Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Disneyland Gone Pumpkin

Sadly it's been a few weeks since my last blog post because life has just been getting busier (if that's even possible) so I thought I would return with a yummy post about my recent excursion to Disneyland!

In case you didn't know, I'm a proud member of the crazy obsessed pumpkin lovers club! Well I don't think there's an a official club, but someone really should start one due to the pumpkin flavored everything frenzy that seems to grow more and more popular each year...and trust me, I'm not complaining! I'm totally guilty of including something pumpkin-y into my daily diet during these few wonderful fall months. So naturally I've been reading a lot of articles lately about all of the new and returning pumpkin flavored foods that Disneyland is offering this year. My dad and I decided to cruise up after work last Friday and spend a relaxing evening at the happiest place on earth, while indulging in some of their tummy warming, fall spiced concoctions.

First, we tried out their very own version of a pumpkin cream cheese muffin. We picked it up at the coffee stand on Main Street USA in front of the Frontierland entrance. Unfortunately, we were too hungry when we got there that we ate the whole thing before I got a picture of it. We were slightly disappointed with the flavor. It tasted more like an apple spiced muffin rather than pumpkin, but overall it was still good. Next, we tried the pumpkin twist from Maurice's Treats located in the Fantasy Faire area. It was SO delicious!! Once again I didn't get a chance to take a picture because my dad devoured it instantly, but trust me guys...this one is a winner. I think it may have been my favorite pumpkin dessert out of all the ones we tried...maybe. It was so flavorful, without being too much and wasn't very heavy. It was light, sweet and buttery, with the perfect amount of pumpkin.

Our last yummy stop was at the Jolly Holiday Bakery on Main Street USA. We picked out the pumpkin cupcake, pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin spiced latte (in their new seasonal Halloween mug of course)!



We didn't quite understand the concept of the cupcake when we initially bought it. When we read the name "pumpkin cupcake" we assumed it meant a pumpkin flavored cupcake. However, after the first couple bites we realized that it was just a regular yellow-spiced cake with a buttercream frosting in the shape of a Mickey pumpkin. Presentation wise it was adorable and so creative, but I have to admit I was a little bummed it was just a normal cake. Luckily, we tried the pumpkin cheesecake afterward and oh my goodness...it was incredible! It tasted pretty close to pumpkin pie, but with a delicious cheesecake consistency and crust. 

Oh, I almost forgot! We also had the pumpkin beignets from the Mint Julep Bar in New Orleans at the end of the night, which is a dessert staple of ours every year, and they were yummy as always (I highly suggest trying these)!

So if you're planning a Disneyland trip this fall I definitely suggest checking out these treats for yourself, and if you try/have tried any of them I would love to hear what you liked or didn't like in the comments below!

Now looking back on all of the sugary food we had...I think I need to go on a cleanse ;)

♡♥♡

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Camping 101...Eternal Fest Weekend!

Well guys, I survived my first music festival and camp out over the past weekend in Jacumba, CA. And guess what?? It was a blast!


Yup, I actually enjoyed camping...who would have thought?! I never figured myself for a camper, but after sleeping in a tent for two nights and cooking on a mini stove I feel like I'm a pro! Alright maybe not a pro, but at least now I can add it to my list of things accomplished. :)

Eternal Fest went off with a hit on Friday afternoon. Of course it was stressful and things went wrong, but all in all it was an incredible event. Over 100 musicians were there and although the crowd wasn't as huge of a turnout as expected, the stages were constantly rocking with electronic beats that got everyone moving! Gabe and I's good friends John and his wife Brooke helped manage and put on the festival. They provided one of the stages which was an ambient dome that built entirely from scratch by John. At night it had tons of disco lights and projectors to give it that perfect dance room vibe. It was an amazing display that definitely stole the show.



Gabe had the pleasure of performing in the dome Friday and Saturday night in his one man band, Digital Lizards of Doom while I sold merch outside. It was freezing, but so neat to be a part of!


The actual camping part was quite an experience, but I definitely enjoyed it over all. Getting to hang out and share it with awesome friends was really fun and worth the discomfort of dirt, sleeping on the hard ground and using port-o-potties ;)

(Gabe in the "green room" behind the dome stage)

(Our view of the stages from our camp grounds)

(Nick, Jesse and Gabe aka my favorite boys of the weekend!)

