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A couple of weeks ago
we took Baby to a place in Orange County, called simply the Great Park. We
read about this place in Sunset Magazine and I subsequently asked some friends
who live in OC about it. They have a giant balloon that takes passengers
up to about 600 feet in the air. The whole thing is all free!!
Turns out that the Great Park is still mostly under construction. But
when it's done, it will boast an impressive array of activites, including
an Air Museum, a Great Canyon for hiking, Botanical Garden, and a wild
life corridor. You can read about the "great plan" here. But
for now, the mostly empty land plays host to a farmer's market on the weekend.
The giant balloon is working, but much to my disappointment, it was
not running the day of our visit due to high winds.
However, we did discover that the Great Park also has a free carousel! It
was Baby's first ever carousel ride! I thought he was going to be excited
to get onto a horse but he was extremely timid! He did not want to ride
a horse so we took him on the carriage a few times. Finally, after observing
the other kids from the carriage chair for three rides, he was willing to
give the horse a try. I think it's typical first-born personality.
Since he doesn't have an older sibling to follow, he's going to be
more cautious about trying something new. We all had fun, dispite the
disappointing non-balloon ride. I suspect that once the Great Park
construction is done, they will start charging for all of these rides.
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The beautiful giant balloon. It's orange
of course!
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The end section of the Farmer's Market is dominated
by food trucks!! This is very "L.A."
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Baby on the carousel.
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There was also a play area for kids, lots of
things to climb on and play with.
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Posted
June 23, 2011
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We were taking Baby
and Toby out for a walk one day and I happend to look across the street at
our neighbor's house when I noticed something slightly unusual. Can
you see it in the picture below??
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One of our neighbor's two Great Pyrenees
decided to hide amongst the flower beds! His giant white head looks
like a large flower, too cute! The two dogs often hang out in our
neighbor's front yard and chill.
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Posted
June 22, 2011
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Last weekend, we dropped Baby off at my parents' place and we snuck off
for a date night! We're really liking this arrangement because my folks
love having Baby for a few hours and we love having date night! So based
on over 400 great reviews from Yelp, we decided to try out Drago Centro in Downtown
L.A. Only Botega Louie out ranked this restaurant and we've been
to Botega Louie and loved it. So we thought we'd give
this place a try.
First thing that impressed me was the 3-hour validated parking! It
is rare to find free parking anywhere in L.A., let alone the heart of the
Financial District. Second thing that impressed me was that when
we got to the restaurant I noticed right away that they had white cloth
napkins on all the tables, but when we walked in and the waiter saw me wearing
a black dress, he immediately exchanged the white napkin for a black one
for me just as I sat down! This is to prevent the lint from the white napkin
from getting all over my black dress! That's a picture of the black
napkin on my dress that you're looking at, in case you were wondering why
I posted such a strange picture. :-) The third thing that impressed
me was that when I made the reservation online through Open Table, I requested
for a quiet window-side table to celebrate our night out without Baby. When
we got there, the maitre d' actually mentioned our Baby and seated us at
the exact table I requested for. I did do some research through Yelp
Reviews first and knew which table I wanted. But to get the exact table
we want and get the personal treatment was pleasantly surprising.
So besides impeccable service, the food was pretty darn good. We
decided to go with their tasting menu (6 courses for $70/person). The
food was very innovative and tasty. We didn't love all the courses,
but we liked something about each dish. Our favorite was a duck dish.
The portions were just right so that we were perfectly full after
finishing every dish. The vibe was great, it was very comtemporary,
classy, and elegant. It also had a great view of the Financial District
and the Downtown Central Library. We had a great evening and Baby
was sound asleep when we picked him up!
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View from our window-side table.
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A clever starter, Mozzarella with basil
and pine nuts.
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A salmon tartar starter with a salmon mousse
sorbet! So yummy and so unique.
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Gnocchi with crispy ham and a foam sauce...foam
is the latest rage in food!
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Our favorite dish of the evening, duck and
sweet cherry sauce, foam included.
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The dessert, this time with chocolate foam!
Foam is big with this chef!
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Posted
June 20, 2011
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Happy Father's Day!! These
are three of my favorite fathers. I also love that each year there
are so many graduations that fall right before Father's Day. I can't
think of a better gift for a parent than a child's graduation! :-)
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Posted
June 19, 2011
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We had a beautiful day
today, it started out with a little bit of June Gloom but warmed up as the
day progressed. I am really loving the longer days as we approach the
Summer
Solstice because even after a day of running in a Mud Run
for Mr. BAW and visiting my folks with Baby for me, we still got to enjoy
a nice cup of coffee outdoors. This is what I saw looking up at the
sky from my favorite coffee shop.
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Posted
June 18, 2011
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Life is never quiet
for long...I find myself in the midst of yet another major house renovation.
This time, we're tearing out our entire master bedroom and bathroom.
Goodbye 50's, hello modern day plumbing, including a state-of-the-art
shower and body spray system. Only a few more weeks to go...hopefully
I can keep my sanity for a few more weeks. After this, I don't want
to do any more removation for at least two years.
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Posted
June 9, 2011
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Last Sunday, we got
perfect weather before June-Gloom officially kicked in. We took Baby
and Toby for a stroll to our favorite coffee shop for an afternoon R&R.
Baby fell asleep in his stroller and Toby rested by our feet. The
sun was bright, the coffee was yummy, and life was wonderful.
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Posted
June 8, 2011
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I can't believe it's June already!! Last year we were kind
of cheated out a Summer, so this year I'm hoping for a warmer Summer.
My best friend TNK, along with her little toddler and husband, came
to visit us over Memorial Day weekend. So we told the guys to entertain
themselves and we took a nice little spa retreat at the Terranea Resort in Palos
Verdes. We treated ourselves to a manicure and pedicure so that
we can chat and catch up with life. The location is simply stunning.
The hotel is gorgeous and the view of the Pacific is amazing. Overall,
the nail treatment was on the pricey side, as expected. However,
I must admit that the local Asian nail salons still have better nail treatment.
I really enjoyed the quality "girl time" with TNK. But three days
later, my washing machine broke mid cycle and I had to hand-wring the
entire load of Baby's laundry, thus ruining my fancy manicure!! Sad...but
that's life with a Baby! *Sigh* My toes still look beautiful
though. :-)
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Posted
June 6, 2011
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