Spontaneity.

Isn't it fun to be spontaneous? More often than not, I am not. I often feel as though I need to plan everything, most of the time, but then there are times that I don't need to. So my friend Lourdes and I decided that we would have a full day of spontaneity on Thursday. We "planned" it a couple of days in advance, but looked past that detail.

So Thursday morning, after having brunch & mimosas at her apartment, we headed to Target, BevMo! , and finally made our way to Urban Mo's, a local gay bar/restaurant in Hillcrest. We decided to go because it's always busy no matter what time of day and just seemed like a cool place, which is only a few blocks from my apartment. Since we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into, we told our waitress it was our first time, and she excitedly slapped these stickers on us:

So silly, but a cute idea at the same time. After ordering some chips, guacamole, and margaritas. We finally started to think about ordering lunch. We saw people's food around us and noticed that everything was humongous. So, we ordered a Western Style Burger and shared it.

After a long afternoon lunch and a couple of margaritas later, we headed back to her apartment. On the way back, she was talking to one of her friends from Tijuana who insisted we cross over and visit/stay for the night. We thought, "Sure! Why not?"

Since I've started living in San Diego, I have had a small desire to visit Tijuana, since the Mexican border is only about 20 minutes or so away. However, since it is as been deemed as "Unsafe", I hadn't scratched my itch to go. Within the last month, there have been so many opportunities to go with friends that go often for the nightlife, but because of fear, I haven't gone (and also since Joseph keeps telling me it would be stupid of me to go at night).

So, we stopped at her place, grabbed a couple bottles of wine, and headed towards the border. I was excited/so nervous but knew I would be fine since Lourdes knows her way around and has a house down there. And then I thought, "Shoot! I better call Joseph and let him know since my phone won't work down there." I left him a voicemail letting him know that we were crossing the border and may stay the night down there and not to worry because I would be safe. (He was surfing at the time)

Mexico, here we come! As soon as we crossed, we were in Tijuana! It was really gross. I didn't get any pictures of it since we were driving right on the outskirts of the city. It looked like a war zone. Lourdes and her friends live in a town called Playas, which is about 15-20 minutes from Tijuana and next to the beach.

Lourdes stopped here and had me get out of the car to see the "fence" that separates Mexico from the U.S. This fence is seen as soon as you cross and is very obvious. It was kind of weird to be honest, almost kind of eery.



Within a few minutes we were at her friend, Yazmin's house. It was super cute and since she is an artist her place was decorated beautifully.

She had a cute outdoor bar...

and even a pool and hot tub! I felt like I was in Spain or in a scene from Vicky, Christina, Barcelona.

After sharing a couple of bottles of wine and just talking, Yazmin had to tend to a client. She is also a masseuse, and lantern designer. I fell in love with this lantern of a lotus flower she made:

My picture doesn't do it justice, but believe me, it was beautiful. The entire time, I felt like I was in another world. I had a completely care-free attitude. I fell in love with everything there. While we waited for Yazmin to finish, we decided to grab dinner. So, we went to a restaurant called Taqueria a la Frances (French Style Taco Stand).

This cook seemed like the main person in charge. We sat at the bar in front of him and told him what kind of taco we would want and he would yell it out and within a minute or so, we would have a delicious hot taco in front of us. I don't really remember what I tried other than "un taco de cabeza", in other words, "head tacos". Gross sounding I know, but a Mexican delicacy and probably one of the best I've ever had.

They had those little meat station all over the restaurant. It looked like meat from which gyros are made.

They even had a live band! It was a really cool experience. I had a really good time, and Lourdes was a great tour guide. After eating, we headed back to Yazmin's and talked some more since she was done with her client. She said I looked kind of crooked, so we "straightened" me out with a massage. I ended up falling asleep on the couch as did Lourdes until 2:30 a.m. Poor Joseph had been waiting for me to call to tell him whether or not I was coming home. So I called, and told him we would be crossing back. I didn't make it home until 3:45 a.m. (Luckily I had my passport in my bag!) Talk about a spontaneous day, right?! I hope to do it again, very soon. :)

Work In Progress.

So, in my effort to make my apartment feel more at home, a month or so ago, I decided that I should decorate the kitchen. I got it in my head and just went kind of crazy for about a week. After that week, I think I may have gotten a little burnt out, so I need some help, I think because I can't decide if I am completely happy with it yet. Take a look!
I think the inspiration for my kitchen decor came from that little cow. I was in Williams-Sonoma, shopping of course, and I came across a similiar cow used for creamer from Apilco (By the way, the website is in French but they have an icon with an American flag too!) I thought, why not do French Country-ish decor, especially since I had recently stumbled upon a cute little french store in Mission Hills called, Mesón en Provence. With that in mind, I drove over to Mission Hills to get shoppin' & workin'.