 
(Nick showing off his awesome one man tent haha)

Can't wait until the next Eternal Fest or other music festival we get to participate in! I also want to try camping in the mountains at some point just for the fun of it. I feel like that might be a little more relaxed...just sayin' ;)

♡♥♡

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Camping...For The Non-Campers ;)

Who has two thumbs and is going camping tomorrow?? That's right folks, this girl! Some of you may or may not know, but I've actually never been camping before. You could say that my family is made up of a bunch of non-campers. My parents never camped growing up, therefore we never went camping while I was growing up. My only camping experience (if it counts) would be 6th grade camp and unfortunately it was a nightmare, thus proving to myself that I am not the camping type.

So why in the world am I going camping now? I'll tell you why...ETERNAL FEST!!


Eternal Fest is a festival out in Jacumba, CA where electronic artists get together and perform on 3 different stages for 48 hours straight. Yup. Live, nonstop music with no breaks. That means you could technically wake up at 5 in the morning if you wanted and there would be some sort of performance going on. Crazy huh?

Why am I going to this festival? Because my boyfriend is one of the bands performing! Digital Lizards of Doom will be at the Dome stage 9pm on Friday and Saturday night, grooving it up and getting the crowd moving! He is so stoked for this opportunity and I'm really excited for him as well.

Since it's an outdoor festival, naturally we will be camping. I'm pretty nervous to camp for the first time because lets face it, I'm a homebody. I like my bed, shower, chai tea latte's and fuzzy slippers. I'm not so much of a dirt, sleeping bag and no running water kind of girl. But hey, these are the things we do for love, right? ;)

I've done some research online, talked to some friends who have camped and have come up with a list of camping must haves. So if you're a seasoned camper or you've never been camping either, hopefully these tips/gadgets can come in handy for you next time you go up the the mountains or a music festival!

Camping List:
  •         Dry shampoo
  •      Deodorant
  •      Toothbrush/Toothpaste
  •      Sleeping bag for cold weather and a camping mat (for extra comfort)
  •      Chair and pop up tent for shade
  •      Flashlight (for late night bathroom trips)
  •      Non-perishable food (like granola bars, trail mix, canned soup, oatmeal and dried fruit)
  •      Make up (but stick to BB creams and light foundation)
  •      Sunscreen
  •      Toilet paper
  •      Towel
  •      Bags for dirty clothes
  •      Summer Eve wipes (for all my ladies)
  •      Baby wipes/wet ones...lots of them!
If you have any other suggestions or things I may have forgotten, comment below and let me know!

      For now, wish me luck and happy camping! ♡♥♡


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Autumn To-Do's

Fall is officially here people!! Sound the bells and trumpets, bust out your cozy sweaters and grab a mug of pumpkin spiced deliciousness!


I am sooo excited you guys. Leaves, pumpkins, cider and decorations galore! I already posted a blog a few weeks ago about some fall DIY decorations I've been working on/inspired by, but I thought I would post and share a fall bucket list I recently found on Pinterest that I'm determined to knock out this year :)


I unintentionally started it a little early with a couple pumpkin spiced lattes and scented candles hehe! There are a few things on here that I'm not quite sure I'll get the chance to do/want to do (like tailgate before a football game because I don't watch football) but watching Hocus Pocus and carving a pumpkin...count me in.

A small tradition my boyfriend and I have started doing each year is driving up to Julian a couple weeks before Halloween. We love to walk around the small town, get lunch at the Rongbranch Restaurant, go through shops and of course make a stop at the Julian Pie Company to get an apple pie to bring home!


So yummy!! What are some traditions you have for the Autumn season?

♡♥♡

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Beer Infused Cupcake Success!

Happy Tuesday, all! Today I thought I'd share about my first beer/cupcake pairing event I had last Friday. Earlier this month I wrote about how I was beginning to experiment with creating beer infused cupcakes so I could participate in an event Intergalactic Brewing Company wanted to put on. Well the event happened and I must say...it was a HUGE success!!

(Our table display)

Gabe (my boyfriend) and I arrived around 5pm to set up the tent, table, etc. There weren't too many people at the tasting room so I was feeling pretty nervous at this point that no one was going to show up. Let's face it, a lot of times people flake or things come up. It happens, I've done it too. So I prepared myself to be left with a bunch cupcakes at the end of the night. However, that definitely didn't happen. At 6pm on the dot I had my first customers perusing the table waiting to try my cupcakes! It was crazy because I didn't know these women and they told me they had been referred to come out by a friend of theirs. AKA, my cupcakes were getting around before people had even tried them. So cool :)

Within the first half hour a ton of friends started showing up and before I knew it, I was already out of half of my cupcakes. It was a great blend of getting to see some of the people I love try my cupcakes and complete strangers trying them as well. Gabe told me later that he stayed in the tasting room to eavesdrop on everyone's reactions...and using his words he said "everyone loved them and wanted more!"

