california beach bums.

each time we arrive in california, it goes something like this. 

roll down car window, breathe in fresh air... 

"ahhhh... it's so nice." 

"remind me again why we don't live here?"

don't get me wrong, we love our life in arizona, but there's something special about the california air. 

it's cool & crisp. the energy is buzzing. the coast is littered with awesome little towns.

we're surrounded by so many family and friends that there never seems to be enough time.

i long for the summer weekends where i can park myself in sand from sunup to sundown. i love it. 

we had a fantastic long weekend in california. 

it was the perfect pace. a sprinkling of family, friends & couple time.
all i wanted was to park the car and be on the beach, so we stayed at the ocean park inn in pacific beach.
nothing swanky, but it was right on the beach, walking distance to everything & had a hot tub.

{the view from our room}


{couldn't be any closer to the water}

the morning after the 4th, we woke up without an agenda and just started walking. 

we landed at Tower 23 where we stayed for a long brunch while waiting for the morning fog to burn off.

{our table view at brunch. succulents for days.}

{danny supposedly loves this photo b/c he said this is his typical view of me. not sure if that's endearing or rude.}

just as the marine layer burned off (totally so cal speak, right?), we walked to the local grocery to buy a  cooler, chips, cocktails and headed to the beach where we stayed until the sun went down.

we napped, read magazines, took a long walk along the water & played a game of smash ball (you know, the paddles & little ball). 

... that is until danny got a serious sports injury when his toe got stuck in the sand. 

bah! 

{i spy a bag of cool ranch Doritos (vacation, obvi) and ting's awesome new beach cooler}

good thing we had a cooler full of ice for his toe's "smash ball injury"

i didn't stop laughing, even hours after he limped off the sand. 

trader joe's easy & delicious greek gyros.

hers & his chicken sausage gyros made with all trader joes ingredients in less than 6 minutes

{mine with extra tzatziki, his with spicy sriracha}

we eat these a lot. just ask my husband. i'm kinda addicted to them. they're super easy, light & tasty.

...the ingredients... 

(any pre-cooked trader joe's chicken sausage flavor you'd like. we mix it up each time.)

trader joe's middle eastern flatbread. so delicious.

veggies: chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce & slivers of pepperoncinis.

...the steps...

                         1:  slice-up 1 chicken sausage per gyro & heat as directed (microwave or stovetop) 

                         2:  shred lettuce, chop tomatoes & pepperoncinis (also consider cucumbers & onions) 

                         3:  heat up flatbread for 20 seconds & spread tzatziki sauce all over.

                         4:  add warm chicken sausage, veggies & sprinkle with fat-free feta cheese and pepper

                         5:  serve with a side. we like hummus & pita chips, fries, couscous or a greek salad 

approximately 305 calories per gyro 

apoláf̱ste
(enjoy in greek. duh)

flamenco night & menu favorites at downtown's gallo blanco.

danny had a craving for mexican food, so off to gallo blanco we went. when we got there, it was packed and we realized we had stumbled upon "flamenco wednesdays." we thoroughly enjoyed our unexpected cultural evening that accompanied our tasty food and my delicious peach sangria. if you're in phoenix, we highly recommend gallo blanco for both food & vibe - plus, it's super inexpensive. and as mentioned here, it's not your typical greasy mexican food, it's more "mexico city" cuisine.

some of our gallo blanco favorites are:
pork and/or chicken quesadillas: made with mini taco-sized corn tortillas so they're the perfect appetizer.
chips & guacamole: with fresh citrus like oranges, pineapple and mushed inside.
carne asada burro: do not imagine filibertos. it's "dry" in a homemade tortilla filled with fresh avocado, salsa & beans
ensalada cortada: chopped kale, egg, avocado, crunchy peas, tomato, seeds & corn nuts. great app or entree.
inca salad: quinoa, corn, dried cranberries, tomato, arugula, mint + other veggies. it's totally delicious.
fish tacos: it's tacos al a carte, so you can get a bunch to sample. the fish are the best.
posole: huge bowl of soup with chunks of pork and hominy + cilantro, cabbage & peppers to add yourself.

last week we went out with a group of friends and tried gallo blanco's new sister restaurant Otro Cafe. 

good food, but the vibe wasn't for us. ambiance was just "eh" and the service was "eh"

let's put it this way, we'll be sticking with the otro gallo balco - downtown. 

coachella 2013: moments captured on day one.

get excited. you're going to get three coachella posts. one for each day.

no two coachellas have ever been the same, but this year was especially different for two key reasons:

#1. a new home. it was awesome. everything we'd always dreamed of for coachella and more. the key ingredients were 1) pool 2) spa and 3) walking distance to the festival. i booked this house a year in advance, so it was a great feeling to walk in and realize that it wasn't a dream, we weren't being scammed and we really were that close. you could hear the festival and see the lights from our backyard. pretty rad.

#2. the other big point of distinction was our new and very international coachella crew. among us, we had the following countries represented: australia, sweden, canada, latvia, the united kingdom & more. it was a big, colorful, professional party crew.

for me, having the pool was a blessing and a curse. the daytime pool parties and late night spa soaks were the best, but i got daily anxiety and the guilts for not getting to the festival earlier each day. considering my dwelling problem i did a pretty job of reminding myself to just go with it and accept that this was a new way for us to do the festival. i know ting loved the pool parties and this was one of his fave year's yet.

i say it each year, but this year would be especially impossible to sum up in words. it was kinda like a big "did all that really just happen?" i'll let the photos in these next few posts do the talking. enjoy. xx

cup of coffee & breakfast in a bikini? don't mind if i do. 

approximately 10:30 am.

our resident rockstar, jenny.

not quite sure why i love this photo so much, but i do. 

peter & the palm tree.

12 little flamingos kept our cocktails a float.

i could have watched miad dance allllll day long.

chris and kory takin' advantage of the game room.

walkin' in. 

we're here! it's an indescribable feeling.

longshot joe! our fellow balloon guy.

i may have been a little obsessed with my romper.

of monsters & men.

a personal fave. holga style.

our friday crew. a ting & his three groupies. 

see the rhinos in there working the "power station" - it ran the lightning art installation.

ting heard the sound and bolted (like that pun?) to see the lightning.

badass.

the giant coachella snail that moved around the polo fields.

so, um, yeah. the sahara tent (dance tent) was more than double its regular size. un. real.

ha! spotted on the guy in front of us in mojave. 

the mirage modern structure for shade in the day and projections at night. 

one of the coolest art installations to-date. danny & jenny went to a few cocktail parties there - with stuffed blue cheese olives. 

warm nighttime weather was so lovely considering last year's coldchella.

chubbies twins. check out chubbies shorts here: chubbiesshorts.com

freaking do-lab fire show awesomeness.