Author: Elena

{Date Night Friday} Olympic Fever

Date Night Fridays, Life, London, Olympics

Most of our date night consist of going somewhere new and exciting outside the apartment but not tonight.  Something that you might have not known about me is that I love watching the Olympics and I’m really looking forward to the opening ceremony this evening.  The hubby and I are planning to watch enough Olympic coverage as humanly possible.  I plan on popping some popcorn or perhaps ordering some yummy pizza and we plan on sitting in front of the couch this evening.  When we went to London last year I was excited to see that there was starting to be signs of the upcoming Olympics.  I have a lot of respect for all the men and woman who are representing the United States because they are doing something I could have never done.

My favorite sport to watch is the Woman’s gymnastic team I can’t believe how young they all are and the amount of dedication they have for the sport.  Here’s to team USA!!!

Here’s some Red, White, and Blue inspiration from my Pinterest board. 

What’s your favorite Olympic sport?

Life: My cousin is engaged!!

Engagement, Life, Love, Wedding
I’m so excited because I just found out that my little (okay not so little) cousin proposed to his girlfriend last night. They have been dating for a while now and we knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. We are all extremely happy for them since they are such a beautiful couple.  I can’t wait to hear all the details about their proposal and I can’t wait for their wedding.  

Have I told you guys lately how much I love weddings? I seriously can’t stop smiling since I found out.
Congrats to the newly engaged couple!!

I ❤ you guys!
If you haven’t read my proposal story please take a look at it here!

Life: Finding motivation

Life, Motivation

Looks like I finally found the motivation I needed to start a new career. Sometimes I’m a tad slow but I eventually get there. I’ll keep you guys posted as things continue to develop but as right now things are slowly rolling out.  We’re currently working on a new photo website, developing my portfolio, and setting up all the business aspects of it. The anal retentive person inside me loves working out all the small details this new venture is going to bring on. 

{via Pinterest}

Thanks to the hubby for pushing me to finally take the risk and pursue what I really love to do, photography.  I would also like to thank my outrageous BFF for continuously believing in my abilities.

Yep, that’s right as long as I could remember I’ve always had a camera in hand capturing life’s special moments and now it’s time for me to capture yours.  Please stay tuned as I release more details later on this year. 
Watch out world I’m about to start my own photography business!! I’m super excited about what the future will bring and can’t wait to begin my transformation as a business owner. 

Update: I’ve decided to take things slow to enjoy my baby and also to hone my skills before I take the leap.  

{Date Night Fridays} The Getty Villa

California, Date Night Fridays, Getty, Getty Villa, Pacific Palisades, Southern California

A perfect place to go on a date in Southern California if you love art and great architecture is the Getty. The hubby and I have gone to both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa but our favorite one is the Villa. Like I’ve previously stated we love going on cheap dates especially when you get to experience such a beautiful place.

We’ve been here a few times and we can’t believe how beautiful it is every time we come back.  To get tickets you need to make a reservation with them here.  Entrance is FREE but parking is $15.  Can I suggest you either carpool with a group of friends, take public transportation which gets you in for free, or get dropped off if you want to save on the parking fee. This place is good for older kids but keep in mind it’s a museum.  If you want to make it a super romantical date you can always have a picnic at the nearby beach and then drive up to the Villa.  They also serve wine and lunch if you would like to eat at the Villa or you can order a picnic lunch and eat it on the grounds.  We enjoy sitting on a bench overlooking the outer peristyle and people watching while having a great conversation.  
The Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, California 90272
(310) 440-7300

Sweets: Easy Peasy Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (Pinterest Inspiration)

Banana, Chocolate, Pinterest, Pinterest Inspiration, Recipes, Sweets

Like most of you guys out there I'm a tad obsessed with Pinterest. This week I've decided that it was time to stop pinning and start doing.  For my first project I choose this pin from Artsy Fartsy Mama since it seemed easy enough to do especially since I had overripe banana's on the counter.  The hubby is used to my from scratch banana nut bread so I wasn't sure how he was going to react to this bread.

More loveliness here »

Life: Our lovely trip to Maui

Costco, Hawaii, Life, Maui, Travel Packages, Travels, Vacation

Last year when we went to Paris it was my choice so when the hubby suggested we should take a vacation to Hawaii to celebrate our 11th dating anniversary  this year I was delighted.  I told him that I wanted to try a pre-packaged deal to see what they were like.  I decided that the first place I would get information would be from our local AAA office.  After spending an hour speaking with a travel agent I realized that the first thing we needed to do was figure out what Island we wanted to visit.  It never occurred to me how little we knew about Hawaii.  It probably would have been easier to ask our friends for their recommendations but since we don’t like telling anyone our plans before we actually book things it made it harder for us.

