Category: Fun Days

An Amazing Evening in Food and Wine!

Last night was an amazing experience. We were fortunate enough to be invited to a very special dinner at our dear friends, Brittany & Wade’s house. Wade is a self-taught gourmet chef – no kidding – and he prepared a SIX COURSE DINNER (his “Summer Tasting Menu”) for us. To add even more amazement, Wade’s friend, Reid (also a serious expert), paired six different wines for each course.

We cannot even relay how incredible this was! Everything from the presentation to the sophisticated flavors were just top-notch. No detail was left unattended to – Brittany has great taste and she had the table set beautifully with gorgeous placemats made of exotic feathers, pretty ribbons tying up the silverware, and cool chandelier plates. It was truly a collaborative, creative & artistic evening!



Perfect ambiance. They even printed menus!

First course: Mozzarella Caprese
Heirloom Tomatoes with fresh Buffalo Mozzarella & organic Basil.
Paired with Roderer Estate Brut Rose

Unfortunately, we completely spaced and did not get a picture of this course. :(

Second Course: Gazpacho Cucumber Colonnades and Bruschetta

Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup topped with Basil Cream.
Paired with 2006 Anselmi Soave “San Vincento”

Check out that presentation!

Third Course: Lil’ Caesar

Baby Romaine, Anchovy Fillet and Aged-Parmesan-Reggiano Crisp
Paired with 2005 Cuvee “La Jouline” Sancerre

Wade’s such a pro that the beautifully crafted Parmesan crisp on top is even handmade!

Fourth Course: Halibut and Crab Turett

Halibut, Snow Crab claw, Roasted Fennel with Red Bell Pepper Sauce over Quinoa.
Paired with 2006 Francois Chidaine Montlouis Sur Loire “Les Tuffeaux”

This was INCREDIBLE. Carrie’s favorite dish of the night (although it was difficult to choose!). The Snow Crab claw on top was awesome, and that wonderful handmade Red Pepper sauce was all made by Wade, from scratch!

Fifth Course: Olive Oil Poached Salmon with Citrus

Citrus-marinated Salmon with Confit of Navel Oranges, Caviar and Pea Shoot Coulis.
Paired with 2005 Georges Dubeuf Fleurie Beaujolias

Also phenomenal. Wade gets his sushi-grade fish fresh at the Sunday Farmers Market at the Long Beach Marina. This salmon melted in your mouth. We regret not taking a photo after he personally served his handmade pea shoot coulis around it. The colors in this dish were beautiful – the bold color of the salmon, bright citrus beneath and a green pea sauce made it fantastic to look at.

Sixth Course: Peach Sorbet

Served in halved Orange
Paired with 2003 Royal Tokaji.

Perfect way to end the evening!

We were extremely happy guests!

Our wonderful and talented hosts.
Thank you-Thank you-Thank you, Brittany & Wade!!!

Reid and Hilary – Reid was the genius behind the INCREDIBLE wine pairing. We are inspired and hope to learn much more from him.

Mmmm…mmm…Canter’s.

It’s been way too long since we’ve been to Canter’s Deli on Fairfax, but when Carrie’s mom requested lunch there for a post-Mother’s Day celebration, we were all over it. Happy belated Mother’s Day, Mom!



Fun Canter’s facts:

  • Over 4,900 lbs of Pastrami are sold per month.
  • There are 1,500 gallons of Chicken Soup made per week.
  • 4,000 Knishes are baked per week.
  • Seating capacity is 465 people.
  • Canter’s Delicatessen is 14,000 sq ft, making it one of the largest delicatessens in the country.


An homage to Canters, one of our favorite time warps:




So SMART!

One of the biggest (and most favorite) perks of Ed’s job is his opportunity to bring home lots of different cars to test and drive. He has long anticipated the arrival of Smart cars in the U.S. and FINALLY – he got to bring one home yesterday to test! Carrie has always been terrified of the idea of him driving around in one – afterall, we live near Orange County, motherland to the SUV. It’s not too tough to imagine him being plowed by a giant Expedition on the road! Fortunately, we found it wasn’t quite as scary as she thought it to be, and we had a lot of fun driving it around.


