Easter Dinner

I hosted a small Easter dinner. For the centerpiece, I walked through my neighborhood and gathered everything except the daffodil, which I cut from my own garden. On each place setting there was a small nest. I made coconut macaroons, shaped them in nests, baked them, then as they were cooling I put a small dollop of melted chocolate followed by three mini Cadbury eggs. They turned out really well.

For the meal we served salad, followed by fish breaded with pistachio and cornmeal accompanied by roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus, and hot cross buns. For dessert we had a fantastic Heavenly Lemon Chiffon Cake.  Lovely day!

California Pulls Through

Jeremy and I have been on several California vacations over the past several years, most of which have included rain or cold weather. It has been crossed off my vacation list several times. However, since we live in Utah, California is a very convenient place to vacation. We waited till we could see the 10 day forecast to book our vacation rental. It looked great! We booked a small cottage 3 houses off Mission Beach. By the time we got there, the forecast had changed and the first couple days were rainy on and off. The bonus: I discovered a new favorite TV show "Chopped" (we don't have cable at home). The highlight of the trip was probably just being able to go everywhere without driving. For the first 4 days we left the car parked. It was so pleasant. Next time I think we would rent bikes for the entire week.

Things I loved: biking around Mission Bay, walking up the boardwalk to breakfast, sailing in the bay, not having to bundle Ethan up, biking on the boardwalk, sitting on the grass with Jeremy and Ethan, watching Ethan point out every airplane overhead, Jeremy's zen mode while sailing on the "America" (a replica of the original yacht the America's Cup was named after), Seal Beach (who knew the moms and pups would be so affectionate) and the very best fish tacos from a teeny, tiny place in La Jolla, Oscars. All and all a great trip!

Happy Valentines Day!