lou lou...louie

november 5 had been on the calendar for a few months. we all seemed to be counting the days until we met in la for brunch and to celebrate the joyous occasion of our dear friend, sister, daughter and her engagement to mr. moreno. lindsey lou as she's known in some circles was our guest of honor. after a picture perfect engagement in europe, it seemed only fitting to enjoy some champagne a delicious meal and desserts with a euro flare. we chose bottega louie in downtown los angeles. i had various friends who were past patrons and gave me the inside scoop on some of the dishes to order, the ideal place to sit and overall review in general. were we in for a treat!

i think we reached consensus that one of the highlights of the meal were the portabella fries! yes, fries made of mushrooms. o. m. g.! being that i am not drinking these days, i wasn't fortunate enough to participate in the veuve clicquot, however i didn't miss out by ordering a green tea mojito. it's so fun when the non-alcoholic drinks are just as fancy. another highlight was my mom's dish - a flatbread "breakfast style" pizza, with burrata, prosciutto, a baked egg and arugula - spectacular! belgian waffles with chatilly cream, lemon ricotta pancakes and salmon benedict on potato cakes were just a few other items at our table...is your mouth watering(?), because i'm not done...the macarons are their specialty item in the bakery. i ordered some to bring home to the hubby. a fine treat for spending the day as mr. mom and taking such good care of my favorite cookie! if you haven't been there and have a day planned in la, i recommend a visit.

all the girls: anna, lindsey, suzanne, tina, emily and marisa

salmon benedict

macarons: earl grey, espresso, pumpkin, cinnamon, raspberry

cakes powdered to perfection

with the bride to be: jessica and lindsey

downtown la, bottega louie

my favorite time of year

i have been so bad about posting lately and really wanted to make sure i at least give an update once a month! october is over today, so i thought i would post a fall update. this time of year has always been my favorite. mainly because there is a clear distinction of the season - although it takes santa barbara a little longer than most places to get into the chilly groove. october can be one of our hotter months. but also because there is the anticipation of all the holiday's that are quickly approaching. i love being cozy, eating good food and sharing our free moments with friends and family - and that's what the next few months will bring and have already brought!

here is what we've been up to as of late: 
~we've had several trips to the zoo with our new zoo membership

zoo with cousin isei

sliding down the hill at zoo with papa

hangin' at the zoo with friend d

 ~diegas went hunting for 10 days in wyoming and mama and baby had to keep busy to make the time go by as fast as possible. we missed papa!

the eve that papa went to wyoming

lemon festival petting zoo

looking for bunnies with grandpa

~we've made some delectable treats to fill our bellies and put tasty aromas in the air

homemade pizza with goat cheese for e

chubbie bunnies for papa's return
check out the spin on this recipe (yumm!) post from smitten kitchen

pumpkin pie (first of the season) shared with the lee's and hill's

 ~the hubby and i celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and enjoyed our evening at downey's

evening at downey's, with no room for dessert - little treat!

so many blessings since this glorious day, october 2005

~we've visited the pumpkin patch and attended cousin's 4th pirate themed birthday...happy halloween!

pumpkin patch fun

pirate party costume that only stayed on for 5 minutes

halloween morning on the front porch before spending the day with nana

california dreamin'

oh how i've been dreaming of a family get-away. right now the west indies, or anywhere in the caribbean is of interest. need to do a little more research to see if it's feasible. the honey and i have been to hondorus, belize, cuba and the caribbean side of mexico but to the islands just south of the us mainland, i have always wanted to explore and i think a true family beach vacation would be so fun for the three of us! feel free to give me ideas and feedback if you've been so lucky to travel that way.

last month we stayed local, but experienced a beautiful piece of california we had never seen. we met our dear friends the covers and convened in a family friend's guest cottage (thank you pearsons!) in inverness/pt. reyes station. it wound up being just the get-away i was hoping for. quiet, beautiful, organic and new to our eyes. a perfect escape (even during labor day weekend!). we ate delicious food out (e tried her first pizza ever! woodfire.), went on a beautiful coastal hike, had delicious homemade meals (complete with locally caught oysters) and just enjoyed each others company. there were definitely activities we didn't get to do and i really look forward to our next trip there. i also really look forward to our future beach vacation outside of cali!! 

