Viva la!!!

Right now, Santa Barbara is in recovery mode. The beginning of this week marked the end of what is always an EPIC celebration in the city of SB. The celebration is called Fiesta. It's a big deal. This is my first summer away from Fiesta in a few years, and to be perfectly honest, I've had a bit of a withdrawal.

While it's pretty clear that almost NO-ONE in Santa Barbara knows why the heck we celebrate Fiesta, with some quick internet research, I myself have just discovered the origins [which I will of course share]. Taking the liberty to summarize, Fiesta is meant to be a celebration of the city's heritage from Spanish founders from the Spanish, Mexican, and North American pioneers who first settled in SB and built the city. Basically, this translates into a week-long party throughout the whole city.

State street shuts down for a HUGE parade that is filled with bizarre and random floats (although the Summer Solstice celebration takes the cake for the craziest parade). The Fiesta parade usually has bunches of people in traditional Mexican costumes, and lots of men riding horses. It's safe to say that one of the horses usually freaks out, and there are often incidents involving spectator injury. No big deal. It's all very entertaining to watch while you're eating street taco's from one of the many vendors.

Did I mention that the entire city of SB is also covered in a layer of confetti during this week as well? There are TONS of people selling confetti filled eggs on the streets. The purpose of these eggs is simply to purchase them, and ultimately smash them onto the heads of your friends and/or complete strangers--henceforth showering them in a blanket of multicolored tiny pieces of paper. From about August-February you'll continue to find confetti in the strangest of places throughout your house and the city. We're talking THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of these eggs. I'm sure the production of these little gems starts the week after Fiesta and goes through the whole year to prepare aggressive and over-zealous egg smashers. To note: any future Fiesta attendee's must be willing to eat some confetti with their traditional Mexican food.

For Fiesta entertainment you can enjoy several carnival-like rides, watch the cutest little Mexican Hat dancers you've ever seen in your life (little girls who are 3 and 4 years old), go to various performances at the Court House, listen to the mariachi bands that are meandering on State Street, and if you're lucky...search and take a picture with the SPIRIT of FIESTA!

It's truly a great week in Santa Barbara. However, it comes with the drawbacks of epically high cover prices to all restaurants and bars, NO available parking, clothing staining confetti, and crazy out-of-towners. I'm sure there's a sigh of relief in SB to have completed another successful Fiesta. I'll make it back one of these years. Maybe I'll apply to be the Spirit of Fiesta 2011. I'm pretty sure that one of the pre-requisites is to be fully Mexican, but maybe I can somehow get around that rule....

TAKE NOTE

If you are thinking about going to visit espressolé coffee shop at 4:00 on a Thursday, be forewarned that there will be a live talk radio blog streaming from the MIDDLE OF THE CAFE. If your plan was to get some good work done in a coffee environment, consider this place a failure at the aforementioned times.

However, the benefits of said talk radio blog are included but not limited to:

- Watching "lookie loo's" take pictures of the Deejay's.

- Getting a wink from a deejay when I kindly pointed out that he had the wrong input channeled on his lav (Thank you Verité Studios. Yah, I learned things)

- Free internet access!! :)

Adventures in Baking

Eventually, at one point in my life, I WILL make a 4-layer cake. QUOTE ME! Countless times for people's birthday's, I've had good intentions about making a beautiful, four layered cake. Naturally, when my mother's birthday rolled around the corner (MAY 01...HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAPSIE!) I was obviously going to go for the big kahuna. I had the random, epiphanic moment of deciding that the cake was going to be coconut cream! Why? No idea. I don't even like coconut very much. Whatever. I thought my mom would like it.

SOOOOO....I looked at a few recipes online and sort of got a gist for the type of ingredients they needed. I obviously failed to write these down, and headed to the grocery without so much as a written, or mental list. (insert a subliminal plea for an iphone). I came home with some random food shenanigans, complete with three limes (they were a great price). I set off to make the cake; mentally combining a few recipes I remember looking at. I have a psuedo problem of making recipes up. This can, at times, be disastrous.

Mistake number 1: Did not take the high altitude into consideration. I mean, even if I had thought to, I would have had no idea what changes to make. Maybe add more flower? Whatever.

Mistake number 2: I used 8 inch cake rounds, rather than 9. Doesn't sound like a big problem, but let me paint you a mental picture of what the cakes looked like. I would say we had about a 2.5 inch vertical from the top of the pan, to the apex of the cake. There was also some additional horizontal cake action that kind of lipped over the pan edges.

Mistake number 3: I apparently, did NOT grease and flour the pans in such a way that would ensure a clean exit from the pan. This was frustrating to me, as I took a painstakingly long time to try and insure the aforementioned. I think the fault lies in the 8 inch rounds, rather than my greasing abilities.

Mistake number 4: After I had finally gotten the cakes out of the pans (I will spare you the details of how cake number 2 literally fell apart in my hands), I didn't want to wait until they were completely cool to start frosting. Result: structure failure.

