Weekend Fun...

On Friday night my husband and I tried out a new local restaurant. Ok let me lay this out, we live in South Orange County in California. It's a great place to raise a family with good schools and relatively safe neighborhoods, but everything is in strip malls and not many hip places to venture out to. Then again we're parents of two little kids so we don't go out much anyways.

So on Friday night we headed out to try Bru Grill and Market. We were excited to try it because we've been hearing some good things about this place. It recently opened it's doors at the end of 2011 and it looked pretty interesting from the outside. The executive chef was the former executive chef at The Pelican Grill located in the exclusive Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Coast. I was fortunate enough to eat at The Pelican Grill several times for work lunches and the truffle mac and cheese is to die for! So I was super eager to try Bru.

With the name Bru of course we knew it served craft beers. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but my husband and I did a beer tasting for $10. We got to choose six different types of beers and they came in these little beer shot glasses. I don't remember all of them but I did like the Hefeweizen the best. With our beer tasting we ordered two appitizers. We tried the garlic fries and the twice baked potato fondue. OMG it was delicious!! It's a baked potato slightly hollowed out then filled with cheese fondue then toped with grilled melted cheese and bacon bits....heaven!


Twice Baked Fondue at Bru Grill and Market

 After we devoured this little puppy and finished our beer tasting, my husband ordered a large Hefeweizen and I ordered a Lambic peach beer. I asked the waitress if they had any desserts and she said "Yes"! with a big smile and I told her to bring me out whatever she recommends. All of a sudden out came these heavenly donut holes with three different dipping sauces - chocolate, creme anglase and grape jelly. The ladies sitting near us watched the waiter bring our desssert with their mouths opened hitting the bar table. They were so intrigued that they asked if they could take a picture. I said "Go for it! But don't ask for a bite'! I was playing of course but yet totally serious.  



Powder, Cinnamon and Chocolate donut holes with chocolate, creme anglase and grape jelly dipping sauces

Then on Saturday morning my son had his first t-ball game. I'm not sure who was more excited me or him! It was so cute seeing all the boys dressed in their baseball gear. They looked adorable! Not to mention we had alot of laughs watching them run to the wrong bases and falling over each other trying to catch the ball. It was a fun day!





Way to go team Angels!!

I love my little guy!



Had to include a pic of  Miss Thing applying her lip gloss representing her brothers team!

Viola Davis...

Now I have not read the book The Help but I've seen the movie twice and I L-O-V-E-D it!! Now I really need to read the book. I'm kind of weird...I always watch the movie first then read the books...I know I'm one of those weird ones.

I am now totally intrigued with Viola Davis. I love being inspired by individuals who have struggled and worked so hard getting to where they are now in life. I saw an interview that Viola Davis had with Oprah Winfrey last week in Oprah's Oscar Special. Everything Viola said in that interview spoke to me. In one point in her interview she talked about how she suffered from low self esteem for years and how anybody can just come in and say something to her and knock her off whatever little pedestal she was on. I think we've all suffered from some sort of low self esteem and/or insecurities and I feel that I have suffered from this for years. One of the things she says in that interview is, "We are on this earth for a dash of time and I don't have time staying up at night worrying about someone who doens't love me says about me". I know your thinking Duh Eileen! And of course I've been taught this by my mother growing up and have heard it many years from my husband, but it was the way she said it, so simple and yet so totally true. As I'm approaching 40 years old I've been doing alot of reflection and learning so much about myself, but that will have to be another blog...this is about Viola Davis! I'm rooting for her to win the Best Actress Award at the Oscars on Sunday February 26!! She was awesome! Below is a video of Viola talking about her low self esteem and what she went through to overcome it - Love it!!

(Video courtesy of Oprah.com)

Target Cosmetics...

First of all I think I'm Targets #1 customer. My husband gets so frustrated with me when I say I'm heading to Target real quick....yeah right! I come home 2 hours later. Today during lunch I had to run over to Target to pick up a few things. I only made it to the cosmetic area and after what only seemed a few minutes a whole hour went by and I had to head back to the office...bummer! But I was happy that I was able to leave with a few little goodies!

