Month: July 2011

Grab Bag

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Happy Monday skittle-heads!

This post is titled “grab bag” since it will feature a myriad of different topics and recent events. However, it also happens to be one of my grandmother’s favorite things, the grab bag.

This post is dedicated to my beloved Grandma Dorothy who turned 92 yesterday.

Notice her hat

In other news, I have discovered a new baking mix which I adore. Enter, No Pudge Brownie Mix.

Bryan and I Netflixed “Chocolat” and I decided that we needed brownies to commemorate the movie and this mix did not disappoint. I tried to get a picture of the ingredient list to wow you all with how healthy this stuff is, but my GD point and shoot belongs on the failblog.

To accompany our brownie-licious dessert, Bryan concocted his mouth-watering bruschetta for dinner. He made a few modifications this time, using ingredients we had on hand, such as…

Adding Pesto.

And using shallot.

The result?

Heavenly. Crunchy. Flavorful. Great texture. Do I belong on the Food Network, or what?!

We also opened 1 2 bottles of wine…

Which led to some…ahem, shenanigans on my part. Don’t ask.

We also attended Jake and Nacole’s beautiful wedding last weekend.

CUPCAKES!!

Delicious food.

Crab cakes, Salmon and 2 rolls

And of course, wine.

Shenanigans made another appearance post-wedding again. What is up with our shenanigans these days?

Lastly, but certainly not least was the chicken fry. This annual event is put on by the Wilson Fire Dept.to raise funds. They fry chicken in garbage cans.

Oh yes, they do.

Firemen at their best

Since Bryan and Jeremy were climbin the Petzl Ridge of the Grand Teton, I tagged along with Matt and Holly but sadly, did not eat any chicken because the line was cray-cray long. Instead, I partook in the baked goods section and procured myself a peanut butter and jelly bar with a Diet Coke. Sassy.

Holly and I really scamped it up and had a great time.

While other people stock-piled their chicken. Exhibit A:

Maybe because we don’t have a KFC? Maybe because of it’s crispy, salty exterior. Or maybe, they were fixin to make an epic meal, like this:

Wake Up San Francisco!

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Whatever happened to predictability?

I am Stephanie Tanner.

Megan (older sis) = DJ

Amy (younger sis) = Michelle

We seriously thought this was true in 1993.

I will soon be channeling my inner Stephanie Tanner soon because you see…

I am going to San Francisco!

I leave on August 6th with sister Megan (DJ) and my mom.

The Crew

I have a history with this city and because of this, it just happens to be my favorite place in the United States. Well, except for Washtucna, WA. Bold statement I know.

At my last job in Spokane, I was able to travel to SF about 6 or 7 times and truly cherished each visit, despite having to be in meetings during the day. Because my boss was AWESOME (still is), I was also able to shop, eat at amazing restaurants (more about that later), walk around Fisherman’s Wharf, The Ferry Building and go to  Asia SF. Google it.

First trip to SF, Alcatraz in the background

What makes SF such a special place? It’s tough to explain unless you’ve been there. To me, it’s the most interesting, cultural, exciting city I have ever been to. I love it’s size, it’s people and the fact that it’s on the water. Oh, and there’s a 4-level Forever 21.

Not that we’ll only shop here! We also plan on thrifting and trying to find some funky, unique shops as well.  That doesn’t mean we won’t hit up the staples, like H&M, Zara and of course Anthropologie. We’re not stupid.

The restaurant choosing will also be quite difficult as I have eaten at some amazing places in SF, including Chez Panise, Asia de Cuba, A16, Foreign Cinema and the most exciting, Teatro ZinZanni (an amazing dinner show).

And of course, candy and cupcake shop scouting will be a must. Maybe we’ll even drive up to Napa and eat at Bottega and Michael Chiarello and I will be like old chums by the end of the meal! And also Hubert Keller will be there AND Alice Waters. They’ll invite me to their vacation homes where we will cook delicious food and I’ll drink gimlets. They’ll call me The Girl Who is Friends with Celebrity Chefs.

Can you tell I’ve just finished the newest Sophie Kinsella book, “Mini Shopaholic”? It was fab.