{Source}
One evening the hubby suggested that I take a look at Costco Travel to see what packages they were offering.  After spending some time looking over the brochures I received at AAA and comparing them to the Costco packages I realized that the Costco ones made more sense.  I looked up a few reviews online and people seem to like their Costco vacations.  We decided that Maui would be better suited to fit our needs especially since it was supposed to be super romantical.
I woke up at 6:00am to take a walk along the beach.
Here’s what we got in our Costco package:
  • Flight to Maui from LAX on Delta
  • 5 night stay at the Royal Lahaina in a Deluxe Ocean View Room
  • Free self serve parking at the hotel
  • $200 resort food credit
  • Free daily breakfast 
  • 5 day car rental 
  • 1 dinner Luau for 2 at the hotel
  • 1 dinner sunset cruise for 2 on the Teralani
We had a lovely time while in Maui and the Costco package was perfect for us.  We took full advantage of everything our package offered.  Every morning we woke up and ate a lovely buffet breakfast before heading out for the day.  In the afternoon we used our resort credit for snacks and to have dinner.  The car we got as our rental was essential when getting around Maui.  Our hotel was simply delightful and we had a breathtaking view of the beach.  The proximity to Black Rock was amazing especially when we decided to try snorkeling. (I crossed number 82 off my list.) Overall we would definitely recommend the Costco Travel package to Maui to all of our friends.  
I learned how to hula at the Lua.

One of the coolest thing we got to do while in Maui that wasn’t included in our Costco package was horseback riding. (I finally got to cross number 84 off my list of things to do in 1001 days.)  We decided to go horseback riding with Maui Stables and I’m really happy we experienced it with someone that really knows the land.  Our guides were very entertaining and the trip itself was worth every penny we paid for it.  To get from Lahaina to Hana we had to take the beautiful but very scary Road to Hana. After the ride ended we got a free voucher to get into Haleakala National Park.

The cool horses we got to ride. 

Haleakala National Park
I crossed number 82 off my list. We went snorkeling.
On the Road to Hana
Walking back from Black Rock to our hotel.
Our sunset dinner cruise ended up being a lovely whale watching experience and it was amazing!
The hubby on the Road to Hana
Our rental car
We woke up to this everyday. The view from our room.

Maui was beautiful and very romantic.  We had a ton of fun and the weather couldn’t have been better.  We ended up going in late March and early April so we caught the end of the whale migration.  Its incredible sitting down eating breakfast while looking into the ocean and seeing whales pass by.  Two things that we miss from Maui is P.O.G. juice and Hershey’s kisses with macadamia nuts.  We can’t wait to head back to Hawaii one of these days to visit a different island.

What’s your favorite Hawaiian Island?

Life: Oh summer how do I love thee!

Beach, Holidays, Life, Orange County, Summer

These are the reasons why I love summer so much:

  1. The amazing Southern California weather we have.
  2. Going swimming at the beach. (Here’s a list of awesome beaches in Orange County.)
  3. Spending time outdoors with family and friends.
  4. Picnics everywhere.
  5. The Hollywood Bowl.
  6. BBQ’s.
  7. Endless concerts.
  8. The OC Fair and LA County Fair.
  9. Bonfires and s’mores. (Here’s a list of beaches where you can have a bonfire.)
  10. Movies and concerts at the park.
  11. Long drives down PCH.
  12. Graduations and weddings.
  13. Ice cream, gelato, soft serve and frozen yogurt.
  14. Longer days.
  15. Water parks.
  16. Pool parties.
  17. Long walks along the beach.
  18. Sundresses.
  19. Strawberry everything.
  20. Kayaking and hydrobikes.
  21. Water balloon fights.
  22. Cinespia.
  23. Independence Day and Labor Day.
  24. Our anniversary.
  25. My birthday!
There are a lot of things I’m sure I’m leaving out but these are some of my favorites. I can’t wait to get out there and start doing some of these things.  I’ll make sure to share my adventures with you guys. 
What’s your favorite part about summer?

{Date Night Friday} Balboa Park

Balboa Park, California, Date Night Fridays, San Diego, Southern California

A few years ago I went to Balboa Park to work on a school assignment and I was hooked.  Not long after that I went back with my hubby and he loved it.  Fast forward to a couple of weekends ago when we decided to finally go back.

Our first stop was at the Visitor Center where we gots of helpful tips.  We decided that instead of buying tickets we where going to walk around and enjoy all the free things to do.

Here’s a glimpse at what we saw and by no means does justice to the amount of things there are to see:

This place is pretty amazing to spend a whole day walking around in.  They have several restaurants around there but beware for all the fast food lovers out there you have to drive a little to find fast food.  They do have hot dog carts that sell bottled water, ice cream, and nachos.  Parking is awful on a beautiful day but don’t be discouraged there is plenty around if you’re willing to walk far for it.  Make sure you don’t park in 15 minute parking because they do give tickets.  We have visited several of the museums there along with the San Diego Zoo but this time we opted to walk around and relax which made for a splendid day.  They have palm readers, tarot card readers, local musicians, and very interesting people out there. Besides museums they have performing arts centers, a Spanish village, and a lot of gardens.  This place is great to bring out of towners to and is also wonderful for kids.

549 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-0512
  Do you know of any other places like Balboa Park you are willing to share with me?