I'm Bringing Blogging Back...

I know, I know - resurrecting the blog by starting off with a lame, out of date Sexy Back reference probably isn't the best way to attract your attention. But what can I say? Sometimes I'm not all that original! I can't believe it's been over four months since I actually posted here. Since then I've realized that this old blog is going to have to cover more ground than just my baking endeavors if I'm going to keep it current. I'm going to expand the subject matter quite a bit so be prepared. You never know what I might talk about...movies, music (including, but not limited to boy bands), fashion (or my version of it), travel, and, of course, there will still be baking!

What can I tell you about the last few months? I have not baked a thing since Christmas. I think after all of the cupcakes and Christmas cookies I just lost my baking mojo. I do have plans to whip something up this weekend that has the potential to be pretty awesome. I'll be sure to post, success or failure. I went to Australia...for the fourth time. The driving force behind the trip was to hang out on the beach in Coolangata (on the East coast) for a week and take in the Quiksilver Pro surf competition which is the opening event of the professional world surf tour. It was awesome. The town of Coolangata was really laid back. So much so that the shops closed early some days of the competition because everyone was at the beach.

The hostel was great too. I stayed at Komune Resort. I chose it based on the great reviews I read. I'll be honest - it took me a day or two to warm up to the place. It was a very different atmosphere than any other hostel I'd encountered but I enjoyed it in the end. Met some great people and had a great time. 

The view of Coolangata from the hostel balcony

Hostel pool area from the balcony

There isn't much to say about the surfing itself - hot, athletic guys in tight wet shirts running around the beach all day ; ) I think the pictures do it more justice than my words can.



The great Kelly Slater on his way to the final heat

Kelly ended up winning against Taj Burrow in the final heat. I've been to three surf competitions in my lifetime and Kelly has won all three. I think I'm definitely a good luck charm.

Other highlights included a close encounter with a koala

Meet my new pal, Penny

And a perfectly, though accidentally, timed trip down the Great Ocean Road

The Twelve Apostles

Then, a mere two weeks after returning from Australia, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Vancouver to attend a conference put on by my employer. The city is fully into Spring and it was so nice to see some green and foliage...even if we only had one free day.

Cupcakes from Cupcakes

Cherry Blossoms

The Olympic Cauldron

Scary Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge

It was a lovely trip but I was glad to get home. Especially since I had it in my head that I wanted to get this blog started up again. I was excited to get to the computer and get started. So, apologies for the long ass catch up post. Hopefully you made it to the end without giving up. I'm really going to aim to keep this up on a much more regular basis. Feel free to let me know if there are any recipes you'd like me to try or topics you'd like to hear about. Enjoy!