Alcatraz!

This past weekend, Peter's mom was visiting and we took the opportunity to go visit Alcatraz! It's been on our list to visit for awhile now, but we've been waiting for an excuse (someone to visit) to go.

It was fascinating.

You have to take a ferry to get there, which pays for your admission into the park, along with a great audio tour.

The ferry ride has spectacular views of San Francisco, the Bay Bridge and the bay itself. It's about a 20 minute ride there and a 20 minute ride back. This is the one thing you need to plan in advanced, you need a reservation.

Once we got on the island, we started the audio tour. The tour was great - It has you walk throughout the cell house, takes you to different cells, and gives you a real sense of the history of Alcatraz. It lasts about an hour, but we took our time, stopping and exploring parts that the tour went by quickly. There was a lot to take in. It was my first time ever visiting a prison, and it made me really curious as to what prisons look like on the inside these days (apart from my expectations from Orange is the New Black). 

The other perk of Alcatraz is the amazing views from every spot on the island. Each gives you a perfect bay background, no matter which direction you face!

Taking Stock: November

happy halloween from a gnome and a penguin!

M A K I N G : (or at least thinking about it) a felted ball garland! I just ordered a bunch of different felted balls from this etsy shop (I got an assorted set of 25), and I'm excited to get crafty next weekend (or whenever they arrive!). If it goes well, I may order a few more in the christmas colors to make a wreath for our front door.

D R I N K I N G : Shipyard Pumpkinhead. I'm easing back into the work week with one of my favorite flavored beers. When we found it last year in BevMo, Peter and I went a little overboard getting multiple 6-packs, this year we just opted for one :) It always brings me back to fall in Maine.

W A N T I N G : to reread the happiness project. I read it my senior year of college, but a lot of it was not relevant. I would love to do a reread especially with her chapters about keeping a home clean and maintaining a work-life balance.

W A T C H I N G : the packers play the broncos, slightly reluctantly. My Sunday and Monday nights are filled with football courtesy of Peter.

R E A D I N G : motherless daughters. I recently got news that a very good family friend was diagnosed with the same cancer my mother had when she passed away 8 years ago. It really affected me this past month, and I've been thinking a lot about my mom. A friend who's mother also passed away while they were in high school recommended the book for me and though emotional, there have been so many "so that's why" moments, or "I'm not the only one..." I would highly recommend it for anyone who's lost their mother.

L I S T E N I N G T O : I spent the afternoon today at starbucks studying for the GRE while listening to mumford and sons/of monsters and men pandora radio. Kept me in the studying groove!

E A T I N G : Made a pizza tonight with some whole foods pizza dough! It's really nice to live so close to grocery stores... I was working with some trader joes dough that was probably a little too old and was filled with holes by the time I finished stretching it out, so I was able to give up on that mess and quickly go get some fresh dough to work with!

W I S H I N G : the tests in my backpack would grade themselves. I swear grading is the absolute worst part about teaching (apart from the behavior issues my first year!). That stack has been looming over me all weekend and I am so reluctant to face them.

H O P I N G : I will make it to the gym more than one time this week. I've been slacking off with my gym attendance which meant that one trip yesterday has left me 100% sore today.

N E E D I N G : a vacation getaway somewhere! We're headed to chicago for Thanksgiving this year with Peter's family, but I need a big trip somewhere else where it's just the two of us, ideally somewhere warm, although I wouldn't be picky. Maybe even just somewhere up north...

F O L L O W I N G : MissJordanKelley on instagram. Her feed is making me wish I could take a trip up north to Oregon sometime soon. So many fantastic fall shots. There is not a lot of changing of leaves/fall weather here in Berkeley but instagram has been transporting me to that place lately.

F E E L I N G : rested thanks to my extra hour of sleep!

W E A R I N G : my new down vest from uniqlo. I got the last push I needed to get it when 1. it was on sale this weekend 2. I've been eyeing it forever and 3. I lost my old puffer vest. I headed off to uniqlo early this morning to cross it off my to-do list.

