Five for Friday

Previous Fridays

1 - I didn't think it was possible, but I love you even more a year after marriage than I did on our wedding day.

2 - You do a little dance with me when you get home from work :)

3 - You like everything I cook for you... even Mac n Cheese from a box.

4 - You made sure there were not spider webs on my car before we left Jane & Joe's house Wednesday night

5 - You always pour me more wine

Adventures in Dining Out: The Oasis, Lake Travis, TX

If you have read already, this nest went to Texas last week. I hadn’t been in TX (except for flight layovers) since my family moved from Dallas to Laguna Niguel, CA when I was 7. There is a sense of pride Texans feel with their state that California just doesn’t share, and I could feel it the moment I got off the plane… it feels like the 4th of July to me. Now that I sound crazy lets move along to our dining experience on the beautiful Lake Travis.


When I told my mom we ended up in Texas, one place she recommended we go was The Oasis on Lake Travis. Hubs and I have been wanting to visit Austin for a couple months now, and The Oasis was a restaurant he found while researching the city, that he really wanted to see. With a recommendation from my Mom and promise of drinks on a patio, it wasn’t too hard to convince our traveling buddies to have lunch there on Friday afternoon.


The patios (yes there are WAY more than one) at The Oasis are, in my opinion, the only acceptable place to sit… I don’t care how hot it is outside. They are are all covered with these colorful umbrellas and a FANTASTIC view of Lake Travis!


Can I live here, PLEASE?

When we sat down our waiter was quick to bring out ice waters for all of us, along with fresh chips and salsa. It wasn’t the hottest day of our trip, but it was certainly hot outside and the water was definitely necessary.

Hubs and I own 1, yes ONE, plastic cup, so I was excited to discover we could keep could take these home. Plastic pool cup and Texas souvenir – Awesome!

For lunch 3 out of 4 of us went Tex-Mex. Jeremiah ordered the Oasis Super Burger…




According to Jer, queso on a burger or fries is only way to eat. The only draw back to queso poured on your burger is how slippery everything gets.

Tiffany ordered the Combo plate… I love how the “guacamole salad” is the standard shredded lettuce with tomatoes under guacamole you get at almost every Mexican restaurant in CA.

The enchilada sauce with Tex-Mex is different than the kind we get in CA. Like above with Tiff’s enchiladas and below with Hub’s Cheese Enchiladas, is the red chili sauce that is standard at home.



One the menu the Tex-Mex chili sauce was an option, which is lighter in color and has ground beef in it. This may sound like a dis, but it reminds me of Taco Bell’s been burrito sauce… which I find tasty, so it’s a good thing.

I ordered the Crawfish Enchiladas because really, where else am I’m going to get Crawfish Enchiladas?


Mmmmm, just looking at that sauce is making my mouth water. (I need to stop writing these posts right before I eat).

The food was good, but collectively I’d have to say our favorite thing was the Sangrita – Margarita with Sangria. Om nom nom!


Perfect on a hot day over looking the lake :)

Have you tried Tex-Mex and California (Baja) Mexican before? Which do you prefer?

Five for Friday

Previous Fridays

1 - You're really excited your new phone can find you the closest Starbucks

2 - You get really excited when I bake you homemade chocolate chip cookies

3 - You want to go to our favorite restaurant for our Anniversary

4 - Your tofu stir fry idea was really tasty

5 - You kiss the top of my head

Sheldon’s Adventures: San Antonio & Austin, TX

This past weekend Hubs and I played vacation roulette and ended up in San Antonio and Austin, TX. What is vacation roulette? Well, it’s when you meet your Flight Attendant friend and her fiance at the airport and see what flight you can hop on, stand by. Our initial plan was to go to NOLA. But, with the help of Amy at The Nifty Foodie, I watched the weather leading up to the trip. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you see it) NOLA was having a bad storm… not quite the weather you want for a vacation.

It had been awhile since Sheldon left Hubs’ desk, so we brought him along…

When Hubs picked me up at work to drive to LAX, Sheldon was already in the TX mood, hoping more people wouldn’t buy tickets to San Antonio and boot us out of our seats.


With time to kill before take-off, here is Sheldon excited to be at The Encounter… he ordered the brie burger.

Sheldon watched the planes land and take off from inside the restaurant.

Sheldon and I got to sit in First Class, he was really excited about all the leg room.

Marriott always had interesting artwork in our Courtyard rooms. Sheldon wanted to pose next to his favorite photograph in our San Antonio room.

After Tiffany finessed the rental car guy into renting us the yellow Camaro for cheap. Sheldon could not wait to get the car on the open road.

Here Sheldon is watching the torque, “Let’s move!”

Admiring the view from our hotel room in Austin. Sheldon had never seen so many trees in one city!


Our last night in Austin, Sheldon went with us to Polvo's in South Austin…

The food was super tasty, but I think he liked the margarita’s by the pitcher the most.

Sheldon bought us banana bread at the hotel coffee shop the next morning. I think he was a little hung over from his margarita binge the night before.