I guess I was feeling a little (or a lot) amibitous because I bought a couple yards of this authentic Provençal fabric and thought that I could hand sew curtains! Mind you, I haven't really sewn something major since middle school when they make you take Home Ed class. But, I had it in my head that I could do it and I did! It took me about a week to finish both curtains. I felt so incredibly proud of myself :)

Next, I went to World Market and picked out this cute little stone hen, which is a French Country essential, of course. I also bought a few bottle of wine too, but that wasn't really for the kitchen, I guess. Still feeling like I needed more, I drove over to Lowe's and picked out a green hanging plant, but re-potted it into something else.

One of the final touches that I knew it needed was this "Bon Appétit" script. I looked up many fonts, but this was my favorite so I cleared my mind, got out my small paint brush and gold paint and gave it a shot. I think it turned out pretty good, but it may need a touch-up in a few places.

All in all, I am pretty satisfied with the resutls. I forgot to mention, the dishes on the wall! I looked everywhere, literally, from Bloomingdales to Pottery Parn to World Market to finally Target. I love them and think they are a perfect fit. I already had the spice jars from Crate & Barrel, and bought that small painting of French Lavender from Mesón en Provence.

Joseph even bought this hanging pots/pans structure from IKEA and tried to surprise me by hanging it on the wall that I decorated, before I had decorated it. Knowing that I wouldn't like where he put it, he was prepared and had purchased puddy to cover the holes. So, I had his put it over the stove, along with magnet that holds all of our knives.

So, what do you think?!

Seeing Red.

Do you

remember

this post?

Well, since Joseph and I were sharing one car (which was totally fine) I had this urge to buy something to get me around town. I didn't really want to buy a used car, but also don't have the funds to buy a new car. So, I think I found a happy medium....

A Vespa! Yes, I bought a new RED Vespa. After taking the written motorcycle test, (twice, I should add) and passed, I got my permit. I then went to test drive one, fell in love with the idea of having one (so Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday may have played a small role) and zipping around town, so I took the leap.

I ride it to work and to get my errands down around town. I don't think I could be any more pleased. I park it in our back courtyard area, and can usually rest assured that it will be there every time I need it. :) It's full efficient, fun, and dependable. Yay! Since, I still have to take the driving test to get my full license, I am not able to have a passenger yet, drive at night, or on the freeways (not that I would want to anyway! Yikes!)

I think for my current city lifestyle, it was the perfect choice!

But I still need to name it. Any suggestions?!

Cafe Chloe.

Since Joseph's birthday was actually the Monday following his party, I thought I should take him out for dinner. We had a couple of places in mind for dinner, but being a Monday, a lot of places are closed in San Diego. Shoot. However, I had been to this really cute place called Cafe Chloe! It's a cute french cafe, and it feels like you are seriously in Paris (my favorite place in the world). So, we checked out the menu and got ready!

I ordered the Poulet Rôti, the roasted chicken special. It wasn't on the menu, so I don't remember exactly everything that came with it. But it was amazing. It was so much Poulet, I couldn't finish it!

Joseph ordered the Mussels Grenobloise with brown butter, capers, lemon supremes, croutons, and pommes frites! Yummy!

The first time I came here, I saw someone order this Lavender Lemonade. It looked beautiful and refreshing, so Joseph ordered it. It was both beautiful and refreshing, just as I had already decided in my head :)

We couldn't get a great picture of the Mussels, but they were heavenly. I had never really been interested in Mussels until recently, and these were amazing. I kept reaching over and drinking the broth from Joseph's bowl (bad manners, I know, but I couldn't help it!)

After dinner, I ordered a cappuccino (my favorite espresso drink). As expected, the espresso quality was awesome, the froth was perfectly smooth and creamy, and the flavor was out of this world.

It's obviously no Paris, but here's to wishful thinking :)

Pirate Party.

Last week, we celebrated Joseph's 23rd birthday with a Pirate-themed party. I tried to keep the party a secret from Joseph, but then had to tell him because I knew he would want to dress up too! Then I planned on having a dinner party for his close friends before the wildness began, but then he was "stressed out" that he didn't know what I was planning and was going to plan his own thing. So, then I had to spill the beans about everything I had planned. Oh well. That's the last time I ever try to plan a surprise anything for him.

Joseph's friend from work, Satomi, made this fabulous cake. I believe it was lemon berry cake, with Nutella fondant that she had made. She was so sweet for making it. It was very good. She even made it Pirate-themed!

Two of my friends from work came, Olga & Victor. When all three of us are together, we are unstoppable! However, Victor must not have received the memo that said it was a Pirate-themed party...

After a homemade lasagna dinner, dancing, drinks, and many friends coming and going, the last of us remained. We had this crazy idea to walk across the street to a bar called NuNu's, in our costumes, of course! Everyone at the bar loved us. They even sang "Happy Birthday" to Joseph in Pirate voices. Cute!

After leaving the bar at 2:00 a.m. we came back to our place and cut into another cake! Joseph's mom had baked him a home-made German Chocolate cake, and shipped it over night. How sweet is she, right?! So, we sang once again, and ate half of the cake. Delicious. I would say the party was a success, especially since Joseph was sick all day Sunday!

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