Relaxing at the Beach

Last night, Catie and I took some time and had dinner at San Onofre. We both wanted to put our workdays behind us and refresh for the last day of the week that was to come. We grabbed some food at Las Golondrinas and sat on the sand overlooking the ocean. While she was out catching some waves, I took the opportunity to use my new camera and try a couple things out.











It's always so amazing to me that even living in the city, it is possible to drive for 10 minutes and find yourself in a place such as San Onofre. It's an incredible place to live, and I am so happy that I can call it home.

The First Weekend In Which It Truly Feels Like Summer

This weekend was yet again another very eventful and fun time. On Saturday, Catie and I went to Laguna Beach. With all the stresses and things going on in our lives, we decided that we both needed a girls' day to get away from everything, and just relax and have fun. Spending an entire day with a person really shows a person who one's true friends are, even after years apart. We headed down to her family's beach house in South Laguna, and we were greeted with this gorgeous view. Luckily it was a crystal clear day, the sun was shining bright, and the temperature was perfectly in the 80s. I didn't get the photo of the view until we went home after laying out.

this shot is overcast because the sun was setting

As the day went on we stayed for a few hours on the beach eating food, talking up a storm, and enjoying the scenery. Before we had arrived to the beach, we made a pit stop at our local Trader Joe's, and there we bought food for the day. We got finger foods and drinks for lunch on the beach, and then ethnic foods for dinner. The typical food and drink for a beach day may be sandwiches with a choice of beer to cover alcohol....but no, we live and think outside that box and we had our sushis, cheese and crackers, hummus and pita chips, and of course the alcohol was our specialty - Mimosas. (But not any ordinary Mimosa, we used Asti with our little twist of a juice *it's a secret*) Time flew as we ate and talked and drank. I am proud to say I have now opened a bottle of champagne, and on a beach no less.


When we decided that it was time to go back up to the house, we needed to take at least one picture of the two of us together, just to prove that at least we were there.

this is the self taken photo

But just then, a random guy laying out near us took the opportunity to come over introduce himself and take our photo. Turns out that he is from Poland and is a photographer. Needless to say, he took plenty of pictures of us, both posed and candid.







Little did we know that he is more than a self proclaimed photographer, but a sand artist too.

this apparently is our portraits made in the sand??

After we went back up to the house we cleaned ourselves off and Aaron and Don came over for dinner. We all ended up eating way too much Indian and Japanese food, drinking plenty of margaritas, enjoying laughs over a comedy and learning how to play *Golf*(the card game). It was the perfect start to the SUMMER!


The next day was Father's Day. And what else could be the perfect gift that I could give than my cooking which I put all my love and dedication into when it's for someone I love. I had decided that the best thing to do for my dad was to cook a late Sunday Lunch, because I know that that is his favorite meal to end the week.

the guest of honor himself (and yes watching soccer of course)

I arrived at the house around noon and started to prep the kitchen right off the bat. I had three courses that needed to get done, and in a timely and orderly fashion.

first thing on the list, chop up all the chocolate for dessert and get that in the oven

next, chop up the veggies for the pasta sauce

I started to make the dough for the pasta that was to be the second course. Unfortunately, I got the ratio of flour:egg wrong, and worked the dough as hard as I could. When I couldn't knead the dough anymore, I knew I had to go to the expert himself for help. At least I tried.

thanks Dad for saving what could have been a disaster when I started the dough

And just in perfect time, the dessert was ready just when the first course was going on the grill.

40 minutes later, the Crostata was made

Although it was his day, I had to put Dad to work and grill the seafood

finally we are able to sit, sip on wine and commence the meal

We started with a Mixed Seafood Grill in which I mixed Sea Scallops, Orange Roughy and Shrimp in a Lemon Olive Oil Paprika Sauce. The second course was Homemade Pasta in a Young Sauce of Pine Nuts Basil and Artichokes. We topped of the meal with a Hazelnut, Chocolate and Pear Crostata. It was the first time I had ever made any of the dishes, and am proud to say everything came out perfectly. I just hope that Dad loved it! By the looks of the plates after each course, it seemed like it was good.

hopefully, we all can be reincarnated to live a life like Sly's

a Father & Daughter photo in which we are behaving...

but like Father like Daughter , us behaving can really only last so long.

