SoCal Girl Goes on the Paradise Falls Hike

SORRY I've been so MIA lately. Work, family, vacation, and Vegas caught up with me and I was out of town for the holidays, so there was that too.

Since I haven't posted anything in so long, I guess I'll start where I left off, around Thanksgiving Break. My sister, M, and I decided to go on a hike Thanksgiving morning in order to get our appetites up and going. We wanted something short but interesting, and so we decided on a popular SoCal waterfall hike called Paradise Falls.

Paradise Falls is gorgeous 40-ft waterfall located about a mile into the canyons of Wildwood Park. M and I were so excited to see a real waterfall at the end of the hike, especially after our disappointment at Escondido Falls. We checked Yelp the week before and the night before to make sure there was still water (we were paranoid because of the SoCal drought and all), and left early in the morning to avoid the heat.

Within twenty minutes into the hike, we came across a giant Native American teepee and after a quick mini-photo shoot, we continued on our merry way.

The hike is perfectly suitable for most ages, its fairly easy, on steady ground, and not long at all (maybe 2 miles round trip but that's probably even pushing it). We got to the Falls within 15 minutes of the teepees and then spent a half hour or so exploring the nearby area.

It was a lovely hike (probably a bit too short for my taste) and I'm so glad we finally got around to doing it! M and I are definitely planning on coming back and exploring the other trails in Wildwood Canyons.

SoCal Girl Goes to a Product Launch Party

                            

So last week, we had a product launch party at work, and since our launch parties are so much fun, I thought I'd share a few pictures. I won't go into detail about the product itself, for confidential reasons of course, but whenever our company launches a new product, we throw a launch party for all the employees to celebrate. They're usually themed and involve lots of yummy food and games and photo booths.

This time, our theme was a luau, and we celebrated with lots of yummy snacks, pastries, candied applies, and sweets as well as costume competitions (best Hawaiian shirt), leis, hula skirts, and a shark attack photo booth. My coworkers and I had such a great time munching on all the delicious goodies and posing for ridiculous shark attack photos (see below). It's so nice to celebrate something the entire company worked towards in such a fun and memorable way. 

Book Review: The Book Thief

So I recently finished Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" after numerous gym sessions/car readings/and cuddle sessions with my stuffed elephant. It was probably the most uniquely written modern novel that I've read so far this year, perhaps ever. Zusak did a beautiful job with the novel, making it simple enough for kids/teenagers to read and understand, yet meaningful and poignant enough to capture the hearts of adults. One of my coworkers actually mentioned that her kids were reading this as part of their high school English curriculum, which I found surprising. Back in my high school days (aka 6 years ago), we very rarely read recently released bestsellers. The majority of our reading material was derived from ancient texts or modern classics, but never the NY Times Bestsellers list, so I thought that was kind of cool.

Our narrator for this tale is Death himself, and we listen as he recounts the remarkable tale of young Liesel Meminger as she grows up in and survives Nazi Germany during WWII. In a tale of innocence, whimsical childhoods, book thievery, Hitler Germany, and heartbreak, little Liesel commits her first act of book thievery at the graveside of her brother, hours before her impoverished mother drops her off with a working-class foster family. Her new accordion-playing, cigarette-smoking foster father teaches her how to read as a means of getting rid of the nightmares that plague Liesel nightly. As Liesel grows, the nightmares disappear but her love of words and books continues, and she commits more daring acts of book thievery, stealing from Nazi-book burnings, the mayor's personal library, etc. She also makes friends with an eclectic combination of people, from the young Jewish man hiding in her basement to the neighborhood scallywag with whom she steals food and books. We read as Liesel, her beloved father, bad-mouthed mother, and odd mix of friends help each other out and work hard to survive the difficult times, lack of food, and constant bombings. Zusak crafts a truly spectacular tale of innocence in the face of agonizing human cruelty.

I think the most intriguing element of this novel was the perspective from which it was told. Never have I had Death as a narrator, and I found it so very interesting and different. It took me a few pages to realize who was narrating, and even after I realized who was telling the story, it took me a while to confirm that it was indeed Death. I also found Markus Zusak's style of story-telling rather refreshing and unique. Death tells us who will survive and who won't very early on into the tale, thereby eliminating any chance of suspense, and yet it still breaks our heart when a character dies, which I thought was strange. The fact that I knew what was coming, made me dread it all the more, which I suppose could be a metaphor for what people felt during the war. The simple act of reading the novel left me anxious and dreadful; I can't even imagine what it must have been like to actually live during those times. Yet I absolutely loved the novel itself, and think it's a great recommendation for teens and grown ups alike!

Restaurant Review: Finch and Fork

As promised in Suburban SoCal Girl Goes to Santa Barbara, here is the restaurant review for Finch and Fork. After multiple attempts at going here for brunch on Saturday and failing epically, we finally dragged our exhausted selves here on Sunday around noon, eager to try all the dishes Yelp was raving about. The interior of the restaurant was beautiful with lots of large wood pieces, plenty of lighting, and a bustling yet peaceful ambiance. 

We didn't have to make a reservation and were seated promptly, which was awesome. Our waiter even added a few extra chairs to our giant table so we could all eat together, instead of splitting into two tables. After a thorough perusal of the menu (despite the majority of us having Yelped it prior to coming), my friend G and I decided to split two dishes and try the House Chai Tea Latte. We ordered the House Made Granola with Greek yogurt and macerated berries and the house cured lox and bagel, which was accompanied by crispy capers, tomato jam, and caramelized onion cream cheese. 