Anyway, I promise to document this trip thoroughly and report back with gumption. Watch out SF, the Danielsons are a’comin!

And if anyone doesn’t like it, I’ll simply say “How rude!”.

There’s a First Time for Everything

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This was me about 2 weeks ago.

My friends it’s true…I went CAMPING. Don’t cry, everything is fine.

For those of you who know me, you’re already well versed in the Danielson ways of vacationing. Bigger cities (i.e Seattle, Portland, New York), hotel rooms, shopping, Red Robin and the occasional melt-down. An outdoorsy, rollin around in the dirt, sports playin youngin’ I was not. My childhood was all about stirrup pants, Hello Kitty, trading stickers, Barbies and trying to convince my Mom to crimp my hair like errday.

When I started going out with B, I knew I was in for some adventures…hello THE PASS. But I was actually excited about trying this whole camping thing.

Apparently, there are different kinds of camping. For your convenience, I shall break them down in laments terms for ease of understanding:

  • Backpacking – This is when you hike with a really-effing-heavy pack on your back into the wilderness, stop at some point, put up a tent and go to sleep. Advantages – great workout and the scenery might be pretty. Disadvantages – Having to carry everything you need on your person. This means that a 5th of vodka, ipod player, Juicy jumpsuit and 3 bags of Stacy’s Pita Chips are simply out of the question.
  • Car Camping – This is when you drive in the luxury of your own vehicle to the campsite directly and either sleep in your car or in a tent. Advantages – Ability to pack as much as you like, including multiple bags of chips, cases of beer/wine/vodka, ukuleles (why not?) and maybe a teacup yorkie named Professor Snazzypants. Disadvantages – n/a.

To ease me into the whole camping thing, Bryan opted for the car camping option. That’s m’boy.

We departed at around 2 o’clock and Bryan had smartly packed all the essentials.

  • Clothes
  • Tent
  • Sleeping bags + pillows
  • Chairs
  • Cooler
  • Beer, wine, rum
  • Water
  • Food
  • Bear spray
  • Sunblock
  • Toilet Paper
  • Camera
  • Fire Wood

My contributions.

  • Dry Shampoo
  • Blush + Mascara
  • Nerds Rope
  • Chex Mix
  • 2 celebrity gossip magazines and a Food and Wine
  • Hot Pink deck of cards

We drove out to Slide Lake (about 1 hour from Jackson) and claimed a camping spot as we anxiously awaited our friends, Jeremy and Lorie to join us. To pass the time, we ate, drank and played trivia games on Bryan’s phone.

Michelob Ultra, Cactus Lime = Delish

Boxed Wine...Duh

When Jeremy and Lorie arrived, we decided to try and find a more secluded spot along the Gros Ventre River. It didn’t take long for us to find this little gem.

The View

We immediately made a fire and let the good times roll.

CAUGHT!

The next morning B and I woke up around 8:30 and went on a “nature-walk” as I was calling it (SO Bob Ross). But not before I got in a little bit of breaking news:

And dorky faces…

Our Nature Walk was so beautiful and we had a nice little 20 minute stroll.

Check out this arty photo I took of the wildflowers:

I May be Going into Business

When we returned to camp, Jeremy and Lorie were stirring and Lorie brought the ingredients to make breakfast sandwiches. Ingredients included:

  • Amazing organic ciabatta bread
  • Tomato
  • Bacon
  • Homemade Pesto Aioli

Sizzlin Bacon

Can you say holy-yum?

Since my allergies were killin me softly and I forgot my meds (aka Allegra) we packed up camp and hit the road back to Jackson.

Overall, I did a pretty good job at camping. Some would argue that one cannot be “good” or “bad” at camping, but I think you can. The only skills I need to work on are

1.) packing more candy

2.) bringing allergy medicine and

3.) urinating in the woods :-).

A Grand Time

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What’s up lambs?

About a week ago, Bryan and his two good pals Jeremy and Cody decided to make it their new tradition to go up the Grand Teton each 4th of July weekend. With the crazy amount of snow we got this winter (818 inches), they boys set out at 11 PM last Saturday night to climb the mountain on Sunday to avoid any avalanche dangers.

