LA

In addition to Malibu, Venice Beach and Santa Monica, Keith and I spent a couple of hours in LA on our first day hitting up some of the more touristy spots. We decided that of all of the places we went, LA was our least favorite, but we're open to giving it another chance. Here are some pics from our cruise down Sunset Boulevard...

Malibu/Santa Monica/Venice Beach

Keith and I spent our first morning in California in Malibu.

It was freezing and foggy!

We went to Paradise Cove and had breakfast. According to the US Weekly I read on the plane, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith had breakfast at the same restaurant the week before.

After breakfast we stopped by Pepperdine University, which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy the view.

Our last Malibu stop was the Getty Villa, which houses Greek and Roman antiques.

Seconds after the above photo was taken my Canon Rebel's battery died. Thank goodness for my trusty point and shoot!

Friday afternoon we went to Venice Beach and Santa Monica. In the Venice area, there was a small section with canals, like in Venice, Italy.The boardwalk was full of street performers and sketchy shops.

We also visited the famous pier in Santa Monica and walked along the boardwalk on the beach.

Then we were off to our next destination- Dana Point!

(Between Malibu and Venice Beach/Santa Monica, we went to LA. That post is next!)

3 Years!

It's our anniversary! Keith and I have been married for 3 wonderful, fun and full years! After California, we continued the celebration with dinner at mAmbu on Saturday night. mAmbu is located in an old house on West End and has a great patio.* We had an excellent meal and mAmbu is now one of our new favorites.

*mAmbu is on our dog-friendly list, but we left Darcy at home this time.

California

Keith and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary early with a little getaway to Southern California. Over the course of 4 1/2 days we visited

LA MalibuLaguna Beach Newport Beach
Dana PointLa Jolla
and San Diego

with a few other stops along the way. Despite some delays, a dead camera battery and some chilly, foggy and rainy weather, we had a great time! Of course we took lots of pictures, which I'll share soon!

Darcy welcomes us home...

by shredding my brand new Real Simple magazine.

Easy Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Keith and I were looking for an eggplant recipe one night and thanks to the Whole Foods recipes app*, we came across this keeper. It's yummy and cheap!

Ingredients

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces (about eight)
2 eggs, beaten with a fork
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (sundried tomato or plain)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 (25-ounce) jar pasta sauce (roasted vegetable or any variety)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Method

Preheat oven with a baking sheet inside to 375°F. Coat eggplant slices with beaten egg, then bread with panko crumbs. Spread oil on hot baking sheet and place eggplant slices on it in a single layer. Bake 15 minutes, flip and bake another 10 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 475°F. In an 8 x 10-inch ovenproof dish, layer pasta sauce, then eggplant, and top with cheeses. Repeat, finishing with cheese. Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden in spots, about 15 minutes.

*I highly recommend this app! You can search by ingredients on hand, course, category (make ahead, portable and picnic, entertaining, etc.) and special diets. It's so handy!

Our Week in Review

Despite the fact that our HVAC decided to quit working and the temperature inside our house reached 88 degrees, we did manage to enjoy ourselves a little over the last week. (Thankfully, our HVAC is now in proper working order.)

We got to play with Aimee and Nick's five precious foster puppies.
We celebrated Keith's mom's birthday with a surf-n-turf dinner and homemade carrot cake.
And Ann Claire and Will came over to check out the fireplace renovation and have dinner. They were troopers and braved the heat, but I don't have a picture to prove it. Here's one instead of Ann Claire and me from Will's birthday party in April.We're off to Atlanta this weekend for a long overdue visit with Greg, Kathy and their dog, Elwood. Then we're home for a few days before heading to California for our 3 year anniversary!