What I've been up to....

So I realize most of my reader are family and friends and I wanted to update you on my happenings in Newport. School has been going very well. I am really enjoying this semester. I still working part time at my marketing job, as well as taking 3 classes from USC (Teaching ELLs, Elementary Language Arts and Social Studies, and PE). I am also volunteering/observing a few days a week at a local elementary school in the 2nd grade. I LOVE IT. The children are amazing and the teacher is fantastic, a great master teacher. Right now I am just observing and helping out the class but in a few weeks I will actually be giving PE lessons! Yikes! But also very exciting. I have to say it is fun getting to help with the development of my students learning, I think I have finally found my career path. I have also been accepted to Substitute in the Huntington Beach City Unified school district, so if you know any teachers/principles/staff in the district pass my info along to them, I would love some experience subbing.

Moving on...life has been great. I have been playing a TON of beach volleyball. I met a great group of women who play a few times a week and have been fortunate to make my way onto the call list for games. I have to say, it's nice to be competitive again and playing group sports, especially volleyball. And since I live in So Cal the weather is perfect for outdoor games on the beach even in fall.

I've been making/ re-purposing some jewelry for myself and my mom (shoot I just ruined the birthday surprise, sorry). It's been a challenging experience since I lack patience and the jewelry making fine motor skills. But I have enjoyed it (even if I threw away a whole bag of beads just minutes after I bought them, ugh, bad Scottish luck). Here is what I have been working on:

Nick and I checked out a fantastic new restaurant on a date night. Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza. It.....was....DELICIOUS! A bit pricey for pizza, but the pizza was so worth it. The crust was like a buttery crisp sourdough, the ingredients imaginative and fresh, and the wine list was fantastic (all the wines are from Italy). I have to say if you are in LA or Newport you MUST check out this restaurant.

I'll wrap up with photos from a much needed girls night. My friend Melissa made some fantastic pumpkin-coconut soup and pumpkin snicker doodles. I contributed the roasted cauliflower with melted parmasian and the green beans with butter and bacon. While Rachel provided the bruchetta and was a fantastic sue-chef! We have a wonderful evening cooking, sipping champagne, eating, and chatting. Thanks girls!

Getaway in Cabo!

Nick and I love to travel. And if you haven't been able to tell from many of my Friday quotes, we have been getting a bit restless in the travel department. However it's tough to plan a trip when you are in school (damn Masters loans) but I did have some savings and we were able to get a great flight/hotel deal from Pleasant Holidays with AAA, last minute, even. So off to the land of surf, sand, sun, Corona's, Margaritas, it was...

We arrived Friday afternoon and spent the whole afternoon/evening in the pool having coronas, cazadores on the rocks, and pleasant conversation with some brothers from Huntington and a couple from Laguna (yes we flew 1,000 miles to Mexico and ran into people who are practically neighbors to us).  It was a great first day to vacation followed by the best burgers and fries room service could provide.

Saturday morning it was up early to participate in the Cabo timeshare shark trap. Everyone has to go through a Cabo timeshare presentation or you haven't been to Cabo. On the plus side, we got a great breakfast, got to see a cool hotel, and the town of Cabo del San Jose. We also learned that if you say NO, you have to say it a million times and if you do want to purchase one (we did NOT) then wait till the last guy, he will give you the best deal to "try it out". Just an FYI. That afternoon was spent laying in hammocks on the beach with a bucket of Tecate, followed by lunch at the pool, a margarita cruise, and a night out on the town. You have to check out Cabo Wabo and El  Squid Roe (we missed the Giggling Marlin on this trip) if you are in Cabo. We even ran into one of Nick's vendors from work on a bachelor party trip. Glad we did, we ordered a yard of beer and needed people to help finish it off. We ended the evening with more burgers from room service (did I mention they were delicious?)

Sunday we lounged around the pool then rented a car and it was off to Cabo del San Jose for some surfing at Old Mans and some lunch at Zippers. I have to say the surf was great, a bit intimidating. I don't know why they were head high looping waves, not like the pitching waves we have here, but still I am always a bit nervous in new water. Plus right as we got out a clean up set came through and during my turtle dive I hit myself in the face with my board, no fun. But after an hour I got comfortable and had a few good rides even. Was sad to have only rented the boards for 2 hours. Will have to to back sometime. That evening we strolled on the beach by our hotel and then hit up the marina area for some drinks, a tequila tasting, and some dessert. I think we got chicken fingers this night for room service. They were delish too. I have never ordered so much room service in my life.

