Clovis, CA

Today I am reminiscing about the first week of the new year! My hubby and I took a little road trip from Orange County to Clovis, CA. Recently my best friend, her fiance, and daughter moved up north and extended an offer for us to stay with them. On the way we stopped at a truck-stop diner called the Iron Skillet. The food was terrible, but the atmosphere was entertaining. 

Right over the fence, in the backyard, live the cutest clan of cows. We fed them branches and leaves and they were so excited! The land is so vast behind the house, so I am not sure whom these sweet creatures belong to.

This is one of my favorite people on the planet!

The first morning we spent in Clovis, we visited an amazing Parisian cafe. We ate omelets with french loaf bread and these decadent macaroons. The flavors are chocolate, blueberry, and raspberry.

Here are two of three furbabies that occupy their household: Jango the feline and Jake the Husky. 

My bestie and I enjoyed a relaxing massage containing hot stones and oil. I never thought that one of the best massages of my life would have been in a small farming town like Clovis.

We have been friends for nearly 20 years! I am so grateful for the beautiful friendship we have had throughout our lifetime. So many memories, experiences, and great times!

We spent a few hours at an outdoor shooting range brushing up on our target practice. 

Of course our mini-vacation wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the local roller skating rink. It was NOTHING fancy, but it was a lot of fun!

We spent a day at the Sequoia National Park which is home to the largest tree (by mass) in the world. Mark carved our initials into this fallen tree stump.

On our way home from a dreamy stay-cation, we stopped to eat at Brooks Ranch. It is a cute diner filled with all kinds of comfort food. It wasn't the best I've ever had, but it sure beat the Iron Skillet! 

Viva Las Vegas

Throwback Thursday to the time we celebrated my baby brothers 21st birthday in Las Vegas:

My family and I spent a couple days in Sin City to celebrate my youngest brother, Cyler's, 21st birthday. Most of his friends are still underage, so he had the pleasure of being accompanied by Mark and I, our parents, and our brother, CJ. Since I am the "planner" in the family, I made all of the arrangements for the weekend.

When CJ turned 21 we also took a weekend trip to Vegas. Two of his friends, Mark, and myself all stayed at the Excalibur and lived large that weekend—I completely understand that the words Excalibur and lived large have no correlation because that partiuclar hotel is nothing fancy, but we weren't in the room very much. We ate at the best restaurants, gawked over an incredible Cirque de Soleil show, Mystere, and enjoyed bottle service at club PURE in Cesaers Palace.

When planning this trip, I had to take into account both of my brothers vastly different personalities. First, Cyler has a girlfriend, so hanging out in clubs wasn't something he would be into. Second, he is more mellow and could be considered more of a "home-body", so I knew he wouldn't want me to plan a weekend with non-stop adventures.

I have had a few friends who recently stayed in Vegas and mentioned to me that the Golden Nugget (which is downtown) had recently been renovated. I checked out the prices and they were drastically lower than anything on The Strip. We paid about $100 a night with taxes and fees [BTW: they charge you a "Fremont Experience" fee because the hotel sits on Fremont street—LAME!] The hotel was nice. My family arrived before Mark and I, so they checked into all of the rooms for us which was nice because we didn't have to deal with the headache and lines. The rooms were spacious and didn't feel crammed or claustrophobic. I enjoyed the open space in the room and in the bathroom too. The tub/shower was a nice size and there was sufficient counter space. The decor was slightly old-fashioned, but, to be honest, I wasn't expecting much—so I was impressed.

When we arrived in Vegas, my family was at the ice bar inside of the Monte Carlo. The bar is called Minus 5 and everything inside—including the cups you drink from—are made of ice. This is the second time Mark and I have been to Minus 5. There is another one inside of Mandalay Bay (which was the first one in Vegas) and I prefer that one over the one inside Monte Carlo. Although it is smaller and more dimly lit, the Minus 5 inside of Mandalay Bay felt more welcoming and exciting for some reason. The bar offers ice block seating that is covered with (what I hope to be fake) animal skins and loud music to get everyone amped up. The bar is only -5 degrees Celsius, so it isn't too cold to sit in and hang out for a little while. They give you gloves and coats to wear, but if you're up and moving around you will be fine in just a sweatshirt. We didn't stay inside very long because 1.) we were tired from driving and sitting through traffic and 2.) my family had already been in the bar for about 30 minutes and were getting over it. I bought the boys a shot and we left. 

