a toast to san diego

going back real quick to san diego because do you remember this machine?

the hub knew i was dying to make a purchase, and so after we checked out of the hotel we stopped in to buy a token so that i could buy a cute mini bottle of champagne.  it came in this little velvet drawstring bag.

i dropped the token in the slot and watched the mechanical arm select a bottle, carry it over to the side and carefully place it in the door for me to take out.

woohoo!  and also inside the little bag was this attachment that goes in the top so that you can sip the champagne straight from the bottle and still look dignified.  heh.

before we headed home, we made one last pitstop in old town san diego to have lunch.  yelp brought us here:

they had a giant collection of tequila, with some bottles dating back several decades.  tequila may not be MY friend anymore, but the hub was happy to sample some in a margarita.

it came in handy for washing down the chips, salsa and queso we ordered up.

confession:  tacos are not my most favorite thing in the world like they are for lots of other people.  that doesn't mean that i don't enjoy my share of them though, especially when they're stuffed with perfectly seasoned and grilled shrimp.

from there we just headed on home to meet up with the kids and reunite with our dogs.  it was a great way to end our san diego getaway, and in just a few days the bean would come home from texas and then our family would be complete once again. 

what's yxta-ppening?

since we didn't get enough bonding time on friday, a few of us headed back downtown last night for happy hour at yxta, a super cool mexican restaurant suggested by the monkey.

listening to michael jackson tunes all the way in, i rolled into the [free!] parking lot slightly teary and super nostalgic. it's amazing how music can affect your mood and instantly transport you to a different time in life - it seriously felt like i was 10 again, in my room with the "thriller" tape (tape! haha!) playing and dancing to "P.Y.T."

i was really surprised to find that this unassuming-looking, very blah building:

housed all this coolness:

i was the first to arrive, so i sat down to peruse the menu and get settled. here's my uber-exciting beverage of choice:

i munched distractedly on these while i checked my facebook and twitter, via my trusty iPhone.

the happy hour menu wasn't very extensive.

considering the fact that i'm not typically a drinker, i was quite intrigued by the "mexican russian." i love me some horchata.

when the rest of the ladies arrived - levioletfemme, the monkey, lilcee, venn, and winnie - we finally ordered. and in true SFAM fashion, we simply ordered one of each item on the menu. tacos galore! ha! but sadly for me, the restaurant had run out of horchata (how could this happen? it was HAPPY HOUR!) and i had to settle for a regular ol' margarita. boo.

lilcee was the only one who ended up drinking something different - she had a mojito.

and then it was food time! yay!

guacamole. pass.

tacos with pulled pork -and pineapple. needless to say, i didn't indulge in these.

[edit: these are, indeed, tacos al pastor. hell, that isn't even pulled pork! that's what i get for blogging in stealth mode at work]

sopes with spicy pulled chicken and veggies. so chewy and crunchy and delicious.

carnitas. oh, these were good - even with the guacamole.

pulled chicken with chipotle. alas, i was too full to get to these.

these were filled with spicy mashed potatoes. a little underseasoned, but i shook the salt shaker on 'em and they were pretty yummy.

this was a late addition to our food line-up. they were presented as buffalo-style wings with a twist, but those who tried them said they were more like wings drenched in nacho cheese. "they're nacho wings!" ba-dum-psh.

before lilcee headed home to feed baby cee, we got the server to take a group shot.

winnie and i learned of the awesomeness that is the dyson airblade from the monkey, who described it so enthusiastically that we had to go and try it out for ourselves.

i appreciated the instructions on how to use the contraption. well, so that i could capture the illustrations with my camera and laugh, anyway.

check it out - you can see it in action! muahahahahaha.


just before we departed, the monkey and i decided we'd play a prank on our online friends and use these as our new profile pics. so amusing. i'm giggling just looking at them.

i LOVE having friends who are as goofy as i am.

oh, and for seven:

as you can see (but probably already knew), it runs in the family.