Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures in an Airstream Basecamp

This morning, I was startled awake by the sound of Pica and Biscuit barking. They bark at everyone, including us, but at just after 7am, I should have been home alone. Sexy Nerd would have been at work for almost an hour by then and our dogs normally sleep until I get up. Panic? You betcha! I bolted out of bed and double checked that the bedroom door was locked (because, you know, those little twisty doorknob locks would really slow someone down.) I heard the garage door open, then close, and the dogs were silent. For a moment, I wondered if maybe it had been Sexy Nerd. Could he have gone into work late because he was setting up some grand Valentine's Day surprise? Today is our 10th Valentine's Day together, after all. Based on previous Valentine's Days though (unromantic Valentine's Day here and here ), it seemed unlikely. I crept cautiously down the stairs. Pica and Biscuit were asleep. Nothing looked out of place. I couldn't see any romantic Valentine...

We're home from vacation! Three days back into my normal routine, there are already four cruise tabs open on my computer. I'm thinking we need to try Celebrity. While waiting for our flight from Fort Lauderdale to Denver, I decided to munch on a fortune cookie that I'd been saving in my pocket. I had just checked my luggage in with Southwest.

When it comes to planning a vacation, Sexy Nerd and I aren't always on the same page. I enjoy things like farmer's markets, antique stores, and botanical gardens. When dreaming of a trip to California, Sexy Nerd shot down all of these activities as being "boring". Disneyland, the San Diego Zoo, and Universal Studios were also considered borderline boring. The beach? "Boring." California Adventure? "Boring." I googled California tourist attractions for nerds. The La Brea Tar Pits came up - perfect! Sexy Nerd was intrigued. His response to this suggestion? "Do you actually get to see the tar?"  Photo from the La Brea Tar Pits site - family fun at its best! *Bonus Sexy Nerd Story Below - Lucky You* The Overachiever Sexy Nerd has enrolled in a second Master's degree program. All I have is my measly Bachelors. This isn't the overachiever part though. He's going to get a jump st...

Sexy Nerd started 2013 in his typical way. He cooked up potatoes and a few green chile burritos for breakfast this morning. It smelled delicious and it seemed like a nice way to begin the new year. Then, he asked me if I wanted any. It's just his way . A bit later, (you know, after serving up my own breakfast) I turned on my computer and pulled up my To Do list. Here it was, as of last night: Pack for cruises Clean house Email cruise lines re: blog post Check into cruises. Can I register w NCL yet? Need to call? Download maps to Nexus This morning, I was startled to see that my list had more than doubled in length. Perhaps I'd partied a little too hard on New Year's Eve? I didn't remember adding anything new. Plus, Sexy Nerd and I are old souls, so you know we were both asleep by 9pm on New Year's Eve. Here is my new '2013 To Do' list. See if you can guess who updated it. Get Freaky with S...

Sexy Nerd and I are so super smart. You see, with a mere 1 weekend to go before our house guests arrive for Thanksgiving, we had the genius idea to completely redo our upstairs flooring. Super smart! Now, with less than 24 hours before our company arrives, here is guest bedroom #1: You don't even want to see guest bedroom #2! What's that, you say? At least the new flooring is done? Ha! Sexy Nerd worked to a certain point, then decided to pile the already cut up/mangled/destroyed old carpet back onto the floor in several, duct-taped layers. I wish I were joking. Oh, and that damn green dolly has made its way back into the house. It's just going to sit in our loft, being a jerk, until I move it back into the garage. That's how the green dolly is. Very inconsiderate! Sexy Nerd put cardboard underneath his carpet layers. I don't know why. Speaking of jerks, check out what happened to the old carpet padding that was waiting to be loaded into Sex...

This story begins simply enough. I made macaroni and cheese for dinner. The leftovers were boxed up for a future meal. With the addition of bacon, green chile, and a handful of cheddar, the macaroni and cheese was especially delicious. This looks like a tasty bowl of cheesy goodness, right? WRONG! Sexy Nerd removed the container of leftovers from the fridge, twirled it around, and exclaimed "YUCK!" Yuck?! "You can have the rest of this," he said, now laughing. Do you see the problem yet? Food fail! It was all one piece, I swear.

Sometimes, I wonder if instead of trying to get a grip on my social anxiety , I should perhaps embrace it wholeheartedly. The man at the Royal Garden Inn front desk was quite friendly, chatting with Sexy Nerd and helping us get settled in Waikiki.  He asked if we've been to Oahu before and Sexy Nerd said yes, about 5 years ago, to get married. The conversation and check-in process continued. Hotel Clerk, looking at me and talking to Sexy Nerd: Well, since you've been to Hawaii before, you can show her around the island. Sexy Nerd: She's been here before too. *Awkward Pause* That's who I married. And there I was, my mind flooded with thoughts along the lines of "DUH!" Out on the Royal Garden Inn balcony, my hand to my forehead as I recall that bizarre social interaction.

Day 2 in Perth, WA Heard a concerning sound while eating my cinnamon raisin toast for breakfast this morning. Birds here sound like car alarms and laughing monkeys, but it didn't quite seem like a bird. Was it Lucy, the dog? Was something wrong with her? Whatever could it be?? Actually, it was my Seychellois grandpa ("Papa") singing in the shower. Sexy Nerd also pointed out to me that Papa's ears wiggle when he talks. Bizarre!

