Lovely Adventures: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

{entering hogsmeade}

{roller coaster}

{fake owls perched on beams inside an open pavillion}

{the butterbeer was delicious! the non-frozen version tasted like sweet cream soda topped with melted ice cream. the frozen version tasted like a cream soda flavored icee}

{hogwarts. there was a cool ride inside the castle. }

{in the hogwarts greenhouse}

{dumbledore's office. he's on the balcony.}

{the people in the pictures were animated and actually spoke; this is the room where the staircases always changed}

Lovely Eats: Independence day Indulgences

J came to visit the OC for 4th of July weekend and we (R, M and myself) made sure to take her to some of our favorite places and hopefully help her pack on some much needed poundage. All I can say is I am still trying to un-do the damage from a weekend of incessant girly drinks, greasy food, sugar-loaded desserts, and uncontrolled shopping. Thanks so much for coming up to see us, J! I can't wait for more excuses to drink, eat, and shop my way through another indulgent weekend...

{Javier's at the Irvine Spectrum}

{Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles}

{Happy hour at Charlie Palmer}

{Sunday Brunch at Plum's Cafe in Costa Mesa}

{our rendition of K's Japanese Style Sweet and Sour Salmon - recipe to be posted soon}

{Mochilato}

Lovely Eats: Mercury Levels Rising

Donburiya

[Midtown East - NYC]

salmon sashimi

soba

Sasabune

[Upper East Side - NYC]

sasabune daiginjo sake; ahi sashimi

ahi; oyster, stuffed squid

fluke, amberjack; chilled toro, butterfish

hamachi; salmon, scallop, uni

white tuna, bass, salmon roe; mackerel

Happy Anniversushi to G & me!

Izakaya

[The Borgata Hotel - Atlantic City]

peking duck buns; oysters

hamachi roll, toro, hamachi, uni, ikura; kobe beef carpaccio

asparagus, lobster; butterfish & beets

Sea Blue

[The Borgata Hotel - Atlantic City]

velvet glove shiraz; table bread & assorted dips

raw tasting trio

grilled mahi; chocolate trio dessert

Lovely Adventures: VEGAS

Usually I'm the person trying to convince everyone to go anywhere but Vegas since the 4-hour drive, smoky casinos and late drunken nights is not what I call an ideal weekend, but when D asked if I wanted to tag along on his friends' Vegas trip, I got excited. It's been a couple years since I last went and I've been wanting to make a trip out to the desert for my kind of guilty pleasure... outlet shopping!

The Las Vegas Premium Outlets have made some great additions in the past few years and I've been dying to check out the Ted Baker Outlet ever since H went a year or two ago. I set out hoping to find some great deals, and the outlets did not disappoint!

Here are the newest additions to my wardrobe:

Ted Baker Wrap Scarf Top - $55+20%off (Retail $115)

Ted Baker X-Over Back Dress - $125+10%off (Retail $295)

French Connection Ruffle Pleated Dress - $60+30%off (Retail $168)

7 for all mankind LS Scoop Neck T - $49+50%off (Retail $98)

And accessories:

Cole Haan Air Lyric Ballet - $150+60%off (Retail $150)

J.Crew Studded Gray Skinny Belt - $29.50+30%off (Retail $35)

Prescriptives Well-Suited Eye Color Compact in Neutral - $28 (Retail $40)

Lovely Eats: Neros Steakhouse at Caesars Windsor

This past weekend, C and I went to Caesars Windsor for his birthday. For his birthday dinner, we went to the casino's signature restaurant, Neros Steakhouse.

To start, they gave us this really yummy herbed croissant-like pull apart bread with really smooth and creamy whipped butter. I don't usually eat bread at restaurants but I had 3 pieces of this!!!

Next were our appetizers...We ordered the Peppered Bison Carpaccio (top) and the Escargot (bottom). Both were really good. The Bison was flavored nicely and went really well with the macadamia nut oil and fleur de sel. The escargot was different from what you get at other restauarnts and they gave ALOT of escargot...There was probably like a dozen or so...I think at other places, you get like 6.


For Entrees, I had the Sweet Crab Marscapone Risotto (top)and C had the Alberta Lamb Ribeye (bottom). The risotto was OMG good! It was cooked PERFECTLY! The sad part is that I forgot my leftovers in the hotel fridge...-_-; The lamb looked good...didn't have any cause C ate it all which means it was good. Normally he offers some...haha. His lamb came with Bacon Gnocchi and that was delish.

To end the night, we had dessert. C ordered the sorbet sampler which came with Pineapple, Mango, and Lemon sorbets. They were okay but nothing compared to the cheesecake I ordered which ROCKED! Also, as you can see, they wrote Happy Birthday on my plate cause there was no space on the sorbet plate...haha.

Overall, it was a great dining experience soooooooo if you are ever in Windsor, you should totally check it out (and visit me ^_-).