B O O K M A R K I N G : these instructions for the next birthday I have to celebrate. Baking a great cake from scratch is on my long-term bucket list and the kitchn has put all the information I need in one place

L O V I N G : the feeling in the air at the moment. It's finally starting to feel like fall this week in berkeley (knock on every wooden surface ever.) I've been getting really sick of the warmer weather we've been having lately. My new classroom doesn't have AC and agh. it gets so sticky when there are 30 bodies packed in there. I've been checking the weather daily and praying for some good fall weather and it seems like that's finally coming true! Yay for cooler, seasonal weather!

Fall Football

Last weekend Peter and I went out to see the Cal Bears play in a game against Washington State.

I am not the biggest fan of football, but this was actually surprisingly fun.

Last time we went to a game, it was late at night, lasted forever, and Cal lost - pretty badly. This time, everything was different. They've been doing pretty well due to an amazing quarterback (so I've heard), who is apparently a potential number one pick in the draft this year. The game did not last 4 hours this time, and it was during the day which is always ideal.

At the beginning of the day we headed to a t-shirt shop on Telegraph so that I could get a Cal t-shirt and feel spirited for the game. Then later we headed over just in time for the start of the game and had seats near the student section. As someone who did not attend a college with a big football team, this was really fun to be around. They have people to teach you the cheers and to tell you when to be loud and when to be quiet, which is helpful for a football noob like myself.

Some pictures from the game:

I'm so glad we live in a world with Octobers...

Hey!

Sorry for the  l o n g  hiatus. School started and I was feeling swamped.

Now that it's October, I'm feeling a little less overwhelmed, which hopefully will translate to a little more blogging.

I have a lot of things coming up in the next two months that are causing me to get my act together, and with that I have a few short term goals I need to meet over the next month. Hopefully this will help hold me a little more accountable.

1. GRE studying! That's right - I signed up for my $195 (WHAT!) test today! I'm taking it next month and after a practice reading comprehension section today... I definitely have an area of focus. I'm feeling OK about the math section (which I feel is kind of a given since I teach the math that is on the exam), though I still can't get to comfortable. We'll see how it goes!

2. Go on a shopping freeze! I went on a diet and lot a bunch of weight over the last few months, and as a result I've gone a little shopping crazy. After treating myself to a new pair of jeans on Friday (and two new pairs of shoes) at Nordstrom Rack I'm finally calling the new wardrobe done... for now :) I'm going to see if I can hold off until after Christmas.

3. Improve my meal planning - I feel like I am constantly getting a quick bite out to eat because I don't have any food in the apartment and I am getting so sick of it! I need to get a lot better about buying food that I'll eat and actually putting the time into cooking it! I am a huge contributor to the food waste the EPA is so avidly trying to cut, and I need to put in my part to stop throwing out so many groceries! Such a waste!

4. Host a potluck - Peter and I went over to a friends house for a potluck on Saturday and had such a great time. Whenever we've done this in the past at our apartment, there a few too many people, we have such a hard time limiting down our numbers. But it seems like there is a sweet spot in terms of numbers to making potlucks work in a tiny apartment. This time around I want to aim for 10-12 people and I think we'll be good to go!

5. Become a pumpkin pie making master. Hopefully with an uptick in potlucks, I will not be the sole-eater of pie therefore undoing all the hard work I've done in the last month to lose a bunch of weight! However, every year around Thanksgiving I have a huge urge to be at home in New Jersey surrounded by my Aunt Maureen's delicious pie. So, for the last two Thanksgivings, where I've been in California, I've made up for that by making A TON OF PIE. I definitely need to work on my pie crust skills (who doesn't!), but I do want to mess around with the pumpkin pie this year to branch out from the back of the can :)

6. Have weekly fresh flowers around the apartment. This is something I'm always longing for, and I don't know why I never just purchase for myself. Fresh flowers make me so happy, and having a bunch on our dining room table will definitely make it feel a little more like fall in Berkeley

7. Wake up earlier - I've done this a few times in the last few weeks, where I wake up about an hour earlier and then can have a leisurely morning with tea and some bonus teacher planning time. I want to start doing this more regularly to get an early morning walk in before the rest of Berkeley wakes up.

I'll check back in with these at the end of the month and see how I do!

haircut tomorrow!

