We're moved, but not quite settled yet.

I just wanted to make a quick entry because I've been MIA for a few days. I have a lot of beer reviews that I haven't had a chance to blog about, oh, and then we did this little thing called MOVING TO SAN DIEGO on Monday. Wow. It's been exhausting. I don't remember moving being this intensive when we moved to our last place, but that's probably due to the amount of crap that we've accumulated between then and now. Anyway, we pretty much have the bedroom and bathroom unpacked. They just need to be organized a little more. The living room, kitchen and dining area are a different story. It seems like we haven't even made a dent.

The gas company came today and turned on our gas and lit the pilot. So until today, we've been taking cold showers, which isn't too bad after long, hot days of moving and unpacking. We also ordered a new couch today and had a pretty intensive session at Ikea yesterday. I'm pretty excited because we finally have space for a dining table.

Our internet isn't set up yet, so we've been in and out of Lestat's using their wifi.

I'm going to keep this short, because it's about time we get back home to unpack, but I can't wait to blog about the places we've eaten so far, and the awesome little bars out here.
 

Keys.

Lots to tell you about today. I realized that my post from yesterday was mostly about Saturday. Yesterday was mine and Alex's 1 year wedding anniversary! (Awww). We celebrated by seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, which was awesome and made me want a Groot, followed by a nice early dinner. We wanted to keep it on the cheaper end, so what better way than a matinee showing and a Groupon voucher to one of our favorite restaurants?

We got the keys to our new place today. No one really knows (until now) that Alex and I took the risk of signing the lease to our new place without seeing the interior. At all. Not even pictures. I do have a friend that lives in the same building, and she says she loves it, so we trusted her word and went for it. So, basically when we went inside today it was a total surprise, and a good one. We love it. It is so cute and definitely has vintage charm. The neighborhood is great. University Heights is so awesome, and I am super excited that there are so many great bars, restaurants, and coffee shops within walking distance. Here's some pictures:

Bathroom

Our view from our patio.

Bedroom.

Closet.

Part of the living room and entry to the dining area/kitchen (and pensive Alex).

Adorable kitchen. 

So cute!

Can't wait to move in and get it all decorated. I plan to hang lots and lots of art everywhere.

We only spent a couple of hours out there today because we wanted to beat rush hour traffic on the way home. Before we left, we had lunch at Parkhouse Eatery right around the corner from the new place. I am so happy that it will be so close to us because their food is phenomenal, and it's super cute inside.

In good fashion, we stopped and grabbed a couple of brews to celebrate. Alex got one of our go tos, Mother Earth's Cali' Creamin'. I decided to stick with Mother Earth and chose a seasonal beer from their "Four Seasons of Mother Earth" collection, "Summer". This beer is based off of their Imperial Brown Ale, "Por Que No?". Being aged in oak casks that previously held Evan Williams, along with the beautiful label art, I was intrigued. Plus, you can't really go wrong with Mother Earth.

Summer pours reddish brown with a khaki colored head. This beer's aroma is amazing. No, really. I am not sure if there's a better smelling beer. The nose is vanilla, toffee, caramel, toasted almonds, and malt. The first sip of this beer was BAM in your face, deliciousness. You can DEFINITELY taste the oak and bourbon. Good carbonation, and well balanced. I hate to say it, but this beer is a little sweet for my taste. I personally don't think that I would have chosen this brew for the Summer seasonal. The oak and toffee flavors remind me more of a Fall selection.

Close up of the label art.

Mother Earth's Cali' Creamin' is a vanilla cream ale that, in my opinion, is perfect for summer. If you haven't tried this one, you need to. Cali' Creamin' pours golden with about an inch white head. The nose is sweet vanilla, it truly smells like cream soda. It tastes like cream soda too, with a little bit of bitterness in between that balances out the sweetness, and ends with slight vanilla. This beer is smooth and velvety. We keep going back for more.

That's all folks!

Cheers.

I know, I know... I promised I'd post last night, but I actually ended up going out last night with Alex and a couple of friends and stayed out waaaay past my bed time. I'll get to that after I tell you about some awesome beers that we drank yesterday.

We had to be up and out of our unit yesterday morning by 8:00 a.m because our land lord wanted to show it. Alex and I had breakfast in Aliso Viejo at one of our favorite spots, Panini Cafe, that we used to frequent at least once or twice a week, but haven't been to in a while. I think this restaurant chain is only in Orange County and Los Angeles. Anyway, this place has such an awesome menu. Their breakfast is phenomenal as well as their lunch/dinner. You can check out their menu here if you're curious.

