Quarter of a Century.

Sadly, I had to work on my birthday on Fat Tuesday but it was small price to pay for all the things that awaited me throughout the week. The morning of my birthday, I vacuumed the car and got it all washed for Joseph's mom & sister to come into town the following day, after that I got showered and my friend Caitlin took me to Cafe Chloe for a birthday lunch. We both had a little Coupe of Bubbly, and Caitlin ordered the Steak & Frites, while I had the amazing Soup Du Jour that had a poached egg in it. It was amazing, I thought it sounded interesting so I tried it, and absolutely loved it. I want it again, as I am blogging about it :) Sadly, I didn't take any pictures!

After lunch, we visited Joseph at work, had a birthday drink, and the staff at Sushi Deli #1 sang "Happy Birthday" to me and presented me with their Mochi Ice Cream dessert. Caitlin & I left and went over to Urban Mo's to have a birthday shot! :) Needless to say, I needed a little nap after all this. After Joseph got off work, he came home, we cuddled, and he presented me with this...

I was kind of speechless. I was not expecting Hermes for my birthday! I was kind of in awe. I have always gotten really giddy about being presented with a the Little Blue Box, but I almost didn't have a reaction for the striking orange box.

I loved it! I couldn't wait to put it on. I was so excited that I even convinced myself to wear it to work. It was the only day I wore it too because I was so scared I'd mess it all up but I was so happy.

I'm Yours.

What are your thoughts on Valentine's Day? Joseph and I usually don't make too much of a fuss about it and never go out because of all the mayhem but this year we decided to go out the day before.

We went to try a couple of places that we hadn't been to but everything and everywhere was booked for the night. You couldn't even find a seat in the bar. So, we thought we would try this cute new Italian place in Little Italy that our friends had to told us about called Bencotto. I had forgotten that that had just opened a few days earlier but judging from how many people were there, I was surprised! They had one open table, lucky for us!

We shared a bottle of wine and both ordered Gnocchi dishes.

Joseph looked so cute :-)

The Gnocchi was pretty good, neither one of us had ever had gnocchi, so it was a nice change from the norm of always ordering pastas. I'm not sure that I could order it again but it was tasty!

For dessert, I brought a little something from Extraordinary Desserts. Yummy, "Brownie in a Box" :) The server was sweet enough to plate it for us.

The next morning we spent the day at Black's Beach in La Jolla. was the perfect Valentine's Day, especially since everything was not really planned but still fell into place.

It's Official.

As I blogged about last month, I finally made the appointment at the DMV to take my Motorcycle Skills Test as I mentioned here. A little over a week ago, Joseph and I went to the course and he gave me some pointers, showed me the proper way to pass, observed as I tried and nonchalantly told me I was probably going to fail.

Well, of course I try not to believe him. So a couple of Wednesday's ago, I went to my appointment early and waited in line with a few cars in front of me to take the skills test. I didn't really feel nervous until I was at the front.

The lady testing me was very nice. She explained the two test drives that I had to do in detail. She told me she was kind of lenient with allowing my front tire touching the white lines but that I could not go outside of the lines or put my feet on the ground while driving.

Attempt #1

I failed within with the first 20 seconds because I lost my balance and put my feet down. Haha. I was kind of mortified because I had gotten further on my own the day before and the day of! BUT, she was sweet enough to let me try again (probably because it was so pathetic to have failed to fast)

Attempt #2

She told me to take a deep breath, focus, and try again. I passed the first test perfectly! I was so proud of my myself and thankful that she let me take it again. The second test was supposed to be a little easier to I didn't fret too much about it, and she told me if I happen to go out of the white lines, to keep going anyway.

I was just a few feet from finishing when doing my final turn that I blatantly crossed the white line and yelled "Shit!" but as instructed, I kept going to the finish. She told me to park my Vespa. I wasn't sure whether I had passed or failed but to my surprise, she said she would pass me! I was ecstatic, I couldn't believe it. So yes, it's official, I am a licensed driver in the State of California.

Self Gifting.

Is there such as thing as self-gifting? I'm not sure, I may have made it up.

but....

Do you buy yourself a birthday gift?

I can't remember if I do or not. I probably do and if I haven't in the past, I think I just might this year.

What I've really been looking for is a new bag but I think I might have found something that I didn't know I wanted until I saw it.

An Hermes Scarf.

I looked through the catalog and fell in love with this look. So, I went into the store at Fashion Valley and gawked over it. I tried on a few other smaller silk scarves and I can't make up my mind over what works best for me.

What are your thoughts on Hermes scarves? Investment piece or just a silly purchase?

The model on the catwalk has one of their signature silk scarves. I think I should be able to pull this look off for our upcoming spring break trip.

This model is wearing their silk losange scarve. It's being featured in all of the top fashion magazines. Now I feel it's a must-have item :)

Giada's Pizza.

I think I might have a small obsession with pizza. I love pizza. I think about eating it once a day and then remind myself that I shouldn't. I did however, make home-made pizza twice this week. One of my favorite recipes to follow is Giada DeLaurentis found here.

It's simple, quick, and way easier to make than you would think. The hard part is having to wait an hour for the dough to rise, but in the mean time you can plan for all of the toppings!

This creation has homemade marinara sauce, Mozzarella & Parmesan cheese, as well as Pancetta and mushrooms.