covers and zavalas at drakes beach

abbotts lagoon coastal hike

e loved the pack and papa did too - abbotts lagoon

e's first pizza - woodfire deliciousness

the girls

amazing cheese and sold at our very own c'est cheese in sb

oysters on the half shell, personally shucked and grilled by d and chuck

a little b-day fun to complete the weekend

making mama's chores fun!

last week was d's birthday. although a super-fun time, it made a busy day for mama and baby. there were times, when little e looked activity challenged as she watched me bake and run around the house. we got out for a bit, but again it was errands and not super baby-focused. so as many mom's do, i came up with a way to make some of our tasks FUN! one item on the agenda was wrapping papa's presents. we had some brown postal-paper in the wrapping paper container and we have her clementine crayons, so why not have e make the wrapping paper with her artsy skills. mama got down on the floor too, to encourage the fun and as each piece was complete, i scooped it up and cut to size, stacking the gifts accordingly on the dining room table to await papa's arrival. 

it was a fun way for e to enjoy playtime, for mama to quiet down and have one-on-one time with e and for d to enjoy e's art. check, check and check, fun had by all. 

beginning her masterpiece

helping make chocolate cupcakes and a little taste too

gluten free, egg free chocolate cupcakes. not pictured: ibarra buttercream frosting, yummm

shipwreck soup

shiprwreck soup

d's grandma lu, has a dish called shipwreck. basic definition: anything leftover from the fridge that can be thrown into a casserole, to create a "new" dish. i tell you, it has worked in our house a few times... lately i have found myself, trying to re-use ingredients that little e fancies, to make her a dish entirely new. saves mama time at night when coming up with a dinner that she'll enjoy and something that is full of good stuff, especially when the hubby and i are having something easy and not too nutricious - like pizza night. 

last week i saved a few vegetable each night from our dinners, cooked broccoli, roasted carrots and sweet potatoes. night 4, i threw them in the food processor with a little water, a dash of milk and some salt and pepper, voila, soup for little e. i heated it up and made her a little turkey, grilled cheese. yummy soup and sandwich, tasty enough for mama to have some of. i think i may save a few veggies every night...since it's only a few to spare and makes a wonderfully healthy addition to a meal for her later in the week. and who can resist seeing her with a little utensil, full of brightly colored goodness, blowing on it and looking to me with a little nod of the head, "hot?"

it's-it

i read today that national ice cream sandwich day was this week (please note: i make it a point to educate myself on all the news worthy current events). for anyone that knows me, mint it's it ice cream, is one of my absolute favorites. if you grew up in santa barbara and attended la cumbre junior high, it's-it sandwiches are more than a tasty treat, they're nostalgic. the lengths i've gone, to be reminded of their scrumptious flavor are a little ridiculous: we've made special trips to 7-11 when on limited-time visiting friends in the bay (lei and bali, you know what i'm talking about). when i was pregnant d and i scoured the city, going to 15 (yes 1-5) locations looking for just one, to satisfy my craving (it resulted in vanilla flavor, but it was worth it!). friends have stopped by to gift a box (thank you lucia and rina) or called to tell me where they were last spotted. for those of you who haven't had the pleasure, an it's-it is mint ice cream between two soft oatmeal cookies, covered in a chocolate shell. it's a good time.

it's fiesta here in santa barbara. the whole city will be partying. you won't often find me with a drink covered in salt and seasoned with lime, but make no mistake about it, i will be indulging in my own vices. did someone say churros? but for today's treat, an it's-it. happy fiesta friday!

tasty + healthy shake

my dear friend sara, turned me on to using coconut milk as a base for the little one's shakes. turns out, it's not only e who loves the tasty shakes, but mama too. here are the yummy ingredients and you can vary the quantity and contents to your liking:
coconut milk
frozen blueberries
banana
goat's milk yogurt
flax meal
blend and...voila, tasty + healthy shake

papa, came in the kitchen and used the leftover coconut milk and put his spin on it:
coconut milk
trader joe's whey vanilla protein powder
peanut butter
banana

enjoy!

a little blurry, but a lot of cute!
e enjoying her shake, flax waffle took a back seat