The windows fog in a spotless white-tiled kitchen in east Las Vegas.  From where this humidity?  At present, the kitchen is a laboratory in this single story Palm Springs knockoff, built in 1971.  It smells faintly of bleach and iodine; it smells heavily of earthy malt and grassy hopvine.

Exotic yeasts await their turns.  Stoppered glass carboys & liter jugs sit, sterilized, waiting.  Carapils, light Weyermann Vienna, Rahr, Chateau, Crisp Maris Otter, Franco Belge CaraMunich … ancient grains host an ancient evening.

A tall bearded man moves about the space, testing temperatures, hushing flames, logging times & hydrometer readings.  He is making beer.  It is always the same: two brewpots, two recipes underway.  One recipe is a controlled chaos, something new: a red saison, Wormwood-laden double IPA: tastes and interests drift with the seasons.  The other is always Czech Pilsner, the crown jewel; a perfect brew, refined in its simplicity.

It’s an alchemy of grain, flower and yeast; it demands precision and care (my first batch was careless and not good); one must be patient; one will reap rewards; it’s something ancient, settled man’s first recipe, something reborn in the 1970s, something very present slow food.  Brewing is an amalgam of so many things I love & wish to grow from.  As has been said, “Relax, have a homebrew.”

Credits:
Beautiful Homebrew Kit by Mike Langone:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/119795228/small-batch-craft-beer-homebrewing-kit
“Relax, Have a Homebrew” Philosophy:
The Complete Joy of HomeBrewing by Charlie Papazian, Wm. Morrow, 1984, NY.

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Oh what a busy holiday season it has been! It’s gone by so fast… I can’t believe we haven’t posted anything since October!!! So… today I’ve been sorting through like every photo taken since Halloween to organize the various and most important of post content… but first things first, let’s talk Pumpkin Pie!

As some of you my know, I made my first-from-scratch-pumpkin-pie this Thanksgiving and then I repeated the same recipe for Christmas since this pie was so darn good (and Josh LOVES pumpkin pie)! I had been searching and searching the web for the best recipe… the goal was to find a recipe that has lots of winter-y, Christmas spices in it. Suzanne’s Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie was definitely the winning recipe!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of pumpkin pulp purée from a sugar pumpkin* or from canned pumpkin purée
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream or 1 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs plus the yolk of a third egg
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 good crust (see pâte brisée recipe)

To make pumpkin purée from a sugar pumpkin: start with a small-medium sugar pumpkin, cut out the stem and scrape out the insides, discard (save the seeds, of course). Cut the pumpkin in half and lay cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with silpat or aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F until fork tender, about an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from oven, let cool, scoop out the pulp. (Alternatively you can cut the pumpkin into sections and steam in a saucepan with a couple inches of water at the bottom, until soft.) If you want the pulp to be extra smooth, put it through a food mill or chinois.
METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Mix sugars, salt, and spices, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and add to the bowl. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Stir in cream. Whisk all together until well incorporated.
3. Pour into pie shell and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
4. Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream.

I completed all the tasks exactly as the recipe called for (included my own version of roasted pumpkin seeds), BUT I did substitute the heavy cream/evaporated milk for a new Almond and Cashew Creme (see image: the carton in front of blender) that I discovered at Wholefoods. I couldn’t tell any difference dairy versus non-dairy for the life of me, except that I felt MUCH better, as non-dairy goes! Additionally, both times I made the pie filling, I ended up with too much filling to fill one pie crust. At Thanksgiving, my solution involved simply using the filling made from this recipe in two separate pie crusts… It created two slightly thin pumpkin pies. At Christmas, as the mister requested a “thicker pumpkin filling”, I filled one pie crust up as much as I could and saved the remaining pie filling… This is where the real experiment comes into play;

With the remaining pumpkin pie filling (roughly half a cup), I made Pumpkin Spice Cornbread. There are little specifications to this cornbread recipe, as I simply used a ready-made cornbread mix and substituted the necessary one egg and oils for pumpkin pie filling. After mixing the powder cornbread mix and pumpkin pie filling together, I simply added a little water based on how liquified I remembered the regular cornbread mix to be when complete. Despite the chance that I could have ended up with a disaster of bread in the oven… the Pumpkin Spice Cornbread was AWESOME!!! We were eating it for breakfast topped with a little Earth Balance Spread and Maple Syrup… Delish! The only improvement I will make with the next batch of Pumpkin Spice Cornbread is to include MORE of the pumpkin pie filling in the mixture.

