{DISCLOSURE: My family and I were guests of SeaWorld San Diego and were given a VIP tour of their amazing new attractions. All opinions that follow are my own.} We start making our Summer Bucket List around this time each year. The days are already growing longer and warmer and we usually like to do more than just the regular beach days. Enter ...
travel
The Wonder That Is Sea World
{DISCLOSURE: My family and I were guests of SeaWorld San Diego and were given a VIP tour for one amazing day. All opinions that follow are my own.} I had forgotten. Just over an hour's drive from our home lies beautiful SeaWorld San Diego. It has been so many years since we'd taken our kids to SeaWorld that I had forgotten the beauty and the ...
Strange Magic at Skywalker Ranch #StrangeMagicEvent
There are places in this world that are legendary to us über-nerds. Skywalker Ranch, located 40 minutes north of San Francisco is one of those places. Earlier this week I was privileged to visit the fabled home of Lucasfilm's amazing postproduction facility, Skywalker Sound and tour the ranch itself. I was invited along with 24 other ...
The LEGO Movie Experience at Legoland. Yes, we did.
My son, Jonathan is 18 years old. He's not your typical high school senior in that he's been homeschooled since the first grade. He's got a ton of friends and pretty much does your typical teen guy stuff. It was my delight to take Jon with me when I was invited to Legoland® for the day to preview The LEGO® Movie Experience. I was ...
We’re. On. Vacation.
Every year we look forward to our week down in the beach town of Del Mar, California. It's about an hour south of where we live. What a difference that hour south makes. We've been coming here to this same beach house in Del Mar for the past 4 years and it always manages to feel both fresh and familiar. Unpacking and cooking is easy. I ...
It started with the meltdown in Tribeca…
[WARNING: Brutally honest sharing ahead. Proceed at your own risk. You've been warned.] I so didn't want to blog about this. I over-share enough as it is. But in the interest of "keeping it real," I'm going to go ahead and tell you what happened... Remember when I told you I that Plantar Fasciitis is a Big Jerk? Well, I ...
My (Accidentally Cool) NYC Foodie Tour
Warning: Lots of fabulous food photos and details of my Foodie trip to NYC. Proceed at your own risk. My plan was to arrive in New York, get to my hotel and maybe explore a little bit of the Tribeca area where I was staying before my Cooking Pastelitos for 100 gig on Sunday. I was traveling alone, which doesn't bother me. It was just the ...
Pastelitos de Guayaba. For 100.
When I agreed to go to New York City to bake pastelitos de guayaba* for the Cuban Cultural Center of New York's (Centro Cultural Cubano de Nueva York) 12th Annual Congress, I was not quite sure what I'd gotten myself into. *Pastelitos de Guayaba. n. A Cuban pastry made with a delicate flaky crust and a filling of guava and sometimes ...
The Circle of Life
Some (very simplified, don't judge me) Cuban History for today: In 1902, a bloody war had been fought between Cuba and Spain for Cuba's independence. The Cuban's won. It was quite a crushing defeat for the Spanish. They never quite recovered from it. The president of the United States at that time was Theodore Roosevelt who had ...
3:05 Cafecito break in the 305 (area code)
I just got back from a fabulous trip to South Florida (more about this later). One of the biggest draws for me when I am visiting Miami (Area Code 305), besides visiting family and enjoying the mostly perfect beach weather is, of course, the Cuban food. Bistec de palomilla, moros y cristianos, maduros (you could die from such beauty): I had this ...
The Neon Boneyard Adventure
Eric and I just got back from a really fun getaway to Las Vegas. As you know, we go to Vegas a few times a year (because we can, and because my very favorite childhood hearthrob lives very close to there. *sigh*). And we pretty much know the place by heart. We have seen lots of great shows there and stayed at some of the best hotels. My big, ...
Ten years later. I will never forget.
Ten years ago at the end of September of 2011, my daughter and Amy went to New York City. We were there exactly two weeks after Muslim jihadists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center buildings and left a gaping hole in the New York skyline and in our collective American consciousness. The wreckage was still smoldering and burning and the ...
Da life.
We just returned from an amazing cruise vacation in the Caribbean. And while our bodies are physically back home, our brains are still here: Me & Eric in Barbados. (I think he looks like a mad scientist in his swim goggles, but that's not important right now.) I swear, I haven't got one original thought in my head right now. ...
The Summer House
My friend, Jana blogs over at The Summer House. It's called the Summer House because she loves the simplicity of living in a summer beach rental-type atmosphere where everything is clean, decluttered, and ready for fun. She lives out her philosophy of simple living beautifully. And I'm always impressed and inspired by ...
Cooking With the Troops or Meet Team Cubanaso
I have spent the last three days thinking about what I want to say about our experience in San Antonio and Cooking With the Troops. My family has talked and talked and rehashed almost every detail of our weekend, multiple times. And I'm still at a loss for words to describe all that we experienced. I'm just going to post lots of photos ...
The Hawk Walk
Last Sunday was Eric's birthday. And rather than add more stuff that-he-doesn't-need-or-want to his life, I had asked him if there was anything that he had always wanted to do, but had not taken the time. "I've always wanted to see how hawks are trained," he said. *quickly Googles hawk training* There's a place in Marysville called West Coast ...
