It's Britney, so Dance!

It's Britney in Las Vegas!

I have only been to Vegas once, for my 30th, and it was a memorable experience. The trip did not make me have the Vegas urge, but once I heard Britney was performing in Las Vegas I knew another trip was coming up. My friend and I headed to Las Vegas early on a Wednesday morning from Los Angeles. We had tickets for Britney's Piece of Me show that evening... the whole drive there I was such a giddy girl. Excited to spend time with a good friend and my brother, take a road trip, dance, and find some hidden gems in Las Vegas. We arrived in Las Vegas around 1pm and checked into our hotel for the week, The Tropicana. Once settled in and having lunch we started to get ready for the evening.

As we entered Planet Hollywood, everything screamed Britney...

We decided to grab an appetizer and a drink before the show... however, after we ordered we noticed that doors were at 7pm not 9pm. We ate our wings and had our drink quickly then got to the entrance only to be in a mile long line! Thinking we were running late we got in and even had time to grab a drink, in a Britney cup of course! $24 dollars later (its worth it right?!), we were in our seats ready to dance!

The stage was AMAZING! The stage literally was wall to wall, see video below. The video and stage sets were eye catching. I am not one to sit in my seat during any concert - I was only asked once at Britney to sit - but this show was definitely a dance show. Hit after hit! 

Show was about an hour and half, I wanted more! Gimme More! (ha!) My friend and I danced all night! After leaving the venue with bright smiles I looked out at the strip and was excited to be in Vegas and might even want to visit more!

Britney's "Piece of Me" was my first Las Vegas show and do not think it will be the last! If you happen to find yourself in Las Vegas go ahead and let your inner 90s pop girl out and head to Britney's show!

It's a Disney World umm I mean Land

Disneyland is the Original

Yes yes I know... Disneyland is the original park built by Walt Disney's imagination and dream. Amazing as that is Walt's second creation Walt Disney World stole my heart at first. As a young child growing up in Orlando, FL I had the privilege of going weekly to Disney World with my family. The continuous trip lead myself and brothers to still love to head to either park for some fun.

At every age you can experience a different aspect of what The Walt Disney Resorts have to offer. As a current resident of Los Angeles and a cast member (soon to be annual pass) holder I like to venture out for day trips or even just a few hours. While I am not going to compare World vs Land here I'll let you in on some amazing aspects of Disneyland and California Adventure.

Disneyland ~

Walking through those gates just puts a smile on my face and walking down main street to see Sleeping Beauty's Castle (unless it is blocked by balloons) is magical to say the least. My favorite rides are the classic Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. A little known fact is that in the New Orleans area is the apartment that was built for Walt and Lily Disney to live in. Also, the store you walk out from Pirates is where Walt let Lily fill with antiques she found. Makes this place feel even more like family.

California Adventure ~

This side of the park was built in 200-- and definitely has a little more of a kick than the Disneyland side. The rides, such as Tower of Terror and California Screamin' can give a rider a rush. Toy Story Mania is definitely a favorite of mine, lots of meaning from going to the one in Florida ride on opening day. A nice adult treat is that you could buy alcoholic drinks in CA, you've got to try the Red Trolly Ale - so refreshing! My recommendation is that you grab a drink then head to Toy Story Mania, the line for that ride is usually 45 minutes.

If you have a day to go explore outside of LA, I suggest heading to the happiest place on earth!

P.S. As I get back on this blog writing train y'all will learn more about this magical place so stay tuned!

Beach n' Wine

It's beach time and why not add some wine!

A recent trip up the pacific coast highway for fish tacos turned into having a bottle of wine beach side with some live acoustic music! Oh don't worry, we had some fish tacos too - see post on Reel Inn! 

Rosenthal Malibu Estate Wine has a tasting room and patio right off the pacific coast highway. A great little find in Malibu, CA!

On the weekend, I believe on Friday as well, they have live music on the patio. The weekend I was there was a solo acoustic guy playing covers from the 90s to now. My friend and I decided to grab a bottle and enjoy the view of mountains and the ocean air. We decided on the Surfrider Hang Ten Red... people who know me know I love my reds a little chilled... well people I didn't even need an ice cube for this red, it was smooth and medium dry blend of reds.

You are allowed to bring in your own food to snack on while enjoying your glass or bottle of wine! If we had only known! A food truck is there and if you like fish next door is Reel Inn! There was a great mix of groups on a saturday afternoon. Couples, people celebrating brides-to-be and birthdays, and groups of people just there to enjoy some wine!

If you need an escape from the busy LA scene and enjoy local wine stop by the Rosenthal Malibu Estate Wine Bar & Patio - but don't forget to bring some food/snacks with you!!! Can find some pairing recipes here: http://rosenthalestatewines.com/wines/wine-pairing-recipes/category/surfrider-red-dessert-wine/2


Cheers!! xoxo

California Strawberry Festival!

Strawberry Time!

