ojai

made a quick one night trip to ojai over the holiday weekend. the drive up there was beautiful and we had a good time walking around the quiet town. they are very pet friendly as well, Oscar went everywhere with us.

Ojai on Dwellable

dad's visit : trout meuniere

last monday night my dad and i made wedge salads, fried eggplant, and trout meuniere. i miss cooking with my dad. when we cook together it resembles a well rehearsed dance. we can cook complex dishes with such ease because we move together, knowing exactly what the other needs before they need to ask. my dad has a real passion for cooking that he got from his mother, and has passed on to my sister, ashley, and myself. the best times with my dad include food and cooking.

dad's visit : wine

last weekend my dad came to visit by himself, and we had quality time to do some things that we both love together. the first of these was going on a wine tour ... a first for us both. our tour guide was so great. her name is dee, and her company is Deetours. she was so sweet and picked us up in santa barbara after we had a great breakfast at sambo's and took us to the santa ynez valley. we went to 4 wineries:  

Shoestring  .  Brander  .  Bridlewood  .  Dascomb 

we ate a great lunch outside at Brander with some of their delicious white wine, and snacked on the sweetest strawberries that dee stopped to pick up at her favorite stand on the side of the road. we also got to see a zonkey, a field of marigolds, and taste olive oils and vinegars. [ my new priced possession is a bottle of blood orange vinegar ] we got to see solvang and tried some of their delicious desserts and pastries. we had a great time with the others on the tour and i highly recommend going on a tour with dee. the very best part was just being with my dad and seeing a huge grin on his face ... he has text me multiple time this week after he got back home to tell me he still has that grin on his face. 

see that big grin :)

oc fair

we went to the oc fair, ate some food, walked around, took some great pictures in the photo booth, and saw lots of goats! i love goats!! i want one.

hiking - la brea

photos from our hike yesterday after work.