And, lastly, here is Sheldon waiting to board our flight back to CA. On the hottest day of our trip, I think he was excited to get back home. We can’t wait to come back for more BBQ and to see some friends :)

Five for Friday

Previous Fridays

I want to thank everyone who tells me they love this series on my blog! For awhile I thought it was boring my readers. It's nice to know I'm not hahaha ;-) If you also to a Five for Friday, let me know, I'd love to read yours too!

1 - You're a good sport when I want to hang out with the girls on the weekends.

2 - You turned off your scary movie the minute I came home because you knew it would freak me out.

3 - You like my French toast

4 - You buy me Sugar Free syrup

5 - When I got a pinched nerve in my neck, you rubbed my shoulders.

Adventures in Dining Out: Bleu Bohème, San Diego, CA

I couple weeks ago, Hubs and I went down to San Diego to celebrate the 30th birthday of his best friend, Brandon. The plan was to have dinner in Downtown San Diego, with Brandon and his wife, Lindsay (aka Pretty as Peaches). However, after realizing Comic-con was also going on in Downtown SD, we decided it would probably be better to go to dinner somewhere a little less crowded. Lindsay suggested Blue Bohème, a French restaurant in Kensington. Thankfully, we were able to get a last minute reservation, so it was on.

We arrived about 15-20 mins before our reservation to enjoy some drinks in the bar. I had a Le Saint Germain (Champagne and Saint Germain Liqueur), Hubs had a Tom Collins…


Lindsay had a glass of Brandon, Chimay, in a fancy glass.


Blue Boheme has a great atmosphere. The exposed beams, brick, and unfinished (not drywalled) wall in the bar and seating area (at the front of the restaurant) feel like you’ve walked into European Restaurant.


When our table was ready, we relocated to the dining area. The dining area had a similar feel to the bar, but felt a bit fancier. We had decided back at the bar, we needed to share the ‘La Planche Degustation’ or meat and cheese board.


I wish I could remember exactly which cheese was which and give you intelligent feedback on them, but I have no memory ability for French words. The obvious ones… Honey Comb, Paté, St. André Brie, Gruyère, fig thing, meats, pickles….


I’d say the general consensus was that the cheese were tasty, but the meats were “meh”. If you decided to get a board here, I would just get the cheese board.

Right before the cheese board, they also brought a freshly baked bread from Sadie Rose Baking Company. We know they purchase the bread there because Brandon & Hubs liked it so much they asked.

For dinner Brandon and Lindsay order of the ‘La Tradition’


Lindsay had the ‘Steak Frites’…


Brandon had the ‘Coq au Vin’…


Hubs and I ordered off the ‘La Saison’ section of the menu…


Hubs had the ‘Filet Mignon aux Trois Sauces’…


The curry sauce, on the left, was the best curry I have ever tasted! I asked for a side of it to take home with the rest of my ‘Carre d’Agneau Provencal’ (aka rack of lamb)…


Not one of us was displeased with our meal. The sauces were all excellent (especially the curry) all the veggies and meats were cooked just right. My lamb was just the perfect mix of rare, but not too rare, which I find happens more often when you ask them to prepare it “however the chef recommends.” <—Just a little ordering tip ;-)

To end the evening, Blue Bohème brought Brandon a ‘Birthday Chocolate Mousse’.


I would like to thank Comic-con for derailing our Downtown San Diego plans. Without them I may have never eaten at Blue Bohème :)

Five for Friday

Previous Fridays

1 - You got artichoke hearts on half our pizza last night because you thought I'd like it... and I did :)

2 - You wore the suit you bought for our wedding last weekend for our friend's wedding... and looked pretty hottt.

3 - You let me have "the spot" when we get home at the same time.

4 - When I'm stressed about something you give me lots of hugs.

5 - You guard your Trader Joe's chocolate bar.

Lunch: Quinoa, Feta, Spinach & Berry Salad

My sister introduced me to this salad in the Spring. It’s super easy to make the night before, and keeps great all day while you dream about eating at lunch.

What you’ll need…


When I package it, I tried to keep the spinach, berries and cheese separated from the quinoa (this got a like roughed up on my way to work this morning), because I’m always worried the quinoa will wilt my lettuce. I don’t know it is actually will, but I hate wilted lettuce and don’t like to take chances.

Do you bring your lunch? What is your favorite lunch for work?

Fail: White Chocolate Grapefruit Cookies

Dear Allison,
Next time you need to bake to release stress, don’t attempt something you’ve invented in your head.


Probably best to stick with wine and a recipe you can find on the back of the Toll House Bag. Also, don’t forget to add the egg and then forget to take the 2nd batch out of the oven.


You may also want to wait for Hubs to get home before you throw the rest of the dough down the drain and call the whole experience a loss.


Because, even if they don’t taste like grapefruit, at all, the Hubs may still find them super tasty. Hold on to the other half of the grapefruit and try a different approach over the weekend.


Post about it next week :)

Love,
Ali