It has become clear that designing and building our dream home is going to cause a bit of stress on our relationship. I showed Sexy Nerd the following photo: Not too shabby, right? Our real-life view on our 13.1 acre lot in the New Mexico mountains isn't going to include any other houses. This seems like a realistic idea to me. Sexy Nerd, however, says that my dream balcony is "not being practical and would never fit into our budget". Yesterday, he caught a glimpse of a photo I had liked on Pinterest . "Send that to me!" he said. I rolled my eyes. "Really," he insisted. "I'm going to incorporate that into our house design." The photo? Really, Sexy Nerd? Really?

Because some days, random is the best you can hope for. Sexy Nerd is watching Swamp Loggers. Half the words are bleeped out and you can't understand the other half. At least Shelby's dog, Willy, is pretty cute. Part of my job involves answering the phone for a law firm. I could not get a caller off the phone yesterday. I kept telling him that I just answer the phone and am not even in the same office as the law firm - strictly an answering service with no legal experience whatsoever - but he kept insisting that I give him legal advice! Want my advice? Leave your number and wait to get legal conseling from an actual lawyer! Our Memorial Day trip has come and gone. Next up? Australia! I'm researching airfare in between posting this weekend's linky party. The prices....OUCH! I'm awfully tempted to scrap the whole Australia thing and just take another fun road trip instead. For the price of this vacation, we could even upgrade to a nicer road trip ca...

Working in a children’s dental office, I’m often forced into an uncomfortable front-row seat for spouse bashing. The other day, a mom and dad were trying to schedule a filling for their 2 year old. I suggested a possible appointment time. Dad mentioned to mom that he thought she had something else scheduled already. So what did she reply to him with, exactly? Mom: Let’s look in my planner so we can remind your TINY, EMPTY BRAIN what’s going on. I so did not want to suggest any more appointment times to these people. And, of course, their 2 year old was standing right there!  You just go right ahead and keep arguing in front of me. You're blogging gold, my friends. Later, both parents jokingly asked if they could just leave their child at the office and pick her up at her next 6 month check up. I was awfully temped to say yes!

Sexy Nerd, frustrated by the many smoke detector false alarms in our home, has been suggesting I buy a deep fryer. I was reading reviews on Amazon to find just the right one, when I came across the Presto 06006 Kitchen Kettle Electric Multi-Cooker and Fryer . It can be used as a fryer and a steamer, in a sort of dietary yin yang. Score! As a surprise bonus, someone had written the following...err...helpful review: "Very handy as it does a lot of different things well and doesn't take lots of precious kitchen space, not like republicans in washington." WHAT?! I was on the fence before, but now they're hogging all the space in my kitchen? Geez.

I hate shoes. There, I said it. To all you strappy sandal gals and stiletto doo-dad fans, I just don't get the shoe obsession. Sure, there are some cute pairs out there, but really, what's better than the comfort of simply going barefoot? Nothing. Right now, while you're reading this, stretch out and wiggle your toes. Aaaaah. I work at a dental office and the first thing I do when the last patient leaves is kick off my heels. Of course, there is a downside to all this gallivanting around with naked feet. You know, apart from the occasional stray piece of used dental floss that makes its way between your bare toes. KIDDING! We're a sparkly clean pediatric dental office. Really. Nothing like a little black carpet to make pasty legs seem even whiter. Look away, everyone, before you're blinded!  And, please, do ignore all those bits and specks you see all over the carpet. I really was kidding about the dental floss. I promise. Galavanting around...

Let's begin this week with a quick, embarrassing story. Sexy Nerd and I went bowling the other day and decided to partake in the alley's happy hour special. We went to the bar and I ordered us two bottles of beer. It's not something I do often (okay, the last time may have been in Las Vegas, however many years we were last there) but ordering beer is simple enough, right? Bartender: You want to leave it open? Me: Sure! Sexy Nerd: No! Me: But I want to drink it now. That's it. From now on, I'm sticking with my Michelob ULTRA Light Cider , straight from the fridge. (For all my fellow non-orderers of beer, the bartender meant the bill . Oh!)

The folks at BlogHer want to know: What are your favorite resources (Products, Apps, Books, Websites, etc.) to help you get organized? Hmmm... My best tip for getting organized is one that I stole from work. Get yourself a box, like the ones paper comes in, and an assortment of folders to stand inside the box. I use this idea for e verything , from keeping track of different bank accounts and credit cards to magazine subscriptions. Some Fun Folder Ideas Decorating Inspiration Party Plans Future Travel Itineraries Books I Want to Read (whenever I finally have time) Websites to Visit (same problem as before!) I also created a Vitamins/Supplements folder, which is great because I can rip out an article on something I'd like to research further and possibly try, then take care of everything in one order the next time I'm ready to make a purchase from Drugstore.com (translation = easier to hit the minimum purchase required for free shipping!) And...

You've probably noticed some changes to my blog lately. There's a new header almost weekly (I really like my new one and think it's here to stay...though I said the exact same thing about the last one, which is dead to me now), I'm posting more frequently, and I've been cleaning up some of the nonsense in old posts. Wow, there's so much nonsense!  Plus, I've completely done away with anything lamb-related from the good ol' LambAround days, so if you're a new reader to this blog, you're going to be confused if you look very far into the post archives, which is lamb everything . I'm working on it! I see all these other blogs succeeding and think Hey, I can do that . Call it a side effect of my latest crazy brain meltdown . Today, I'm looking through drafts that were never posted. Here's a gem from 2011, where I took a million photos to teach you how to make kale chips. The photos are from 2011 and the text is from today because...