Observations From the Nude Beach

July 27, 2015 By Laura

I’m not an exhibitionist.

But I’ll go to the exhibition.

Sunday was a gorgeous day in San Diego. It was 78 degrees, nice breeze, and not a cloud in the sky. You know, typical. I did what all Southern Californians do on a day like that and went to the beach. What wasn’t SO typical was that the beach I went to was a nude beach.

Black’s Beach is actually one of the best beaches I’ve been to so far. There are volleyball nets, horseshoe, and a nice 2 mile stretch to walk. It’s not crowded (Americans are generally scared of nudity) and it’s right below a hang gliding take off, so you can lay there and watch the pretty parachutes. My main motivation for going to Black’s was the hike down. It’s really short, but it’s a fun, steep trek down a cliff to get to the water.

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Revisiting Strange But Good

July 24, 2015 By Laura

Normalcy* has returned.

*I use that term loosely.

Vegas and I made it back from Vegas leaving the 115 degree temps behind. The sun is out again in San Diego and it’s a balmy 75 degrees.

https://instagram.com/p/5aqIMkGjVz/?taken-by=sprint2thetable

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It’s Not Always Sunny in San Diego (or Vegas)

July 22, 2015 By Laura

It’s been one of those weeks.

I’m not really sure what day it is…

I started the week in San Diego, now I’m in Vegas, and I’m driving back to San Diego tonight. What’s more confusing is that this weekend in San Diego it POURED down rain. I thought it wasn’t supposed to rain in paradise?! (Actually this is a good thing since California is having a drought.)

It was also Pride weekend, so I watched the wet hot mess from a bar.

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Birthday Surprises + Cheesecake Dessert Giveaway

July 20, 2015 By Laura

I should probably stop celebrating my birthday now.

But at 32 I’m just not that mature yet.

Vegas had an amazing surprise planned for me on my birthday… but she didn’t wait until the day of to treat me! And – because I don’t think you should stop being treated either – I have a delicious (healthy-ish!) cheesecake dessert giveaway for you at the end of this post.

So. To begin the birthday celebration we first went to a fabulous dinner on my birthday-eve. The Patio on Goldfinch has been on my list to try for a long time. Vegas picked me up in my freshly washed car (another treat!) and we had a lovely evening out. How fabulous does this look?!

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Sticky Toffee Rum Balls [Recipe]

July 17, 2015 By Laura

I hate to waste food.

Especially dessert.

While that Sticky Toffee Stout Pudding I posted last week was fantastic, it made a lot for two people to eat. I couldn’t imagine letting it go to waste, so I starting thinking of alternate uses.

Leave it to me to reach the conclusion that I should add more booze and make it into balls. Strange but good Sticky Toffee Rum Balls!

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Dressing Up and Playing Ball [$25 Dick’s Giveaway]

July 15, 2015 By Laura

It’s my birthday!!!

Obviously that means presents.

The weekend before my birthday was San Diego’s infamous Over the Line tournament (OTL). Basically, it’s 2 days of camping and playing a baseball-ish game in the sunshine and sand at the beach.

There are 3 players on each team. Your own team member tosses a ball up for you to hit with a wooden bat. You have to hit the ball in the fair territory to get a hit. There are no runners, but 3 hits scores a run.

OTL court

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Rainbow Layer Cake [Recipe]

July 13, 2015 By Laura

It’s my birthday week!!!

So I made myself a cake.

Actually, I made this cake on the 4th of July… but I consider the whole month my birthday. Therefore, this was a marriage equality-4th of July-birthday cake.

Regardless of the occasion, there’s no better show-stopper than cutting into this Rainbow Layer Cake at a party and revealing the vivid layers of color.

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Sticky Toffee Stout Pudding [Recipe]

July 10, 2015 By Laura

Occasionally I have a good idea that just keeps on giving.

And occasionally I take it too far an have a disaster.

On this occasion I’d set out to bake with a peanut butter stout I’d gotten from Belching Beaver. You might remember this Peanut Butter Stout Caramel Corn.

After making the corn, I still had a good amount left in that stout bottle. The perfect opportunity to create something strange, but decadently good. Particularly something that I could top with said caramel corn.

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