Azuki Sushi

I LOVE sushi. Love. If I could eat sushi every day, I probably would, that's how much I love it. That being said, I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sushi snob. It's not that I'm too picky, I just think that if I'm going to be eating anything in raw form, it should be as fresh as possible. Sounds logical right? Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so.

This post is about a newly discovered sushi joint that I'm pretty obsessed with. Azuki is conveniently located on 5th Avenue, far enough from all the hustle and bustle so you won't have to spend about fifteen minutes searching for a parking spot. We decided to try it out for the first time about a month ago, and have been back twice since then. They have a pretty good happy hour, but what I enjoy most about this place is that they change their daily specials.. well... daily.

Root Vegetable Fries - to die for! So, so good. 

The Alaskan Roll

The Sunshine roll and the Eel and Avocado roll

If and when you decide to check this place out for yourself, I personally recommend trying out their Grapefruit Passion cocktail. It's only $5 during happy hour, and it leaves you feeling preeetty happy ;)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I'm a serious sucker for the holidays. As soon as Halloween is over and done with, I am all about the baking/decorating/shopping activities. Living in San Diego, where the temperature hardly ever falls below 50 F, it's sometimes easy to forget what time of year it is. I personally think that there's no better way to get into the holiday spirit than by attending December Nights at Balboa Park. While most of my fellow San Diegans will agree that getting into Balboa Park during the first weekend of December is sometimes more trouble than it's worth, I personally believe that the extra dosage of Christmas lights and junk food is just the thing I need to lift my spirits. My husband and I go every year, if for no other reason than simply because the ginger bread cookies they sell there are the best I've ever had!

What gets you into the holiday spirit every year?

Florentia

Our brief stint in Florence felt like a time traveling experience. 

It seems like not much has changed since the powerful Medicis commanded this beautiful city. 

The architecture is absolutely breathtaking, 

and the proud Florentines seem to be pretty good at ignoring the awestruck tourists that wander through their busy business centre. 

I wish we had more than one day to take in everything that Florentia has to offer.. 

I suppose this just gives us an excuse to go back one day!

Cucina Urbana

I was looking through some photos to use for a post about our trip to Florence, when a sudden craving for good Italian food came over me. I've been dying to try out Cucina Urbana for a while now, but every time I attempted to make a reservation for the weekend, the place was always booked up way in advance. Fortunately, my craving just happened to take place on a Wednesday, so one phone call later, the hubby and I were on our way to scope out this busy joint.

Known for combining great ambiance, award winning cuisine and affordable prices (all items on the menu are $20 and under!), it's no wonder that this place is so busy all the time! We decided to start with some stuffed fried squash blossoms which were highly recommended by our super cute Italian waiter, Marchello. Clearly, the man knows what he's talking about, because these little babies were de-li-cious!!

For the main course, we ended up splitting a burrata + prosciutto 'caprese' salad and some cavatelli nero. Everything was delicious, and don't worry, just because the plates are under $20 doesn't mean they're sheisty with the food ;) So hurry in, make your reservation now, because like I said, this place books up fast!

P.S. The post on Florence is still coming.. stay tuned (unless another craving takes over me, tee hee)!

Lean On Me

"So is it actually leaning??" 

 A question I get all the time as soon as I tell people that Pisa was one of the places we visited during our honeymoon. 

I'll let you be the judge..

When visiting the city of Pisa,
one must take the obligatory, most obnoxious tourist picture by the tower...

So necessary!

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..

... that's amore. 

And this is Genoa, Italy - home to some of the most delicious pesto I've ever gotten my hands on!