Liberty Mutual holiday party

For the past few years, I've lucked out to be my mom's date to her holiday work dinner. I've scored some pretty delicious meals...Capitol Grill, the Waterfront, Ruth's Chris, and this year at Salty's. All of her coworkers and their spouses are such a fun time (okay, almost all of them), so it's been great to get a chance to see them and celebrate the holidays.

This year, mom picked me up from my place after work, and we made the short drive down the hill to Salty's. We met Jennifer and her husband in the bar to have a couple drinks before heading down to our banquet room where dinner would be held.

Once we were all there, we ordered some appetizers to pass around...calamari, crab cakes, bruschetta, prawns...I basically filled myself up before my steak dinner arrived. Luckily I was able to take the rest home and enjoy it the next day. And since there's always room for dessert, I just had to order the ooey gooey chocolate brownie which was so yummy.

Despite having our iPhones out after dinner, none of us got any pictures taken (we were too busy taking and failing the moron test...), so I have nothing to show for it. Dinner was still great, and I had a fun time as Mom's date again. Here's hoping for next year!

XO Cookie Exchange

A few weekends ago, me and my Chi O girls had our annual Christmas cookie exchange party. Everyone brings a few dozen for trading (enough for each of us to take home 2 or 3) and the rules are they must be a holiday cookie, and they must be homemade.

This year I turned to Pinterest to find something fun that I hadn't made before. I found this recipe and thought they looked and sounded delicious...red velvet, shortbread, and pistachios? Sold!

Since I'm not the most skilled baker, these took some time to actually make. It was a good thing I got a head start. I made the dough Friday night, then baked and finished them Saturday night in time for the party on Sunday. Decorating was the most time consuming. I had to melt the white chocolate, dip each cookie, crush up pistachios (with my Corona bottle), then sprinkle them on each. I ended up burning the white chocolate at one point, but luckily I had some more chips to melt. Then I went and burnt that too, ugh! With only half the cookies done, I decided to go to the store at 10pm to get more so I could finish them that night so they would set by morning. Regardless, they were fun to make and turned out alright, but not exactly my favorite. For all the work they were, I probably wouldn't make them again

mixing the ingredients, surprised this turned into dough!

maybe this is when my white chocolate burned

 

finished product!

Jessica graciously hosted us this year so that we could all see her (beautiful!) new home. Her, her husband, and their one-year old moved in a few months ago, and the place is perfect for entertaining. It's so open and inviting, I loved it! They also spent the day preparing some delicious treats for us.
 

pumpkin pie whip!

pesto meatballs that I inhaled

Honeycrisp Apple Sangria

Jessica also had me bring my jewels along in case anyone wanted to do some holiday shopping, so we had fun time trying on some bling, catching up, and of course eating. Some of the girls also brought their kiddos, including Becca's sweet new baby Owen.

Mommy and new baby

Char, Maeve, Weiner, Jingle, Jecca, Brenna, Becca & Owen

Rachel, me, Colleen, Sarah, and Kylee

 

Rachel - the designated babysitter

 

kids love her

 

our loot, so many cookies!

 

would I have ugly friends?

So much fun girls, can't wait to see you all again...hopefully soon!

Cabo: Part 4

Our last full day in Mexico.

All Clint wanted to do on this trip was surf...however that didn't pan out too well. He was fighting a sinus/ear infection since we arrived, so he was waiting for that to pass. With our last full day here, the plan was to drive to Cerritos Beach (on the Pacific side of Cabo) where the surf was better. The surf report that morning changed our plans, so we set out to do some more snorkeling (yay!).

We headed east and pulled off the freeway when we saw the first beach sign. The road to the ocean was extremely bumpy, we were sure glad we opted for the Jeep over the sedan. We finally reached Playa Vuido, and practically had the place to ourselves. This was our favorite beach of the trip, the water and sand looked so pretty.

We set up our towels, grabbed the cooler from the car, and soaked up the sun. We enjoyed the nice day drinking beers on the beach and going for a swim.

Pacificos on the Pacific

Since the water was a little rough for snorkeling, we packed up and headed a little further down to Santa Maria, which is a well-known bay that is a little calmer. As soon as we got there, there were a couple snorkel cruise boats anchored and quite a few people out in the water. The beach was more crowded as well, and the Mexican vendors were out.

We found a good spot, and I headed to the water with my snorkel gear. Plans changed when I crushed my toe into a rock on the beach. It wasn't even a big rock. I noticed right away that I gouged it pretty good and it was starting to bleed. There was even remnants of my pink toe nail polish still on the rock. I hobbled back to my towel and pouted while Clint took the snorkel gear and left me.

first look - not so bad

I drug myself to the shore and soaked my toe in the cool salt water. It was starting to feel better and not bleed anymore. When Clint got back, I decided I wasn't gonna miss out and joined the rest of the snorkelers. I'm glad I did, because this was the best underwater scenery ever! So many fish, and so many different colors. One guy even had some Doritos that he was sprinkling in the water and the fish were practically attacking him. They were everywhere! Very cool. 