A little after 7pm I completely ran out of cupcakes. I was totally shocked and really blown away at everyone's responses and support. There were tons of people who showed up later in the evening that didn't even get to try them...so for all of you, I will make sure to have double the amount next time so you don't miss out <3 Speaking of next time, the owner of Intergalactic Brewing Company was very happy with the outcome of the evening and already invited me back for their Halloween event!! I hope everyone will show up to that because I will be showcasing some new fall flavors!

Anyways, as you can probably tell I'm still buzzing from that day and feeling more pumped up than ever to continue this side business! I'm hoping by the next event I will have more cupcakes, business cards and a few other surprises :)

For now I'll leave you with a little cupcake love!

(Me with my chocolate coconut porter cupcake!)
Photo credit: Alexa Rae Johnson

♡♥♡

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Dapper Day Shenanigans

I know this post is a week after Disneyland's Dapper Day Fall Soiree, but I've been crazy busy and haven't had a moment until now to sit down and write about it. However, let me start out by saying that Dapper Day has definitely outdone itself once again!

This year was SO much fun! The unofficial event has definitely taken over Disney parks and is growing bigger and better each time. Only being it's fifth year taking place, they impressed everyone by not only having their regular meet ups in the parks and hotels, but by taking it a step further with the Dapper Day Expo. This was located at the Disney Grand Californian Hotel (where we stayed at) in their convention hall. Businesses from all around Southern California came together to put on an expo that highlighted all things vintage and dapper! From clothing to artwork to personalized drawings of yourself dressed up in your dapper finest, they really stepped up their game with this addition to the day's events.


Aside from the expo Dapper Day included other fun meet ups at the carousel in Fantasyland, the bar at the Grand Californian Hotel and the after party at the Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. This year my friends and I didn't partake in a lot of the meet ups, but we still had a blast getting dolled up and strutting down main street ;) It was really hot during the day so we decided to hold off until the evening to showcase our outfits, but it seemed like many others had the same idea so it was neat seeing everyone make the transition from daytime "normal clothes" to evening "fancy attire." There were some who braved the whole day in their suits and dresses, so to all of you...I give you major kudos!!

I mentioned in my last blog that my boyfriend, Gabe, and I were going to "disneybound" dapper day style as Wall-E and Eve so I thought I would include some pictures of us in our getups!

 



 It was such a great trip and a much needed Disneyland fix for a disney addict like me ;) Comment below if you went, I'd love to hear about other people's dapper day adventures!

♡♥♡

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Fallin' For Fall

Yup. It's getting to be that time of the year people...Fall time! Goodbye summer, hello autumn!! Every year when September rolls around there's this automatic switch in my brain that turns on and suddenly I become obsessed with all things fall.

(This reminds me of my dad's truck and I just LOVE the mound of pumpkins!)

Actually, I'm sort of obsessed with Fall year round because it's my favorite season other than winter, but whatever. I seem to explode into fall mode even more once Summer months are gone! Woot woot!

Naturally I've been looking on Pinterest lately for some new fall decor ideas to spice up things at home. Even though the weather here in San Diego is still screaming summer time and we never really see much seasonal weather (which for the most part is nice), it doesn't stop me from busting out pumpkin flavored/scented everything, warm fall colors and LOTS of candles (; These are some ideas I'm really loving that people have put together:

(Love the idea of using pumpkins instead of candles on the candle sticks!)


(Adoring these simple and easy DIY fall "signs")

(Definitely loving the colors and use of flowers, pumpkins and leaves in this!!)

I'm going to run down to Michael's later today to pick up stuff to hopefully make some of these cute creations myself! Yay!

But I'll leave you with this saying, which I think defines my feelings towards the season perfectly:



13 days 'til Fall!! Muwahaha :)


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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Dapper Day Ready!

