Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

What a nice southern California weekend! For a little while there Saturday I thought the sun wasn't going to come out and as a matter of fact it actually drizzled Sunday, either way it turned out to be a sunny weekend over all. We had a nice relaxing time, our friends came up on Saturday, we barbecued and made some sangria, had breakfast at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles (Yum!!!), and went to the movies...



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Palm Springs Weekend

This past weekend James & I took a little vacation to Palm Springs. We stayed at the http://www.delmarcoshotel.com/, a little 17 room retro hotel in down town. It was just what we needed, a nice salt water pool right outside of our room, with a view of the San Jacinto mountains. 1940s music playing in the backround and at check in they greeted us with iced cold tecate. The weather was perfect. Vegged out by the pool in the hot sun. We lunched at Pomme Frittes and Las Casuelas, dined at LGs Steakhouse, and had drinks at theViceroy. A much needed long weekend.




Williams E. Stewart Room



Pool View from our patio




Margaritas at Las Casuelas



On the way out we stopped by Marylin Monroe's house...such a nostalgic weekend!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day tomorrow and since I'm not a mom yet, James & I will be celebrating the mothers in our lives by having a BBQ. It was last minute, so today I'm looking up some recipes and making up my menu which will include potato salad (copy cat of Juan Pollo's famous potato salad), corn on the cobb, and steak, chicken and veggie skewers. Also a fresh fruit salad for dessert. Very simple menu, which will require less time in the kitchen and more time spent with my favorite moms. For beverages I found the recipe for my favorite white wine sangria from La Grande Orange Cafe in Pasadena...if you havent been you must go. http://www.laostationcafe.com/ I searched for the recipe online and found it on the LA Times.


Ingredients:


2 Bottles of Pinot Grigio
1 1/3 c Orange Juice 1/2 c Triple Sec
1/4 c Brandy
1/2 c Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Bean Extract
1 1/2 Sliced Orange
1/2 Sliced Lemon
1/2 Sliced Apple
Large Bunch of Grapes

Directions:
With wire whisk mix sugar, OJ, triple sec, brandy, and wine in a pitcher and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add extract and mix well. Add fruit to pitcher. Serve over ice and use fruit slices as garnish.

Doesnt it sound great! Perfect for summer!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Norma