So… a Pumpkin treat for all, I hope! There are still fresh sugar pumpkins available in our Vegas grocery stores… if you haven’t had your pumpkin pie for the season take a chance on this recipe. Maybe it could be your new masterpiece for the 2013 holiday season!

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It finally reached an apex shortly after celebrating Josh’s Beer-tastic birthday weekend, exploring the breweries and the heaviest, richest foods around town! We not only physically felt the need for a cleanse, but also mentally!!! At various times in our lives, we’ve both gone through our own foodie experiments. Josh has done an actual cleanse of this sort before, whereas the type of cleanses I’ve done have been less about the actual cleansing teas and more centered around raw, vegan foods. So, we decided to embark on a 7- day cleanse… we first mapped out the specific desired goals of the cleanse and from there began to build a list of the foods to eat vs. a list of the foods to eliminate.

A few tips before you begin your own cleanse:

• From the goals of the cleanse, create rules and guidelines to stick within.
• The menu below is simply a guideline and by no means do you need to do it exactly… You may choose goals which we did not have and therefore you will tailor your cleanse (and rules) accordingly.
• Research is ALWAYS so helpful! In looking to achieve certain goals with this cleanse such as ‘clear skin’ or ‘less mucus a.k.a. defeat a runny nose’, if you don’t know what foods or herbal teas would help achieve a goal… Google it!
• Clean your fridge and pantries of anything that should be eliminated during the cleanse… You don’t need a bucket of ice cream in the fridge tempting you!
• Once you’ve made your rules, remember to COLOR within the lines… You have to be creative or you will get bored of your options quickly.
• Eat and drink A LOT… If your body isn’t used to a withdrawal from meats, dairy, or even most simple carbs, you will be hungry!!! Eat larger helpings of vegetables, drink larger quantities of juices, teas, and water… AND keep as many healthy, cleansing snacks around as possible.
• Women: I don’t recommend going through the cleanse while PMSing or during menstruation.
• If you exercise on a daily basis, you might find you need to exercise a bit less during this cleanse as your body will definitely be taking in less calories than usual. For the sake of keeping in the detox state of mind, we chose to focus on stretching, yoga, and time in the sauna.
• Green powders for an additional vitamin boost in your juices, smoothies, and teas is a great addition to the cleanse. We used Vitamineral Green and Spirulina Pacifica powder, though there are MANY on the market… look for organic powders that have a wide variety of vitamins, herbs, minerals in them.

Above you have the oils and vinegars we used throughout the week for cooking and dressing salads (minus Organic Tamari Soy Sauce) and the various teas we drank copious amounts of (each tea occasion isn’t listed in our menu)… Below we have the mixture of raw nuts and dried fruits (with no added sugar) that we kept around all week as snacks!

And so begins our Detox Menu:

Day One: Eliminate all animal products, animal by-products, non-organic products, wheat and most wheat substitutes, most simple carbohydrates, all common allergens (corn & derivatives, potato, etc.), all alcohol, all processed foodstuffs, and all products with any preservatives, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and other added sugars. Focus on fruits, cooked and raw organic veggies, basmati rice, red quinoa, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Smoothie: Watermelon, Frozen Banana, Spoon full of Vitamineral Green; Tea: Organic Genmaicha

Snack – Raw Nuts: Walnut, Pumpkin, Almond; Tea: Yogi Detox

Lunch – Steamed Rice and Veggie Bowl: Basmati Rice, Red Quinoa with Broccoli, Green and Purple Cabbage, Kale, Mexican Squash with Organic Tamari Soy Sauce and Apple Cider Vinegar to taste.

Snack – Dried Fruits: Figs, Prunes and Raisins AND lots of water with fresh lime

Slow Vinyasa Yoga Class in the evening followed by time in the Sauna

Dinner – Steamed Rice and Veggie Bowl #2: Basmati Rice, Red Quinoa and Diakon Radish Kimchi mixed with Broccoli, Green and Purple Cabbage, Kale, Mexican Squash

Day Two: Eliminate Rice and Quinoa: the final remaining starches. Focus on fruits, cooked and raw veggies, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Smoothie: Watermelon, Frozen Banana, Spoon full of Vitamineral Green and one of Spiralina Pacifica powder; Tea: Yerba Mate with Raw Honey

Snack – Raw Nuts: Walnut, Pumpkin, Almond; Tea: Yogi Detox

Lunch – SALAD: mixture of grape tomatoes, celery, red and yellow bell peppers marinated in apple cider vinegar, balsamic and tamari soy sauce over the top of a butter lettuce mixture. A side of a whole sliced avocado topped with our seed mixture and apple cider vinegar.

