Olé all day
Or that one time I had a little sangria and ended up dancing on stage with a bellydancer. More on that in a sec haha.
Hi friends!! Happy Monday and Thanksgiving week! How was the weekend? I hope you had a great one. We spent lots of time together as a fam, enjoyed delicious dinners, a date night, and were super productive. The Pilot has a huge Master’s paper due, and I’m finishing up PBB advanced (can’t wait!!) so we switched off work time with lots of time together as a family. It worked out really well.
San Diego has been suddenly hit with “winter” (my friends who experience that white stuff that falls from the sky can tilt their heads back and laugh), but it was cool and cloudy and wonderful all weekend.
SWEATER WEATHER IS HERE.
We made some Shrimp and Swordfish Curry:
(used halibut from Point Loma Seafoods since I’m not a huge swordfish fan)
and also had date night at Cafe Sevilla.
This is a bold statement, but Cafe Sevilla is my new favorite place in San Diego. We didn’t discover it until our last month here, but at least we found it. The Pilot had bought some tickets for their flamenco show for my birthday dinner, and we could finally use some of them this weekend. (The three other couples who were going to come with us on my bday couldn’t make it this past weekend. Finding a sitter the weekend before Thanksgiving is tricky business! So, we figured it would be a perfect opportunity to enjoy a date night.)
From the exterior, Cafe Sevilla looks like a quaint, romantic spot. When you walk inside, it is HUGE and adorned with Spanish paintings, elaborate decor, and a moody vibe. It’s also three stories.
(It was quieter during the dinner hour, but as the show began, it quickly filled up.)
They have a basement (<— transforms into a club), the main floor, and an upstairs area. If you have show tickets, you sit at long tables facing the stage on the main area. (Restaurant-goers can still see/hear the show from the bar area and upstairs, but it’s definitely worth it to be up close.) We also enjoyed a 3-course meal (salad, entree, dessert) and tapas.
(I wanted to curl up and live in the paella.)
While we drank sangria and ate incredible food, we were treated to the show: live flamenco guitarists, a singer, a flamenco dancer, and a bellydancer. I go crazy for flamenco -and took a handful of classes here in San Diego- and the musicians and dancers were amazing. A fun fact: Spanish culture believes that proficienct flamenco artists should be older. You’re supposed to feel the music in your soul, and it’s believed that dancers/singers under age 30 haven’t yet had the life experiences to truly relate to the emotions and expressions of the art.
Needless to say, we were having the best time. I think they could tell I was really into it, because one minute I was clapping and olé-ing my little heart out, and the next minute, I was pulled onstage, had a red scarf tied around my waist, and was bellydancing with the bellydancer.
It was the sangria.
We had a blast and will definitely be back again before we leave.
Saturday afternoon, I took an Orangetheory class,
and Sunday morning, I subbed Spin. I also got to check out a local Beautycounter event my friend Betsy was hosting at Rica Boutique. (If you’re in the area, they have so many cute and unique pieces right now.) La Jolla has already decked the streets with Christmas decor, and it was fun to walk past giant inflatable Nutcrackers. When I got home from the event, things were shaken up a bit.
P, our little daredevil, escaped from her crib, so we got her checked out at the doc. She bruised up her forehead and nose pretty badly, but thankfully, she’s ok. We had to detach the changing table from her crib and turn it around, so the high side is on the outside now. She’s so tall, and strong, she just tries to swing her leg up and over. She can’t get out now that we moved it around, but it looks like a toddler bed or mattress on the floor is going to happen.
Mama friends: please let me know if you had any young escape artists (P is only 12 months!) and if you have any tips.
I hope you have a very happy Monday!! We’re off to the park with some friends and getting packed for our Tucson trip.
Are you traveling this week, or staying home? Any random happenings from the weekend?
xoxo
Gina
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Halo sleep sack! This way her feet are snuggled in.
sleep sack is happening! thank you! i wonder if they make any extra long versions
My so is almost 2 and a half and he is still in a sleep sack. Halo makes toddler ones with feet holes but if you get them extra big, they can’t get their feet out. Despite the fact that my kid is an absolute no fear monkey, he just started climbing out of his crib maybe two months ago. He hasn’t started doing it during sleep times but he can do it sleep sack or no.
