Restaurant Week

Most of you I'm sure have heard of Restaurant Week.
I learned of this amazing event about three years ago in Philadelphia and loved the idea, and now I got to enjoy some yummy food here in Orange County, too. Orange County's Restaurant Week doesn't start until February 26th but Newport Beach had its own little restaurant week so we went. I just couldn't say no to that! Because, ya know, I love food...

We went to Chart House and had a blast.

Our server wasn't the happiest (sorry dude, but you are not made for this business, trust me!!) but this could not stop my excitement to eat yummy salmon and try from my friends' dishes, too.

 
First though we had some appetizer that we just had to devour slowly....it was that good. :)

And then the main dish came, and I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of my own dish...the salmon. Just imagine a gigantic piece of fish, on top of a mustard, black pepper sauce (or something like that - I just wanted the sauce in the end it was that delish!), and homemade mashed potatoes (weird combo but it worked so well I freaked out...hence my excitement and the fact that I forgot to take a picture!).

The breaded shrimp with mango salsa and honey-ed beans was just as delicious...and the beef medallions with such an amazing onion sauce...hmmmm, is it weird that my mouth is watering again?!

These pictures aren't the best (I know I suck at taking phone pictures!), but hey, did I mention the food was awesome? And I was excited and hungry, too?! I just had to quickly take a photo and then fill my stomach! 

Oh, and I forgot to take pictures of my friends' lava cake, and my mud pie ice cream! That's how excited I was...really!

Let's hope I make it to Orange County's Restaurant Week and actually take pictures of everything I ate, or shared, or whatnot...

...I'm already excited!!!

And BYE January...you were an okay month!
Just saying!

Man Candy Monday - Again!

So my lovely readers...

This week's going to be interesting...busy and still not that busy at all.
I have everything scheduled in my calendar so I know what I'm going to do when and how and where...I have papers due, tests to study for, a stupid speech (once a week, always!), and a life to live, too. Wish me luck!

But today, like most of Mondays...I just thought I'm going to enjoy some hot Man Candy again. 

And a lovely blogger reminded me of a quite hot guy I almost forgot. Thanks! So here I am...joining Leeann's fun weekly event again!

Have fun! And don't drool!

Matt Bomer!

Hop on over to Leeann's and join the fun!

Happy Monday!!!

xoxo

Bye bye fruit!

Today, I am trying to leave my phone far away from me until I have free time.

I am also trying to stay away from the internet, the silly kind of internet, the one I can't use or need right now.

I am purely focusing on research, Indian Legends, English Literature, and a few papers I have due.

Wish me luck.

Happy Friday to you all!!!

I wish I was more entertaining these days.

But hang in there...I need to post more fabulous pictures of the time when my friend visited...I am just a tad bit behind but pictures are always fun, right?!
Right!!!

I promise...those fabulous ones are coming your way soooooooooon.....

LampLust.com - Giveaway time!

Hey everyone!

So this is going to be a bit of a different post but I truly hope you like it, and will be as enlightened as I am with LampLust.com as I am at the moment.

You have the phenomenal chance to win one of these pretty ones!!

Yes, an amazing Light Up Cube!
I want one too!!

They'd be great for this upcoming spring/summer season, a fun addition to any party or event!

Best thing, these cubes are rechargeable. So good!

Interested?!
Yes?
Terrific.
Go, test your luck and hopefully you win one of these fun cubes!

It's easy for you to sign up and participate.
All you have to do is sign up either via your Facebook or Email and that's it.

I am NOT going to choose the winner, nor will I contact you and even know if you won.
LampLust will contact you directly if you are the winner, and will get in touch with you only.
It is that simple!

See, the big box below? Well, yes, that's where your chance to win a fun Light Up Cube comes alive. 

Sign up, and win such a colorful item...we all need color in our lives!!!
Yes, we do!!

So what are you waiting for?!!
Good luck!!!

Man Candy Monday - Almost Wordless

Happy Monday everyone!!!