Snack – Dried Fruits: Figs, Prunes, Raisins AND lots of water with fresh lime

Dinner – Raw food delight from ‘Go Raw Cafe’: Raw Sushi with Raw Mexi and Mediterranean Pizzas plus Kombucha and Braggs Ginger Spice Juice

Day Three: Eliminate all cooked foods to aid in cleansing of our digestive systems. Focus on fruits, raw veggies, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Smoothie: Watermelon, Frozen Banana, Apple Juice and Spinach with a Spoon full of Spirulina Pacifica powder; Tea: He had Mate with Raw Honey, I had Organic Genmaicha

Intro Ashtanga Yoga Class mid-morning followed by time in the Sauna

Lunch – Green Laver Seaweed and Arame & Ginger Kimchi over Butter Lettuce Mixture with Young Cabbage Kimchi and Apple Juice

Snack – Two teaspoons of Bentonite Clay in Apple Juice with Smooth Move Chocolate Tea and Raw Honey

Bicycle Ride

Snack – LOTS of Coconut Water

Epson Salts Soak Bath; a detoxifier

Dinner – Spinach salad mix topped with avocado, Braggs Amino Acids (soy sauce substitute) and mixed raw nuts; Tea: Homemade Detox Tea (also a wellness remedy) – Ginger, Garlic, Lemon, Cayenne Pepper and Raw Honey

Come the end of day three, I did get a late night migraine probably due to having such an active day with such a great shift in my caloric intact… and not drinking enough water. Headaches will probably happen on some level as your body adjusts to the changes, especially if you tend to drink a lot of caffeine or alcohol. Obviously, the headaches should pass… if they don’t and you can’t seem to abate them, discontinue the cleanse until you have more information about what’s causing the headaches.

Day Four: Eliminate all whole, raw fruits and veggies to aid in great cleansing of our digestive systems. Focus solely on smoothies, homemade juices, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – A cup of homemade Watermelon Juice, Smoothie: Mixed Greens (chard, mustard, turnip, spinach), Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Water, Apple Juice, Frozen Banana, Spirulina Pacifica powder; Tea: He had Mate with Raw Honey, I had Organic Genmaicha

Spent majority of the day at imperial Health Spa enjoying their saunas and hot tubs to cleanse the skin and calm the mind… Drank LOTS of water.

Late Lunch/Early Dinner – A meal of a giant Smoothie from WholeFoods; I had the Berry Nutritious and he had the Green and Glowing

Movie Time Snacks –  Coconut Water and Flaxseed Raw Chips… I just couldn’t not eat a little something!

Late Night Snack - Tea: Homemade Detox Tea – Ginger, Garlic, Lemon, Cayenne Pepper and Raw Honey

Day Five: A return to all whole, raw fruits and veggies. Focus on fruits, raw veggies, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Smoothie: Mixed Greens (chard, mustard, turnip, spinach), Carrots, Celery, Cucumber, Water, Apple Juice, Frozen Bananas; Tea: Mate with Raw Honey

Lunch - SALAD: mixture of grape tomatoes, celery, red and yellow bell peppers marinated in apple cider vinegar, balsamic and tamari soy sauce over the top of the Mixed Greens with Arame & Ginger Kimchi.

Snack – Dried Fruits and Nuts

Dinner – SALAD: Mixed Greens, Avocado, Cucumber, Braggs Amino Acids, Olive Oil, Lemon topped with Mixed Nuts (today I added Sunflower Seeds and Cashews to the original mix)

Dessert – Smooth Move Tea with Raw Honey

Day Six: A return to cooked veggies. Focus on fruits, cooked and raw veggies, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Green Apple and a Banana; Tea: Mate with Raw Honey and a touch of Almond Milk

Lunch – Sauteed Mixed Greens with Purple Onion and Mixed Nuts (cooked the nuts in… so delish), seasoned with Red Wine and Rice Wine Vinegars

