The Blog Formally Known As: The Rants and Raves of Miss Tina Fabulous


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Our San Francisco Treat!

Ryan had the opportunity to attend The Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, and being the sweet husband that he is, he bought me a plane ticket to go with him!!

I love love love San Francisco and we had such a good time exploring the city again together. Our adventures began with an early flight, and a bit of a sketchy walk to our hotel... I remember thinking "We're not in Minneapolis anymore, hunny!" We quickly found a great little Thai restaurant in Union Square and then hopped on the bus to explore Golden Gate Park.

I had never been to Golden Gate Park before, which is crazy for how many times I've been to SF. We loved exploring the park and trying to find our way to the Japanese Tea Gardens!


[Gorgeous, right?]


[my cute cute husband]


[gorgeous]


[our toe toes]

[just call us riley]

[love those japanese tea gardens]


[this was a pretty tall bridge/ladder. i think he's scared]


[we make these buildings look tiny]


[redwoods in the middle of the city]

After the Park we headed to Fishermans Warf on the cable cars. We went straight to the Food Market to get us some Crab Chowder in a Bread Bowl. It was sooo amazing. We then checked out some freaks on the street and then went to the Bay Aquarium, which was so cool. Another thing I had never done before in SF. Lots of jelly fish, starfish and sharks! Ryan even faced his fears and touched a sting ray!! I was so Proud


[on the cable car]


[yummy. dinner awaits]


[crab chowder.]

[sting ray. his face is so cute]


[doesn't this remind you of finding nemo?]


[awesome.]

The next day was Sunday, and we wanted to go to church, so we had a quick breakfast outside Starbucks (we got cups of hot water there and made our own hot chocolate and ate the yummy homemade cranberry bread I had brought). Such a great breakfast. Church was awesome, what a great downtown ward. After church we had brunch at The Flaming Omlette. So so good. Then Ryan headed to the Fancy Food Show and I hit the stores!! I was officially a personal shopper that weekend for my Mom and my girlfriend Diana. I can say that I was quite successful!! I am seriously considering making this my new Profession. That night we went to a favorite restaurant E&O Company. The corn fritters and banana spring rolls were amazing!


[Can I just say I love love window storefronts. And I love the ballet.]

Monday began with a quick run in the city. I considered taking a picture of us after the run, but we really were wet rats, so I decided to not do that. Then, Ryan went back to work eating a million samples at his Fancy Food Show and I hit up the BART to meet Miss Linds Fife in Walnut Creek/Danville. I loved getting to spend some quality time with my good friend Linds and going into little Antique Shops and Boutiques. We also went to this great little cafe for lunch where I had the most amazing Butternut Squash Raviolli. This is also where I ran into Miss Jen Lloyd What a small world right? Great to see you, Jen.

Monday night included a long walk up a ridiculously high hill to get to this great Cathedral, and then a stroll through Chinatown to remind Ryan of his Mission Days. Of course we concluded the night with some yummy Korean Food and a delicious crepe from a crepery nearby. Let's just say we ate our way through this city!!

[Just look closely at how steep this hill is!!]


[Doors of the Cathedral]


[Chinatown]


[See no evil...]


[us]


[yummy korean food]

Tuesday morning we had to leave ... but not without having breakfast at Specialty Cafe -- a family favorite for breakfast and lunch and especially the cookies!!

Ryan, thank you baby for a fabulous weekend in one of my favorite cities!!
Merrill Family Goal: EMBRACE Winter!

We all know its COLD in Minnesota, so Ryan and I have been trying to embrace the weather and take advantage of some of the winter-only activities. A few weeks ago, we decided to get out on a Saturday and go Cross Country Skiing. I have to admit, I LOVED IT We had such a great time at Elm Creek Park. For $12/each we were able to rent skis and rock the trails all day long. Check out how much fun we had...

[Don't worry -- this is me stuck on a hill. I never said I was good I just said I had fun.]


[I had just gone down a sweet hill.]




[We may or may not have gotten caught on each other's skis going up a hill...]


[Yup, Definitely caught.]


This one's for Karah.

One of my favorite things about being married and working part time right now is that I have time to cook dinner, and experiment with new recipes and ideas. I made this a few weeks ago-- my first attempt at a Chicken Pot Pie. I have to admit, it was pretty much amazing. Ryan licked his plate clean-- which, I think, means success! I will definitely make this again!



Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Just Call me Smiley Kiley

Things that make me smile: Ryan, The Son, The Sun, coming home to fresh flowers on my mantle, making dinner for my love, finding a really great pair of boots (for my mom!), watching Ryan teach our 9-10 year old church kids, waking up next to Ryan in the middle of the night and saying I love you to him- only to hear him say it back mid-sleep, a great conversation with one of my wonderful friends, funny gchat statuses, coming home to my cute cute home, getting a letter in the mail and especially sending a letter in the mail, the temple, a good hug, anything letter press, Punch Pizza, anything with peanut butter, chocolate, catching a single snowflake, London, making others smile, chocolate chip pancakes, volunteering.

Monday, January 25, 2010

I Know I'm Behind

I promise I'll catch up soon. I've just been so busy loving THIS GUY, that it's taking up all my spare time.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

HUNT FAMILY VACA
Here are some sweet pics from Christmas, New Years and Everything in between. Enjoy!


Christmas Eve
The Dream Team of Scrabble:








Christmas Morning
On the phone with Elder Hunt


Caidence is too cute in her sneakers and beanie get up.


I tried to get a good picture of this cute cute family.


She's already figured out how to hold her bags...


Here we are ... not my best picture!


The whole fam in front of the tree.


These girls are sooo cute.


Roby carving the Prime Rib. Yumm.


The Real Vaca started when we got to St. George. First Stop? Dinosaur Tracks!




Nic loves loves Dinosaurs.


Tyrannosaurus Rex Track!!




Zion was my favorite day trip





The kids had never seen snow before--- they were pretty much obsessed with it!






The views were just breathtaking. I love Zion.