Fun At The Orange County Fair

MH and I joined K&J for some fun at the Orange County Fair and the weather was absolutely perfect for a day outside.

The barn had a bunch of cute little pigs that were just born. I think these little guys were only two weeks old. We also got to see the prize winning sheep, goats, cows, rabbits, birds, and chickens. It was quite the show. The arts and crafts displays were fun to check out too. I picked up a complimentary friendship bracelet kit in the sewing/knitting/weaving area and finished it while we wandered around throughout the day.

A trip to the fair wouldn't be complete without a hearty dose of fried food. I had fried zucchini and check out MH's funnel cake! According to the display, this was the most popular funnel cake choice. The funnel cake came with strawberries, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and whipped cream. When he was carrying this sucker back to our table, everyone's heads were turning to check it out. 

5-4-3-2-1 BUNGEE!!!

MH and I celebrated my birthday by hiking 10 miles and jumping off a bridge. He must be rubbing off on me, because as crazy as it sounds, it was such a fun day!

We woke up at 4:30 AM to meet our guides in the parking lot of the East Fork Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains by 6:00 AM. A hour and a half, and five miles later, we reached the Bridge to Nowhere, and harnessed up for our jumps.

MH signed me up for two jumps, one forward and one backward. Jumping forward reminded me of my diving days and doing a swam dive off of the 3 M board. Jumping backwards was a little more scary. Before the bungee cord stretches, I definitely felt like I was helplessly falling.

MH jumped too and chose to jump backward. Although he says he liked it, I don't think he'll ever feel the need to do it again. I'm so proud of him for managing his fear of heights!

After your adrenaline wears off, you have to hike five miles back to your car. This was probably my least favorite part, but it was still great to be outdoors on a bright sunny day in southern California with my dear husband.

If you're interested in bungee jumping, we definitely recommend going with Bungee America. Our guides, Chris and Tommy, were awesome and made the overall experience fantastic. 

Cherpumple!

I follow a random assortment of blogs and after clicking through a few links I came across this gem! If you are familiar with turducken (turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken) this is the dessert version. A cherpumple is a three layer white, yellow, and spice cake, that is baked with a cherry, pumpkin, and apple inside each layer. Watch the video!

The cherpumple is just one of Charles Phoenix's fantastic creations. On his website (CharlesPhoenix.com) there are more videos of other awesome things. MH and I definitely have some good ideas for any upcoming get togethers. 

Thursday Museum Date Night

MH surprised me with a Thursday museum date night and we went to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA for the Ends of the Earth - Land Art to 1974 exhibit. Unfortunately, we were a little underwhelmed by the exhibit. However, the other exhibit at the museum, Cai Guo-Qiang - Sky Ladder,  took us by surprise. According to the museum, "[k]nown for his explosion projects and gunpowder drawings, Cai's work integrates manual technique and new, highly sophisticated developments in pyrotechnic technology." MH and I normally dislike video pieces in museums and the videos in this exhibit were our favorite pieces there. The exhibit runs until September 3 and we would definitely recommend checking it out. For more information about the Cai Guo-Qiang - Sky Ladder exhibit go HERE.

The Japanese American National Museum neighbors the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and their poster for their Folding Paper - The Infinite Possibilities of Origami exhibit instantly drew us in. The exhibit was one of my favorite museum exhibits I have ever seen and MH and I recommend seeing it even more so than the Cai Guo-Qiang - Sky Ladder exhibit. Every origami piece in the exhibit is amazing. You wouldn't believe what could be made out of a single uncut piece of paper. It was an extremely difficult challenge to abide by the no photography rule but they had video cameras and reminder signs around every corner. The exhibit runs until August 26 and for more information about the Folding Paper - The Infinite Possibilities of Origami exhibit go HERE. 

My Bucket List

I don't have too many things on my bucket list and should work on adding more. For now, here it is in no particular order...

1. Go on an African safari (2011 Adventure aka Our Honeymoon)
2. Go skydiving (Falling With Style)
3. Visit all 7 continents (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, & Australia)
4. See the Northern Lights
5. Go bungee jumping (5-4-3-2-1 BUNGEE!!!)
6. Eat macarons at Pierre Herme's shop in Paris
7. Scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef
8. Catch a fish bigger than me
9. Stay in an over water bungalow on an exotic island
10. Hike half dome
11. Get a M1 license (Shenanigans At The DMV)
12. Fall in love and get married (Wedding Recap)
13. Have children
14. Learn a second language
15. Relearn how to play the piano
16. Experience zero gravity
17. Shoot a gun
18. See whales breaching
19. See the Wave (Sights In The Southwest: Day 5) 
20. See the New Seven Wonders of the world (Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer, Great Wall of China (A Visit To The Motherland), Machi Pichu, Petra, Roman Colosseum, & Taj Mahal)

What is on your bucket list? If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

More Miscellaneous Dachshund Items

I don't think that ALL dachshund products are cute. However, my list of miscellaneous dachshund items seems to be getting longer and longer... 

I had these dachshund cruets and shakers bookmarked for a while and it looks like they are back in stock. I like the cruets better than the shakers but both are adorable.

For more information, you can check them out at Vivaterra: HERE

These dachshund lamps come from the Megasii Design Group in Hong Kong but you can find them at various retail outlets in the US.

For more information, you can check them out at Urban Outfitters: HERE

Jonathan Adler has a bunch of dachshund products available for sale but my favorite are his book ends.

For more information, you can check them out at Jonathan Adler: HERE

Last but not least for today, this dachshund lamp comes from WNcart in Korea. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like you can purchase them outside of Korea.

For more information, you can check it out at WNcart: HERE

Claudia Person Dachshund Plates At West Elm

I have no idea what I would do with these plates, but they are darn cute. I think Hobbs would be the one wearing a fedora and holding a drink.

Fruits Of Our Labor

So maybe planting a garden before you leave for multiple weeks of work travel isn't the best idea. I completely missed our lettuce harvest, our strawberry plants didn't make it, and our crooked neck squash plants caught a disease. However, MH showed me this beauty when I got home!

We have two baby watermelons growing and I can't wait to see how big they can get. Right now they are the size of baseballs.

I wonder if any cantaloupes will grow. The vines look pretty hearty and there have been lots of blossoms but no fruit yet. 

Cherry Picking At Villa Del Sol

Our cherry tree didn't end up bearing fruit this year, so MH and I went to Villa Del Sol in Leona Valley to get our cherry fix. There is something about picking your own fruit that is so fun and relaxing.

We were pleasantly surprised that the trees were still full of cherries that were at their prime to be picked. Tree branches were packed with clusters of cherries that fell off of the stem at the slightest tug.

This year, bing and rainer cherries were available, so we picked a couple pounds of each. They are such a great snack, we've been eating them by the bowl! I doubt we'll have any left to freeze by the end of the week.