Snack – Two Kiwi Fruits

Dinner – Sauteed Broccoli and Mushrooms with Yellow Onion, Garlic, Red Bell Peppers, seasoned with Cumin, Bragg’s Amino Acids, Olive Oil and a splash of Rice Wine Vinegar

Dessert – Smooth Move Chocolate Tea with Raw Honey and Dried Fruits: Fig and Apricot

Now when adding cooked foods back into your system you might notice difficulty in digesting and/or you aren’t able to eat as much in one meal… this is normal. When we aren’t used to eating raw foods, it’s harder for our systems to break them down and vice versa, when we aren’t used to eating cooked foods, it’s harder for our systems to break them down. Personally, my stomach didn’t love this particular Broccoli and Mushroom Dinner… although it sure did taste great! It might have been better for me to start with a softer, more simple cooked veggie meal.

Day Seven: A return to the most easily digestible starches: Rice and Quinoa. Focus on fruits, cooked and raw organic veggies, basmati rice, red quinoa, detox teas, all-natural fruit juices (all organic), and lots of water.

Breakfast – Banana with Mixed Nuts; Tea: Organic Genmaicha with Raw Honey and Almond Milk

Lunch - Steamed Rice and Veggie Bowl: Basmati Rice, Red Quinoa with Young Cabbage Kimchi and raw, Roma Tomatoes with Organic Tamari Soy Sauce to taste.

Snack – Sushi Rolls with Fish Cake and Imitation Crab (we needed a treat!)

DInner – Sauteed Shitaki Mushrooms and Onions, Roasted Cauliflower, Green Laver Seaweed Salad, Anchovy Kimchi, and a Basmati Rice/Red Quinoa mixture with Brewer’s Yeast to taste (all seasoned with the various oils we’ve restricted ourselves to this week and added spices/herbs to taste); Iced Tea: Peppermint Tea with Raw Honey and Lemon

 We finalized our Detox by sleeping with Bamboo Vinegar Detox Patches on the soles of our feet. This was just a little surprise we stumbled across at our favorite Asian Market and they definitely worked!

Additionally, we cheated a little the last night with that Sushi Roll snack and the Anchovy Kimchi… But we just COULDN’T help ourselves and we figured if we are gonna cheat, best to do it with seafood than anything else!!!

In the end, we felt wonderful! Our digestive systems stronger, minds clearer, and we parted the cleanse with a new foot forward to eat more healthy each day! There’s so much information to share about a cleanse of this sort… so please, if you have any questions before embarking on a cleanse of your own, do not hesitate to ask us!!! There are a few great books I can recommend, depending on your cleansing goals… and I am always happy to help by giving more detailed insight into my own personal experience.

Cheers to you and your health!

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This trip was a long awaited one, that Joshua had been planning since just before I came along… boy, is he lucky I DID come along!!! He might’ve had to venture to the land of Cancun all alone had I not appeared in his life. Te-he!

Shortly after we moved to Vegas, this trip served as our first moment of relaxation among all the BIG, busy changes of moving to a new city and settling in… AND we were celebrating One Year from the day we met! You see… we both distinctly remember the day we met, so rather than our anniversary being about our first date, our first kiss, or the day we actually began referring to each other in those terms of coupledom; our anniversary IS the day we first met!

(from left to right) The sister hotel to Sunset Royal with marina-front daybeds; Vines draping the interior of our hotel down to the Italian Restaurant where we celebrated our anniversary; Cancun beer on the Cancun beach!

Cancun was a completely new concept to me. Granted, I’ve been to Mexico and various other Latin countries, but I skipped the party in Cancun to celebrate High School graduation. Somehow, I also skipped the party in Cancun during college Spring Break… and all the other “party in Cancun while you’re underage” opportunities. No complaints here as I was busy living in Costa Rica… the focal point being …Cancun was a completely new concept to me.

Now… mind you, I’m still barely on the brink of Las Vegas… especially as a place to live! As previously mentioned, I was never one to hop any caravan, on any given day to Vegas. Casinos, clubs, and all the various hoop-la surrounding the Strip have never been first on my list of places to travel. And so… we arrive in Cancun. One of my first discoveries is that we have arrived in Mexico’s very own version of a miniature Las Vegas!

A fancy, dessert treat at the Mexican restaurant in Sunset Royal!