I'm going in for my back-to-school haircut (which to me is the official end of summer). Last year's cut didn't end so well, a little too short and triangular; I spent the whole year growing it out. So this year I'm going in with some inspiration and photo back-up. Here's what I'm hoping for tomorrow:

one//two//three//four//five//six//seven//eight

That's right... I'm going for the lob (long bob). We'll see how it turns out tomorrow. I'll post an update once it's done!

book list

Jane Mount, Ideal Bookshelf 660

One of my goals for this year was to up my reading ante with the goal of reading 20 books in 2015. Right now I'm a little over halfway there but I'm going to need to increase the reading load over the next few months to make it in time! One of the big perks about teaching is the long breaks I get throughout the year, and one of my favorite things to do is to fill them is reading.

Here's my reading list as of right now. I'll be crossing off books as I go through them!

The Luminaries

Americanah

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

The Poisonwood Bible

Julie and Julia

The Girl on the Train

The Bone Clocks

Yes Please

We Should All be Feminists

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Etta and Otto and Russell and James

All the Light We Cannot See

I'll Give You the Sun

Empire Falls

The Other Wes Moore

The Boys in the Boat

Me Before You

Euphoria

Everything I Never Told You

With 9 books to go, right now it still feels doable, since I currently have all the free time I need in the next few days. But, all breaks must come to a close and I know that I'll need to finish most of those books over Thanksgiving and Christmas break...

I'm excited for the push!

Taking Stock - Friday

M A K I N G : lesson plans. I'm about to head to a neighborhood coffee shop to get some unit mapping done. I'm hoping to get the first month planned out to ease the stress into the new school year.

D R I N K I N G : coffee. I've been having a rough couple of nights of sleep lately - waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Needed a slow morning today.

W A N T I N G : these boots. They're on sale and in my size; quite hard to resist. And with the el niño heading towards California this year they may be very necessary.

W A T C H I N G : (or rewatching) scandal. There is something highly addictive about this show. I also tend to have a thing about presidential shows. Though completely different, the west wing is another favorite. I love me some good presidential drama.

R E A D I N G : I just finished the yiddish policemen's union. It wasn't my favorite... it took awhile to get through; definitely not a book that I would be able to finish during the school year with a lot of starting and stopping. It was my first Michael Chabon book. telegraph avenue is on my reading list but I might put it off for awhile before going back him. My next read, which I started last night is etta and otto and russell and james. It has an interesting layout so far, a lot of switching from the present to the past (it seems in every chapter). It seems like the start of an adventure though!

L I S T E N I N G T O : whatever pandora plays me. Last night while finishing the yiddish policemen's union, I had norah jones radio on, but podcasts have been keeping me company on my drives. I listened to a lot of Fresh Air on my drive to and from Santa Barbara.

E A T I N G : (or at least hoping to) something from the smitten kitchen cookbook tonight. I just got a new recipe box that I'm in love with and so I'm currently going through my library's stock of cookbooks to collect the ones I want to keep. I'll let you know if any recipes stick!

W I S H I N G : my brother and his girlfriend all the best! She's currently in labor with my newest nephew who I cannot wait to meet. So jealous of my other siblings who get to be there. I've been standing by my phone all morning waiting for the text!

H O P I N G : flight prices around christmas take a dip soon! I love going home for the holidays but it's gotten so dang expensive! I've got a bunch of google flight watches on a few flights home and I'm crossing my fingers they go down sometime in september (and then don't go down even further because that's just the most disappointing thing)

N E E D I N G : the motivation to clean up the apartment a little! I'm definitely still in summer mode in terms of lazing around which is starting (definitely) to show in the cleanliness factor. (sorry peter that my santa barbara stuff is still on the ground in our dining room - eek!)

F O L L O W I N G : dearfriendblog through her exciting summer adventures! This is one lady who definitely knows how to do summer as a teacher. Her writing also just makes me the happiest - it reminds me of anne of green gables in terms of optimism and love for all things. She also constantly reminds me of my love for the east coast in any season.

F E E L I N G : calm and a little more rested.

W E A R I N G : peter's discarded flannel. Way too big, but it's the perfect amount of comfort for this cloudy morning.

B O O K M A R K I N G : this post from hither and thither. Our walls are still alarmingly blank, so any tips and places to find cheap, good wall art is always appreciated. I need to go back and take a closer look.

L O V I N G : the moment I open the blinds in our apartment and the morning light floods in. It feels so refreshing and good.

