And then I decided we needed a chair. And new fabric for our bulletin board. And a quick organization project turned into a thrifting and JoAnns trip. I found an armchair that can only be described as “ugly cute” in a bright orange microsuede and some cheery fabric to brighten up our bulletin board.

I absolute adore the room now! It’s so fun! I really want to kick myself for not doing something earlier about the disarray. Now our office is somewhere I actually like to be. I’m pretty stoked too because my mom is letting me borrow her sewing machine so that I can take part in Home Ec. So now our office will be full of (hopefully!) cute little sewing projects (or possibly an exorbitant amount of cursing.. because me and sewing? not the greatest combination, but I’m determined to learn!).

One thing I quickly realized was that we were among the youngest in the bunch. But we had to see at least one Beatle play this summer. So geriatric crowd or not, it was a good opportunity to check one Beatle off our list. Also all the older people in the crowd sure put my dance moves to shame. For real.

We started with dinner at one of the winery’s restaurants. It was such a gorgeous setting. You have this amazing view of the bay. I’d love to rewind at have our wedding there. Do over please?

Blog Update: I redesigned the site a bit. Once again just trying to motivate myself to post more often. Usually I go through highs and lows with my motivation to share my life with the interwebs. Lately I haven’t had to time or brainpower to think of topics and put those thoughts into action. I make no promises, but here’s to improvement.

There are some things in life that you do, and you just KNOW that in the moment, it sucks, but it will be something you look back on in a rosy light. For me, that has included any and every morning swim practice I went to in high school, any trip to Disneyland, our honeymoon in France, and this past weekend.

Friday night I was immensely nervous, mainly about what time I had to set my alarm for the morning. I was envisioning exhaustion, freezing temperatures, blistered feet, and much crying. I’m quite the optimist.

That morning came, and I got dressed, gathered all my gear, and Cale and I hit the road towards San Francisco. In case you haven’t been up at 4:30am recently, IT IS STILL DARK OUTSIDE. Wah. We got to the location, and I stared at all the people around me who were so excited. The excitement I would expect from a fabulous shoe sale. Clearly, I have different priorities. Once the rest of the team got there, I started to buzz off everyone else’s excitement. Then there was the opening ceremony where I fought off any tears (heart of ice here), and before we knew it, we were walking.

And walking.

And walking across the bridge!

And more walking through adorable Sausalito where I dreamed of raising an adorable family of six blond-haired children in a water front cottage. Seriously, that’s a dream location.

And then up a huge hill and back across the bridge. Then there was walking through the city. And more walking. Seriously this may seem boring to read, but I’m talking about walking from 7am to 5pm. All walking. And stopping at rest stops for water and snacks. Then walking again.

Towards the end of day one, we were all amazed with how well we were feeling. That is until we got to mile 25. The mile that would never end. The mile with the million hills. The up and down and OMG my knees. The one that broke us down. Because we knew we should be done! Eventually, we finally crossed the finish line on Day one, and it felt amazing. Indescribably amazing. That is, until we still had to walk places. You mean, this did not include dinner in bed and a bedpan? Everyone at dinner was talking about how they GPSed the route and it was actually 29 miles. Did you read that? They added on another 2.8 miles. You know, just a little bit more…

The second day feels like a blur to me. We marveled at how well we felt the next morning. My ankle was just slightly sore, but otherwise, I felt fine! Throughout the 13.1 half marathon, my legs got progressively sorer, but I just kept in mind that in just a few short hours I could be in the car on the way home. Crossing that last finish line, the feeling of accomplishment was almost crippling. The weekend was such a mental challenge, more so than physical. Those moments during the walk where you felt your worst, you would come upon a cheering station. There were some cheering stations during the second day that just overwhelmed me with so much emotion that I was holding back tears. The feeling of exhaustion, accomplishment, and overall love from everyone around was unparalleled.

