Weekend Recap : Welcome Summer

Happy Monday! I am suffering from a bit of a weekend hangover…no, not that kind…just too much fun in the sun with my favorite peeps. 🙂 I’m longing for those days to continue and not to be forced back to school and work. 🙂 This was an extra special weekend for me and I was truly spoiled by those that I love. It was my birthday! Woot Woot! If you are new to the blog, then you might not know just how much I LOVE birthdays! I love to plan parties and feel like every day should be a celebration.  We have even been known to celebrate un-birthdays around these parts…it’s a disease I tell you! 😉  We kicked off the weekend with a fun family Friday night doing something I haven’t done in ages…mini golf!  It was SO much fun!  But first we stopped for some of my favorite food…street tacos from the Kogi truck.  They are kind of the pioneers of the food truck craze.  You used to follow them on twitter to find out where they would be and crowds would flock to their location.  Of course, those days have passed and now everyone has a website that tells you where they’ll be ahead of time, but it’s still fun to go and grab a bite and sit down on the curb or in your trunk with a bunch of other people in a random parking lot and eat dinner.  The food is amazing too!

If you haven’t played mini golf in awhile…give it a shot.  It was seriously so fun.  I can’t wait to do it again!

Saturday we spent the day around the house.  The kiddos are really going to miss our neighborhood and so we are trying to give them every opportunity to play until the big move day comes.  They have literally grown up with their best friends on the street.  There is a group of about 12 of them that spend the days and nights playing around the clock.  It reminds me of something out of a movie, literally.  They wake up each weekend, holiday or summer morning to a knock on the door from friends wanting to play, and they play ALL day.  Day games of neighborhood baseball, bike riding, picnic lunches and running back and forth to the park across the street, turn into night games of ultimate hide and go seek, dance parties in the street, impromptu block parties in the pocket park…just fun ALL the time.  We finally call them in around 9pm.  It has been a very unique situation…unlike anything I grew up with, that’s for sure!  There have always been friends around.  It’s something that I am very concerned about with the move that weighs very heavily on my heart.  The neighborhood we are moving into is beautiful, but quiet and a bit removed.  Most of the homes are occupied by empty nesters.  Combine that with the fact that I have kids who practically live outside year round and now we’re moving them to a place where it is either very hot or freezing cold a large percentage of the year and it is going to be a big change to say the least.  SO, needless to say, we are trying to eek out every second of play time before we leave.

I did get in a quick trip to the mall for a birthday shopping trip.  I am treating myself to this .  It is super cute and perfect for trips to the pool, beach and farmer’s market this summer. Plus, it doesn’t break the bank. 🙂  I was debating between that one and , but ultimately I went with the cream…although I am a total sucker for stripes!   were another treat.   I have a different but similar pair I bought last year and got SO many compliments on them…plus they are super comfy.  I am excited about this updated version that will go with everything this summer!

Saturday night, John and I sneaked away for a date night to wander around the cute streets of San Clemente and then have dinner at what might just be my favorite restaurant, Angelina’s.  Tuvalu in San Clemente is moving, which means one thing…SALE!!!  All of their furniture is 50% off because they don’t want to move it, so score one for me!  I am seriously considering this piece for the new dining room…

It’s hard to tell in this crummy picture, but it is navy and I love it.  If you have never been to Tuvalu before, you MUST go!  It is one of my absolute favorite shops.  There is one in Laguna Beach too, so don’t miss it next time you’re in town.  There are so many cute shops along Del Mar in San Clemente, and great food.  Such a fun place for a date night.  If you are visiting from out of town, be sure to hit Tuvalu, Missy’s Party Store and Jill’s Abode.  Grab some dinner at Nick’s (reservations highly recommended) and if you aren’t completely stuffed by the amazing food and butter cake for dessert, swing by South Swell for some killer ice cream. 🙂

After a leisurely stroll around town, we made a quick trip up to Irvine to Angelina’s.  This place has been around for about a year or so and I might frequent it a little too much…as in like they gave us a special card that gives us 10% off each time we visit because of our loyalty. 😉  They have a smaller place right on PCH in Monarch Beach, but the build out is nothing to write home about and the menu is very limited.  The one in Irvine is stunning.  Exceptionally beautiful build out and a killer menu.  Everything about this place is 100% Italian the owner, most of the staff, all the ingredients are imported from Italy weekly, I mean EVERYTHING…including, sometimes, the slow service. 😉  But, I cannot get enough of their delicious pizza, ravioli and caprese salads. Yum!

image via OC Weekly

I highly recommend the Diavola pizza (get it spicy) and the ravioli.  You will not be disappointed!

We couldn’t have asked for better weather.  The warm nights have begun and they are heavenly around here…

Sunday was another beautiful day and I was surprised with breakfast in bed.  French pastries, berries and fresh squeezed juice.  Yum!

We went for a beautiful afternoon walk on one of my favorite trails..the North Beach Trail in San Clemente (we had to work off our pastries! ;))

We thought is was strange the NO ONE was in the water because the beaches were packed.  Then we found out why…

Yikes!  Not only was ONE shark spotted, but they estimated about 25 sharks…some of them great whites, right off of the pier.  WOW!!

After our walk we headed over to our dear friends the who invited me over for a birthday dinner.  So sweet.  I just love these people.  Their house feels like home to me.  It still is one of my favorite projects ever.

Yummy bbq, fun friends and ice cream cake were the perfect ending to a beautiful day.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!  I’m already counting down the days to the long weekend headed our way!

Have a wonderful day friends!

Tammy