Quick trip to Santa Barbara

I took a spontaneous mini trip over the past 48 hours down to Santa Barbara and back up. It's a beautiful city that I would love to visit again, maybe with a little bit more time and planning out.
Here's a little bit about the trip

Getting there
I mostly followed my waze directions to get down to Santa Barbara. I took the 101 instead of the 5 which avoided some of the monotony of I-5 (so boring! so many (dry) farms!). The 101 is also a little monotonous, but I saw the Cuesta forest fire on my way down which was a little scary, it was really close to the highway, like I could see flames right next to my car... and driving by Pismo beach was really pretty. If I were going for a more scenic route I would have taken the Pacific Coast Highway which is beautiful, if not a little scary due to all the curves!

Staying
We stayed at the Wayfarer, which way exceeded expectations. I was visiting with my best friend's sister and her mom so there were three of us. They got there before me and were cracking up as we walked to the room. When the two of them arrived, they were a bit confused because the room was tight and there only appeared to be one bed:

They checked back in at the front desk, confused, asking how we would fit three people, to which the person at the desk responded that there's a murphy bed in the room... again they were confused as to where the murphy bed would be. The guy said he would send over maintenance who came and opened up the murphy bed:

Heh! They used their "air space." Too funny.

The Wayfarer was really clean, had a kitchen you could use that had pots pans and kitchen basics like olive oil and spices. We didn't utilize it but I could see it being really nice if you stayed for a longer visit. The pool was on the smaller side but relaxing after laying by the beach. And our room came with a small veranda with two chairs giving a nice space to lay out if the pool was too crowded. 

I would definitely stay again.

Things To Do

With very limited time to spend in Santa Barbara, we had to choose our activities wisely. We decided to visit two very standard stops... the beach and the courthouse, both beautiful in different ways. We started at the courthouse which was stunning. There's so much history in those walls, I loved that you could just wander around at your own pace.

The beach was also beautiful. We went by the pier by the Wayfarer just to lay around. You could have rented kayaks or paddle boards but we decided to just laze around in the afternoon. The beach wasn't crowded at all despite it being sunny and warm which I really appreciated. Later, after freshening up at the hotel we walked along the coast to watch the sunset. We walked down the cliffs along a path called "one thousand steps" (exaggerated.) and we were able to walk around a bend to see the sun. It was a perfect walk to take right before dinner.

Good Eats
I want to highlight one of the places we went to eat, Tupelo Junction Cafe. After quickly looking up some yelp reviews while downtown and starving for lunch, we happily stumbled into this cafe. They have a southern flare to their food: fried green tomatoes, hushpuppies. Everything we had was delicious, though guilt inducing. I would absolutely head back there for seconds and thirds if I could.

Can't wait for my next trip back to this beautiful place.

photos of The Wayfarer from their website.

Food Reviews: The Advocate

Our new apartment is in the lovely town of Elmwood in Berkeley. While I love the Berkeley food scene, any new additions are always welcome. I find that Peter and I get stuck in a rut when it comes to eating out going to our same five favorites and not branching out often. We were delighted to hear that one of our favorite restaurants, Comal, opened a sister restaurant right in our neighborhood just two weeks ago, called The Advocate.

We decided to try it out tonight (since it is just about a million degrees and the thought of turning on an oven makes me break out into a sweat) and here's what I thought...

We walked over there at about 5:20 to get there by the time it opened. Both Comal and the Advocate have a no reservations policy which, as we've seen at Comal, can mean that tables fill up fast. When we turned the corner there was a line already out the door to get in! But we were lucky enough to sit down right away. They had plenty of space.

I started out with their ricotta toast which was delicious. It was slightly sweet, topped with flowers and olive oil. It was the one thing I was able to get a picture of before it was eaten up!

Peter started off with their carrot soup and reported that it was really tasty. I told him he was crazy for eating such a hot dish when we were finally sitting in some air conditioning.

We both ended up getting the spit-roasted chicken. They have a similar dish at Comal where you order a whole chicken to share. I thought it was really tasty. The chicken was perfectly roasted and juicy on the inside. The only thing I hope they improve on is the underlings - they had pureed turnips (I think), mushrooms and pearl onions. I would have loved something either a little heartier or some green vegetables, but I'm sure those will change with the seasons.