So, our reservations were to partake in one of those all-inclusive, week long, package deals at the Sunset Royal. It basically involves you giving a few hours of your time up one morning, while staying at said resort, to be guided through a sort of timeshare sales pitch. Now, without giving too many secrets away… I whole-heartedly recommend the Sunset Royal, sales pitch and all! Everyone in the entirety of the resort was absolutely wonderful… even our little old lady maid, whom we of course made friends with, was an absolute delight!!! Every meal we had in the resort was deliciously perfect; our assigned concierge lady was not only charming and gorgeous… but also extremely helpful. The couples massage we had at their beachside spa, one stormy evening, was so relaxing and rejuvenating! I could go on and on… for such a large resort of this all-inclusive genre the Sunset Royal is so utterly warm, welcoming, and charming! We couldn’t have asked for more.

This little tequila house is a uniquely charming spot that we found just off the beaten path!

Now, when outside of your perfect hotel (or before you even get there), of course there is a Cancun hustling game that comes into play… you see, almost everyone you talk to has some freebie offer to give in return for your time. Remember that last bit, you PAY for these “freebies” With… Your… Time!!! It all begins the moment you get off the airplane, before you’ve even really stepped onto Mexican soil. If I could advise you against it, don’t talk to anyone at the airport… head straight for the hotel van awaiting you. We may have doubted how organized these all-inclusives are and made friends at the airport, becoming “victim” to a true Mexican hustle… but all in good spirits, we eventually found the man holding the sign with our name and off we went to the Sunset Royal!

Bum alert at Senor Frog’s…

And so, ’tis in the heart of Cancun! Of course, I had to see the famed Senor Frog’s AND Carlos n’ Charlie’s. Not much to mention about those… unfortunately, they aren’t what I imagine they used to be. Senor Frog’s seriously felt like Joe’s Crab Shack when I was 13… there might have even been a slew 13 year old girls there?!!?!! When asking for directions to the bathroom (en espanol), the waiter KEPT insisting that I had to climb a latter and slide through a water-slide out into the marina. Mind you, it was our anniversary date night, we had just come from a wonderfully romantic meal at our hotel and I was wearing a little black dress with stilettos… ah, Senor Frogs! To add to the fun there, as I did find the actual restroom, I passed by a literal closet housing an impromptu tattoo studio. You know you’re in Mexico when… Ha! …On the other hand, Carlos n’ Charlie’s was definitely more palpable for a late night drink… you’re typical, loud and entertaining discoteca with great Margaritas!

And the lively Carlos n’ Charlie’s!

During the days we ventured out as much as we could: Tulum, Xel-Ha, Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres... each and every one of these places was amazing in it’s own way. We were mystified by the Mayan history and the beauty of Tulum. We wished that we could have spent an entire day swimming around Xel-Ha. The food was so delicious there and you know we love playing in the water… this ecological water theme park was made for us!!! Alternatively, our trips to Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres were much less organized: leading ourselves on our own adventure. The bus to Playa del Carmen was easy and safe to maneuver… once there we enjoyed plenty of drinks and ceviche right on the beach. In the end, Isla Mujeres truly was our favorite location and the place where we felt most at home in Mexico, away from the touristy hustle. We took a quick ferry ride over and were able bike around the entire island; stopping wherever we were inspired to photograph, biking through neighborhoods and eventually out onto the island’s point where we discovered a beautiful restaurant (and an odd sculpture garden). There were much fewer Americans on Isla Mujeres… you could feel the country’s culture and it’s spirit more prominently there than in Cancun.

Tulum is Magnificent!

Playa del Carmen has a wonderful European flare…

AND Isla Mujeres was so fun, although a bit of a stormy day… This is the Sculpture Garden we discovered (bottom image).

Having jam packed this first venture to Cancun, we eagerly anticipate our return to the Sunset Royal. Next time around we will focus on lounging about the hotel; truly soaking up all the relaxation and aqua blue, ocean front glory this place has to offer! It may be difficult to relax in Mexico’s mini Vegas, but with experience and great intent we DO believe it’s possible!

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He attempted to get my attention in a more direct manner!

“Hey, YOU… Play with ME!!!”

Yet, many a times among my working day in the design studio… this is what I find.

He’s too adorable to rest at some moments and in other moments he’s screaming, scratching and running around like a maniac. Ah, this must resemble what it’s like to have a toddler… except this toddler is uber tiny and furry and doesn’t speak human (thank goodness!).

And so I design on with a new little furry friend attempting to dictate my schedule.

Happy Thursday!

