Thanksgiving in California...

Even though we weren't able to make it home for Thanksgiving this year, we still had a great holiday!  A bit different than our normal traditions, but a whole lot of fun nonetheless...

A gorgeous sunset hike at Crystal Cove

Coffee & the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

A glorious bike ride down to the water

(to compensate for the massive consumption of food later...)

Brett prepping our HUGE turkey breast for two

(A whole turkey would have been way too much food)

Happy Thanksgiving from us to you!

It may not be quite the same as home, but we made the best of it =)

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

And now onto CHRISTMAS!!!*

Back Bay Biking

I have always loved biking -- from a leisurely cruise with my mom to a hardcore mountain biking ride with Brett.  And ever since we bought our road bikes, I have become even more obsessed!  The Back Bay trail is by far my favorite out here in California.  From our apartment, we can ride bike trails all the way down to the back bay and straight on towards the ocean.  I finally took some time to stop and snap a few pictures along my ride this past Sunday...

The views are just awesome.  I'll do a 30 mile ride and barely even notice that I'm tired because I get so caught up in the scenery.  Biking, you're the BEST.

Scenes from the Weekend

Sweet Mexican joint in LA

Checking out the view from the Griffith Observatory

Hey there, itty bitty Hollywood sign

Hi, we are adults

Beer tastings at Eagle Rock Brewery

2nd from the right was my faaavorite!

Seeing the Black Crowes at the Wiltern Theatre!

The Black Crowes (plus Jackie Greene!) rocking out!

Favorite song of the night... the awesome version of Thorn in My Pride, so good!

A little Sunday afternoon biking along the Back Bay

Heyo, Selfie Sunday!

Great weekend full of awesomeness!

And now, only a 3 day work week...

Bring on turkey day!*

Scenes from the Weekend

Stumbled upon an awesome bar in Costa Mesa Friday night: Goat Hill Tavern

Then met up with our friend Brandon for dinner and drinks - fun times!

Saturday morning breakfast on the beach!

Headed up to the mountains for a hike in the Cleveland National Forest

We made patatas bravas!!

(An authentic Spanish dish that we ate almost every night while we were in Spain - so delicious!)

A leisurely Sunday walk around Irvine Regional Park while Brett mountain biked

Sunday afternoon beers at Noble Ale Works!

And winding down from the weekend with some tasty snacks, delicious wine, and our owl friend =)

 Lots on the agenda for this week, so here we go!

Happy (?) Monday!*

Scenes from the Weekend

3 day weekend edition!

Caught the sunset in San Clemente

before dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf on Brett's parents' last night

My mom and sister face-timed me during the Hanson concert in Pittsburgh

since I couldn't be there!  They are the BEST!

A leisurely bike ride to lunch on Saturday

Headed down to San Diego (Solana Beach) for a concert

and felt the need to snap a pic with this awesome tile

Keller Williams at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach!

Headed down to San Diego again on Sunday for another concert

and found another awesome tile in Encinitas

Encinitas sunset before pizza & beers at Pizza Port!

And more beers at Culture Brewing Co. - Cheers!

Greensky Bluegrass concert at Belly Up Tavern!

SO fun!!  AND they covered The Band!

Roaming around Downtown Disney on my day off...

they're getting all set up for Christmas!

I had off on Monday for Veterans day, so it was a nice long weekend!  Brett's parents left on Saturday morning and the rest of our weekend was full of live music!  So good.  I would go see live music every night if I could.  We especially loved seeing Greensky Bluegrass.  Ah, bluegrass music reminds us of home and the East Coast.  You just don't get that kind of music out here in California.  They just don't understand!

Happy short work week!*

Scenes from the Weekend

Kicking off the weekend with pumpkin spice pancakes

Saturday afternoon spent roaming around (crazy & entertaining) Venice Beach

October = empty beaches (and lots of sail boats!)

Did you know Venice Beach has their own "canals" too?

I wouldn't mind relaxing in that hammock for a while =)

Found a cool record store in Long Beach

(and bought two new albums: Gov't Mule & Robert Randolph!)

Checked out the Long Beach location of Beachwood BBQ for dinner & beers

(and ran into a Zombie Fest right outside - creepy!)

Went for a nice Sunday morning run around the neighborhood

Followed by some beer tastings at the Bruery

And ended the weekend on a sweet note (with Halloween sprinkles & everything!)

We had a fun weekend exploring!
Happy Monday!*

Sunset Bike Rides & Date Night

Last night, we went for a bike ride along the back bay.  We started biking this route last week and plan on making it a weekly tradition!  It's the perfect amount of miles (around 30) to get in after work right before the sun sets beyond the horizon.  And not a bad view either. ;)

After our bike ride, we headed down to Laguna Beach for date night!  We had dinner at House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer which we personally renamed "House of Small Fish and Expensive Beer", but it was still delicious!  So after said small dinner (and not successfully refueling our calories needed), we stopped at Taco Loco down the street for "second dinner", because duh.  And then we topped off the night with a couple Belgium beers at Brussels Bistro.  Fun night out with my guy!*