Gardening 101

I have never had much of a green thumb (mine has always been more of a french-manicured, hates to get dirty kind of thumb). Lucky for me, Jerome takes great pride in gardening, and we are proud to say that we are definitely having some luck with our plants. For Jerome's birthday, my parents got him one of those "Topsy-Turvy" tomato plant kits, along with some heirloom tomato plants. We were fascinated at the idea of growing veggies from hanging plants, since our little furry scavengers (a.k.a Louis and Lola) love to dig up pretty much anything in the ground...especially something edible), so we decided to also get a jalapeno plant ( I love to make spicy food). The planing kit was extremely easy to set up. With just a little bit of soil and a plant hook in our patio cover, our tomatoes and jalapenos were off and growing. It's been about 4 weeks now, and we are pleased to say that we have ready to eat jalapenos and a huge, blossoming tomato plant (the recent heat has also added to it's growth spurt). I can't wait to make some homemade salsa!

Our Jalapeno Plant!

Our Tomato Plant!

Because they are too cute....

I still can't get enough of these two faces!

I hope they brighten your day too!

Birthday #28!

On July 2nd, I celebrated my 28th birthday! I am well into my late twenties, and the big 3-0 is definitely in sight now....(*sigh...). I spent the day, doing the things I love most. I woke up really early (this is becoming quite a habit thanks to my job 10 months of the year, and early morning gym sessions in the summer) to a birthday present of a new I-Pod. Jerome got me a silver Classic I-pod, because I own a plethora of music, and have been rotating playlists between two Nanos. Now I can finally have ALL my music in one place!!! YAY! (Thanks Babe!) I enjoyed coffee and breakfast with my love. I then took the pups down on a walk to Castaways Park in Newport. It's on the edge of the bluffs overlooking back bay, and I have decided that it is my new "it" place to live. The houses are exactly my style...think Nantucket. The dogs also like the little walking path, so it makes all of us very happy!

Castaways Park

After our walk, I dropped the pups off at home, and headed to Skin Deep Spa in HB for a day of relaxation. This little spa is my hidden secret! It's no Burke Williams, but the prices are cheap and the services are fantastic. I got a massage and then did their Zen Water Treatment. The "Zen" is by far, the highlight of any trip to Skin Deep. It is an hour long treatment, that starts you out with a scrub in a room that has water coming down on you like rain. Then you apply a mud mask to your body and sit in a steam room. After the steam, you head to another room filled with shower heads to wash off the mud. That is followed by soaking in a mineral pool, and then you finish it off by laying down in a cool down room for 10 minutes. The process is amazing, and I feel completely relaxed by the end. Best part: it's only $25 to add on when you get any other treatment! Best $25 spent ever!

Birthday Cookies from Melissa

Now that I was feeling utterly blissful, I went home and got ready for dinner with some friends. The lovely little sis styled my hair (one less thing for me to worry about :)), and presented me with these amazing cookies she got at Wonderland Bakery in Newport Beach. They are all little Chanel handbags and shoes, personalized with my name. They were soooo cute and equally tasty! Around 8 pm, we went to The Crow Bar and Kitchen in Corona Del Mar for my birthday dinner. The Crow Bar is a random little restaurant with "gourmet" English-style pub-food. We were joined by Jerome's sis Melissa and her boyfriend Mike, as well as our fabulous friends Mike, Elise, Jim, Melissa, Janelle, George, Vanessa, David, Dana, Frank and his girlfriend Estee. We had a fantastic time. I felt so honored that all of my friends could finally get together and celebrate with me. It had been wayyyyy too long since we had all been able to get together, and I only wish the night had been longer so I could spend more time with everyone.

Jerome and I at dinner

The little Sis and I

All my besties at dinner

The next day, Jerome and I continued the celebration with a little birthday weekend getaway to the Four Seasons in Westlake Village. They were having a "Double the Fun" special, which was basically a buy-one-get-one-free deal on rooms, food, and spa services. Upon arrival, there was a little birthday cake in the room for me (courtesy of the hotel) with a handwritten birthday card (it's this kind of service that keeps us coming back). We spent the next 2 days poolside, soaking up the sun and relaxing. The weather was perfect and the hotel was not crowded (besides two huge weddings taking place). It was weird being away for the 4th of July....we didn't see any fireworks (besides some we caught on TV) and rather than BBQ-ing we spent the day at the pool and then had a light dinner in the hotel bar. We are usually hosting a big backyard party for all our friends, and heading to the beach at night to see the big HB firework show. It was definitely a nice change, but I think next year we will go back to BBQ-ing with all the pals.

