Date 10: Que Pasa

On Friday night, Jeremiah and I tried out a new Mexican restaurant in town.
Que Pasa Mexican Grill is so quaintly situated in... well, a gas station parking lot.

Don't let that fool you.

Jeremiah and I met there after work on Friday.
(Note to self: Meeting up for a date can be way more exciting than driving together.
It's fun to let that anticipation set in a bit. :))

I had been ready for a margarita since... well, since Monday.
So I was pleasantly surprised to see that they serve
7 different margaritas, 7 days a week, for $7 each.

I stuck with the beach bum margarita with totally made me feel like I was on vacation!

Pleasant surprise #2?
Creamy jalapeno dip served with the chips + salsa.
Yes, please!

I ordered a simple bean and cheese burrito,
but had it smothered in creamy jalapeno sauce
with cheese and sour cream drizzled on top.

It hit the SPOT.
Okay, really anything would have done that
since I hadn't eaten all day and it was 8:30.
But still, it was delish.

Lesson Learned:
Dinner at the gas station can be tasty AND romantic.

Date 9: Mission Hills Food Tour

For our ninth date, Jeremiah and I tried out a local food tour.
We're all about food touring when we visit other cities,
but what about home?

In case you've never been on a food tour before,
a small group of tourists meet their tour guide at a local shop
and you then spend two to four hours walking the streets
sampling yummy food and hearing about the neighborhood and history.

Compared to tours I've been on in NYC and Seattle,
the San Diego tour was a little light on the history
and instead of sampling eight or nine restaurants,
we took our time in five restaurants,
sitting in the establishment, getting a feel for the ambiance
and ordering a glass of wine or two.

First stop on the tour? Venissimo
This cheese shop nestled in the Mission Hills neighborhood
was by far my favorite stop on the tour.
We sampled five different cheeses outside,
but then went in to shop around and enjoyed at least a dozen more.
Goat cheeses, cow cheeses, chipotle cheese, black truffle cheese,
creamy cheeses, hard cheeses... heaven, really.
Venissimo sells not only cheese wedges, but salami, breads, honeys,
and all sorts of other picnic favorites.
You bet we'll be stopping there this weekend on our way to a picnic with friends.
The second stop on the tour was Cafe Bleu.
There we sampled a delicious shrimp as well as a mini beef wellington. Yummo!!
Cafe Bleu is a cute neighborhood restaurant
with delectable food to match the white table cloth-vibe.
But it's also pretty relaxed.
Would we go back? For sure.
The next stop was RK Sushi.
While we enjoyed these fried pot sticker-lookin things,
I thought it was really strange that we didn't try any sushi
at a place known for its sushi.
The fourth stop was faaaabulous.
We enjoyed a pear ravioli at Olivetto Wine Bar
that tasted more like dessert than dinner.
I've heard the service is hit&miss there, but the food sure wasn't.
The final stop was a place called the Gathering.
Not going to lie, it was a weird night cap.
This San Diego sandwich was a crab sandwich on toasted sourdough with asparagus.
It reminded me more of something you'd have for breakfast after a LONG night,
but it wasn't too bad.
The mud pie for dessert was tasty though.

Overall, pretty fun experience.
We got to try all sorts of little places we probably never would have found.

Plus, we were entertained by the other three couples on our tour.
Two of which were CLEARLY in the early dating stages. :)

Date 8: Fish Boutique Cafe

Okay, so this is random.
Fish Boutique?
I know, right?

This place opened up in the same parking lot
as one of our Trader Joe's
so natch... I added it to the list.

I figured they'd have fish tacos maybe?
Okay, fish tacos are not boutiquey enough.
The decor? Boutique at it's finest. :)

They've got all sorts of fancy fish sandwiches
which Jeremiah (the birthday boy!) was brave enough to try.

Me? I stuck with fish n' chips.
And I must admit,
the fish was super fresh and real yummy.

If they had ranch dressing for their fries,
I might even go there again.

All kidding aside,
it was alright.

And they do have a fish counter
that I might try sometime.

Working for the Weekend

Traveling makes me feel alive.
It doesn't need to be a big trip.
Heck, I still have never really been out of the country.
But Roadtrips, Weekend Getaways,
Island Vacations, New Cities...

It all makes me giddy.

I love airports
and taxis.
City buses and trains.
I like tall buildings.
Hidden parks.
Moving at my own pace.
I love touristy things
and mom and pop's.
I love it all.

Sure, I have dreams to visit Europe
and stay over the water in Tahiti.
I'd love to explore Australia,
bask in the sun of more Caribbean islands,
take in Hong Kong, and Africa...

But for now...

it's a short little weekend trip to the rainy city of San Francisco
that has me smiling ear to ear.
A simple little trip to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday.

but I'm just oh so excited.

Date 7: Company Pub & Kitchen

For our seventh date,
we wanted something close to home
so we decided to check out a new pub
that recently opened up across the street from us.