Mistake number 5: I did NOT make enough frosting. But what can you really expect when you make up a recipe from your mind grapes? I mean, at least it tasted good.

Image number 1:

Image number 2:

Image number 3:

I will say, however, the toasted coconut on top really did an excellent camouflage job to cover the frosting, or lack thereof. All in all I would say it was a roaring success! My favorite was the reaction of Kapsie. "Oh Sarah! My goodness, I love it! It's really quite unique!"

BAHAHAH

Don't question the candle.

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changes...

I'm depressed. It's a good thing. It means I'm one lap closer to the finish line of accepting the fact that I'm moving away from my best friends, my fiance, and beautiful Santa Barbara. I've finally moved away from the denial of this fact, and into the depression of existing in these last few moments in town. (Isn't there a science for this? I feel like there's 12 steps or something to help me better handle this...maybe that's for some other illness....I don't remember) To top it all off, I can't find my journal or my Bible. I'm pretty sure they're packed up in the abyss of my Honda Civic (which by the way, holds an impressive amount of wares!). So here's both my apology and warning, my little bloggy is taking the hit that my journal may have usually absorbed. Cheers to emotions, feelings, and getting it all out on paper, so to speak.

I've lived in Santa Barbara for the last six years. Believe me, I've talked a LOT of smack about this place in those years. I've complained about the constant sunshine, the omnipresence of beach sand during the summer months, ludicrous cover charges downtown during Fiesta (ridiculous!), and a multitude of other things. But when I really get down to my true feelings for this city, I realize my complaints were just a front for what I really feel about this place. I'd like to think I can have my cake and eat it too... I've got a fierce pride for the state of Colorado (Go Buffs!), and I can still be in love with Santa Barbara at the same time. Let me be clear, some of my complaints about this city are LEGIT. To name a few: I lived in a house for three years with rats the size of small cats (MADRONA: a kitchen cabinet that smelled like urine, a bee-hive outside of my window, a hole in the floor of my room, a window that wouldn't shut, and a kitchen sink that sounded like an earthquake every-time it was used), I've been way too close in proximity to out of control wild-fires, and seriously, cover prices during Fiesta are truly silly. But really, I love Santa Barbara. I love the weather, I love the people, the uniqueness of the climate, the beauty of life in the plant world (plant classification: BEST CLASS EVER), and I love the friends I've made here. God has been good to me in this city.

I never thought I'd live in California, I never thought I'd go to Westmont, and I NEVER thought I'd stay in Santa Barbara after I'd graduated. But God's pretty tricky that way, and here I am six years later not wanting to leave. Plus, when I received an opportunity to go and live at casa Madrona with Maddie, the answer was an obvious YES. Going to college here was pretty snazzy, but when I look back at Westmont I am mostly grateful for the friendships I was blessed with while I was at school. Shoutout to the older and wiser mentors in my life who said I would make my best friends at college. I'm not talking "best friends" like high-school buddies, I'm talking about best friends who are lifelong partners in crime; the kind of friend you call in the middle of the night because you're in a crisis; the kind of friend you video chat with in the same room; the kind of friend who will always download the music I want and then email it to me; and the kind of friend who will stick by your side through thick and thin, not judging you for certain events that may or may not have happened at Q's.

I've already had to deal with a few of my best friends moving out of town, curses to you nursing school! But when it comes to the longevity of my friendships here in Santa Barbara, one Madeline Madison "insert any word here for middle name" Jacks takes the cake.

Without releasing too many of my emotions into cyberspace (and also because of the fact that Maddie's already had a healthy dose of it in my going away letter that was riddled with ridiculousness), suffice it to say that one of the hardest reasons for me to leave Santa Barbara was because I would also be leaving my bestie Madison. I realized a few days before I left SB, that for the past four years of my life, I've pretty much seen Maddie everyday. Breakdown moment #1: I wasn't sure if I actually knew how to function without her!

I know that I probably took advantage of my friendship with Maddie, and just how wonderful and amazing she is. After I've been in CO for a couple of weeks, I've had even more time to realize what a pleasure it was to live with a best friend. Maddie, you've seen me at my worst, my ugliest, in the hardest and saddest times of my life...and you've supported me through it all. You've also been a huge part of the best times of my life, some of my happiest and most meaningful. It has been such a blessing to have you in my life. Because you're funny. And you make amazing playlists. And you are always cooking interesting things. You share your clothes with me. You share amazing stories about your office. You know all the shortcuts in Santa Barbara. You have all-time access to blueberries. And the list goes on and on....

I LOVE MADDIE!

QUOTE: sarah c sheets

Who Knew?

I mean really, who knew that registering for wedding gifts was going to be such a challenge? I mean, it's AWESOME, but it's hard! Even though we're still in the middle of the process, I feel as if I have a few little nuggets of wisdom to share. Of course I'm in a position to do this, I'm probably the smartest, most awesome, and most wise newly engaged person on the planet.