Monday we got up early and drove down to Cabo del San Jose to check the surf again, then it was back to the hotel to catch a water taxi over to the public beach for some jet skiing and lunch. We did the tourist thing on the way home and picked up some Mexican souvenirs ( you know, wrestling masks, genuine Mexican ray bans and Rolex, a great woven fish tapestry, and some silver). Back at the hotel we took a walk along the beach and found a local who would "guide" us over the boulders to Lover's Beach at Land's End. I have to say it was the highlight of the trip, and a reason that I am so glad I speak Spanish, otherwise we would not have met him and done the trek. For about $2 (wish I had had more on me) the guy took Nick and I over some boulders and onto Lover's Beach, took a million photos of us, and brought us back safely home. Brilliant! That evening we had a nice dinner at the hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean and sunset.

Tuesday morning we swam, read books, and headed back home. It's always sad to come home from a vacation but then I woke up early Wednesday (thanks to the time change in my favor from Cabo) to walk on my own beach and witness the sunrise (as a plus I got to see the sunset this day too). It's kind of nice to leave one vacation behind for a beautiful place like home, especially when your home is near a beach as well... I just have to remember that I live in a vacation spot and to stop at times and witness the beauty that is around me. It will remind me of how lucky I am.

Playing Tourist at Home

I love it when I have visitors. That means that I get to play tourist in my backyard without feeling awkward. Fantastic! And Newport has a lot to offer. A few weeks ago my friend Kathy came down from the Central Valley for a much needed sunny beach weekend. I picked her up Friday afternoon in Long Beach and headed out to Huntington Beach for lunch on the patio at Longboards. It's always good to start a trip out with margaritas. Then it was off on the beach cruisers, because you have to have and ride them here, to explore the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island.

We rode the boardwalk down to the wedge. Unfortunately it was not very Wedge-y, more like a wading pool than the monstrous beast it can be. If only she had come a week later, the swell was packing.

Then it was off to the Newport Fun Zone to take the ferry across to Balboa Island. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ferry. Once on Balboa we got Balboa Bars. Here is Kathy with hers at Dads.

After a quick stroll around the island it was back to the bikes for the ferry ride back to the peninsula and our ride home. At home we had some wine before heading out to Sake Sushi to meet another college friend for some amazing Sushi followed by a night of chatting/dancing at Blue Beet.

The next morning my friend headed back to Long Beach to spend the morning with another friend while I went to Nick's company picnic at HB. That evening I headed into Long Beach and got to play tourist, but this time as the tourist not the guide. We let Jacquelyn show us around Belmont Shore (I have only been here a hand-full of times). We had delicious Thai food at a new restaurant (I forgot the name, sorry) then headed to Legends to catch the end of the Chargers game (winners!) and off to Dogz for the rest of the night.

Sunday was spent lazing out at the harbor beach in LB watching some water polo, stand up paddling, and getting tans! Being a tourist in your backyard is great.

Adventures in gardening...My new herb (and cactus) garden

I have been wanting to garden for the past year, but in Newport we don't have any land. I finally sucked it up and went to Lowe's to buy some pots, soil and herbs (as well as a jalapeno tree) to add to Nick's succulent/cactus plants out on the back deck. I hope to have some recipes soon using my new herbs. For now check out my cute garden.

Right now I have jalapenos, rosemary, two types of sage, Italian parsley, oregano, thyme, chives (from seed so they just look like an empty pot with dirt), cilantro, peppermint, and basil, along with Nick's succulents and cactus. I hope to add a lime tree, strawberries, more mint (chocolate), green onions, and veggies in the future.

Date Night...Sunset Wine and Cheese

Nick had a bad flu/cold/bug about a week ago, hence not a lot of fun for me. But on Thursday he called me up saying that he felt better that day, why don't we meet up and have wine and watch the sunset out on the beach that night? Of course!

But I couldn't just stop at wine. On my way home form yoga that night I stopped by The Meat House (our favorite shop in Costa Mesa). I picked up 2 cheeses, some Jamon Iberica (expensive, and I didn't realize till after I ordered it, yikes) and crackers. But it was Delicious. When I got home I grabbed one of our special bottles of Rombauer Zin (we love Rombauer) and our dorky camping backpack (thanks Genni and Joe for having like a million of these things, ours has really come in handy) and a towel and headed out to the beach.

We were surprised at how many people were still out, but we were able to grab our favorite lifeguard tower and enjoy our snacks with the sunset. The lifeguards were pretty cool too. They didn't hassle us for stealing their tower, and we did a good job of hiding the wine.

