Santa Monica Instadump

as promised yesterday, here's some pics from my santa monica adventure
this adventure was fairly last minute
but when someone says "hey, do you want to stay in my beach condo for the weekend?"
you don't say no... am i right?

shirt my brother got me - seemed appropriate for the roadtrip 

saying good bye to arizona and the sun

not a shabby view

frank the turtle who resides in the courtyard

santa monica pier at night

(taken by @okfnjesse)

santa monica pier during the day

the dinos in cabazon - i have to stop every. single. time.

windmills remind me of going to my gma's as a kiddo

the weather was lovely, i spent most of the day reading and soakin in the scenery
sat night we went to sushi with my good friend tijana and her man
(known that lady since 5th grade, whaaat?)
and then we all walked down to the beach for some night time wave watching
after returning to the condo, my friend nicole from college came over with her man
and i realized we had a lil ucla party going on
(2 ucla undergrad students, 1 ucla masters student... go bruins!)
we chatted into the wee hours of the night (aka midnight... i'm old now)
then sunday was more book reading and sight seeing as we drove home

not gonna lie, all this traveling is fun. but its great to be home.
sleep in my own bed. use my own shower.
unpack my suitcase (two loads of laundry done!)
and it'll last a whoooole weekend.
because i'm road tripping out to san diego in two weekends.
somebody stop me.
or dont. i like the adventures.
so i better rest/catch up while i can ;)

have you guys been traveling lately?
anyone gonna be in sd in two weekends?
anyone else love those dinos?!?

I don't even know where to start.....

...i feel like i haven't stopped running full speed since a month ago.
i spent a weekend in california,
then two weeks in iowa,
then the next weekend back in california.
4 weekends in a row outta town.
17 out of the past 24 days either traveling or in another state. sheesh!

and to top it all off, i didn't unpack my suitcase the whole month. 

sure i did a few loads of laundry, 

but the clothes went from the suitcase to the washer back in the suitcase.

everything else stayed packed up.

i suppose it made traveling easier for the month, 

but living out of a suitcase for a month added a lil bit of stress. 

since i am still in the process of returning to a normal life (unpack, laundry, groceries, etc) 

i will leave you all with an insta-dump of my iowa adventures. 

iowa 

 mexican food at the airport before take off

 the barn "with character" at his parents farm

 view from the back porch at his brother's

my first time at the races - waiting for "the biggest fireworks display in the state" to begin

old courthouse and town square, complete with brick streets

getting malts at the pharmacy in the town square

the bridges of madison county

they may be weeds, but the thistle fields were so purty!

the swinging bridge (much scarier, and less sturdy than it looks)

i'll dump some santa monica on you tomorrow, 

then hopefully have some real stories to tell you. 

if i ever get caught up with my life. 

what have you all been up to??

27 on the 27th

as some of you may have seen/read/heard Wednesday was my birthday 

my golden birthday

27 on the 27th 

i'm golden y'all 

i think this means i'm finally allowed to hang out with my favorite ladies 

woohoo!! 

anyways, my birthday was a blast

aside from partying with my absolute best friends in california last weekend

i was treated to cheesecake, flowers and sushi on my actual bday

way to make a girl feel loved ;) 

now i'm here to tell you that i will be off for a week 

i'm headed out to the great state of iowa for some good ol' fashioned midwest fun 

i see a fish fry, 4th of july bbq and river float in my future

along with farmer's markets, visiting THE bar in town (yes, only one bar in his tiny tiny town) and bonfires

i'm a little nervous since i've never been out there before, but i know it will be a blast 

i didn't rope in any guest bloggers, so you probably won't hear from me for a week or two 

unless ashley decides to step it up 

::cough cough:: ashley, you could post stuff ::cough cough:: 

otherwise follow me on twitter (@lebonk) or instagram (@lebonk) for up to the minute updates

i KNOW you want to see the goodness that iowa brings

otherwise, i'll share my adventures on my return 

til then, here's a few pics from my birthday :) 

work friends decorated :) 

