Crust and Crumbs: books, sugar, random, and home

Happy Weekend! My site is back, yay! I switched hosting companies yesterday, so I had to stay out of my dashboard. That was so hard to do! I apologize for any downtime you may have experienced, but now my site should be faster and easier to use!

Ready for some Crust and Crumbs? I’ve got lots of random and sugar for you!

1. We headed to cooler ground for the 4th of July weekend: the SF Bay Area (Burlingame, to be exact). It’s where I grew up, and my parents were out of town, so we used their house as a hotel to enjoy some of the things we love so much about the bay area.

It turned out to be a Mel & Dorothy love weekend. We took Jordan to Montara Mountain, where we used to hike pre-kid and pre-move away. Right on that spot where Jordan and I are standing, Mel and I fell in love 13 years ago!

I was SO proud of Jordan on this walk. It’s been so many years since we’ve done the mountain that we forgot how far up you have to go to come down the non-steep side. Oops…it ended up being a 3 mile hike and Jordan did it all! Complete with what I am calling the “Poison Oak Boogey” up there in the left side photo. I told her not to touch the plants, so she walked that way for about a mile!

Jordan’s been asking to see where we got married, so after seeing a BFF from childhood, we headed over to the College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur University) to show her where we met (as students) and where we got married.

It was a little sad, because we couldn’t go into Ralston Hall. It’s seismically unfit – you can actually see the tilting in the doorways and windows. I hope they can fix it – I’d hate to never be able to go inside!

That hallway in the upper right is where Mel and I used to chat before class. It’s where I decided I was going to stalk him and make him date me. I’m not kidding.

Then, we ate. The best part about going home to visit is eating the foods you love so much!

Clockwise from the top: Village Host Pizza on Broadway, Prestons for ice cream, The Fish Market, and Stacks. Then I needed a wheelbarrow.

This is the view from the street near where I grew up. This is, hands down, my favorite view of anywhere. It literally chokes me up when I stand in this spot…because I love it so much. I would give anything to live in Burlingame (or anywhere on the Penninsula) again…

But I just can’t give the required $1,000,000 for a house. I’m not joking: it’s $500k for a 1 BR condo and $5,000 a month to rent a house half the size we live in now.

It just really sucks that I literally can’t go home again. It makes me sad.

2. So…to cheer myself up, I made peanut butter cinnamon rolls.

Want one?

3. How about some ice cream? Cookies ‘n Mint and totally fat-free.

4. Recently I received my new favorite cookbook: Summer Thyme by Jennifer Dempsey, aka Mother Thyme.

It’s a delicious book filled with perfect-for-summer recipes, like this Summer Pasta Salad. It’s like a greek salad with pasta…and it’s SO delicious. I can still taste the dressing!

With other amazing recipes like Orzo with Peas and Pancetta, Southwestern Corn Dip, and Cornmeal Pancakes, this is the perfect summer cookbook. Follow me on Instagram to see what I make next!

5. This Salted Caramel Chocolate Skillet Brownie by Roxana’s Home Baking is making me drool. Want.

6. I’ve been going through a lot of books lately. Here are some of my favorites:

Heat Wave by Nancy Thayer, Collateral by Ellen Hopkins (all her stuff is really, really good), 32 Going on Spinster by Becky Monson

The Accident by Linwood Barclay, Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah, Drinking and Tweeting by Brandi Glanville

Angel Fire by Lisa Unger, Too Good to be True by Kristan Higgins, and The Sweetest Thing by Barbara Freethy

What have you been reading?

7. I guest posted for the amazing Christi at Love From the Oven this week. Go check out my recipe for Peppermint Pattie Brownies!

8. Last night I attended the Best Friends for Frosting Relaunch Party at the West Elm store in Roseville. It was so much fun, and there were so many bloggers there! I was honored to be invited! BFFF has just undergone a total transformation to a lifestyle blog filled with recipes, style tips, DIY, and more. Go check them out!

That’s Mindy from Creative Juice, Hayley from The Domestic Rebel, Glory from Glorious Treats, and me. {FYI, my dress is my most recent Stitch Fix purchase.}

And can I say, I am now addicted to West Elm. OMG! As part of the party, we got 15% off our purchases. I got lots of props, but Mel is lucky I didn’t come home with a new table.

9. I’m off to drop Jordan at her theater camp. Tomorrow we go see a production of Dwarfland (aka Snow White). Jordan is playing Bashful in her first play! She did a theater boot camp this week – they have learned the entire thing in only 5 days! I really hope this activity sticks. 🙂 Expect Instagram photos!

Have a great weekend! I’ll be back with a new (cough: peanut butter and chocolate) recipe Sunday!