*you could also just see the feet holes closed.
i read that a lot of babies still figure out how to climb with a sleep sack on. tricky little monkeys haha
My 16 month is a giant and the XL size sleep sacks are plenty long still for her!
ok that’s good to know! p is off the charts
That’s it, I need to come to San Diego just to go to that place. Looks so fun! I lived in Spain so that pulls a few tugs on my heart.
YOU DO. you would love it!
You look so happy in your belly dancing photos! Happy belated birthday, Gina! <3
hehehe she does! 🙂
i laughed so hard when i saw the photos. ridiculous. hahaha
thank you!
That looks like such a fun restaurant! I *love* paella so that place would be right up my alley.
I’m just going about an hour drive away from Connecticut to New Jersey for Thanksgiving at my parents’ house.
yes, you would love it!!
have so much fun this week!
Oh no, poor P! Glad she’s alright. My little isn’t super interested in climbing stuff yet… thank goodness. Plus against all advice we are using my old crib which is much deeper than newer cribs. Standing up her nose just barely clears the rail. Good luck!
ahhh that’s amazing yours is so tall. even on the lower level, it’s still below p’s shoulders. she’s so tall!
Well, that is scary! I don’t have any advice for you but so glad she is okay! We host Thanksgiving at our house so family is coming. It’s a smaller crowd this year than normal but will still be enjoyed!
yeah it was pretty horrible.
sounds like you have a fun thanksgiving ahead! good luck with all of the prep <3 xo
Hello! I agree the sleep sac is the way to go. I have a 22 month old who loves to climb so the sac tames the exit strategy! Since little ones feel secure in their cribs transition may be hard at P’s early age. Good luck! Let P lead the way, with your amazing intuition – you got this.
i will check those out now. thank you! i feel like she’s way too little to switch to a big girl bed, but i’m terrified of her falling out again
xo
Gina! I can just imagine you going to town on stage. That place looks awesome and similar to a place called Ceviche we had when I lived in downtown Orlando. Loved the live guitars. And yes, fun fact about flamenco dancers for sure. Sorry to hear about P. And we’re off to Carmel for Thanksgiving! Have a fab day! 🙂
hahaha i had a little too much fun. i’ve never heard of ceviche! we’ll have to check it out when we’re back in that neck of the woods. we did go to tu tu tango while we were there and LOVED it.
have so much fun in carmel!
xoxo
Gina, I love your posts and have been following your blog for the past few years. I am visiting San Diego and wanted to get your thoughts on places to visit, eat, drink. Cafe Sevilla is definitely going on my list. Thanks!! xoxo
thank you so much for reading for so long! and YES it must be on the list for dinner, and then go to shout house afterwards!
more must-dos:
bo-beau kitchen (dinner)
paddleboarding
cocktails: vin de syrah
casual dinner: ob noodle house
breakfast: the cottage or snooze
let me know where you’re staying and i can give you more recs!
Thank you for all the ideas!! bo-beau kitchen is right up my alley! We are still deciding between staying at Coronado Island and Gaslamp district. We may just split our days between the two so we get acquainted with both areas. Since this is our first visit to San Diego, we definitely want to check out La Jolla, the zoo (for the pandas) and restaurants that are authentic and true to San Diego.
bo-beau is one of our favorite places ever- you’ll love it!
that’s a great idea to split between the two 🙂
in la jolla: catania, puesto, the cottage, herringbone are all amazing
the pandas at the zoo are adorable 🙂
i don’t have a ton of coronado recs, but love paddle boarding there
These are awesome recs! Thank you, Gina!! 🙂
Hi Gina:
Another long time reader here. I think I may have already emailed you this question a bit ago but did not look back to see if maybe you replied. We are also coming to La Jolla at Christmas time with our four legged baby. do you have any recommendations of things we should do and can bring her? I know it will be cooler at that time of year so bringing her and having to be outside always may be tough!
So happy P is OK and hopefully Liv is feeling much better this week as well.