Hello all! This Friday, Sept. 12th, is Disneyland's unofficial Fall 2014 Dapper Day soiree! So if you know me at all, you know I'll be there!! ;) If you don't know what Dapper Day is, it's basically an event that people started putting together a few years ago where everyone who partakes comes to Disneyland dressed in their Sunday best attire (like from when the park first opened in 1955). It's super fun to go and see everyone all dolled up, walking around a theme park! The first year it started it was pretty small, but now it's blown up enough that there are meet ups throughout the day where everyone gets together and goes on certain rides at the same time, there are "mixers" at the hotel bars, and even an after party in Downtown Disney. This isn't an official Disney event, but Disneyland has recognized the popularity of it and now offers hotel discounts and this year is putting on an expo in honor of Dapper Day!

Last fall was my first year going. I went up with my dad, sister and Gabe (my boyfriend). We stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel and took part in some of the meet ups! It was so fun talking to random people who were also dressed up and others who weren't that had never heard of Dapper Day!

(Maura, dad, me and Gabe in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle)

This year Gabe and I are taking two of our friends up there for a couples trip. We are going to stay at the Grand Californian again because the discount is too good to pass up! After going last year we have a better idea of how it all works and how dressy/not dressy we want to get. I was looking around online and noticed that people were also starting to incorporate "disneybounding" into their outfits, and so after going back in forth on many characters we've decided to dress up as characters from one of our favorite Pixar movies, WALL-E.


I have most of our outfits pieced together and am hopefully picking up the final touches today. I'll definitely be blogging about it later this week/next weekend so stay tuned for lots of pictures! ;)

Happy Sunday funday!!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Beer + Cupcakes = Beercakes?

Second post in one week?! Craziness, I know! But I thought I'd give an update on what I've been working on lately at home while in between job searching! Even though my baking career at Zooies ended I've still playing around with pastries in my spare time. I've been trying to learn new techniques and recipes, while coming up with my own ideas as well. There's this semi-new concept arising in the food/alcohol industries called beer and cupcake pairings. Bars or breweries will host events where local bakeries or independent pastry chefs can bring their cupcakes (or sometimes donuts!) in and pair them with certain beers so that the cupcakes and beers compliment one another in flavoring. It seemed like a really fun concept, but as I continued to do research I found a few people were even beginning to take it a step further and infuse the actual cupcakes with beer. This obviously sounded super delicious so immediately I was interested in trying it out for myself! I brainstormed and researched different flavor pairings and came up with two cupcakes, one being a spiced cupcake and the other a double chocolate cupcake...yuuuum.

With a spiced cupcake being lighter, I figured a lighter beer would be a good choice. So you can guess that for a chocolate cupcake a darker beer would probably fit nicely :) I got to work finding recipes and beers and came up with these the first time around:

(Spiced cupcake with Samuel Smith's pale ale and a whipped cream cheese frosting)

(Double chocolate cupcake with Samuel Smith's oatmeal stout and a chocolate cream cheese frosting)

They were a hit with my friends and family so my boyfriend Gabe told me about this brewing company called, Intergalactic Brewing Co.,  he'd met at a beerfest recently and how the owner was interested in doing beer and cupcake pairing events at his brewery. We decided to venture up there, try some beers and hopefully bring some home to infuse into the cupcakes. Well let me tell you, their beers are quite delicious and it was really easy to find a couple winners that would pair amazingly with my cupcakes! The next day I whipped up a couple batches using the same cupcake recipes, just switching out the beers and here are the final results: 


They came out better than the first round did (taste and presentation haha) so Gabe and I took these bad boys up to Intergalactic, sat down with the owner and had him try these along with the beers that were infused in the cupcakes and to my surprise he loved them! He liked the concept and product enough that we already booked an event with them to have a beer/cupcake tasting night using MY cupcakes!!! Yay!! I'm so excited for this opportunity and very nervous too!

So if anyone reads this post...come out to Intergalactic Brewing Company on Friday September 19th from 6pm to 9pm and try these for yourself along with some delicious beer! You know you want to...(:

I'm off to go practice my piping skills...because these cupcakes better look beeeeautiful for their formal debut to the public! ;)

Sunday, August 31, 2014

New Beginnings...Again

It's been another 3 months where I've disappeared. This whole year has been insane and full of many changes and once again there is a lot to catch up on!

In my last post I announced I had been hired by Zooies. I was working as a pastry chef in the kitchen making cookies and ice cream. I spent an incredible 2 months getting to learn from the other (much more experienced) pastry chefs, developing friendships and working at a job where I actually LOVED what I was doing. Unfortunately, at the end of July we received news that Zooies was undergoing new management and they immediately decided to shut us down because we weren't profitable enough in sales. It was a huge and unexpected disappointment, but alas...life goes on. Even though I was only there for 2 months I wouldn't trade the experience and memories for anything.