It was a great night to just sit and watch the sunset enjoying great cheese and wine with Nick.

Exploring LA...The Getty, W Westwood, and Blue Whale in DT

It's taken us almost 3 years to make it to the Getty. Crazy, I know, but life gets in the way. We are able to make it a few weeks back and had such a great time. The exhibits were good, but the architecture was the most impressive. We loved the white modern look coupled with the rustic cream rock work. Brilliant! And the views of LA, fantastic! You could see everything (even with the haze). We spent a few hours exploring the exhibits (Cuban photos, British watercolors, European paintings and sculptures), and the garden. We also had  some amazing mussels and clams appetizer at the restaurant there. Delicious!

After an afternoon at the Getty we decided it wasn't time to go home. So we headed off to the W in Westwood for some sweet potato fires and drinks pool side at their backyard restaurant. It was quite and lovely, a good time to just sit and actually have conversations (you know how you don't really have conversations at home when you are in a relationship). It was lovely. I was a bit tired. Well EXHAUSTED really, I had gotten up at 8 that day to play beach volleyball in HB with some girls and ended up playing for like 4 hours, then stack up some hours at a museum and I was getting a bit cranky but didn't want to give up on our night in LA. Nick is a sweetheart and very patient with me. I am glad I sucked up my tiredness to go listen to some live jazz (something we miss desperately about SF). We found Blue Whale in downtown LA in the Japan town area. Amazing! The band was awesome and it was great listening. We ended the night two doors down for a late night snack of miso-noodle soup, yum!

Great date day

Unexpected Date Night

Last week we had a massive power outage for over 5 hours. I was just preparing some cauliflower rice (recipe to come) and cider mariscos for dinner, when the power blows. There goes dinner plans, since a microwave is necessary for the rice. And I didn't really feel like cooking in the dark. So I stashed everything in the fridge (hoping that the power would come on before morning so that I didn't lose it and the $150 of groceries I just bought) and Nick and I headed out to Side Door our favorite spot in CdM.

I have to say it was a nice change of pace for a Wednesday night, and instead of eating while watching TV, like we always do, we were actually able to enjoy some nice tapas and conversation. If you haven't been to Side Door and live in the area, you MUST GO NOW! It's fantastic. They are an English-style gastropub located in the 5 Crowns Restaurant. Don't worry the dinosaurs stick to the 5 Crowns side... (you know what I'm talking about if you live here). Side Door is hip and popular with the 20-40s crowd. They have a rotating menu with the seasons, a great beer and wine selection, fabulous deserts, and a phenomenal selection of cheeses.

* Photos from Side Door

Our meal consisted of:

A delicious Salty Dog (gin, grapefruit) cocktail

Santa Barbara Syrah

3 Choice chef's cheese/ prosciutto plate

Salmon Tartar

Pork Confeit

Root Beer Float Cake for dessert (YUM)

We topped off the night with a stop at Crow Bar (since we learned that the power was still out at 10pm) for a night cap for wine.

Upon returning home the power was still out :( But we had a great night and I have to thank So Cal Edison for forcing us to have a date night mid-week. And thank them for restoring power sometime in the night so that the groceries did not go bad!

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........

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?

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.

Catch Up

Now that I've explained a bit about school I thought that I would catch you up on the past 6 months (in photos, because that's more fun)......
January/February.... okay nothing comes to mind (yikes my memory is fading)
March

College friend Kathy's Bachlorette in Vegas

Nick's beer tasting birthday
April

Cal Poly Wine Festival

Richardson-Chinchiolo Wedding in Modesto (rehearsal photo)

Nick and I participated in the Avia Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio (Olympic distance - *I beat Nick* hehe)
May

Attended the Kentucky Derby for Nick's sister's 30th

Started School :)
June
No exciting photos, as I said my life consists of work, school, gym, sleep... I spent most my afternoons and all day on the weekends at the library, although I did take a break last weekend and head to SLO with Nick for his cousins Poly graduation and some hiking and brunch with my college friends, and exploring the Central Coast in between.
Note: If anyone is on the 101 and hungry or just wants to explore, I highly recommend stopping at the Cliff House Inn and Shoals Restaurant in Mussel Shoals (between Carpenteria and Ventura). We stopped for mussel appetizers, salads and dessert, and wine on our way home form SLO (delicious- we recommend the Santa Barbara Syrah). The view is to die for as well, just a piece of 1940s paradise off the 101.