Inn of The Seventh Ray (Topanga Canyon, Ca)

Saturday morning my Husband and I were supposed to be out of town for the weekend.  But since he dropped the ball on making reservations and everywhere we wanted to go was booked we were just home sitting on the couch.  So to make up for my disappointment my Husband suggested that we go to this restaurant I have been wanting him to try, for lunch.  The Inn of the Seventh  Ray.  It sounds totally hippy/bohemian, and it kind of is but not in a way that makes you feel awkward. 
I had been once before,  with my mom and sister, but it is such a romantic spot I was dying to go back with my Husband.  To set the scene it is mostly an outdoor restaurant set up against the mountain side along a creek.  As if this isn't enough, they have formed the seating areas following the natural shape of the mountain side and have added beautiful plants and flowers everywhere. Everything feels very organic.  In addition to the natural beauty there are fountains, white lights in the trees, tables under gazebos, large clear cabanas with sheer white curtains flowing down from them, and fresh flowers on every table.  It is just beautiful.

We were seated facing the creek (which isn't running this time of year, but has some water).  We watched the butterflies, birds, and squirrels running through the trees as we ate. Now let me warn you here, this is one of the few places in Los Angeles where life really slows down.  So your meal will be at least an hour and a half.  Ours was a little over two hours.  So be prepared for this, everything is cooked fresh as you order, meaning it is delicious but takes a long time to make it to your table.  And as a native socal resident you might have to prep yourself for this. 
To the meal...

Warm Brown Rice

To start we each ordered a soup.  I had the Raw Soup, which is cucumber soup with apple slices and avocado.  It is a cold soup that has a ton of flavor!  Totally makes me nostalgic for Fiji where I was introduced to these cold soups.  My Husband went for the St. Germains hot tomato soup.  It was also very good.  For the entree I had the Vegetarian Quiche, which was sooo good.  Very cheesy, and dense, and also not in a crust so it is different than you might expect but very good.  My Husband had the Warm Brown Rice and boy was that tasty.  To me it sounds totally bland but it was incredibly flavorful.  I have to say every dish I have had here has been extremely tasty.  However, the desserts are oddly consistently disappointing.

Vegetarian Quiche 

Both this time and the last I was let down by the desserts.  I am really confused by this, but don't let it deter you from anything else they have. Just let me save you the $8 or so that the desserts are.  And I'll tell you the first time we had the cheesecake, and the apple crisp, which were both okay but not really good.  This time my Husband had the sorbet (which was more like ice cream) and it was okay since it is hard to mess up ice cream.  But I had the almond brulee and it was awful.  The shell was way to thick and the "custard" was runny and had an overall gross gritty flavor and texture. 
I really do suggest this place,overall it has an amazing setting and fantastic food!!  Just steer clear of dessert.  

Destination: Topanga Canyon, Ca

Point of Interest:
http://www.innoftheseventhray.com/

Another Night in San Diego

So the Hub was down in San Diego for work again and we decided I should take the train down to meet him on Friday.  I jumped on the Amtrak after work and wobbled my way down the tracks.  We sprung for a business class seat so I had lots of leg room and FREE snacks and drinks :).  After a 4.5 hour ride I found myself in Downtown being picked up by my smokin' man. 
We spent the one and only night at the Marriott Coronado.  I actually really liked the room.  I have a preference towards large cavernous rooms and this was one of them.  High ceilings, king size bed, small sitting area, huge patio overlooking the pool and the harbor, and a bathroom with a huge jacuzzi tub.  The sheets were like crawling in between two slices of butter they were so smooth and comfy.  Since it was late when I got there we ordered room service for dinner which came quickly.  It was on par for room service food.  Nothing notable.
In the morning we woke up to ducks in the moat between our patio and the pool.  With some left over french fry bits we were able to see how friendly these ducks could be.

