tastes of california

okay. so i really don't even have time to post this, seeing as i'm taking off to thailand tonight and haven't even started packing yet...who does that? not abby, that's for sure. and it's not like anyone actually even reads this...but i have such pretty pictures of delicious food that i want to share...with myself...before i leavee!

exhibit one: woodranch

bbq chicken chopped salad. i simply will not order this salad from any other restaurant besides woodranch. it would only be a disappointment to this beauty. topped off with the infamous ww bbq sauce

exhibit two: coffee bean & tea leaf

who uses a $40 gift card to cb in one week? jamie does. [= many hours of studying]

i have not once ordered a drink < the large size.

exhibit three: trader joes

it's meals like this that literally get me depressed by the fact that i live so far away from tj while going to school in utah. $3.99 for this? ohh too delishh.

i did my best to stock up on some good bars in case i ever get sick of my thai curry this summer...not likely :]

but i will still devour these, no doubt--my goal is at least to get through a couple weeks w/out eating it all!

exhibit four: bfast at home!

my roomates are witnesses of my cereal addiction. it truly is my weakness. i eat it almost every morning for breakfast && love buying new kinds to match with my delish soy milk! however, when i get home. the variety overwhelms me and i often eat multiple bowls after my morning run. that crunchy corn bran is honestly one of my favs. i had a small bowl this morning and then decided i wanted to make use of my family's dormant vita mix! so, i did just that. vanilla, banana, peanut butter smoothie! thank you, once again, trader joes.

ingredients + frozen bananas, obvi!

side note: i cut my hair!

if you're like my best friends, dad, mom, older sister, brother, etc--you probably notice no difference. but, mind you, that's 5 inches less hair than before! proof:

i always freak out a little bit when i cut it because it feels so short to me! but then i get home and no one even seems to notice. the noticers of this cut go to little sister, stephanie && my soni mother, sharmila! but heyy, can't you see how tiny that ponytail is to the right?! i just love baby pony tails. i always love when my roomates put their short hair up with that cute bouncy pony. i would consider cutting my hair short solely to have a cute pony--so if you have short hair, i highly advise you to show off your cute pony tail!

anywaysss! i really must be going now. i have an extraordinarily long wednesday. i slept two hours last night && still have all my packing to do! my flight leave LAX at midnight, goes to Hong Kong, then to Bangkok, then to Chiang Rai! over 25 hours of traveling. i'll get there in the evening on the 6th.

dear tylenor pm, please let me pass out on the plane.

soooo, i don't know if i'll really update on this blog over the summer--maybe i'll throw out a few pics of some delish curry! but, the majority of my posting will be on jamiesjournie.blogspot.com

so, follow me on my journey! much love <3 

234 days till christmas!

easter & sunshine

my easter morning was the traditional one and started out w/ easter baskets && church!

my easter duck, treating me well since the early 90's

win. check out that peanut butter fill ! mmm..

at church, my little sister questioned the plethora of hair ties on my wrist. i truly do not know how i accumulate so many throughout the day/week, but it's not unusual to have 3-5 on at a once. i told her that the gray and blue one were being worn to be stretched out. new hair ties only wrap around my monstrous pony tail twice, it takes some stretching to secure a pony tail with three wraps. steph immediately replied by saying, "hymn books are perfect for stretching hair ties!"

she was right. it was the most use i've made out of a hymn book for quite some time! it also spared my wrist some pain, as illustrated in the pic

after church, we headed home && had the infamous, EASTER MORNING FRENCH TOAST!

though we usually have this first thing in the morning, we did it after church so that ryan, nicole, && my best, julianne, could join us. this is something that i've been looking forward to for the past three years since i've missed easter w/ the fam since moving to utah. pictures cannot even capture the goodness.

before the baking: french bread soaked in secret goodness overnight w/ brown sugar, pecan, goodness crumbled on the top

this is mel wishing he could have some

&& this is me excited for it!

it didn't disappoint. i had multiple helpings.

our easter was also spent doing some belated celebrating for ryan's bday! i decided to make his fav, peppermint oreo ice cream cake. good thing we keep a good supply of trader joe's seasonal candy cane joe-joe's!

[i spy a ddp]

i cannot even describe all the food i devoured all day long. everything was ohhh soo good. i told abby that the next morning on my run i felt as if i were trapped inside of an elephant's body. i may have formed a new fault line on moopark's tierra rejada rd.

i've been enjoying the california sun tremendously. it's nice to get up and go on a run without shivering when i step outside. i even joined christie on a hike yesterday afternoon before looking at her soon-to-be new house in westlake! before checking out the house, though, we had to cool down w/ some coffee bean. after we got our cb & caffeine fix, we got through the security to see her house. they don't mess around there. though they have lots to do before they move in, the place it going to be amazing! i'm so excited for them!

check out her new backyard.
apparently bon jovi lives across the street canal. the neighbors said he throws some pretty good parties. i'll be looking forward to that when i return from thailand && they're all moved in.

today steph joined me for lunch at jersey mike's && the camarillo outlets!

