Strawberries Galore

At the beginning of the Summer, when D and I magically had a day off together we decided to make a trek up north to Oxnard for the California Strawberry Festival.  We love those kitschy fairs and I think its a great way to celebrate the change in seasons too.  We drove up the scenic coast route and had a fun time taking in the sights along the way. The festival itself wasn't that big, but they had lots of booths with various themed items and snack. Of course, we felt obligated to try at least one of the strawberry flavored alcoholic beverages. So D opted for the Strawberry Beer and I tried the Strawberry Wine. I thought I was going to drink something similar to the "Strawberry Wine" Deana Carter style, but alas it ended up being more like cheap chardonnay with some "strawberry notes." D felt 'eh about his drink too, so instead we moved on to a make-your-own strawberry shortcake bar.  Pretty soon D and I reached our strawberry max and decided to head home before traffic got to insane. I got some great schwag before we left though!  Plus my dear friend Ckim is a strawberry fanatic and I picked up a few things for her too.

 

 

On a side note, we thought it was hilarious how the port-a-potties were marked . . . with a giant lift that said "TOILET" on both sides.  Guess, they didn't want people panicking while looking for a restroom.  Great job California Strawberry Festival!! Way to stay ahead of the game.

Getty

When D's dad was in town a couple weeks ago, we took him out for a full-day at the Getty Art Museum. But before we could head out to the museum, we decided to grab breakfast at Randy's Donuts.

Donuts were very good and fairly cheap too. After we had our breakfast and coffee, D and his Dad were talking about their Super Lotto tickets. As a joke, we decided to make a pact that if either of them won, then we would all split the winnings.  Not sure how I managed to sneak into that arrangement, but I happily agreed.  We took this photo to officially seal the deal. Oh and by the way . . . neither of them won.  Probably figured that one out by now.

Off to the Getty we went!  D and I went there once before with a friend, but got there pretty late to really soak everything in.  They have a great set of year-round art pieces and an interesting array of traveling shows. My favorite year-round pieces that they have are several pieces by Monet. I feel like its cliche to say that you like Monet, but I absolutely love his Haystack series.  They really speak to me for whatever reason.  I always like trying to guess what time of day it was, before reading the inscription.  Usually I'm off, but that's the fun in art, right?!

After looking around the exhibits and even going on a teensy tour, we walked the museum grounds and grabbed some fun photos. Oh and their was a traveling exhibit about trees in photographic art. While we were walking around the exhibit, I was explaining to D and J how one of my favorite books as a little kid was Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree."  We left the exhibit and were on our way to grab lunch, when J tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around and saw that he was holding out a museum gift shop bag. As I looked inside, he said "I got the last one."  It was a brand spanking new copy of "The Giving Tree"!  I was so touched and started to get a little choked up, I gave J a big hug and said a quiet "Thank you."  (Side note: as soon as we got home from our excursions I ran straight upstairs to read it.  Still amazing as ever, but now that I'm older, it has a different resonating sound for me.  Its still sitting on my bedside table.  I don't have the heart to put it away)

Silly D and J

 

J's hero

I HEART BOUGAINVILLEAS!! I want these sculptures in my backyard

 

Fun day at the museum!  Can't wait to go back.

Truck Truck Truck

D's Mama was in town this weekend and while our weekend wasn't jam packed with events as previous visits, we had a fun time being mellow around town.  We tried a couple new restaurants in Redondo Beach and Santa Monica, I even dragged her to see "The Help" with me.  Verdict: good movie, better book.  Isn't that usually the case? 

Anyhoo, on Sunday we were watching the Food Network and the most recent season of The Great Food Truck Race.  I know that food trucks have a growing presence throughout the US, but there sure seems to be a lot of them here in LA. A couple weekends back, D and I went to the Long Beach Food Truck Festival and got to sample scrumptious snacks from several different trucks. There were over 30 trucks there, so D and I decided to strategize and eat only at trucks with offerings that we wouldn't be able to find elsewhere. We saw a couple of the food trucks from the first season of the Great Food Truck Race, including Nom Nom and Crepes Bonaparte, but we decided to try some of the other trucks. On a side note the longest line, of at least 100 people, was for the Grilled Cheese Truck. Believe me, I love a grilled cheese sandwich probably more than the average person, but for some reason sitting in that line didn't appeal to either of us. After much debate, D and I decided to eat at the following trucks:

• Auntie's Frybread (Native American Fusion) - mini fry bread sliders
• Lardon (Everything Bacon) - brownie bacon and mini bacon breakfast tacos
• Great Balls (variety of international food in "ball" form) - Ballywood Balls - Garam Masal Chicken balls with coconut curry and tomato and cilantro chutney
• Chunk-n-Chip (fresh cookies and ice cream sandwiches) - Ice Cream sandwich with White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut cookies and Pistachio Ice Cream filling

Run don't walk to your closest food tuck . . . oh and bring cash.  The truck folk greatly appreciate that.