1. Loreal Visible Lift - I love this cause it has a built in foundation brush and has an SPF 17. Let's face it I'm getting older so anything with a good SPF is #1 in my books.

2. Elf Blush, Elf Concealer and Elf Foundation Brush - Anything that cost $1-$3 is going on the #1 list. The Elf Blush was $3. I've used several of the Elf blushes before and they've been good so far. Granted it's not MAC but for $3 I'll take it! The concealer was $1! Hello! I've never used their concealers before but heck for $1....you get the idea. The same with the foundation brush which was only $3. Now I know I just got the Loreal foundation with the built in brush but it's always good to have another one handy.

3. NYC Cheek Glow in Riverside Rose - Now I bought this for no specific reason other then it was on clearance for $1.37. I tried it on my hand when I got back into the office and it's not very vibrant. But who knows it may work out for me when I may need it.

What's your favorite drug store or Target cosmetic?

Happy Valentines Day...

Hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day today! My husband and I normally celebrate on a different day to avoid the crowds but tonight we'll have a fun time celebrating with our kids.

I remember when I was single me and my girlfriends made an effort to celebrate amongst ourselves by going out to eat and I think I ordered myself a dozen roses and had them shipped to my office. I told my co-workers they were from a secret admirer! LOL!

What is everyone doing tonight? Hope everyone has a fabulous day either way!

Button Earrings...

A very sweet woman in my office gave me a pair of button earrings she purchased from a thrift store. First of all I love any kind of jewelry and I thought it was so very sweet and kind of her to just give me these earrings. The earrings look antique with a purple stone with a silver filigree surrounding the stone...very pretty!

I've had the earrings for quite awhile now and this morning as I was getting dressed I noticed they matched my purple blouse perfectly. I was excited to put them on! Look how cute!

Of course today I noticed so many images of women wearing button earrings! Now I admit I haven't worn button earrings for quite awhile now, but I think they are making a stylish comeback. Check it out...

House of Harlow 1960 Sunburst Button Earrings, Nordstron $30

ABS by Allen Schwartz Jewelry Shell-Shaped Button Earrings, Saks Fifth Avenue $25

Fierce!

Adele...

I think I listened to Adele's 21 CD about a million times. It was the #1 CD in my CD player in my car! I think I know all songs by heart! HAHA!! I wasn't surprised that she won six Grammy's this past Sunday. Her voice is amazing!! I love you Adele!!

As she was singing last night I thought she had the best countouring makeup! She looked and sang beautifully!

(Photo courtesy of thehollywoodgossip.com)

Whitney...

Of course the big news this weekend was the passing of the incomparable Whitney Houston. We all read tabloid headlines and saw on TV that she had struggled with some demons, but there will never be another voice nor talent such as hers.
I remember belting out her songs in the car when they would come on the radio. I watched her videos and sang in the mirror with my hair brush. She is a part of my upbringing and her music will live in my heart forever.

(Photo courtesy of weheartit.com)

RIP Ms. Whitney Houston! You will be missed!

Mucho Mustachio...

I came across this cool app for my iPhone - Stachmatic. It's a fun app where you can put mustaches on faces in your pictures you take with your phone. Look how cute my son and daughter look! Haha!

Marilyn...

Has anybody seen Smash? I totally loved it! If your a fan of musicals you will love it. Plus my city at heart is New York so this show is right up my alley!

I came across this beautiful picture of Marilyn Monroe, and after watching Smash I'm enamored of her legacy. Doesn't she look effortlessly beautiful. She's not all made up, just enjoying her drink on what looks like a beautiful afternoon in the Hollywood Hills. And I might add her orange blouse with the orange lipstick...stunning!

Happy Birthday Sofia...

My daughter turned 2 yrs old last Saturday and we threw her a fabulous Olivia the Pig birthday party. Now I tend to go over board when throwing parties for my kids but I can't help it. Kids birthday parties are my version of Super Bowl parties! I love being crafty and creative and everything I put together is on a budget....let's just say I scour the dollar stores!

Even though the party was fun and everyone had a good time, I can't believe my baby turned 2!! makes me a little sad that my kids are getting older....because this means I'm getting older! Haha! Below are some pics of the party....