Monica's Bachelorette Party!

We had my future cousin-in-law, Monica's Bachelorette Party in Huntington Beach over Memorial Day weekend!  My cousin, Nicole, was in town from Wisconsin and all the Bridesmaids and I met up at Monica's family's home and drove to the Pasea Hotel & Spa where we were staying for the evening, which had just opened that weekend!

After checking in, popping some Champagne and exploring around the Hotel and checking out the shopping (also getting the Red Miso Short Rib at Lemonade) we went back to the room to get ready for Dinner.  We went to Sushi on Fire in downtown Huntington Beach and Mama took special care of us!  The food was amazing, the girls were adventurous, and we even drank some sake!  Of course, we had a checklist of Bachelorette Party things that needed to get done before the night was over and there was plenty of success on that!

Monica's Bachelorette Party!

We walked back to the Hotel, drank our complimentary Wine from the Hotel, had some girl talk and got ready for our night on the town!  We ended up going to Hurricane's Bar & Grill, took some shots, got our groove on while out on the dance floor, and had a great time!

Before heading out for the evening in Huntington Beach!

The next day we re-lived the night, shared photos and while searching for a place for breakfast ended up doing IHOP since it was Memorial Day weekend and everything was packed with a waiting list.  I had to get back up to LA since I was going to pick up my new puppy that afternoon!  Nicki was also staying with me in LA for the next couple of days until she flew back to Wisconsin on Wednesday.

The Bachelorette Party was so much fun and it was the first Bachelorette Party I had ever been to which means that any other one is going to have a lot to live up to!  I'm looking forward to hanging with the girls again next week when everyone comes back to California (including all of our family from back in Wisconsin) for the Wedding over the 4th of July weekend.  Congrats to Monica & Tyler...can't wait to celebrate your Wedding soon :)

Lemonade, Sugarfish, Bouchon...

It was a rainy Sunday in LA, really rainy, as in it was down-pouring buckets of water.  Staying dry was impossible but I managed to try three new restaurants that day and found some new favorite spots to take my family to when they're visiting and visit again with friends!

Lunch was at Lemonade in Venice.  It took me nearly 10 minutes to decide what I wanted to eat because there were so many choices.  I finally settled on an Edamame, Snap Pea, Sunflower Sprout Salad, as well as Quinoa, Cauliflower, Mint with Raisin's Curry Salad.  I also got a Caprese Sandwich which kept my meal Vegetarian which I like to do on occasion.  Both the salads were wonderful, but the Quinoa was so flavorful and bright, I was truly impressed with how much I enjoyed it.  The Caprese Sandwich was just ok, slightly disappointing since I had tried my Lunch Date's Green Apple Chicken Curry, which was so creamy and yummy.  Since I had now swapped to meat, I also tried his Red Miso Beef Short Rib, which stopped me in my tracks.  It was so fantastic I actually went up and got my own.  It might be the best Short Ribs I have EVER had.  Bold claim right there!  Lunch wouldn't have been complete without a Lemon Bar which was a perfect compliment to the meal, tart and sweet.  This is definitely one of my new favorite Lunch spots in LA and they are everywhere...YAY!

This is what I call a Food Day in LA!

Dinner was at Sugarfish in Beverly Hills.  I've been hearing about this place for years from friends telling me how great the sushi is and once again I wasn't disappointed.  I met up with Ashley from Bar Lubitsch and after a 45 minute wait, I had built up an appetite after my huge Lunch, and was ready for the 'Trust Me' menu.  For $30 you get an eight-course meal, starting with Edamame, Tuna Sashimi (which was beautiful), Albacore Sushi (which melted in my mouth), Salmon Sushi, Yellowtail Sushi (which is always one of my favorites), Halibut Sushi (which was something that I'd never tried before and was surprised by how much I liked it) and then a Toro Hand Roll and Blue Crab Hand Roll that they graciously cut.  From the freshest fish, to the warm rice, courses and pacing of the meal, everything was amazing.  And it was absolutely worth every penny of that $30.

