Obsessed: Studio @ The Montage Laguna Beach

So I am SERIOUSLY obsessed this week with my meal from The Montage's Studio restaurant that I had two weekends ago. My Uncle celebrated his 70th birthday with family and friends with an amazing evening at Studio. The evening started with cocktails and passed apps outside the restaurant at the fire pit overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Sunset. It doesn't get more gorgeous. A few cute pics of the family below.

The view was gorgeous despite the overcast weather.

My mom and her brother, the birthday boy.

My cousin, like a brother, and me.

Once inside we sat down for an amazing meal. The appetizers were just the warm up. As one person described the food "it is like an explosion in my mouth." The one item I cannot get out of my head is something that I normally would not order, Turbot (a type of fish) with mussel ravioli - WOW! If you ever have a chance, go to the restaurant and eat. Enjoy the food and the view. It is expensive but worth ever penny.

The garden outside the restaurant was not only neat and tidy but chalk full of amazing veggies. 

And to leave you wanting more, a gorgeous photo of the Turbo. Melts in your mouth.

Hot Spots: Annenberg Community Beach House

I love the Annenberg Community Beach House. 

415 Pacific Coast Highway

Santa Monica, CA 90402
Tel: 310-458-4904  

I like to plan play dates at the pool and beach. My family enjoys arriving early around 9:30a to get your arm bands for the pool. Then we play in the sand until the pool opens at 10a. We spend about 45min swimming in the pool before we are ready for morning snacks. usually consumed at the pool. Then we pack up and head to the beach for play time in the sand and ocean before we have lunch and head home. Every time we visit I am reminded of how beautiful Southern California is and how great the weather is here.

Fun Kids Project: Homemade Gak

Gak is an amazing product. The texture is confusing and exciting to everyone. It is slimy but not sticky. I recently made gak for my son and afterwards realized how easy it was so I decided to let him make it himself. We made gak at a playdate and it was a hit. My son's friend thought this was the coolest play date. I found the recipe here: http://lilluna.com/homemade-gak-recipe/. I also love her Gak Gift tutorial here: http://lilluna.com/gak-gift/. I am planning to do this for a few play dates we have soon. Such a cute gift idea and soooo cheap.

Obsessed: Pools

I am obsessed with getting a pool in my backyard. This is probably never going to happen, but with Pinterest, I can dream. I love a long and skinny modern pool with a hot tub at one end a beach entry (on some days) on the other end. You can follow my obsession on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/aedepp/backyard/). Below are a few of my favorites.

 http://minimalisthomedezine.blogspot.com/2011/05/private-swimming-pool-design-modern.html

 

http://www.architizer.com/en_us/projects/pictures/la-boyita/36107/312173/

DIY Stamped Ice Cream Spoons

I am so excited to share with you these adorable ice cream spoons I stamped. I am obsessed with Sucre Shop (http://www.sucreshop.com/) but wanted to do a bit of crafting. So I bought plain spoons from Sweet Party Shop on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpartyshop) and got started.

 

My color inspiration was from the AndersRuff FREE Welcome Summer printables (you can download here: http://www.andersruff.com/custom-printable-parties/diy/ruff-draft-welcome-summer-and-free-printables/) . I am creating these sweet packages for my son's teachers as an end of summer gift. 

 Since I had these pens and the chevron stamp from a previous project, I decided to use them here. I wasn't sure if the stamp would hold onto the wooden spoon, but as you can see it did perfectly.

 

I picked up some ice cream stamps at Michaels to add to the theme.

 

I just colored onto the stamp. It was so simple. 

 

Once the stamp had all the right colors, I placed it on the spoon handle and rolled it to get the best color result.

Obsessed: Sharpies

So this is an old and new obsession. I have been obsessed with Sharpies forever but with Pinterest I feel like I have refound my love for this pen. Sharpies can literally be used on everything. My latest obsession - a brown sharpie to color away the grey in a pinch. :)

 

Very cool art project for kids. 

 

Fabric pens that I have not yet used but look amazing.

 

A look I am familiar with as a young adult but not yet as a mom, thank goodness.

 

Not sure I will ever try this but love the concept.

 

Never thought about pumpkin decorating but love the idea. Perhaps I will try.

Fisher Price House Party Play Date

Many moons ago I hosted a Fisher Price House Party (www.houseparty.com) and the kids and parents had a blast. House Party is an amazing company that brings together advertisers and consumers to try products and talk about them to their friends, families and followers. The Fisher Price party was amazing. Fisher Price sent me the grill table, all of the food items, a princess castle and a race car track. I set up everything in the backyard, added snacks and kids and the party was ready to go. The kids and moms enjoyed playing tea party as well as watching the cars zoom down the ramp. The baking elements still get used often as my son and his friends love to set up a bake shop.