Our Californian Anniversary-Moon: Part 2

We last left off as Steve and I were speeding down the coast of California on Amtrak (seriously, the best and cheapest way to go!). Check back here to see the first part of our trip if you missed it!

Day 3 {continued}

My sister Cheryl kindly picked us up at Union Station in San Diego and we headed back to her apartment to chill out after our travels.

When dinner time rolled around we headed over to a nearby Mexican restaurant for some good food and fabulous drinks. They had the most amazing frozen mojitos. Umm, yah, I'm pretty sure I had three of 'em - oops. After dinner it was time for more drinks at a nearby Irish pub.

I love a good Guinness and the cleverly crafted designs they put on top are a bonus. What I didn't love was Steve continually filling up my glass with his when no one was looking because Cheryl's boyfriend Tim bought Steve another round before he was ready for it. So his extra round ended up in my glass, making it look like I hadn't had a sip. Hmph!

However, it all ended in my favor when Tim bet me $200 to finish my pint in 90 seconds...me, the girl who could never chug a drink EVER finished that pint off in 50 seconds - woot! Cold hard cash is the ultimate motivator, and our first night in San Diego left me $200 richer and a heck of a lot drunker!

Day 4

When we (umm, meaning me) finally rolled out of bed, we headed over to a nearby brunch placed called Cafe 222. My hungover self only wanted the most basic pancakes and a lot of orange juice. Steve ordered and devoured their peanutbutter and banana stuffed French toast (picture below) that was featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" as Bobby Flay's favorite breakfast. It was pretty tasty.


We later headed over to La Jolla and watched all of the seals. They were playing around, hopping in and out of the water, pushing each other off of rocks - so fun to watch!


We ended the day with a fabulous trip on a boat! Cheryl and Tim have a couple of friends who own a boat, so we had an evening cruise and grilled out. Fortunately for everyone involved, I didn't get sea sick. However I did avoid the booze.

Day 5

After bumming around during the day, eating fish tacos and going for a run along the water, we decided to make tortellini...yum! Cheryl and I both forgot how time consuming making each tortellini can be, so it was great to have Steve's extra set of hands - he's proved himself a skilled tortellini folder.



Day 6

The tortellini gave us the energy we needed for....DISNEY LAND! Steve had never been to anything Disney before, so we fixed that with a trip up to Anaheim.

We first said "what up" to Pluto.


We went on a raft ride that looked like fun, until we got drenched from head to toe. Cheryl and I were not amused.


Everyone went on California Screaming a few times. Did I mention I don't do any fast rides? Yes, I'm that girl. So I hung out while they went on this roller coaster that I called "terrifying" and Steve called "peaceful." If you look closely you can see Steve in the front row of the roller coaster in the plaid shirt. Zoom!

Since it was almost October, Disney was Halloween-ized. Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere!


Day 7

Since we were at Disney until about 1am so that everyone (but me) could ride Space Mountain at the very end of the night, we rolled into San Diego in the wee hours of the morning. We finally dragged ourselves out to the fabulous San Diego Zoo.

I could have watched the flamingos all day. Loved them. I especially loved this guy, who bent his legs in the opposite direction of all of the other flamingos. I watched him for at least 10 minutes hoping he would get up, but he kept on snoozin'.


The big highlight was the pandas! Horrible pictures, I know, but that's a baby panda and her momma. They were too cute.


That afternoon, we headed out so that Steve could shoot this engagement session. The couple was so much fun!

Then, we headed to Brian Malarkey's Seersucker. Chef Malarkey's new restaurant is fun, homey, has a fabulous open kitchen and had Chef Malarkey visiting the tables. Finally, a celebrity sighting in California for me! Unfortunately, I was so starstruck that I closed my eyes - sad face! Please disregard the fact that I look super creepy in this photo.


There were a lot of small plates on the menu, great entrees and fabulous desserts. We shared some awesome shrimp and grits and delicious short ribs. I ordered the beef cheek (below), topped with greens and goat cheese dumplings. The cheek was SO tender!



We ordered three fabulous desserts. Cheryl and I split the red velvet cake, Tim ordered the (super yummy) cinnamon sugar donuts, and Steve got the biggy...The King Sundae: "Peanut butter cup ice cream, bacon and honey caramel, bananas, whipped cream and candied peanuts."

Bacon caramel? AMAZING.


Days 8 & 9

Our last full day in San Diego Steve and I took it easy and had a truly lazy day. That night we all made pizzas, including a fabulous prosciutto, pear and goat cheese pizza that I can't wait to make and blog! The next day, we said goodbye to San Diego's sunshine (and 100 degree weather!) and headed back to Chicago.

