My brother-in-law and his sweet new girlfriend, Anuja, were in town visiting from NYC last week. Since they’re footloose and fancy free, they ran off to San Diego for a couple days and then stayed one night in Santa Monica before catching their early morning flight out on Sunday.
We went and hung out at their hotel on Saturday afternoon. I immediately wanted to move in the moment I stepped into the lobby ~ super old Sheraton on the outside, boutique hotel on the inside.
We sat out in the cabana while the kids swam.
It was glorious.
Later that evening we headed to Third Street Promenade to find some dinner and stumbled across Loteria Grill.
The food was great and I loved sitting out along the promenade sidewalk amongst all the evening energy.
I wanted to share with you a drink that I had…michelada de mango. I almost ordered the traditional michelada {tomato juice, lime & beer}, but then laid eyes on the mango variety. Yes, why should a michelada be limited to only tomato or Clamato juice?!? It was slightly sweet, slightly tart and very refreshing.
Super easy to recreate at home…
{Mexican beer of choice, mango nectar, pico de gallo seasoning & lime}
Rub lime slice around the rim of a tall glass and sprinkle with the pico de gallo.
Add ice and 1/4 cup mango nectar to the glass.
Add the juice of 1/4-1/2 lime depending how tart you want it.
Top off with an ice cold beer.
You could certainly mix up a pitcher of these, chill in the fridge and then pour over ice into prepared glasses for a larger crowd.
*****
We loved hanging out in Santa Monica all day…the kids had a blast and now I see the attraction to the whole {staycation} thing! It can still feel like a vacation even if it’s less than 40 miles from home.
Did you know there’s an app for making really good friends?
Yes, it’s called Instagram!
Just by posting pictures and sharing fun little tidbits of your daily life on IG, you can {meet} some wonderful friends. And if you’re really lucky and live close enough, you can even eventually meet them in person. It’s crazy how you can feel like you’ve known someone for years just by making little comments on their photos or texting from time to time.
Several months ago I started following a friend of a friend because she has an eye for vintage, five beautiful daughters, and a weenie dog named Rodeo! Us wiener dog lovers need to stick together, right? She followed me back and we would comment on pictures of our hounds and make weenie jokes. After getting to know her, we discovered that we’re both Libras and I am 11 days older than she is ~ we won’t go into what year! {wink, wink}
Anywhoo, I went and stayed with Richelle in May while down in Mission Viejo for a fabulous Pioneer Woman Potluck hosted by my blogosphere friend turned real life friend, Julie. I met Julie last September at Blog Sugar. Joy’s Hope was one of the very first blogs I read and religiously followed. Julie makes it so easy to want to open up and share the happy things in life which is precisely why I wanted to start blogging myself. I am honored and thrilled to be able to have met her in real life. And because of Julie I was able to know Richelle, too! Social media really is so great.
This weekend Richelle and her two youngest {Kallihan & Kapri} came up to visit us for some pool time and concert in the park action. My kids were so excited to meet some new friends…we had some matching pajamas for the girls all ready and waiting on our guest bed with gift tags created by Elliott…
Friday afternoon’s weather was weird, so we went to see Brave.
We went for a night swim on Friday evening…
{captured by Richelle}
Saturday morning veg-fest…
New Cool Lime Refresher run before hitting the pool again Saturday morning….
{add 2 pumps coconut syrup to make it a tropical treat}
We packed up a picnic and headed to the concert in the park…Led Zepagain!
We sat around the table, sipped coffee and chatted on Sunday morning then had lunch at Souplantation before saying our sad good-byes…
*****
And of course, I love to entertain and cook for a crowd!
{new fave marinade/glaze for chicken ~ 2 tbsp. hoisin, 1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder, 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 tsp. vegetable oil. just coat chicken with it and grill or bake. from the July ’12 issue of Sunset, page 100}
I mixed up a little adult beverage to sip at the concert ~ vodka, Malibu, pineapple juice, blue curaçao and a splash of Sprite. {as seen in this post}
I’d not yet spotted these on Pinterest, but Richelle had, and quickly gathered the ingredients and got them in a 9X13 ASAP.