Elevation: 13,775 feet

Grand Teton is the high point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in the state of Wyoming. No big deal.

Climbers scale this mountain in various lengths of time, anywhere from 2 days to 3 hours and seven minutes (the newest record).  In order to attain such fast times, climbers actually run up the  mountain and free-climb (meaning no ropes) when the terrain gets technical.

Bryan’s PR? 5 hours, 55 minutes, car-to-car. UNREAL. Anything sub-six hours is considered expert.

Here is Bryan’s account of their climb, last Saturday. Enjoy kittens!

So this weekend we once again climbed the Upper Exum Ridge of the Grand Teton on the 4th of July weekend, a new tradition. We started off on a beautiful starry night/morning on Sunday, July 3rd. With the enormous amount of snow we received in Jackson Hole this winter we knew we were in for a long day of climbing on snow and ice but the temperature was perfect and before long we were watching the sunrise from the rocky, wind blown Lower Saddle. We filled water bottles, consumed energy bars, enjoyed the scenery, and prepared for the climb.

When we approached the Wall Street Ledge we noticed from the undisturbed snow that no one had climbed the Upper Exum anytime recently, perhaps not since last season. With the sun now warming our faces we began the climb.

My new La Sportiva Boulder X shoes made for great climbing on the grippy granite rock. The climbing was easy yet exhilarating as we made our way toward the summit. There was quite a bit of snow and ice but we were able to avoid most of it and stay on rock, sometimes doing fun split-like moves between the rock.

A few hours later we were on the summit ridge and eager to rest and take in the view.

At 1:00pm we had reached the summit, basking sunlight we were elated and marveled at our surroundings. The sky was indescribably clear and the snow-capped mountain ranges of Western Wyoming glistened in sunlight.

Before long we started to make our way back down the mountain, through the snow, to the Lower Saddle where we had stashed some beers in the snow earlier in the morning. We glissaded (slid on our butts) down the snow fields and were soon on dry ground at another location where yes, we had stashed a couple more beers. By 5 we were approaching the parking lot and looking forward to seeing our girlfriends and enjoying the warm early evening on the deck at Dornan’s. It was a long but deeply satisfying day with good friends on one of America’s most iconic peaks, The Grand Teton.

Good Times Had by All

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What a week!

There is just SO much that I could tell you. Unfortunately, only about 10% of it might be of interest. The rest would leave you scared, annoyed and maybe a little bit hostile.

Cutting to the chase:

1.) Bryan’s brother Corbin arrived Monday morning!

Bryan and Corbin in Hawaii

Since it was the 4th of July, naturally we had made some plans including raftin and q-in. I had procured three spots for us on Matt’s boat and it was a BLAST. Our group included 5 boats, at least 2 cases of brews, tons of food, a platypus full a wine (pictured below) and of course, Holly brought her flask. I knew I was friends with her for a reason!

We Call it "The Platty"

After a thrilling day on the Hoback River, we came home and fired up the Q.

Bryan also prepared his delicious guacamole.

The candy dishes  and glow sticks were courtesy of yours truly :-).

We grilled kabobs and hamburgers, had plenty of chips and dip, drank beers and OF COURSE ended the night with s’mores.

P.S Glow sticks from the Dollar Store suck.

Other haps of the week (unpictured unfortunately) were:

  •  Floating Flat Creek with Bryan and Corbin intertube-style, mine popping on a rusty nail and being dragged downstream until I realized that I could stand up. #blondemoment.
  • Dinner at Trio. I had:
  • Enjoying Bryan’s delicious homemade pizza while watching “Due Date”. BTW, Robert Downey Jr.  is getting cuter and cuter with age.
  • Drinks + Dinner at the Caddy and Nikai. So. Effing. Good.
  • Making this awesome girl’s Cake Batter Pizzert. Vegan, using spelt flour. How granola-ey of me huh?

Today is my day off! So I celebrated by making this for breakfast:

Bluebs, Organic Cinnamon Toast Cruch, Puffed Wheat and Almond Milk

Then I went up Snow King!