Back home in Florida I love to go pick my own strawberries! I have not done that here in LA, however, I found out about the California Strawberry Festival which is held in Oxnard, CA. Oxnard is about an hour north from West LA. California Strawberry Festival, held in May, was the perfect summer kick off! The festival not only had everything strawberries but live music, crafts and fair games.

I decided to use the free shuttle services and avoid the traffic and parking at the festival grounds. I parked at the Palms Shopping Center, once parked a shuttle pulled up and was ready to head out to the festival. The shuttle too about 15 minutes and dropped us off right at the gate! Arrived to the festival around 2pm, just in time to grab a drink (strawberry beer of course!) and go listen to some live music. I enjoyed the irish band - Young Dubliners!



After listening to some music I walked around to see what I wanted to try... strawberry pizza, chocolate strawberries, strawberry popcorn, strawberry shortcake, strawberry nachos, and more! I decided on the strawberry nachos since lately I've been a sucker for anything nacho related!

The strawberry nachos were AMAZING! The chips were flour based with cinnamon and sugar. One top of the chips were mashed strawberries, then cool whip and on top of that were whole strawberries!! Yumms!

After I ate the whole plate of nachos I walked around to see what else the festival had... the craft area reminded me of all the craft shows my mother and I have attended since I was young. There was a section of fair rides and even a section just for the kiddies... all who had strawberries all over their faces, so cute! As the festival was wrapping up I decided to check out the strawberry farm stands. It was probably 30 minutes to closing and I got a flat for about $11!! I will be eating strawberries everyday for 2 weeks but who cares so good!

Within the week I started making random strawberry dishes, here are a few... Strawberries Mashed on Cinnamon Toast, Wild Rice with Strawberries and Balsamic Glaze (pictured below), Strawberry Salsa (pictured below).

more photos of festival: 

Young Dubliners

 


Check more out here: http://strawberry-fest.org/

Enjoy! xoxo

It's my way NOT through LA!

I recently took some time away from the west coast to head back east... the next few posts will be my adventures back in my hometown of Orlando, Florida. Headed away from the land of Disney to the world of Disney, my favorite resort park to visit! Yes, I'm biased I was one of the lucky children who grew up going to disney every week and still do whenever I can!

Winter Park, FL Farmers Market

Now lets get into it... I missed visiting the LA Farmers Markets so when I tried to find a suitable market with more than one produce stand and failed, my mother and I decided to start our own little garden.

We started with a bed of red leaf lettuce, arugula, and romaine. All three grew so rapidly we were unable to eat or share it before it became too bitter. First success!

Next we tried cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, tomatoes, and green beans. Brussel sprouts take forever to grow! Only thing ready to try within a week or two was the cauliflower and oh boy was it very tasty, picking the cauliflower from the garden made the taste extremely fresh and flavorful. We made mash-cauliflower and cauliflower pizza, both were delicious!

While waiting for the rest to grow we decided to bop over to the Winter Park Farmer's Market, where my mother would take me as child. We would usually go when she needed to find caterpillars for her kindergarten class.



This market has a huge area filled with plants and trees to purchase. The rest of the market is made up of three produce stands, Florida orange stands, prepared locally food stands and an inside area that has fresh cheeses, baked breads, morning coffees and bagels.

As I have mentioned before, every farmers market offers something unique... Central Florida's markets may not have a wide variety of produce stands but the vibrance of the community and sense of gathering for whatever the state has in season makes it a great one!

         

xoxo Enjoy!!

So many Roses & Flowers, oh pretty!

So many Roses and Flowers, oh so pretty!

The Rose Bowl Parade, many people watch it in the warmth of their homes while some brave the California "cold" and attend. Let the activity planning start January 1st!!! Yes, I attended the fresh and beautiful parade in Pasadena, CA. My friends and I decided to take the California Metro, how it reminded me of the fun subway rides in NYC. I was happy that the crowded predictions of the Metro did not happen.

We ended up walking from the end of the Parade route to the middle, where we found some amazing spots to watch. While walking down the Parade route, you could tell some people were there since early the night before. Apparently Pasadena does not allow anyone to start camping out until 11pm on the 31st... I do not think I would ever like to spend my New Years reserving a spot for the Rose Bowl Parade, but I will not judge. If you are in the LA on January 1st I do recommend going early on the 1st, perhaps leave home around 7am the latest to find decent spots. The first float passed by and I was amazed at the intricacy and detail on each float, wow!! words will not do justice...

 

Each float representing a country/town or organization. A few of my favorites: Disney's Adventure Land showing off Cars, City of Burbank's, Beverly Hills Animal Adoption, and Downey's. 

Along with the floats are Bands from around the World and of course each participating college had their band accompany the college floats. 

Okay, sorry for the picture overload!! Even all of these pictures do not do the parade justice, I highly recommend attending the Rose Bowl Parade and make a day out of it in Pasadena! Hope y'all enjoyed the photos! xoxo