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Mediterranean Food Date Nights

October 18, 2013 No Comments

My sister and I swap babysitting duties once a month so we can have date night every other month. This past weekend was our turn to go out, so we ended up at Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill. Believe it or not, we did not have a coupon, but we shared an entrée (steak shwarma, side of falafel and drink for $11, and it was enough.

People liken it to Chipotle, since you pick a protein, and then whether you want it in a wrap, salad or plate. I liked how it comes with all of the sides—hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, plus a garlic sauce, tzatziki, etc. Everything tasted fresh and the flavors all melded well. We tried to go to the Solar Decathlon afterwards, but they had already closed the gates so we ended up shopping at Trader Joe’s. Smile

Going there reminded me of our undocumented date night back in August, when we also chose a Mediterranean/Greek place, Luna Grill. I guess we lean towards Mediterranean because it is not the kids’ favorite type of food. Luna Grill is in the Spectrum.

That’s one full parking lot!

At this restaurant, we had a BOGO coupon from a booklet provided by the Irvine Company. This place is also quite good. The atmosphere is a notch above Garbanzo Grill, too.

Afterward, my curiosity got the best of me and wanted to try a piece of Dragon’s Beard candy from a cart by the merry-go-round. There’s a young Asian guy listening to music with his ear buds that makes this delicate candy to order for $1 a piece.

This is the Oreo flavor. Not very appetizing, I know. Kind of looks like bug larvae or something. It was interesting, but will probably be one of those “one time things” for us.

Family Field Trips

OCFA Open House

October 17, 2013 No Comments

We went to the OCFA Open House for the second time last Saturday. The key to this event is to arrive early. The parking lot fills up fast. We arrived at around 9:50 for the 10:00 start time, but there were already lots of people there. The sign said they opened the parking lot up at 9:45.

Last time the line for the fire engine ride was too long, so we made that our first stop this year.

This truck was from the 1950’s.

We knew a family that was on the truck before us.

Kitchen fire demo. The moral of the story was never pour water on a kitchen fire. Turn the stove off, put the cover on, leave the house and call 911.

There was a Habitat for Humanity house model. n is munching on his Krispy Kreme donut from Salvation Army. There was also coffee/hot chocolate.

We also took a tour of the 911 call center along with a boy scout troop.

I was surprised to hear that the 911 operators have sleeping/living quarters there.

There was some old school equipment. When was the last time you saw a dot matrix printer in operation? They also had Gateway computers in another room.

However, they also had some high tech equipment, like this huge HP printer that they bring to the field to print maps. Can you imagine how much the toner costs?

I always like tours that give you the “behind the scenes” view of things.

Afterwards, we had a hot dog lunch prepared by the firefighters. We ran into another family we know there. I’m actually surprised we did not see more people we know, but I think a lot of them showed up later in the afternoon.

We are so appreciative of firefighters and those who protect our community!

Restaurant Reviews

The Melt

October 16, 2013 No Comments

Friday afternoon I took the kids to the Grand Opening for a new grilled cheese restaurant at the Spectrum called The Melt. They were offering a free sandwich and side, and you know that I cannot pass up a chance for free food.

The signage reminded me of The Veggie Grill, which is right across the way. We had to wait in line for around 30 minutes. The process was very streamlined: they let in 12 people at a time, and there was a set sandwich and side (no choice was given) which I guess changed throughout the day.

During our wait, they handed out free mini samples of their vanilla shake. I liked the vanilla bean specks, but it tasted a little thin.

As a surprise, they also gave everyone a free drink from the soda fountain. The sodas had sugar (as opposed to high fructose corn syrup), and I allowed the kids to have one (this is quite rare, so they were quite excited). I did not allow them to drink the whole thing, however!

You can see the food being prepared.

Our sandwich turned out to be the “Mac Daddy” and the side was a Caesar salad/chips.

Yes, it was carb central. No, it would not have been my first choice. Of course, the kids loved it. n even ate the same amount of sandwich as k and me! (We saved one meal for D at home).

Aren’t those grilled cheese croutons so cute?

All told, our order of three sandwiches, sides, and drinks would have cost $33!

Date Night

Yelp Monster Mash

October 15, 2013 No Comments

Last week, D and I went to our first Yelp event. The Halloween-themed event was held at the Anaheim Garden Walk. I think the last time we were there was for Taste of Anaheim. Kids were not allowed, so they slept over at Baba and Zaza’s house!

The event was supposed to start at 7 p.m., but we arrived by 6:30. This turned out to be a good thing, because we were able to go to all of the booths within about 45 minutes. By 7:45, the lines were WAY longer.

I know, my pictures of that night are pretty bad. Let’s just say it is not easy to take pictures in the dark while handling multiple plates of small food. Some highlights were the Avocado burger from Slater’s 50/50, Reese’s Italian ice/frozen custard from Confetti’s and lobster mac and cheese from House of Big Fish and Cold Beer. There was a good amount of food—we were full, but did not feel overly stuffed/gross at the end. The event was free with an option to donate to Make a Wish Foundation. Good food for a good cause. I’m glad we had the opportunity to participate.

