafty (partially inspired by those who hand make so many lovely things on Etsy) I will be making Thanksgiving cards this year (or trying at least)! Not too many, just a few for family but I'll post an update with my progress soon (if they turn out well, of course).

It's official! Well, almost...

It's official, our short sale offer has been approved! And so we take the next step in this ambiguous journey of first time home buying. We are excited and thankful to be moving along in the process, as well as a little overwhelmed. Okay, a lot overwhelmed. We had our inspection on Friday which revealed a bum garage door, an uncooperative air conditioner and various electrical issues that need to be addressed. Add those to the list of several other improvements needed in the house and it looks as though our bank account will be dwindling rather swiftly. We are, however, looking forward to making it our own. The dogs are looking forward to more space and their own backyard, I'm looking forward to front and back porch swings and Corey is looking forward to free reign of the bonus room. There are still many, many forms to sign, as well as a very big check to be written, before we get the keys to our new abode, so in the meantime we researching our home improvement options and trying to save as much as we can (although, I seem to find this particularly difficult when thinking of decorating a new home :). When the time comes for us to leave our cozy apartment it will certainly be a bittersweet change (especially since I'm not greatly fond of change) but an exciting new chapter as well as new opportunities in this California journey.

House Hunting

Corey and I have been looking for a place to call home for several months now. We've seen well over 75 homes and even put in a few offers. Currently, we have an offer on a short sale, single story house with 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and a bonus room. It also has a yard (and by yard I mean we could use a push mower to cut the grass in 5 minutes, maybe even some sharp scissors) which has become pretty important to us, yet seems to be increasingly hard to find. Having never house hunted before we have learned an awful lot about the process, way more than I care to bore you with here though :) I will tell you that as we look at house after house we have nailed down "must haves" and what we're willing to work with. All in all, we would like a backyard, an open floor plan, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, good curb appeal and of course, location, location, location! There are a few things I have learned we will NOT be finding in a home out here. First, a welcoming front porch :( Second, a garage that does not face the street. And finally, space (by space I mean not being able touch your home and your neighbors' at the same time). At least we won't find those things in our price range in our ideal location. Once I overcame my emotional connections to owning a home with these southern charms I was able to see the forest through the trees. Kind of. Okay, maybe I'm still pretty sad that our first home will not be a southern beauty with a fantastic front porch, blankets of green grass and a "side" garage, but I'm trying. Putting in an offer on your first home, really any home, is a HUGE step; one that immediately brings with it a sense of "holy moly, what did we just do!?!". I wouldn't say I have been overly anxious to find a home but it has been, for lack of a better term, a roller coaster of emotions. It seems to forebode a sense of finality which is one thing, I think, that frightens me. I know people buy and sell homes all the time (or at least they used to) and I shouldn't feel a sense of permanence, but the truth is, I do. It is also a bit disheartening to know what our money in California would buy in the South. Never the less, we have been hunting away and I know that whatever house the Lord blesses us with in His time will not take long to become home and we are excited to build it together (well, not literally "build it" but you get the picture:).

The house we have an offer on right now :)

Southern Comfort

When Corey and I headed back to the South for two weeks at the end of July we made a "must" list to complete while we were there. I must confess, I'm pretty sure all our "musts" involved food. While we are enjoying all that California cuisine has to offer, we desperately miss several eateries! I know the quality of these aren't the greatest as they were taken on various phones but you get the picture :)

I have no picture of the actual food, I guess we were too wrapped up in eating :)

There's simply NO ice cream that can touch Blue Bell! Every bite of every flavor is delightful!

I know, this is dreadful, but in my defense I was stuffed in the back of a Suburban full of fussy, hungry children when I remembered that I needed a pic...this visit was for the fries, I can't really describe them :)

Enough said!

Yes, that is fried okra! I LOVE Cracker Barrel! Especially the country store :)

They used to make the chocolate chip cookie dough with some sort of maple ice cream. I don't why they stopped but it just isn't the same :(

I forget to get a pic of the food here too :( Great sliders and even better shakes!

This is from the Wolf Bay Lodge sea food restaurant in Perdidio Beach, AL where my grandfather lives :) I LOVE fried crab claws and they are kinda hard to find.

This isn't my favorite but Corey insisted that it be on the list :)

Not pictured? DUNKIN DONUTS!!! Come to CA Dunkin! We also had Jim 'N Nick's on the list but were unable to fit it in unfortunately :(

I know these aren't the healthiest option, but when in the South...