Happy Thanksgiving Gina. Enjoy this special time with your family.
thank you so much for reading for so long!!
you will have the best time in la jolla 🙂 it’s super dog friendly. you can literally take your dog almost everywhere and many places have dog menus. it’s amazing.
definitely check out herringbone or catania for a nicer dinner
dog-friendly: the cottage (the best breakfast with a large patio), cody’s (awesome house cocktails and they have a dog menu), pesto (street tacos with patio seating)
the seal watching at la jolla cove is my fave, and there’s a huge park nearby for the pup to run around. the good news is that even when it’s *cold* here, it’s still pretty mild
xoxo
You are wonderful Gina. Thank you so much for taking the time to send this information to me. XOXO
Sleep sack!! Piper has been in a sleep sack always! When we hired our sleep consultant back when Piper was 6-7 months old, she encouraged us to keep Piper in a sleep sack until she was 3 years old to prevent her from climbing out of her crib and having to transition to a toddler bed too early. When she got too long for the Aden & Anais sleep sacks, I splurged and bought a Woolino sack (also recommended by our SC)–we’ve been really happy with it and it will fit her until she’s 3!
i will check those out- thank you!!
Love the pics of you up on stage! What a fun evening!
Good luck w/ your little escape artist! 12 mos. is def the earliest I’ve heard of a bebe trying to escape.
We are traveling 3-1/2 hrs. to my in-laws on Thurs. (& spending the night). Then headed to my mom’s (a little over an hour away) on Sat. After 2 Thxgivings I will be ready for lots of salad next week! 😉 Enjoy your time in Tucson!
thank you! it was a blast <3
right? i can't believe this is happening already. it sounds like you have an amazing week ahead!
Omg how fun! So happy you enjoyed your birthday celebration girl!
thanks friend- hope you had a great weekend!
Crib escaping is tricky. We put our crib mattress on the lowest setting, then on the floor after my niece broke her collarbone trying to climb out of her crib. You can try putting the crib mattress on the floor with toddler bed rails to encourage her to stay put.
you’re right- it’s so tricky. i don’t think ours will safely go on the floor inside the crib- there are all of these weird bars and bolts. even if we removed them i think she might get something stuck in between the mattress and the crib base. i’m worried about a mattress on the floor because she LOVES to jump and will undoubtedly fall off, but at least it will be like 6 inches instead of 4 + ft. i can’t believe this is happening already
aww you look like you fit right in with the flamenco dancers! 😀 those college classs paid off 😉 and now i miss sangria + flamenco shows from when i was traveling eurpoe this summer! 🙁
We were in the same situation with my son. I am a firm believer in cribs as long as possible. I think kids just sleep better (especially when they are too young to reason with and understand why they need to stay in bed).
With my son we turned the crib around first. Then we took out the spring part that holds up the mattress so the mattress laid on the floor basically.
that’s how i was thinking too. the thought of her in a bed and trying to convince her to stay in it is slightly terrifying. but, falling out again is even more scary
i’m going to look at the mattress and see if we can put it on the floor on the crib without weird bars and bolts being within reach
My son started to climb over at about 15 months old. We just transpositioned him to a toddler bed and had to make sure he couldn’t open the door for safety reasons (stairs) . It was a couple day battle, but he eventually stayed in his new bed and stoped trying to open the door for bedtime. Naps were still a fight though lol. Best of luck:)
*transitioned
My daughter climbed out really early. We had to move her to a toddler bed which was a little tough, she was so small. She could climb out of her crib, play yard, before 12 months, and learned how to work zippers early!! Now she has mastered squeezing her way out of everything from the shopping cart buckles to strollers! It’s unbelievable. I think we have an escape artisit on our hands. Hope you can find an option that works….we had to go with the toddler bed.
I’m not a mom so I don’t really have tips for you but my cousin said that her second daughter is developing faster than her first mostly because she has something to look up to and learn from/be jealous of. they moved her into a bed way before they did their first daughter. and she was sort of potty training herself at 18 months.
eeee this is all so much fun!!! i’ve never seen (or done) flamenco, but I’m googling NOW!