Day 10

We couldn't wait to pick Charlie up from Canine Crews - it was the longest we'd ever boarded him! His report card said "I made some great new friends and went to bed at night nice and tired, ready for some serious z's."

Ready for z's he was - the poor pup could have slept for 3 days straight!


Our trip was fabulous - we were lucky that Steve had fabulous clients to bring us out there, and we got to spend so much time with Cheryl and Tim - thank you for hanging out and showing us the city!

Our Californian Anniversary-Moon: Part 1

Sorry for the absolute blogging silence:

Work + Vacation = A Very Hectic (but happy) Life

Steve and I enjoyed a blissful 9 days in California at the end of September - primarily a work trip for Steve (shooting a wedding in L.A. and an engagement session in San Diego), but we had plenty of time to just hang out together. It was SO much fun!

While I, of course, forgot to bring my little point and shoot camera with me, please forgive me for all of the fuzzy iPhone photos.

Day 1

So excited for our early morning flight to L.A. - I'd never been before and was sure I'd see them running through the airport chased by paparazzi - I was not excited for my "window" see that actually looked out onto a wall. Sad face. Thanks, Mr. Pilot, for announcing the Grand Canyon when we flew over it...I definitely couldn't see it!


Doesn't Steve look excited for our 9 whole days spent hanging out together?!


When we got to the airport, I was disappointed it was so quiet. All of the celebrities must not fly American Airlines. Anyway, we collected our bags and hopped the $7 shuttle that would take us to L.A.'s Union Station, where we would then pick up our rental car.

While the shuttle was a breeze, what wasn't so breezy was the rental car desk that closed early even though we had a reservation. WTF? Since it was Sunday, we were pretty much out of luck in getting a car. Steve didn't seem to mind that our plans were completely changed.


He even did a little yoga while we hung out at Union Station. Check out his Royal Dancer posture.


Why were we hanging out at Union Station, you ask? Because we were having a late lunch/early dinner with Dana and Hunter (aka Mr. & Mrs. Meatball, aka the masterful minds behind The Broke-Ass Bride). They took us to a great little restaurant near their apartment and then to a bar for some good German beer. Yum! It was so nice to hang out with them, and we so appreciated them taking a break from unpacking in their fabulous new place (and, umm, for picking us up at Union Station with all of our bags)!


Since our rental car was a no go, we hopped a cab from L.A. to the city of Torrence where the wedding was taking place the next day that Steve was hired to shoot. One very lost cab driver and $100 later, we were finally there.

Fortunately, we had checked into a Doubletree, where they give you chocolate chip cookies upon check-in. Score!


Did I mention that they were warm chocolate chip cookies? That really sealed the deal for me after a long day.


We immediately dropped our bags off in our room, ate the cookies, and headed out to a nearby Pinkberry for my first Pinkberry experience. I opted for the original flavor topped with strawberries, crispy little chocolate things, and animal crackers. I'll be honest, it was a little sour for me on it's own, but the toppings balanced everything out very well.

And that, my friends, is how Steve and I spent our 1 year wedding anniversary! Whew.


Day 2

Up bright and early, I headed over to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for some caffeine before the wedding. I thought I loved Coffee Bean, but their drinks are waaaaay too sweet for me. My heart will always belong to Starbucks.


I donned my "I'm assisting my husband at a wedding" get up that I purchased specially for this trip. I'm pretty sure that this is something that 100-pound 18-year-olds should wear, but desperate times call for desperate measures and I needed something to wear.

The wedding was absolutely beautiful (check out a sneak peak on Steve's blog!). High in the hills, overlooking the coast, dreamy and romantic! I'm not the best photo assistant, but (hopefully) I held my own.

Day 3

Up bright and early again after a long day, we got back in a cab to return to L.A.'s Union Station. This cab ride was trickier than the first, as our driver 100% did not know where he was going, took us all around to places we did not need to go (although I did get a good view of the fashion district), and $100 later we finally arrived. Whew.

After a delay with our train, we finally board our Amtrak train headed south down the coast. We sprung for Business Class seats (only $90 for both of us!), so we had more leg room and a nicer ride. Steve took advantage of the free Wi-Fi and did some work.


I checked out the view of the ocean...I won't lie, it was probably the worst weather day we had in California - overcast, gloomy, a little rainy.


And I enjoyed our snack pack! Apparently in Business Class, you get free snacks, wine, and water. The oatmeal cookie wasn't nearly as good as the cookie at the Doubletree, but free is free in my book.

I did leave L.A. with a heavy heart, as I didn't run into a single celebrity. What gives, L.A.? I thought you were teeming with 'em? I would have even accepted a D-list reality star. I guess there's always next time.


Up Next: Part 2 of our Anniversary-Moon spent in San Diego!