(last day with my wonderful coworkers/manager)

Since losing my job, this past month I've been back on the job hunt. I applied for several bakery positions, animal related positions, a few educational positions and other random jobs. I went on job interviews, but turned down the positions because I felt like I couldn't settle for a generic desk job after knowing there are awesome companies out there, like Zooies, worth searching for.

Well, this past week I interviewed with a non-profit organization, The Barrio Logan College Institute, for a tutoring/TA position at an elementary school. The organization offers help to lower income families, ensuring that their children will get a great education and encouragement to pursue their dreams of going to college someday. A few days after my interview I got a call from the woman who interviewed me and she offered me the job which I gladly accepted. Although this isn't baking, it's definitely a step towards exploring another passion of mine, helping kids! The company seems awesome and really enthusiastic about what they do and I hope to learn as much as I can from this experience (just like all the others) no matter how long I'm there for.

So now that we're up to date again I really hope to get back into my blog and make regular posts again. I might start doing shorter posts that feature things I'm doing or enjoying through mainly just pictures...but I don't know yet. We'll see :)

See ya in 3 months! (Just kidding!)...hopefully ;)

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Cookies For Days

So you know how I was saying in my last blog that things have been kind of crazy lately? Well if you can imagine, last week it got crazier. I received a call last Tuesday about a pastry cook job I had submitted a resume for via craigslist a couple weeks back. The manager was super sweet and said she liked my enthusiasm and wanted me to come in for an interview on Wednesday. I was really shocked because most places only want people who have experience and/or education in culinary arts, which I don't. I said OF COURSE and the next day I had my interview!

The company is called Zooies Bakery and they offer a wide selection of homemade cookies and ice cream. The store has only been open since October so they are pretty new, but I walked in for my interview and was pleasantly surprised to see an adorable little counter/cookie display case, huge sign and open window showing the full kitchen in the back. I was pleasantly surprised because strange as it sounds, the bakery is located inside a convenience store. I know...sounds bizarre. But trust me, TRUST! It's totally awesome :) In fact, here's a little picture of when they opened:

(A few of my coworkers and manager are in this pic!)

So anyway, I walked in for my interview with Stephanie (the manager) and she was so nice and welcoming. It was really informal and casual. I told her a bit about myself and how I'm sort of lost right now trying to find my passion in life. She explained that she had been in the same situation when she graduated college too and that's why she wanted to take a chance on me! She went on a talked about the position...basically I'd be making cookies all day in the back kitchen, assisting customers in the front and keeping everything tidy throughout the shifts. She made it sound like everyone got along really well and that they try to keep it a fun environment so that you want to come to work. This all seemed great to me so at the end of the interview she said she would call my references and as long as everything checked out fine she'd give me a call later that day.

Well...less than two hours later I was at lunch when I got a call from Stephanie who offered me the job!!! It felt so great that she liked me enough to give me a shot and allow me this amazing opportunity. Thursday I had to go in and fill out a ton of paperwork and pick up my chef uniform, then Saturday I started training and worked Sunday and Monday. It's crazy how fast it all happened, but it's been a lot of fun (and work) so far and I'm really enjoying it!! My coworkers are just as awesome as Stephanie and have been so helpful getting me adjusted and teaching me the ropes. I have a really great feeling about this job and can't wait to see where it takes me!

Besides, if nothing else...I get to make these whenever I want:


COOKIE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES PEOPLE!!!!


I'll leave you to drool over that for a while ;)

Monday, June 2, 2014

Just Another Manic Monday

Well I just got off work at my elementary school and realized it's been A WEEK since my last blog! Womp womp. I'm really trying to post more regularly, but it's just been hard because life has been pretty darn busy lately and I'm not the best at juggling everything. So anyways, last week I worked all week which is normal...my last day is next Friday!!! I can't believe it. Time sometimes feels so slow, but actually it's passing you by. I'm looking forward to leaving, but anxious to see what will come next!

Besides working, I went to Disneyland (yes, I know...AGAIN haha) on Wednesday. This was my third Wednesday in a row going and let me tell you, I'm not complaining! It's such a nice getaway half way through the week to go up, eat some yummy food, walk around and be in great company of my friends and family. This time I went with my dad and one of my close friends Ariel, aka the little mermaid ;) We hung out at Carsland in DCA, did a few rides, then went to Disneyland and got bread bowls with soup for dinner (can I get a "yuuuum" please?!) The parks have been pretty crowded the past couple weeks due to gradnight celebrations for high schools so we didn't do too much, but we still had a great mini vaycay trip!




