a long weekend...

Looking forward to a long weekend of no set plans...perhaps heading out to the beach, visiting with friends and family, maybe some shopping, but definitely getting some sun and eating some delicious food;) Hope you all have a great long weekend! Xo

Oh, the places you will go...

Today my baby sister graduated high school! So proud of her...she has her whole life ahead of her and anything she wants is within her reach;) Love you lil girl!

journeys

Found this in the New York Times, wouldn’t it be a dream to experience a little bit of Italy this way, in a place rich with history, or anywhere else in the world for that matter! I hope to one day… http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/travel/23journeys.html?ref=travel

Here’s the slideshow, this albergo diffuso (scattered hotel) called Sextantio, looks awesome!http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/23/travel/20100523ALBERGO.html

something to warm us up...

The weather is beautiful out today, cool and brisk, so I made sweet pea & spinach soup for my honey & I, and he made us some bloody mary's to enjoy the Lakers & Suns game with.

Here's the recipe I used, but instead of making croutons, I bought warm freshly baked french bread to dip into it...tastes so fresh & the color is so vibrant, yum!
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sweet-pea-soup-with-ham-and-croutons

Enjoy!

This week on tv...

I watch these shows religiously, here are some of my favorites quotes of the week:

"Everyone's got some baggage, it's part of life, but like anything else, it's easier when someone gives you a hand with it" --- Ted Mosby, How I Met Your Mother

"Yes or no. In or out. Up or down. Live or die. Hero or coward. Fight or give in. I'll say it again to make sure you hear me. The human life is made up of choices. Live or die. That's the important choice. And it's not always in our hands".---Derek Shepherd, Grey's Anatomy

Relaxing weekend

Here are some pictures of my weekend occurences...

Hung out with my friends!
had breakfast at Barney's Beanery and drinks of coursedrove around town
enjoyed the perfect weather

headed back home found cool recipes

played with my puppy bear!

Oh yeah! James made it home in one piece...barely;)

Oh my! Is it Friday already?

My husband is off to the river for the weekend to celebrate his cousin Loren’s right of passage from bachelorhood. I, in turn will be going to the bachelorette party tonight for his sweetheart Michelle, it’ll be a little more mellow than the boys(who have a whole weekend getaway) just games, wine & food, which sounds perfect to me! I also have a full weekend planned visiting with my girl friends, and even though I’ll miss my babe, I surely will enjoy myself! After all, absence does make the heart grow fonder…


Cheers!

I'm a banana lover!

Caramel banana bread pudding

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes plus soaking time for the pudding

Servings: 8

Note: Adapted from Cafe 14. The restaurant serves the bread pudding with caramel sauce and whipped cream.

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 cups lightly packed (13 ounces) brown sugar

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Salt

3 bananas (overripe is preferred), peeled and coarsely mashed with a fork

6 cups diced croissants, from about 3 croissants diced into 1/2-inch cubes

3 eggs

1. In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and cook, stirring to dissolve. Stir in the cream, vanilla and a pinch of salt and gently bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. When the mixture has come to a boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

2. While the caramel cream cools, toss the bananas and croissants in a large mixing bowl.

3. Whisk the eggs into the caramel cream to form a custard base, strain and then pour the custard base over the croissants and gently toss. Place the mixture in a greased 9-inch round cake pan or an 8-inch square baking dish. Set the mixture aside to soak for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees.

4. Place the cake pan into a larger baking dish; fill the larger baking dish with enough boiling water to come up the side of the cake pan halfway to form a water bath.

5. Bake the bread pudding until puffed and set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and water bath, and cool slightly before serving. For a crisp topping, place the cake pan under the broiler just until it begins to brown and crisp on top, about 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the broiler.

Each serving: 673 calories; 6 grams protein; 76 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 40 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 206 mg. cholesterol; 62 grams sugar; 243 mg. sodium.

You could find it here:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-sos-20100513,0,5579540.story

Can't wait to try it out!

adorable & classic...