After breakfast we hung out at the Barnes & Noble close by. Alex browsed the Sci-fi and History section as usual and I ended up purchasing a really awesome contemporary art magazine called Hi Fructose. This issue is featuring an artist that I have recently grown very fond of named Travis Louie. You should definitely check out his work, and can see some of it on his site. 

"Miss Audrey and her Gnarled Locks" one of my favorites by Travis Louie.

When we went out in The Gaslamp District for my birthday, we went to this awesome bar called The Speakeasy that serves vintage cocktails the old fashioned way. I mean we're talking fresh squeezed juices, adorable bartenders with suspenders that actually chip the ice into your glass. Hands down the best Old Fashioned I've ever had. I mean, it's impressive when a bartender asks if you prefer rye. Why, yes, sir... as a matter of fact I do. Anyway, back on track... I stumbled across this book (see below) all about vintage cocktails and their recipes. I definitely want to have a mini bar at our new place with fresh juices and start a collection of top shelf liquor. Probably mostly whiskey. 

Someone buy me this book.

We still had a little more time to kill so we decided to swing by one of our favorite stores. Total Wine! I believe that they have a better selection of beer than BevMo. A couple of weeks ago, I found a wine there that I had been looking for, but couldn't find anywhere else. Nothing fancy, but I was glad they had it. Alex and I decided to grab a 12 pack of Newcastle's seasonal brew, Werewolf. We found Werewolf a couple of years ago when we did a beer run for a party and were pleasantly surprised by how flavorful and drinkable it was, so it's become one that we looked forward to every Fall. We also allowed ourselves to select a beer each, and we both ended up choosing two Victory Brewing Company brews. I chose the Storm King Imperial Stout and Alex chose the Prima Pils. Oh, I also bought a 50ml bottle of The McCallon 12 year.

Heaven.

I would say it was a good haul.

The Storm King poured very dark, almost black with a good caramel colored head. The smell was hops and some coffee. This beer is 9.1% ABV. The taste was very hoppy, espresso and some dark chocolate. This beer is slightly more carbonated than most stouts, which I enjoyed, but some others prefer less carbonation. The mouth feel starts off bubbly, smooth in the middle and finishes with long bitterness. Overall: I really enjoy this beer.

The Prima Pils poured golden yellow with thin white head. The smell was hops, floral and grassy. It tastes pretty hoppy, but not overwhelmingly bitter, a good balance of malt, a little grassy. This beer is super refreshing, well balanced, and crisp. Perfect for a hot day. Two thumbs up.

After a (long) afternoon nap (yeah, we nap a lot) we ended up going to one of the local Irish Pubs up the street. My best friend came down from L.A and one of Alex's coworkers stopped by too. That bar is usually super mellow and never crowded. Except for last night. For some reason it was filled with cougars on the prowl, dancing to the amazing 90's music that the dj was spinning. Why is there a dj at an Irish Pub? I have no idea, but he played Dee-lite and Ice Cube so he is a-ok in my book. Too many beers and 2 Glenlivet on the rocks later we walked back home, except "back home" turned into us going down to the beach for a while. It's pretty rare these days that I stay up until 3:30 a.m. No nap today though, surprisingly. Ha.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I enjoyed drinking all the beer. If you want me to review a beer or just have a recommendation for me, please leave it in the comments. I promise that I will try your recommendation and do a review. I love to hear what other people enjoy drinking. On another note, we get the keys to our new apartment tomorrow! So look out for that post. Super excited. Cheers.

Learning from mistakes.

If I could sum up today in one word, it would be a tie between "productive" and "sweaty". My goal for the day was to clean the bathroom, pack all toiletries and make-up that aren't needed until we move, and to throw away the random things that I just have not been able to give up over the years. Ladies, you know how it is. Hoarding the 75 bottles, tubes and tubs of lotion and body butter. The one that you got as a Christmas gift three years ago at a random party. I mean, why are we hanging on to Gingerbread scented body lotion anyway? 

So, my bathroom cleaning experience is partially responsible for the title of this post. I solemnly swear to NEVER ever let my shower get that dirty again. I swear I spent two hours and probably two bottles of bathroom cleaner later on my hands and knees making that place spotless. Well, as spotless as I could get it. I moved on to the kitchen and thoroughly cleaned all the counter tops, cupboards, floor and made our stainless steel sink sparkle. Needless to say, I was a hot, sweaty mess by the time I was done with both rooms. Who was a crazy person who decided that air conditioner is not necessary when you live by the beach? Ha.

