Labor Day Weekend in Tahoe

I spent Labor Day Weekend with my family in Tahoe this year, and, despite the smoke rolling in from poor Yosemite, it was a lovely weekend. Saturday, with surprisingly clear skies, we hiked down to Emerald Bay and I paddle boarded for the first time which was really fun. We were almost run over by an exceptionally large ferry, but that's only a minor detail. Most of the weekend was filled with relaxing at the beach or on the water, and listening to live bands play at The Beacon Bar and Grill in Camp Richards. I understand that Labor Day was over a month ago, I've been extremely bad at uploading and sifting through all the photos I've taken this year, but here are a few of my favorite shots from my very relaxing, beach filled weekend.

{View from the beach at Camp Richards}

{The Beacon, Camp Richards}

{Emerald Bay, South Lake Tahoe}

{I named him Alvin, only fitting considering we had just watched Alvin and The Chipmunks the night before.}

{Having a little fun capturing the motion of the water, one of my favorite effects.}

{Walking to the beach at Emerald Bay.}

{More Emerald Bay hiking shots.}

{Camp Richards.}

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cocoa Buttercream Frosting

This weekend I celebrated the birthday of fellow foodie and long time friend, Dee. We met in SLO and became fast friends, sharing our love of food and running. When we first met and I told her I joined the Cross Country Team at Cuesta she quickly jumped on board. Our days typically became routines of practice followed by trips to New Frontiers, a local specialty market, and recipe experiments. She is definitely one of those people in my life that no matter how much time has gone by since our last visit, it feels as though we never parted. Like many of our fleeting obsessions, I recently discovered that we were on the same wavelength about sweet potatoes. So to pay tribute to the good ol days I made Sweet Potato cupcakes from this recipe and a variation of this frosting recipe where I experimentally added a tsp. Cinnamon and a tbsp. Cocoa. They turned out really well, just perfect for the occasion. 

Dee remains in SLO for the time being, and I in SF making it hard to see each other often. However, I believe that I will be seeing a lot more of her in the coming months, and I couldn't be happier.