when lauren was in town, we took her to the getty villa on a gorgeous sunny day. i would highly recommend this if you love architecture. it’s beautiful. (i have a huge backlog of posts…but these were too awesome not to share)
our friends are classy. very classy.
our camp trip… for cj’s birthday! glad you were born, brah.
tents, costco package of hot dogs, beer, smores, lots and lots of firewood, amazing friends… equals an amazing weekend.
i love you guys.
i cant believe it’s already mid-december already! thought i’d finally share a few photos from our friendsgiving this year! (i know, so delayed). this is our 4th friendsgiving, which we co-host with a couple of friends. we get pretty excited for this and spend weeks (lots of them) planning it.
we ended up going with gold glitter yellow/white pumpkins for our name cards! (thank you pinterest! we combined these two ideas: here and here) we used these pumpkins to determine the rest of the decor: flowers, table covers, etc. beige, browns, golds was the base with bold flower combos.
the pumpkins – we were obsessed with these little babies.
the flower boxes – we found rectangle boxes in downtown on the cheap and ended up using them for our centerpieces. we stained them ourselves and then painted a gold strip for a pop.
the table
anyway, friendsgiving has come a long way from the first one we had 4 years ago (costco chicken, stove top stuffing, and extremely garlicy mashed potatoes (inedible)). now it’s a way for jess and i to be creative once a year (sometimes we joke because it feels like we plan a wedding once a year) and work on our cooking skills. at this point, we are pretty good at the stuffing, brussel sprouts, cream corn, and pumpkin pie!
happy sunday!
we love when stella visits la (which is actually pretty often since she’s a norcaler who secretly loves socal) because it means we get to eat 6x a day. we always try to do something “active” when she is here…but we fail every time. every time!
we decided to grab brunch at a.o.c. (it has been on our list for awhile now). what we got:
note that brunch is served until 3pm.
the duck hash was yummy. duck was moist. the eggs didnt overpower the dish. i really like this dish.
i got the fried chicken and waffles (cornmeal waffles) based on the recommendation of our waiter. i asked for the syrup and butter on the side since i’m more of savory kinda gal and i didnt know how much i would love drenched waffles. (if i had my way, i would eat waffles with just butter…and if i was feeling a little cray, some lightly sweeten whipped cream). anywho. fried chicken was delicious! the chicken was very moist inside and had a good crunch on the outside.
when you eat the chicken with the cornmeal waffle, you really do need the syrup. it needs the sweet kick. (my bad). ok, so i wasnt a huge fan of the cornmeal waffle. its a strong texture and pretty overpowering. i put some butter on the waffle but couldnt taste it. kyle really liked it though. best fried chicken and waffles? no. (my favorite fried chicken and waffles) decent? yes. get this dish if you are a fan of cornmeal. this was the heaviest of all the dishes we got.
the turkey focaccia was refreshing and pretty healthy. stella got this sandwich since she had a big eating fest the day before. if you are looking for something light, get this one.
kyle got the pork belly focaccia w/ peaches. the peaches are different but a good different. note that this sandwich is on the sweet side so some people may not like this. we were fans.
onto the drinks!! this place has a pretty bar… actually the decor of this place is wonderful. lots of natural light. hopefully you get to sit in their patio area…beautiful. white walls with dark wood and arch accents. you will love this place.
getting a res at noon on a sunday was hard. good thing they take walk-ins for their communal table. only con about the communal table is that it is a high table with stools (no back support).
mimosa with peaches…do it. it is bomb. beer selection was good. obviously they also have a lot of wine selections since this is also known as a wine bar. shout out to our waiter christiaan who is also the mixologist here. thanks for the recs!
AOC
8700 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Neighborhood: Mid-City West
so when it got a little sunnier, warmer…we took a mini trip to santa barbara to go wine tasting. first stop: paula’s pancake house in solvang for some breakfast.
we ordered the ortega special. roast beef, jack cheese, green chili on a sourdough bread. it was ok. we also ordered the paula’s special danish pancakes topped with apples and fresh whipped cream. this was my first time eating a danish pancake. it was pretty much a lighter pancake! i really enjoyed the texture. wished the the whipped cream was a little sweeter (it was on the bland side) and next time would definitely order berries…not apples.
paula’s pancake house
1531 mission dr
solvang, ca 93463
based on a brochure we picked up and some good ol’ interest research, 4 vineyards per day was considered plenty. 4 vineyards was definitely the magic number. it was the perfect amount of time at each one just lounging and learning about wine. here’s where we went:
first stop: imagine wine. met ross. learned about wine, his family, his start, local art, and drank some pretty good wines. we loved it. the tasting room looks like an art gallery. lots of natural light. wine tasting is $10 and you get to try 5 wines.
fell in love with the chadonnay and bought some bottles. oh, one of their wines is called the panty dropper (we know, we felt the same way) this was a great start to the day. we would recommend coming here for sure. say hi to ross for us.
imagine winery
3563 numancia st #103
santa ynez, ca 93460
next stop was next door to carr winery. wine tasting room was darker, colder, dark woods high ceilings and a shuffleboard (yes!). our host was pretty awesome. wine flights were $10. not to mention, they also have wine on tap. a pretty cool place (also on the younger side) to just hang out and enjoy wine with friends.
carr winery
3563 numancia st. #101
santa ynez, ca 93460
we picked roblar because they had food w/ wine pairing. we definitely needed food at this point. gorgeous place. we sat next to the fire place on some comfy couches and enjoyed some food and wine.
we went with the trio package ($20) – tastings of three featured wines paired with three hors d’oeuvres. we liked the wonton, pork was dry and the pears were ok. for the four of us, we just ordered two packages. this was definitely enough.
we couldnt resist. we had to take jumping pictures in the beautiful vineyard.
very pretty winery. would we come back? probably not because there are so many other wineries we would want to try. the wine was ok. nothing very memorable (we didnt buy any here). food was ok. you would definitely be going here for the atmosphere.
roblar winery
3010 roblar ave.
santa ynez, ca 93460
last stop: brander vineyard. we spent quite some time here taking pictures because the property itself is very charming. classic flight with a logo glass $10.
we loved the staff. very friendly and helpful. wine was good. they are known for their sauvignon blanc. we were fans.
i would definitely come back to you, brander vineyard.
brander vineyard
2401 refugio road
los olivos, ca 93441
it was nice getting away…and wine is always better with friends. thank you, santa barbara.