Here I am glistening with joy.... salty joy.

A couple of years ago, Alex bought me a big pot of succulents. I am not a good plant mother, so over time a few of them died, the aloe vera grew out of control, and there were just a couple of different plants still living and worth keeping. So, I bought some cute little planters at the dollar store today and transplanted them so that I can take them with me to our new place. 

Cute little succulents.

Once Alex got home, we may or may not have taken a quick nap, then had to get back to work. We packed some more items, and then took on the monumental task of cleaning under the bed. Basically, imagine a basement. Where you store all the random crap that you think you need and/or will use again one day, but haven't thought about or touched in the three years that you've lived here. Anyway, I will spare you some minor details, but to sum up the under-bed-basement, there was enough of my hair compiled under there that you could make an adolescent Wookie. This is the other task responsible for the title of this post. Basically, I made a vow to myself to keep up on my household chores. No matter how lazy I feel.

For dinner we had a pizza from Trader Joe's, with Sriracha of course.... and with beer... of course.

 There's that coffee milk stout again.

On our way to take out some of the trash, we ran into our landlord who is now in town from Colorado. We didn't expect him until tomorrow morning, but I guess he decided to rent our place to one of the dudes that lives in our building. So, that's good news.

We probably finished up for the day around 9 p.m. After a long day of cleaning and organizing, it was time to relax with a much-deserved Longfin Lager by Ballast Point. 

Cheers!

And now, here I am sitting in bed, finishing off the night with a taste of Singleton Single Malt 12 year.

Tell me what your favorite beer and/or whiskey is in the comments. I would love to hear your opinions and recommendations.

 

"The time has come", the walrus said...

I’m sitting here saying my goodbyes to patients and coworkers on my last day of work. This is definitely bittersweet. I have learned so much here in the past three and a half years; The surroundings have become my second home, and the people, my second family.

---

I got caught up finishing up some work and had to put off finishing this post until tonight. So, I'll catch you up and what has happened throughout the day. Including, bittersweet good-byes to coworkers and beloved patients, having dinner with Shelly (who you will learn about later on in this post), coming home, cracking open a beer and getting right to packing.
I was overwhelmed by how many of our patients were genuinely sad to see me go. I gave my notice to my boss, the dentist, back in May or June when my husband, Alex, officially got accepted into the school he applied for. At that point, we still weren't sure exactly when he would be starting because the classes start randomly. We expected it would be December/January. A couple of weeks after I gave notice, Alex was told that he would be starting school in October. Much earlier than we had anticipated.
Anyway, today was the day. After being the face of the office for three and a half years, I had to say goodbye. The doctor treated us all to Mexican food for lunch If you know me, you know that burritos are my religion. The rest of the day went fast. I said my goodbyes, but tried not to be too sad because I know we will keep in touch.
Throughout my time at the office, I became extremely close with Shelly, the dental assistant. Words cannot describe this woman. I will try though. She is the most patient, loving, positive, motivational, loving, non-judmental, warm person that I have and ever will meet. She has been a true inspiration to me. She is the type of person who will listen to you when you're sad, happy, angry, and always know exactly the right thing to say, and the best advice to give. She has truly changed my life. Ever since I moved to Orange County, I never really made many new friends, but I am so lucky to have met Shelly. Her and I regularly had lunch together and would talk about anything from work to politics to everyday things. We also trained together doing the Couch 2 5K program and ran a 5K last December (and I really could not have done it without her). Basically, Shelly is awesome. Shelly also gave me this super awesome candelabra as a going away/house warming gift because she knows how much I like Halloween (all year 'round).

Once I got home, my husband and I celebrated my last day with a coffee milk stout from Stone Brewing Co. For the past few days we have been sipping on this beer while we pack and organize our things. Possibly even when we're not packing our things. Okay, fine. It all started when I had to have an ingrown toenail removed on Monday. What better to sooth the pain and emotional trauma than a delicious, dark brew.

Needless to say it's delicious.

Our landlord wants to show our current place to prospective renters on Saturday morning, so we have to kick ass to get the place in presentable condition (aka: I need to deep clean the bathroom tomorrow and throw out all the crap I've hoarded). We get the keys to our new place on Monday, which I will definitely be posting about that evening. To conclude this post, I will leave you with my "happily unemployed face".

Cheers!