I got to keep the leftovers.... yummmmm

"Have a great birthday - Here's an Iowa tshirt to help you get familiar with the state :)
You'll have so much fun when you get here!!"
His mom is too cute (ps i did NOT expect a gift in the mail from his mom, so sweet)

hehe

first time i've ever received "romantic" flowers
(sad that i'm 27 and it's the first time... but it's kinda  my fault... i always ask for food instead of flowers...
im a simple chick)

ahhh yes... the true way to my heart...
veggie tempura roll, shrimp tempura roll, crab tempura roll, philidelphia roll
fushi at its finest
fatties at their finest
mmmmm... happy birthday to meeeeeeeee!!

See you in July!!!

Weekend Recap: California Edition

this weekend was one for the books
i mean...
best. weekend. ever.

me and the boyfriend headed out to california
to hang out with ashley and her man
and a bazillion other friends

we spent the weekend lounging by the pool
giggling about nonsense,
watching workaholics,
and eating our weight in mexican food.

time well spent. 

of course, in true "robin fashion" 
i forgot my camera at home
so all of my pics are stolen from ashley, justin and sisterface.

Double date :) 

Pool time

This is how we BBQ at the ranch. Green for the win!

Party time

Mini Robin, Brother Robin, Second Robin and Robin.
(Family time... we kinda look alike haha)

It's nice to see my brother loves Ashley and Justin as much as I do. 

seriously.
i can't not think of a better way to spend my bday weekend.
approximately 25 people came to hang out,
many of which i haven't seen since i moved.
i cannot get over the fun and pure happiness that was shared by all.
friends, you rock.

Fat Dog in a Litte Coat

my roommate is currently in indonesia for two weeks

on a business trip, expenses paid, in a five star hotel

must be rough 

so me and her fiance have been sharing the dog-sitting duties 

for this little furball 

hi! my name is indie

don't you wanna rub my belly??

and because we both have such random schedules

we made a checklist for feeding to make sure she didn't miss a meal

and we've been having too much fun with it 

apparently i don't know how to spell coat 

but i DO know how to draw (shoulda been an artist)

and i DO know how to quote awesome movies 

now i'm just counting down the hours til it's 4:30pm

because i'm off to lovely california 

to visit miss ashley (pool, st germain's, mexican food, #bdwong)

to have a joint birthday lunch with my momma (june babies! woot woot!) 

and to meet up with olivia, kristin and maybe even kelsey!! 

holy schnikes!! 

this weekend could not get any radder

what are your plans for this weekend??

Easy Recipe: Gouda and Avocado Salad

i saw this recipe today and i had to have it 

i had all the ingredients already in my fridge

it was a match made in heaven

kinda

in truth, i had all the ingredients to make the lazy easy version

i didn't want to make the dressing 

and the dressing looked kinda like caeser to me

but what do i know? i have no clue what's in caesar dressing

either way, i decided to use some lite caesar dressing i already had

i also added some tomatoes, because who doesn't like tomatoes?

ingredients

• romaine lettuce
• smoked gouda 
• 1/2 of the worlds smallest avocado 
• 1 roma tomato
• caesar dressing

lets get real for a second. 
lets talk about this avocado. 

really?!?!? 

maybe i'm spoiled, being from california

but come on! 

you should also know that i have freakishly small baby hands

so while it fills my palm, that doesn't mean nothing

anyways

instructions

combine into salad form: wash and cut lettuce, cube gouda, slice the worlds smallest avocado, slice the tomato, drizzle with dressing. eat.

easy peasy lemon squeezy! 

size of the avocado aside, this salad was bomb.com

loved the flavor combo 

perfect for a night of packing and harry potter watching 

what do you do with your gouda? 

if its something with fruit, i don't wanna hear about it 

ok fine, i want to hear about it, but i won't make it 

i think i missed the fruit+savory gene when god was handing it out
but i'd love to hear any gouda suggestions!

