I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of September! August, we enjoyed you, but you didn't stay long enough. September always makes me miss Oregon, that's my favorite time of year there. We've been taking advantage of the nice weather here though, keeping in mind that soon it will get dark earlier and be chilly at night. We swam some laps the past couple nights and ate dinner on our balcony. Barbecued beef sandwiches, watermelon, and corn on the cob, trying to enjoy the flavors of summer until they are gone. We discovered tonight that Shinobi likes watermelon. A lot. 

I went to breakfast with my dear friend Sakura this past weekend at the amazing scone place. We also joined some friends at the Shulls' house for dinner and games.

A pretty normal week still ahead: working, exercising, walking the dog, reading, cooking, home group. But we are looking forward to Jeff visiting this holiday weekend and a trip to Half Moon Bay.

Also, today a new album from The Weepies made its debut. I highly recommend it. It makes me spontaneously break out into dancing every time I play it. I think it will be my soundtrack for the month of September.

Our friends Kendra and Whitney visited this past Saturday and Sunday. They left Monday morning to continue South to Disneyland for a little Anniversary trip. We made sure to show off Mountain View's fine cuisine and also took them to Santana Row and Valley Fair. Kendra has incredible shopping stamina. It was great to catch up with them. I can't believe this picture was taken over three years ago, good times!

It has been boiling hot here the past couple of days. Bleh. This apartment cools down better than our last apartment, but it was still pretty miserable. Lots of homemade popsicles. The living room gets much cooler than our bedroom so we pulled the mattress out into the living room and have had a slumber party out there the past few nights. Shinobi seems to like it. Though, both mornings I woke to him sitting next to my head and staring at me. A little creepy, but cute too.

Time for Brinner and home group!

We had a lot of fun in Niagara Falls. The family reunion events included two dinners and a lunch and there were over 120 relatives who attended. It is always touching to see the "Originals" (the Maves siblings) interacting, telling jokes, singing songs, and laughing together. There are some amazing old stories about Charlie and Clara, the patriarch and matriarch, and life in the Maves household. Jonathan asked my Grandma why they had 16 children and she said,"They just took what God gave them."

We got a chance to visit the beautiful town of Niagara on the Lake. You can see where the Niagara River becomes Lake Ontario there, and at the Brock Memorial you can see over the river and lake all the way to Toronto. We also rode on the Maid of the Mist and were majorly misted by the American Falls and Canadian Falls.

We ate a lot of great food (my Grandma's honey cookies are always my favorite) but Jonathan adored the Buffalo wings. He consumed eight of them in one sitting! So tonight I decided to recreate them using chicken tenders. I dipped the chicken in buttermilk (whole milk with a splash of white vinegar) and then into flour. I baked them at 350 on a parchment paper lined sheet for 15 minutes and then flipped them over and baked them for 15 minutes more. While they baked, I melted two parts butter to one part Tapatio hot sauce in a sauce pan over low heat. When the chicken was done, I used tongs to dunk it in the buttery hot sauce and served them all up on a plate. We ate it with dipping sauce, homemade potato salad, and canteloupe. A perfect summer supper. And judging by the number Jonathan ate, I think he liked this version too.

Jonathan finished his online class! Hooray!


We had a pretty lazy weekend, took the dog to the park, and went to the Littaus' house for a breakfast potluck on Sunday before church. Yum. 


We haven't watched tv in so long; most of it disgusts me and we would just rather do other things. But we majorly overdosed on Sunday. We have Netflix (the cheapest one-DVD-at-a-time version because a movie will sit on our shelf unwatched for a month) and discovered the show "Lie to Me" on instant queue. It is totally our type of show – psychological/analytical with a bit of humor. We watched six episodes on Sunday, Nerd Alert! 


We dropped Shinobi off at his Auntie Jane's house this morning and we'll be flying out to Niagara Falls, Canada tonight after home group. Every five years, my Dad's side of the family has a big family reunion. My Grandma is one of sixteen siblings which makes for quite the sizable gathering. It is always a lot of fun and Jonathan is looking forward to his first trip out there.

Do you like Denver omelettes? Do you like pizza crust? Then you might like this little recipe I invented tonight. 


Take some pizza dough out of the fridge and let it sit while you dice so it gets nice and stretchy (I had some from Trader Joe's). Dice some ham, green and red bell peppers, onion, cheese, and kale (why not?) until you have a pile that is probably equal to one cup and put it in a bowl with two heaping tablespoons of ricotta. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on it and mix it up. Split your dough in half and begin lightly pulling the edge of one chunk around in a circle while the majority of it hangs down and rotate it, letting gravity do the work of creating a nice big circle, like you are making a pizza crust. Plop it onto a baking sheet and spoon half of your filling mixture onto one half of the circle of dough. Pull the half without any filling over the top and pinch/fold the edges until it is sealed. Repeat with the other half of the dough and filling. Then, I like to pat grated parmesan all over the top so when it bakes it gets crispy. Follow the baking directions that came with your dough, mine was 8 minutes in a 450 degree oven.


This got all sorts of oohs and ahhs from the hubby. He dipped his in homemade marinara, I liked mine plain. Buon appetito!

So, apparently I haven't written in a while. Probably because I have been scrambling to finish my class and also because I have a fun new project!

With some of my birthday money, I have decided to get supplies for refinishing our dinner table and chairs. They are hand-me-downs from my Aunt and are in great condition; probably because they are made of heavy solid oak. They aren't really our style, but we were happy to receive them back when we got engaged. After some inspiration from one of my favorite blogs, I decided that I could give this dining set a new life and maybe even end up loving it! I'll post before and after photos if the project turns out well. Otherwise, I'll pretend I never mentioned it :)

Our trip North to Point Bonita lighthouse, Muir Woods, and Stinson Beach for my birthday was nice. It was a bit foggy, but we didn't mind. One of my favorite parts was driving up Highway 1 in the cliffy hills and coming around a curve where suddenly all of Stinson Beach was visible, bright blue and sandy white. A funny moment occurred at Muir Woods: we showed up ready for a serious hike, we even had our Camelbacks on, and as we were parking we saw a family walking toward the entrance with a stroller. We thought, what kind of hike is this going to be? It was more of a paved path through some tall redwoods, but it was still breathtaking to be dwarfed by ancient trees.

Our CSA has delivered some rockin' produce the past few weeks. We've enjoyed four ears of delicious, sweet corn on the cob each week, along with bell peppers, heirloom zucchini, and kale (to sneak into smoothies, pasta dishes, and enchilada pies). And the strawberries, raspberries, and stone fruits keep rolling in, which definitely puts a smile on my face. I've also kept making (and perfecting) the homemade bread recipe. I've decided Sunday is the perfect day to make it. I mix it all up in the morning and let it rise while we are at church. When we get home, I give it the minimal kneading it requires and let it rise again for an hour and a half. Then, I bake it and it's ready in time for dinner. So surprisingly easy! We've been gobbling it up with some fabulous jam my sister sent me.