Flights and Sounds--Branford Marsalis Concert

After the kids went with my parents for a sleepover at their house, D and I went out for a date night. Our first stop was Barnes & Noble, one of our favorite places to go sans kids. Then we headed to the Great Park for a concert in the "Flights & Sounds" series held during the summer. The concerts are free, but parking is $10. We had never been to one of these concerts, so we had no idea what to expect. It is held outdoors, near the carousel and balloon. According to an article I read on the concert, there were about 3,000 in attendance. While it felt like a lot of people, it didn't feel like that many! We arrived before 7:30, and there was still plenty of open seating. A lot of people opted to bring blankets/chairs and sat on the grass to the sides of the stage for a picnic dinner...we'll have to do that next time. There was a limited cafe menu, but it is so nice you can bring your own food. No one searches your bag, either.

The concert was supposed to start at 8:00, but didn't start until a quarter past. I was excited to see the Branford Marsalis Quartet. I couldn't believe that we were able to see an artist of his caliber for free! (Well, technically $10). It really brought back memories of my jazz band days. I had forgotten how long jazz pieces can be. We left early, around 9:15, and the band had only played five songs. The piano player had a lot of solos, and later I read that the quartet has a "chamber orchestra" influence. I think I enjoy more uptempo, straight ahead stuff, but it was still great. Too bad we had our own peanut gallery seated directly one row behind us providing running commentary. (We also saw one of the pastors of our church a few rows ahead of us!)






(Pictures were not allowed, but I snuck one anyway...shh!)

Happy Birthday Zaza!

We celebrated my mom's birthday at Berkeley Dog in Irvine. k and n call her "Zaza" because she wanted a name other than "Grandma". At first, we thought "Sasa" would be cute, but k started saying Zaza, and it stuck.



Sampler of fried foods


We had fun playing with the Coke Freestyle machines. D made raspberry lemonade, cherry vanilla coke and orange coke, mixing diet and regular.


I think it is funny that there is a Berkeley Dog near UCI, and that these are the flags they chose to decorate the store. I realize that they have to pay homage to Berkeley since they serve the hot dogs from Top Dog, but it just seems weird. At first, I thought maybe they had all of the UC schools, but instead they just had a select few. Also, they had a helmet signed by Aaron Rodgers. I also find it funny that there are streets right around UCI named Stanford, Berkeley, and Marquette. I think UCI has a bit of an identity crisis. I noticed this Top Dog serves asian desserts (green tea, red bean sundae, etc.) Maybe that's the UCI touch? Actually, that comment would apply to several UC schools, so never mind.

Anyway, after dinner, the kids went home with my parents, and D and I headed out for our date night...more to come.

Gyro N Kabob

Wow...July came and went. k finished up her swim lessons, and even went down the slide on her last day (didn't think she would do it...I should have more confidence her, I guess).

I purchased a restaurant.com certificate to Gyro N Kabob in Tustin. It is part of a aging strip mall on Red Hill that is anchored by a Stater Brothers. There is a quite a variety of food there...L to R, a Korean-owned liquor store that sells homemade Korean food (bought a bag of frozen beef dumplings, will report back soon); pho restaurant ($3.99 bowls of pho on weekends), Tustin Pizza Shack; Gyro N Kabob (Afghani restaurant); Mexican bakery; Traditions (Indian restaurant).

As for Gyro N Kabob, we thought it opened at 11 a.m. on Saturday, but didn't open until noon, so we had to kill half an hour. We started with an appetizer called bolani. It was stuffed with potato and lightly pan fried. It comes with four pieces, but the kids couldn't wait for me to take a picture.

It was really good with the green sauce that comes in a squeeze bottle at all the tables. (The sauce went really well with the meats, as well).


Chicken kabob, reminded us of tandoori chicken.


Gyro plate, (beef and lamb)

The food was delicious, and came with a salad. The owner was very friendly with the kids and brought us out a pitcher of water so we could do our own refills, a nice touch. It was pretty empty when we were there, so hopefully it gets better business during other times of the week. It is fun to expose the kids to different types of food.

Bolsa Chica

On Saturday we went to Bolsa Chica State Beach. We have now visited all of the state beaches in Orange County where you can use your state park pass.

It sure was windy. Too windy to even set up our umbrella. This is a self-portrait I took of n and myself while D took k to the restroom.



Afterward we went to a dive-y Chinese placed called "Big Chopsticks" in Huntington. Guys, don't take a date there, but the food was pretty good, and the portions were big. It seemed like the vast majority of their business is delivery. Be careful of their delivery drivers in the parking lot, though...kind of crazy.

Inked

n's new hobby is inking himself.


k never did this. I'm not sure if it was because she didn't have access to markers at this age, or if it is just the difference in their personalities.

OC Fair 2011

According to a Google search of our blog, the last time we went to the OC Fair was in 2008, before n was born. Therefore, we decided it was about time to go back, face the crowds, indulge in some fried food and all the other stuff one does at a fair.

We had to go on the weekend in order for D to come along, so we knew it would be crowded whatever time we went. After trying to avoid the 55 South, which was jammed due to the fair and a car accident, we found our way to the Experian parking lot at 475 Anton, which has a free shuttle to the fair on weekends. This would've been fine, except the bus we were supposed to take was delayed. Luckily, we brought two strollers on advice from my mom, so the extra wait was fine (we were able to put the strollers underneath the bus).

We decided to go late afternoon/early evening so the sun wouldn't be so hot, and our plan worked for the most part.

First stop was dinner.

Australian battered potatoes, pan-fried chicken (in back), and gyro (not pictured). I mostly wanted to try the potatoes out of curiosity...not quite sure what makes them Australian aside from the flag toothpick! There was a choice between cheese and ranch. In hindsight, I should've bought the half/half combo because the cheese had some jalapeno in it...not good for the kids. However, there were more than enough pieces not hit by the jalapeno cheese, so the kids munched on those. There was a lot of batter, though...I think these were a once in a lifetime deal.

The chicken and gyro were good, but not out of the ordinary. Next time maybe we'll go for the giant turkey leg. $9.75!, but considering the amount of meat on the chicken, which was only a few dollars less, it might be worth it.

Next was the Ice Museum, which my parents told me about. This was a new attraction, I believe. The building was freezing (obviously) and they offered ponchos to people, but I came prepared with sweatshirts for me and the kids. D toughed it out in his t-shirt.







Then we saw the requisite animals of the fair.




HUGE oxen

For dessert we shared a Cow Pie...sounds appetizing, doesn't it?


It wasn't too special, just a waffle wafer topped with soft serve, some chocolate sauce and oreo crumbles. However, D and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of these guys.



No rides for us this time around...maybe when the kids are older.

At the box office, I noticed there was a early bird ticket where you could get in between 10-11 a.m. for only $2, but you have to leave by noon (not sure if this was only for the weekends). My question would be how they would know if you left by noon or not? Since we only stay a couple of hours anyway, maybe that would be an option for next time.

Water Closet: Before & After

As I mentioned before, I have been on a mission to re-paint the interior of our home, which was entirely "band-aid" color when we bought it. Yes, it has taken two years to start, but I have some momentum now. It is truly addictive.

The first place I started was the smallest room, for more instant gratification.

Before:


After:

Olympic Premium Satin color-matched to Benjamin Moore Stonington Gray. Ikea Grundtal shelves. Picture is a photo collage of our honeymoon that I made 5+ years ago.