Speaking of Candy Corn...

Today we saw tons of play candy corn at Disneyland & California Adventure. For my birthday, I went with my little sis and k. We left n with my dad. Since I had my 3 day pass, I got to go on a $72 spending spree. One thing that I wasn't aware of is that they quiz you as to the other dates that you used your pass so they know it is yours. (Or maybe that was just because I didn't write my name on the back). I knew we went on D's birthday, but couldn't remember the other day. I was one day off on my guess, so she let me go.


Get it? Candy "corn"?


Golden Gate Bridge got gussied up.


World's Largest Candy Corn


k's favorite ride in Bug's Land. She was really scared of the ladybug ride, for some reason. Too jerky, I guess. Looking forward when she'll have fun on the faster rides!


We all shared a Chinese chicken salad bread bowl from Pacific Wharf. Love that Boudin sourdough! Tried to get ice cream from Catch-A-Flave, but it didn't open until 2 p.m., boo.


Disneyland decorated too. Still have to go during Christmas time to see the decorations, though.


A Mickey jack-o-lantern.

So, here's what I bought with my birthday fun card: Mickey ice cube tray, cookie cutter (for me); Mickey tall, skinny mug (for D); 50th Anniversary CD (for all of us, but mostly k); and an It's a Small World boat with removable people, It's a Small World keychain and It's a Small World magnet (for k). I gave k the boat already, but I think I'll save the keychain and magnet for Christmas.

My sister and I used the rider switch pass to go on Space Mountain. They changed it for Halloween, adding different music, along with projections of various scary images during the ride. I was definitely more scared than usual, maybe because I was sitting in the front, and by myself. It's much more fun going with someone else!

After all of that, I had to take n to a doctor's appointment with his new doctor. Then my parents brought home some Chinese food and we had dinner at their place. (D is still at work because he has to stay late on the last day of the month. He didn't wish me a happy birthday until 11:30 a.m. today! Don't worry, I already made him feel bad about it.) Time to sleep!

Fall is Here

I know I say this every year, but I love fall! It is finally feeling a little cooler around here, although I see in the forecast that it will warm up again. D is hoping it cools off A LOT before his 1/2 marathon coming up.

Something that has been passed down from my grandma and mom is decorating for the seasons. I am sloowly building my stash of holiday decor. (I'm making a conscious effort not to let it get too out of control). I just think it is a nice way to change up your home and acknowledge the passing of time. I llike how k gets excited now, too.


Here is our kitchen nook. Those windows are the only ones downstairs that face the front of our house, so they are our windows to the world, so to speak. Notice my one lone ornament on my tree. I would like to fill it with handmade ornaments someday, for each season.


What is lurking in my fall arrangement? A felt candy corn, made from a pattern found here. k really got a kick out of it, even though she has never tasted the real thing.

Irvine/Tustin Marketplace

Just down the street from us is the Irvine/Tustin Marketplace. It has a lot of stores and restaurants, so it is very convenient. In fact, we haven't really ventured too far beyond the Marketplace yet in terms of dining out. We joke that we'll have visited every restaurant pretty soon, which is not too far from the truth. It helps that there have been a lot of coupons/deals floating around.

For example, I signed us up for the Red Robin birthday club. Since our birthdays are 11 days apart, we were both able to eat free on Sat. D ordered an iced tea so we wouldn't be too embarrassed. I didn't expect them to sing the song and bring us TWO ice cream sundaes without us asking, but they did! Now, that was embarrassing!


Tonight, after a lackluster meal at On the Border (BOGO entree coupon), we went to Starbucks to use my free birthday drink coupon (just register your Starbucks card online). Before, D and I would always share a drink and k didn't want any, so it wasn't a problem. Now, I'm starting to feel bad, so we got her a kid's hot chocolate. It is a small cup, and I think they don't make it as hot. It's only $1.10, pretty good deal.


Of course, n is still too young for Starbucks. He's content just playing with the table!

The Army Crawler

If you didn't know what I meant by n doing the "army crawl", here it is.

Celebrating 33 @ the Happiest Place on Earth

D turned 33 on Sat. and we celebrated as a family by going to Disneyland. D got in free for his birthday, n and k are free b/c of their age, and I used my summer pass for the second time.

k is starting to get more used to Disneyland now since she knows what to expect. What she didn't expect was for me to encourage D to take her on the Matterhorn for the first time.

This is her face at the end of the ride. She didn't want to ride it again with me.
:( Maybe next time.

k's favorite ride is It's a Small World. She sings the song ALL of the time, including in the grocery store.


n went on many of the rides with us, including the Jungle Cruise. Sadly, we lost this hat somewhere between here and the Tiki Room.



We caught Minnie on our way out.

At night we dropped off the kids with my dad, sis and BIL, and went out for a nice dinner at Tommy Bahama's in Newport Beach. I picked the restaurant in part because they were participating in OC Restaurant Week. D had the prix fixe with coconut shrimp, black cod, and malted chocolate cake. I had the pulled pork sandwich, but of course, we ended up sharing everything. (It was kind of hard to go back and forth with those two dishes, though, since they were so different, taste-wise. The fish had really strong pickled asian vegetable flavors).