Overall it was great! They have a beautiful space inside, I loved all of their hanging lamps. Can't wait to try some drinks next time! The swizzle is top on my list!

homemade, challah!

I went on quite the adventure today after discovering this blog.

It inspired me to 1. explore my local goodwill and see what kinds of vintage cookware it was hiding, and 2. make some challah bread and put my bread hood to use with my kitchen aid!

Wanting this to be an adventure, and not just a trip to goodwill, I decided to walk, about two hours round trip to get some fresh air. Good thing I did, because I found a goodie on the way there!

I found this one on the side of the road! It's vintage Descoware - a company that used to make enamelware before Le Creuset purchased it in the 60s. It has a dime-sized chip in the enamel so it may not be useable, but it sure is pretty.

Goodwill find: vintage pyrex. It just so happened to match the pan that I picked up 30 minutes before. It's really pretty and came in really handy for bread baking!

After finding that bowl at the Goodwill in Emeryville, I tried my luck at the one in downtown Berkeley, but unfortunately they did not have nearly as much stuff. If I had driven to the store in Emeryville, I probably would have come home with a lot more stuff. I will be keeping my eye out for more of these bowls though.

Later, I decided to make some homemade challah bread. I got the recipe from the kitchn, written by Emma Christensen. Their photos are really helpful in figuring out what everything should look like at every stage. 

Putting the dough hook to use on the kitchen aid! It made kneading so easy. My mom was an expert bread maker, and I have very real memories of her kneading bread in the kitchen, punching it down, etc. This whole process reminded me of her. 

Bread braiding! Pretty good for my first try, if I do say so myself. Again, this was another process that reminded me of my mom. I was always fascinated bread braiding. She would do it so quickly and with such ease. Next up I'll have to try a stuffed bread recipe - she would always make one around Christmas to have on Christmas morning... That's where most of these memories come from. Every year, she and my Aunt would make loaf after loaf to give away to friends.

finished product. A little blobby, but a success nonetheless! 

Happy Sunday!

I had a bit of an odd end to the week, landing me in the emergency room. I fell wrong on my ankle at the gym which led me to think I had broken it (it hurt a lot and there was a weird popping sound when I landed on it). Fortunately, it was only a bad sprain, so I just had to take it easy this weekend. The photo above was taken on a short walk around the neighborhood yesterday!

Peter and I went and saw Trainwreck on Friday in Berkeley. The theater we went to has couches in an upper level (awesome.) The movie was great! I really enjoyed it through some cringing moments :)

I'm headed to San Jose early tomorrow morning for an AP Calculus conference. I'm excited to learn more about the subject I'll be newly teaching next year! As of right now, I have my first unit of Pre-Calculus all planned out but I am feeling behind in Calc so hopefully this will give me a boost to get planning! I'll let you know how it goes!

Art Institute

One of the (very quick) stops we made while in Chicago was a trip to the Art Institute. Peter's mom has a lifelong membership which means that we get in for free which is always nice. Every time I've visited, we've only stopped at the Art Institute for a very short amount of time... I think in my next visit I want to take a little more time.

In the under an hour we were there, I wandered around the modern wing for about half and then went to see the Degas exhibit they had up, along with a few stops along the way. It is such a lovely museum and I love how the architecture of the building changes throughout, fitting with the artwork.

Anyways, here are some snaps I captured of the pieces that made me stop and look along the way.

1. Me posing with George Washington, by Roy Lichtenstein

2. Circus Horse, by Joan Miró

3. The Bedroom, by Vincent VanGogh

4. The Star, by Edgar Degas

5. Water Lily Pond, by Claude Monet

6. A Sunday La Grande Jatte, by Georges Seurat

summer bucket list

As a teacher, I get to enjoy my summers off (well deserved, might I add!!). Last summer I worked for three weeks teaching summer school, but this year I decided to just take it off; no concrete plans, just good old relaxation.

Don't get me wrong - I'm still doing work this summer, I'm teaching Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus next year, my school is moving to block scheduling which means a whole new curriculum revamp, and I've never taught AP Calculus, so some major planning is happening behind the scenes this summer. However, for the most part, I'm enjoying my time off, trying not to work too much.

To give myself a few goals, or at ideas on a boring day, I created a bucket list for this summer (and I'm happy to say I can already cross a few things off!). I've been reading like crazy and keeping up weekend trips to San Francisco so I can say I'm well on my way!

