Sunday=Farmer's Market Day!

Now I'm no expert on farmer's markets- its not like I've been to a lot of them- but I'm pretty sure our local market in La Jolla is one of the best out there. Every Sunday dozens and dozens of vendors gather on the black top at La Jolla Elementary with all the freshest fruits, veggies, flowers, honey, breads- you name it, they've got it. It is such an amazing atmosphere and has become a part of mine and Mike's weekly routine. I genuinely look forward to Sundays just to go to the farmer's market. The sun is shining, people are in great moods and its nice to get very fresh food that is grown locally!

Not only do they have great produce, there are also lots of vendors selling other stuff like pottery, jewelry, clothes, etc. They've got lots of yummy booths for lunch too. My favorite is the Greek one selling gyros...they are the best I've EVER had--to die for!!!

Another plus- contrary to what I've always thought, it really isn't that much more expensive than shopping a normal grocery store. In fact, sometimes it is cheaper. There are definitely some things that are over priced, but we've gotten to know which vendors have the best deals. I love my strawberry man!

The best part of the farmer's market is that it is close and easy. It is probably a little less than 2 miles away so Mike and I have gotten in the habit of riding our bikes there. It such a nice Sunday morning routine to wake up together, drink some coffee then ride up to the market.

Here are some pictures of our beloved market :)

So bright and cheery!

So many tents set up!

Mike's fav- his honey lady!

Mike checking out some asparagus.

Beautiful, fresh flowers!

Spring Break '10

About a week or so ago, we had Mike's sister, Kelly, and her boyfriend out for a visit. It was Kelly's spring break from her first year of teaching so we hope she had a great time being away from work and exploring a new city. How I miss the days of having a spring break! Why can't all jobs offer a spring break!? I honestly think it would help everyone to have that time off, recharge and come back to work super productive. We should all have spring breaks!

Anyways, I've been really bad about taking pictures lately, but here are a few from their trip that I stole from Kelly:

Kelly and I outside The Prado at Balboa Park! This restaurant was so yummy and had the cutest atmosphere. We ate there after we watched an IMAX movie about surfing in Tahiti. Cool movie, but it made us all nauseous because of the huge screen and the surfers bobbing on the waves.

Nick and Kelly on the beach :)

The four of us at Karen and Randy's in Thousand Oaks for Easter. They have THE coolest backyard, complete with a koi pond!

Kelly introduced Mike and I to this healthy treat- an acai bowl. It basically soy milk or apple juice with acai berries and tons of other fruit. Super delicious and nutritious!

San Diego Rocks!

Literally. As you've probably heard, there was a rather large (I think 7.2?) earthquake near San Diego this past Sunday on Easter. Mike and I didn't feel a thing, since we were up North for Easter lunch with Aunt Karen, but we heard from people still here in SD that it was quite strong. On Monday night we were sitting in the living room when we felt what must have been an aftershock. It wasn't anything big or too terribly scary but how weird to all of a sudden feel the earth shake under you.

That brings us to today. I'm at work and about an hour ago, I start to feel some shaking! Again, nothing too big or scary but needless to say, my client site building doesn't seem to be the most stable of buildings so I was a little freaked out. I think I heard someone say that it was a 5.5 earthquake that hit somewhere in Mexico.

I've decided after the last few days that I should brush up on my earthquake safety tips- especially considering the extent of my knowledge comes from that Saved by the Bell episode where there was an earthquake and Zack is stuck in the elevator with Mr. Belding's wife and ends up delivering the baby in the elevator. Was there anything that Zack Morris couldn't do?

Anyways, I guess this just shows that San Diego rocks in many ways and for many reasons! :)

Reunited and it feels so good

I’ve been just a bit behind on my blogging lately! Oops….

On the weekend on March 12 and 13 I had the great privilege to spend some real quality time with three of my best friends- Kathleen, Charlotte and Nikki. The four of us lived together our sophomore year in college and dubbed ourselves Chi Kappa Nu- our sorority girl mentality coming out with Chi= Charlotte, Kappa= Kara/Kathleen and Nu= Nikki. I know, we were awfully clever.

What a great reunion it was! I don’t think there was a moment that we were not laughing, teasing each other or reminiscing about our glory days at good old Radford. I love that although the four of us haven’t gotten to spend time together just the four of us in years, it was like not a moment had passed as soon as we were together.

We had tons of fun in Hollywood, but had the most fun impersonating Jimmy Fallon’s skit of “Robert Patterson is Bothered” (http://www.robertisbothered.com/) …in a tree…in the middle of a posh lounge.

Other highlights from the weekend:

- Going to the top Mulholland Drive to look down on the LA skyline and of course the Hollywood sign.

- Watching Kat trying on wedding dresses. I think Martin might just fall over when he sees how beautiful she will look coming down the aisle. Definitely brought a few tears to my eyes (shocking, I know!) to see Kat preparing for such an important and special day.

So glad we could reunite, Chi Kappa Nu. Can’t wait for next time!