Weekend Recap: Hawaiian Fusion Edition

Friday night we headed over to the JW Marriott to eat dinner at Roy's Hawaiian Fusion.
I'm tellin ya, I'm gonna get spoiled if he keeps taking me out to these fancy dinners all the time.

Ashley had kept on raving about her St. Germain drink from her step-sister's wedding so when I saw The Hummingbird on the menu I had to order it. It did not disappoint. St Germain, sparkling wine and club soda. Poured over ice and fruit.  Light and refreshing. Perfect for a summer evening spent dining on a  patio.


We ordered everything but the kitchen sink. Lobster California rolls and seared ahi for appetizers. Then our meals consisted of lobster, filet mignon, crab, crab cakes, scallops, pesto risotto, poblano mash, asparagus and chocolate souffle. Yes, we ate our little hearts out and it was fantastic. 


After dinner we went to walk around the grounds. There were two lawn chairs in the courtyard and we sat and talked (while sipping our beverages that we may or may not have snuck outta the restaurant... classy, I know). I highly highly recommend both the restaurant and the hotel. 

The Hummingbird

Front row seats.

Perfection.

Cute walkway (ignore the awkward hand pose).

I sat down to take a picture and some dude said "play something!"
So I hit some keys. Note to self: shoulda paid more attention during piano lessons.

How was your weekend? 

Personalized Herbal Tea

Remember when I told you about my trip to the ChineseCultural Center to get a personalized herbal tea?  I keep forgetting to share how it all turned out.  

In order to make the tea you boil the bag in 4 cups of water, and then put the pot on simmer until all but one cup of liquid remains. Then you strain out the backyard herbs and “enjoy”.

 

Let's be honest here... it literally tasted like I boiled my backyard. Nice and sludgey. Mmmmm.

But this tea was not created to taste good. It was intended to "increase circulation and give me more energy." I really have no quantitative way of measuring that... but I think I felt more energetic... ?
Or maybe that was the exercise... I don't know really.

Would I purchase this tea again? Probably not. It was gross. 

But hey, it was an adventure, and I wouldn't change that. 

Fight Club

since robin went and done shared her secret fight club training
i figured i ought to share mine, too

i love the gym i go to
and, honestly, it's the only time i've been able to stick with a fitness routine

this gym is small
the trainers know my name
and they probably know my phone number by heart
since they call almost everyday to check in
and make sure i'm not bailing on class

(oh how they know me...)

anyway, i cannot say enough good things about smaller gyms
go to one
you will love it.

this fight club actually has a name:
FGT
which stands for functional group training.

each day is something different
so our muscles never get used to the same moves

we do things like flip huge tractor tires
use the TRX straps
and other normal things like sprints,
bear crawls, and crab crawls.

basically, it's using your body weight
which is fantastic because hello, you could do most of the moves anywhere!

and there's nothing like feeling how strong you are..

so i tried to remember the moves from an earlier class
because today's would have been impossible to describe...

obviously, your ten minute warm up should be done in ten minutes, not one minute...

you should know i'm ALWAYS drenched in sweat after fight club.
like, dripping in it.
like, it sometimes grosses me out...

but, then i remember that i worked my ASS off
and i SHOULD be sweating.
because this shit is hard
and that's why it works!

(:

Gchats with the sister...

So, um... THIS happened today... 


Scene: it's a Wednesday afternoon and I am gchatting with my sister while trying to wrap up stuff at work. Sister starts telling a story... 


(begin quotation)
My friend Chris just posted this on Facebook: I do believe today, and all of the BS that rode in on it, may go suck my dog's adorable fuzzy ball-less scrotum. 


My comment: wait, did I just read that right... you think your dogs scrotum is adorable?


Chris: It is without a doubt one of the things I adore about him, its so tiny, and fuzzy and you're just all like. "hey, you got no balls in there silly pants!" 
(end quotation)


I seriously LOL'd. Like a lot. Good thing I was the last one left in the office.