I thought I could share my love for hot men again...just for a change. We all agreed on hot eye candy to be a great start into Monday so I thought I'd join Leeann's fabulous drooling idea. :) 

Have fun.

  via google images

Bryan Greenberg!
That's all I can say.
Then again, I would gladly post a picture of a guy on here that I'm currently drooling over (ha, I feel like a 18-year-old girl again!!!), but I can't and won't. I don't even have a picture of him. Yet. Ha!

Hope your Monday is fun, not as rainy or snowy...and not as long!!!

I'm going to check out more hot Man Candy over at Leeann's...you should do the same by the way. It never disappoints.

Shoes, Book and Purple

Last year...wow, never thought I'd say that... I won a pair of Blowfish shoes over at Mara's blog, and I was super stoked. Unfortunately, it took a while until Blowfish and I had the best timing so the shoes I wanted were actually available. We went through four (!!) pairs of shoes until I got a definite "YES, we have those shoes available in your size!" answer...trust me, it was that crazy. I always liked Blowfish, so I was more than just happy when I won the giveaway. Going through ugly finals in December and struggling with funny emails back and forth to find the right pair for me...I finally got these gray flats in at the end of December! 2011 ended really nicely, that's for sure!

Well, and as of 2012...I continue to wear these lovely ones...they are sooo incredibly comfortable, don't hurt a bit and are just simple, classy and girlie at the same time. I wear them as often as even possible, and they never fail me. So if you ever have had Blowfish shoes you may know what I'm talking about here. I am in love!!! 

Then, working on getting the best deals on my school books (yes, if you haven't noticed I was brave enough to go back to school - I still wonder why!!) I also finally bought Kori's first novel. It was about time. I just needed something new, something different, and something else than those Indian Legands' books and all. :) I haven't had a chance to read it (yeah, I know!) but I sure will. Promised!

And since this week's rather colder and rainier or whatnot...I was mostly wearing my purple jacket, and one day discovered I had purple nail polish, a purple shirt, and my purple jacket on...I just had to take a picture. It was too awkward...haha! So glad I don't own purple flats or pants!

How has your week been?

Any fun plans for this weekend?

I'll be trying to study, go to the movies, and just chill...I love my PJ-days! ;)

Two Things

There are a few things I'm really looking forward to.

But for right now and the next three or so weeks...it's two things:

I read the book and LOVED it.

I chose to read the book a few years back because I needed something new to read.

I walked into the bookstore, and I pretty much grabbed the first book that sounded interesting and different than what I had read before...and...I started reading it and was intrigued, amazed, sad, happy, curious, and touched!

Cannot wait to see the movie.

Or the following one, obviously!

So excited!!!

Busy

Happy Wednesday everyone!
It's Wednesday, right?

I totally lost track of time.

Really. I lost track of time.

I also blame it on the little extra day off most of us enjoyed on Monday.

Either way, this week has been certainly better than last.

For once it's shorter, and less dramatic.
Thank you by the way for your kind words.

To clarify things a little about what happened last week:

nothing bad happened to me directly but I was in the middle of it,
and felt helpless and stupid not interfering. 

Then again, if I had gone in between what was going on I would have made matters worse.

All is good now.

I hope.
Really.
I hope.

For those of you living in Los Angeles you might have known that I have a street, ummm avenue, named after me. Okay, not true. It's not named after me but it might as well be.
Years ago I took a picture of the sign only and always failed to go back.
On December 31 my friend A. made me stand under the street sign, just to prove that it's real.

At least my last day of 2011 went according to plan, sorta! ;) 

And I felt I needed to show you this!

I am also hoping to get more pictures ready, so I can share them with you!
Stay tuned!!

xoxo

P.s. Hello new readers aka followers!!

Crazy Weekend!

*be forewarned...it's one of those posts again that just needed to be shared. The written kind!

So my lovelies...
I had an interesting weekend.
Literally.

The quote above applies to all of us, you, me, your neighbor, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, sister, friend, brother, cousin, classmate, and even the horrible teacher you dread seeing. It works for all of us. Reading it over and over again it makes me sad, and question where we are all from. I mean, who do you think I am?! Where I come from? Not the country, or the city, or religion. Put all that aside and focus on me, as a person. A girl. Or heck, a woman who looks like a girl. Think about it. Do you really know me? Do we really know you?