When we finally got our things together and were finished feeding the ducks we checked out and headed out to feed our own bellies.  We picked The Mission in downtown and when we arrived it looked like an hour wait so we headed into Old Town to see what was there and found nothing but 10,000 Mexican restaurants.  So after accidentally ending up back at The Mission (long story) we waited what was then the 30 minutes (it was obviously meant to be).  We were seated outside and even though it was a little chilly I ordered the Mocha shake.  So good!  My Hub ordered the strawberry granola pancakes and I had the french toast, both with the eggs and double smoked bacon on the side.  The food was so worth the wait!  What a delicious brunch.
After brunch we headed to the Fashion Valley Mall and did a bit of walking around.  It took forever to park and the stores are all pretty high end so we just windowed shopped.  It wasn't all that amazing but if you are a real shopper than it might be just what you are looking for.
Around 3 o'clock we headed out of town and to a friend's birthday party in Irvine.  It was a quick trip with a free nice hotel room and a great brunch.  Always fun to get out of town, even for a short while.  And catching a sunset like this on the way home makes quite a good end to the trip.

http://www.crystalcovestatepark.com/

Destination:
San Diego, Ca

Points of Interest:
Marriott Coronado  http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sanci-coronado-island-marriott-resort-and-spa/
The Mission  http://www.themissionsd.com/
Fashion Valley Mall  http://www.simon.com/mall/fashion-valley

San Diego / Julian, Ca

Well, we have been in dire need of a vacation so we decided to run away and take a quick one.  San Diego is only a three hour drive from us.  Or at least it should be.  TRAFFIC :(  But here was our plan...
I had sadly never seen a true fall tree before so I did some hunting online and found Julian, California.  Julian is located about an hour East of San Diego and claims to experience all four seasons due to its elevation.  Armed with this knowledge I was set on going.  Then we researched what time of year to go and we settled on the last weekend of October.  So along with my husband's awesome job perks we booked are little getaway.  We used Marriott points for Friday night and a free night he had won at an event for Saturday.
We left Friday afternoon around 2:30pm and sat in traffic for the next five hours or so.  When we finally arrived in San Diego we checked into our first hotel.  The Courtyard San Diego Rancho Bernardo.  It wasn't anything fancy but it was clean and the room was a decent size with a view of a large duck pound and the staff was very nice.  We asked the man at the front desk for a dinner suggestion and he sent us to a restaurant just across the street.  Urge Gastropub, which is now my husband's favorite restaurant.  He is now referring to it as "my birthday restaurant".  It was a really cool atmosphere and had good food.  Not to die for or anything but it was a really fun place.  I will suggest the Serrano Sculpin Hot Wings they were very tasty, and not too hot in my opinion but I do like to eat fire.  I also had some tacos that were so-so but the salad that came with them was so good.  Seemed like a Caesar to me but it was top notch.
 
The next morning we checked out and headed to Julian.  It was a windy road but a very nice drive.  You climb about 5,000 feet in elevation if I remember correctly, and drive right passed the San Diego Wild Animal Park, which we will have to hit next time.  The closer we got to Julian the more I nervously anticipated the sudden change to fall, but it never really happened.  Oh well.
We arrived at the cute little main street.  You CANNOT miss it.  There were at least a hundred motorcycles there and cars in every spot.  We finally found a parking spot up a side street and headed out for something to eat.  We started at the far end of main street and poked our heads in every restaurant we passed but nothing struck our interest.  They were all hot dogs and hamburgers and just not what we were in the mood for.  We decided not to settle and kept walking making a turn back on to the street we drove in on.  There was a tiny cafe down the ally way that we chose since it had a nice bistro style selection.  The Candied Apple Pastry Company had the best food of the whole weekend by far!  Their website below doesn't even mention their food, only their pastries but do not let that fool you! 
I had a delicious sandwich. My husband ordered a meat sandwich and a quiche and a bowl of butternut squash soup. Every bite of everything was incredible! I wish we lived closer because I would go here at least once week. After our ridiculously good meal we mulled around main street. Going in and out of all the quaint little shops. Buying our magnet as we do on every new adventure. My husband also purchased two jars of honey (it's his thing) that were locally harvested.
After our purchases we spotted a old cemetery up on a hill, and maybe it was the Halloween spirit in me but I wanted
to go explore. We headed up the wooden stairs and under the old iron arch that read "Julian Cemetery". There were headstones and grave markers from the 1800's everywhere it was so neat. And some of the family plots were families that some of the stores on main street were named and operated by still today. But the best find came at the far end of the cemetery. There it was, my fall tree. The most idyllic one I could have ever asked for. I ran over to it, got as close to the trunk as possible and stuck my head up through the branches. I acknowledge this sounds extremely odd, but I wanted fall everywhere. So when I did this and looked straight up it was like I was standing in a forest full of fall trees. When we finished taking pictures of the tree and ourselves with the tree we headed to our last stop of the day. Moms Pies.
 We couldn't possibly leave Julian without trying one of their famous apple pies. I ordered a crumble crust apple pie al amode and my husband ordered slice of bumbleberry al amode. I have to say I was surprisingly disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high but my slice was not the apple pie I had been dreaming of. But surprise surprise my husband's pie was scrumbdiddlyumpcious. I dislike each berry that was in his but all together it was magic. With bellies full we headed out of Julian and to our next hotel, Estancia La Jolla.
 We checked in around 6 or 7pm and went to our room. Which was a far walk from the front desk. When we arrived in our room I was slightly disappointed. It was very small and dark, mind you my husband had been talking the hotel up quiet a bit so maybe that added to the underwhelmed feeling that was over taking me but it was just a blah room. I went to open the window to let in some light and what is there but 2 feet and then a wall. Dirt on the ground, weeds growing unkempt, hands down the worst view offered by any hotel in my experience. I mean honestly I would rather see a parking lot than a wall. But maybe that is just me. The rest of our stay was just as disappointing so I won't bore you with the details. I will just end with saying I wouldn't go back and I am so thankful it was a free night.

