"Gone are the birds that were our summer guests." - Longfellow

When we got back from California, we just had a couple weeks until B's 30th birthday.  His birthday fell over Labor Day weekend, so we decided to have a Mexican-themed party at his parents' shore house on Long Beach Island.

For appetizers we had homemade shrimp ceviche and stuffed peppers.

For dinner and dessert we had tacos and tres leches cake catered from a Mexican place at the shore.

We had a great time tubing and hanging out.

Thanks so much to my in-laws for lending us their home and throwing such a great party!

For his birthday B got a giftcard to Alla Spina, a new Marc Vetri Italian gastropub.  Its a little bit in no man's land, 1410 Mt. Vernon Street (14th a few blocks north of Spring Garden), but we were headed to a concert nearby so it worked out perfectly.  For starters we split the housemade pretzel bites and the poutine.

The pretzel bites were good, but Alla Spina's spicy beer cheese has nothing on the spicy beer cheese served with the pretzel bites at Bierstube.  The poutine, on the other hand, was amazing.  Its served with guinea hen leg bolognese and mozzarella curb.  Yum!

For dinner we decided to split one of the paninis.  To our surprise we also received a complimentary "burgamo"- Alla Spina's double cheeseburger.

Both were good, although the burger, sort of an upscale version of the Whopper, was extremely messy.

At the end of the meal we concluded that Alla Spina has some solid bar food, and the menu some interesting twists, its a little out of the way to travel on the regular with all of the tasty gastropubs within walking distance of our place.

"Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that." ~ Michael Leunig

As soon as we got back from MMA's bachelorette bash, we were all ecstatic to hear that HBK got engaged!!

[picture stolen from HBK's facebook]

That weekend we went out for dinner and celebratory drinks starting at Oyster House.

We had a dozen at the oyster bar and then sat for a delicious lobster roll.  Yum!

After dinner we went for a few drinks at Misconduct Tavern.  Its a fantastic dive bar that simulates being in the hull of a ship with cheap beers and a different flavored shot every night.

[love birds at Misconduct]

[us in the cab on the way home... probably one flavored shot too many]

The next night we went to a housewarming party at our pal's house in Manayunk.  He kept it simple with pizza, chips, and an ice luge (which he had to modify with a drill when it wasn't working property at the start of the night).

Don't try this at home kids!!

It was a great weekend in Philly before our anniversary trip to California.  B's high school friend was getting married in Solvang (wine country about an hour outside of Santa Barbara) on our 5-year anniversary so we decided to go out a few days early and make a trip of it.

For the first few days we stayed at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara.  When we arrived there was a bouquet of tulips (my fav!) from B waiting for me.

After a good night's rest, we woke to a beautiful view, a work out, massages, a fish tacos by the pool.

That night we went to a fantastic dinner at Seagrass in Santa Barbara.  For starters B had the oysters and I had the grilled watermelon with pistachios and a red wine syrup.

The oysters were fresh and the watermelon clean with a nice zip.  For dinner B had slow baked sea bream and I had the diver scallop appetizer.

The sea bream was served over creamy leeks and topped with matchstick potatoes.  I didn't love the taste of the fish, but the contrast of textures was nice.  The scallop, served with a turnip and parsnip puree and carrot orange sauce infused with vanilla bean and cardamom, was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious.  Paired with a nice bottle of wine, it was a great start to the trip.

The next morning, B and I hit the breakfast buffet at the hotel to carb up before a day of wine tasting.  The buffet was amazing - lox and bagels, eggs benedict, omelets made to order, fruit, pastries, etc. - and for the price of the buffet you also had free reign to order anything off the regular menu at no additional cost.  I opted for the blueberry waffle with maple cinnamon butter.

It was to die for.  After the buffet we met our driver, who took us to Los Olivos and surrounding areas. We started at the Fess Parker winery, which was featured under another name in the movie Sideways (the scene when Paul Giamatti's character finds out his book hasn't been picked up and ends up drinking out of the discard bucket.

We loved our barista and randomly met two old couples from South Jersey to chat up.  Next we went to another vineyard owned by the Firestones, as in Andrew Firestone former bachelor.  It was a little smaller and our barista wasn't as interested in making friends so we finished our wine quickly and moved on to Los Olivos - a cute little town with tons of tasting rooms and little shops.  On recommendation from our concierge we did a tasting at Carhartt - a cute log cabin of a tasting room run by a friendly hippie - and then grabbed sandwiches to take on a picnic at our final vineyard.