Friday was another eventful day. After work I headed up with my boyfriend, Gabe, to Del Mar because his band (Digital Lizards of Doom) was invited to play at the VIP media event to promote the upcoming Del Mar Fair that evening!! It was such an amazing experience. When we got there we went through the back entrances like special VIP's and all got "staff" wristbands. Then we drove onto the fairgrounds where the stage was located that Gabe would be playing on. We unloaded everything and then Gabe, along with his two friends that perform as Dizzy and Echo (the characters on stage during their shows) started warming up. I started walking around the rest of the fair, which looked mostly set up and realized that all of the food and drink stands were open and even better than that...everything was completely free. FREE, PEOPLE, FREEEEEEEEE! Ev-er-y-thing. It was like we had died and gone to free fair food heaven. It was all sample portions which was perfect because it left room to try tons of food. I, of course, immediately stuffed my face haha. I had mini tacos, tasty chips, corn on the cob, Pink's hot dogs, a cupcake sundae and I'm pretty sure a few more items. Reading this back to myself makes me feel like a bit of a fatty, but I'm pretty sure anyone in this situation would have done the exact same thing! :)

Once we all ate to the point of sickness (half joking), it was time for the Digital Lizards of Doom to come out and bring the place down!! They did such a great job as always. Lots of people came by from different media promotions and watched their performance it was super rad!! We also passed out tons of CD's and business cards and chatted it up with new listeners who all seemed interested in coming to the actual show on the 14th! BTW, if you're reading this and you have no clue what I'm talking about then check out DLOD's website or facebook for info!! http://dlodband.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/dlodcore




It was a very successful and fun filled night!! The next day Gabe had another show at The Stage Bar downtown and it was a major let down. If you ever go downtown and are looking for bars DON'T go there. The sound guy and staff were an hour and a half late, extremely rude, only let DLOD play for barely 30 minutes and then the owner got there and the sound guy had the nerve to tell him that Gabe and the rest of us were the one's that showed up late so that was why there wasn't a big crowd of people...really?!?! Such a lame guy. So the long of the short of it is, Gabe and DLOD won't be performing there anymore and if you're looking for a nice, friendly, honest business to hang out at I definitely wouldn't suggest that place.

We still made it a fun night with late dinner at Lazy Dog Cafe, which is one of my favorite places to go! On Sunday, Gabe and I went to Solana Beach and it just happened that a street fair was going on so we got some local food and hung out there most of the day relaxing from the busy week.


Hope everyone else had an awesome week and is looking forward to making this week even more fabulous!!!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Memorial Weekend Fun

Well this weekend has been busy so far, but very relaxing which has been much needed! Saturday I cleaned a bunch then went to the mall with my sister and did some summer shopping because I've lost a little over 10 pounds since last summer and none of my shorts or pants fit anymore so it was a good excuse to buy some new clothes...and let's face it ladies, we want any excuse to shop ;) I bought some shorts, pants a couple tops (because even most of my current tops are a size too big nowadays) and a couple adorable "statement" necklaces because I've become obsessed with them lately! Later in the evening I found I had the house to myself so I took a little "me time" and made a super delicious, quick and easy meal that a girl on youtube I watch suggested. It's a shrimp pasta salad with grape tomatoes, asparagus, feta cheese, shrimp and brown rice spiral pasta noodles (of course). Drizzle it with some greek feta dressing or whatever suits your fancy and voila! Yummy in the tummy!


Sooooo good! Anyway, I paired it with some red wine in my new wine glasses that I also bought at the mall from Anthropologie and had a nice quiet night in.

Today, Gabe and I had lunch with a couple friends of ours that live up in Murrieta at Sushi Deli. This was my OOTD (outfit of the day)...I wore some of the new clothes I bought yesterday. Everything is from Forever 21.


It was amazing getting to see them since we don't get the chance very often! They are the sweetest couple and I'm so thankful to have met them through Gabe. Afterward, Gabe and I went to Sunset Cliffs and walked around the beach, enjoying the beautiful afternoon with some froyo :)




Tomorrow the fam, Gabe and I are going to see the new X-Men movie so I'll post my thoughts about it in my next blog!

Farewell from the always sunny, beachy san diego (;