Baked Avocados from the Salad Bowl of the World

There is a little town in California right on the coast between Monterrey and Piedras Blancas with vegetables as far as your eye can see. The sign that welcomes you to the town reads, "Welcome to the Salad Bowl of the World" and the vegetables grow right up to the roadside.

In the fields of greens between the pickers working in the California sun and the beautiful Californian coast sit roadside stands of fresh picked vegetables that nearly grow into their bins ready to be purchased.

If the location was not enough to beckon you in - the deals at the stands made it impossible not to stop and we filled our buggies with more vegetables than we could carry.

Avocados, artichokes, and grapefruits - my favorite foods on the planet were 10 for $1. Really. I almost caused a wreck pulling over as quick as I could.

As usual my eyes were bigger than my recipe book and although I love my avocados I am guacemole'd out! Thankfully, I discovered you can BAKE an avocado!

Baked Avocados.

Cut one avocado in half and play on small baking pan.  Discard the pit and preheat oven to 450F.

  In bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan cheese, lime juice, pepper, and basil. Spoon ingredients into halved avocado, top with bread crumbs (I used panko) and bake for FIVE minutes.

This meal is wonderful and fast. It is healthy and hearty and will definitely fill you up. The creamy texture of the warm avocado melts in your mouth as if it was warmed all day by the sunshine.

These are definitely a fun (and SO EASY) treat and I can't wait to try new ingredients for the toppings. Oh, so many possibilities. Your belly will be happy you tried these!  

#TBT Travel Stories

Today at work between meetings and entertaining drug reps we got onto the topic of most embarrassing events and stories in our life.

I have only been here two weeks - these people have no idea what they are in for with me!

Embarrassing is hard for me. DUMB moments? Now I can think of plenty of those! So in honor of #tbt, I am going to reminise about the DUMBEST travel decision I ever made.

I'll be honest, there are a few of those as well. The time I booked my trip backwards with the departure city as my arrival and visa versa (ok, that happened more than once..) the time I was pick pocketed within an hour of arriving in Spain, and the time I still SWEAR I bought a train to Slovakia but it ended up in Slovenia. Rookie mistakes.

A few years ago I went to Costa Rica - a short trip we were only there for a few weeks and bumming around the country on public transportation. Drinking and speaking Spanglish on a public bus bouncing around to different surf spots, from Manuel Antonio to Monteverde and back was one of the most fun trips I have planned.

When this is the view from your public transit, you know you have done something right. 

 

During our stay in Arenal we were jam packed with activities - we bungee jumped in the rainforest, zip-lined, rappelled down waterfalls, and hiked volcanoes. I am an adrenaline junkie and LOVED every minute of it. If you are not an adrenaline junkie you will still love every minute of it. Probably even more.

After spending the afternoon in the rainforest, rappelling down waterfalls and running through the jungle with the biggest grins on our faces, our four tour guides invited us to experience the "real" Costa Rica. Away from the resorts (or in our case the hostels) and go out with them to downtown La Fortuna. Ready to experience the local life, and spend more time with our attractive guides, we jumped at the chance.This is how you go out for a night on the town in the rainforest. 

Dresses+Patagonia forever.

It is there that the story starts like any other - a few too many Imperials, a boy, and a motorcycle. Deciding I had to go for a ride on his motorcycle right NOW, the boy obliged and drunkenly we set off. This is where it goes horribly wrong.

Let's forget for a moment that I am on the back of a motorcycle of a drunk stranger and on a volcano in the Costa Rican jungle because it was one of those moments you know you are going to remember forever as a snapshot in your mind.

We rode up the Arenal volcano and down backroads littered with small shacks that were the real life of a Costa Rican family. We sped down hidden trails without a soul in sight while a full moon as big as the volcano it sat next to shone brightly on me. It is one the best traveling moments I have experienced and I happily sat behind him and fell in love with traveling all over again (and again, and again, and again...)

At this point he began to slow down in order to stop on a small road and I panicked a bit, ready to fight my way out of the situation. I contemplated pushing him off the motorcycle - but realizing I would most likely go down with it, began formulating Plan B. As he came to a stop I noticed two cabs pulling off and the last of our friends jumping into the thick jungle along the roadside. I smiled, my girlfriends were here!

The best natural hot spring in the area has been built into a fancy resort, you can't get to the hot spring without staying at the resort. Which is a bit of a bother really.