Now being three days post-walk, I feel so positive about the whole experience. I’m glad it’s behind me, and I’m glad I was able to be a part of something so very large. Over $5.5 million was raised through the SF walk. That is amazing. I’m so thankful for all those who donated towards my walk, and that my fundraising efforts will go towards finding a cure and towards helping someone who has been diagnosed with this disease but who may not be able to afford the medical help they need. Seeing the massive amount of people walking in honor of a loved one makes it so clear how important this cause is.

photo credit for last picture goes to my teammate’s husband Chad. High five!

Sunday I’m walking 13.1 miles.

Tonight I want to go hide.

Wish me luck.

Also, why do all these events have to start so early in the morning? Do you have to be a morning person to be all healthy and fun? Apparently.

Hazy morning by powi

Thanks again for all your support. Winners, please remember to email me back with your address so I can get these into the mail.

Today is the last day of my Avon Walk raffle. I’m $50 away from my goal! just ten $5 donations or five $10 donations and I’m at a total of $1,800 raised for breast cancer research. If you donate by midnight tonight, you are entered into the BLOGGERS HEART BOOBIES raffle where I’m giving away four separate prizes, including a $50 GAP gift card and various etsy goodies.

Donate and I’ll love you forever Click here to go to my donation page.

Morgan at Mrs. Priss donated one of her fabulous hair pins (in pink of course!) and flower rings from her shop Little Lovelies. Those flower rings have to be one of my favorite rings to wear. Especially during summer. I’m so excited to give it away. This prize, being a special addition to the giveaway goes to the person who tips me over the $1,800 mark. I’m less than $100 away! It will happen soon!

To enter, you must donate towards the Avon Foundation through my donation page here: Steph Corwin’s Avon Walk. When donating, please make sure to include your email address so that I can contact the winners.

Only three days left to enter!

For our three year anniversary, Cale and I decided it might be nice to cook dinner together. This might sound pathetic to some, but considering how often we go out to eat or just throw something quick together for dinner, the thought of planning and executing a dinner seemed like a “fancy” idea. We actually do well when we cook together, and we only step on each other’s toes every once and a while.

When thinking of what we wanted to make, all I could think about was Spinach and Artichoke dip. Well, that certainly does not count as a meal. So I hit up Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen for some “spinach and artichoke” searches. During which I found a spinach and artichoke pasta. Perfect! Except for when I read one word: mayonnaise. Mayo in pasta? Gross. (I’m not a fan of mayo in general.. except for certain occasions: egg/macaroni/pasta salads and only sparingly). So I did a search for alfredo sauce and decided to make a hybrid of the two recipes.

Spinach, Artichoke, and ALFREDO (not mayo!) Pasta

Los Ingredients

• 1 pound Small Pasta (we used whole wheat rotini)
• ½ cups Butter
• 1 whole Small Onion (or 1/2 Medium), Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
• ½ teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1 cup Milk
• ¼ cups Flour
• ¾ cups Parmesan Cheese
• 6 ounces, weight Fontina Cheese, Shredded
• 1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 6-ounce jars of Artichoke Hearts, Chopped
• Several handfuls of fresh Chopped Spinach (be liberal since this cooks down)

How to Cook (I had a glass of wine at this point.. so it might not be exact)

Boil pasta in heavily salted water until al dente.

While that’s going: Melt butter over low heat. Add onions, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder and stir well. Cook until translucent, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Gradually blend in milk, stirring constantly. Add flour and stir until it thickens. Stir in Parmesan and Fontina cheeses, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste, and stir until cheese has melted. Once the cheese becomes melted and creamy, add the spinach and artichokes and mix well. Let this simmer a minute until spinach cooks. Once pasta is ready, add to sauce and mix until pasta is coated. Serve and enjoy!

We sat down with this and could not get over how good a job we did! Luckily we had plenty of leftovers for the next day’s lunch (served cold it was still so yummy) and the follow day’s dinner (warm round 2!).

I’m now obsessed with artichoke hearts, so please share any favorite artichoke recipes!

In case you missed it yesterday, I’m hosting a raffle: BLOGGERS HEART BOOBIES!. Please go and check it out! I have plenty of prizes to give away!