while in vegas

it's been a bit of a dry spell on the baking front here, cooking dinner is a frequent task but without a stocked pantry of ingredients i've found myself "not being bothered" baking anything fun or yummy! with PJ in vegas this weekend (and a loaf dish lent to me by Karey) i decided to bake this Blueberry Banana Walnut Loaf i've been meaning to make for weeks!

check out the sweet as apron PJ got me in El Savador

terrible photos due to the fact that i couldn't wait to consume a good couple of slices straight out of the oven..the smell made it irresistible! this was amazing and really simple, AND full of nutrition..i actually only added half the sugar as the bananas are already pretty sweet..all and all a great training snack :)

the rest of the weekend was spent eating the above loaf plus shopping, watching rugby and catching up with my kiwi mates, Bron and Jugs. So many laughs!!

I also spent some quality time with Karey, sipping on my favourite Lavender Lemonade Mimosa's at The Point Cafe and doing some shopping at my favourite OB stores..

karey needed a skirt as she had over-dressed for the beautiful beach weather in OB...

and i wish i needed these shorts..i had no excuse to buy them other than that they were cute. 

after some retail therapy we looked around the antique stores in OB in search for a new bed side table. my bed is still without a side-kick. hoping for better luck next time. 

hope you all had a great weekend too...whether it be in Vegas, on the beach or in the mountains! 

xx

ANZAC Day

Today in New Zealand it is ANZAC day. A national day of remembrance for World War 1 soldiers.
As I cannot be there to pay my respects, I am spending my lunch hour respecting some kiwi traditions, drinking a beer and eating fish and chips with my kiwi girl Josie.

Thinking of all those who fought today. x

mini lobster

last weekend, amongst all the concerts and playing around, i got to experience my first ever Crawfish Boil! A southern tradition which has migrated its way out west courtesy of a few Texans (Lane and others). I was forewarned about how amazing (and messy) it was going to be. Both expectations were met. This is how the afternoon proceeded....

take crawfish..add to boiling water..

..season..

..dump on paper on a communal table..

..roll up your sleeves and dig in..

this little one tried to get away. sorry mate, you ended up in my belly! I think he was tired from the Crawfish racing he did earlier. 

to me these look like mini lobster, but taste slightly different. the work you put into getting out the little bit of meat is well worth it! already looking forward to getting my hands messy at the next boil!

this is totally irrelevant to crawfish...except that they live in water...i just wanted to brag about the fact i live by the beach and on Tuesday i had my first beach day for the year :) got to make the most of these before i head back home to winter and miss two months of beautiful summer! but who needs sun when you have family huh!?...CAN'T WAIT!!!

pick the venue. il be there.

this past week has been busy with 'events'..dinner parties, concerts, meetings..much to keep me busy, sleep deprived and make those morning training sessions just a tad brutal. BUT it's always worth it because you only have one life to enjoy these things. get amongst it :)

every once in a while it feels necessary to surround yourself by kiwi's, get back to your roots and dance your face off. Wednesday was one of those days...and wednesday night Katchafire played at House of Blues. Good timing huh!?
House of Blues is a venue downtown that reminds me a lot of the small venues that i use to go see bands at in Dunedin. It was an awsome set-up and the music was kind of all right too ;)
A crew of us started our night at Raglan, proceeded to Bare Back Grill downtown then made our way to the front of the stage at House of Blues.

me and josie rocking out

saxophone solo

I really enjoyed the little slice of home and dancing my face of with other kiwi's and a few kiwi wannabes (i don't blame them, were pretty cool)

Katchafire - Get Away

after all this playing around with kiwi's i thought i should also pay some respect to the country i now live..so i put on cowboy boots and spent Friday tailgating and partying in the rain and storm at Zac Brown Band!

san diego thought it should test the quality of the cowboy boots by giving us puddles and mud to jump around in! we got thunderstorms and pouring rain to enjoy the outdoor concert in...it was SOOO MUCH FUN!! 

 

view from our 'pit' tickets

Zac Brown - Toes

next up...we're listening to the Dalai Lama speak this Thursday!!!

Happy Monday

xx

easter weekend

although i do miss frantically searching for easter eggs around my home in new zealand (because surely if you don't find them RIGHT AWAY they dissappear, right!?), my easter in san diego this year was very relaxing and fun! The weather was perfect, the beers were cold and the orchard crew re-untied for a sunday funday once again!
friday afternoon i decided that i couldn't have easter without baking hot cross buns! i got my mum's recipe and introduced the american's to some kiwi tradition (as surprisingly they had no idea what hot cross buns were!?!)

me and PJ making the crosses

the buns rising in the sun

buns baked and ready to eat!

on saturday i finally made my way to The Little Italy Farmer's Market! Can't believe i haven't made it there until now! It's the best farmer's market iv been to in America to date, sooo many stalls of fresh vegetables, pastries, fruit and other goodies (it also helped it was 80degrees and sunny :) i wandered the street and bought a bunch of fresh vegetables to cook at home, and also made sure to do my fair share of 'sampling'..think ill be going back next week to purchase a white chocolate peanut butter made by a local..it was incredibly delicious! 

and when i thought america didn't know about hot cross buns..here i found them (but they were made by europeans :)

after the farmer's market PJ and I headed to brunch at The Point Cafe...best mimosa iv ever had, Champagne with Lavender Lemonade mmmm

after much relaxing in the sun we headed to Shout House downtown with friends for a evening out! we had an awsome time and ejoyed plenty of laughing with the dueling piano's, it capped off a great saturday!!

a morning long run to Cabrillo Monument and work filled up my sunday until i met up with the orchard crew for the end of our BBQ and drinks by the ocean! All and all a perfect Easter weekend (even minus the easter egg hunt) 

Hope you all had a great weekend too!

xx

little things from today

today i thought i may share some random things that have me smiling a bright little smile today.

#1 KNOWING I'M GOING HOME AND SEEING MY FAMILY SOON

#2 My memories of childhood, brought about by this song: Mr Smurftastic. The coolest tape i ever owned. 

#3 the discovery of this website featuring photos from a street artist - Roadsworth

#4 remembering i'm going to see Katchafire next wednesday at The House of Blues in San Diego..get a taste of their beats here

#5 reading this quote:

"The present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. " - Daily Garnish

#6 I'm Paula Whiting. It's a pretty sweet life ;)

xx

carlsbad5000

Life is short. Do the things that make you happy.

And so i shall continue to run... because running makes me happy. and a happy paula is a much more fun paula to be around. im thinking of you. 

this weekend i spent most of sunday at the Carlsbad 5000. being back in the scene has got me excited to get back racing. my body needed this time to heal and refresh after the hard yards put in during my time at Tulsa, but now I'm ready to run...and i just re-stoked my jar with chia seeds. things are getting serious.

 

the local hang out spot..

where all the cool kids hang out. i should probably be in that photo. 

coach Jon. coaching. 

training buddies #1 and #2. we dont go by names. much too personal. 

#3 on his way to a 5k PR!!!

#4 after winning the 20-29 5k!!

the whole crew did awsome all placing in the top 10 in their respective races. it was a great day to be out in the sun...watching...just kidding. I'm excited for my debut back in the racing scene. after i get my arse whipped into shape by training buddies #1, 2 and 3. 

i better start eating my chia seeds.