Luckily, our new friends knew a back way into the resort so we trudged through the jungle, tredding through warm rivers that were fed from the hot spring, and finally shimmied through a drainage pipe to emerge into the resort.

There's no turning back after shimming through a drain pipe. 

The rest of the night was spent racking up a pretty steep bar bill that we felt guilty about leaving to our hosts, swimming in the waters with steam pipping out into the night, and having a beautiful night in the Costa Rican jungle. 

It was magical. Alot of things could have gone very wrong with the decisions I made but sometimes the dumbest choices make the best memories.

But what are we here for except to make amazing memories and experience this beautiful LIFE.

I fell in love with Mod Podge today

I was at my parents house rummaging through old clothes in the basement and came upon all my old bed side table and dresser from my college years. It was definitely ready for a makeover.

Since I decided to take a much needed break from worrying about career paths, graduate school applications, and job roles I have been taking on all sorts of new projects. I am focusing on the things I love but always push to the side. Finally, I am training for that half marathon (two actually!), I am sewing again (thankfully skirts are very easy to make), and now I am refurbishing old furniture.

It wasn't a big project, just two coats of paint

hopefully new starfish knobs that I will add to this post later...

and finally a bit of fabric to make it POP!

The fabric is a good way to tie in a new piece to the rest of the room and brighten up a dark nook. The fabric was from JoAnn's in the remnants pile. I usually run by there every few weeks - not only is it (cheap) it can be VERY inspiring. Many skirts and pillows, an eye glass case, and now a dresser have all been accomplished due to the muse that is the discarded remnants pile at JoAnn's.

Put a tiny coat of Mod Podge on the dresser backing, cover with your fabric choice and let dry.

I love a good, quick day project and I am a sucker for anything blue and white or nautical themed. 

It got me to thinking the whole room needs a makeover. Project time... be ready for the guest room redo post coming soon!

Peaches, y'all

I don't often claim the South.

Yes, I was raised southern by a South Carolina southern belle and a hippie drummer in eastern Montana.

We brought sweet tea to the mountains, y'all.

Yes, I go to Steeplechase every year in my big straw hat, wear pearls with my gym clothes, bleed red and black and cheer on the SEC, and praise God to bless yawls heart.

But I don't often claim the South.

But there is a moment you wait for all year. Once the weather gets warm you can feel it coming.

You drive out to the orchard and the smell gets you.

Although its still too early - most are too firm, you search for just one.

You fill your basket and contemplate filling two.

You bite into you first sweet Southern peach of the season and let the juice drip down your arms.

And just for awhile, you claim the South.

Peaches are here y'all!

With Love, Indian Shores

I love a good travel adventure - sleeping in train stations, getting my pack ready, and stumbling across the globe. However, lately I have been wanting nothing more than to lay on the beach in the good ole' USA.

I love many international destinations and sometimes I am guilty of forgetting it, but with views like this - we have it pretty great too!

I landed on the red-eye in from California and landed just in time to grab the 7:00AM to Tampa. Or so I thought - BUMPED. That is what I get for #deltabratting on the Fourth of July but it never hurts to try - especially when I am in the airport anyways!

At 10AM I got the last seat on the MD88 and I was beach bound to meet my best Midwest (and every where else for that matter) friend, J.

We landed in Tampa and drove directly to our little house on the coast. Spending the next few days in Indian Shores to celebrate the Fourth the best way we know how...

with FIREWORKS over the ocean

and 'MERICAN flags in our drinks

Our only plan for the long weekend was to catch every last ray of sunshine, swim in the waves, and to play every night in downtown Clearwater.

  

Finally, I am no longer embracing the pale that is 2013. 

  

We had fresh, rosy cheeks but unfortunately many of our afternoons ended like this. Determined to tan, I was the last chair on the beach.

But it gave us extra time to play. We explored John's Pass Village and walked the boardwalk, stopping for drinks, and watching the boats along the way. 

When the sun was ready to socialize again, we caught the trolley into downtown Clearwater to experience the action and crowds of people enjoying their last bits of summertime freedom. I like to avoid shoes on holiday - and in my real life as often as possible so check out Frenchy's Rockaway Grill for dinner where you can stumble off the beach for drinks, food, and a great time.

It is located directly on the beach with the usual fare and great drink specials. I quenched my thirst with multiple cucumber infused vodkas as the sun quietly sloped below the horizon.