Oh and you may be wondering where my hubby was for all of this?? Don’t worry- he was doing it up big in Vegas! :)

Three of the greatest friends a girl could ask for!

It took about 15 shots to get this one...and Char is nearly cut out! You can see the very teeny, tiny Hollywood sign in the distance.

This is our sullen vampire look.

So Hollywood

Last weekend, Mike and I celebrated his 28^th birthday in style. On a whim, we decided last minute that his b-day celebration was going to take place in Hollywood, and that we were going to do it up right. And so we did, and Mike had a birthday that was just so….well, soooo Hollywood.

We stayed the W on Hollywood Blvd. Amazing. The hotel was gorgeous- modern and super posh- and we couldn’t help but notice all the beautiful people. The wanna-be actors, models, singers, ect…SO Hollywood!

We went out to dinner at the Geisha House. It is a trendy spot a couple blocks down from the W. It had a great vibe and the place was packed. The food was delicious (although a bit overpriced in my humble opinion) and we had a great dinner and enjoyed sharing some sake as well. The best part was the dessert. Crispy wontons with some sort of cheesecake-type filling and a fried bananas dish. We loved it!

Our next stop was to The Kress- another trendy place where we stopped to get some extra dirty martinis. We lounged and enjoyed people watching; especially when we saw what we thought was a prostitute with some little geeky guy. Kind of weird/gross…but SO Hollywood!

Our last stop was back to our hotel. The lobby turns into “The Living Room” at night and is essentially a chic lounge and bar. As we walked up to the door there was a guy holding a clip board and had just turned away a group from going in, for no apparent reason. We promptly showed him our room key and after apologizing for the wait and welcoming us back, he removed the velvet rope to let us through. WE were SO Hollywood!

The next day we checked out and went to the Lakers vs. the Nuggets game. Of course the birthday boy enjoyed that probably a little more than I did- but we had a lot of fun. After that, we returned to our not-so-glamorous (but still super cool) lives in La Jolla.

I loved celebrating Mike’s birthday in a special way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LOVE!

All You Need Is Love

As John Lennon and the Beatles once said, “all you need is love”. I don’t think there could ever be a truer statement. Whether it is love of a significant other, love for your friends, family or even the unconditional love from a pet. Love is what makes the world a brighter, more beautiful place.

That song has a special place in my heart because at our wedding ceremony, just over 7 months ago, Mike hand fed nearly our whole reception our wedding cake. I think that was his way of showing his love on our special day :)

Mike and I spent our first Valentine’s Day together as husband and wife this past weekend and had a wonderful day. We found a new path in our neighborhood that lead us directly into the La Jolla farmer’s market. It was awesome. We ate a romantic dinner of chicken parmesan, made by Chef Mike, drank champagne and just enjoyed each other.

The following day, February 15, I received some bad news. My Grandma Zanzal had passed away. While I know it is for the best and was relieved that she didn’t have to suffer anymore, I still couldn’t help from being overwhelmed with grief. Until her dying day, my grandmother spoke openly and often about wanting to be with my grandfather, her love for over 50 years, in heaven. If that isn’t true love, I don’t know what is.

I leave for Connecticut on Thursday to be surrounded by the love and warmth of my family as we say good-bye to the beloved matriarch of our family. I’m positive that my Grandmother will be looking down on us and hopefully realizing how loved she is and how much she’ll truly be missed.

I decided to be crafty this weekend and painted this sign, which now hangs on our balcony!

Martinis for All

It is always so much fun to have visitors, and trust me, we’ve had A LOT in the last 6 months that we’ve lived here in San Diego :) I was especially excited for the Peterson’s to come because I knew it was a special trip for them. This was the first time they had left their adorable 13 month old baby, Lily, for more than a night or so. Although I would have loved to have Lily to visit, it was an exciting time for the new parents to have a strictly adult vacation. Not surprisingly, we had a ridiculously good time. We always do with the Peterson’s- that is just the type of people they are. I think Lauren and I giggled and laughed more than 90% of the time that they were here and her husband Mike was living up his vacation to the fullest, as he should. He proved to be an amazing martini maker (extra dirty) and my Mike enjoyed his first “mart”, proclaiming it “made his body feel all warm”. I guess that meant he liked it!

Not only did we enjoy some amazing food and drinks but we did a lot of outdoorsy stuff throughout the WEEK. Yes, a whole week….yay for “snowtorious BIG”, “Snowbe Bryant”, “Alexander Snowvichken” and the others for making them have to stay! Anyways, we went to Torrey Pines and did the beach trail, climbed the 6 miles Iron Mountain, enjoyed the sunset with champagne, walked around downtown and did some bike riding.

I’m going to keep this short, because really I could go on and on about the funny things that happened and the good times we had. I’ll wrap it up by just saying we are so very blessed to have friends like Lauren and Mike. We’ve have so many great memories with them and we are looking forward to making more as the years go on!

Check out some double Indo boarding action...after some Super Bowl drinks: