A gorgeous day....

Hey Bloggies! I have been super busy and just realized I have something planned every day and night for the next 30 days! There is no reprieve, I tell you. I am actually out of town three of the next four weekends too.

My posting may be limited, needless to say. I am busy, but I certainly have a gorgeous life. :)

In the meantime, I am soaking up San Diego. Last Sunday I did some really fun things!!!

First thing, I went for a walk at North Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines is a state beach and park with hiking trails overlooking the Pacific. There is also a park on the East side of the coast highway with great views and it's free! (You have to pay for the beach side if you don't find street parking.) I have been wanting to get out to Torrey Pines to take some pictures of all the wildflowers. There has been so much rain and wildflowers are everywhere! I took 80 pictures! They are all pretty, but I will just share a few of my favorites:

Can you see my favorite bridge in the background here?

After my gorgeous walk, I got to go to Rosemary's studio for some painting lessons!!! Check In out here

Rosemary just put in bright red carpet and it was such a nice afternoon. 

Here are some pictures of the studio. We had tea, did tai chi, and painted! I really liked it. I wasn't very good, but it was relaxing and I got some supplies so I can do it at home.

Here are some of the pretty giant brushes. We just used regular Chinese brushes. These brushes are for sale and all say "Made for the Dancing Brush"

Here are some pictures of the property surrounding the studio:

And here is some of my work!

After being schooled by Rosemary, Aaron and I went for a cruise in the hotrod! We went to this cool new pub where we had a good beer and great burger. I had a veggie burger with garlic and sweet potato fries. YUM! This place is very cool....Encinitas Ale House

This burger was delish!!! It was so good.

After eating lunch at 4, we weren't really hungry for dinner so I made us a light salad with fava beans I got at the Del Mar farmers market. The fava beans were a ton of work and produced a lot of waste. I bought 2 pounds of pods for $4. Then we had to shell them, then parboil the beans, and shell them again. I would guess we ended up with about a cup and a half from a huge bag full. See:

The finished, de-podded, de-shelled beans:

Then I made them into a salad inspired by the book "A Platter of Figs"

Basically, I took the fava beans and mixed them with:

1 thinly sliced fennel bulb

Juice of 1 meyer lemon

1/4 cup chopped parsley (mint would have been better)

1 tablespoon olive oil

S&P

TASTY!

I served that with some seeded bread I made from Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks Blog. This bread was very easy and turned out amazing. We have had it for breakfast with avocado from the CSA, for dinner with salad, and I made it one night with sautéed sweet potatoes on top. Make this flat bread! It made six rounds which I put in the fridge for whenever I want to pop some in the oven!

And that my friends, was a gorgeous, albeit long, day!!!!

Alcatraz....

Having spent a large portion of my life in San Francisco...it took me until the age of 30 to get to Alcatraz! Really!!! It was AMAZING. So pretty. I can't describe in words, so I will give you pictures.....

Does anyone else see the ghost in this picture??????

These birds did the naughty later....

I highly recommend going to the island...whether you are a tourist or a local...it's an amazing adventure. 

XO

Bridge

So I forgot to add these pictures of this bridge I LOVE in Del Mar. It's looking out over the Torrey Pines Lagoon and Beach beyond highway 101....

Ahh.....this place is ok.... 

It's a doozy...

Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I turned a year older. Oh well. I actually am not that sad. Except it was sad because:

I had the flu and a sinus infection for about 10 days including my birthday. I had to cancel the majority of my birthday plans and laid on the couch for way too long. (I did get to go out for a great dinner to a Vigilucci's restaurant....my friend Erica's husband, Matt, is a regional manager for the restaurants. They are amazing Italian restaurants all over North County Coastal San Diego. They are great!)

There were several earthquakes, most of which I didn't feel.

And  the fun big news!!! Aaron got his car working well enough to bring it all the way out to Del Mar!!!!  Whahoo!!! I wish I could show you'all how this car looked when I first saw it a few years ago. It was a MESS. I thought Aaron was nuts to think he could ever drive it. Well, he did it, and here it is:

I bought that grill! (Who am I???)

Look at the pretty flowers in the background!!!!

The proud crafty guy....

It's a 53 Chevy....in case you didn't get that.......it also has a 6 inch chop.....umm? Legal? Probably not!!!!

I think that driving this tank is harder than it looks!!!

Aaron came to get me for a little drive. Thanks to my aforementioned illness, driving around in a car without windows was fairly painful and short lived. But fun while it lasted!!! We went to Torrey Pines too...so pretty...and look at the man!

 

I was so proud of Aaron. He has been working on this car for YEARS so to see it actually driving, was really incredible. :)

What else? I need a new camera. Really. I also need a new computer, cell phone, and a car detailing. I am also running out of yoga classes. Ah....when will this economy get better???

Which reminds me...my yoga challenge was interrupted with the flu. BUT.... I did yoga every day for 31 days in a row...pretty cool. I am pleased. I really like challenging myself in that way. I think I will continue to do physical challenges to keep myself in line. 

Also, I got some pretty thoughtful gifts for my birthday. Aaron gave me a few old jazz records. I  have a record player and a pretty well rounded collection of records...rock, jazz, opera, classical, etc. Aaron usually surprises me for holidays and my birthday with a few records. He also bought me some Gregory Page cd's.

My dad bought me some yoga classes!!!! My sister, Linds, bought me a really cool cookbook called Lucid Food, and a really pretty scarf....my Mom bought me a cute beach outfit and necklace, Erica bought me a really cool flower ring and clutch...all in all...I am a lucky gal with amazing friends and family. 

I was actually thinking about it tonight, and while of course I am just like everyone else and think about "the grass is greener".........I really have woven a nice quilt of good friends. I have a support system that is there if I need it. :)

Other fun news....we are renting a cabin in Big Bear for a weekend to celebrate life. My friend Erica and her husband Matt are coming with us. We plan to hike, cook, drink, play games, and enjoy life! I have only been to Big Bear once and it was for a leadership retreat so I didn't get to explore. I am hoping for wildflowers...we also have lots of laughs watching Peroni and Marley (Erica's dog) play. It should be super relaxing, as long as the traffic isn't too bad on the way up and home from there.

Next weekend I am headed to San Francisco to visit my sister for her birthday! She has SO much planned for us...including hikes, shopping (ahem...window shopping), dinner, etc. We are going to have a great girly weekend. Can't wait!!!!

Here are some pictures I took of tulips I got at the farmer's market today.....

I actually had a really fun day today. I cleaned...which was surprisingly fun? I think I was just happy not to feel sick anymore....and the sun was shinning through the windows, and Peroni was keeping me company. After cleaning I ran some errands. Aaron and his dad and step mom were coming over for happy hour, so I had to run to Bevmo. They were having a wine tasting, so I obliged. I had to run a few more errands and then went to the farmers market in Del Mar for a few things. It's always a treat because it's in downtown Del Mar which is pretty cute and you can see the ocean.

Last night Aaron and I went out for dinner in Del Mar. We went to Cafe Americana. It was ok. I remembered the food being better. We shared a salad, mussels and frites, and a pizza blanco. Like I said, it was ok, kind of non descript. 

Dinner tonight was much better. Black rice, steamed tofu (makes it so creamy!), sautéed spinach and mushrooms. Here is my clean kitchen in preparation of making dinner:

And here is the finished product, which tasted fantastic!!!

And here is the table before we sat down...a nice little Saturday night!!!

XXXOOOO Happy Weekend!!

See you later, Lovebugs. Hopefully I can report tomorrow... I  have a fun day planned including this....THIS