Unless we are related or have been friends for a while...we probably have assumptions but don't necessarily know anything about the other person. I am not saying we should now all open up, but we should think first before we act, say, and just handle things. I'm sure most of us do that already. 

This weekend has proven to me that love has all kinds of different forms. And apparently this weekend it was the nasty kind. It not only shocked me, but worried me mostly. How can love turn its back and become so evil, gross, unfair, and rough? Don't get me wrong now. No physical abuse or anything in that matter happened. BUT, even words can be hurtful (sometimes more than anything else) and I felt useless, sad, alone, and just very much filled with question marks. 

I enjoyed my freedom, and my PJ days/hours, and waking up with a dog facing me...I even enjoyed little things like a dog trying to lick me and really getting into this "I need to lick Selma's face now" - phase...but he failed. :) It made me smile though. I'm telling you little things are the best!!!

But at the same time, I had nightmares, and wondered why people go through what they go through. Yes. And the quote above says...we all have stories to tell (or not), and those stories have shaped us and are shaping us throughout our lives...but is it really worth reliving stories again? Not to me.

Then, Amazon (ThankYouVeryMuch) finally sent me the book I needed for my dreaded speech class. If I haven't mentioned it, I LOVE my speech class (more on that later on another post!). So the first two chapters that are due tomorrow night (and yes, I read them already!) are about communication, life, and listening skills. I read those chapters so quickly because I just couldn't stop. I thought that book was talking to me, explaining why certain things happen and why Saturday night was one awful night for all of us to witness. I wanted to read it out loud and let everyone hear it because truly, I felt the book talked to me. No epiphany though occurred so I still don't know what I'm going to do with my life (hello crazy little world of mine get your s*hit together!!), but still...the book has opened eyes, ears and heart for me!

I love books like this one!

And today, for pretty much the first time in my entire time here in California I have to admit that I am missing Europe! Maybe the little incident on Saturday triggered this feeling, maybe not. Maybe it's reading/following so many of you out there that live in Europe, or are about to move there. Either way I miss Europe today! A lot!!

Or, it's the gloomy day we are experiencing!

But good news is...in approximately four months I'm flying back to Europe!!
Can I get a YAY or a high five, or anything else that might make me even more excited about this than I already am?! Yes?! Please!!!

Ciao!!!

Have a great weekend

we ♥ it

This weekend

I am working on breathing better

Sleeping better

Speaking better

Listening better

and most importantly

living better!

It's been an interesting past week.

I am trying not to look back, but rather to look forward.

I have so much to organize.
Not sure where I to start.

So, this weekend...

...is all about me.

Selfish maybe.

But we all know that we need "me" time!

It not only allows us to be true to ourselves 

but to enjoy life more.
Little details do count.

Every day.

Every second.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

Whatever you are doing.

Know it counts for something!

xoxo

Sightseeing #1

Funny, when you live in a city or even a region you hardly know that place. Tourists, the so-called non-locals, know your place sometimes better than you do. So, when my friend A. visited me for a whole week over New Year's I knew we'd be going places and exploring areas I normally wouldn't visit, or have visited in the past and that's it.

We went all over. Pretty much crossed out all on her to-see list and had a blast!
However, there are still a few things we didn't get to see or do or enjoy (obviously, in L.A. that's very probable)...so I started a "next time" list for her when she returns. We even made southern California look so darn good for her that she started looking into apartments and moving cross country. I certainly wouldn't mind. I know why I moved!!! :) 

Some art had to be put into her sightseeing schedule too.

You may have recognized the lady on the right...it's Sierra!
We drove down Mulholland Drive, and loved it!

The following picture is the only one I got...and I learned my lesson...never give it to someone that doesn't know how to handle your camera...or a camera. We look tiny on that railroad.

And at some point, we decided to drive up to Alta Laguna Park (aka Top of the World Park) and sit down and enjoy one of the most marvelous views ever! I especially love the foggy pink sky in this one!

