Gastronomical Adventures

One of the many great perks about moving to a new city and state is exploring the neighborhood for shopping, dining and entertainment.  And although the Instigator and I haven't gone so far as to eat out every meal, we have stumbled upon a few gems within walking distance from our apartment. I have to be honest - we are walking distance to downtown where there are a plethora of shops and restaurants and three movie theaters. 

But there is one restaurant that we are particularly fond of and that is Granville Cafe.
(www.granvillecafe.com)

We had visited Granville several times before we moved here, but just recently discovered their breakfast/brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.  I plan on eating my way through all of their breakfast offerings...

Let's start with French Toast... I could easily gain back the 7 pounds I've lost from the process of packing and moving 3,000 miles by indulging in this treat regularly.  I don't recall the type of bread they use but I do know that their X-Factor is using orange zest in the dipping mixture.  And of course, served with pure maple syrup.  TD4! 

Ate every morsel.  Would have licked the plate if I could.

The Instigator had pancakes with bacon on the side.

The walk home was challenging...

Pacing the Floors No More

At least there will be less floor to pace.  The movers are coming today! I've spent the last 10 days making paper patterns from the measurements of our furniture to make sure everything will fit and to play around with arrangements.

If you squint real hard, you can see a spinet piano here.

Or a desk and chair...

Or even a lovely sage green sofa...

As excited as I am about furnishing the interior, I am REALLY excited about having outdoor living space.  We have TWO patios at our new home.  One off the master bedroom and one off the living room.  I have plans to make the one off the bedroom a little European flavored terrazzo using furniture from our east coast apartment that we don't quite have room for inside here. 

My writing desk will fit perfectly in this space to use as a sideboard

And our former kitchen bistro set will go here

...because this is the view we will see. The Verdugo Mountains.

And don't think I won't be using real table linens, china or glassware.  With those Cypress trees as a backdrop, you're going to think we're living in Italy! 

Until next time,

Happy Independence Day!












 

Westward Ho With No Snow!

It seems that my previous attempts at consistent blogging have been an epic fail. But ya know, I'm going to keep at it because now I have good reason to stay connected with family, friends and whomever may take a peek at my posts while searching for something else.

After living nearly all my 50 something years in New England, and after the most brutal winter on record, the Instigator and I have moved to Southern California. Oh yes, we did!  The instigator started a new job in May and I spent the past 5 weeks packing up the apartment in preparation for the move.

But we are finally here!  And lovin' it!  My first official week as a California resident has been very exciting... 

I've bought a trash can...

and a grocery bag dispenser...

Here they are peacefully coexisting under the kitchen sink...

See, I told you it was an exciting first week!  There's more to come and fingers crossed the moving truck comes!

Until next time,

(I need to come up with a tag line)