It’s almost comical to see how short it is. You can fit two Smarts in one space!



Big bonus points for the groovy interior. (Ed’s fave color is orange, how much more perfect could it be?)



We each got a chance to drive it!



At home in it’s urban environment!

We got so much attention driving it – there were lots of stares and “What the …???” as we drove by folks on the road! It definitely seems as though it’s from another planet.

Overall, Ed’s review is that it’s definitely not a car for everyone – it’s a little too quirky to drive (tiny size, jerky transmission, really slow), and it just won’t do if you ever need to carry people or cargo. However, because of its very clever packaging and use of space, it feels very large inside – there is tons of headroom and legroom, and the seats are actually staggered to maximize shoulder room in this very narrow car. But as a fashion statement, the Smart can’t be beat!

The Michigan Cousins Meet Los Angeles

This week, Carrie’s cousins Parisa & Sahra came to visit during their spring break. We had an awesome time hanging out, and we had to show them Los Angeles as best we could.

We started things out first with a trip to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills for adorably delicious cupcakes. What’s more LA than paying $4 for a cupcake?

Next, we drove down Rodeo Drive to see the bling in person, and then stopped by The Standard Hollywood (one of our favorite spots) for lunch.

We decided to work off the treats with a lengthy shopping session on Melrose for some cool LA shopping, and then of course we had to hit up Grauman’s Chinese Theatre for the touristy stuff!

But … the highlight for ALL of the girls definitely was hitting up Kat Von D’s tattoo shop, High Voltage Tattoo, which is the shop on TLC’s famous TV show, L.A. Ink!



We all were pretty starstruck at the shop, despite the fact that no one on the show was actually working there that day. The shop also seemed a lot smaller in person! We did spot Kat’s sister, but that was about it. No ink for any of us, but we still left happy – Carrie & Sahra bought T-shirts and of course, we got many cheesy pics out front!

All in all, it was a good week, and we’ll be sad to see them go tomorrow. Our last hurrah tonight was at Pinkberry, for stylish frozen yogurt! Good times!

The LOST Party at our very own Long Beach Hatch

We hosted a birthday party for our dear friend Danna last night. She wanted to have a LOST themed party, and for those of you who know about the show on ABC, all of these pictures will make sense!

The party was a huge success. We all tried to come dressed as characters from the show (as best as we could, atleast!) and Danna & Jarod went the extra mile by making tons of labels for all of the food and drink, just like the Dharma Initiative packaging on the show. We did improvise on a few by placing the Queen Mary in the symbol, to signify a Long Beach “hatch”. Jarod even found a screen saver that we hooked up that would beep every 108 minutes and wouldn’t stop until you punched in the numbers. Very over the top, but very fun.

Here are a few highlights (again, our apologies if you aren’t familiar with the show!):


This is the stocked fridge, after we finished labeling everything.


More food and drink.


These chocolates were probably the most impressive.
Notice the barcode even has “the numbers”!

We decided to dress up as Charlie & Claire for the party. Claire was EXTREMELY pregnant on the show, and Carrie was going for the ridiculous factor. Charlie was a blonde british rock star on the show, which was also pretty ridiculous for Ed to pull off. We think we were a hit atleast.

A sight you never see – Carrie & Ed are both sans glasses and wearing contacts!

The fake pregnancy and the tape Charlie always wore on this fingers in the show.

Danna and Jarod were Danielle & Desmond. Danielle is a mysterious French woman who has been on the island for 16 years. Desmond crashed on the island and got stuck in the hatch pushing the button every 108 minutes.


Even Mike came as Sayid, the very resourceful ex-Iraqi military brain.


Hopefully all of you out there don’t think we’re completely insane. But if you haven’t seen the show – you can catch up. All 3 seasons are now available on DVD! Even our parents watch this show – it’s brilliant!