Give Thanks

Dear eight pound, six ounce, newborn baby Jesus,

thank you for blessing me with..

an amazing man who I get to call my husband,

a healthy, loving family,

and generous, loyal friends.

There are a million other things I have to be thankful for,

but I'm not going to bore you with that list. 

Instead, I'm going to pay it forward,

by sharing this awesome recipe with you. 

Ooooh yeah,

just pulled mine out of the oven.

Getting all Martha Stewart on ya'll!

You're welcome.

Home Alone

Via

The husband and I have been making some pretty big moves lately. 

As in... 

buying a house.

Yep.

Yours truly is now a proud home owner.

How you like them apples?!

Three bedrooms, two baths,

in central San Diego. 

With a yard. 

And a garage! 

Now here comes the hard part... 

decorating. 

Lucky for me, 

one of my best friends happens to own her very own design firm.

Etherian Home - check it out, they do amazing work.

I only hang with the best. 

She's going to help me turn our little crib into a French Chateau. 

Hence the photos above.

That's the inspiration. 

Below are some pieces that will help me turn inspiration into reality,

oh, and my bank account into a very big negative amount. 

1/2/3/4

Weekend Diary

I'm getting pretty darn good at this "relaxing weekend" business.

The weather in So Cal has been acting surprisingly... fall-ish. 

You know -

rain.. wind.. cooler temperatures.

I absolutely love it. 

Thanksgiving is only a few days away,

and for once,

I actually feel like it's time!

Back to my weekend though...

A lot of lounging was done.

Home-cooked dinner on Friday,

movie night with my girls on Saturday,

and a spontaneous trip to Universal Studios Hollywood on Sunday. 

Now, you may be thinking to yourself,

why would you go to a theme park on the rainiest day of the year, you weirdo?

Well... when free tickets present themselves, I have a VERY hard time saying no.

We even dragged some friends along with us,

and you know what?

We all had an awesome time. 

An extra bonus of monsoon weather at the park?

No lines!

We were done with all the rides within a few hours, 

and then treated ourselves to a few brewskies at the bar for the remainder of the day.

Sunday Funday at its best. 

So Cal Bloggers Unite!

Guess what ya'll?!

Last Sunday I attended my very first bloggy blog meet-up!

It was such an awesome night!

Tammy, Olivia, Kelsey and Stephanie 

did such a great job putting this thing together. 

As you can see, 

the turnout was outstanding. 

We gathered at Flavor Del Mar,

an uh-mazing location that treated us to flights of champagne and other delicious goodies. 

It was such a pleasure to meet all these beautiful bloggers. 

And guess what?

We even got goodie bags! 

Oh you fancy, huh?

That's right..

Guess what else? 

Yours truly won herself a free dance class with Vavi. 

Wooot!

Anywho... 

Everyone had such a great time,

that the next meet-up is already in the works. 

Are you a So Cal blogger?

Would you like to join us next time?

Well don't be shy.

Shoot me an email or something... 

I can't actually read your mind.

Weekend Diary

Although this weekend started off kind of poorly...

Yeah, I know the Chargers lost.

Again. 

No need to rub it in, really. 

It actually turned around quite nicely, and ended up to be one of the best couple of days I've had in a while. 

It went a little something like this:

- game night at Tivoli's

- date night at Hive Sushi Lounge

- lots of beer at the Bikes Boards & Brews! festival

- even more beer, along with some pool at Live Wire

- and finally my very first official blog meet up (an entire different post coming up about this topic)

How was your weekend?

By the by, can you believe Thanksgiving is NEXT week???

What tha....

Oh my, Armani

Two of my greatest passions in life are traveling and fashion,

so it's no surprise that I've spent the past couple of days gawking over the photos 

from the grand opening event of Armani Hotel Milano.

Jessica Alba, Peter Sarsgaard and Maggie Gyllenhaal, 

were among the many stars who came out to celebrate last Thursday night. 

The hotel, 

which features 95 rooms and suites, and is complete with Armani Casa furniture,

is located opposite the entrance of Milan's Via Monte Napoleone,

the city's legendary high-end fashion shopping district. 

The launch of the Milano follows the great success of the designer's first venture,

The Armani Hotel Dubai, 

located in Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world.

Accommodations at the new hotel range from $680 to $14,950,

and the property's "lifestyle managers" vow to meet guests' "every wish and need". 

Really? Now that's service!

Photos via here, here and here. 

Weekend Diary

The weather in San Diego was a bit bipolar in the past few days -

pouring rain on Friday,

gorgeous on Saturday,

and back to rain on Sunday. 

Worked out pretty great actually...

Gave us an excuse to cuddle on the couch and watch movies,

with just enough time to sneak in a 10k  run and outdoor cocktails at The Glass Door in between.

It was a perfectly relaxing weekend. 

I couldn't ask for anything more.

What did you do this weekend?

Burlap

{Bloody Mary & Hemingway's Lover}

{squid: sweet heat & cilantro creme fraiche}

{ribeye bahn witch mi: bleu cheese, balsamic teriyaki & caramelized onion}

{tunaburger: wasabi aioli & pickled ginger}

This weekend I finally got to visit Burlap.

It. Was. Awesome.

The "Asian Cowboy" concept is presented to you by an award winning trio,

celebrity chef Brian Malarkey, nightlife and hospitality mogul James Brennan, and designer extraordinaire Thomas Schoos.

Yes, these are the same guys that gave us Searsucker. 

Thank you, gentlemen. 

Your efforts are much appreciated. 

So what the hell is "Asian Cowboy" cuisine anyway?

Well, it's pretty much my dream come true. 

It's where the "west eats meat", 

and the menu offers a hybrid of meat, seafood, and bold sides, 

with an Asian influence. 

Sounds awesome, right?

The hubs and I visited during brunch time,

but were happy to find a generous selection that ranges from 

pulled pork, sesame spinach & balsamic eggs benedict,

to "phramen", a mix between ramen and pho (omg, dream come true).

I personally recommend you start off with some squid.

It may have been the BEST I've ever had. 

And I eat a lot of squid, you dig?

So, what do you think?

Will you give Burlap a go??