Jerome and I in the Four Seasons Lobby

Overall, I had a fabulous birthday, and I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and fantastic friends to celebrate with. Now begins the planning for Jerome's Big 3-0 next year....watch out world...he wants it to be HUGE!

Peonies at Trader Joe's!

I love having fresh flowers in the house. Jerome and I love going to Trader Joe's and gathering their gorgeous blooms to create our own arrangements. For the past few weeks, the Traders by my house ( on Brookhurst and Hamilton in Huntington Beach) has had an amazing selection of Peonies. There is a large selection of colors; including hot pink, red, plum, white, white with pink tips, and the perfect shade of what I like to call "Barbie Pink". (The above picture is the white and Barbie pink Peonies mixed with some Lillies from TJs ). The best part is each bunch (5 stems) in only $6.99! That is an incredible deal!!! Every time I stop in a TJ's I find myself buying another bunch. If you haven't seen them, go check them out before they are gone.

Jerome's Birthday getaway to the Fairmont Scottsdale

(**I know I'm a little behind on my blogging duties, but school is finally out for summer, which means I have plenty of time to catch up on what's been going on in our lives! )

On June 13, Jerome celebrated his 29th birthday. Rather than doing the usual dinner and drinks with friends, I planned a little weekend getaway to our favorite city, Scottsdale Arizona. We headed out early on Friday, June 12...and made great time (despite getting a speeding ticket outside of Blythe...I guess it was an early birthday present from the CHP). We made our usual stop at the Cracker Barrel in Buckeye, AZ. If you have never been to the Cracker Barrel, you have to try it! Their food is so good, and they have the cutest little store attached that sells all kind of housewares and things! As a kid, my parents would stop at Cracker Barrel anytime we were on a road trip out of state. They are not located in California, so every time we head to Arizona, it is a must that we stop in for some good 'ole country cooking. Calorie counting must be forgone when you stop in, but I assure you, it is totally worth it! I highly recommend the biscuits and apple butter. MMMMM heaven!

After our lovely breakfast, we made it to our destination at the Fairmont Scottsdale. We were immediately impressed at how as soon as we told the valet our last name, everyone immediately from that point on referred to us as "Mr. and Mrs. Boroff". It was crazy! (We later figured out that they wear little earpieces that can hear what the valet says, which explains how they knew who we were.) We checked in to our room, which was very nice and spacious, and then made our way down to the pool, which is where we stayed for the next 2 days. The weather was incredible! It was in the 90's, but there was a constant breeze, which made for perfect sunning time! The pool itself was nice, but I was really hoping for the service you get at the Four Seasons, and although the lounge chairs at the Fairmont were comfy and their were servers to order food and drinks, the service was definitely lacking. Rather than describe every detail of the trip, here are some pics to recap the weekend.

Our first night, about to head out for an early dinner. We were exhausted due to the fact that we had been up since 4:00 am!

Our first night we ate at the hotel's LV Bistro, which was absolutely delicious. Our waitress was fantastic, and sent out this amazing birthday dessert for Jerome. It was little sweet shots: one was red velvet, chocolate mousse, and my personal favorite, peanut butter pie. It was yummy!

Loving the pool!

Out to dinner at Sapporo (this really cool sushi/teppan restaurant) on Jerome's Birthday!

Lucky for us, our friend Natalie recently moved to Scottsdale. Her and her friend Carrie joined us that night for dinner and drinks.

Jerome, enjoying his coffee on our last day.

Getting in one last pic before heading out of town. The Fairmont is located on the TPC Championship golf course, so there were tons of lakes and ponds throughout the property. It was beautiful!

It was the perfect, relaxing weekend we were looking for. We are totally in love with Scottsdale, and can't wait to go back at the end of July for our 5 year wedding anniversary!

Louis' 2nd Birthday!

Our little Lou is 2 years old! My, oh my, how time flies! We celebrated his birthday on June 3 with a delicious "pup cake" from the dog's favorite barkery, Three Dog Bakery, in Corona Del Mar. Yes, I know, we ARE those crazy dog-obsessed people, but since we don't have human children, we treat our little fur-babies as if they were our kids. Next month, we will celebrate our 1 year anniversary of rescuing Lola. Since she was a stray, we have no idea when she was really born, or how old she is for that matter, so we have decided her "birthday" will be July 29...the day she came in to our lives. Until then, here are some pics of Lou enjoying his cake. YUMMMYYY!

Lou's "tasty" peanut butter "pup cake"

The birthday boy chowing down!