We ended our tour with a bottle of wine and a picnic under the trees at the Rustica vineyard.

It was an amazing day, which came to a perfect end when we ordered pizza in our hotel room that we ate on the balcony while watching the Olympics.

The following day we packed up and headed to Solvang for the wedding weekend kick off.  We did a bike tour from Solvang to Los Olivos and back (with a much needed chipwich break half way).

That night the weekend began with a cookout at a nearby national park.  The food was great, and the vibe very chill, just like the bride and groom.

Saturday we went into Los Olivos for lunch with the group before catching the buses to an amazing vineyard for the ceremony and reception.

We had an amazing trip and could not think of a better way to spend our 5 year anniversary than celebrating the union of a great couple!

"Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Henry James

This has been a crazy summer so I have been a little haphazard in documenting my eats.  Hopefully things will slow down soon and I can get back to more consistent food musings, but in the meantime here's a (somewhat long winded) recap of July.

Another summer brought another summer associate class at work... which brought another excuse for summer associate karaoke at Sang Kee Noodle House!  It was just as much fun as last year, and the food was just as delicious.

 [note my favorite, peking duck]

 [boy band]

 [end of the road]

[the mcgraw family]

The firm also sends the summer class to Jim Thorpe for a rafting trip each year.  Although I've not been in a couple of summers, I was a summer associate mentor this year (and that means obligated to attend).  The weather could have been better (the water was freezing and it was a nippy 65 degrees out and raining) but we still had a good time.

This summer B and I finally made it to one of the Night Markets sponsored by the Philadelphia Food Trust.  Food trucks come from far and wide so the masses can sample tasty tidbits, and there are beverage vendors as well.

It is a great, and affordable, time - I would highly recommend checking it out!

The night after the Night Market, B and I left for a trip to my family's lakehouse in Southern Virginia for Fourth of July.  We had a great time roadtripping together despite driving through what looked like the final scene in Twister, and had an even better time with the family boating, jet skiing, cooking out, and bowling.

[no road trip is complete without Doritos Jacked]

[paddle boat]

When we got back I put myself on a veggie only diet to gear up for my brother-in-law's wedding.  In addition to my favorite kale chips, I found some delicious treats at wholefoods including roasted vegetable gazpacho and "detox salad".

One thing I had that was NOT so delicious was Columbia Gorge Organic Carrot Leafy Green Juice.

It tastes like you are drinking a pureed carrot stem.  On the up side, at week's end I was feeling great and was ready to celebrate AJB and J5.

 [my wedding party gift from the bride and groom.  love it!]

The rehearsal dinner was at my in-laws shore house.  They did a beautiful job setting up, and everyone had a blast.

 [B and me]

 [the bride and groom]

[clockwise from left: mini lobster roll, cole slaw, corn fritter, tomato salad, crab cake, mini pulled pork sandwich]

 [group hug]

[boom]

On Saturday we woke to beautiful weather, and the girls prepped for the big day.

[the bride]

 [all gussied up]

Because the couple wanted to miss as little of the cocktail hour as possible, they took a good number of photos in advance.  Before photos, they did a dramatic reveal (that all of the girls got to watch from the upstairs balcony of the hotel).

Once things got rolling I was having way too much fun to take any photos, save one adorable first dance shot.

Congrats to my bebies!!

The following weekend all of our pals got together for a Saturday Phillies game.  Good food, good friends, and good times.

I spent the final weekend of July in NYC for my friend MMA's bachelorette party.  We started out with cocktails at our favorite lesbian bar, the Cubbyhole.

Then we moved on to the Frying Pan for dinner and more drinks.

 [outside of the Frying Pan]

[the bride and her prized possessions, bling and pitchers]

For our final stop of the night we headed to Second on Second, a cool karaoke spot near our hotel.

[only shot I could steal was of us in the cab on the way there]

Saturday night was romper themed, so we spent some time trying to find HBK the perfect romp.  Unfortunately, no luck.

To drown our romperless sorrows, we got some cupcakes at Baked by Melissa.

[featured: chocolate peanut butter, peanut butter and jelly, mint chocolate chip]

These bite-sized gems are to die for - go there immediately, but beware you won't be able to stop at just three!

Saturday night we threw a little "shower" in the hotel, and then went to dinner at Supper for before hitting the town.

Dinner at Supper was fantastic, and we had an amazing night.  Can't wait for the wedding!!