 

 

Bacon Brownie and Bacon Breakfast Tacos

 

 

 

We didn't get to eat at the truck above, Brats Berlin, but I thought the truck looked really cool!  Beautiful weather, live music, beer tents, and yummy food.  After the festival, D and I promptly went home for a mid-afternoon nap.  Fabulous day!

Pioneer Woman

I can't remember if I've talked about her before or not, but D, myself, and his Mama were watching TV last night and I literally squealed when I saw this preview of a new show on food network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/video/index.html

She is a wonderful blogger and writes about her family, life, and cooking on an Oklahoma ranch. Thanks to my time in Pullman at WSU and also to the summer I spent in Northern Colorado, I have a country-side that I need to indulge now and again. Although LA isn't exactly the spot where a semi- sort-of country girl can get her fix, I have absolutely fallen in love with the Pioneer Woman's blog. She's a wonderful photographer and her writing makes you feel like your a girlfriend giggling about what's happened recently on the ranch.  I bought her cookbook and loved it too. Haven't tried too many recipes yet, as most of them aren't exactly low carb/fat friendly, but I'm hoping to use a family get together as an excuse to whip up one of her recipes.

I've got my DVR set!  Can't wait for her new show!!

Medieval Times = Awesome Times

A couple weeks ago, D and I went to Medieval Times in Anaheim.  It was my first time there and I loved it!  We went on a Sunday evening and it was completely packed. We got there a little early and sipped on some cocktails before the main event. Upon entering the "hall," we were crowned with green cardboard crowns and dubbed supporters of the Green Knight.  At the beginning of the show, we found out the Green Knight was the bad guy in the show and unfortunately ended up losing the final battle at the end of the dinner/show. On a side note, D ran into James Van der Beek in the bathroom.  D said he even sported his blue cardboard crown too!  Would we go to this show again?  Absolutely!  Especially since you can get discounted tickets on Goldstar.com

 

 

 

Burgers

Finished up a class in Costa Mesa this week and really enjoyed being out of the house.  Although the hour-long-commute back and forth from Costa Mesa was a pain, I really enjoyed being able to drive with the windows down, radio blasting, and sun shining down on my skin.  A bunch of classmates and I had fun exploring different lunch spots in the area and I was introduced to a "new" burger joint in the area.  While pulling in to a strip mall, I noticed an In-N-Out Burger, a Sonic Drive-In, and a place called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I find it interesting that all three of these eateries were all with-in one block from each other, but all seemed to have lines forming out the door. One of my fellow lunch adventurers suggested going to Five Guys, as it was supposedly one of the best burgers ever.  Ever. I considered that to be a mighty big statement and felt up for affirming this urban legend. We walked in and the place was packed with people and also with boxes of peanuts. I learned that the peanuts were available as snacks while you waited for your food order. I ordered a "Little Cheeseburger" (single-patty burger) and ordered all of the toppings minus the pickles and mayo. My friend and I decided to split an order of fries. I thought it was cute that the restaurant had a small white board up that said "Today you're enjoy fries made from potatoes grown in Sugar City, Idaho."  Always fun to know where your food is coming from. The group of us all sat down with our orders and took our first bites. Overall, I thought the burger was good.  I didn't think it was the best I had ever had, but then again, I've never been that impressed by fast food burgers in general. For example, I feel like I may be one of the few Californians who thinks that In-N-Out is just "Eh', ok." Sacrilegious, I know. However, I will say that the fries at Five Guys were AMAZING!  The seasoning was good and the skins were left on too. Plus, I thought the fries had a good mix of crunchy versus softer textures. Props to you Sugar City, Idaho!!  Keep doing what you do best!  In conclusion, I would definitely go back to Five Guys . . . probably skip the burger and go straight to the fries.

Wedding Weekend - Main Event

Once we were all gussied up, we headed out to meet with the boys for pictures on a pier on Lake Tahoe followed then by the ceremony, dinner, and reception. This whole time while I was getting ready with the girls, D hung out with some of KT's friends from Boise and went jet skiing on Lake Tahoe! Here are the rest of the pictures from the wedding:

Bride and Groom enter the reception

 

 

D's new buddy from Boise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flowers girls dancing with their Dad