Dessert and After-Dinner Drinks took place at Bouchon which is also in Beverly Hills.  So we walked outside in the rain to our next spot and took a seat at the bar while Ashley's friend was the Bartender.  She had a Cosmo but since I was prepping for the re-opening of 'Thenardier's Inn' I was doing my usual no drinking before the show.  I ordered a Decaf Espresso and we got a Chocolate Brownie along with their Salted Caramel Macaroons.  I've had a couple Macaroons in my life but nothing like these that were dusted in 24 Carat-Gold.  Now I knew we were in Beverly Hills.  Such a perfect bite and compliment to my Espresso in addition to my fabulous company :)

Talk about a a day of Dining, it certainly was, and a Food Day I will never forget!

Mom's May Visit to LA! Part 1.

My Mom came to visit me almost two weeks ago and stayed with me for a week.  Our time together went too fast as it always does and we were busy nearly every day with something to do.  Lucky for us, that was making dinner together, laying by the pool, having a four-course dinner in Hollywood, and taking walks around the neighborhood!

Mom got in on Wednesday morning so we decided on En Sushi for Happy Hour since Mom and I haven't had Sushi together in a long time.  I had picked out two different kinds of sashimi, two rolls, spicy tuna on crispy rice, and edamame.  We also had a couple of drinks and En Sushi is one of my favorite Sushi Happy Hours to go to because it's such a good price for so much food.  I always leave full!  I was happy to hear Mom say that everything was really delicious and she'd like to do this again sometime!  That night I hosted Karaoke at Gabe's with Mom's help and we had a fun night there with friends and Gummi Bear Shots :)

While Mom was visiting it was in the high 80's and low 90's so we were able to get in pool time on Thursday morning before I had to work at Irish Times that afternoon.  Mom always likes to help me get the bar set-up and I repay her with a little beer tasting of new beers since her last visit.  She came back later so we could have dinner at the bar together too; we had the Guinness Shrimp and Bangers & Mash and also got to try the French Onion Soup, Fried Ravioli, and Grilled Cheese with caramelized onions and bacon.  We've changed our menu at Irish Times and updated it with some new items and elevated some of the older ones and everything I've tried has been really great!  We also stopped at Freddy Smalls to have dessert since they had a Yogurt Panna Cotta with Pinot Noir soaked blueberries and my favorite, Rocky Road dessert that's meringue, a pudding/mousse, with almond cookies, and sea salt.  I wouldn't normally go for Panna Cotta but this is by the best one I've ever had and the Rocky Road always delivers!

Took Mom to Dinner at Amalfi in Hollywood to celebrate Mother's Day early!

On Friday it was another day by the pool after a long walk around the neighborhood and I made my famous Bloody Mary's to sip on during the 90 degree day.  We did a little shopping that afternoon before we went to Dinner at Amalfi in Hollywood.  We had our four-course meal that started with Jumbo Shrimp in a White Wine Sauce (that was awesome) and then Mom chose the Brussel Sprouts Salad which was really good and a nice portion.  Potato Leek Soup is usually my favorite but I wasn't a huge fan of theirs; Irish Times is still number one on their version.  Mom and I planned on splitting our entrees so I chose the Filet with Gratin Potatoes in a Mushroom Demi-Sauce and Mom got the Lobster Ravioli with Shrimp and Asparagus in a Saffron Cream Sauce.  My steak was cooked perfectly and the potatoes were really yummy.  The Ravioli surprised me because I really enjoyed the lobster in it and cream sauce.  For Dessert, we decided on Tiramisu, and it wasn't the best I've ever had but we were both so full it took all I had to finish it!

Sunday Dinner for Mom!

Mom had helped me run lines for the play on Saturday morning since this was her first time being able to see Wizard Of Oz since we had opened three weeks prior.  I felt like it was my best show and performance as I almost lost my voice and was emotionally exhausted from performing that day, my muscles were actually sore.  A bunch of friends came to see the show on Saturday and on Sunday, Mom came to see me play a Munchkin and Citizen of Oz.  Mom even commented that she had no idea I was going to change my voice for the Wicked Witch role since when we had practiced, I did it in my normal voice.  Of course, I couldn't give my great idea away when I wanted to surprise her with it during the show!  That night I made a Quinoa salad, and Salmon Dinner with rice, lemon asparagus, a cheese plate and we had a mini-wine tasting too.

That was just the first few days...we had a trip to Solvang that started on Monday, but I saved that for Part 2 of Mom's week-long visit to LA :)

To see pictures from Dinner at Amalfi or any other photo's from Mom's trip and Wizard of Oz check out my Instagram at: http://instagram.com/lyndseywegner#