Saturday, February 27, 2010

Yo Quiero


Seems like anytime we are trying to plan our weekly meals or figure out where we want to go out for dinner 'Mexican' always is the first to come to mind. There's just something about it we can never get sick of, and since we are both veggies (OK Jake's on the brink of turning...) it's an easy go to for both us. So we decided to see how many times throughout a one week period we actually prepare Mexican food for a meal. This may not be the most exciting post, however, those of you who heart Mexican food us much as us may get a kick out of this. (BTW our good friend Amy inspired us and we are going to be growing a "salsa garden" as soon as we have some sort of yardage).


Monday: Shrimp Burritos and black beans (on the side). Jessica pulled whatever we had remaining in the cupboard and fridge for a late dinner. Very yummy.


Tuesday: Good 'ol Baja Fresh! Chicken Baja Burrito for Jake and a side salad with rice and beans for Jess (leftovers for Wednesday's lunch! BONUS).


Wednesday: Mahi Mahi tacos with cilantro sauce and black beans on the side. No lunch leftovers the next day. Too good not to eat seconds! (BTW thanks again Amy for this easy and CHEAP recipe. Although Jess isn't really one for meaty items, this one passed her sensitive texture pallet)

Are we sick of Mexican after more than half of a week's dinners (4 meals...but who's counting) consisting of some concoction of cheese, lettuce, rice, and beans. nahhh! We probably would have had it for more than one of the remaining meals of the week if it wasn't for dinner plans with Adam and Lizzie or checking off one of our "bucket list" items. Good thing Austin has amazing Tex Mex, I'm sure we won't skip a beat there either.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Box of Chocolates?

Jessica came home from work today only to find that our files had been strewn all over the kitchen floor among an eaten and completely eaten box of chocolates. Luckily the box wasn;t full, not even by half. Anyone who knows Stew knows that he's never been one to be afraid of getting into trouble. Not like we are making excuses, believe us we would love not to come home to chaos, but this time he had crossed the line.


After a few crazed phone calls and some research, we decided to monitor Stew to see how he was. Allison, Jake's sister, told us that her pit ate about 10x more chocolate than Stewart did and was completely fine. She just that he was running up and down the halls and monitored him closely. Besides the trashed kitchen, he's been acting totally fine so far. Chasing balls, crunching ice cubes, barking, and begging for food, yup sounds about normal. Keeping a close eye on him and watching for and signs of irregularity. Nothing odd to report at the moment.



Hello Mom!




Yes I'm fine! Now let me go play...

Unfortunately this happened on an afternoon when Jake wanted to be sweet and leave some flowers and a card for me on the counter. What a sweet husband!


We think that this gave us a hint of what it might like when you have kids and an emergency comes up. The money and anything else no longer seems like a big deal. Having kids is still in the future for us, but it was definitely an experience that made us grateful for all that we have.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

California Bucket List

Not that we won't be visiting California anytime soon, but we figured that even when we do visit we might not always be able to do some of the things that make California...well California.

Here's our list in the making:

1. Brunch at Paradise Cove (can we say BEST bloody marys?)
2. Leo Carrillo dog beach with Stewie and his sister Mia
3. Breakfast or Dinner at the Inn of the Seventh Ray - check -
4. Hiking Santa Monica Mountains (Temescal and Runyon) - check -
5. Time with family and friends (this one could fill up
more than a few spaces on this list!) - check -
6. In 'n Out (veggie grilled cheese and chocolate shake of coarse) - check -
7. Bikes on Venice Beach
8. Board games with fam and friends (The Pit or Apples to Apples anyone?)
9. Dream Girls musical at the Ahmanson Theater - check -
10. Margaritas at Latigo Kid or Casa Vega


What do you think we should do before we leave the Golden State?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Listen Up Ladies!



le IKEA desk

A wise woman once told me (Ok men, this is when you stop reading) that if you want something you've got to make your husband think that it was his idea. Barely engaged and living with my then fiance, I had no idea what these women were talking about. How do you "make" him think he came up with the idea let alone want to give someone else the credit that you well deserve? Flash forward to a few months into marriage and I began to see what all these married chicas were really talking about.

B y now, you're probably wondering what the chic IKEA desk picture is doing in this post- or maybe have already guessed? Since moving into Jake's bachelor pad many of his prized possessions ('earthquake proof' table, posters galore, old magazines, etc.) have "mysteriously" disappeared into Jake's office or the garage. I'm still working on the fake hanging plants, but you get the idea. I'm not knocking IKEA. Believe me. I believe that it has it's time and place, and you can get great deals on
some great items. I'm a teacher and therefor born bargain hunter at heart so you gotta know that I can appreciate a good deal, but it was time to let the last of it go.

So with the move on my mind I thought it was the perfect time to keep with the theme: Out with the Old, In with the New. Luckily my mom was quick to rush the rescue and offered a perfect solution. Since we are moving into a smaller townhouse Jake's l-shaped desk just couldn't "fit" into the new office space, let alone that the new layout and old desk are totally not feng shui. haha.


our new "grown up" office desk and chair



Can't wait to see how it looks in our, I mean Jake's, new office! We will post pictures as soon as we're settled, promise.

(Thanks mom! Don't worry I'm moving with my "In and Out" list)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Love Is in the Air!


so beautiful day or night

We couldn't think of anywhere else we would want to spend Valentines Day this year: Inn of the Seventh Ray. This is usually the spot where we spend our wedding anniversary (OK we've only had one anniversary but you get the idea), and since we won't be here to celebrate our anniversary this May we decided that we
had to spend Vday at the Inn.



we sat right where we got married!

It was a romantic dinner set off by some delicious food and and even more enjoyable atmosphere. Although our list of favs about this place is definitely a long one, the one thing that always gets us coming back is knowing that you can spend hours at the restaurant enjoying every single second. Whether it's the food, staff, or ionized water (did we say water? yes...this water is amazing!) let's just say that we can't get enough!



a view from our table towards the fountain

We hope that you all had an amazing Valentines Day and showed those important to you in your life how much you love them!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Weighing Our Options

Last weekend Jessica went to Austin to take her Texas teaching exam, interview for a summer position, and look for places with our sister-in-law Lizzie (PHEW!). After looking during our first trip out to the area and doing some exploring, we nailed down an area of the city (South Congress 78704 area) and thought that finding a place would be easy from there. We thought that we knew what we were looking for in our new digs, but soon found out that our new debate is whether or not we want to downsize and store some of our furniture/etc., spend that little extra on a bigger place, and/or find a place that has a yard of some sort for our animal son. One thing we do know is that we don't want to do the apartment thing- been there, done that. Luckily we have a Realtor helping us out and keeping tabs on the place below in this posting (Those of you who've been to our place may see the resemblance. Maybe that's why we're drawn to it?). We like the charming "home-like" feeling overall, but are still weighing our options as we speak.


Living Room


Front of townhouse...kind of Bostonian huh??


Courtyard/Dog park area


Floor plan


Kitchen. I'm going to say...cozy? : )


Pool area

Although we don't know if we like the idea of moving into a place that one of us hasn't physically visited, moving is a big decision especially when you are looking out of state and we want to feel that "home sweet home" feeling. Thoughts???