House, n

n’s Room Makeover

October 13, 2013 No Comments

n’s room is still a work in progress, but I am here to report that progress has been made. Just like k, I waited until n was four years old before decorating his room. n has been quite excited about the process and likes the fact that he has a bed “just like k’s” now. (Ikea Brimnes—pain to put together, but LOTS of storage).

n’s room is quite small, and ended up being a dumping ground for a while. As you can see, the closet was not working for our four year old boy, especially since he likes to change his clothes at least three times a day.

I repainted his closet and room and installed a closet system. Now n can put his clothes away by himself (with some prompting).

We also threw away his dresser (the drawers under his Brimnes effectively replaced it) and Craiglisted his toddler bed. We went with an outer space theme with bedding from Target.

I found this cute decal set at Graphic Spaces on Etsy.

On Friday I sewed the Euro shams. Kids’ rooms are so fun to decorate!

Uncategorized

Church Picnic

October 9, 2013 No Comments

Two Sundays ago we had our annual church picnic. It was sunny, but not too hot, as it has been in years past.

Food is a big deal at our church. The main course was hamburgers and hot dogs, but there were plenty of Asian (American) sides, such as spam musubi, pot stickers, Chinese chicken salad, somen, and jujubes (Chinese apples).

The cookie pops have now become a tradition. The kids go to the dessert table early so they are able to snag one.

Celebrations

Rainbow & Butterfly Birthday Party

October 8, 2013 2 Comments

I haven’t been blogging recently because I feel like we haven’t been doing anything “blog-worthy”. There were some activities that I thought we could do this past weekend, but then it was so hot and windy (and smoky, due to a fire, on Sunday), I just felt like staying inside. We did help with our church’s rummage sale, though. The kids enjoyed sorting, and we scored some good finds, including a sauce pot and non-stick frying pan. We also used my birthday BOGO for Souplantation, also a favorite with the kids.

The weekend before, k went to a school friend’s birthday party at Pump It Up! The birthday girl’s mom is very creative/crafty and went all out with the theme, as you can see (so cute!):

I appreciate how, at this stage, all of the parents have opportunities like these to get to know each other better.

Family Field Trips

Mission San Juan Capistrano

September 29, 2013 No Comments

Today was Free Museum Day, so we reserved tickets to San Juan Capistrano in order for D to see one more of the “Thousand Places to See Before You Die”.

First, we stopped for our annual trip to the Original Pancake House with our Entertainment Book BOGO coupon. A vegetarian omelet (with a side of regular pancakes) and an apple pancake were plenty for the four of us.

I thought the mission’s tagline, “Worth a Visit” was kind of funny, but in the end, I must agree.

We had a coupon for two free adult admissions, but paid $6 each for the kids. The price includes an audio tour, and there were separate audio recordings for the adults and kids, which was nice.

Depiction of life at the mission.

D stretching to show how low the doorways were.

The grounds are beautifully maintained…so many photo ops.

Lily pads!

Koi fish are both fascinating and freaky creatures. We had a coupon to feed the fish for free, but it wasn’t good until 12:30, so we weren’t able to use it.

I was surprised how much the kids seemed to enjoy it. I think the novelty of having their own audio tour was a big part of it. I guess they will have a head start on their fourth grade California history curriculum. Smile

Girl Scouts

Krispy Kreme Field Trip

September 26, 2013 No Comments

Last night k had a girl scout field trip to Krispy Kreme. n and I happily tagged along. The kids basically stood on the ramp by the window and someone explained the donut-making process to them. There was no direct access to the kitchen, which was a little disappointing. However, a free warm glazed donut made up for any disappointment!

Camping

3rd Annual Small Group Camping Trip

September 24, 2013 No Comments

This past weekend we went camping with our small group. This time was a little different because: 1. Everyone was able to make it (for a total of 31 people!); 2. We went to Crystal Cove instead of San Clemente; 3. Some of us stayed for two nights instead of our usual one night. Since D and I were in charge of planning, I was a little nervous about things going smoothly, but it ended up being really fun!

We only had two sites the first night and we fended for ourselves for dinner. I brought ingredients to make banana boats on the grill for dessert (split a banana, stuff with mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, wrap in foil, heat up on grill, add crushed graham crackers and M&Ms to taste).

The other families were kept up by birds that were chirping into the night, but our family didn’t even hear them—I guess we are sound sleepers. We were in charge of breakfast. I made pancakes ahead of time, and we served them with blueberry topping and whipped cream, along with pineapple bacon sausage from Costco.

The kids had a LOT of fun hanging out in our friends’ Honda Element with custom camper. It was like having a tree house/club house.

We spent pretty much all of Saturday hanging out on the beach. I can’t remember the last time that we lasted that long. It helped that someone brought an EZ Up so we did not roast in the sun.

To make it easier, lunch was pizza from Costco, which a couple of people picked up.

Dinner was hot dogs and chili and rice, which has become a tradition. We also had s’mores, made possible by a propane fire pit.

After dinner, some people spotted whales. n claimed he could see the whale’s eye, as well as a person riding the whale. He must have really good eyesight! Smile

For breakfast the next morning we had scrambled eggs on croissants, muffins and fruit.

Since it was Sunday, we also had a short devotional which reminded us about the ever-presence of God in our lives (even when we tend to forget).

After packing up, we were pretty much spent, so we went straight home. n took a nap for almost three hours! Our house is still recovering from the explosion which comes with unpacking from a camping trip, but the memories are definitely worth it!

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