Shaz by the Sea

Jim and I have officially moved across the country! What a trip.  We flew out on Sunday to make sure we had an enjoyable weekend in LA before we left the amazing weather. We decided to stay at a hotel on the strand, so we could enjoy the people watching and the sunset. Here I am popping some champagne (for Jimbo) to celebrate the big move! The weather was absolutely gorgeous for our last weekend in LA - we couldn't have been any luckier. This is a shot of Hermosa pier.  We witnessed some very interesting people on the strand. We had such a blast.We then spent the day on Saturday hanging on the beach with some friends, and Jim was able to play volleyball for a little bit. It was a great day. On Saturday night, we moved to a different hotel in Redondo Beach. There were tons of weddings going on down there. It was gorgeous - one of the most amazing sunsets we've seen! The sunrise in the morning was absolutely stunning. As I mentioned in my face...

Last Sunday, we had a celebratory brunch in the marina for Jimbo. He finished the bar exam and we needed to seriously celebrate. One of his only requests was to head over to Shanghai Reds (now renamed Whiskey Reds) to have bottomless mimosa/champagne buffet brunch.  Now, I've blogged about this place before, but it's awesome if you want to eat nonstop and drink TONS of champagne. Here we are indoors, since it was kind of rainy outside. Rocko was the first to arrive...then we had a few more peeps show up. It was such a great day. Jim and Shaz (me drinking strictly OJ of course) Collin and Sarah :) Patrick and Nicole :) Jim's chocolate cake The big group, post stuffing our faces... After we ate and drank a bit, we noticed it was absolutely beautiful outside, so we decided to sit on the patio and enjoy some vitamin d (and more champagne). Here's a decent belly shot -- I am quite massive these days. The weather was reall...

Who doesn't love a homemade peanut butter cookie? As you may recall, I am not typically a big baker, but as I was reading a few of my fav blogs this morning, I noticed that Jenna (the blogger of Eat Live Run) posted a yummy sounding PB cookie recipe. Coincidentally, she is also pregnant with [one] baby boy. I checked out the list of ingredients, the prep and the process...and figured I would go for it. Here is where I do most of my blogging...on our 52" TV in the living room. Jim takes over the office, so this is what I get to use.   I started out with two baking sheets, parchment paper and all the ingredients. In case you can't see the list in the picture above, I listed out the ingredients below.   Ingredients: 1 stick unsalted butter, softened 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed 3/4 cup peanut butter 1 cup bread flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla   Jim wanted to help, so here's a shot of him ...

Yesterday I wanted to venture into the Marina and take pictures of all the boats and scenery. I didn't really feel up to it, so I walked over there today instead. Jimmy helped me map out my walk when I got back -- almost 2 and 1/2 miles!   I started off the day with this bran muffin and a hearty protein shake.    I began walking down Maxella Ave, which has the "new" Marina Marketplace (it's not really new anymore) and it's awesome to walk to the Yardhouse, Equinox, Pier 1 and other restaurants/stores. They are also putting in a Ruth's Chris retaurant soon.   I soon reached the bike path which travels along the marina. You could either go right and head north up to the Venice pier, which we've done tons of times to go to Cabo or you can go left and bike down to Playa and/or the Southbay. Both are fun options. I opted to head south.   And I walked along this "Marina Walk Promenade"...   It was a beautiful morn...

I had a pretty lazy day today. I felt real tired and a little uncomfortable. I am fortunate to have had today off, and now the weekend is ahead. Good news is, this is the LAST weekend Jim has to study before he takes the CA Bar Exam on Tuesday. It's a three day exam -- so I am dropping him off at his hotel on Sunday and will pick him up on Thursday when he's finished. Here's how his last three months of studying have looked (and the three and a half years of law school before that). Good luck, Jimbo!!!!   And this is what I do to keep myself entertained while he studies....   I also took a picture of the high rises in the Marina, this is pretty much what we look at from our condo. Sweet view.   I started craving some chicken wings in the early afternoon, so per usual, we walked over to the grocery store and grabbed some chicken wings, milk, bread and deli meats so I could make Jim a few sandwiches for next week. He literally cann...