February 28, 2012

Weekend Diary


Last weekend flew by waaaaay too quickly,
but I was lucky enough to spend it with 90% of my best friends.

Here's a little glimpse of what my days and nights were filled with..

..dinner at Underbelly..
Belly of the Beast - oxtail dumpling, smoked brisket, hoisin glazed short rib

..hosting a bridal shower for one of my beautiful friends,
whose wedding I get to be a part of in less than 2 months!

..dinner at Island Prime..
Lobster Mac & Cheese... so good!

..and finally,
brunch for my beautiful friend's birthday..

The weather in San Diego could not have been more perfect,
and yeah,
I'll be spending the next month at the gym.

Did you all have a good weekend?
I certainly hope so!

natasha

February 26, 2012

Sac Town


Throughout the past week, 
I've been showing you a few photos from our trip to Tahoe

Well,
to get there, 
we flew from San Diego to Sacramento,
and rented a car for the drive up to the mountain. 

On the way back,
we had a few hours to spare before the flight,
so we decided to take a little tour of the California state capitol. 

Sacramento is a charming city. 
Our first stop was at the capitol building,
followed by some delish Chinese food, 
and a stroll through Old Sacramento. 

I even had a chance to squeeze in an antique shopping spree,
where I managed to buy a twenty-volume collection of books printed in the 1800's,
as well as some glassware to complete our home bar. 

It was the perfect way to end our weekend trip.
Planking the capitol. nbd. 

natasha

February 24, 2012

Oh Tahoe - Part II

Wearing a million layers, which include Guess jeans, French Connection cowl-neck sweater and Burberry jacket.
The huz needs to perfect his kissing pose.. till then, it's just awkward to look at.
Just wanted to share a few more photos from Tahoe with you. 
I think I've done a fair share of complementing this place in my last two posts,
so with that said,
I'd just like to wish you a happy Friday. 

Toodles!

natasha

February 23, 2012

Thursday Travel Tips


This week's Thursday Travel Tips 
are inspired by our latest Trip to Lake Tahoe

While most people go up to Tahoe to "shred the gnar",
the husband and I were just looking for a romantic getaway. 
If you're like me,
a.k.a. unsteady on your feet,
or if you're getting ready to head up to the mountain for the first time and you're not sure what to expect,
I hope that these tips will guide you in the right direction. 

Where to stay:
First things first,
I should probably mention that Lake Tahoe is huge!
When looking to book a hotel for this destination,
you will most likely come across two options:
South vs. North.
While the South shore is known for its main strip of hotel casinos,
the North shore is generally more laid back.

The husband and I decided to stay at the Montblue resort in South Lake Tahoe this time around,
so we could play during the day,
and party at night. 
Our hotel was situated right in the middle of the main strip, 
which put us in close proximity with all the touristy attractions.
Again, if you're looking to get away from all the hustle and bustle,
and people in general,
I would recommend you to book a cabin in North Lake Tahoe. 

From what I hear,
both shores are be-au-tiful all year round,
so you're pretty much guaranteed gorgeous scenery no matter where you stay. 

Where to eat:
On our first night in Tahoe,
we met up with some friends who live in the area.
They invited us to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant called Sushi Pier.
Not gonna lie, 
I was a little skeptical about this place at first because I'm honestly a bit of a sushi snob,
but the minute our waitress started bringing out platters of fresh nigiri, 
I was sold!
And to think,
you can literally eat as much as you want for only $25! 
Unreal... I wish we had a place like that in San Diego.
Unfortunately, 
we were way too busy chatting and stuffing our faces so I didn't think about taking any pictures,
but you can take my word for it - this place was AWESOME. 

Pulehu Baby Back Pork Ribs - open fired and basted with a savory sesame garlic soy
Pan Caramelized Miso-Yaki Sea Bass - Thai basil mash, wilted kula greens with balsamic ponzu buerre blanc
The next night,
we decided to keep it mellow,
so the husband and I dropped in to Kalani's.
I read a bunch of great reviews about this Hawaiian fusion restaurant,
so I was excited to give it a try.
Fortunately, we were not disappointed.
Both of the entrees we ordered were featured in Bon Appetit magazine,
and for good reason! 
The sea-bass melted in my mouth,
and the ribs were falling off the bone!

The last place I'd like to recommend to you all is Zephyr Cove Lodge Restaurant
Yeah, the food was good - not anything exceptional - but good.
What really made this place stand out,
were the friendly people. 
We came across this place because that's where our snow-mobiling excursion was organized,
and were happy that we got there early enough to sit back and enjoy some bloody marys before going up the mountain. 

What to do:
Like I mentioned above,
we booked our snowmobiling adventure through Zephyr Cove,
and I can honestly tell you it was one of the best experiences!
After about 10 minutes of instructions,
(it was my first time, and I was a bit nervous),
we settled onto our mobiles and proceeded to ride through about 45 miles of mountain terrain,
up to peaks of 9,000 feet above sea level. 
If you're nervous about doing something like this,
DON'T BE!
It took only a few minutes of getting used to,
and made for such a fun ride.

Tahoe is known for being extremely picturesque,
and there's no better way to take in the scenery than by going on a little hike.
The mountain is full of designated trails,
so we decided to pull over a couple of times during our drive, 
to stretch out our bones and breathe in that fresh air. 


Have you ever been to Tahoe?
I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have!
Feel free to leave a comment below, 
or shoot me an email. 

natasha

February 21, 2012

Oh Tahoe - Part I

Oh hey.
Remember me?
Sorry I haven't posted since last week..
but the hubs and I ran away again. 
This time to beautiful Lake Tahoe. 

We were lucky enough to get the day off on Monday,
{thank you Mr. President}
so we decided to take a romantic trip up to Nor Cal.

Yeah,
that's what we "So Calners" like to call anything north of L.A. 
Anyhoo...

You may want to get your sunglasses out,
because the photos below are amazingly bright. 
I swear all these backdrops are real though..
crazy beautiful, right?
Apparently I smile like Elvis sometimes? 
Oh, and I'm also pretty badass.
First order of business was to go snow-mobiling. 
Not gonna lie,
I was a little nervous about it at first,
but it ended up being one of the funnest activities ever!
If you've never tried it before,
I highly recommend you get on that asap. 
I'll provide more details about our excursion in this week's Thursday Travel Tips.

After our adventure-packed morning,
we filled our bellies with freshly caught seafood,
and proceeded to play around on the beach.
It was unbelievable to me, how clear the lake water was. 
Truly breath-taking scenery,
wouldn't you say?

natasha