Soda & Swine at Liberty Station

Soda & Swine is a creative meatball eatery with lots of small to medium sized bites. We visited the Liberty Station location. It has a gold bar, old-fashioned looking baking area with pies on display, sunroofs adding lots of natural light, wood covered walls, a 20-foot foosball table that works as a community table, plenty of seating, and an outdoor patio with more seating.

You order your food upon entering Soda & Swine, then seat yourself and your food is brought to you. You can also order from their wide selection of sodas. On the other side of the registers are the pies, they have a couple different types of apple pies, seasonal treats and soft serve ice cream. The next stop is the bar, it is a full bar where you can order a cocktail, wine, beer (lots of local crafts), and if you are feeling funky, a champagne slushy.

We got some suggestions on what to order for lunch from the employee at the register. You can check out their menu here for yourself. Soda & Swine has several meatballs to choose from, such as, smoked pork, chorizo, chicken, beef and quinoa meatballs. You can order your meatball as a slider, submarine, spaghetti, or 3 meatballs in a skillet with sauce and cheese.  Once we picked our meatballs, we ordered some sides as well and set off for a table. The food started to arrive quickly, but not everything came out at once. We liked this system since we ordered a bunch of different items to give a try so it was like having appetizers, entrees and dessert.

Fried Pizza Knots

Fried Pizza Knots

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Cove Bar at Disney California Adventure Park

Cove Bar at Disney California Adventure is located on Paradise Pier, next to Ariel’s Grotto. It offers a view of Paradise Bay with a full-service bar. You can dine alfresco on tasty starters like flatbread pizzas, chicken wings, sliders and lobster nachos, while sipping on a draft beer, wine or signature cocktail. They also have non-alcoholic drinks, such as their popular Cotton Candy Lemonade.

We had lunch at the Cove Bar on a beautifully sunny day so dining outside seemed like the perfect idea. We arrived right after 11 am and there was already a good sized line awaiting on tables. We ended up at a table with a view of California Screamin’ launch pad, which the kids loved.

To start our lunch, I had an agave nectar margarita to sip on while I looked over the menu of appetizers.

Agave Nectar Margarita

Agave Nectar Margarita

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My 40th Birthday Party

This past April, I turned the big 4-0. I was in denial leading up to my birthday because I swore I was too young to be 40 (ha!), but the day arrived and I realized it isn’t as big of a deal as I made it out to be.

I was resistant to having a birthday party, but my husband along with some other family and friends convinced me I would regret not having a party, so I gave in. My husband went right to work along with my family and best friend to put together a beautiful party for me. My sister and brother-in-law opened their home and hosted the party in their beautiful backyard.

My husband worked his booty off and it showed in all of the details. I was completely hands off, which was awesome. The day of I relaxed at home with my boys and even treated myself to a mani/pedi. The whole day was so special and I felt very loved! I wanted to share some of the pics from my big night.

Birthday Balloons

Birthday Balloons

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City Tacos

City Tacos is a Taquería located in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood. I would describe City Tacos as true Mexican flavors and traditions with a touch of Southern California influences.

City Tacos in North Park, San Diego

City Tacos in North Park, San Diego

City Tacos offers an array of different tacos, such as chorizo, chili relleno, seafood, pollo & carne asada and much more.  They also have vegan options. This taco loving girl was completely content with their taco filled menu. However, my teenage son (for reasons I do not understand) does not like corn tortillas and was less than thrilled when we first arrived about the prospect of tacos for lunch until we saw City Tacos has flour tortillas in addition to corn tortillas so he was in. Continue reading

Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival

I had the chance to check out Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival that ran from April 1st – May 1st. It is a culinary tour of California with 8 different marketplaces to sample from and “Taste Your Way Across the Golden State.”

Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival 2016

Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival 2016

Upon arriving to the festival, I learned that there was a tasting passport annual passholders could purchase so I took advantage of that deal. For $39 you received a lanyard  with the tasting passport that had 6 tasting coupons attached to be used at any marketplace of your choosing, plus a button to commemorate the Food & Wine Festival, a couple of recipe cards from the various marketplaces, and access to the Blue Sky Cellar if you wanted to take a break and cool off indoors. Continue reading