With my toe throbbing at this point, we thought it was best to go back. Once at the condo, my toe was getting a little worse so I covered it with a bandaid. We then made a pitcher of margaritas and took them down to our beach. I sat in the shade (had gotten a little sunburnt) while Clint grabbed every last bit of Vitamin D he could before we were completely shaded.

don't waste the sunlight!

I started to notice that there were tiny shells in the sand where I was sitting, and started a little collection on the corner of my towel.

Then I got possessed! The shells were everywhere once you started looking, and I couldn't stop collecting them. I limped around the beach with my bum toe collecting handfuls at a time. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with all of them (yes, I brought them home), but I was pretty sure at the time I needed to have them.

a little overboard

me and all my hard work

The sun was setting, so we packed up and I took my treasures back to the condo. I had received an email from the owner saying he had one of his other units available for us to look at if we wanted. The renters had just left, and the cleaners hadn't come yet, but he gave us the lockbox code to check it out. It was on the top floor and had an even more amazing view than ours. The condo itself was quite a bit smaller, so I think we decided we liked ours the best (in case we come back). 

view from the top floor condo

Back at our place, I noticed my toe feeling a little worse. I pulled off the bandaid and was shocked. It was completely swollen and turned purple! I was convinced it was broken (Clint was too), but there's not much you can do for that. Luckily, over the next couple days it started to look better, and even now it's only a little sore when I try to move it.

beginning to bruise, it got worse

We heated up some taco leftovers for dinner. We also tried to finish off the rest of the food we had gotten for the week since we would be leaving in the morning. Clint stomached some more meatloaf and potatoes (not sure why or how), and the tub of ice cream was gone pretty quick too. That night was a double feature (oh boy!), King Arthur and Geronimo...again, not my favorites, but entertaining enough.

The next morning we begrudgingly got out of bed knowing we'd have to check out and head home. I made us some more breakfast burritos using up the last of our food, and packed some snacks for the flight home. We got the condo cleaned up, our bags packed, and said goodbye to our home for the past week.

We loaded up the Jeep and drove to San Jose again. We stopped at a little market to pick up some trinkets and souvenirs, and probably paid way too much for them, oh well. Next we drove around the back roads and found a couple torillarias. The first to get corn, and then a second for flour. We watched them making the tortillas right there, and the bags we took with us were still warm. They were even still warm when I unpacked them at home that night!

We then drove out towards the airport, but made one last stop for lunch. We found a little hole in the wall restaurant run by a husband, wife, and their two daughters. The food was pretty delicious, but we were a little worried about getting sick. At least we'd be home once it hit. Fortunately, us gringos lucked out.

After lunch, we returned the rental car, headed to the airport, and said goodbye to Cabo. We had such an amazing time, I'm already looking forward to going back!

Cabo: Part 3

After doing nothing the day before, we woke up Monday morning with plans to head out. We first poured ourselves some cereal and sat down to check in on some emails from work (Boeing pretty much forgets how to run when I'm out of the office...). We then put on our suits and headed to the beach!

There's a private beach just a short walk from the condo, so we went to check it out. We found a grass hut to sit under and relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. We had brought our snorkeling gear along, however it was low tide so it wasn't the best time. Another condo owner said it would be better to come at 8am (still a little early for vacation world). We gave it a shot anyways, and lucked out to see some puffer fish. They sure are pretty, all black with little white polka dots.

Misiones Beach

Once we had our beach fill, we moved on to the pool. Unfortunately the pool gets shaded in the afternoon, but we still had fun in the water and people watching everyone at the swim up bar.

pictures from the earlier in the week,
when we were there it was packed

It started to get a little cold, so we left the pool and got ourselves cleaned up at the condo. We then walked to the reception desk to ask about some activities. We checked out all the companies that provide snorkel boat tours (the one thing I really wanted to do), but they were all so expensive. We figured we could do our own tour by driving to each of the beaches ourselves. We did make reservations for the Mona Lisa restaurant for the next night though.

Next we wanted to check out a resort down the beach a ways, so we hopped in the Jeep and drove out there. The Hacienda Encantada. We were nervous that we may have to listen to a sales pitch on a time share just to get to see the place, but we lucked out and weren't pressured at all. We pulled up to the front and the valet took our car to park for us. Then Hugo led us to a golf cart and gave us a guided tour of the grounds. He was a new employee, only been there a week or two, but had worked at many other resorts in Cabo. He said this was by far his favorite. It sure was pretty. Up above they have a restaurant that has a great view and looks over Land's End. Next we drove down the the pool/beach area...infinity pools, swim up bar, and canopy beds right in the sand to relax in, so pretty.

just like Universal Studios!

view of one of their pools

restaurant with a view

swim up bar

infinity into the ocean

 

 

We thanked Hugo for the tour, and got our car back from the valet. Maybe someday we'll get a chance to stay there, but for now it's a little pricey.