Can we take a moment to appreciate the true shittiness of my front camera? My face looks like part of it is frozen from being in the bar! (I recently upgraded to an iPhone 6-YAY!!!)

The next morning we made reservations at one of my favorite eateries in Vegas for brunch: Serendipity 3! I am so glad we had reservations because a group of 2 came in to get a table was told the wait would be 45 minutes! We were a group of 6 so I can only imagine how long we would have been sitting around. I LOVE this place! The portions are huge, the food is flavorful & colorful, and they have some of THE BEST desserts. I always start off my meal with their frozen hot chocolate—and yes that includes breakfast. I can't even begin to explain how delicious this huge mound of chocolate and whipped cream tastes. My whole family shared it and everyone was delighted by it's rich, creamy, amazing taste! It basically tastes like the best hot chocolate you have ever had, but frozen. Plus the whipped cream they top it with tastes like it is freshly made with each order. I would recommend trying frozen hot chocolate if you ever get the pleasure of eating at any of the Serendipity restaurants. 

To follow the frozen dessert appetizer, I ordered a veggie omelet. It had sun dried tomatoes, American cheese, and artichoke hearts in it. They included a side of potatoes that were crispy and golden brown. The seasoning they use is zesty and savory. 

After brunch we walked around the strip, in and out of the hotels, so Cyler could get a taste of Vegas. We stopped by the frozen slushy booth and got some alcohol filled treats. 

We stopped to watch a pretty impressive street preforming group do some break dancing. They were very entertaining and energetic. Sometimes street performers can be one of the most entertaining part of The Strip. 

That night we went to Jean Georges Steakhouse in the Aria for dinner. We had reservations and were seated promptly, but after that the service began to decline quickly. We sat for the better half of 30 minutes without being offered water or anything to drink. My dad finally got up and asked our waiter to attend to out table. About 10 minutes later they finally brought out our water and bread. It was another 15-20 minutes before we were able to order our food. I ordered the lobster, which was mediocre. For the price of the food, I expected higher quality and better taste. As for as the ambiance of the restaurant, I would have expected much better service. The waiters did not seem to care if their patrons were satisfied or not. They did bring my brother a small dessert for this birthday, but it certainly did not make up for the lack of quality this establishment displays. 

I strongly believe any Vegas vacation isn't complete without experiencing a Cirque du Soleil show! We saw Zarkana at the Aria. It wasn't the best Cirque show I have enjoyed, but it was still great!

My favorite part of staying at the Golden Nugget was the free access to their 'ocean-esque' pool! This pool has a water slide that runs right through a shark tank. It was pretty cool to get up close and personal with some sea-life in Vegas.

Vegas is fun... about once a year. I think I've had my fix for another 12 months. :-)

Palm Springs Weekend

This weekend my dear friend, Jen-Jen, and I packed our bags and spent a few days bonding, pampering ourselves, and absorbing the sublime radiance of the desert. We stayed at the Aqua Soleil Hot Springs and Spa in Palm Springs. Friday we checked in, delivered our luggage to our room, then headed to a fabulous Asian meal.

Jen and I ate at Wangs in the Desert—I know the name is a little silly—but the food was amazing! We enjoyed a appetizer of seared ahi and garlic roasted edamame. For the entrees we ordered vegetable chow mien and kung pow tofu. The chow mien was made with crunchy noddles underneath a bed of roots and onions, which were sauteed in a creamy, white sauce. This dish was much different and much tastier than I expected. I am not traditionally a huge tofu fanatic, but let me tell you—this combination rocked!!!! The kung pow tofu entree was made with breaded and fried tofu pieces, diced peppers, onions, and peanuts. It was all tossed together and sauteed in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce. This food was delicious, but the best part of the meal was the dessert. We devoured a pumpkin, cranberry cake concoction that was mind-blowing. The moist and flavorful layers melted in my mouth. The top was somewhat of a cream-cheese frosting. All of the flavors worked marvelously together and complimented one another. It was the perfect combination of October flavors!