Destinations: San Diego, Ca
Points of Interest: 
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sanbo-courtyard-san-diego-rancho-bernardo/
http://urgegastropub.com/locations/

http://www.estancialajolla.com/

Destination: Julian, Ca
Points of Interest:

http://www.candiedapplepastry.com/index.html

http://www.momspiesjulian.com/

Greek Stuffed Pitas

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/greek-salad-pitas-olive-garlic-tapenade.aspx

Love this recipe!  It is so easy and healthy.  And to make it even quicker (and cheaper) skip the tapenade and it is a five minute meal.  Can't beat that!

Ingredients:

Tapenade

1 medium garlic clove

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar

Sandwich

1 1/2 cup diced cucumber (1 cucumber)

1 1/4 cup diced tomato (3 roma tomatoes) 

3/4 cups crumbled feta  

1/2 cup finely diced radishes

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried oregano

Freshly ground black pepper

4 pitas

Directions:

Tapenade

1. Put the garlic in a food processor and chop.

2. Add olives, olive oil, and vinegar and process until spreadable but not completely smooth.

Sandwich

1. In a large bowl, combine cucumber, tomatoes, feta, and radishes.

2. Add the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and a few grinds of pepper and toss to combine.

3. Slice the pitas in half and open the pockets.

4. Divide the tapenade among the pitas, spreading evenly inside each.

5. Stuff each pita with about 1/2 cup of spinach and 1/2 cup of the sandwich mixture and serve. 

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Ojai, Ca

Camping and kayaking for the weekend! ...Or at least this was the plan.
Saturday morning we headed up to Lake Casitas with the dog and my dad's kayak for a day on the lake.  I grew up camping here and still love it as an adult because of its proximity to Ojai.  Ojai has a lot of great little shops and food so it makes for a good day trip destination.  When we made it to the gate we were immediately informed that the kayak had to go through an inspection (which included a 10 day quarantine) before it could be allowed on the lake.  So, kayaking was out.  ...Apparently there is some mussel invading California lakes and my recreational pass time.

The good news, we were able to get a spot in my favorite campground, Area C.  The gate workers were nice enough to lock our kayak in their storage for the weekend and then let us on our way.  We set up camp facing the creek that runs along the shaded campsites of Area C.  When we were finished setting up we decided to go for a walk and explore.  We ended up at the camp store and decided to buy some marshmallows to roast and some popcorn that was later burnt over the fire.  When we came back to the site we lounged around next to the fire until it was time to eat.  We grilled some burgers on our portable grill, including one for the dog, since someone forgot dog food...

After our meal Hubby mastered the fine art of marshmallow roasting but broodily failed at over the fire popcorn popping. After filling are bellies with sticky mallow goodness and letting the pup in on the action a bit we three headed into the tent for bed.

Photo Credit: Yelp via Chris W.

Photo Credit: Yelp via Connie T.

