Emily and Mitchell in the USA

This week in March had Pi day (the date is 3.14) so we had a pie gathering to celebrate! I baked some mac and cheese pies and some jam tarts and we went to a friend's house where everyone else had baked (or bought) pies too. There was peach pie, banana cream pie, chicken pot pie, spaghetti pie, cheesecake and more! We were very full by the end, but had a fun time with all the people and food. The weekend started off with some pizza and drinks on campus with the international group. This bar stayed open until 10pm - so late compared with the other one, but still crazy early. On Saturday we drove over to Ontario for a vegan fair. This was the same one we'd been to a few weeks ago, but bigger. They'd advertised loads and loads of vendors, but because they'd changed the date a few times, a lot were missing, but there were still a lot of options to choose from. We got some "chickn" burgers and a smoothie and then looked at the stands selling organic soaps and craft...

We had a very busy week last week, lots of evening adventures and wedding planning inbetween. Mitchell had improv on Tuesday, and then I had an interview at the California Botanic Garden on Wednesday. It went well, but I haven't heard anything yet (and in America they tend to not tell you if you haven't got the job). It was nice to walk around and see all the plants though. They specialise in California native plants and have everything from Joshua trees to redwoods to all the wildflowers currently blooming.  Mitchell went to go and play squash in the evening, and then on Thursday we went out for pho with a group from meet-up.  A new board game cafe recently opened in Riverside, and on Friday night once a month they hold date night, where they pick out good two player games and give you a free chocolate mousse. We played some new games and got to explore the cafe. It was small, but had three extra rooms, which were all fantasy themed. There was the courtyard, the tavern, and t...

This week, our taxes finally done, we went out to do some exploring in the local area. We'd been recommended a really pretty Hindu Temple a while ago, but hadn't found time to visit yet.  It was still a bit chilly outside, especially first thing in the morning when we went, but bright and the early time meant that there very few people visiting. The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir was tucked behind some warehouses, but opened into a big stone garden with paths and small gazebo structures, and at the front, a big mandir.  It's a sacred space, and we had to take our shoes off to go up the steps and go inside. The outside was made of pink stone, brought all the way from India and every inch was hand carved with designs and Hindu Gods.  The inside was carved the same, but made from white marble from Italy. It also housed big golden statues of previous Swamis of the sect, with information about each. Photos were not allowed in this room, but imagine the outside turned inside out and...

As I promised last week, not much this happened this weekend. Mitchell was feeling better by Sunday so we went for a quick walk around sycamore canyon park.  There was even water in the stream! Because of all the rain this winter, the blooms of wildflowers are out all over California. This park is usually all brown and dusty, with just some glorified sticks pretending to be shrubs dotted around. This time, it was green all over the hills, with whole fields of flowers.  They were mostly small flowers in white and yellow and purple, but we also found some bright orange California poppies. They are a very popular sight to visit, and a large field near Lake Elsinore actually had to close this year because too many people were walking over the flowers and destroying the blooms. There wasn't as many in our park, but it was still exciting to find them.  That was it for our weekend as Mitchell was recovering and it wasn't great weather. This week we've been working on our taxes w...