i got the wristlet i wanted for my trip && this cute j crew headband! and obvi, had to stop at cb since it was practically on the wayy.

though i love my subway, this fresh joint is quite the treat when i come home. they slice the meat & cheese right before your very eyes. we shared a giant numbaa 7--turkey & provolone cheese!

i had to ask for extra onions on my side of the sandwich. it wasn't enough between the turkey & lettuce, so i asked for more on top of the tomatoes. it still could have used more...but still delish!

my only complaint with jersey mike's is their pepsi products. but don't worry, i came prepared...

roadtrippin

 so. i survived finals! yayy, me. the moment following, i headed to my apartment and started packing. i took a car load to the nana's and we enjoyed a celebration/goodbye dinner at our favorite restaurant, pf changs, and got the traditional lettuce wraps, asparagus, and eggplant. it was the best!

i then did the rest of my packing and cleaning of the apartment thursday night up until about 2 am. i woke up about 6:30 and finished the rest of my cleaning, checked out with my apartment, checked out w/ HELP and then i was on the road to california for a long, solo, roadtrip!

last night in fleur-de-lis, two ohh three--like the emptiness & cleaning supplies?

around one 'o clock, i took off and did my best not to fall asleep after the long week of finals and packing.

my fav part of the drive--canyon through az

kiersti's family was kind enough to let me crash at their place for the night, even though they were away on a trip in california! so, i got this lovely setup to clean up, eat, and rest in vegas for the night :]

i made myself at home in kiersti's room (note the buddha statue) && i was able to finish a paper and write some letters before i passed out at 10 o'clock...but before passing out,

kiersti told me that this treasure was hiding in the garage freezer, so i took her advice and had some for dessert :]

when i woke up, the first thing i thought about was that i was in the same city as a coffee bean location. so, naturally...i make a quick stop before getting on the road again

however, it should be noted that this was not a quick stop--this is the cb in the pallazo on the vegas strip.  it took me over an hour trying to find exactly where it was, find parking (in which i finally parked illegally in employee parking), navigate through the casino, and finally finding my haven. only to wait in line for another 10 minutes.

$6.43 later, i had my iced english breakfast tea latte...it was all worth it

many of you may be familiar with my history with this deserted place, the "town" of baker.

a couple years ago when i made the journey from home to utah...my transmission decided to die and i became stranded a few miles out of baker. only to be towed back and stuck in the taco bell/gas station for a total of 13 hours waiting for superdad to come to the rescue. at least they had the giant thermometer to get me posted on the weather, right?

clearly, i made it to california...where else would you see these gas prices?
in provo i filled up at $3.50/ gallon, the price steadily climbed with each passing city.

this was my attempt to capture "the bumpy road" growing up, this was always a point of reference on our drive. i always thought it was the funnest part, because sometimes you would lose your stomach on the dips like when you're on a roller coaster! my sister, steph, however, didn't care too much for it...she always got sick. and usually threw up. nonetheless, pearblossom rd brings back many childhood memories.

 676 miles later, i reached my exit

home sweet home!

here's the route of the whole trip! didn't look at this until after i arrived home. i wanted to challenge myself to see if i could make it home w/ no directions or map. turns out, i can--lucky i've become very familiar with the LA freeways

happy easter, everyone! easter post soon to come :]

b & n

"I have seen that girl studying more, in this store alone, than I ever studied in my whole college career of eight years..."

--this is what i hear the manager tell the barista at the cafe as i sit at my regular table with my head buried in my social psychology book at barnes & noble, my home away from home. 

i pretend not to hear.

moments later he comes up to me, asks the typical questions that every college student gets (where do you go to school? what are you studying? when will you be done? what are your career plans? etc.) he then condones me for my work ethic and expresses his disbelief for how much i study...i think it was more of a, "this girl is a freak" disbelief rather than a, "wow this girl is incredible" disbelief. regardless, i smile, give a "...thanks?" kind of response, and return to my studying for a few more hours before i pack up my books and head to my apartment to begin yet another study sesh.

like the picture? you have now seen the world behind the eyes of jamie.

barnes & noble is a favorite study spot, as clearly evidenced. nothing tops studying at the cafe in my all time favorite bookstore (unless, of course, the cafe was coffee bean instead of starbucks). this barnes & noble obsession started early in life, and heightened once i received my license at 16 when i could then drive myself there. needless to say, i used a great amount of gas driving about 20 miles to the nearest location in westlake. well worth the drive and gas, though. every time.

the only complaint that i have with b&n is the operating hours: 9am-10pm...is it too much to ask that a bookstore be open 24/7 so i can study there at any hours of the night? pleeeeasee?

i'm progressively making my way through finals. four down, two to go + one more paper--all to be finished by wednesday so that i still have time to visit the nana before i leave and pack up all my belongings in the apartment to be one step closer to my move to thailand for the summer.

i simply can't wait for this to be over so that i can go to b&n and read a book that isn't assigned for me to read! now that, sounds heavenly <3