For all you who don’t live in Jackson Hole (most of you), Snow King is a ski resort but also the name of the mountain it sits on. It is located about 1 mile from town and makes for an excellent workout in the summer. The mountain starts at 6,237 feet and the summit is at 7,808. This means that hikers gain 1,571 feet of elevation in anywhere from 25-75 minutes. it takes me about 38-45 minutes to hike up (longer if I forget my ipod).

Today was so beautiful outside that I smartly remembered to grab my camera to show y’all what it looks like out there.

View from the bottom

Harses, harses, harses, harses…Anyone?

Heading Up

Wildflowers, 1/3 of the way up

Breaking a Sweat

Awesome Wyoming Fanny Pack

Taking the chair lift down

Purty

Wind on My Face

This hike always rocks my world a little bit. It’s short, but intense on the stems. To power through, I listened to hits from Glee and Mamma Mia! On the way down, I slowed things down a bit with Phoebe Snow (look her up) and also this song.

I’m such a Ringie.

Now, I am relaxing with a delicious Life Water, graham crackers and an Amanda Bynes movie (obv), while I mentally prepare for our kickball game at 6:30. Perhaps I shall bring along the camera tonight and capture the Kicking Mules (our team name) striving for victory? I vote yes.

You Got me Feelin Em-o-tion

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Sing it Mare Care!

I’d like to begin by sharing, group therapy-style. Even though it’s just me, this computer, a vodka + soda and a hoard of Asian tourists outside, stepping off a tour bus (no joke) I’m going to pretend you’re all sitting around me in a circle, indian style and many of you are wearing Birkenstocks.

As of late, I’ve been feeling some thangs and one of the reasons I love blogs is the ability to write thoughts down, hit publish and maybe, hopefully, someone will sympathize with you or even (dare I say it?) leave a comment!

Well, here it goes.

I’m just gonna say it. I sometimes feel inadequate. Cases in point:

  • I used to be able to run double digits no problem and now I can barely run 5 miles.
  • I consistently let my grow-out go beyond 2 inches (what I call the white-trash halo).
  • I am not an expert skier, snowboarder, mountain biker, climber or rodeo queen and I never will be.
  • I am currently not holding a “career”-type position.
  • I eat too much cereal.

Mind you, these feelings of inadequacy come and go, as most things do. Someone once taught me the importance of identifying your emotions and confronting them, head-on. As humans, we shouldn’t be scared of what we are feeling. We should embrace them. Feel them. Then, it’s easier to determine the root of the feeling and why it is present. For example, to overcome feelings of inadequacy, perhaps I should use positive self-talk?

Whew! Feelin’ better already! Any other ideas?

However, I happen to be a fairly positive gal so let’s move on to shinier, happier things,  shall we?

We can start with the fact that I’ve seen two babies in one week. FYI –  I call chihuahuas babies ;-).

My Sister's Chihuahua, Chloe Joey

Secondly, I went rafting on Monday!

Holly’s boyfriend Matt has his own raft and awesomely, lets me ride in it (might have something to do with the fact that he is dating my best friend).

Matt Loading up the Raft

Rafting in Jackson Hole is always a bit of a production, i.e loading boats, people, life jackets, coolers etc. into cars, driving to the put-in, arranging gear, situating people and taking off. We always make sure to pack a bunch of sandwiches and beer in the coolers and usually stop once or twice to feast. Here’s what I brought:

Turkey + swiss, a BANDIT and Pop Chips. Yum! The Bandit basically rocks my world and is the equivalent to 1 and 1/3 bottles of wine. Holls Balls and I finished this bad boy off by the end of the trip no problem.

Loving the Bandit

We rafted along the Hoback River and it was unexpectedly a little more white water than we had bargained for. We set out with 2 boats and after going over one pretty big rapid, we discovered the other boat had two people fallen out, along with BOTH oars, their cooler and pump! Serious stuff man.Luckily, we were able to pick up one oar, the cooler and pump since we were upstream from them and they had a back-up oar as well.

However, in the process of retrieving the pump, I fell halfway out of our boat and Holly was laughing at me so hard, she could barely help me back in! Luckily, Matt came to the rescue and yanked me back in using my PFD. Twas pure Jackson-Hole awesomeness.

I think I should be on Deadliest Catch.