When we woke up Sunday morning we headed into town.  Apparently too early because all of the stores were still closed.  Just our luck.  So we decided to have brunch and stopped in at Knead Baking Company.  Hands down the best part of the weekend!
We happen to stop here because they had a large outdoor seating area so we could bring the dog.  When we walked up we noticed that it was cash or check only so my Hubby had to run down the street to an ATM while I stayed with the dog.  After arriving with cash and mulling over the not too large menu.  I chose the House Sandwich and my Husband chose the Quiche.  The house sandwich has prosciutto, cheddar, roasted tomato, mixed greens, and cornichon all on a freshly made Italian country roll.  They have four breads they make in house which make their sandwiches out of this world fresh and flavorful.  The Hubs quiche was good too!  We ended our meal with a pastry, that I allowed Hubby to pick for once so I don't know what it was called.  But it was also made fresh and had some kind of fruit in it, all you need to know is it was amazing.
Discovery of the weekend: If you find yourself in Ojai, stop at Knead!


Destination: Ojai, Ca
Points of Interest:
http://www.casitaswater.org/lower.php?url=camping
http://www.kneadbakingcompany.com/KNEAD/KNEAD.html

Avocado Egg Salad

This recipe is so easy! And a yummy way to spice up a regular egg salad recipe. (At least mine which consists of only egg and mayo with a little pepper, thanks to my Grandpa Mickey). But throwing a little avocado in the mix and some curry powder, who knew, makes it a filling and super delicious meal.

http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2012/06/family-and-food.html

Ingredients:

4 hard boiled eggs (I usually let the water come to a boil and add eggs for 20 minutes)

1 large avocado

2 tbsp of mayo (or to desired consistency)

1 tsp of curry powder (I used a little less, since a little goes a long way)

pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

Mash and mix :)

Recipe from: http://www.neverhomemaker.com/2012/06/family-and-food.html

Honeymoon Part 3: Savu Savu, Fiji

Alright this is going to be the last post for the Honeymoon but if you have any questions let me know!

These activities took place over the next couple of days...

We did a lot of relaxing and what good is a honeymoon without a day at the spa??? That's right we hit up the Rain forest Spa. Appropriately sitting in the middle of the rain forest next to a running water fall. We opted for the couple's massage. And banana leaf wrap.

Those leafs you see, picked from actual banana trees growing right nest to the spa! Talk about fresh! The treatment lasted 2 hours. It included a brown sugar scrub down with coconut oil, followed by the wrap and finished up with the hour full body massage. Oh yeah, it was great!

After that we lounged by the beach awhile until we decided to take a bike ride. The resort had free bikes and the island really only had one road that went around it. So we road, through the intermittent rain (warm island rain, and you're wet from the beach anyway so who cares!). We went about 2 miles until we came to a big beach; which naturally, had a random deserted tiki bar.

Not the most flattering picture of My Love, but he was trying to get me in the background :)

We scavenged the beach for awhile for some cool shells to sneak home. AND we found some that we later put on the counter in our room and then couldn't find... You know that saying "it's not like it grew feet and walked away" well it did. Our shells had hermit crabs hiding inside, so when we found them we relocated them back outside.

The next day we took one of the resort day trips to a local waterfall. This was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life. The waterfall was located in a village and to visit it we had to present the chief of the village with a gift. So we went and bought some Kava root, with our guide, and presented it to the chief. The Chief was a 90+ year old blind man who was so happy to have us there! There was only one other couple with us so we all got to sit in his bungalow on the floor in a circle while he accepted our gift and did a ritual singing and chanting. And even though we didn't understand a word of it and our guide didn't speak this same language it was amazing because the Chief was just smiling and laughing and so

happy the whole time.

After meeting with him we were led to the falls by some more amazingly nice villagers. We played for about an hour and I even rummaged up enough courage to climb up the rocks and jump. It was just an amazing experience!

The whole Fiji trip was great! It was a VERY secluded area. So you don't feel like you are in a tourist town at all. But if you want that "excitement" vs. the relaxation you probably wouldn't enjoy this particular place. Hands down the best part of it was the people. Everyone in and outside of the resort was amazing. Even though it is really a 3rd world area people are so much happier then people here in the states. We think because they have so little they would be sad but they're not! They are free and self sufficient. It was really inspiring!