Epic Weekend Part 2 - Avocado Festival!

So after Keith Urban, we hit the road pretty early to make it back to SB at a decent hour. With only a quick stop at McDonalds (the healthiest of breakfast places), we were home by 9:30 with plenty of the weekend left. Originally planning on watching football with the boys, we decided to mix it up and enjoy the rest of the time we had with Kayla before she headed back to NorCal. Anyone who knows Kayla, knows that she has a spontaneous personality that is pretty contagious. Knowing we had just missed the SB Seafood Festival (such a bummer!), we decided to look up other local food festivals. Lucky for us, we found one:

We headed south to Carp for the day to enjoy the Avocado Festival. We had heard such good things, and were definitely NOT disappointed! Here are some pics of our Sunday adventure:

Started out with some free chips and delicious guac

Round 2: Amazing tacos and guac

 

Reed Avocados (aka my last name)

Our absolute favorite thing that we had was one of Ali's Sweet Avocado pies. Sounds a bit sketch, right? I'd have to agree. To be honest, I am not the hugest avocado fan to begin with. I literally just started liking guacamole a few weeks ago. But even I have to admit, this pie was AMAZING! It was an avocado/lime/cream cheese custard on top of a delicious graham cracker crust. I bought an extra to bring to the boyfriend's parent's house for dinner and it was the perfect not-gonna-make-you-feel-super-fat dessert (we had it with raspberries on top, even better!). If you're ever in Carp, look up this Ali girl and try one of her delicious pies!

PS: A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE OF MY VERY BEST FRIENDS, KACEY! She was one of my first best friends in kindergarden (we car pooled, it was presh), and she is one of the most fun, outgoing, generous, gorgeous and amazing people that I know. I am so lucky to call her my best friend!

Love you Kace!

Epic Weekend Part 1 - Keith Urban

This weekend was SUCH a great weekend. We've been planning on going to the Keith Urban concert since June when I went to my first country concert:

My friend Kristen knew I was a fan of country, so spur of the moment she asked if I'd be down to tag along to a Tim McGraw concert. Of course I was! I had just started working full time and was more than happy to spend $35 on a concert. It was SO much fun, with everyone just drinking beers and dancing the night away. That night Kristen told me that Keith Urban was coming to LA in October, so the plans were put in motion! After having such a great time at Tim McGraw, duhh I was down to see Keith! So I texted these two:

Kayla, Kristi and me

And the four of us starting making our plans. Kristi doesn't even like country, and Kayla was driving all the way from NorCal. That's dedication right there. We booked a hotel so that we could stay the night, and drove down Saturday morning. After a CVS trip, 45 minute Taco Bell detour (yupp, I think we are their most committed customers), and navigating through the confusing one way LA streets, we finally got to our hotel. We got ready while enjoying some Pumpkin Shock Top and other beverages such as this fun creation:

This Captain and Captain creation was Kayla's idea, and there was definitely only one of the three of us who successfully completed this (I was not that person). After getting ready, we headed out for the concert. It was only a 13 minute walk away, and you better believe we were more than stoked to save the money on a taxi. The concert was AMAZING, and take a look at how close our seats were:

Uhh just kidding. It was more something like this:

So awesome, right? Hey, just because Keith was kind of the size of an ant, and Kayla was glued to the arm railing all night in fear that she might fall down the entire stadium, doesn't mean our seats were not amazing! It's the music that counts, right? We already have plans to go to Stagecoach this year, and I can't wait! The perfect weekend only continued on Sunday, but I think this is enough epic-ness for one post. More pics of the weekend to come soon!

Wine, Cheese and A House Update

Let's face it, our house would not be properly broken in without one of our amazing wine and cheese nights. I must say, we have some pretty bomb food at these things. This particular night featured some of the best garlic bread I've had, and an addicting gouda cheese dip from Whole Foods (having a roommate who works there proves to be a huge perk when she comes home with these delicious feasts). We also had some really good cracker, cream cheese, and pepper jelly creations. Sounds a bit odd, but I couldn't pass by the Trader Joes sample station without stocking up (trust me, my roommates thanked me). Add a little bit of Glee and New Girl (SUCH a good show) to the equation, and we had the perfect wine and cheese night in our new house. Here are some pictures:

Our living room, a little more put together

Our gorgeous fireplace!

I can't believe I have my very own fireplace! After my last post, I'll say it again, I'm old and it's weird. Oh well, I'll take being old if it means getting to live in a gorgeous, big house with some of my best friends. Old age, bring it on.

Officially Independent!

So today marks a pretty big day for me; as of today I am officially financially independent from my parents! That also means that I will have some budgeting to do these next few months to start paying for my phone and car insurance, but judging by the fact that I was borderline broke for the majority of college, I think I can make by. Plus, it's pretty exciting that I have my own company discount on my phone bill. (Boy, do I sound old or what? Gross.) Anywho, I figured I could write a blog today about my fam to celebrate me being officially out of the nest (and saving Mom and Dad money on bills every month). I gotta say, I don't think I'd be where I am today without them, so I'm very thankful to have such an amazing, supportive and of course some-what crazy family.

 

There they are: my dad, mom, 6 year old sister and 17 year old brother at my cousin Josh's Bar Mitzvah. In case you can't tell by the fact that my brother, sister and I clearly come from the same genes, my cousin's the one on the far right. This day was right after my last final of college, and I had the greatest time celebrating my cousin's big day with my entire extended family knowing that I had just finished my Bachelor's degree (well, hoping until I saw my final grades!). I just want to say thanks to my family for helping me get to where I am today. I don't know how I got so lucky to have a full-time job in a beautiful place like Santa Barbara, but I do thank my Mom and Dad for providing me with the opportunities that I needed to get here. Here are some more pictures of the amazing (and at times crazy) fam that I love:

 

And to prove the crazy part:

Yeah, my dad's a stripper part time. No big deal. Happy Monday everyone! Off to a softball game with the Designated Drivers.

Sweet HOME Santa Barbara

We finally moved into our gorgeous new house this week! And when I say "we," I mean us and our amazing guy friends who helped with all of the heavy lifting (thanks guys!). The house is perfect for us. Here are some pictures of it fresh after we moved stuff in. As we start unpacking and making it more homey, I'll post updates. 

The front door

The hallway (with Carly!)

My room!

One of the bathrooms

Our living room (the couch and tv are already set up now!)

The kitchen

The DISHWASHER!! (And James!)

The backyard

Me and our amazing dog (Carly's dog) Scooby!!

Our amazing friends/moving crew celebrating the move with pizza and beer!

Another big thanks to everyone that helped us move. You guys are all such amazing friends, and we can't wait to have you over for so many more fun nights!

WE HAVE A HOUSE!

A pest-free house that is! A beautiful, 4 bedroom house with a yard AND a dishwasher! Yupp, that's right, a dishwasher! Everything really must happen for a reason because I could not be more excited to move into this house. After two months of having to deal with this annoying pest issue, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. We are finally going to have a place to call home again. And my friends can come visit me without sleeping on people's couches (shout out to Katie Neal who roughed it with me, what a pal!). Sorry there are no pics, and that this is a super short post. But we move in on Tuesday, so there are plenty of pictures to come!! A special thank you to everyone who let us crash on their couches during this stressful time. You guys are the best! Happy Almost Friday everyone!