I would've preferred to go for the prix fixe lunch (cheaper), but we were busy last weekend and this weekend, so dinner was the only option. The appetizer and dessert portions seemed pretty small, but the entree was a good size. Plus, we filled up on the warm sourdough rolls with cinnamon butter, so I ended up taking half of my sandwich and a lot of fries home.

Happy Birthday, D!

A Sacramento Wedding

We didn't have much time to get ready, but we took a quick photo before we left.


The wedding was at St. John's in downtown Sac. What a beautiful church.






D ended up having to take n out to the foyer during the ceremony.


The newlyweds!

We went back to D's brother's house to rest, and then it was off to the reception at Arden Hills.

k's kid's meal. Love the mini bottle of ketchup! We had beef and a chicken breast wrapped in puff pastry...very nice.



Our table consisted of Zach's high school/college friends, but D didn't really know any of them since D didn't go to the same high school. D met Zach while playing tennis in high school, and I've always thought of him as one of D's "quality" friends. The reception was full of toasts with people saying nice things about the couple, and with Zach, I found them all to be true. (I had never met the bride before, but I'm sure she's just as wonderful). There was also a slideshow with the cutest baby photos. The whole thing made D and I reflect on how short life really is and how easy it is to get wrapped up in our own family and grow distant from old friends.

Sacramento Love

On Sat. the weather became dramatically cooler and there was even some rain. (That's a good thing since we were expecting the temperature to be 100!) We drove from Napa to Sacramento in the morning. Our first stop was to visit D's friend from high school, Blake, and his lovely family. (They have a girl and boy too.)

Check out their backyard! They have their own park!


You can't see it in this picture, but there's also a lot of grass, too.





After we met up w/D's sister, mom, dad, brother, and his family at Buca di Beppo. Then we went back to D's brother's house, which he had put on the market just the day before! They had the house professionally staged, and it looked good. (I felt bad about messing it up!)

He's 6 Months Old!

Taking a break from recounting our trip to wish a happy 6 month birthday to our little n.


I had my mom buy dessert at Zion so we could celebrate. Too bad n couldn't have any.



n is over 18 pounds, and slowing down in his weight gain. That might be because he is already mobile! He can already do the army crawl, but he is still working on sitting. He's still waking up at night, but has gone 5-6 hours on occasion. If he's not tired or hungry, he'll go to anyone. He's our Mr. Smiley!

Bottega & BarBersQ

When we visit D's parents or they come to visit us, where we are going to eat is always a big decision. The planning usually starts at least a few weeks before. We'll suggest some places, D's dad will make some suggestions, we'll do some research, and come up with an itinerary.

For Friday lunch, D's dad suggested Bottega. After watching Top Chef Masters, we were curious to see what Michael Chiarello could do. Even though he wasn't the one actually preparing our food in the kitchen, of course, I was impressed. Loved the ambiance, (cute little covered outside lounge area) and the food was delicious!

I ordered the Ricotta Gnocchi, salsa di pomodoro della Nonna, pecorino. Little fluffy pillows that melt in your mouth. I haven't eaten gnocchi many times, but this dish may spoil any future gnocchi I eat.


D and his dad ordered Fusilli Lucani with veal, pork & porcini mushroom Bolognese, Sweet 100 tomatoes, rosemary & parmigiano. k loved the fusilli, and ended up eating off of both of their plates. She also enjoyed the special lemonade flavored with strawberry puree and sparkling water that D ordered.

Bottega is part of a shopping area that seems to be owned by Chiarello, called NapaStyle. I didn't really get it, but I saw his face everywhere in the store next to the restaurant.

k acting silly.

For dinner we went to BarBersQ, a place I had read about in Sunset magazine and Bon Appetit? It is located in a strip mall, but it was probably the chicest barbeque place I have ever been to.


We ordered A Taste of the Q for 2 and Baby Back Ribs & Chicken combo, a side of corn bread and creamed corn. It was plenty of food for all of us. I didn't take a picture because we dug in so fast (the service was on the slow side, but friendly). D inquired about the cooking technique and it turns out they use a dry rub AND a light sauce. He liked the ribs and brisket the best, but everything was good with the extra bottles of sauce on the table.

All in all they were two solid picks.

A Castle in Napa

We had breakfast at one of my favorite Napa stops, Bouchon Bakery. This time D opted for the cranberry orange muffin, while I shared the cream cheese danish with k. I also could not resist getting one of their famous macarons, which I ate later. I chose the espresso, and it was soft and crisp and chewy all at the same time...divine.


After breakfast, both kids fell asleep on the way to our next stop.


Our destination? A castle! Or, more precisely, the Castella di Amorosa. It is a winery located in an amazing castle that opened not too long ago. D's dad said it took them ten years to build, and looking around, you can see why. (I also read that this was the castle used in the movie "Bedtime Stories").






The Knights' Room


The Dining Hall




Of course, this is a winery, so D and his dad did some wine tasting.



Some people at the bar joked that we should put some wine on n's gums since he is teething, like they do in Italy.


k and I settled for breadsticks and "moat water" (aka Capri Sun grape drink). On the website, it says kids get grape juice. I was expecting some specialized juice, since it is a winery, after all. However, I guess the Capri Sun is more kid-friendly in terms of packaging. k was kind of too young to be into the whole castle thing, and the tours are limited to kids over 5. It was fun looking around, though, and if you are looking for an interesting winery in Napa, (even if you're not into wine) this is it.