On the way back to the condo we stopped at Mercado Carmela again to stock up on some more lard-filled tortillas and delicious guac. We would be making our own tacos at home that night. We fired up the BBQ on the balcony, and grilled up the steak we had gotten at Costco. They weren't the most authentic, but they were still delicious.

loaded with guac, salsa, and hot sauce

The condo also had quite the eclectic DVD collection. Since none of them looked good to me, I let Clint be in charge of picking what we watched each night. This night he picked All the Pretty Horses. What a strange movie. I fell asleep for a good portion in the beginning, but woke up and was still able to follow along...guess it was pretty slow. After the movie, we called it a night.

The next morning Clint had to get on a telecon meeting for work, so I slept in. Once he was done, I made us some more breakfast burritos...I could eat those tortillas everyday!

Clint had heard about an area called Cabo Pulmo from a friend of his, so we decided to make the drive out there and check it out. Along the way we stopped at Zippers so Clint could check out the surf boards.

checking out the surf shop

rooster in the road

Back on the road, we headed towards Pulmo. Once you get past San Jose, you turn onto the dirt road and drive out to the ocean. We definitely underestimated how long it would take to make the drive, especially on the bumpiest dirt road ever. We weren't moving very fast, and then came up to another car parked along side of the road. We asked how much further we had. He laughed and said 30 miles. This did not make me a happy camper. I didn't want to spend my day being jostled around in a Jeep, plus we had dinner reservations to make it back for. We still continued to see if maybe we could make it. At least the drive was pretty. We got to check out some of the homes out there in the boonies right on the water. 

house right on the water

 

where are we?

donkeys hanging out on the beach

It became pretty obvious we weren't gonna make it, and I really wanted to go somewhere to snorkel. We turned the car around, and made the bumpy drive back. We did stop once along the beach just to enjoy it, I mean we did drive all the way out there.

Clint and his Jeep

we spotted a whale! pulled out the
binoculars but he didn't surface again

Back in town, we headed to Chileno beach, known as a good snorkel spot. The beach was pretty crowded, but we found a place to set our stuff down and took turns snorkeling. There were quite a few fish out, and I was shocked at how shallow they were swimming and how they didn't seem to care that you were so close. A few almost swam right into my goggles! I was a much happier camper now being in the water instead of stuck in the car.

Chileno Bay Beach

Baywatch

After the beach we got back to the condo to get ourselves cleaned up for our fancy dinner out, and walked to the restaurant. The sun was just about to set, so we had timed our reservation perfectly. This place was absolutely beautiful. The tables are all staggered on tiers that head down right to the water. From any seat in the place you can see the gorgeous Cabo view of Land's End, and there was even a cruise ship out there all lit up. 

view from our table

We started with a couple cocktails, and ordered our meals. We decided to go with sword fish (the catch of the day) prepared two different ways so we could share and try each. They also recommended the ceviche duo (ahi tuna and sword fish), so we ordered that to start.

A man then came up to take our photos. He said at the end of the night he would share the ones he took with us on his laptop, then we could decide if we wanted to purchase them. He had us doing all sorts of poses...standard, prom, silhouettes, kissing...I now know how my friends that get engagement photos taken feel, awkward. He did end up with some good ones though, so we ended up purchasing a CD full of photos from him. 

Prom 2012

so cheesy, not sure why
I'm even sharing this one

view of whole restaurant, that's us on the left

paparazzi

After the photo session, our food started to arrive. We were first served an amuse bouche of beets, pear, and pumpkin. They then served the ceviche which was amazing, I could have eaten another order of that and called it good. The fish is so fresh in Cabo, so it was a special treat. Then our main courses came. One sword fish was served pan fried with veggies and a side of polenta, while the other fish was cooked wrapped in a banana leaf then inside a crust. The server had to break open the shell, peel open the banana leaf, then added an olive oil like dressing to the top...so fancy. Both our meals were delicious. We topped it all off with a dessert trio of fruits, raspberry sorbet, and an almond panna cotta.

amuse bouche

ceviche

cracking open the crust

sword fish, potato, and couscous

veggies, sword fish, and polenta

 

berries, sorbet, and panna cotta

The whole experience was great. Our table was secluded from the other diners, and the view was amazing. We even had our own little fire pit and a sarape to put on if you got chilly. The food was delicious, and I would definitely recommend the place to anyone visiting Cabo.

me in my itchy sarape

Back at the condo, Clint picked out the Great Escape with Steve McQueen for us to watch. What a long and old movie! It was alright, but I fell asleep again for the middle. When I woke up they were still planning their escape, so I hadn't missed much. 

So far we had really been enjoying our trip and were looking forward to the next couple of days before we had to head home.