Weekend adventures + Spanish fails
Hi, happy Monday! How’s the morning going so far?
What a weekend.
We’ve had a blast hanging out with madre and nan, and taking them to some of our favorite spots before they head back to Tucson. Liv was in heaven playing with her nanas; for me, it’s always comforting to have two significant pieces of “home” here with us. It’s soothing to hear Spanish consistently again, even though mine is terribly rusty. Nana giggled pretty hard when she had told a fast and intense story, and I stood there wide-eyed for a second and said, “Wait. What?!” I need to brush up on my skills haha.
Necessary stop: Hodad’s aka that famous burger place. Even though I can’t speak for the original burgers -have only witnessed the foodgasmic moans and burger-drunk grins around me- they have a killer veggie burger, which I like wrapped in lettuce + all the onion rings. The milkshakes, fries, and service are also phenomenal.
Friday night, I ran by The Cravory to pick up a dessert treat. Madre and nana stayed here with Liv while the Pilot and I enjoyed a date night.
I took them a mixed assortment, including birthday cake, PB overload, chocolate truffle, chocolate chip and salted caramel. They’re just as glorious as they look….
For our date, the Pilot and I hit up Fig Tree, and it was our first time trying it out. We loved it! Sometimes we jokingly like to gauge restaurants by their cheese boards, and this one did not disappoint. A special touch: they drizzled honey all over the board before lightly sprinkling with fresh chives. Totally copying that one.
Quick strength session:
(20 minute head to toe workout; will post it this week!)
Saturday afternoon, mom and nana took Liv to see Disney on Ice, so the Pilot and I made a quick beach trip. It was pretty zen to read in the sand instead of trying to convince a tiny human that even though, yes, she is a mermaid, she still needs help swimming for now.
Mom, nana and I went shopping during Livi’s nap time to our usual spots: TJ Maxx and Home Goods.
And at nana’s very wise suggestion: happy hour.
Morning walking around La Jolla:
Family dinner at one of our favorite Italian spots, Caffe Bella, in Pacific Beach:
Feeding the Pilot the calamari tentacle-filled bite from my soup 🙂
Sunday breakfast after church at the Cottage.
Would love to hear about your weekend adventures! Any fitness events or races? What’s something that always reminds you of home?
It’s Bodypump time for this girl. See ya this afternoon!
xoxo
Gina
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I did at 16 miler! Other than that it was a lot of R&R which can sometimes be the best weekends =).
wow that is awesome!! totally agree that the restful weekends are some of the best 🙂
Calamari is delicious 🙂 I haven’t had it in a while but it’s paleo, yes?
i think so?
This looks like so much fun! Disney on Ice is one of my favourite childhood memories and I’m sure it’s even better now. My weekend was one of those ‘get things done’ sort of weekend, including cleaning up my patio garden (I live in a condo and don’t have a garage so I have to pack everything up in the fall/winter so the planters don’t freeze and crack – sad, I know), purging some stuff I don’t need, and cleaning. However, it was also FUN because I had an awesome run, a lunch date with some gym buddies, and a tea date with one of my besties. My only complaint was that it was too short! Happy Monday, Gina!
so cute! liv loved it 🙂
sounds like you had an awesome productive and fun weekend <3 it did go by too quickly! happy monday <3
I ran my first half-marathon this weekend! It was on Cape Cod (where I’m from) and it felt so great to get away from the city and back to beach, even just for a few days!
ahhhh amazing! cape cod is gorgeous. i’ve only been for about 24 hours, but i loved it 🙂
We brought home our son this week from the hospital so we spent the weekend showered with love, gifts and food from our family and friends. It was so special to have all of our loved ones meet our little guy!
i had to check your blog to see!! you have such a beautiful family <3 loved the picture with henry 🙂 so excited for you! hope the first week has been going well for you. xoxo
Thank you so much! Enjoying all of the new moments to the fullest. Xo
Sounds like a wonderful weekend! I am so glad that you show you do enjoy cookies, and your brunch is filled with a balanced meal, not just a plate of vegetables. I find that a lot of people think just because I am elite, that I must ONLY eat healthy food, or eat some special diet, but we can all enjoy treats in moderation…..especially when they look that good. You are a great example of a healthy diet, and lifestyle, and it is refreshing to see someone else eat normal!
thank you so much! i’ve found that it’s helped me find and maintain my real *happy* weight, meaning there’s wine and cookies and the fun stuff in there too 🙂
Sounds like a great weekend. You made me want to go to the beach 🙂
We had our catering tasting for our wedding and it was probably my favorite day of wedding planning.
that is so exciting!! did you pick your menu?
Yep!! 🙂 It’s going to be SO good — really fun food…not your typical wedding food!
i can’t wait to hear about it! excited for you <3 wedding planning is such a blast
haha I wish I could speak spanish with my family! I would certainly be much better!
Lovely weekend! There is nothing more relaxing to me than being on the beach with a good book. Have a great Monday!
it’s one of my favorite things too 🙂
Very jealous of your beach pics. 🙂 No races, but I did complete an 11 mile run! I’m training for the Kansas City Half.
wow, that is amazing! sounds like you’re ready 🙂
What an awesome weekend! I would love some beach time right about now. Josh was sick this weekend so we spent most of it on the couch.
aww, hope he’s feeling better!
