Quote Friday: To be a lady

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. - To be a lady no. 090

I liked this quote because it's so true for any woman. Nick doesn't get that I am always preparing for the worst case scenario and doesn't get why I can't just fly by the seat of my pants, I just don't think it's ingrained in my hormones. I think most women follow this quote. We always want the best but want to be prepared if things go wrong, back up plans are always good.

Loving the beach life

I have a love/hate relationship with Newport Beach. I LOVE living near the beach and being able to surf, play volleyball, run/walk along the water and bike. I HATE the noise of traffic on PCH, that the houses don't have AC, the mosquitoes from living near a lagoon, sand being all over the house from the fun activities, and parking issues and traffic in summer. I LOVE that it's mild temperatures year round and that in summer you can surf and swim in the ocean without a wetsuit, that there are always people willing to play beach volleyball and that there are so many activities to do. I HATE that the food options are NOT diverse, and that you have to use a wetsuit the rest of the year, and that housing prices are ridiculously high, and that job opportunities are low and based off who you know.

This love/hate relationship has been going on since I moved down here 3 years ago in 2008. But this summer has made me really fall in love with the area. Maybe it's because I am finally pursuing a career that makes me happy, and that I actually have connections in the field. Maybe it's all the great friends we've met since being down here or the fact that I have been able to get back into competitive sports (triathlons and beach volleyball). Maybe it's just that I've finally started to explore my new home and become interested in checking out new spots. Whatever the reason I am glad I am finally starting to feel like Newport is home. I had this realization while driving home Tuesday night from a fun session of beach volleyball out in Corona del Mar, the sun was just setting off PCH, the air was warm and I was pooped, but so excited and stoked on life and the scenery that I was able to stop and enjoy and reflect on the show and how lucky I am to be living here during this moment in my life's journey........

Balboa Fun zone (2008) as seen from the ferry

Playing tourist in our new city (2008)

July 4th (2009) Best holiday in Newport

Hanging out in 2010

 Sunset on the beach 200 yards form the house (2011)

I am falling in love in Newport........

Adventures in cooking...Baking sweet potato fries

Have you ever tried to bake fries at home, only to have them 1) raw or 2) burned? I have until I stumbled across a baking tip (I don't remember where I found it) that said to pre-boil your fries before baking, this will soften them up and help them to not burn while baking, they also come out with pretty good fry consistency. It is really easy, you just need about an hour of time (but you can read a book, clean, cook the rest of the dinner, while these puppies are baking).

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

Spray olive oil

Butter - to season (optional)

Lava salt- to season (or what ever you like on your fries)

First:

Cut the sweet potatoes into fry sticks (1/4 in thick worked best)

Second: 

Place in boiling water for about 12 minutes

Third:

Spray cookie sheet with olive oil (I like to spray tin foil so I don't have to scrub the baking sheet) then spread out your fries evenly on the sheet. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 450 degrees, flipping fries half way through to brown on all sides.

Fourth:

Season how you would like (or you can season half way through baking time), serve (we had lettuce wrapped cheese and avocado burgers), and enjoy!

Quote Friday, Happy Eating

"I don't think any day is worth living without thinking about what you're going to eat next at all times"

This quote came from Real Simple Magazine and I LOVE it...good thing I like to work out or all my eating/thinking about eating would show.

Adventures in cooking...Inventive beach BBQing

 

Nick and I spent a lovely Saturday afternoon/evening this weekend surfing out at San Onofre State Beach. The waves were small but the water was balmy almost 70 degrees and trunk-able/ swim suit-able. It was nice to get out in the water without a wetsuit. We couldn't remember if Old Man's had BBQs or just fire pits, so instead of purchasing a tiny charcoal BBQ at Home Depot (we debated it while we were there getting herb garden stuff earlier in the day) we decided that the beach had them....WRONG! So after surfing we decided we still wanted to BBQ at the beach so we got inventive. 

 Here are the tales of our inventive BBQ and how to recreate it...
Step 1: Find a Fire pit
Step 2: Find some thin flat rocks (San O has plenty of these at the water line)
Step 3: Wash/dry your rocks and light your charcoal
Step 4: Lay the rocks out over the hot charcoal
Step 5: Cook your food on top of the rock! Ingenious and since some of the food had marinades/butter the rocks also got seasoned for the meat....

First we started  with corn (with garlic butter)

Then Asparagus (with cilantro lime marinade)

Then the meat (juicy kabob)

Now enjoy the sunset.... Such a great night.

Wrapped up with desert (Lava cake) at Hapa J's our favorite San Clemente and post San O surf restaurant. 

Cool Wine Serving Idea

I had a much needed girls night this weekend (complete with a burger and wine dinner, followed up with some sweet dancing to a live band at Perqs in HB, and yes we were some of the youngest patrons in the crowd but had so much fun). Sorry I don't have photos from the night and/or don't want to embarrass any friends....