The house made granola with yogurt and berries was refreshing, light, and delicious, but my favorite was definitely the house cured lox and bagel. I'm a huge fan of smoked salmon, and I loved the unique, yet complementary accompaniments to it. The tomato jam was sweet, tangy and delicious and the caramelized onion cream cheese was very yummy. The capers were a bit salty for my taste, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.

I really wish we were given a bread basket for the table, because a slice of buttered toast would have been a perfect addition to this meal! However, we still had a great time at Finch and Fork, both food and service wise and I'm definitely glad we made the time to come and have a sit down brunch here.

SoCal Girl Goes on the "Eat This, Shoot That" Food Tour

So as promised in my "So Cal Girl Goes to Santa Barbara" post, here is a full and detailed account of the "Eat This, Shoot That" Food Tour. It's a very fun and casual 2.5 hour tour around Santa Barbara's "Funk Zone", and you get to taste a variety of Santa Barbara's famous specialties, ranging from breakfast pizzas and fresh ceviche to sparkling wines and local "crack". Our tour guides were full of fun facts about Santa Barbara's history and development and gave us tons of cool tips about how to properly photograph food. 

We met our awesome tour guides at the Dolphin Fountain right on the beach at 2:00 pm, and as soon as we all signed waivers, we began heading over to the pier for our very first stop,

The first stop on the "Eat This, Shoot That" tour was the Deep Sea Winery, a local, family-owned winery specializing in unique wines grown in coastal regions. We were each told to select two wines from their list to taste, and after much perusal and indecision and recommendations from the experts, I went with the 2009 Deep Sea Viognier, Coquina Vineyard and the 2013 Deep Sea Grenache Blanc, Central Coast. 

In case you couldn't tell, I'm a huge fan of white wine and dislike red. I can't stand the smell of a heavy red wine and like the taste even less. I enjoyed both of my selections very much, particularly the Viognier. We sipped our wine on the deck outside, and had the most spectacular view of the beach. It was such a lovely experience, and I'll definitely have to visit Deep Sea Winery again, maybe taking M along once she turns 21.

                                 

Our next stop on the tour was the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, an award winning restaurant with delicious ridgeback shrimp. We tried the Fresh Shrimp Ceviche, served with lemon, lime, freshly diced tomatoes and tortilla chips, and learned about the cooking techniques behind ceviche. For the non-seafood lovers and vegetarians, ceviche is a very popular dish consisting of fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, typically lemon or lime juice. As it involves no heat whatsoever, it must always be prepared fresh and eaten immediately. Ours was incredibly delicious, and we enjoyed it right on the dock, mere feet away from the sparkling blue ocean.

Next stop on the tour was Lucky Penny, an artistically decorated locals' favorite for flat-bread pizza. The entire front side of the restaurant was covered head-to-toe in pennies, giving it a unique and eclectic look. We tasted the Milpas Wood-Fire Pizza and it was toe-curlingly delicious. Quite possibly one of the most amazing flat-bread pizzas I've ever tasted. The pizza consisted of an interesting combination of fingerling potatoes, Mexican chorizo, spicy tomatillo marinara, cotija, and cilantro, all topped off with a sunny side up egg. It was spicy, fierce and insanely yummy! One of my favoritest eats on the tour.

Right around the corner was our next stop, the Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. Here we were each told to select a beer off the menu to taste. After serious contemplation by all the boys and extreme indifference by the girls, we ordered our drinks and went outside to enjoy them. I had a sip of the pumpkin ale and was not a fan, but then again I'm not the greatest person to judge beer.

Next up was Cutler's Artisan Spirits, Santa Barbara's first distillery since Prohibition. They featured top of the shelf vodka, gin, bourbon whiskey, and apple pie liqueur. Each of us was given the option of trying all four, trying just a select few, or trying none, it was up to us. A number of pinched faces, exaggerated choking/spluttering noises, and grimaces later, the consensus elected the apple pie liqueur as the favorite.  

By the time we began walking over to our next stop, Riverbench Winery, those of us that had tasted all four of the hard liquors were definitely starting to feel the effects while those of us that has stuck to Apple Pie were just dandy. Riverbench Winery was packed when we wandered in (rather odd considering it was around 4:00 pm) and so we all gathered in a corner, where we were each handed a flute of sparkling wine. As we hung out in our little corner, sipping our sparkling wine, our tour guides came back with little bags full of delicious treats from Koval Confections. We had the most delicious dark chocolate almond toffee (affectionately known as "crack" to the locals), a lovely complement to the sparkling wine.

Our last stop on the tour was Seven Bar + Kitchen, where we were treated to chicken and bacon waffles with whiskey infused maple syrup. The gastropub was very uniquely decorated with its heavy wood furniture, barrels, and working piano in the bathroom. The chicken and waffles were delicious, offering a myriad of textures and flavors, and the boys, who were most looking forward to this, particularly enjoyed it.

We immensely enjoyed the "Eat This, Shoot That" tour and were impressed by the selection of food and spirits. Our tour guides were awesome, giving us plenty of interesting facts and tips, but simultaneously giving us plenty of space to enjoy the scenery, the food, and each others' company. Our trip to Santa Barbara was amazing, and this tour definitely played a big part in it. I would highly recommend this trip to medium-large sized groups that love food. It's a great opportunity to try a bunch of highly recommended places in a short amount of time.