A visit to Santa Barbara for Queen V

Dana, Elise, Me, Jenneane, and Vanessa at Fiesta

So it has been a few weeks, sadly, since I updated the blog. I'm sorry to those of you who may actually read this, but today will make up for it! Jerome and I have been pretty busy as of late (surprise, surprise!). We were recently in Santa Barbara to celebrate our best friend Vanessa's 

b-day. It was the first time Jerome and I had actually been to SB. We  have driven through it many times, and even stopped at gas stations and a McDonald's in town, but we had never seen it in full glory. We arrived early in the morning, and met up with our fab friends: Mike, Elise, Geo, Vanessa, David, Dana, Jenneane and her brother Brian. We went to the Fiesta, which is a downtown festival off of State Street. It was full of little shopping booths, where I bought the most fabulous (and comfortable) silk dress for $24, and Jerome bought a pair of "Kanye West" glasses (as he proudly calls them), which later became his version of Dorothy's ruby red slippers'. After shopping, of course we hit up the beer garden, which later led to moving on to a local bar, and from there the Patron shots were flowing with my name on them. We all know how much I love Patron. By 7pm, I discreetly had Jerome flag my drunk self a cab, and take me to our hotel, where I immediately went to sleep. Jerome returned to the bar, and they continued to celebrate. Meanwhile, I slept...and slept...and slept.  I missed all of the drama that later ensued that night (Attack of the Diabla Vanessa, Jerome's near arrest, FBB dancing...). I awoke the next day after what David referred to as "Jen's 18 hour nap", and was ready to check out SB again, despite my ever so pounding head.

That day we headed over to Isla Vista to eat at the restaurant Brian manages, called Silvergreens. If you have never been to this place, make the trip and go! It was fantastic! The setting is much like a Corner Bakery style, where you order at the counter and they bring it to the table. They serve sandwiches, salads, soups, pastas, pizzas and other goodies. The food was delish, but the best part by far is their receipt. The receipt, known as a Nutricate, gives you a complete roundup of all the calories, fat, carbs, and protein in your food. It even subtracts based on your modifications (example: -50 calories for holding the salad dressing). If only every restaurant would do that! It would save me the endless hours I spend consulting restaurant websites, Calorie King, Eat This Not That, and the just plain guesswork when a restaurant fails to give any info! Needless to say, Silvergreens is awesome. Go there. You'll love it.

After lunch, Queen V, as we proudly call Vanessa, wanted to conclude her b-day celebration with us by shopping on State Street. We hit up all the lovely shops, and managed to get some really great deals. The weather was also lovely outside. Not too hot, just right for walking the busy street.

Needless to say, we had an eventful and memorable time celebrating our little Queen V's birthday in Santa Barbara. We can't wait to go back!