The One & Only

 I made it through 4 chapters of The One & Only by Emily Griffin. It's chick lit set in Texas and the main character, Shea LOVES football. With the NFL season underway the last thing I need in my life is MORE football...so I didn't finish this one. Go Bolts

The Heiresses

I read this book purely for the cover…Central Park…Tiffany Blue I'm sold. I am a little embarrassed to admit I read The Heiresses By Sara Shepard. This novel is filled with scandal, murder and mystery.

Cafe Chloe

 Recently I had brunch at Cafe Chloe. It's in the East Village near Petco Park. It is a quaint cafe with great food. 

 It's the kind of cafe you could sit and enjoy a book.

 I ordered eggs over red and orange peppers with pine nuts on top.  

 French Toast no maple syrup needed.

Living that Paris life for an hour.

Cafe Chloe

721 9th Ave.

San Diego, CA 92101 

Sew along

Kid Friendly Vegas Exists

 Summer 2014 is flying by and we haven't gone anywhere. A staycation is great but I needed to get out of our zip code. We decided to take a last minute road trip. The boys had never been to Sin City. A family trip to Vegas seemed questionable however midweek you can find a nice hotel in Las Vegas for under $100.

 The drive was long. We talked the whole way, I forgot how fun car games can be.

 We wanted to find a hotel that had a good pool since we would be doing more swimming than gambling. I didn't want a hotel that was in the middle of the strip. We stayed at the Tropicana. The Tropicana has a large pool perfect for cannonballs. At it's deepest point is 4 1/2 feet deep.

 We walked over to New York, New York to see the roller coaster and the Hershey's store

 At night we drove to South Eastern Ave. for my favorite brick oven pizza. The original Grimaldi's is in New York. We ate the pizza so fast I didn't get a picture*. After pizza we went across the street for custard. Nielsens Frozen Custard is amazing! We don't have anything like it in Southern California. If you are in Las Vegas you have to go to Nielsens. Nielsens' custard comes in 3 flavor, Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla.

* The only reason I have a picture of the custard is we got seconds. 

Our trip was so fun and relaxing that we are hoping to go again before summer is over. Vegas, Baby

The best thing about Las Vegas according to D...

Pools

Pizza

Custard

The last time we were in Las Vegas without the kids we saw The Beatles Love show. Wish we could have seen it again.

Kids Bowl Free

 Did you know that kids can bowl free ALL summer? 

We signed up at kids bowl free and had a blast. It is nation wide, you pick a bowling alley near you and kids get to bowl 2 games a day. 

Everything is Awesome

We went to Legoland California for D's birthday. 

 I really like Legoland. Everyone that works there is friendly and helpful. Here we are trading legos at a trading post. We were looking for Krusty the clown mini figure.

 It isn't Disneyland but it's still charming.

You can go inside Finn's Basement and see the actual set from the Lego Movie.

Summer is here

Give peace a chance

 This years theme is The Fab Fair.

The theme for our family this year was daredevils! The Hubby and F.W. bungee jumped 130 feet! Little D did some jumping too.

Cleaning is a drag

Cleaning is a real drag! However a book about cleaning can be funny. My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag…And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha By Jolie Kerr is a hoot. This book really has cleaning advise for everything under the sun. How to clean your washing machine. What you should and shouldn't use on wood or laminated floors. Great book full of cleaning information.

The Fault in Our Stars

There is SO much buzz about this young adult novel I couldn't help myself. At first I found this book hard to read not because it's about kids with cancer but because of the pretentious musing of teenagers. It kind of reminded me of Dawson's Creek. None the less I kept reading because I liked the main character, Augustus Waters. Gus was written for all girls to swoon over him. I think reading this book at 16 and reading this book at 36 years old is a different experience. I could see how teenagers would think this a great love story and ugly cry while reading. I did not cry…I got sad but I just could't dive deep into The Fault in Our Stars. My big beef with this book is anyone who doesn't have cancer CAN'T say anything right! Anything a healthy person or adult says is misconstrued and met with sarcasm. The more I think about this novel the less I like it. I'd recommend Me Before You by Jojo Moyes before you read The Fault in Our Stars.

The Invention of Wings

I just finished reading The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Before Oprah picked this book to be in her book club I had already read good reviews about The Invention of Wings. Although the book is about slavery I was surprised that I didn't want to put it down. I think it helps that the novel's chapters are broken up between the 2 main characters, abolitionist Sarah Grimke and South Carolina slave Handful. Every other chapter is a different voice and I think that helps the book flow. I think I could have read this book in 2 days if it weren't for the harsh subject matter and brutal treatment of people.
Needless to say this book was very thought provoking and amazing.

The Pie Hole Los Angeles

While in Los Angeles for EIF Revlon Run/Walk we went to The Pie Hole.

 Savory or sweet all the pies we tried were delicious! I normally would pick cake over pie any day but this place has given me a change of heart. $6 seems like a lot of money for a slice of pie but it really is that good. If you want a whole pie you have to order it 48 hours in advance.

 Maple custard

This was my favorite one. I could eat an entire pie. I had it with a hot cup of tea. It's very sweet but the maple flavor isn't to strong, it's just right. 

 Mexican Hot Chocolate pie

This pie was super rich the chocolate had a hint of cinnamon.  

This is a savory pie…it is filled with mac & cheese! It had a yummy flakey outside and the mac wasn't soggy inside. I don't know how they did it. We also had the veggie curry pie. I am glad there isn't a Pie Hole in San Diego because it would be dangerous!
The Pie Hole
714 Traction Ave
Los Angeles 90013

EIF Revlon Run/Walk

 The Revlon Run/Walk for Women takes place around the USC campus. It ends inside the Coliseum.

 Have you heard of HipAppeal? It's a hipper fanny pack. The Hip Appeal has no buckle or snaps. It slips on over your workout pants. It is awesome. I did a 5k and the Hip Appeal didn't move. It has a pocket in the front and one in the back. Perfect for keys and a your phone. It's a local company out of Carlsbad, CA. The Hip Appeal fanny pack is made in the USA.

 Brandy singing the national anthem

 Bruce Willis and Halle Berry