Objective: Find places to register

Our Approach: Hey! Crate and Barrel will give us free breakfast if we register there!

The Correct Approach: Perhaps decide on two or three locations where you want to get gifts from, based off of their products, not their incentives. Although I'll admit, Crate and Barrel was a winner for us. Not only did we get free breakfast, but we got the store to ourselves (with other engaged couples), lots of time with the scan gun, (the BRIDAL GUN as they call it!), and some free ridiculous heart shaped champagne flutes. If that doesn't say true love, well then, I'm just not sure what does.

Objective: Outfit your kitchen and home with niceties.

Our Approach: Zero thought, discussion, or research into styles, level of quality, etc.

The Correct Approach: The correct approach would probably be anything but what we did. I would recommend at least a little bit of research. Even the tinniest, wee bit of looking up ideas would be helpful. Thankfully, most locations where you register will give you lists, so you're not completely in the dark as you wanted around with the bridal gun. You'd think this would be helpful right? WRONG. Completely overwhelming. An asparagus steamer? Really Crate and Barrel, really? A trifle dish?!? What is that? I was so thankful to be able to at least check of one item. Toasting Flutes. Yes, we're set on that one. We have these lovely, heart shaped flutes....

Objective: Register with speed and thoughtfulness.

Our Approach: Speed? We don't even know where to begin here!

The Correct Approach: You must allot yourself a generous amount of time here. I mean, generous. Tim and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond (which, by the way, has a completely inordinate amount of items. I mean, Tim and I were staring at a wall of pizza cutters. Seriously, how different can they all be?). Anyway, Tim and I went to Triple B at 7. They close at 9:30. We've got lots of time right? Again, WRONG. Our wedding coordinator, Isaac, took about an hour of our time, showing us pictures of some really ugly dishes and stemware. The only fun part of this was when he demonstrated the strength of a porcelain teacup by SMASHING it against the desk. It did not break for those curious. After we finally straightened out the spelling of Timothy, (yes Isaac, it does have two T's....) we were off with the bridal gun, which weighs in at about 5 lbs. And I was wondering why my arm was sore this morning..... Needless to say, we ended up scanning evereything we could find the last ten minutes, because we had barely made it out of the toaster section of the store; because yes, there is a toaster section. It's these types of decisions that you'd think would be easy to make, but then all of the sudden, you're standing in front of five toasters, and you are suddenly struck with a bout of indecision. Do you make a decision based on price? Toasting ability? Number of toast slots? Stainless Silver or Plastic? Brushed or shiny silver? DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? This whole process is stressful.

Whatever.

We still have one place to register...Pottery Barn. I'm hoping that by the time we make it there, we're going to have this whole process down to a tee. I mean, they're classy at that store. The last thing I want is a ten minute deadline with Tim yelling "Scan! Scan! Scan!" while I frantically look for barcodes and SKU's.

I'm thinking about making a bridal gun/taser combo. That way, the taser part can be used to whip people into shape, force out decisions, and stun Isaac into silence...(and if he's lucky, improve his spelling!)

I found my wedding dress!

I really love it because it has that perfect combination of Sarcophagus/English Wig/Coif look that I was really going for. Talk about a great find. It's couture. Now...I just need to find matching bridesmaid dresses!

2010.......

So. My new year was anticlimactic as always (besides the fact that I had the traditional surf-n-turf dinner with my family, which is AWESOME). We of course partook in the, oh-so-exciting 60 second count-down, getting particularly excited at the ten second mark. then...3.....2.....1........! Oh hey 2010, you feel just like 2009.

FALSE!

2010 felt the same for about 15 hours, after which, things were drastically different. Because....yes.....I'm ENGAGED!!!!

I HAVE ENGAGEMENT

TIM ENGAGED ME

I'M BETROTHED

I HAVE UPCOMING NUPTIALS

I'M TO BE WED

HE PROPOSED

HUZZAH

HUZZAH

HUZZAH!

The sneakster took me completely by surprise and proposed to me on January 1. We were on a hike in Boulder, (a snow hike, a slippery hike, and a cold hike). Mid hike, I stopped to catch my breath and turned around. Because my hands were freezing, I put them in his pockets to warm them up.

BAM

The ring was in there.

I didn't feel it, but Tim kind of unceremoniously ripped my hand out of his pocket, which was a very strange gesture in my eyes. A few seconds later, he dropped to his knee in the snow...and proposed.

The rest is history folks. And no, I won't give you more details. Some things you just keep private. Bahahahahahaha

Post engagement, we went to his house in Boulder where my whole family had come up to celebrate with us! Viki made a delicious feast, and we had the COOLEST cake ever from Whole Foods! Deeeeeelish.

I couldn't be happier, or more blessed. I keep having trouble falling asleep because of how lucky I am. I'm insanely excited to spend the rest of my life with TIMOTHY WILLIAM ERICKSON!

Details to Follow! :)