Apparently the brownie stuffed Oreos that were flying around the inter webs last year were not enough……
Just line a 9X13 pan with parchment paper. Spread packaged chocolate chip cookie dough on the bottom, followed by a layer of Oreos {preferably double stuffed} and then top off with boxed brownie mix prepared as directed. Bake at 350* for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Cool completely {even refrigerate a little} before cutting.
Needless to say they were delish, but something to make very infrequently. They would be fun using the red Oreos during the holidays, too!
*****
All in all it was a fabulous weekend despite an ant problem in our kitchen, Rascal nabbing Kapri’s Ring Pop within the first 3 minutes and me completely losing my cool at the pool with Holden.
This year we’re attempting a more healthified Fourth of July. Lately I’ve been feeling a little {off} and am hoping that dedicating July to establishing a healthier lifestyle will alleviate some feelings and anxiety I’ve been having about my well being lately.
I have decided to bow out of a Cupcake Wars that I was invited to attend…for now, I need to step away from some cooking and baking things that I love and start focusing on lighter, less sugar meals and snacks. I’m making little tweaks with the daily eating habits, but not being unrealistic and saying that I will {never} eat ice cream again. Or cutting carbs out once and for all. Forever. No, just making better choices…fresh choices…and taking the time to prepare them and the time to sit down and ENJOY them. Eat to live, not live it eat, I guess you could say.
Yes, I will still bake indulgent goodies, but certainly not as often as I was. But I know that I also need to learn that just because I make or bake something, I do not need to eat it, but I think we all know that it’s easier said than done! For now, I am just better off not making these sweet treats at all until I can get some good focus and momentum with this new lifestyle change.
I am proud to say that I hit just over 40 miles in June and am shooting for over 45 in July. Join me on Instagram {@aaspiras} or just start your own daily log ~ it’s equals out to a little less than 1.5 miles a day. Last night alone I started the month off with 4.75 miles and wasn’t even feeling 100% so I know I got this 45 mile thing wrapped up. YOU do, too. I prefer getting out there at night when it cools off rather than an early morning outing. C’mon, let’s go!
All that said…..
Tomorrow we’re planning on hooking up the bike trailer and going for early morning Starbucks {for Jay and me} and donuts {for the kids} to kick off our Fourth.
A couple breakfast options are:
Red, White & Blue steel cut oats ~ Oats topped with raspberries, blueberries & coconut
R, W & B smoothie ~ Ice, 1/2 cup almond coconut milk, 1/2 cup low fat plain yogurt, raspberries, banana & blueberries {with a festive straw, of course!}
The Fourth isn’t complete without some burgers and fresh sweet corn…
R, W & B Turkey Burgers {protein style} ~ Fresh summer tomatoes, sweet vidalia onion and blue cheese wrapped in big lettuce leaves
Last week we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday {his actual b-day is in January} at the happiest place on earth. It was his wish to experience Disneyland with his grandkiddos and I think the trip was just as he imagined.
I loved having my iPhone for this trip because it was easy to capture special little moments quickly that we may have missed with our bulky DSLR.
1. Grinning ear to ear
2. Hibiscus Cutie
3. Popsi of The Caribbean
4. The path to Fantasyland
5. Bumpiest Autopia ride ever
6. Ice Cream snack on Main Street
7. Blue Bayou Lanterns
8. Me with The Birthday Boy
9. Silhouettes ~ A Disney tradition
10. Best Day Ever {any Phineas & Ferb fans out there??}
This trip was an extra special treat as we stayed overnight and were able to see California Adventure for the first time. We were also able to make reservations at The Blue Bayou months ago for a nice celebratory dinner {if you’re going for the Monte Cristo, be sure and make lunch resos…not served at dinner!}. Our meal was excellent and it was so neat to sit {outside under the stars} and watch the P of the C boats go by!
A BIG thank you to Popsi for coming down from Seattle to celebrate his special milestone birthday with us. We all had a fantastic time and I know that the sweet memories will be held close for a long, long time.
Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books back in the day? Where you would start reading and then have a choice of what you could do a few pages in and ultimately guide yourself through different options until the end?
Well, today kind of reminded me of that. I had to take my car in to be worked on…doesn’t sound so difficult, right? I can be without a car for a day or two and survive. But we have to throw a wrench in things and have a car that has to be serviced far, far away. It’s not like I can easily drop it off and catch a ride from a friend without inconveniencing anyone. So, with that said, I made an appointment for this morning to have a warning indicator light checked out. I was dreading today last night when I went to bed and when I woke up this morning. I was supposed to get there at 9:00 and got a late start. Goldfish crackers were my children’s breakfast. In the car. And I ran out of milk for Holden.
I was dreading the fact of having both of them with me for ultimately 8 hours in an area that I am not familiar with. I packed a beach bag with towels, bathing suits, clean clothes, buckets, shovels, etc. and thought we could spend a good portion of the day at the beach. We entered the San Fernando Valley and it was cold and gloomy which reached way down and over to the coast. I quickly decided that we may need to wait until later in the day to hit the sand. So then I thought we could meet up with our out of town friends that were in Simi Valley for the day. That meant that I would have to drop off the car, wait for Jay to come from Woodland Hills to pick us up, take him back to WH, go to Simi, visit, wait for a call for the car to be done, pick up Jay in WH and then go back to Lawndale to pick up the car before they closed. NO. Too much driving. I had the option to rent a car, so that is what I decided to do. I figured I could stay closer to the shop and not waste so much travel time. And gas money. I was literally driving and making decisions every so many miles which I did not like. I like to have a plan.
This is how our day unfolded ~ the adventures that we chose for ourselves.
{here we are still having NO idea what we’re going to do}
{finally got our Toyota Yaris}
{11:45am showing of Madagascar 3 in 3D}
{for lunch, they chose the Golden Arches and I chose this Happy Meal from Capriotti’s}
I almost died when I spotted this sandwich shop across from the mall! You can read about my love for it here.
We drove around and checked out the beach a little, but it was still yucky and by this time we would have no sooner schlepped our stuff to the sand, set it up and gotten the call that the car was done. I am sure of it. So that is when we spied a Menchi’s and the kiddos wanted frozen yogurt. I talked them into Rite Aid instead.
{their choice, cotton candy [yuck!] and my brilliant choice, chocolate malted krunch}
After our ice cream we cruised Artesia Blvd. {don’t be jealous} and then I remembered I’d seen a Michael’s over yonder earlier. We ran in there for 2 minutes since my patience level was extremely LOW by this time. No sooner did we fill up a little gas in the Yaris when I got the call that our car was ready.
By 5:15pm we were sitting in 405N traffic with a new compressor and fresh oil and filter. Yay!
I chose to listen to this rather than the #4 CD that I’ve been listening to since Christmas…
{forgot how much I loved this music, y’all!}
Since the kids really wanted pancakes over goldfish for breakfast this morning, they chose them for dinner instead.
*****
Now that I am home, in my jammies with a glass of wine, I can sit back and say, “That wasn’t SO bad.”
It was a little stressful having to deal with the estimate for parts & labor, authorizing diagnostic work and another e-mail I received this morning during all this, but we just tried to take it one step at a time and enjoy this summer day! Looking forward to lounging at the pool tomorrow before dance class and getting the house ready for my Dad’s visit next week…we’re celebrating his 80th birthday with a trip to Disneyland and California Adventure.
For the past two summers we have drafted up a to-do list to keep us busy during the short 8 weeks off before school starts again. It’s a treat to have new things to look forward to and check them off as we experience them.
We look forward to squeezing all these activities in along with our usual summer favorites ~ concerts in the park, lazy pool days, homemade ice cream, early morning park visits and trips to Golden Spoon. This year is bittersweet as Holden will be starting his elementary career as a big kindergartner. No more casual weekday play dates and lounging in pajamas on non-school days!
With that said, we will enjoy every last minute with these littles before the homework, spelling tests and sight words resume.