I came across this article in the Los Angeles Times today...it intrigued me because I love aprons, I have a few and am hoping to collect many more;) They're so girlie and very retro...
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-0506-aprons-20100506,0,2758129.story

"An apron doesn't define you; an apron celebrates what you do for the people you love"

Here are a few of my aprons...these were all gifts;)

Thanks girls, I put them to good use!

Happy mothers day!

Today was a wonderful day! Every mother's day I drive over to my mom's house and cook breakfast for my family, this year I chose to have brunch at my house instead. So saturday I ran every possible errand to get ready for the special day, James & I rented tables and chairs, ran to a few different stores, I made flower arrangements (I included tulips, they’re my favorite), cleaned the house, etc. Sunday I woke up early to do all the cooking, I decided to go with a simple old fashioned breakfast, the menu included cinnamon swirl French toast, country red potatoes, egg, green chilies & cheese casserole, bacon & sausage, fresh fruit, and smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers & bagel plate…and of course we had bubbly, paired with a choice of grapefruit juice, orange juice, or cranberry juice. Needless to say I was very happy with the outcome. The décor was very springy and the weather outside was perfect, cloudy with a little bit of sunshine here and there made sitting out on our patio very refreshing… My family and my in laws came over, we ate, had mimosas, talked, and shared many laughs, it was nice to see my family and James family talking & laughing. Its been since our wedding that we've all been together, so it was very special and what better time than this special day to celebrate our mothers.

What do you have planned for the weekend?

It's Friday and I'm thinking about mother's day! I will be hosting a little brunch for all my favorite moms;) Figure I'd give them the day off, they surely deserve it;) And while browsing through the LA Times, like I usually do, I came across this article http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-mothers-day-pg,0,676284.photogallery about breakfast in bed, and though it won't be breakfast in bed, the menu is still pretty similar, just a good old fashioned breakfast!!! With mimosas of course;) It's making me even more excited about it! Have a wonderful weekend! Xo

Always a good time...

Yesterday, my sister, nieces, and I went to Disneyland for the day, with my friend Alicia and her baby boy Aidan;) We had a blast! The weather was perfect…gotta love Cali!

We took lots of pictures...

waited in short lines...

Met some real charaters...

Hung out with Tigger...

Rode the ponies...

Got dizzy on the teacups...

Posed for pictures...(isn't Aidan a cutie!!!)

traveled around the world (it's a small world after all)...

Shot some aliens...

and shot some more...

It is the happiest place on earth, can't get enough;)

Happy Birthday Laine!

Today is my sister in law Laine's 19th birthday! Dinner, cake, presents, fun! She's a doll! Intellegent, artistic, has great style, and is a photographer (we were her first wedding). Love her! My mother in law, Rina, ordered japanese and had a whole asian theme going. Laine's birthday table was fabulous!

Rina has tables for every holiday, special occassion, even for each of her kids first day of school, it's so adorable, she has photo albums of all the party tables dating all the way back to when James was a little boy;)

The Bottle Room

Friday night we drove down to Uptown Whittier to meet up with Katie and Lee, its been a while since we had been out with them, now that they are parents of 2, nights like these are few & far in between. We met up at the Bottle Room http://www.thebottleroombar.com/, we had appetizers and wine. It was Yummy! Turned out to be a party, Lukey came to hang out and some of the cousins showed up too, including Loren and his lovely bride to be, Michelle:) We had a great time! Here are some pics of the night...

our may day

What a beautiful day! The weather is so refreshing...James & I woke up this morning and decided tha since the day was so nice, we would go out for breakfast instead of staying in and cooking this morning. We went over to Rudy's mexican restaurant for huevos con chilaquiles and micheladas (Thanks Irene!). It was yummy! We sat out on the patio, at the corner of Colorado and Myrtle, its such a cute little town, we love it here! It's nice to know that we have no plans, just a weekend full of relaxation, so happy it's so beautiful out;)

What a wonderful world

I see trees of green, red roses too

I see them bloom, for me and you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky

Are also on the faces, of people going by

I see friends shaking hands, sayin' "how do you do?"

They're really sayin' "I love you"

I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow

They'll learn much more, than I'll ever know

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world

Oh yeah... Louis Armstrong