Crust & Crumbs 13

I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July! Let’s start the weekend with some crust and crumbs of my life, shall we?

We spent the last week of June in HOT Palm Springs. Murphy’s Law…it was only in the 80s and 90s here in Sacramento while we’re gone…and the heat followed us home.

1. Why go to Palm Springs in the summer? Because it’s cheap. A friend let us use her condo, so the week was relatively inexpensive. That left a lot of money to pay for food and fun. And we spent a lot – on food, that is.

Remember that Bravo show, Welcome to The Parker? It took place in Palm Springs, so I had to go see it. Turns out there is a fabulous breakfast restaurant inside – Norma’s. I told my husband ahead of time we were ordering all the things, and we did. Jordan’s french toast was bigger than her head, and the doughnuts were to die for.

I don’t think I’ve ever spent almost $100 on breakfast, but it was so worth it.

2. Vacation tip for you: if you’re getting a free condo (or even a cheap one) in a resort area, check out the local resorts to see if they have any sweet pools or fun things to do. There was a Marriott Vacation Club close to our condo, so we got the cheapest room for one night and got to use the pool for 2 days. In summer in the desert, those rooms aren’t too expensive so two days at a pool with a water slide was a good deal.

Jordan enjoyed herself.

So did I. And yes, I do travel with red vines so I can use them as straws.

3. When in Palm Springs, one must do the Aerial Tram. You take a gondola straight up a mountain. Scary, but awesome.

In fact, to give you some perspective: the valley floor in this pic is where we were staying. It was 109°.

You drive 10 minutes to the base station, and you’re already at 2500 ft. Then you take a 10 minute gondola ride and you’re over 8000ft – and it was only 65°.

We did some hiking. I wouldn’t let the nice lady use my good camera, so we only got an iPhone shot.

And we didn’t get pushed out of the gondola by mobsters. Anyone get the reference?

4. On our way home we stayed the night in LA. We took Jordan to see Beverly Hills.

Reg. Bev. Wil.

Get the reference? I was too nervous to go inside. I couldn’t find the bus stop – methinks they added it for the movie.

We hit Il Fornaio in Beverly Hills. We’ve eaten at almost every one! If you ever have the chance to go, it’s my favorite restaurant ever. The one in Coronado has the prettiest view, and the one in Carmel has the prettiest inside.

Then this happened.

Sprinkles Cupcakes. I always scoffed at them, like what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that they’re the best cupcakes I’ve ever eaten. Go there.

4. We also had ice cream at the beginning of our trip in Manhattan Beach, at the Manhattan Beach Creamery. I posted the flavor on Instagram. Then I came home and made a copycat, coming next week!

5. Some of my favorite recipes I’ve made lately:

No Bake Black Bottom Dulce de Leche Pie / The Perfect Graham Cracker Crust / S’mores Ganache Pie / Brownie Gooey Bars / Mini Lemon Chess Pies

Speaking of recipes: have you made anything of mine? If you do, instagram or tweet a picture and tag me @crazyforcrust! I’d love to re-share it.

6. This made me laugh for a really long time. In fact, I’m still laughing. {Warning: it talks about periods. So, if you don’t like that sort of thing, don’t click over.}

7. I’m a proud mama. Jordan’s loving her theatre camp. She played the shoe seller in Jackie and the Beanstalk.

And she was in (her first) magazine!

I say her first because she wants to be an actress/model, so I assume there will be more. She was a flower girl in a shoot for Sacramento Bride and Groom, the summer/fall issue.

8. I love my “internet friends” … but I just call them friends.

9. Speaking of my internet friends, here’s what I’m loving around the food-osphere lately:

No Bake Cookies & Cream Meltaways by Lemon Tree Dwelling
Cookie Butter S’more Ice Cream by Bakeaholic Mama
PayDay Crescents by Lemons for Lulu
Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake by Shutterbean
Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars by Averie Cooks
Reese’s Crumble by Oh Sweet Basil

Want to know more of my favorites? Follow me on Pinterest. I pin a lot of dessert!

10. Jordan’s enjoying summer vacation. She’s doing more blogging.

She did the whole shoot…but still hasn’t written a post. 🙂

10. What I’m reading:

The Will Trent Series by Karin Slaughter – I’m totally addicted! I’m actually buying them because I can’t get them from the e-library fast enough. That says a lot – I don’t buy books.
The Giver by Lois Lowry – good, but the ending didn’t impress me.
Inferno by Dan Brown – typical Dan Brown, but good.
Between Sisters by Kristin Hannah – I love all her books.
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold – gut wrenching, heart-breaking, and I couldn’t stop reading it.

Books I can’t wait to read:

Top Secret 21 by Janet Evanovich
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness (the final book in the All Souls Trilogy)
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
Invisible by James Patterson
The One & Only by Emily Griffin
And so many more…

Like, Dessert Mash-Ups: Tasty Two-in-One Treats, out this fall. Oh wait…that’s MY book! I just got the final pass to approve, and we’re still working on the cover. It should be out in September or October!

What are you reading?

11. Since I’ve taken up enough of your time, I’m gonna end it now. But, be sure to come back tomorrow. I’m posting the recipe for this:

You don’t want to miss it. TRUST ME.

Have a great weekend!