Check it out below:

ps. we just got back from Chicago! Pictures on their way soon!!

pps. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Happy Weekend!

photo credit: lauren conrad

There's something about the Nantucket scenery that makes me swoon. I've never been, but boy do I want to. Maybe next summer I can convince the rest of my family, or Peter and I can just rent an airbnb... mmm dreamin.

I've been loving the idea of a midi skirt (since when did this come back into style - I remember my older sister poo-pooing it around... 10 years ago??)

Currently dreaming over this camera, or this one. Any thoughts as to which is better? I'm waiting for Amazon's Prime Day (July 15th!) to see if either will go on sale...

Fell in love with this house tour - I've got some major decorating to do in our new apartment.

I've totally bought into this tote... I feel like I see it everywhere and it is gorgeous. I love my other Madewell bag but was not really impressed with the quality of the tote when I saw it in store. Pictures are changing my mind though.

Searching for new art. I've been checking out stuff at society six (one, two, three) and at 20x200 (one, two)

Just got this nail polish for my toes! Perfect summer color.

Currently reading The Bone Clocks, it's moving a little slowly right now but I have a feeling it's about to turn a corner!

off to chicago!

Peter and I are off to Chicago for a few days to see his parents! I can't wait for some (hotter) summer days, trips into the city, and a visit to Lake Michigan.

It's been awhile since I've been and I'm excited to explore a little more. So far we've got an architectural tour of the city planned, we're watching the cubs v. white sox game from a roof top, and a bunch of delicious dinners (Peter always finds the best places to eat!)

I'm going to try to up my picture game over this trip so that I'll have a lot to show for once I get back!

From my first trip to Chicago!

trip up to sonoma!

A few weekends ago, my Aunt and Uncle came out to visit Peter and I in the bay. I have few snapshots from the trip:

We decided to do a bike trip around to a couple of different wineries through Sonoma Valley Bike Tours. We decided to take the cheaper route, just renting the bikes instead of doing a planned tour with them and I was really happy to have the experience. 

We went on a really hot day - which was my one regret. I think this would have been perfect in 70, or even 80 degree weather. We were all so beat that by the time we got to the third winery, none of us wanted wine!

The first winery we went to was Sebastiani Vineyards  which had a great tasting room. We split two tastings amongst the four of us. One was their standard wines (which I loved to taste considering all of them are available to Peter and I locally), and their reserve wines (which overall were much better than the standard wines). I appreciated that the tastings were on the cheaper side.

After that we went out to Ravenswood Winery which specializes in Zinfindels. Unfortunately to get there we had to go up our first major incline and the Aunt and Uncle were out for tastings. They enjoyed sitting outside and rehydrating (especially considering it was ~90 - eek!). Peter and I split a tasting of their not Zinfindels since neither of us enjoy Zins. I really liked their rose, but otherwise nothing else stood out to the two of us. However their atmosphere was great! Very laid back and a lot less stuffy than other tasting rooms.

At this point we were about a third of the way through our ride and pretty tired. We biked to our last winery which (to be honest) consisted of one section where the four of us walked our bikes up the hill (again did I mention how hot it was??) We ended up at Gundlach Bundschu (pronounced Gun-Lock-Bun-Shoe) which had a lovely area to catch our breath outside. At this point we were all pretty exhausted and decided to skip the wines. However I think this winery was the prettiest we went through. As we were leaving, I have to admit I was tempted to take a bunch of grapes off a tree, but then realized the grapes would be even more delicious as wine, and decided to move on.

I would recommend doing a bike tour of Sonoma, if drinking the wines is not your priority. The four of us were craving water way more than wine by the end of this trip. However, it was beautiful and definitely an adventure! I think next time I'll take a party bus :)

Welcome...

Welcome to apartment eight!

A blog enthusiast, I decided to start my own - this all feels very cliche...

I am a 24-year-old New Jersey transplant living in California. I moved out here to teach with Teach for America and be with my boyfriend. I slowly grew to enjoy the Bay Area and all it has to offer.

I will be documenting my cooking adventures, travel and exploration, along with the bumps and joy that comes with teaching high schoolers. I am looking forward to this becoming a space I can look back on as I move through my twenties, along with meeting any new bay area friends along the way!