After the pregame dinnertime rush, we were feeling a bit *crabby*

So we set off to Shepard's, a nightclub and outside pavilion along the causeway. We even made it backstage where I was able to put my experience of "band-aid" to good use. Who knew that all those years my father made me haul around and set up his high-hats and cymbals would be good skills to have.

My favorite stop was a simple dive bar across the street from our weekend home in Indian Shores called, Muhaffa's. The ceilings were covered in bras, the jazz band was old, the bathrooms had shower curtains for doors, and the ceiling was caving in. Every turn took you farther and farther into the cave that they called the bar.

It is the best place. It was the best vacation and I am bronzed and happy.

Even if I spent the night in the Tampa airport and finally caught the last flight into Atlanta. Definitely worth it.

Off to my new job tomorrow... can't holidays last forever?

I did it all in a series of really wonderful dreams

Though a bit of my heart was left in San Francisco, the rest was left on the rocky coast line of Highway 1.

PCH is a trip that is completely your own. Drive it fast with the top down, twisting in and out of the mountains, down to the farmlands, and back again to the sea.



Or drive it slow and get lost along your way. Take in every hidden driveway, the seals, sunset, the quirky roadside towns, and rustic lodges that can blur into the passing redwoods.

Stop to hike every chance you get into the forest. Some of my favorites were at Ragged Point, where the cliffs allow you to venture to the surf and pristine beach.

Or hike just to glimpse at the beauty of Pffifer Beach. This place alone makes the trip worth the flight, the drive, the steps.



You cannot reach the beach but you can climb on the cliffs above it and hike to the edges of the world.

We stayed at Pffifer Beach for much of the afternoon - taken by its beauty, learning about the history, and getting lost in the waves. There once was a house that stood on these cliffs and we hiked to the old foundations of it. It would be amazing to live here, completely taken in by the sea each day.

We drove the Pacific Coast Highway without an itinerary and only the wish to have the quintessential road trip experience - I wanted my feet on the dash, windows down, singing at the top of my lungs as I sped down the California coast line. Other than that, surprise me world!

Surprise me it did with pit-stops along the way. Half-Moon Bay was located just south of San Francisco and we stopped for sandwiches and cold drinks in the garden in the center of downtown.

I could have stayed in Half-Moon Bay much longer, with its pretty shops and quaint small town charm. But we had to remember to keep driving, as behind every turn is a new adventure and the beautiful view of the coastline we were so craving.

Halfway down the coast we stumbled upon Gorda Springs as the sun was setting on the ocean. A town that popped up along the side of the road and only consisted of a gas station, a small café, and these few small rooms - it looked as great as any where to stop!

A good thing to know before setting off on your own PCH adventure - there are not many rooms or opportunities for lodging. It is rustic, primitive, and quiet out here. The radio will be in and out so be ready to lead those sing alongs yourself and cell service is non-existent, so come prepared.

But the views are amazing - we could throw rocks into the ocean from our door frame. We sat on the porch into the night and drank wine and talked watching the sea life swim lazily by along the shore.

We stumbled over to the roadside diner and split fajitas with the resident cat and celebrated my birthday without phone service, television, or a massive party. It may not be much but out here you don't need much and that is the point.

The next day we continued South, stopping at the Elephant Seal Rookery in Piedras Blancas to watch the seals.

  

You can almost walk directly to them as they sleep and throw sand about.  Although they look lazy here, the beach was full of commotion.



They squabble and fight, they swim and wade into and out of the water.

They are entertaining to watch - and listen to. This handsome fella would not stop bellowing as he wiggled his way up onto the beach besides these ladies.

But unfortunately, someone else thought they were entertaining (or delicious) to watch as well and I snapped this lurking off shore.

Be safe, my new elephant seals friends!

After being mesmerized all morning by elephant seals, we slowly got back in the car. I had hoped to make it to as far south as Los Angeles but the coast beckoned and I couldn't drag myself into the city just yet. I turned back into the safety of the woods to see the coast one more time.

We spent the next days lazily driving the same path North. We dipped our feet in the water and enjoyed lunch high on the cliffs.

Only on the Californian coast can you drive from the beach to cliffs high enough for it to be only us and the birds in a moment.



Thank you PCH - my soul is refreshed, my mind is clear, my heart is open.  

Think I should turn back South again?