kitchen notice

funny note that i stumbled upon as i was making some breakfast.

always wondered where the toothpicks were in our house?

well now you know.

thanks brandon!

happy halloween

happy halloween!

love, the kiddies

the summit house

we celebrated my uncle's birthday at the summit house in orange county...

me.patty.nicoli.

they had a live piano player the whole night. we were in the restaurant for 3 hours eating and chatting.

the restaurant was very quaint and felt like home. fireplaces, dimmed lights, comfy chairs...loved it.

patty. me. snooki.

this was the front door. you can't really see, but there's a lion door knocker on a red door. it was so cool.

k & t rehearsal dinner

what do you do when you have no time to shop and search for a cute outfit for a rehearsal dinner and you have t minus 24 hours till that time? you consult your friend who should be a designer instead of a nurse. she can hook you up with everything from earrings on down for less than $100. thank you mel ono project.

trev & katie

it's seriously crazy to think about the fact that these two have dated for 7 years. i knew them both in high school and i still love them to death. i still have to post pics from the wedding, but trev barely got through his vows. he was in tears the entire time! it was the sweetest thing to watch a child hood friend marry her best friend.

for dinner we went to rose cantina back in my hometown. it felt so weird to be back in my stomping grounds! i felt like it was just yesterday that i lived there.

katie and i

we first met while in grade school. i was the four-square queen and she was challenging me for my square. i lost and i didn't like her for about a week. then, we became best friends. it's so weird how things like that happen. we did everything together after that. we shared clothes, shoes, computers, food, etc. she was even the one who drove me 7 1/2 hours to the american idol tryouts in san francisco! i love her!

il tempio

the temple on a dark friday night

my 24th birthday festivities part I

for my 24th patty, me, and some friends of mine went to l.a. for dinner to go to one of my favorites, ketchup.

mel, me, jami

patty. . .i mean sister ricchio (she's going to brazil on her mission) and I

me and mel

my DELICIOUS red velvet 'nothing bundt cake.' have any of you had these? they are seriously the best cakes i've ever had. the one i have is called a bundtini. they all come with flowers in the center . . . kind of like in my big fat greek wedding. lol.

if you don't have french fries, it's not an american meal. their fries are the bomb. i've talked about them before, but seriously with the multiple flavors of ketchup they have (chipotle mangoe, barbeque, ranch, wasabi, etc.) you could not stop eating them! we thought this 3 ramekin french fry appetizer was called the 'trio,' however the waitress scorned us and said it was called a 'threesome.' i think i prefer the other name.

this time around at ketchup, patty and i shared the 'shake n' bake' which was breaded chicken over garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed carrots/string beans, and mac and cheese. for dessert we had banana bread pudding with carmel ice cream and ice cream cookie sandwiches. sisters are the best because you can order two things you like and share them :)

the food was a.maz.ing. ketchup is all about american classics with a little gourmet flare. take for example the mac and cheese . . .

mac and cheese

dungeness crab

white truffle oil

with panko breadcrumbs

. . . seriously the BEST mac and cheese I have ever had

next time we go, we are heading up le petit four on sunset

patty's mission call!

on friday, August 20, 2010 patty's mission call finally arrived in the mail!

i went to the mailbox, called patty at work, and she told me she was about to throw up because she was so nervous.

she called everyone she knew in our area to come over our house to watch her open up her call.

we bought food, made dessert, and had a little party before she opened it up in front of family and friends.

we don't look it, but we're seriously all so nervous.

korea?

russia?

colorado?

who knows.

(please excuse the screaming, crying, and shaking. . . what can i say, i was a little excited)

. . . . . . . .

look at how cool. brazil sao paulo interlagos mission! does anyone know someone who served there? i need to know what i need to send my sister while she's away!

i can't believe she's going to be speaking portuguese. amazing. i'll have to learn via rosetta stone while she's gone.

personally signed by the big man himself. tommy.

accordion toppers

i learned the coolest fact weeks ago. my great grandfather had his own accordion group that would perform during the parades. he's the little blonde guy on the left conducting the group.

pottery barn

i remember seeing this picture at work and loving it. who wouldn't want this as one of their doors?

these wall pieces are so much fun. every time i see the fork i just want to say "buona forchetta!"

edible art

how cool is this picture?? i made this all out of chocolate! tonight we had a little RS activity where one of our girls who went to le cordon bleu in london taught us how to make chocolate pieces for cakes, pastries, sculptures, etc. more picts to come. the chocolate has to be tempered correctly before you can make your design. it's a tedious job to outline every specific detail in your picture, but obviously the outcome is so worth it.

la famiglia

it's a rare occasion when you have all 8 kids in one picture

so nautical and perfect for summer

knotted satchel

bad omen?

i think it's slightly broken? let's just say i thought i was a pro softball player and jammed the finger while catching the ball. not a good memorial day. this thing hurts and it's so swollen i can't even bend it. plus, it's on my ring finger . . . is that bad luck? wish me a speedy recovery because i started a new semester today! impeccable timing right?

sunday brights

love this time of year! we get to wear bright summer colors :)

whitney's and paul's wedding

mr. and mrs. paul davis

washington DC temple. gorgeous.

having some fun in the amazing women's locker room at the country club

it was so hot and humid there that we needed a 7-eleven stop for some slurpies

it was such a beautiful day . . . and then all of a sudden it got cloudy and started raining! supposedly that's good luck. here are all the bridesmaids, sue, and little graybaybay.

miss my shannan. lovely canterwood brought us together.

my shoes were killing my feet. i sat whenever we weren't taking pics!

beautiful wedding. beautiful bride.

the reception was so much fun. i've never seen people that partied as much as the tendall's!

davis rehearsal dinner

all the bridesmaids

the rehearsal dinner was held in the coolest barn in the middle of the MD countryside. beautiful!

shannon and her sister. ps look at our plates . . . we devoured the yummy fajitas from some popular joint in MD and even went back for seconds!

obsessed

the "wendy" dress

semester 2 complete

my instructor pam (she's a dream), mel, and me

my buddies

semester 2 clinical group med/surg

we were obviously caught off guard

mel and me

(no lie, the person that i've had the most crazy nursing experiences with. she's always there when i'm in need of a helper and trust me, it's always the most unpleasant of experiences! )

i think our last day of clinical for this semester was the most eventful because of how busy we were with our patients. what a way to end the last day let me tell you! i think we were all looking forward to going out to an early dinner by then.

here's to next semester in the ER/ICU and hoping for more crazy experiences!!

ketchup!

i'm so glad that i was able to go to Ketchup in LA. the weather was so gorgeous! going for lunch was the best idea for sure. we ended up getting to sit right on sunset and enjoy the loud construction going on down the street. we were all so hoping to run into audrina or lc while we were there, but to no avail :)

the interior was so unique and there was not a soul in the restaurant

me and mel

right above sunset (rin, me, mel, and jami)

these are the parmesan, cajun, and sweet potato fries that they serve (the sweet potato fries were covered in cinnamon sugar!) you can try the different kinds of ketchups they have such as chipotle, bbq, ranch, banana, and wasabi ketchups. it was so good! i'm totally going back.