california dreaming

Playing: Submarine (Full Album)-Alex Turner
Reading: Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion by Manuela Mesco and Giada Zempano

Left to Right: Sarah, Me, and Rebecca

Yesterday was the last day of school, so I met up with Sarah and Rebecca like I did last year. We're trying to start a tradition of some sorts. Sarah took the bus down to my high school and then we drove to Rebecca's house to grab her before heading off to the only Lollicup we know of that serves food. After a heavy lunch of popcorn chicken, potato twists, and sugary drinks, we decided to do something healthy and go to the beach to celebrate our Californian rights to a beach at all times.

We ended up at Balboa Peninsula because I've been watching a lot of Arrested Development lately and because Balboa is one of those places that you cannot visit during the summer a lot due to horrid traffic. There are so many tourists there that I feel out of place sometimes. It was so hot the day we went that we went into the ocean up to our waists despite the lack of swimsuits. For the past week, I have gone to the beach four times and I have not come prepared any of the times. Each time has been spontaneous, so next time, I'll have to plan on going there and bring my bathing suit with me.

Once we were completely soaked and smelled like the ocean, we walked along Newport Pier so that we could sit down and dry off. Unfortunately, we ran out of time on the parking meter, so we had to leave and we all felt too lazy to keep walking around Balboa.

We ended up at Sprinkles Ice Cream, since Sarah and Rebecca have never tried it before. Instead of the Sprinkles Sundae, I got a double scoop sundae with Cherry-Vanilla Ice Cream and fresh whipped cream this time. Unfortunately, the cherries weren't evenly spread throughout the ice cream, so it felt more like vanilla ice cream with sour cherries acting as more of a topping than anything else. The whipped cream didn't have much flavor, which was pretty disappointing. If you have suggestions for amazing ice cream places in Southern California, let me know and I would love to try them. Afterwards, we went to Fashion Island to walk around at before going home and unfortunately, the cute guy that worked at American Rag Cie is no longer there. He will be missed. How is your summer going?

joyride

Playing: Burning Pile-Mother Mother
Reading: Exclusive: John Galliano, in First Interview Since Firing, On Addiction, His Outburst, and His Future in Fashion by Vanity Fair 

Yesterday marked my last day of real school. The next few days will consist of final exams and yearbook signing, not to mention the mourning of all my favorite seniors graduating. Sophie and I celebrated by going on an adventure throughout Southern California. We first stopped by Sprinkles, which Sophie has never been to before. Normally, I don't like Sprinkles, but their Chai Latter flavor was actually pretty good.

Afterwards, we drove right down the street to the Newport Beach Public Library, which is easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever stumbled upon in Orange County. If you like clean lines and modern architecture with big open spaces, this is the place for you. They're opening a cafe within the library soon, so it'll be a great hangout area one day. Plus, it's within walking distance to the shopping center that has Sprinkles, so you can grab lunch in that shopping center.

Since we were so close to Corona del Mar, we decided we might as well go visit it anyways. We spent a lot of time exploring the tide pools and looking at all the cute houses down there. Corona del Mar has two popular beaches, one for tide pools and one for swimming and having bonfires. I'm hoping to have a huge bonfire over summer here, but all the fire pits are taken by 10 a.m. so I probably won't be able to get one.

Our next stop was South Coast Plaza because we were running low on non-food places to go to. Sophie wants to be a design student, while I hope to work in the fashion industry, so window displays are the perfect thing for us to look at together. I can't get over how perfect Louis Vuitton displays always are. They're like works of art all on their own. Their displays always make the clothes look great, but also manage to be whimsical and beautiful at the same time.

We ended the day by going to Diamond Jamboree because we couldn't think of another place to do purikura in Orange County. I haven't been to Ajisen Ramen in so long, so I forgot how good their Premium Pork Ramen is. The pork manages to be juicy, fatty, and a tad crispy, while the soup is really creamy and flavorful. However, I still think the noodles taste kind of odd and Santouka Ramen is still at the top of my list for great ramen. After dinner, we ran out of money and didn't end up doing purikura, so we'll have to plan another day for that. Sorry that I have been missing from the blogosphere. I've been busy studying and being sick, so I haven't been up to much at all. Hopefully, summer will bring about a boatload of better posts.

Foodventures I

Playing: Demons-Imagine Dragons
Reading: Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Whenever my brother, Ted, comes home from college, we go on major foodventures all over Southern California. We keep lists of places we want to go to and spend time Googling places to visit. True Food Kitchen is one of our better discoveries. The food there is fresh and usually very filling. True Food also serves different drinks on a daily basis and their Strawberry Rhubarb Soda was one of the best drinks I've ordered there. It tasted just like fresh strawberry jam and rhubarb juice.

Ted and I came by The Olde Ship by accident. We went to two restaurants before ending up here and it was definitely a good find. The service was friendly and Golden Cap Steak and Ale Pie was so good. Underneath the buttery puff pastry and gravy was tender beef surrounded by more gravy.  The mashed potatoes were incredibly buttery too. It's also cute how they have afternoon tea every once in awhile and have football game viewings.

For dessert, we ordered the Sticky Toffee Pudding, which was recommended by the waiter. Considering it was dessert, my brother and I were surprised at how it wasn't that sweet/ The bread base was served sticky and warm, while the surrounding cream was cold. It was an odd combination and we were expecting for there to be a toffee sauce. The menu stated that it came topped with toffee sauce and stuffed with raisins, neither of which we could find.

Our least successful foodventure was to Ecco, which served tasty pizza that was unfortunately not enough food. As a petite girl, I was not full after eating a whole pizza by myself and sharing an appetizer. After lunch, I had to stop by Blackmarket Bakery (aka the BEST bakery) in order to fill myself up. What you see above are the Guido (smoked mozzarella, grilled red peppers, caramelized onions, garlic, fennel sausage, and olive oil) and the Guanciale (red pears, mozzarella, caramelized onions, marscapone, and Gorgonzola) with the Guanciale being really amazing. Everything tasted good, but when I think about the price I paid, it would've been nice to leave feeling full.

One of the best places to go eat at is the Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival. Basically, it's a chance for me to catch up on all the Turkish foods I miss and can't find in the states like their dondurma and ravioli. Surprisingly, the baked potato was really good. They mixed in cheese and salt so it would be super flavorful before topping it with olives, peas, corn, and whatever else you wanted. If you have the chance to go to the festival, go. That's it for now. Expect more foodventures, since my brother and I have a lot of places to go to!