Valentine's Day at the happiest place on Earth!

On Thursday evening, Matt and I flew to L.A. and went straight to Anaheim for the night. We got in near midnight, and barely had enough time to swing by the Anaheim In-N-Out burger. But, I made sure that we made it. =)

Our Valentine's Day Friday began with lunch at Healthy Junk -- the best vegan food I've EVER had. I inhaled the Portobello burger, the fish tacos were amazing, and even the fries were so good. The freshly-squeezed juice blends were the icing on the cake. The weather was gorgeous and we sat in the open air of the small plaza, watching Anaheim people go about their lunch breaks. It was the calm before the storm.. and by storm, I mean Disneyland. So we headed to the happiest place on Earth immediately after eating, and as we entered the parking lot there were tons of empty levels. We thought we'd hit the jackpot! Sadly, upon seeing the park entrance later, we realized that they must've just opened our lot as an overflow.. because there were crowds as far as the eye could see. You know you're getting "too old" for Disneyland, when waiting 90 minutes for a ride doesn't seem worth it. We really did enjoy walking around Cars Land, seeing the Iron Man room, shopping, eating turkey legs (yeah!!!!), and of course taking pictures! Our best picture was in front of a waterfall, when Matt made the photographer feel awkward and we couldn't stop laughing. Oh, memories!

Saturday started off with a beautiful wedding ceremony at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels which was overwhelming, majestic, and very impressive. The bride and groom looked so happy, and the officiant made a few jokes to keep the service entertaining. We had a short break before we reconvened at Palladio's for the reception. There was so much food! The program was so efficiently executed; I was thinking that's how all weddings should be! They started on time, transitioned to the next segments promptly, and everyone had a great time. I don't even know the couple and I cried during the slideshow -- moments from family and friends were so touching!

After checking out of our hotel on Sunday, we were quite tired and found ourselves at In-N-Out again.. this time in Glendale. We wandered around the shopping areas and visited Vape Theory nearby because we hadn't planned anything else out for the day. We got some super cute Superdry jackets and macarons! For early dinner, we had Hakata ramen at Shin-Sen-Gumi in Little Tokyo. I personally like the wavy noodles better, but Matt found out this trip that he likes the straight noodles better! Regardless of the noodles, the broth was fantastic. This meal provided redemption and more for our visit to Kanpai Ramen Friday night (it was so bad neither of us finished our food.. and Matt usually eats everything). After a satisfying warm meal on a cool L.A. evening, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory for the sunset. We had a pretty good time checking out the houses in the area, but we didn't make it all the way up the hill because of the traffic. Maybe next time?

Aside from our return flight getting delayed an hour, the trip was delightful. I was slightly concerned before we left, this being our first lone couple trip, because our relationship began with us already living together and in the back of my mind I'm still somewhat afraid that we'll get sick of each other one day. Or, rather, that he'll get sick of me. I mean.. I can barely stand myself so I can't expect anyone else to, right? LOL. It must be love.

LA Weekender

I just got back from LA! Was a short trip, but surprisingly I saw more of LA than I've seen my past trips combined ~

I flew in Saturday night (this is what happens when you book your flight two months in advance, and then change jobs) and Julian and I went straight to The Hat! Gosh, the pastrami is sooo greasy there, but soooo good. I felt mega guilty but it was definitely worth it. After eating, we went to Tony's surprise party! And boy was I in for a surprise. When I got there, I soon realized that 7 or 8 friends from SF had moved down to SoCal and all still hang out down there. So, it was like a party with more than half of the people from SF, in LA! That was weird!! But it was also great, to see so many familiar faces :) SO the drinking commenced, and there were lots of ridiculous, hilarious moments.

On Sunday, we went to Orochan to get ramen for lunch. MMmm it was good, I think I like their noodles better than Santa! We looked around in the Japantown area for a little bit and then we went to DISNEYLAND!!! I usually don't have all that much fun at Disneyland because I hate waiting, but since it was only two of us we didn't have to wait for anyone. And lucky us, the lines weren't long. We were able to get on Indiana Jones in 15 minutes, and Pirates in less than 10. We rode Tower of Terror for the first time, and OMG it was really terrifying. I couldn't believe how awesomely violent the ride was, I thought it was going to be really gentle because they put it in California Adventure next to the kiddie park..

We watched a bunch of shows and went through the animation museum. The zoetrope for Toy Story was so freakin' cool. I LOVED the Monsters Inc ride also. And we bought cool pirate swag :) We even stopped at the winery area and got a sweet buzz going. After drinking was TURKEY LEGS OF COURSE! And we ate them with salsa this time, I couldn't believe how TASTY IT WAS! I looooove turkey legs, NOMM! The weather was perfect, it was hot but there was always a breeze. We stayed until pretty late to watch the World of Color show, and it seriously took my breath away. The Pirates of the Caribbean segment and the Little Mermaid segments were my fave. But of course, it was ALL GOOD!

After Disneyland, we headed back to Hollywood and had a late dinner at Cafe Aroma. It was a snazzy place with a heated outdoor seating area and fantastic food. Their menu was huge and their desserts were awesome to the max. Before heading home, we drove around LA and looked at all of the different areas. I can't say that LA is very pretty, but it sure is lively. Even at 1:00AM on a Sunday night there seemed to be LOTS of nightlife still happening.

Sunday I got to check out Xino and it had SUCH a gorgeous view! We ate at a wine bar next door - the view and the weather were perfect, and we relaxed with our super rich food. The truffle fries were REALLY good there, but I didn't like everything else. The oysters though, were also good - and the wine was excellent.

After lunch we checked out Santa Monica and Venice Beach. We saw the canals, I recognized it from Valentine's Day where! The canals are so gorgeous.. now THAT'S somewhere I'd like to live one day. Everywhere else in LA just wasn't as amazing. We had Kbbq for dinner and everybody knows that korean food in LA is ALWAYS good. Yum, what a delicious trip! It was short but sweet, and it was a nice little mini-vaca. SO many good eats, love it!