Yummmmmm! So good. Try it, you just might surprise yourself!

Amateur Experiences.

Have you ever seen the movie Julie & Julia?

Having seen the movie, Julia Child really inspired me. I'd like to read her biography. It astounds me that she didn't figure out what she wanted to be until her late 40's. Having tried everything from playing playing cards to making hats to finally discovering her passion for cooking.

Sometimes, I feel the same way. There are so many things I'd love to do from designing sets costumes or clothing, to opening a french pastry shop, to being a photographer. I can't pin point the one thing I want to do. I told Joseph the other day, "What I really want to be is a Martha Stewart!" She has her hands in everything. From her own line of products to her own magazine/cookbooks to her television show.

Where do I even start? Maybe I'll work in every industry for a year or so and gain the fame that she has. I'm determined to get there... somewhat, because in all reality can it really happen? Oh well. Today I'm trying jewelry design...

Don't laugh or judge, it is a completely amateur piece and spur of the moment thing :) I was bored this morning and since it's a gloomy day in San Diego, I thought, what else should I do?! (besides washing the dishes, vaccuming the rugs, or organizing my closet... all of which I'm ignoring at the moment)

I took things I had laying around the house. The leather band was part of a belt that I had. The two "things" (for lack of a better word) attached to it are buttons. The bottom one is was an antique gold-colored button and the top one was a smaller black button. I strung cream-colored thread through the black button and attached it to the gold button, which I had attached to the leather band with wire. The ends of the leather band I threaded with fishing wire.

I wasn't working with the best camera, so my pictures aren't amazing!

I had to put the ring on my left hand for the photo because I'm right-handed and I didn't know where Joseph's tripod was... or really had the ambition to set it up, on to of setting up the timer, and getting the picture just right. I'll leave all that maneuvering to Bethany, expert self-picture taker :)

What do you think? Should I keep my night job...!

Cafe Chloe.

I am completely in love with Cafe Chloe in the East Village. I know I've blogged about it before (click here), but French Food is by far one of my favorite foods in the entire world. I can't wait for Joseph's mom and sister to visit in a couple of weeks so we can come here. They didn't eat here last year because I hadn't discovered it yet.

In the mean time, I brought Caitlin here for the first time. This is what we enjoyed:

In the center were the Truffle Fries. (Obviously we ate them well before I could take a picture of them) They were served with an Arugula sauce, Garlic Aioli, & a Spicy Ketchup. Delicious.

I had the Kale coupe with a Salad. It was so good and filling! I love their presentation of everything... from the salt & pepper containers, to the meals, to even the way they present you with the check. Getting the check is never fun, but when it comes on a beautiful sterling silver tray with a sterling silver paper weight, I can't help but smile :)

Caitlin got the Special Du Jour, Sausage Crepes with a Frisee Salad. I tried it, it was delicious. I almost wished I had ordered that but I was really happy with my choice. Everything they have is amazing. If you ever want to go, call me!

P.S.

Their Lavender Lemonade... to die for. I am going to try to concoct a martini just like it. Stay tuned.

Friday Fun Day.

I hardly ever have a Friday or Saturday night off, but when I do, I don't even know what to do with myself. Aside from that, Joseph actually had to work on Friday so I really didn't have anything planned.

After spending most of the day doing laundry, and chores around the house, my friend & co-worker Jessica came over after work. She watched Big Fish, while I folded the sky high piles of clean clothes. It took me the entire movie length to finish folding and hanging our clothes.

Afterwards, we decided to go into Sushi Deli to visit Joseph and have a few cocktails. After successfully drinking for a couple hours, we left Sushi Deli very happy and with full tummies.

Living in Hillcrest is great because everything is within walking distance and there is always some new business opening. We randomly walked by a new hookah bar and decided, why not try it?!

Jessica really wanted to do it, so she picked out the flavor which was Strawberry with something else too. I hadn't done hookah since leaving Iowa over a year ago, where we left our own hookah in the closet (reminder to self, bring that back this month).

Jessica didn't want me to take her picture because she was still in her work cloths, but I insisted. After smoking hookah for what seemed like forever, although the conversation was great, we finished and decided to walk over to Rite-Aid for a bottle of wine.


What's this? It's Chocolat, a new dessert place/restaurant that just opened up about a month ago. Should we try it? It is our one of out competitors after all. Let's just take a peek, we thought...


Who can resist home-made authentic gelato? Seriously. I had like three cones a day while I was in Italy. I love gelato. One of my favorite places in San Diego is Pappalecco, as I mentioned a million times the past year, but Chocolat... you have won my heart & tastebuds.

Heaven. I tried every kind of chocolate gelato, and finally settled on the dark chocolate one. Nothing goes better with chocolate then red wine. What a perfect ending to the night!

The View.

One of my favorite parts of everyday is when the sun sets. If you had a bad day, you just sit above the city, watch the sun set and hope for a better tomorrow. It's truly a calming experience. It gives you time to reflect; the past, the present, and the future to come.

Even on vacation, I always want to grab a cocktail and nab a coveted table to watch the gorgeous sunset. Do you feel the same way?

San Diego has a million places to enjoy this experience. Some of my favorites:

1.) The Glass Door

2.) George's at the Cove

3.) The Ivy Rooftop

4.) La Valencia

5.) Mister A's

Enjoy!