scenes from a santa barbara relaxation mini-vacation

Took the long President's Day weekend to get out of dodge and clear my head. I took four important things... my iPod, three pieces of the book pile, my journal and sunblock. It was a glorious getaway!

Santa Barbara as seen from halfway up Sterns Wharf

Mine! Mine! Mine!
That pelican in the middle dive-bombed my head flying from the other side of the pier to grab a fish a fisherman threw on the planks. (Right next to an "It's illegal to feed the birds" sign... of course)

Lemon Drop Martini, which came with my Lemon Drop Martini massage at Spa Del Mar

My Sunday afternoon view of the Pacific as I finished part of "the book pile."

Perfection

Sunset

friday night in dtla

Spent a fun Friday night out this weekend wandering around the Arts District....

Berry Smash & Ginger Paloma Margaritas at Yxta Cocina Mexicana....
which was accompanied by delish guac and Mexican seafood creations

The DTLA skyline as seen from the rooftop of a building on S. Hewitt Street.

We did a little of both at Resident .. and had some nice cocktails in between.

oh christmas tree ... the cupcakes and cocktails edition

It's Saturday, so today's ornament collection shall focus on two of my favorite things to share with friends on fun nights out -- cocktails and cupcakes!

A group of my gal pals and I used to actually go out to dinner for each other's birthdays and share cupcakes for dessert after every meal. (The restaurants we took our own boxes of Sprinkles, Martino's and Big Sugar cupcakes to LOVED us! ;). I'm pretty sure at least one of the ornaments below (if not more!) came from that fun group.

Cheers!

New twinsy (almost) cupcake ornaments I just bought on Monday at a cute gift shop packed with ornaments near my office -- Ivy Glen Gift Shop

I think this is from a Club Cupcaker :)

This one might be from Club Cupcake too.
It's a Cakespy cupcake. 

I only have two alcoholic beverage glasses on the tree... hmmm.

things i love: summer cocktails

One of the best things about sunny summer days and warm summer nights is sitting around with friends sipping cool, fruity cocktails. Here are some of the concoctions I've enjoyed this summer (in addition to my go-to Cape Cod, of course ;) :

Elephant Bar's Skinny Mango-Fusion Mojito, which claims to be less than 165 calories. I say claims because, while this drink was very good and refreshing, I didn't taste any of the mango that is allegedly in it. And if it weren't for the floating mint I'd say this was a margarita. In fact, that's what I accused the waiter of mistakenly bringing me when he first set it down. Oops.

Seasons 52 Mandarin Orange Cosmopolitan. That silver shaker next to it holds 2-3 more cosmos depending on how full you can fill your martini glass without spilling it all over yourself as you sip from it. (Not that *I* did that. Nope.) This drink definitely wins the 'best value for your money' award so far this summer!

Benihana's Strawberry Cucumber Spritz with Tito's Handmade Vodka from Texas, which I drank in Encino :)  This was de-li-cious! Very refreshing, which is great when you're sitting in front of a giant metal grill. 

 

Spark Woodfire Grill's Pink Grapefruit Martini, also made with Tito's Homemade Vodka, which I have a bottle of in my wine fridge (which is where I keep my vodka since I don't have a lot of white wine). This was also yummy and refreshing. And it looks really cute and girly in a frosted martini glass ;) 

A classic mojito from El Torito Grill, where I've found myself a lot this summer due to its proximity to the Arclight Sherman Oaks. I have also started making some of these at home now that my mint plant has exploded in the recent humidity. But drinks are more fun to drink when you don't have to do any of the work to make them ;)

happy national margarita day!

Who knew there was a National Margarita Day!?! I didn't till right now, and unfortunately, I'm already a glass and a half into a bottle of wine. However, I had a big margie on Monday night and have plans for another one tomorrow night, so I'll just be celebrating my own personal National Margarita Week :) And till tomorrow's goblet-o-lime-and-te-kill-ya goodness, I'm just going to stare at these pretty pictures:

The Best Margaritas in Los Angeles
(Note: I'm surprised the Casa Vega margarita isn't on there... one of those will knock you out! Although I have had the one from the El Paseo Inn on Olvera Street, and it ain't too weak either ;)