Relaxing...Productive...Weekend? What is that???

The Holidays are here and there is something happening every weekend, almost every weekday, plus work, plus the everyday stuff, and it was beginning to be to much.  I needed a relaxing weekend to GET STUFF DONE and that is what I did.

I had the house to myself.  So it was pretty quiet, the TV was off most of the time, except for when I was watching Pretty Woman.

I achieved so much and now I can say I feel ready to take on all of our festivities.

Here are all of the items I checked off my To-Do List:

1. Went through my childhood boxes, consolidated 3 big tubs into one small shoe box of the best pictures. 

2. Dropped clothes, books, and toys off at the Good Will. 

3. Cleaned out my closet and rearranged my clothes in my drawer like they did here.

4. Made Home-Made Sausage and breakfast casserole for the week.

5. Ate Trade Joe's Joe-Joes and watched Pretty Woman.

6. Made Spaghetti Squash and Tomato sauce for the week. 

7. Cleaned my stove.  I placed the burners in ammonia.   I tried the all natural salt, vinegar, and baking soda for the stove top, but that didn't seem to work great, so I used 409 after.  It still isn't as clean as I would like on my main burner, but I will try again soon.  I need more vinegar and baking soda.

Ta da...

8. Cleaned my bath tub with Borax.  (The marks on the bottom are from a previous tenant and won't budge, any ideas?)

9. Made grain-free Pumpkin Pancakes and Apple Butter from Apple Hill.

Happy 16th Birthday Lauren: Apples, Apple Butters, Apple Pies and... Sushi?

First off, my little sister is SIXTEEN!!!! 

Crazy, I am 10 years older than her so that means I am almost 26... does that mean I am soon to be in my late 20s... OH NO! 

Anyways I can't believe she is now old enough to drive! I am so impressed with the young lady she has grown to be, but she will always be little Lo Lo to me. 

When asked what she wanted to do for her birthday she said, go midnight black friday shopping, then join us up to apple hill, and then sushi for dinner! And we did exactly that. 

No pictures from shopping, thank God. 

But after we "napped" we headed up to Apple Hill for some delicious treats, great scenery, and a brief visit with some Santa Barbara friends. 

  

THIS IS THE WINNER OF THE DAY: WALKING PIE! 

(below)

Who wouldn't want a pie that is completely surrounded by crispy, flaky, buttery crust? And free ice cream, we scored!

After we ate dessert for lunch we headed home for a bit to relax before we went to Mikuni for dinner. 

This has been my favorite sushi restaurant since I was about 16! And I couldn't pass up getting a picture with my little brother and my favorite dishes, Citrus Blossom and the Incredible Roll.  

So long for now Sacramento, watch out Lauren Craig is on the road!