A Day in King's Canyon

 Last week we went for a day trip to the awesome King's Canyon to see the giant sequoias. Although they're in our own backyard, neither of us have been since we were kids. I was craving mountain air and hiking. And we kind of pegged it as our Valentine's Day trip. The temperature was perfect and there was only a tiny bit of snow left on the ground. Unfortunately the area known as Cedar Grove  is closed this time of year, so we stayed in Grant Grove. The main attraction there of course, the General Grant Tree. The second largest tree in the world, designated the "Nation's Christmas Tree". It stands 267 feet tall and almost 30 feet in diameter. King's Canyon itself was only the third to be given national park status, after Yosemite and Yellow Stone. With Brooklynn in tow on Dad's back, we spent a lovely day basking in the natural beauty of California.

We stopped at Dunlap Vista headed East on Highway 180.

We started with the Grant Grove Tree Trail. It's more like a walk than a hike, the path is paved and there's some short fencing protecting the trees. It is the most touristy area.

This is the Tennessee Tree.

Centennial Stump. The "California Hoax" =D

The General Grant Tree

Afterward we did the North Grove Loop trail. It was almost 2 miles with a lot of ups and downs. I broke a sweat and it felt so good!

Next was a quarter mile easy trail to get to this beautiful spot where we stopped for lunch.

Panoramic Point 

Our final stop of the day was the Big Stump Loop. 

This tree is truly massive. It was once struck by lightning, taking off at least 20 feet of the upper portion. It is now growing a new top, hence the name, the Resurrection Tree.

Big Stump Meadow. The Site of the Smith-Comstock Mill in the late 1800's.

Mark Twain Stump

The other end of Big Stump Meadow

If you're wondering what the Sequoias feel like, the bark is really soft and feels fuzzy.

Shattered Giant. The trail leads you right across it.

I already miss the mountains and want to go back. <3

Looking forward to camping this summer!

Beef Roast with Parsley Tomato Sauce and Savory Sweet Potato Mash

This recipe comes from  Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis I've always admired Giada for her beauty and her Italian cooking. I am Italian and I find her flavors and style super comforting. I was psyched when my mother in law gifted me this cookbook. Although I've had it for a while, this is the first recipe I've made from the book. It turned out perfectly. I had some of the tomato sauce left even after eating all the leftovers so I used it as a topping for scrambled eggs and it was delish. The book recommends serving the entree with buttered egg noddles. Since I'm still following the Paleo lifestyle the majority of the time, I swapped the noodles for sweet potatoes. Er- yams, whatever you'd like to call them. I'm referring to the pale sweet potato, not the orange variety. I call them sweet potatoes because that's what my mom always called them and that's what they're labeled as at my grocery store. It was recently brought to my attention that others call the pale ones yams and the orange ones sweet potatoes. Call them what you want, this recipe is yummy. 

Beef Roast with Parsley Tomato Sauce 

serves 4 to 6

- 1 (2 - 2 1/2 lb) chuck roast

- sea salt

- black pepper

- 4 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise

- 2 tsp Italian seasoning

- 3 tbsp plus 1/2 cup olive oil

- 1 1/2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley

- 2 garlic cloves

- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1)  Preheat oven to 375* F 

2) Season roast with salt and pepper. Season tomatoes with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. 

3) Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in an oven safe skillet or dutch oven on high heat. Sear beef on all sides until browned. Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, around the roast and place into oven. Roast approximately 30 minutes for medium rare. Remove roast from oven and let the meat rest for 15 minutes before slicing. 

4) While the meat rests, place parsley and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the parsley is finely chopped. Add 3/4 tsp salt, red wine vinegar, and tomatoes and process until pureed. While the  machine is still running, stream in the remaining half cup olive oil.

Simple Savory Sweet Potato Mash

- 2 large sweet potatoes

- 4 whole garlic cloves, peeled

- olive oil

- sea salt

-black pepper

1) Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes.

2) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and garlic cloves. Boil approximately 8 minutes or until tender.

3) Drain potatoes and garlic and transfer to a medium sized bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mash potatoes with a few tablespoons olive oil to get to your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Valentine's Day

     I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day! We sure did! If anyone happened to look at my Instagram then you saw my #heartshaped everything. I had so much fun with it.

     Since Steven had to work the day of Valentine's Day, we went out Friday night. My mom watched the kids and we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Then paid a visit to my dad at the wine bar where he is the chef. 

Sorry for another grainy pic. The front camera on my phone isn't the greatest, especially in low light.

Saturday morning we dove right in to love day, starting with breakfast.

Followed by Valentine's baskets!

Brooklynn gravitated to the chocolate first...

And James to the hotwheels.

Then wanted me to go with him to his room to use the race track. Haha He was getting frustrated with me.

You can see what went into the kid's Valentine's Day baskets in this post.

I threw a basket together for Steven at the last minute on Friday. He's been wanting this shaving set for a while. He loved it.

Van Der Hagen Safety Razor /  Van Der Hagen Luxury Shave Set /  Van Der Hagen Razor Blades / 49ers Vintage Zebra Pants, similar here  

Steven is a die hard San Francisco 49ers fan. His dad used to have pajama pants just like these circa circa the 1980's. We've been eyeing these since the beginning of football season last year. I finally got them on clearance, Score!!

Here's how we spent the rest of our day:

Strawberry Lemonade Hand Pies. I'll share the recipe soon.

These lovebugs are so easy to make. Hot glue a magnet and pom poms to a clothespin. Add googly eyes and pipe cleaner antennas.  Great for holding papers or displaying kid's artwork on the fridge.

Aaaaannnnnddd apparently it's spring because it's been in the 70's and I've been in a tank top and flip flops for the past week. So happy spring from California!! <3

A Very Valentine-y Weekend Part 2

     Sunday we continued right on with the fun. We started by making silly hats.  Again I let them decorate strips of construction paper with crayons and stickers.

It's so hard to get these two to stay still for a posed shot!

It was a sweatpants kind of day.

During nap time, I assembled their Valentine's Day baskets. Just fun little things.

The Little Mermaid / Potty Time!

Cars the Movie / The Biggest Kiss

They're going to love it!

We finished off the day with a sweet jello treat.

Happy Valentine Week!