This restaurant is pretty rad because running through the middle of it is a coy fish pond—or stream, you might say. There is a small bridge to cross over from one side to the next. The atmosphere is fun and lively without it being overly loud making it difficult to talk. Friday night was "boys night out", so Jen and I enjoyed the lovely, gay eye-candy that surrounded us.

Saturday morning we rise(d) and shine(d) early so we could attend a free yoga class courtesy of the hotel. We were a bit surprised when we arrived and the teacher was a 70 year old man. I immediately knew I would be out yoga-ed by an elderly man and I wasn't sure if I was prepared for that. And sure enough—for an hour—he kicked my ass. His name is George and he lives across the street in a 55+ mobile home community. He had surgery only 5 weeks earlier to remove build-up in his right hip due to arthritis, but he was still more flexible, balanced, and graceful than myself. He spoke of his trips to India to study yoga and shared the hows and whys of how yoga changed his life. He seemed like such a gentle soul with so much wisdom and life experience. When the class was over Jen and I invited him to breakfast with us, so we could thank him for such a fulfilling hour. George settled for a cappuccino, while I got some scrambled eggs, fruit and yogurt. Jen got huevos rancheros that were paired with zesty roasted potatoes. (George was very confused as to why I was taking pictures of our food...)

After lunch we bid adieu to our new friend George. He was a social butterfly who has never been married or had any children (I referred to him a as player). At noon Jen and I had an appointment to get a couples massage at the hotel spa. We arrived and met with our masseuses, Nina and Linda. Linda was my massage therapist who was very sweet and polite. She was probably in her late 50's or early 60's and was I curious if she would have the strength to really dig in and relieve my discomfort. Our massage was 60 minutes and when it was over I wanted nothing more than for it to start over again. It was THE BEST massage I have ever received—and I have enjoyed my fair share of massages over the years. She focused on my muscles and pressure points while using long, firm strides that I hadn't experienced before. She would contort my limbs in unique positions that allowed her to better access my problem areas. When it was finished I was sad, but completely relaxed. 

After our massages Jen and went back to the room and lounged around, girl-talking (literally) for the next few hours, until we got ready for dinner. Saturday night we went to dinner at Kobe Japanese Steak House. We enjoyed a drink at the bar while our table was being prepared, then sat at the sushi bar and enjoyed an assortment of rolls and sashimi. For dessert we ordered cheesecake which was very basic, but tasty nonetheless. 

After dinner we got back to the hotel and watched Shallow Hall by the pool. The hotel uses a projector and a large inflatable screen to play movies by the pool on the weekend nights. It was a really fun experience! You could swim in the pool or sit in the Jacuzzi and still see and hear the film. We swam around in the pool with our strawberry margaritas and finished the movie. Once it was over we made our way to the spa and relaxed for another hour or so. Then it was off to bed. 

Sunday morning we slept in an extra hour or two then went down to the cafe for breakfast. Jen ordered tofu and peppers. It appeared to be tofu sauteed in onions, broth, and a variety of bell peppers. Jen—a bit of a tofu conosour—felt the it was a bit too watery for her taste. I ordered a Denver omelet full of veggies and cheese. The potato slices they Incorporated into the dish were wonderful! We also ordered a side of pancakes and fruit to share. The pancakes were warm and fluffy, so I can't complain. After breakfast we packed up our stuff and headed home. Luckily there wasn't much traffic, so we were able to get back into town by the early afternoon. We had so much fun getting away, relaxing and focusing on ourselves for the weekend. Spending time like this with good people really makes you grateful for the special relationships we have. I am incredibly thankful for the supportive group of people I surround myself with. It really makes life a whole lot easier (and happier)!