Looks like a fantastic weekend. It is always a nice time when out-of-town family visits. My sister was in-town this weekend, and I enjoyed hanging out with her! Your Livi-isms are too funny. That’s so cute that she wants to be a mermaid and swim in the ocean all by herself. Do you practice Spanish with her at home? I wish I was able to speak another language fluently!
yes, it’s always fun having visitors 🙂 i practice spanish with her a tiny bit (like counting, the alphabet, songs), but not nearly as much as she gets in one weekend with nana
oh. my. goodness. THOSE DESSERTS
no words.
love hearing about your weekends!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo we celebrated my dads birthday and me becoming an RHN 😀
I SAW THAT! so excited for you! congratulations!
thank you, love 🙂 that means a lot to me
Ooh, we tried to go to Hodad’s twice when we were visiting this summer, but the out-the-door line scared off my family. I always welcome a line out the door; means the food is good, right? 🙂
yes, it means the food is awesome! and surprisingly, the line goes fast. the service is really fast -even though you don’t feel rushed- so we’ve never had to wait more than 30 minutes or so for a table
Is it sad that the best part of this weekend for me was doing a MASSIVE grocery haul at Trader Joe’s and having it come in UNDER $200?? lol! I was and still am a little amazed. 🙂
hahah i love when that happens! heading to trader joe’s today 🙂
I ran my second half marathon and beat my PR by 5 minutes!
I also watched a movie on Netflix called “A Night in Old Mexico.” In the Mexico scenes, it was the Day of the Dead, and they showed all the people in the town with their faces painted like skeletons. All I could think about was, “Gina loves those Mexican skeleton figurines!” Ha ha.
Fun weekend. I think it’s awesome that your family speaks Spanish. I never have a problem understanding buy responding can take me a bit to get my brain in that mode.
Looks liek such a winderful weekend!! I am so jealous of your beach time. Will be in San Diego next May, can not wait!
I had Olympic LIfting Class on Saturday and we practised Hang Cleans and Jerks with dip. It’s all a love/hate relationship, but it’s getting better 🙂
It was up to 90 degrees here on Saturday – I wish we’d gone to the beach but we went hiking instead 🙂
I’m excited for that new head-to-toe workout!
I had a great weekend! It was very hot in San Francisco though. I taught BODYPUMP and BODYATTACK, went to a casual sushi dinner on Friday and went to an outdoor music festival on Saturday in Golden Gate Park. Then yesterday, I took my husband to yoga with me for the first time. Why do the weekends go by so darn fast though? 🙂 Happy Monday to you!
Yum! I want that tentacle-filled bite! Haha
My daughter did an awesome job in her cross country meet Saturday while I watched in the freezing cold 38*!! And my son had an amazing football game Friday night 🙂
Last night we watched our Kansas City Royals win their 3rd game to win their playoff series!! First time in 29 years!?! Go Royals 🙂
That skeleton snow globe is so cool!
This weekend I ended up at a drag race – my boyfriend really wanted to go and it was his last weekend here. He’s also in the Air Force and left to go back to Germany today
Random comment….but I’m thinking about taking my first Spin class tonight and was wondering if you had any advice/tips or could point me in the right direction on your blog where you have touched on this before. THANK YOU! 🙂
so exciting! get there a little early to tell the instructor it’s your first time so they can help you get set up on your bike. my biggest tip: take it easy. you will likely be sore no matter what (as it’s entirely new to your body), so don’t feel like you need to go crazy. scale back if you need to (just keep pedaling), drink lots of water and have fun 🙂 let me know how it goes!
I ADORE cheese boards! I love the honey- so so good with cheese! My weekend was good! Saturday was jam packed and the other time was spend studying ;(
That cheese board looks divine…and I think it’s fair to judge a restaurant by the quality of its cheese haha. I judge Mexican restaurants by the salsa 😉 It sound like you had an amazing weekend with family–reading this makes me miss my mom and grandma (they both live a few states away). Thank goodness for Southwest rapid rewards 😀
totally judge mexican restaurants by their salsa too 🙂
and amen to that! southwest has been amazing
That’s so great you got to spend time with them as a family and they also took some just Liv time while you and the Pilot could hang out. Sounds like the perfect visit!
it was! hope you had a great weekend 🙂
I know what you mean about needing to brush up on a language! I was never fluent or anything but I took Spanish for 5 years in high school and university and I forget so much of it.
Looks like you had a fun and delicious weekend!
haha i minored in spanish and my whole family speaks it, but it seems to be slipping away. got to get it back!
hope you had a great weekend, too!
I’m so excited to visit San Diego for the first time this coming weekend! I’ll be in town for about 5 days for the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference. I’ve looked on your blog to see about restaurant recommendations! I could have sworn that I remember a San Diego post, but maybe that was Tuscon. Any suggestions would be great! We will be staying near the San Diego Convention Center! I can’t wait!
i haven’t done a san diego post because i’ll have to divide it by areas. there are so many good places! some great ones close to you: searsucker (gaslamp), meze, fig tree (liberty station), if you venture out of the area, you HAVE to try beau bo kitchen. it is beyond amazing. some other faves: isabel’s cantina
snacks/lunches: tender greens (awesome salads), go raw (juices/smoothies)
Thank you so much! I will definitely try a few of those out.
When I went on vacation to SD, I went to both Fig Tree and The Cottage-they are such great places! Love love love that city!
I have a bodypump question. I am fairly new to bodypump and I love it, but I find that at times I can’t keep up with the beat of the music. Does this mean my weight is too heavy? Or do I just go at my own pace? I can’t quite figure it out.
yes, i recommend decreasing your weight
happy to hear you like it too!!
Thank you!
Actually got to spend the weekend in the mountains in Australia (I live in Malaysia, so only a 7 hour flight away). Was so nice to be in chilly mountain air!