California Highlights (Christmas 2013)!

Guys, I haven’t posted in over a week & I’m having some withdrawals over here! I decided not to blog while we were in California for a few reasons – the main one being that family is so incredibly important to us & rather than sit & stare at the computer, we chose to put it away and actually spend time WITH everyone. I’m sure you all understand that! We had such an awesome time, just laughing and talking and being with one another. We packed quite a bit into 9 days, but loved every second of it. It went by way too fast (as per usual) so we’re back and already thinking about planning our next visit out there!

But for now, we have to face reality. In the form of unpacking and catching up on bills. Womp womp. HA. We got back late Sunday night and feel like we’ve been trying to recover ever since. The house is an absolute wreck right now (seriously, like, it’s embarrassing). Laundry needs to be done. I need to get my hiney to the darn grocery store, for goodness sakes! That empty fridge has been taunting me for the past 2 days. Why is it that I always need a vacation after a vacation?! Anyone else feel me on that?? ;)

Alrighty, so.. while I didn’t blog on the trip, I DID take a lot of pictures! Below are some photo highlights of Matt’s sister’s wedding & our Cali trip, for your viewing pleasure! PS: I can’t believe the next time I post it’ll be 2014!! Where the heck did this year go?!

The beautiful bride and groom! And my Jersey Shore husband ;)

The wedding was perfect. And went off without a hitch! They decided to go with a rustic Christmas theme & the end result was honestly one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen! We are all dyyying to see the pictures – hopefully we’ll get a sneak peek soon :)

Goodness gracious, I love this man!

We left the next morning for California on 4 hours of sleep, got stuck outside IN THE RAIN for 45 mins just to check our bags (because the airport was so dang crowded), only got in 1 argument and then finally landed in LA. Grandma had lunch waiting for us at the house & then immediately took us to Trader Joe’s (the way to my heart)!

Grandma spoiled us & bought our groceries for the entire week! Here were a few faves :)

My phone had been on the fritz for quite awhile (and Sprint service is terrible where we live), so we took the plunge, joined our phone accounts & switched to Verizon!! Best decision ever. I’m not usually a gadget person, but the iPhone 5s is just so beautiful, it makes me want to weep. Camera quality = A+++.

We became iPhone 5s owners!

My awesome uncle (who’s been a Canon Rep for over 20 years) gave us tons of lessons and tips for shooting better pictures. He also blessed us with a tripod!! So excited to see the difference it makes in my cooking posts :) the hubs has been playing around with the ISO and aperture every day since then. It’s a perfect mix – I see the artistic shot and he knows how to set the camera up for it! Teamwork, y’all.

My uncle, husband & I! If you look closely you can see all of us in the reflection!

My stepdad gave me one of my fave Christmas presents :)

My almost 80-year-old Grandma showed Matt the fantasy football stat sheets she makes every week. My Grandma is a G!

The cheese platter I made for Christmas!

Oh the beauty of California… I seriously cannot express in words how much I miss mountains. And hills. And terrain of any kind. Houston is just so darn flat!! After spending 9 days wandering around in this glorious creation, we decided that we are definitely gonna have to travel more in 2014. Fo real.

We went hiking. A lot. (This is a pic of my brother and sister!)

We hiked across water.

Up a 200 ft incline.

And to a waterfall!

All in all, it was a beautiful trip that filled my heart with so much happiness!! We are going into 2014 with joy and expectation for what’s to come. So many changes and new beginnings –  I, for one, cannot wait to see what this year holds. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a big one!! So on that note, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your New Year’s celebration tonight!! Stay safe and bring it on 2014 :)

Our first married Christmas picture together :)

Find me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram (username: @itsbrenae)!! I’d love to hear from you! :)

The Cultured Cavewoman’s Fave Trail Mix

Wheeew. Soo, the next 2 days are going to be an absolute WHIRLWIND. My beautiful sister-in-law is getting married tomorrow night (and Matt & I are both in the wedding), so we have rehearsal dinner tonight, then more decorating & other last minute wedding madness after that. PLUS, we are leaving for California on Saturday morning… so we need to pack! Like, yesterday. I have 2 loads going in the washing machine right now & am trying to not freak out about everything that needs to get done before we take off. And to top it all off, my husband (very generously) passed along the sickness he just recovered from a couple days ago. Yay me.

Trying my hardest to focus on the good though – Christmas in California… it’s gonna be glorious! I’m originally from LA & haven’t seen my family since the wedding (in March!), so we’re pretty darn excited for 9 whole days of vacation with everyone. Sleeping in, relaxing, exploring, spending time together… cannot. wait.

Okay, onto the recipe. We love traveling (seriously.. like, LUUURVE), but we aren’t such huge fans of airport food (is anyone??). One, everything is so ridiculously expensive. And two, let’s be honest… the food just isn’t that great! So we generally try to bring some of our own goodies to munch on while we hang out in the terminal – yummy and cost-effective, the best! Here’s a recipe for one of our fave treats: trail mix!

TRAIL MIX: (makes appox 3.5 cups of mix)

The ingredients!

• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2/3 cup raw, unsalted almonds
• 1/2 cup roasted, salted macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup pistachio pieces
• 3/4 cup organic dried cherries
• 1/3 cup organic dark chocolate pieces

I decided to toast the almonds, sunflower & pumpkin seeds myself (because they always taste better homemade!). So grab a pan and dump the first 2 ingredients in (I did all 3 together at first but soon realized the almonds would take much longer to toast, so ended up separating them so the smaller seeds wouldn’t burn). Toast the sunflower and pumpkin seeds over medium heat, stirring constantly until they start turning golden brown & smell toasty. Be careful because they burn SUPER easily! Do the almonds next & then set aside in a bowl to let cool completely.

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Dried cherries are my faaaaavorite. Ever. And they taste so delicious in this trail mix!

Yum!

Once the nuts & seeds have cooled completely, mix all of the ingredients together in a container. If you don’t let it cool, the chocolate will melt, which is no bueno. Unless you like your trail mix melted together. Then by all means, do whatcha do.

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I know there are like a million trail mixes out there that are prepackaged, but if you’re like me, I usually end up picking out 1 or more of the ingredients that I don’t like. So I have taken to making my own! Not only is it fresh and delicious, but it’s also pretty inexpensive! This whole batch cost me about $12. Can I get a wut-wut?! The measurements of the dried fruit, chocolate & nuts/seeds is pretty darn perfect in my opinion, but feel free to change out any of these ingredients with YOUR faves and enjoy!!

I’d love to hear from you!! You can find me on Facebook, Instagram (username: @itsbrenae) or Pinterest! :)