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 this triumph makes the show go on!  it drives, too…

The lake is cold.  Frigid.  Really really cold.  Get that point.  It’s wetsuit cold, filled up by melting snow packs and glaciers just up the mountain.  Last year there were still snow caps and the run-off was an inspiring rushing waterfall.  This winter wasn’t a one lush for the mountain.  The ski resort closed down; June Lake needs an economic boost, some respectful tourists and some LOVE!  This part of California is wild:  Mono Lake is here,

Mammoth Lakes; the terrain just down from the lakes looks like the South African veldt, and is dotted with hot springs lovingly named, e.g. the Crab Cooker;  bald men that look like John Locke from LOST will be there in Sarongs, be forewarned!

Last year a herd of cows got impatient waiting for us the vacate one spring and came up en masse to sluuurpsluurrrrppp spring water from the tubs whilst we marinated.  Magical.  There’s random night fireworks, farms with produce, so much beef jerky, ghost towns and shooting stars.  It is a great place — take care in choosing your travel companion, as you will surely fall in love.

We raced between camping days up there.  It was great.  Mallory loped along, gazelle style, more full of finishing energy than she anticipated.  I had a solid race: it was my second triathlon, my first being June Lake 2011.  I hacked 8 minutes off my time, took 8th overall and won my age group.  Best of all I had the fastest run split: 15 seconds ahead of the winner.  A-hey!  It’s worth mentioning that June Lake is 7700 feet above sea level.  That’s some thin air, friends; I passed out the night prior after I spent too long huffing and puffing at the fire and abruptly stood up to go cut onions; lucky I fell away from the fire!  Ack.  Race-wise, between that air and the lake water, it’s difficult to get your breath and find a rhythm.  I basically lost the race in the swim and spent the whole rest of it trying to catch back up, even thought I swam… okay.

& 54 minutes later ….

After the lake you cycle 8 miles of hills and finish by running a STEEP 5k in sand.  Let me say again, it’s short, it’s wicked, but I.love.this.race.   Allow me to nerd out a bit:  I trained for the race for about 8 weeks; i based my training plans on a few publications: Training for the Time-Crunched Triathlete, Running by Feel, and the triathlon Bible by Joel Friedman.  I work 50 hours/week and try to spend as much time loving on my little Vegas family as I can, so while the training is important, it can’t be paramount.  Mallory didn’t really train too much!  We got her pretty little bike together a few days before the race.  We trained mostly indoors, running on tracks, cycling stationary at midday instead of rising at 6 am to make the brief 85-degree window…   so there you go:  you win these lovely ceramic handmade medals for finishing, little plates for winning and so on… the charm of the race, the very positive community and the climate know no bounds!  I’m already looking forward to next June in July!

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I competed in my very first triathlon at June Lake… Go me!!! It was a wonderful long weekend back in the land of CALIFORN-I-A :: The cool, fresh mountain air, the trees, the COLD lake, the greenery, the deer, the camping, the hot springs… We did all we could in a few short days.

AND I actually competed in a triathlon (did ya catch that?)… I rode SUPER fast down that winding, steep hill on my new (vintage) Guerciotti! Yes, and of course I made my triathlon suit!!! Well, I combined Josh’s old tri suit with one of my old competition swimsuits… reduce, reuse, recycle BABY!

Photo: RP Studio

What else… I’ve been searching for the next greatest day job in Vegas; it’s time to supplement CurleeBikini with something. We’ve been battling the art of keeping a clean pool in the desert (long story). I’ve taken on the great potential of a new project, Creative Consulting for a fabulous dance troupe, the LA Follies!!!

Photo: Paul Gilmore

Hmmm, It’s definitely HOT here in Vegas!!! We’re finally filling this big casa up with some furniture… and, and… We got a new kitten! Introducing Mr. Moses Zale (Za-lay) — He’s currently being nursed back to great health, as we delivered him home from the Animal Foundation with a bit of a sneezer! I’m putting my self-taught, holistic veterinarian skills to use again…

A book for all Cat lovers and mothers to read: the Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier.

So… what else have we been up to, babes??!? What did I leave out???

PS :: For the latest in my fashion world check out my fashion-centric blog on Tumblr, msCurleeBikini!!! From my general life inspirations to designing CurleeBikini 2013 to the LA Follies Costumes and Events to Jigsaw-London’s occasional stuffs and ALL the Instagram images I can muster… it’s all there. Fashion there, Lifestyle here. 

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