After a siesta it was time we all had a little craving for ice cream and coffee. What better way to finish an "italian" style day than with true Italian espresso and gelato. Therefore, we then headed out to Vito's and had an early evening snack.

It is weekends such as this one, that make me will the weeks to go by and allow me to look forward to what is coming up next.

A Time When Love Matters Most

My mom had surgery last week. I can safely say it was one of the scariest events I have been through. Surgery is always a big deal, and it's scary when a loved one must go through it. But I am so relieved that things went even better than what anyone thought. I found out throug this event that I have a mother who is strong and who can make it through so much. The surgery was Thursday morning, and by Friday morning she was out of bed taking a walk. By Saturday I was there all day armed with our Starbucks mochas ready to have our girl talk and Arnaud Jessica and Isabella all come down from LA to visit. And by Sunday she had the staples removed and home in her own bed by noon. She is the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally. I know that for her and her dearest ones, it has been a hard thing to go through, but it only makes our bond stronger. Because of this I have come to realize that in such moments as these, love is what matters most. Family is the most important things in one's life, and when having to deal with something to this degree, it shakes the tree a little and put's things in persective.

I had to take the opportunity to make her time in bedrest a photoshoot, just to make the stay a little more eventful. You can tell that a certain someone was pampered with flowers and stuffed animals.

not looking too shabby if you ask me...



surgery won't stop us from having our girl talk over Starbucks mochas!

It may have felt like a long four days, but things are definitely looking up now. From here on out it is simply a matter of taking it easy, but also reintroducing little physical efforts every so often. As time goes on, movements will become easier and easier and things will be back to normal before we all know it. I am just glad to have been able to say that we all have come out stronger and everyone is still in good (or in some cases better) health after this.

A Colantonio Sunday

Yet another wonderful weekend has elapsed. From spending quality time with friends, old and new, to spending an entire day with family, I feel so incredibly fortunate to have this life. Friday and Saturdy I was was able to have some great time to myself, and relax from the busy life I lead during the week. I had a full day of baking on Saturday, trying to prepare something for the family day Sunday. I know that many of you out there just assume that when I make something, it always turns out. Well, try this on for a change. First, I attempted at making a Berry Pavlova. Essentially this is a cake that is but one very large meringue. It foiled, and went into the trash. Next, just a regular white roll cake to make a log to fill with whipped cream and berries. That too, foiled, and into the basura it went. I was so frustrated with my lack of positive outcomes in my baking that I made crepes. I took the recipe, made some alterations and "healthy" crepes were born. Who knew that something that takes more care and attention is the only thing that really became a success. And finally, after all that time slaving away in the kitchen I met up with an "old/new found" friend Catie, and we went out for sushi and saw Shrek the Third. All in all, it was a roller coast of a day.
Then a rare occurence came to the family on Sunday. My brother came down to Orange County with Isabella to spend the day. From noon until ten pm that night, we all were together, laughing, telling jokes, looking at old photos, and taking care of the next generation. We had lunch at Mom and Dad's, and on the menu was scrumptious seafood lasagna made from scratch.

This is my serious 'don't bug us we're eating' look...

then the comment Mom made about looking like a new mom!
suuuuuuure

We then took a little trip to my condo to have dessert and for my brother to see my new place.

Isabella was wide eyed at the new place and you could definitely see it in her face...

Nonno playing with Isabella and the "fishy"

Nonnina taking a break from the madness to pose

And the final good shot before...

giving us the sign that it's time to leave.

Once Isabella was cranky we went ahead and went back to Mom and Dad's and put her to sleep, all the while the grown-ups were able to sit around and talk about everything and anything without interruption. It always amazes me that eventhough this rarely happens anymore, when we are together we can just sit and talk for hours, the four adults and not see the time fly by. And to cap off the weekend I had an entire night of giggling and telling of stories and helping my best friend. We stayed up until three am with a bottle of wine and spent quality time tgether that we never get to do anymore. So to everyone that I saw this weekend thank you for the time that you share and tahnk you all for being my family, be it by blood or not.