To be honest,
nothing real grabbed my attention on the menu that night
until I laid eyes on the little sliders.

And the best part?
(Dan, that's for you!)
Each one came with a different delicious sauce:
BBQ, Garlic Aioli and a Chipotle sauce.

Mmm Mmm Good.

Okay, but the for reals best part?
Wednesdays are apparently Poway night
so...
We got 9.2064% off our bill.

Sha-BOOM-your-face.

I love the twinkle lighted porch
and the cozy 'fireplace' inside.
Three gold stars for the interior decorator.

Date 6: Asti Ristorante

As part of our Valentine's Day celebration,
Jeremiah and I tried out a little Italian place downtown called Asti.

I must admit, I had my heart set on
my new favorite gelato bar for dessert
so I thought it fitting
that we base our dinner choice on the Italian theme.

It was just a tiny place,
but it was jam packed with people.
We had reserved an intimate little table
nestled against a gorgeous brick wall back by the bar.

And for the first time in several years
(since finding out I'm disgustingly lactose intolerant),
I ordered a plate full of ravioli.
#heaven

Thank the sweet Lord for life-saving Lactaid.

The food was delicious,
the atmosphere was lovely
and the company... even better. :)

It got me so excited for our trip to Italy this summer.

Today's Pennies

Starting the day with Starbucks
Having very few meetings
(so I had time to deal with the ridiculous PRD issue we had today)
Lunch from a very thoughtful co-worker
The remnants of a weekend sunburn
Texting with long lost friends
Not having to go to the grocery store after work
A good workout, even though I forgot my ear buds
Chatting with my mahjy
The best hug. ever.
A quiet night at home
Watching Alcatraz and thinking... we're going there on Saturday!

Date 5: Poway Sushi Lounge

For my birthday,
(wow, that was over a month ago...),
Jeremiah and I tried out our local sushi lounge.

We wandered in just before Happy Hour ended,
so we sat at the bar, of course, to get the discount.

I'm still not a pro sushi-eater quite yet,
so I stuck with my usual: the crunchy roll.

The sushi was good, but not as good as Sushi Deli.
And not as cheap either.

You just can't beat how close it is,
and the fact that there's NO wait like at the Deli.

Little Letters

Dear Self, stop. breathe. rejuvenate.

Dear Italia, I just can't wait to finally meet you. All this research and planning and pre-booking makes me feel like we've been bffs for life - but we still haven't meant. Counting down the days.

Dear Allergies, you suck. Like real bad.

Dear Kitchen, I can't even remember the last time I made a meal within your walls. It's got to be a week. Whattaya say we rekindle that ol' spark?

Dear Baby Kooker, I'm so excited to celebrate you and your beautiful mommy next week.

Dear Best Friend, I fell in love with you all over again last night. Thank you for being a vivid picture for me of what it means for Jesus to have died on the Cross for us. I am blessed beyond belief to be your wife.

Dear Softball Season, you're the bomb.com for sure. You make my eyes light up and you give me something to look forward to almost every day.

Dear Summer, Please. Soon. I need your warmth. I need a tan. I need freckled lemonade and sand between my toes.

Dear House, you're a mess. I don't know how anyone could live in you right now. Yikes.

Dear Sister, I think you're cool. End of story.

Dear Revenge, Why are you only on every other week? Lame sauce. Fix it.

Dear San Frany, it's been a whole year since I've seen ya. So excited to take you in next weekend.

Dear Friends-who-move-away-after-college, Lame.

Must. Count. Pennies.

2nd-day hair that looks better than the first
(magically after being in a crazy ponytail all-day..)
Groceries in the refrigerator
A good laugh in the morning
Talking about our Win last night
Glasses and Caffeine to keep me awake/alert
A Mid-day walk
Having no after-work-commitments until 7p
Texts from people I love
Getting to go home to my best friend
Friday-eve.

Picking up Pennies

Not feeling tired when my alarm went off this morning
Holding Jeremiah's hand as I kissed him goodbye
Leaving the house ahead of schedule
A jalapeno bagel
Texts from a good friend
Light traffic
The work of Invisible Children
Pay Day!
A productive morning
The anticipation of a softball game this evening

... and then it was lunchtime.

Unexpected Inspiration

... And then there was someone I know from work.

I recently met him
and don't work with him terribly often
But yesterday he said,

"Remember that time we talked about your blog?
What do you blog about anyway?"

And there it was.

The inspiration I had been desperately searching for.

As I explained to him the reason I blog,
I was reminded of the importance of picking up pennies.

And not just picking up pennies when we feel like picking up pennies.
Or picking up the shiny ones and leaving the dull.

But making it a priority to pick up pennies.

Because they get forgotten, because they go unnoticed
because they get trampled on when they aren't picked up
because they have little value when not pooled together
and sometimes for no reason other than
because we are called to.

So here I am.
I'm back.
And I'm picking up my pennies.

Because too many have been swept away unnoticed.

Be a part of this.

True Story

I miss my blog.