We had dinner at 25 degrees in HB and they served the wine by the glass, 16oz or very large carafe! I thought it was a great idea, and the wines were really decent, while the girls went for the Riesling I went for the French Rose (16oz obviously!) and and was very satisfied, especially since it was a warm evening. I might serve my wine this way at my next party.

Quote Friday, Adventure......

Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventure. - L. Drachman

Weekend wrap up

I apologize, none of the photos are mine, I really need to get better at taking photos........
Anyways here is my weekend recap.

Friday Night

the MAT at USC had an OC meet up for current and graduated students. It was fun to get to meet some local peeps and gain an inside perspective on the job market, testing strategies, and course content. I can't wait for the next one.

Saturday

I got up early 6:30 am for my CSET and took just about the whole 5 hours, making sure and double checking my answers. Nick was kind enough to be a support and drive me to UCI for the exam and pick me up. I finished at 12:30pm and was STARVING. Luckily there was a farmers market in the shopping center by UCI and a Steelhead Brewery. We did a bit of market shopping then I had lunch (a yummy veggie sandwich and fires) and a large beer to wash away my test grime. After lunch I had to head home to finish a paper for a class and then it was time to have some fun. Nick and I rode our bikes to the Wedge, Nick got in, but I sat and watched it was pretty big. We finished up the day for happy hour drinks and tacos at Cabo Cantina.

Sunday

Nick got up and headed to SD to surf and check out the shop. I had beach volleyball class with the city at Corona del Mar beach. I love being able to play again, and was even asked by some local beach players to keep playing after the class was over, so I played for about 3.5 hours, when I ran out of water I headed home because it was HOT, needless to say I should have packed more H2o as I had a bit of a headache the rest of the afternoon, so I stayed in and finally watched Gidget (from the 1960s), it was different and a bit slow for today's movie standards but a perfect summer movie. Made me want to go out front and surf, too bad the beach was black balled for the evening. (we really need to do what Australia does and have surf and swim beaches during high traffic times)

Baseball game date night

 First of all............DON'T WORRY Padre and A's friends, we are still loyal to our teams, it was just free hat night at the Angels game and since they were playing the Mariners (and as an A's fan I don't like them) we decided to join in the festivities and fan-dom for the home team for the night.
Nick texted me last minute on Thursday to see if we wanted to go to the game, since a vendor at work had tickets and couldn't give them away. It was such a fun night and a perfect escape before my CSET that weekend.
Highlights:
1) Angels win
2) Ice cold beer (started with a Fat tire and then had to have the all American bud light)
3) Hot dogs
4) Chocolate malted ice cream
5) Peanuts
6) Great Thursday night warm summer weather

Disclaimer:
DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT order the garlic fries at Angels stadium, they were such a disappointment! Who puts garlic powder on garlic fries? I was hoping for the real stuff, with real chunks of fresh garlic like you get at A's stadium (or even in Seattle, yes I had delicious garlic fries there too). I was very disappointed in the non-garlic garlic fries.

But other than the fries it was a great night and I am looking forward to a Padres game (since we live in So Cal, and Oakland stadium is far away).

*P.S. Doesn't Nick look great in his glasses?

Quote Friday, Happiness..........

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. - Henry Ward Beecher

***I will be much happier with the CSET passed and out of the way this weekend, wish me luck!

Weekend Wrap-up

Independence day weekend was a blast (and I was still able to get some quality study time in as well). Sorry up front for no photos, guess I was having too much fun to think of those things, I need to get better at that. Well here is our fun weekend wrap-up.

Thursday- Nick and I had date night at Hi-Times which consisted of sake tasting and delicious food truck goodness

Friday- Work/study/write a paper, oh did I mention I got 100% on a Masters Paper? Sooooooooo Excited. Fit in a little swim and had a relaxing movie night

Saturday- Bike ride with Nick to HB for some breakfast, then I studied and Nick played golf at Trump National with some buddies

Sunday- Beach Volleyball class with the city at CDM (I am so happy to be getting back into the sport, and yes my ankle is doing fine, I think it likes the sand) Bike ride with Nick to HB for a friend's July 3rd party, yummy cheese, beef, jalapeno dip, sums up the day (Alicia, I need your recipe)

Monday- Morning surf with Nick and Jarrod (even did a bit of stand up paddling, boy did it feel good to get back in the water, it had been way too long, and yes the water was warm, trunk-able, although I did wear a spring suit). Then some study time for me, followed by a bike ride down the peninsula to survey the madness and have some drinks with friends, all wrapped up by a bbq at home and some firework watching on the beach.

Quote Friday: Wandering.....

Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. - Anatole France

I love this quote. I think in a prior life I was a nomad. Why else would I have the constant urge every 6 months to travel? This quote really speaks to me especially after my quarter life crisis of quitting my job and moving to Argentina for a few months to learn Spanish and find myself. I learned some Spanish and really found out that I love to explore, meet new people, see new cultures and sights. I love the connection traveling offers, but I also know that those connections can happen in your own backyard. It is my goal to explore my own Orange County/ LA/ SD area this year and be content with wandering through my backyard (while dreaming of my next big trip).