One of my friend's happens to be a ghost...hmmmm, should I be scared?!

More pictures to come...I'm still sorting out some!

We took a ton.

Obviously I don't want to bore you with so much beauty...haha!

Hope your day is marvelous!

A little obsessed

"You are beautiful,  like a dream come alive, incredible.
A centerfold miracle, lyrical..."
 

These words haunt me. I love them don't get me wrong.
And when the windows are down and the sun's about to set and I hear them it's even more magical. 

I just feel I should be long done with the teenage pop music culture and yet, here I am writing about it. Quickly and simply.

I blame it on my friend and the CD she made for me putting "Love you like a love song" on and I hear Selena Gomez sing it on a daily basis. Heck, no, hourly basis if not more often. One of my friend's was joking saying she wants a CD with only that song on it so she doesn't have to push the back button or have it in repeat. 

Hmmm...how old are we again? 17? I don't think so. However, I have to admit it feels good to act as if we just have half a year left of high school. Ha! 

And as I always, well, sometimes, say...

What can I say

Wish me luck!
Day 1 of hard studying has just begun again!

Grrrrr....

But I will survive.

xoxo

Firenze

If you don't already, you'll learn that I love food and that I love going out to explore new restaurants, and just have a fantastic time. I grew up in this business so going out and tasting new (sometimes exotic) dishes in general or just finding a great new place to explore is my favorite fun time ever. So while I was having a blast showing my friend A. the Los Angeles area it just so also happened that she knew a few people in the area too. Out of nowhere a friend of hers called her up and said "hey, I saw on Facebook (oh may!) that you are in Los Angeles! Come to the restaurant I work at!!"

She didn't have to ask me twice. 

So we went.
And got VIP treatment.

And I have to say, I really loved it.

Not only was it slow that night  - thanks to the holidays (I hate when it's loud and crowded anyways) but it also felt like such a laid-back Italian restaurant in the midst of Northern Hollywood. So not complaining. Funny thing though is that the owner apparently also owns another restaurant and it just so happens to be my favorite in Ventura county. Coincidence? I don't think so. Fate. Hahaha!

 all pictures via google

For more information click here. And have fun!

I know I'll return. Can never have enough Italian food!

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!!

xoxo

January

Hey y'all!!!

How has this new year been for you so far?
I hope you started it beautifully and are enjoying life and love and everything else.

My old year (the day of the 31st!) ended with a fabulous get together with my bestie Sierra and my other bestie from Philadelphia. We had tons of fun exploring areas we either had heard of or had known existed but never had a chance to even visit or go/drive through. It's always the same. Tourists know more about our the city we live in than we do. Sadly. But I think we covered everything on my friend's list that she desperately wanted to see or drive through...and if not...we shall cover all that next time she's in town!!

I have also taken pictures while my friend A. visited sunny southern California and I'll share them soon. So stay tuned. I promise I'll share them.

However, right now all I want is rest and find my little path on this blog world again. I have been a bit missing in action which can be indeed a relief for a while...but to be honest, and we all agree on that I know that much, I missed blogging. I missed reading your entries and following your fun adventures, or not (!), or just reading about new decoration, life events and what not. My daily inspiration reading was neglected and now I am hoping to catch up on everything!

Then again, school is back in session next week (yuck!) and I hope I find some downtime to entertain you all.

Now here's a little question for you my lovely readers (old or new)...is there anything in particular you would want to hear more about, read more about, or so? Let me know. There are moments in my life I feel I have nothing to share or talk about (although again I have to say there's really no such thing as a writer's block!), but if there's something you'd think would be awesome for me to share or write about let me know. I'm open for suggestions.

With that being said...let me pop in two more aspirins and sleep.
If you are following me on twitter, you know I've been having a huge headache today and it seems to go nowhere. I even left the living room and headed to my room so I can quietly stay sane and not cry all the time because this stupid head is having issues today. I'm telling you, loud noises and even people talking is not the best thing right now.

xoxo