Monday, January 31, 2011

WSPR

I love the beach. I think it's part of my DNA. So when I found out that I was speaking at the Western Society for Pediatric Research conference in Carmel, California, I got pretty excited. I hadn't spent much time on the California coast north of Newport Beach, but Carmel definitely didn't disappoint. It is a lovely, half-mile long beach set up right next to the fabulous Pebble Beach Golf Course. The most free-time we had was the first day there and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Of course, I walked to the beach as quickly as my feet would carry me.


I dipped my toes in the FREEZING cold Pacific Ocean.
Much too cold for swimming this time of year.

I was happy to be there.

The actual town of Carmel shouldn't go unmentioned. It is picturesque, quaint, and charming with every nook and cranny looking like it's out of a Thomas Kinkade picture.
The flowers were blooming and the air smelled of blossoms already!



The streets were lined with fantastic shops complete with leaded glass and Dutch doors. There were patisseries and boulangeries every block that filled the air with the smell of baking bread and cinnamon.


This was the most amazing fromagerie I have ever seen. The Carmel Cheese Shop. They let us try as many cheeses as we wanted. Double cream smoked gouda, alsace muenster, beecher's flagship cheddar, aged gruyere, Humboldt fog, Leerdermeer, etc. I had intended simply to taste, but definitely didn't leave empty handed...

Best grilled cheese ever.

Carmel was such a nice and welcomed break from the cold, Utah winter. I will definitely be returning there, but next time with my golf clubs!


Side note: The conference itself was also great. Speaking in that kind of setting was definitely a new, frightening experience, but a good one. I'm glad it's over though.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Grace and Grace

For years, I have been enjoying recipes from the famous Ivory "Favorites" cookbook. I'm talking serious Warner family classic dinners that have hailed from the pages of this thing. Delightful, delicious recipes. I honestly believe that everyone should own one.


So recently, when I found out that there was a follow-up cookbook, "Keeping Up," I was eager to get my hands on a copy. Thanks to the Boyer girls for the tip! They regularly post recipes from this book, and luckily, my mom gave me a copy for Christmas. We were pretty excited to get cooking and it wasn't long before we were 3 or 4 recipes in and loving every bite of it. So, my mom and I have decided to take our own Julie and Julia-like adventure and cook our way through "Keeping Up." Grace and Grace: Grace Warner and Grace Ivory Rock. (Sans the blog.)


So far, it's a total success! We make a new recipe almost 4 out of 7 nights a week, and have yet to be anything but delighted. I'll report when we finish, but in the mean time, I totally recommend purchasing one of these babies. Trust me. You'll be very glad you did!

Monday, January 10, 2011

A little of What's Been Going On...

Today was my last First Day of School.

Ever.

This feels pretty momentous due to the fact that in a few short months I will complete 19 straight years of school without any breaks. In addition, factoring in individual semesters means 29 First Days of school. Yikes.
I wonder if I'm going to have an identity crisis once I'm no longer a student.
I can't even fathom what that is going to feel like.

Well, the break was wonderful. 3+ weeks of sleeping in, eating plenty of treats and other delicious food, reading non-school books, MANY movies, etc, and definitely did not include hauling my backpack anywhere, cracking the cover of a single textbook, minimal work, and as few trips to campus as possible. I tried my hardest to not do anything unpleasant the entire break. I was mostly successful. Here are a few of the highlights.

St. George, for the Las Vegas Bowl. Although the game was mostly frustrating and ended badly, it was still fun to be there. And, we didn't get a drop of rain which proved to be an added and unexpected bonus.
We even made it to Trader Joe's in Henderson to pick up some Candy Cane Jo Jo's!
(I may have bought 2 boxes to bring home, and probably ate almost all of them myself. I have a problem.)


This beauty is from a small skiing mishap the day before we left to St. George. I fell...on a rock....that not only slit a hole in my snow pants (and almost my leg, apparently), but left me with this gorgeous bruise. I should have taken more pictures as time went on because it turned the most sensational colors.


We went for a very rainy run up Snow Canyon and it was lovely. Due to the mass amounts of rain that the area was receiving at the time (the Virgin and Santa Clara Rivers were raging!), Snow Canyon Road actually closed because of too much water flowing literally over the road. We took the paved path instead, but still ran into this situation.
We came up with a solution.
After St. George was Christmas and all of the associated festivities. Not pictured events include: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, sledding at Soldier Hollow with much of the extended Warner Family, lots of cousin time at Grammy's which included dress-ups, games, Legos, and watching Star Wars, Baby Eva's blessing, New Year's Eve, a fun visit with my cousin Caroline to see our cousin Kate and her 3 triplet boys, etc.
Having the fam home was a dream. It had been months since we were all together and boy did we have fun. One night we were able to leave the kids and just go out with the adults to Nuch's Pizzaria and Restaurant. (2300 E and 1800 S) Delicious, and so fun to spend some time together. We're missing everyone already.

The break was perfect and jam packed full of activities.
Just what I needed before heading into this last semester.