I cannot believe today is February 1st! This year is going to fly by. Holy cow. I thought I’d give you a little break from all the food posts this week and share with you our annual photos, this time captured by my talented and new-found friend Keary Dee. I was the worst procrastinator on these… she probably hated me- “Can you pretty please give me a couple photos in time for Christmas? Meaning, like, tomorrow?” Haha. I looooooove taking annual pics with my hubby who I adore so much- it’s so fun to look at your love in pictures. Although, I still think we photograph a little funny. I make funny faces… I have a lazy right eyelid… Deven thinks he finally looks old. Hehe. Thank you, Keary, for creating these beautiful images for us! I can’t wait to photograph you and Justin in the spring. :)

 Denali!

 Christmas card. :)

 Our furry little munchkin!

• personal

This week we’re adapting more and more to our new vegan lifestyle- and we feel GREAT. I finished reading the book “Forks Over Knives” and am now onto “The 30-Day Vegan Challenge.” “Forks Over Knives” (the book) was great- it was about one third educational and two thirds cookbook! Loved all the recipes and can’t wait to try them. “The 30-Day Vegan Challenge” is educational and practical, with recipes all mixed in. At the back of the book she has meal plans for 4 weeks, 7 days a week, 3 meals a day- so helpful if you’re gonna make the switch and have no idea what to cook! I can’t wait to start on them this week.

 Grilled eggplant and portabella mushroom burgers for dinner.

 A tasty little side salad topped with roasted butternut squash, sprouts and pine nuts.

 Edamame quinoa salad- loaded with veggies! Recipe here. I’ve been eating this for lunch for days- the edamame has tons of protein and the salad is packed full of flavor. Maybe a little lighter on the red onion next time, and more edamame.

 Rice Dream chocolate ice cream (made from rice and not dairy) topped with fresh berries. Possibly the best bowl of ice cream I’ve ever eaten! The specialty ice creams are crazy expensive though… may have to eat the berries sans ice cream next time.

 A little trip to the local, family-owned yard for firewood! San Diego’s “weather events” are too funny… you’d think the reporters were facing death by drowning. Alas… our “light sprinkles” only lasted for about 6 hours. :(

Stir-fried and roasted veggies over brown rice from scratch.

 This green drink was delish! Cucumber, kale, apples,  oranges and carrots I think. As long as you add some fruit to it, you can seriously drink any combination of outrageous vegetables! It’s perfectly sweet. I am obsessed with juicing.

Steel-cut oats topped with maple syrup and fresh berries for breakfast.

 Finally made it out to McCain’s Valley- our favorite local riding and camping spot out east- for the day. Got a nice little ride in with some friends.

 Denali got to play with her boyfriend Monty in the dirt! So fun.

 There’s me!

 On Monday hubby had the day off due to aforementioned “light sprinkles”… so we headed up to Julian (our little mountain town) for lunch and an afternoon of rest. And apple pie, of course.

 Tortilla soup! (vegetarian, but not vegan… we’re not perfect!)

 That night we met up with Deven’s dad for Italian food and pizza… we tried our best with the menu but still came home that night feeling crappy and blah! After eating healthy for a few weeks, our bodies were not a big fan of the processed, rich foods. We were craving another green drink for dessert. :)

Until next week!

• personal

Soooo… every couple of months I resolve to blog more personal posts, to add a little depth and personality to my “business”… to share a little more of real life as opposed to formal lifestyle sessions and pretty weddings. Plus, it gives me a lot more to look back on when the year is through. If you count my Christmas/vacation post and our finished fireplace post, then I am successfully (albeit on accident) blogging one personal post a week! So that is the current resolution. :) I just cannot believe that next week is the last week of January… that yet another year is preparing to fly by.

Here’s us at the Supercross season-opener- Anaheim 1. We usually attend the San Diego Supercross with a huge group of friends… it was so fun to attend this one with just the hubby and spend some time with him. :)

 This is how we pull weeds ’round our house… we’re starting on our patio project- the one with the amazing view of the local mountains! Can’t wait to have that finished by the time the nights warm up and enjoy dinner and drinks outdoors. Stay tuned in the “our house project” category.

 Daddy’s little helper.

 Fresh-picked grapefruit from our tree… we’re getting ready to plant a few more citrus to add to our collection.

Okay so here’s the real news. A few months ago, my dear friend Monica recommended that we watch the film “Forks Over Knives.” We finally got around to watching it a few weeks ago and WOW- we are forever changed! The film promotes a plant-based diet as not only the CURE to cancers, heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, but the KEY to living a long, vibrant, active life! I won’t talk your ears off about it… but I definitely recommend you watch it to see for yourself. We watched it on Netflix, and I know it’s available on Hulu as well. It takes some preparation, but we’ve alraedy at least tripled the amount of fruits and veggies we’re eating on a weekly basis- and feel GREAT.

 Vegan chili in the crock pot.

 So I (got a little excited and…) ordered a few books to read from Amazon on the subject. Forks Over Knives, The 30-Day Vegan Challenge and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition. Hey… I’m just getting started. :)

 Vegan mushroom bourguignon.

 Delish!

Grocery shopping at Sprouts. There are so many fruits and veggies to be had! It’s unbelievable… and most Americans probably eat a few apples and bananas a week, plus a side salad with dinner. Our food pyramid is upside down! We should be filling our plates with fruits and veggies (all plant-based foods), and allowing meats and dairy in small portions. Don’t believe me? Then watch another film we did: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

 Ordered a juicer! We purchased the Breville Juice Fountain Plus.

Our first glasses of carrot-apple juice were a success. We are so excited to begin this journey to healthy living, knowing that we can prevent cancer and every disease with the nutrients that God created! Care to join us? Comment below and let me know what you think. :)

Until next week…

• personal

Deven finished our fireplace for me just in time for Christmas! It’s gorgeous! Here are the final phases of construction…

Sanding, painting, caulking…

Ready for stone! He laid it all out on the ground first to measure each piece…

Late nights the week before Christmas!

He is super talented.

Next day: ready for the bottom section.

And here are some pictures I took today of it all finished! All the Christmas decorations are gone. :( So sad.

 It’s so beautiful! My favorite part of our whole house.

 I am so thankful to have such a talented hubby… thank you, Deven, for using your time, talent and effort to build this! I love you. :)

• our house project

Buckle up… this is a HUGE (and awesome, if I may say so myself) post! Last week we ventured aaaaaallll the way up the California coast to Redwood National Park, just 50 miles south of the Oregon border. We departed shortly after sunrise the morning after Christmas (after a long night of cleaning up and packing!). We took the 101 and the 1 for the majority of the drive- a much lengthier route, but well worth the extra time. The California coast is just stunning- especially the further north you get. Our first day we made it as far as Santa Rosa, stopped for the night, then spent the whole next day exploring scenic roads through wine country, winding Redwood forests and crisp, blue coastline. We finally arrived to Redwood National Park late Tuesday afternoon, set up camp in the drizzling weather and prepared to see some of the most beautiful forest California- and the U.S.- has to offer. Keep reading and check out the pictures below! :)

A slice of leftover Christmas for breakfast on the road. :)

Pilot and co-pilot!

Day 1. Our first scenic stop along hwy 1- just north of Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay.

Amazing cliffs.

Our traveling buddies- Kevin and Memory.

So beautiful!